Excellent point. I have had some of the same feelings about Salt Lake as Mr. Rollins has. One of the charming things about the city is that it has an almost small town feel to it. That is changing as crime rates go up and the people are surely more on gaurd now than before the unfortunate events of this summer. I haven't lived there for many years so my opinions are somewhat dated but it always seemed to me that there was a rather large segment of the LDS population there that would benefit greatly by getting out of Salt Lake for a year or two to see how the rest of the world lives. This could be said about the people from any small town in the country, especially where there was a dominant faith. Some of my favorite people in all of the world live in Salt Lake but I also know some people who have blinders on as to what goes on in the world.
Thank you, sandude. You have very aptly stated one of the reasons that I have never completely discounted the "runaway" theory. It seemed to me that many were too quick to believe the adamant claims that Elizabeth had absolutely no interest in boys, that she preferred the company of her immediate family to that of her peers, that practicing the harp 3 hours a day was how she wanted to spend her time, and that she was totally happy with her life. In short, it seemed to me that those who failed to question that description of a 14 y/o girl "had blinders on as to what goes in the world."
I sincerely hope that LE has far more information in this case than has been made public, and I suspect that they do. At this point, the runaway/willing accomplice scenario provides the greatest hope of Elizabeth being found alive and well. Those of us who have continued to consider the possibility of a runaway have been attacked repeatedly for "lack of evidence." I think that informed statements such as yours provide at least a modicum of evidence for holding open that possibility.