The saturation of coverage triggered a backlash among some critics who argued that such extensive media attention validates the `` missing white woman syndrome '' theory , which argues that missing-person cases involving white skinned women and girls receive disproportionate attention in the media compared with cases involving white males or people of color . The saturation of coverage triggered a backlash among some critics who argued that such extensive media attention validates the `` missing white woman syndrome '' theory , which argues that missing-person cases involving white women and girls receive disproportionate attention in the media compared with cases involving white males or people of color .