On the lookout

City adding more cameras to trail system, but no substitute for more officers

The body of 17-year-old Mea Rayls was discovered on a city walking trail on March 14. A little more than a month earlier, a car in a city parking garage was robbed of its wheels and catalytic converter. There is no comparison when it comes to the severity and tragedy of the incidents, but the two do share something in common.

Despite occurring on public property, neither incident was captured by surveillance cameras.

This vehicle was ransacked in February by thieves while sitting in a city-owned parking garage.

Cameras used for security and observation have become so commonplace that people rarely make note of it. After all, the vast majority of Americans carry a camera with them all day on their smart phones. It sometimes seems that every moment of a person’s life, no matter how interesting or mundane, is captured on video somewhere.

But in the cases of Mea Rayls and the ransacked vehicle, there is no video evidence to tell investigators what happened. According to Mayor Tyler Moore, the surveillance deficit soon will come to an end where the city’s trail system is concerned.