Author Steffen Hou
Excerpt from Moms of the Missing: Living the Nightmare
By Steffen Hou
Oh my God, we found a dead body." The man's voice, calling from a mountain trail in Cleveland National Forest, was frantic. "Please hurry. I'm so scared. It's a little kid." When police arrived, they were met by a horrific sight. The girl was naked and had been positioned in such a way that detectives believed the murderer had seen his kill as some kind of a trophy. As if he were showing off his "work". The little kid was Samantha Runnion, a five-year-old girl who had been abducted while playing in her parents' garden the day before.
Samantha is just one of too many American kids who disappear. Almost half a million children are reported missing every year. And all across America parents are searching for their missing children or—if the worst case scenario has come to pass—the person who killed them.
Moms of the Missing investigates ten abduction cases. Through personal and heartbreaking interviews with the victims, it describes how parents maintain their hopes of one day finding their children—some of whom were taken by a stranger, a family member, or human traffickers. And two survivors tell what it is like to be held captive.
Moms of the Missing: Living the Nightmare
By Steffen Hou
Review by HeidiLynn's BookReviews
First, I want to thank Steffen Hou for providing me with
this book so I can bring you this review.
Moms of the Missing Living the Nightmare by Steffen Hou is a
book that will want you to hug your child or loved one a little tighter. This
is a full of educational, informative knowledge, and packed with heartbreaking true
stories. This is one book that will stick with you for a long time!
I really liked this cover. It had the silhouette of a detailed
mother’s face with a not so detailed full head of a child in back. In front
there was a little girl. The rest of the cover was dark except the lettering.
It was eerie yet well done. It sparked my interest. Kudos to the graphic
designer.
This book may not be for everyone as it is a difficult one to
due to the heavy and heartbreaking content. As you can tell by the title this
book is about abductions and missing children.
This book is written in the loving memory of all the
children who have lost their lives to the hands of the vicious kidnapper, and
is dedicated to those are still held captive. Perhaps someone reading this book
will remember a small but important detail about one of the abductions
described in these pages and will come forward with new information that will
lead to the safe recovery of one of the missing.
You will read about Mary Kozakiewicz’s daughter Alicia in the
first chapter. She was one of the lucky ones to escape. However, her story of
who abducted her was crazy!! There are
some sick men out there in this world.
You will meet others and read their stories on how they were
abducted. Some if not all of them will pull on your heart strings.
This book is very informative and educational on many
levels. One being on how to prevent
abductions. This day in age many children are lured by online predators. Online
chat rooms are the worst as predators pretend to be kids. Alicia provided some
extremely helpful online tips for parents when it comes to online safety. She
also has a website that she provides as well.
Steffen packs this book with incredible resources and phone
numbers for anyone out there needing help. There is also a group of volunteers
called Team HOPE that turn personal tragedies into vital support for other
families.
