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A neighbor has described this girl's parents as having been "very protective" of her.....so protective that she was not allowed to attend sleep-overs at a nearby friend's house. Perhaps the parents had a problem with her attending a sleep-over at this particular home, but this bit of information makes me wonder just how restrictive home life was for this girl. At any rate, these do not sound like the sort of parents who would allow their daughter unsupervised access to internet chat rooms. Like you, I find the 9 year old's story a bit suspicious. I would be curious to know how she described her sister's reactions during the alleged abduction.

Two sisters who were good friends of mine while I was growing were never allowed to sleep over at anyone else's house. Their parents weren't particularly restrictive but just felt it was good common sense for parents to have their children under their own roof at night, to keep them away from potentially unsavory situations where peer pressure might be a factor. They didn't see any reason why their children couldn't have a full social life without staying overnight at other people's houses. I tend to agree.