That's horrible. There were always those rumors circulating about kidnappings and such in the 70's but it really didn't get much media coverage. I remember groups of children who would go around our neighborhood, selling magazines door-to-door. A big van used to drop them off a few times a year. Their clothes would be ragged and it looked like they hadn't slept. I found out later many of them were either kidnapped or runaways and forced into selling those subscriptions. The "bosses" would put them to work in a different part of the country and wouldn't allow them to have any cash. In the days before cell phones they were pretty much helpless unless they wanted to try to make a break for it. It's strange to think that went on, and was allowed to. The authorities had to know about it. I found a story here that mentions it. They present it like it was voluntary but a majority of the crews in our area were all underage.