Lack of search poor reflection on human nature

It's easy to criticize law enforcement after the fact and from long distance, but the case of the missing Chadron State College professor seems to show that authorities are subject to some of the same prejudices and shortcomings as the rest of us.

Steve Haataja's body was discovered by two cowboys chasing wayward livestock in a ravine near Chadron more than three months after the Chadron State College math professor went missing.

Haataja was a state chess champion as a teenager in South Dakota, and was known for spending $100 at a time during visits to bookstores.

He didn't own a car, was divorced for more than 10 years and was hospitalized for depression during his second, successful effort to write his doctoral thesis.

Wearing thick glasses, Haataja broke his hip in an ice skating accident a couple of years ago, and was cautious about walking over bumping sidewalks or uneven ground.

When he went missing, there was no sign that he had rented a car, and apparently no other sign that he had gone away.

Chadron Police say they didn't know where to search, so they basically didn't, other than letting people know the professor was missing.

A few Chadron residents conducted five searches, and a former Los Angeles homicide detective who happened to be teaching a criminal justice class at Chadron State organized a couple of search teams a few days after Haataja disappeared.

After being quoted in a college publication, the former detective got a call from the police department criticizing his statements and actions.

Why wasn't there a concerted official search?

We hope it wasn't because the missing person was a single, slightly oddball character.

But we doubt the reaction would have been the same had he been a popular, prominent businessman or an attractive cheerleader.