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If anyone has jeopardized this case it is the Twitty family themselves.

I agree.

And they've done it, for the most part, with the megaphone provided by the cable news networks.

BHT's visit to the internet cafe/ Deepak Kalpoe is where I think they (BHT and NBC) really crossed the line...wading into witness tampering and attempting to bribe a witness territory.

But, it remains to be seen if there is even enough evidence to make this case prosecutable.

What has become increasingly apparent is that the 'news' in this case has the look of being scripted. Every week there is a different story line...one week it was 'Beth Visits Deepak', another week it was the recycled 'Natalee was assaulted/ raped' story, then 'The Searcher's Spar', 'The Incredible Disappearing Gardener', and this week, it's the 'Joran Interview' episode. Long ago this story left 'News' terrain and morphed into a soap opera/ mini-series/ reality TV 'show' with the 'news programmers' scrambling to extend the shelf life of what, for several weeks, has been appearing to be a cold case.

Exotic tropical backdrop. Somehow, I don't think there would have been the same enthusiasm on the part of the newsies if this had happened in Bismarck, ND.

I think your doubts are already proven wrong.

Lacy Peterson was headline news for months and that was without a bungled case from the start, intentional or not.

Look what it took to knock the Chandry Levy case out of the headlines. And several others in recent years have carried the headlines until they were resolved. Lori Hacking is one.

The internet's influence on news grows as the internet grows. Some might think it's a bad thing. I think it's a good thing.

Excellent points and you nailed it. The Twittys and media have developed an unhealthy symbiotic relationship. They need each other for survival.

"Exotic tropical backdrop. Somehow, I don't think there would have been the same enthusiasm on the part of the newsies if this had happened in Bismarck, ND."

Since you mentioned this, here is a case in point. My daughter went to high school with the currently missing girl in Columbus, maybe you have heard of this case, Julie Popovich? (I know we haven't really heard a lot about it, only little snips in between the Natalee debacle.) As a matter of fact, my husband knows her grandfather very well, he is a retired Columbus firefighter and just devastated. We even ate at the restaurant where she worked the other night, her co-workers are equally devastated. Did you know that they found her I.D. in an area around a water dam? No, I don't suppose anyone has heard that because they have been more interested in what Joran looks like in jail. Incidentally, Julie was missing for five days before they started the search. Does anyone think this could be a cover-up?

Somehow, I don't think there would have been the same enthusiasm on the part of the newsies if this had happened in Bismarck, ND.

That may in part be true. Yes, Natalee was the pretty petite princess, and it is doubtful we would feel an emotional attachment for the kid in Bismark, N.D. It's impossible to sustain high emotional involvement, with every case, and so we focus on one that appeals to us. That said, Natalee's case is representative of our hatred for all evil and injustice we see in the world, including the kid is Bismark, N.D. It is simply wrong to conclude we are unloving because we do not have an emotional attachment with everyone.

BHT's visit to the internet cafe/ Deepak Kalpoe is where I think they (BHT and NBC) really crossed the line...wading into witness tampering and attempting to bribe a witness territory.

This really seems to miss the point...she went there to beg for information to find her daughter. And why you and others here believe that she should subordinate this instinct (one of the most basic) to the dictates of a justice system that has proved unworthy is beyond puzzling.