The paper considers Nils Christie’s theory of the ideal victim with its output in different cases of child abduction. Two parts illuminate the similarities and differencies between family and stereotypical abductions and between different cases based on Christie’s theory. The purpose of the paper is to investigate if the theory appears to explain why one kind seems to receive more attention than the other, even though it is basically the same crime. The thesis also examines which of Christie’s criteria that seems to be of most importance to give the victim attention.   The study categorizes the different criteria under three different titles: ideal victim, ideal perpetrator and ideal circumstances, illustrated by a model which defines the concept with the denomination, a true ideal victim. The investigation is carried out through an internet search of the number of hits at the Google search engine, as well as through close up studies of a few cases. The possibilities for abducted children and their families to claim a valid status as a victim is highlighted as of very great, if not of the most, significance for generating attention. The differences between the two types according to Christie’s theory is shown, as is the difference in hits between the two which indicates that ideal victims of abduction get more attention.