[bmelton]

Agreed. Above and beyond that too, humans are naturally paranoid animals, and bad at seeing probabilities when assessing personal risk.

If a child that looks like yours is abducted, it makes you more paranoid that your child will be abducted; even if that other child was halfway around the world; even if that child was abducted by a relative; etc., etc. Despite the fact that abductions are rare, and that they're even more rarely done by strangers, blah blah, the brain gloms onto the perceived danger and isn't very good at letting go of it.