Judging by the sneering tone of this blog post, Gawker blogger Adrien Chen does not find the following evidence compelling in the case of missing Portland second-grader, Kyron Horman, but I’m not so sure.
Site I’ve never heard of before, MomLogic, thinks Horman’s parents’ Facebook usage suspicious, saying:
Kyron’s stepmom has gotten criticism for posting trivial messages on Facebook (such as, “Hitting the gym tomorrow”) since her stepson has gone missing. She didn’t change her profile pic to one of Kyron for six whole days — even though her husband and countless friends and concerned strangers all did.
The Gawker post goes on to quote KATU, which talked to a criminal profiler about this evidence, saying:
“What I know from being an investigator and dealing with parents in tragic situations like this – homicides, kidnappings, stuff like that – they just really couldn’t much function other than to sit and wait for us to call,” he said.
I’m not interested in a lot of speculation about a case that feels sadder as each day passes, but I do want to know what you guys think of this kind of Facebook “evidence”. Is Chen being unfair by dismissing Facebook activity as evidence or are MomLogic and KATU just grasping at straws? Is there something inherently silly about drawing conclusions like this from a social networking site?
Whether or not the family, or some member of it, is responsible for the boy’s disappearance (and whatever his current fate may be), they are one weird family. I mean, some semblance of normal life goes on at some point, but it is far too soon for that.
She might simply be one of those completely unplugged from empathy humanoids that are walking around. It doesn’t necessarily mean she made him disappear, but doesn’t make her look too good in everyone’s eyes. I also think CSI and countless other post-mortem operas have made everyone think that they’re a detective.
I think everyone secretly loves being part of a lynch mob and at the moment the stepmom makes for the likeliest villain. I don’t know if she’s involved, but to convict her based on facebook updates is fucking stupid. People react differently in stressful situations — there is no “right” way — and having your child missing is about the most stressful I can think of.
I think the combination of Mommy blogs and C.W. Jensen makes for some might fine Kool-Aid!
I watched 12 Monkeys last night, and afterwards I was thinking, “HOAX, HOAX, where is the monkey with the sandwich?” Then I came to my fucking senses, and stopped playing CSI based on 2 minute KATU pieces.
Internet–
Gawker++
The kid is wearing a CSI shirt in that photo. I think it’s pretty common in these cases for the public to blame the parent. KATU is just fishing for a story – which is their job.
Grief is an animal with a life and a mind of its own. We can’t begin to speculate as to “normal” behavior of any party to a crisis such as this. I just want us to find this little dude and get to the truth. Once he’s safe, we can play all the social games we can stomach as a culture.
Because the first thing I want to post about on Facebook is my missing stepson.
If I had a facebook account, that is exactly the first thing I’d post. Why wouldn’t you use it as the tool it’s designed for (but implemented horribly.)
Hoofbeats/horses,smoke/fire.
Going to the gym is just beyond weird, under the circumstances. Your kid could be strangled and tied to a tree, and you are going to walk on a treadmill????
And then talk about it on facebook????
Whoever thinks this isn’t suspicious doesn’t have kids.
(Psst…the family’s name is Horman.)
I’ve known two families who lost their kids to abduction and/or murder. In both cases, the people just came completely unhinged and started acting out of character for themselves, and did stuff you would never think a “normal” person whose kid had just been kidnapped would do. They didn’t go screaming and ranting, they just got…different. It’s a profound mental rupture. The point being, it’s such a horrible and rare event that you can’t possibly criticize someone for doing something that doesn’t seem like a rational thing to do under those circumstances.
If profiling a profile can presume guilt, it can also presume innocence—making Facebook one easy alibi generator. IF, by any chance, she’s not guilty, what does that make those who beat up on a mom with a lost kid? And MomLogic criticize OTHERS for lacking empathy?
If MomLogic was my parent, I’d be a homeless crackwhore in SoCal just to spite the hypocritic bitch.
When I get stressed or can’t get out of an anxiety loop, I go to the gym. Sometimes when you feel like your going to go crazy and your mind is running in circles and your worried and feel sick you just need to DO something. Posting it on Facebook is kind of weird but again people do weird things when horrible things happen.
I feel like it’s probably a reasonable response….your life has been completely upended, and you’re probably grasping for some semblance of normalcy.
It’s also probably a defense mechanism to try and show friends and neighbors that she’s doing okay, all things considered. “I’m going to the gym” probably translates to those she’s talking with regularly as “I’m feeling well enough to leave the house today.”
As for the “she didn’t even change her Facebook pic to be Kyron until a week later!” comment, that’s actually pretty offensive to the family. Um, if my child went missing, the last thing on my mind would be changing my Facebook photo.
1. Fixed the spelling of the last name, nobody panic.
2. Inferring guilt because someone isn’t grieving the way you think they should is tacky and insensitive. It’s not a spectator sport. Get your own tragedy.
Kyron went missing from school. Where were the installed school cameras surrounding the elementary school and surrounding the school to extend to the streets, where children are sometimes forced iinto cars and that way the cars , abductor and the license plates may be seen as well. The young boy was taken from the school grounds, so in essence, the scool was the baby sitter in this case. Many crimes have taken place in schools now for many yrs. and we need to “get with the program” so to speak, this is 2010 now and old days of children being safe at school does not exist now with the changing times.
He sure did do a wonderful job on his science fair project. Look at how colorful it is. I pray they find him.
Whew, thanks for fixing the spelling Alison. That was stupid of me.
And thanks for all the insight, dudes. I think MomLogic and KATU are being ridiculous, but I also found the tone of Gawker’s post kind of off-putting. I understand how this kind of finger-pointing and scapegoating can happen when people feel helpless during a tragedy, but it’s a dangerous response. I’m glad you guys found some meaty logic between the two sides better than I could when I hurriedly posted this last night in between duties at my real job.
“It’s not a spectator sport. Get your own tragedy.”
Says the cutesy pretendo-weekly that CONSTANTLY does shit like this…
People react differently. All those who want to come to very serious conclusions based on a trip to a gym scare me. Police always conduct a parallel investigation in a missing child case. It doesn’t mean they have any particular evidence of parental involvement it simply is a routine focus. Polygraphs are sought. It doesn’t mean the police have any reason to suspect any lack of honesty. You’ve all seen the signs: In God We Trust … all others we polygraph! Its routine.
Rumors about cell phone pings? Many cell phone pings will be from towers that are not the geographically closest tower. Cell phones handshake electronically with multiple towers and settle amongst themselves which tower is getting a strong signal and has a low workload at the time. Its not always the closest tower that handles your calls.
Sheriffs like to say No Comment. Its not a good thing to do but people who go into police work are not the types to be open and communicative. Sheriffs do not like to work while subject to public oversight but the role of the press is to make certain that officials are held to account for their performance in office.
Interpersonal dynamics in a marriage during an event such as this? Go watch Humphrey Bogart’s In A Lonely Place!