Yesterday's article ("Find Dru, why not Cindy," Dec. 11) reiterated a truth that has increasingly come to light in the wake of several highly-publicized kidnappings: victims of violent crimes often receive disproportionate attention depending upon such factors as race, appearance, and socioeconomic class. The parallels between the victims that the media chooses to report on are as clear as they are questionable.

The link is not quite that these individuals are members of the American majority, but that they fit the cultural archetype of a victim. They are attractive, young, predominantly white females. The article went astray, though, when it labeled race as the discriminating factor in the media's differing responses to Dru Sjodin and Cindy Song. Several key elements withheld national media attention from Song's plight, but her South Korean background was low on the list. Song disappeared Nov. 1, 2001, less than two months after the Twin Towers fell. Her case vanished with her, drowned in a sea of terrorism-related news.

Authorities in Song's case, unlike those in Sjodin's, had no frightful interrupted phone call, no recently released three-time convicted rapist for a suspect, and no physical evidence. Song disappeared in the dark of night after a Halloween party, reportedly wearing "a short white skirt, pink top, brown knee- high boots and a red-hooded coat" -- details we know rob victims in this community of due concern. Few would argue that Song's case didn't deserve more attention, but broadly labeling race as the reason she didn't get it shows a lack of analysis of the situation.