The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "strangers" ...
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Walking into Danger
The unprecedented investigation takes an in-depth look at child abduction in Chicago. The reporters found that every other day a stranger tries to lure or force a child into a building or vehicle. Furthermore, the majority of these predators avoided prison time due to breakdowns in the legal system.
Tags: child abduction; kidnapping; sex offender; youth; predator
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Teens and Strangers
Children are taught to avoid strangers and dangerous situations, and should have these lessons ingrained by the time they are teenagers. The Early Show drove around in a van, attempting to lure teenagers - including students at Princeton University- into the car to find out just how well those lessons are learned, and how easy or difficult it would be to get a teenager to exhibit poor judgment. Using cover stories including being a film crew seeking young people for a commercial, and posing as a police officer, the show lured people into the van.
Tags: abduction; kidnapping; strangers; lure; The Early Show
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The Matthew Shepard Story
This ABC 20/20 documentary is a re-examination of the circumstances surrounding the 1998 murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. The investigation revealed that the motive behind this high-profile homicide was more complicated than the anti-gay motive originally imagined. For example, the investigation found methamphetamine use by the perpetrator, Aaron McKinney, played a role in the crime, sources who say the killer and victim were not strangers, and sources who claim that Aaron McKinney was bisexual and not uncomfortable around gay people.
Tags: Matthew Shepard; Laramie; Wyoming; anti-gay hate crime; methamphetamine; Aaron McKinney
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How Michigan loses, fails its foster children
The Detroit Free Press series looks at "how the state lost track of 302 abused and neglected kids." It also reports about foster kids who runaway only to be exploited by the strangers they meet, missing kids and the complex Juvenile Justice system.
Tags: foster children; Detroit; Michigan; children; runaways; missing children; Juvenile Justice system
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Predator next door
A three-part News 12 investigation reports on children falling victim to sexual abuse. The first part reveals that many cases of sexual abuse occur at home by a person the child know and trusts. Many offenses go unreported because children do not talk about what happened, or are afraid to testify. Part two is based on a "surprisingly candid interview" with a convicted sex offender who admits he will never be cured. Part three is a hidden camera investigation showing how children, although taught not to go with strangers, can be easily lured to walk away from their playgrounds. An undercover police officer plays the role of the "stranger," while children's parents are watching the entire matter unfold before heir eyes.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; crime; police; prison; jail; offenders; parents; justice; crime statistics
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When A Stranger Called
Chicago Magazine details the story of a young Chicago teacher who was repeatedly harassed by telephone threats. After going to the police and being turned away, the woman hired a private investigator and caught the perpetrator herself. The article provides statistics on harassment in Chicago and describes this particular case, in which a women took action into her own hands.
Tags: crime; stalkers; harassment; threats; police; private investigators
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Getting Off Easy
The Riverfront Times details a case involving strangers, a date-rape drug and an overnight encounter. After 'Anne' woke up in the bed of a strange man, she immediately went home, called her friend and then called the authorities. "The results for a urine test were positive for 'amphetamine/designer drug'." She gave police the business card of "Matthew J. Wasiak". Wasiak gave police four different accounts of that night and failed to pass a "computer voice-stress analysis" twice. The evidence against Wasiak was strong and the jury's decision of guilty on all three counts asked for a tough 27 year sentence. However, Judge Jeff Schaeperkoetter disagreed. He gave Wasiak "120 days of shock incarceration at the local detention center, followed by five year's probation. The Riverfront Times questioned Schaeperkoetter on how he could make such an opposing decision.
Tags: rape; date-rape drugs; GHB; Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act; Missouri Department of Corrections; crime
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What's Wrong With This Family?
"Six million to fourteen million children nationwide live with a gay parent- a demographic so large that the phenomenon has been dubbed the 'gayby boom'." And as more and more homosexual couples adopt children, the laws preventing adoption continue to get tested. Barb and Carole have been together for 18 years, and have four year-old twins, Robby and Reese. Because Carole gave birth to the boys, she has legal status as their mother. However, Barb's plead to adopt the boys has been turned down by the courts, seering her simply as a non-biological parent who happens to be a partner in a same-sex couple. Despite Barb's involvement with the twins over the last four years, "she has no more legal right to her sons than a stranger, and less of a claim than Carole's immediate family." Family reporters looked into the court cases as well as family circumstances of homosexual families facing this dilemma.
Tags: adoption; homosexuality; The Adoption Act; Defense of Marriage Act; same-sex marriages; custody
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The Vanishing
This article investigates the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Zebb Quinn, an 18-year-old boy from a small town in North Carolina. "Quinn was a nice boy who loved his mom and his job at the local Wal-Mart. About a year ago, he disappeared. Strange clues began to surface, followed by even stranger rumors. Now, a small community is dealing with a fate worse than death."
Tags: crime; disappearance; Zebb Quinn
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Stranger Danger: Testing Midsouth Children
A reporter goes door-to-door disguised as a clown to test, with parents' permission, local kids' social savvy. When all of the children "tested" opened the doors of their homes to a total stranger, the report followed up with tales of missing children and tips for parents about how better to protect their kids.
Tags: TAPE TRANSCRIPT abduction; kidnapping; exploited; John Wayne Gacy; murder Commission on Missing and Exploited Children