Psychics and Missing People

These "what's the harm" letters were in response to your letter you just posted, in which you explained how psychics prey on the families of missing persons?

If so, that is simply incredible. A complete failure to empathize or see things from the psychic's victim's perspective. The desire to believe is strong indeed.

No, to be fair they were in response to my original letter, the one I sent back in 2003 when the Carla Baron articles were first published. In that letter, I basically bashed the paper for publishing such uncritical and fawning articles, but was unaware of just how widespread the issue of "psychic predation" was (thanks Kelly for educating me on this).

It would strike me as insensitive indeed if someone responds to my recent letter with a "what's the harm?" argument. That being said, I'm personally thinking there's maybe a 50/50 chance it'll happen -- as I said in a previous post, the ambient woo level in this parts is quite high, and a (perhaps related?) sense of "what I believe, you should believe" also appears to permeate these environs.
 
No, to be fair they were in response to my original letter, the one I sent back in 2003 when the Carla Baron articles were first published. In that letter, I basically bashed the paper for publishing such uncritical and fawning articles, but was unaware of just how widespread the issue of "psychic predation" was (thanks Kelly for educating me on this).

Ah.

Besides victimizing families, psychics commit harm in another not so obvious way. With the media aiding and abetting them all the way. Reading your account of the search initiated by Carla Baron reminds me of it.

Suppose somebody saw something related to the missing person's disappearance. Only they didn't know it at the time, what they were seeing could be an important clue.

Now suppose at the same time the missing person's disappearance is given media attention that in the same article is a statement by a psychic that such-and-such events occurred, or a person of such-and-such description is responsible for the disappearance. Since the odds are great that all of that is NOT what actually happened, it will contradict what the person who actually witnessed something saw and will prevent them from making a connection between what they saw and the missing person because the newspaper is saying (via a psychic) that the disappearance occurred in an entirely different location or involved a person of different description than what the witness saw.

Therefore, the media has just caused a valuable clue to be lost in their quest for sensationalism.

This is what I meant in the article I wrote for Kelly's blog when I said:

A responsible news organization does not aid and abet the criminal responsible for the missing person’s disappearance by tripping the light fantastic through the Twilight Zone, casting suspicion on innocent people and relating events which in all likelihood contradict what actually occurred, thereby discouraging witnesses from coming forward. Not when a crime of such terrible proportions is at stake. Such gross irresponsibility would be beyond the pale.
 
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PS -- I did get an email response from a Reformer editor, who informed me "I'm not sure we'll be doing a story as such." But at least they printed my letter.

Would you let us know if there are any letters sent in as a result of your letter? Thank you.
 
I am not sure what you mean by changes must fall within the law. Doesn't change imply things that are not in the law that should be changed/deleted/added?

I decided to pick another state and see what kind of comparable law they have. I picked New York since they probably have more cases of missing people. Just a guess.

Anyway, there were some interesting things in their law that I think are missing from Nebraska's. For instance, when a child goes missing, they immediately have the child's birth certificate record flagged. Outstanding idea.

They also notify the child's most recent school to flag the child's records. Probably for the same reason. Another outstanding idea.

Someone with a kidnapped kid might try to obtain their records to register them in a school or somesuch.

They also have this:



And this isn't a bad idea, either:

Darn! I had a nice response all typed out but lost it when the d/b went down for maintainence!

Anyway, the only law as it pertains to missing persons in NE before we passed Jason's Law was one that flags vital stats when a child is missing.

Also, the language in our law does discuss purging of records after the person is found. This is at the end of the text. I would have posted it, but it's formatted horribly.

It is unlikely they will make any improvements that aren't forced upon them by law. That's exactly why I will be back in front of the senate in 2007 to pass another law that is procedural in nature. Jason's Law is more awareness and communication.
 
I hope the resolution of her disappearance and the apprehension of the person responsible is at least some small comfort to the family.
 
I hope the resolution of her disappearance and the apprehension of the person responsible is at least some small comfort to the family.

The family is hoping that the perp is not lying to escape the death penalty, and that they will be able to find strong evidence of this, and hopefully her body. The odds of that don't look good as, according to the perp, she's been in the landfill for 2 years.

Some months back, the parents went on the Maury Povich show with a psychic who said she was alive and in NM. Shame on him. No one has the right to give hope or take away hope falsely!! :mad:
 
Calling my psychic busting friends:

In regards to our local case here, the little murdered 12 yr old girl, Amber Harris: Several "psychics", and one in particular who calls himself JackAMW, are prominent on the AMW forum. There is a thread under Missing Persons with her name where these people are posting. There is no direct links to these threads. http://forums.prospero.com/foxamw/messages
I'd be very pleased if someone could give them the straight talk about their nonsense. It would most likely not change their minds, but could help other readers and lurkers. Amber's mom is a lurker. I called her about what they are saying.

Here is a summary of posts, most of which are by JackAMW. My comments are in italics and my bolding.


post #145: another psychic says she's alive and in FL with abductors

Post 148, JackAMW says: This reporter looks here and sees, she tells the mother and truth comes. Take camera to the place where taken. Follow the path between trees, 500 yards and to the left find evidence, small pond, bring cadaver dogs. Bushes grown, honeysuckle come, berries in grass, beneath the ground the girl lies.
Evil take and justice comes for the man with dirt on hands, boots that zip up the side, stripes on blue, hands with grease,Tom....Tommy....Timmy. Close by, walk from school to her house, you will pass within site of this man. Tan, brown car.

219: says Miller Park is bingo. (Amber was found in Hummel Park.)
263: No, I feel that she has been found. Is this the area that I mentioned before, the location of the remains is close to Water? A park, also? Let me know what else happens.

272: Has a man by the name of Darius Barnes been questioned? This man lives at the corner of the street that Amber would have taken. He is a sex offender. Contact that reporter and see if this guy has been checked out.
Another man that needs to be checked out is Darrel King, he lived very close to where the bag was found and is an SO. I feel that it will be one of these men.
The name feels to me to be Darius or Darrel. It will be someone that has seen her before and lives close, mechanic.
You can pass this on to the reporter or the police, it is my feelings and I feel that I am correct as I have been with most of the case.

(Jack took names of two sex offenders who live nearby and called them his men.)

276: To the police officer that reads this:
The man that killed the girl lives very close by, it was a crime done rapidly but the book bag kept as a trophy for some time. It was dumped there to draw attention to the SO that lives there, Darrel I think his name is. The point of where she got off and walked south then east. Close to Darrius, I keep getting this name. After death he heads straight north on road named for someone famous, girl in trunk of car as I have described, wears blue shirt, stripes. Mechanic, could be plumber. Black man, 25-40, handyman, 5'9-5'10
291:I have given the name of the person I feel is responsible, Darrius, on this thread.

296: another person sums up Jack's "clues"
324: You are correct. He could work across town or in his garage as a mechanic. I say mechanic because I feel that he wears a blue shirt with white stripes that go up and down on it. He stands next to a octagon shaped sign, hip high, He drives a beater car, like a mechanic would or low income. I feel that he works with his hands but is lazy. What other occupation would wear that shirt?
Now the question is who would be getting off of work about the time the girl went missing that lived in that vicinity that knew her? Who would that man be that would offer her a 4 block ride in his warm car just at nightfall? Or have her come in his home and get warm. Someone she trusted and knew. Who is that? He will live close by, may have helped in search, was at vigil. He is there amoung them.

343: I feel that a man is under suspicion and evidence needed. News is silent and something is known. Fingerprints in the bookbag will lead to the man but other information given helps show the entire picture of how events folded.
They watch. The man sweats and runs, Hades waits. Is Darrius home? Night comes and day is to be seen, when the sun rises, the truth be known. Comes judgement for the evil one.
From the body, insects tell date of death, burial in haiste, much too fast. Wind blows and skull is found, hear this evil one, your time has come.
The girl cries in the wind, she walks the park.

Now Jack seems to be changing his mind.
348:Justice comes for the little girl buried amoung the trees and creek nearby. Family waits for her still, but for the man that did the kill, comes Hell and the Rider is upon a horse of pale. No this man fears for comes with it judgement. To the police officer that reads this:
The man that is in the cell that drove the van with the name of Brandon is the man that have been seeing, you have the correct man. He is the killer.
352-355: Jack says Brandon is in jail right now. He also says: LE reads here and knows of my message to them, truth comes. They follow what I say. This is the man! (But what about Darrius and Darrel?)

362: This is confusing. The SO Darrius does not look like the man I see. The SO Paul Dee Roberts that lived near her is white but has disappeared. The man that I feel to be him and looks like the man I see is the man that drove a van, he is named Brandon. He was arrested for enticement of a 13 year old girl and a couple more young girls by coaxing them in his van. Something is not right.

367:This is very confusing to me, I feel Brandon English picked up the girl and is guilty but I feel that Paul Roberts is guilty as well and that he did the actual killing.At this time I feel that Brandon would find the girls and take to Roberts. Roberts killed the girl and buried her or possibly had help from Brandon. When Brandon was arrested for enticement of three girls, Roberts got afraid and split.
It is also possible that they did not know each other and Roberts saw the news of Brandon being arrested and knew that the cops were on it and it would be a matter of time until he was questioned. So he left town then. Either way, these two are my suspects and Roberts as the most likely killer. Find them and you will find the truth of the death of the girl that smiled.
And yet another change on 369: To the Police Officer that reads this: Your guilty man will be Paul Dee Roberts but you should squeeze Brandon English for what he knows. I feel there is a connection between them somehow.

496-500: Misc ramblings plus: OK, not sure if Paul Roberts is the one or the caretaker. I think the caretaker because I cannot find the address of where Roberts lived but do know that the caretaker was next door and that is what I have felt all along. I came up with Roberts because he also lived close by. My problem seems to be that I am hitting on so many slimeballs in the area it is hard to keep straight of who is who.

I know the caretaker's name and it is not Paul Roberts or anyone else named here. His name has not been made public.

(He must be getting ready to change his mind again.)

527: We need to find the name of the caretaker and where he went. I am certain that is our man. (What about Brandon and Paul?)

539: OK, now that I feel that I have scumbag, lower than dung, smegma lips, fungus on the foot, piece of dirt nailed down as the perp, I am going to try something that I did with Duncan and Rader and work on this guy's head, to get it over with, one way or the other.

There are numerous posts after this with his rambling. Roy Ellis was arrested.He is a sex offender who once lived in the house where Amber's bookbag turned up in Februrary. He also once imprisoned a woman.

599: According to Gino and the videos, Ellis moved out back in October before the girl went missing. One thing caught my attention and Ellis did take ex-girlfriend to Hummel Park to kill her according to her neighbor. But that did not happen. This took place in Sept and I feel that the police are using this info to catch him.
However I am not so certain that is the man. Also on the videos are the calculator thing and that police had been called to the boarding house 91 times. Also three men with extensive criminal records lived there. The evidence does not add up to get Ellis, only the girlfriend's story.

639: Another "psychic" says this: "Caretaker has Amber's keychains, she had a collection of keychains attached to her backpack. Clear plastic Little Kitty is on keychain too, was her favorite, showed it to mom all the time. He plays with them. Plays with the little flashlight at night. That's how she wore makeup, it was on the keychain. Hide in plain sight. Mom didn't realize makeup was on keychains, hang down long all the keychains connected. Many girls did this too."

I called the mom on this and she said that this is not true at all. Amber had no keychains as described and thought Little Kitty was dorky.


There is another thread on the forum about missing Cynthia Day wherein another pyschic gives his/her ramblings. This is also one of my cases. I asked the daughter about it and she says she knows better than that, but apparently not.

I also told Amber's mom that I would see if any of you would go there and do some gentle, but firm correction, and she was perfectly fine with that.

Thanks,
Kelly
 
My girlfriend says she saw a clip on Entertainment Tonight of James Van Praagh giving his "help" in the case of a missing person, I believe named Rachel Cook.

Did anyone else see this?

She (my GF) said that JVP was writing on a white board, and at the end of it all, they intervewed a LE person who was there, who said something to the effect of "there were a few interesting things on the board, and we will look into them."

Edited to add:

http://www.rachelcookesearch.org/
 
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My girlfriend says she saw a clip on Entertainment Tonight of James Van Praagh giving his "help" in the case of a missing person, I believe named Rachel Cook.

Did anyone else see this?

She (my GF) said that JVP was writing on a white board, and at the end of it all, they intervewed a LE person who was there, who said something to the effect of "there were a few interesting things on the board, and we will look into them."

The father of Rachel is my good friend, Robert Cooke. He feels the same way about psychics as I do, however, he made the decision to play along with them to get national media attention for Rachel. He doesn't believe in their nonsense. I would hate to be in the position of making that kind of decision. (I was once, but then the producers said no, and I was so releived!)

I can certainly ask him more about what they said.
 
The father of Rachel is my good friend, Robert Cooke. He feels the same way about psychics as I do, however, he made the decision to play along with them to get national media attention for Rachel.
What an awful position to be in. :(

I can certainly ask him more about what they said.
I would be interested to hear.

I registered at the AMW board. rjh01 is corret - the board software bites.

I had difficulty coming up with anything to say which would be calm and reasonable. I'm just not in a calm and reasonable mood recently.

Will try again later.
 
I did an advanced search and only got 20 names to choose from. Must be a small forum. There will not be many people who only lurk. They will be put off by the software.
 
I did an advanced search and only got 20 names to choose from. Must be a small forum. There will not be many people who only lurk. They will be put off by the software.

I think there are more members than the search shows. I saw other names of persons who had posted, but they weren't in there.

I can't stand the look and layout. I posted in there once a long time ago, but can't bring myself to use it because of that. I hear many people talk about it, so I suspect there more than meets the eye.
 
What an awful position to be in. :(

I would be interested to hear.

I registered at the AMW board. rjh01 is corret - the board software bites.

I had difficulty coming up with anything to say which would be calm and reasonable. I'm just not in a calm and reasonable mood recently.

Will try again later.

Fair enough.

I'll see if Robert is ready to talk about it. The last time we spoke, he did not want to, I think, for fear that if any network people got wind of his position on it, that they wouldn't broadcast it.
 
There is a link that says 'show more visitors'. I clicked on that and got a list of visitors to the forum. I then copied a month's worth of visitors to my spreadsheet.

A lot of people who visit only do so once every few days or weeks. They have 395 odd registered people visit the site since May 9. Not sure how many people visit without registering.

So it may be bigger than what I said in my previous post, but it still is only a small site.

When you say you have heard a lot of people talking about it are they talking about the website rather than the forum?
 

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