by David Emery

Lost in cyberspace:  Krystava Schmidt update
08/19/99: In case further proof is required that email chain letters are more than just a nuisance...

According to news reports, the police department in Mounds View, Minnesota has had to alter its phone system to accomodate a glut of international calls responding to a year-old email alert begging for assistance in finding a missing child named Krystava Schmidt. Before reaching a police dispatcher, callers are now treated to a tape recording announcing that the child is home safe and sound. Authorities are rightly concerned that this could interfere with pressing police business.

Krystava Schmidt was kidnapped by a friend after a household squabble in July 1998. The child's mother immediately sent out an email plea with a picture of Krystava attached. However, police located the missing girl by tracking down her abductor within two days of the disappearance, and the email quickly became pointless. Now, more than a year later, it is still circulating, prompting people from as far away as China and Scotland to contact the Mounds View police for more information.

Authorities say they're hopeful things will return to normal in six months or so, but if the fate of previous chain letter pleas (like the unstoppable Craig Shergold letter) is any indication, little Krystava could remain "lost" in cyberspace for many more years to come.

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