I'm curious as to why you would doubt this.
To: sandude
"I believe that MK's statements have been consistent and LE and the family have gone to great lengths to not influence her memories."
This is what we have been told publicly by LE, and I can't fault you for buying it. Maybe it's true. Just for fun (and the entertainment of others) let me expound a bit on my reasons for finding MK's story implausible.
I assume you have seen a layout of the Smart home. The bedroom from which Elizabeth was allegedly abducted is on the same floor and in very close proximity to other bedrooms. Not only this, but she actually shared a bed with another sibling. In order to get down the stairs, Elizabeth had to be marched right past the door to her parents' bedroom. There have been reports that Elizabeth and her abductor even stopped by the bathroom during the abduction. We have been lead to believe that Elizabeth was forced to go with this man against her will. In my mind, this scenario is pushing the envelope at best. This modus operandus would have involved an incredible amount of risk to the perpetrator. Although it has been argued otherwise, I find it very hard to believe that a 14 y/o girl and her 9 y/o sister would both remain absolutely quiet during a forced abduction as has been described. Even if attempts were made to remain silent, I find it hard to believe that two parents in the next room would sleep through all of this activity.
I also have problems with the presence of so many friends and neighbors on the scene when the police arrived. According to police reports, these neighbors had not only entered the house, but had also been outside of the home quite literally "beating the bushes" in search of Elizabeth. Did these people have no concern for their own safety? What if someone had actually found that "armed gunman" hiding in the bushes? Were entire families brought to the Smart home to face the possibility of encountering an armed gunman......or were family members left behind unguarded in a neighborhood where an armed kidnapper reportedly lurked? In my mind, the behavior of the neighbors is inconsistent with the belief that a dangerous gunman was running loose in the neighborhood. I would think that their primary thoughts would have been for the safety of their own families.
Perhaps what makes me most doubtful about the abduction story is the lack of "fleshing out" of details. In addition to the lack of a physical description, we have not been told how the alleged perpetrator entered the house, how he left, what he said, what Elizabeth said, what Elizabeth's emotional reactions were, where MK's second sighting of the abductor took place, how MK knew that 2 hours had passed before running to her parents......in short, we don't have enough details to actually envision what we are being told happened. Perhaps the police have their reasons for keeping such details to themselves, but I can't imagine what they might be. I can't recall another child abduction case wherein the details of the actual event were kept so closely guarded.
All of these questions have been discussed here previously, and I know that others have their own thoughts on the feasibility of the abduction story. I will say that I was very encouraged by Jeanne Boylan's remarks following her interview with MK. Whatever she got from that interview, she seemed to me to be very upbeat, very impressed with the way the case was being handled, and very hopeful for a positive outcome.
413 posted on 8/22/02 6:20 PM Pacific by freedox