I don't think they tried to fool anyone. They are guilty of being negligent and in la la land. I DO believe they are loving parents...just not an ounce of common sense. My kids have friends who have loving, caring parents but don't have a CLUE about the real world. I see it everyday and it makes me crazy. I have a friend who's the NICEST woman in the world...I adore her. But she's dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to her kids. I think these parents fit into this category. Too bad there's not a test before one becomes a parent.
God forbid you and your family should come under the lens of a microscope and be judged by people like you.
I agree with you to a point, but the quote you reference in your post #8 of the uncle saying "It's a beautiful story" makes all the difference to me, in this case. That one inadvertent comment told me from the gitgo that there was a hidden side to this whole thing, and the Smarts knew more than they ever revealed. Probably even to the cops.
No screenwriter is ever going to explore that dark area in the telling of the story. It'll simply be TV fodder as a story of a family's struggle, with a happy ending. I think only the Smarts know the true plotline here, and they obviously ain't tellin'. That's the story I want to hear.