Not trying to be a debbie downer...But why would this case cause Americans to finally get "fed up" and not the many other missing and murdered children cases that have been in the news? Even after this case, there will still be cases where the murderer gets an short sentence, and there will still be cases that the public won't go into a fury over.
ETA: Also you seem to be saying that Jessica captured attention even though she was a normal kid, but I feel like pretty much every missing/murdered child whose gotten attention is basically the "kid next door". THAT is part of the appeal in many cases.
I think I understand where you are coming from in your question as to why so many agencies and manpower were activated in this case.
I think that the only way to accurately respond, however, is if someone knows WHEN all of this manpower was activated. In other words, (1) was this number of personnel activated upon learning of Jessica's disappearance; (2) was it after the family was cleared and it was clear that there was a predator on the loose; (3) or was it after the "not intact" body of this precious young girl was found?
There is a (usually) short period of time after a child's disappearance is reported when the police are trying to determine if it is a runaway situation, a parental custodial issue, or even just a child who is okay but not where they are supposed to be (i.e., playing hooky from school, at a friend's house without permission, etc.). Once the answer to those questions is ascertained, law enforcement will act accordingly, assigning a certain number of officers to investigate further.
They had to clear the family from any involvement, which likely took a bit of time since Jessica's father lives in Missouri. They needed to verify his alibi and current location. They had to interview both parents and possibly give lie detector tests to determine the veracity of their stories. From there, they determined that there was a strong possibility that Jessica had been abducted and there was a predator on the loose. This fact would have necessitated the activation of even more personnel.
Once Jessica's body was found in the open space, and they had identified her, they knew that this was not your "everyday, run of the mill" child sexual predator. I am not in any way making light of other predators of this ilk--just trying to show the likely mindset of law enforcement after they found the "not intact" body of our precious Jessica. Finding her in such a state would indicate that this was an incredibly dangerous and frightening monster who had to be found NOW.
They needed to employ even more personnel to try to find this monster before he or she had an opportunity to abduct and harm another child. They needed every available resource--this was an emergency situation of the utmost concern that needed to be resolved fast. The more hands on deck, the better--not only for the safety of every child in the area, but also to help quell the fear of the entire community. What happened to Jessica was horrific and the community was reeling.
I wish that every single child abduction was given the same number of personnel to work the case as was given to Jessica's case, but I also understand the reasons why not every case is given that luxury.
