[drjulie]

"I mean, when a loved one is missing and you're looking frantically, I call that panic and fear--not grief!"

Exactly - also it is normal to see denial at a time like this.

[Devil_Anse]

And as for denial, well, he didn't appear to be in that. He lapsed into past tense at least once during that interview--I think it was when he was describing Laci's "meticulous" cleaning habits.

He does, however, appear to be in denial about the fact that it is a BIG DEAL when someone disappears and is later found dead on a seashore!