The Internet & Kyron's Case - Helping or Hurting?

[kgeaux]

At this point, with most effort by Internet & ChatHounds being expended to speculate and spin yarn after yarn of what could have or might have happened to Kyron, based on nothing but imagination and projection of what the poster would do in situation x, y or z, I'd say it's hurting a lot more than helping.

Pointing fingers without knowing the details, random speculation, passing along rumors or even creating new rumors...none of it helps Kyron. All it does is fan the flames of random rumor flotsam and ultimately create more junk in the sphere.

Kyron needs people to search inch by inch through that county, he doesn't need gossipmongers spreading rumors. And when they're done with that county they need to move on to the next one, and then the one after that. THAT would help Kyron more than spewing theories into the ether, IMHO.

I could have just hit the "Thanks" button, but I agree with you so much that I wanted your post to show up one more time!

 

[RoughlyCollie]

You don't go to forums to get your news, surely. You go to reputable, nationally known news sources, don't you?

I come to WS to get my news -- straight from the links to reputable news sources which are posted here.

 

[ella971]

I come to WS to get my news -- straight from the links to reputable news sources which are posted here.

First thing I hit in the morning! Thank You Websleuths!

 

[brighidin]

I thought that maybe I had been mistaken that her FB acct had been deleted as I looked later (don't know when) and it was made private.

Because I had looked and it came up deleted for me on some date (don't remember what date)

But then it came up later (at some date that I don't remember), as private.

Therefore, I believe at some time it was deleted and then returned as private.

How does that work?

Delete it and then what?

Accounts can be deactivated. When you deactivate your account, and someone searches for you, it will be like your account never existed, at least publicly. You can also make it so that people can't search for you, or send you a friend request. It seems as though that is what TH's privacy settings are, because she does have an account. Her profile picture is a cute one of her and the three kids. You can't find it if you search for it, but if you look through someone else's friend's list and she is their FB friend, you can see that she does still have an account.

 

[miabellamoure]

At this point, with most effort by Internet & ChatHounds being expended to speculate and spin yarn after yarn of what could have or might have happened to Kyron, based on nothing but imagination and projection of what the poster would do in situation x, y or z, I'd say it's hurting a lot more than helping.

Pointing fingers without knowing the details, random speculation, passing along rumors or even creating new rumors...none of it helps Kyron. All it does is fan the flames of random rumor flotsam and ultimately create more junk in the sphere.

Kyron needs people to search inch by inch through that county, he doesn't need gossipmongers spreading rumors. And when they're done with that county they need to move on to the next one, and then the one after that. THAT would help Kyron more than spewing theories into the ether, IMHO.

I would have to agree with you about gossipmongers (trolls), etc & 100% on the search aspect!

However, with that said it is the country that we live in that allows us the freedom to think independently & aloud even on the net which could aid in solving this case & bringing Kyron home.

 

[SleuthyGal]

freedom to think independently & aloud even on the net which could aid in solving this case & bringing Kyron home.

Freedom is good!
Thinking is good!
Being independent is good!

I still submit that none of the stories of people's kids in their classrooms/schools in Timbuktu, what they think they'd do if they had a child go missing, what they 'believe' could have happened to Kyron when they try and come up with theories, actually have ANYTHING to do with Kyron's case.

In fact, it has nothing to do with Kyron and it's just people yak-yaking for entertainment. And that's fine. But I'm not going to pretend as if it has any evidentiary value or relevance to Kyron's case.

Because the reality is: if we're not right there, on the 'inside,' working the case, searching for Kyron, searching for physical evidence in and around the school, conducting interviews with intimates of Kyron or interviewing witnesses, or with the FBI doing profiling and advising LE, then by default we're ChatHounds yakking away on the 'net.

It's what people do. It's human nature. But neither is it solving this case or going to solve the case. Only physically searching for Kyron in every square inch of that county is going to help solve this case (or else a direct witness coming forward or someone confessing).

 

[Torn2pieces]

There's a setting on FB that you can change - It will not show you, if someone searches for you.

So, if Someone is searching for you - they won't see you.

It's possible that's what occurred with her page -she changed the privacy setting, so it looks like her account is gone.

 

[kgeaux]

I come to WS to get my news -- straight from the links to reputable news sources which are posted here.

Me, too! We are very lucky to have a well-moderated site that includes links. But not everyone comes here for their news, and frankly, some sites allow speculation and rumor to be stated as fact and don't require any type of link. I believe that there are many people who don't realize that what they are reading isn't actually verified fact.

 

[kgeaux]

Freedom is good!
Thinking is good!
Being independent is good!

I still submit that none of the stories of people's kids in their classrooms/schools in Timbuktu, what they think they'd do if they had a child go missing, what they 'believe' could have happened to Kyron when they try and come up with theories, actually have ANYTHING to do with Kyron's case.

In fact, it has nothing to do with Kyron and it's just people yak-yaking for entertainment. And that's fine. But I'm not going to pretend as if it has any evidentiary value or relevance to Kyron's case.

Because the reality is: if we're not right there, on the 'inside,' working the case, searching for Kyron, searching for physical evidence in and around the school, conducting interviews with intimates of Kyron or interviewing witnesses, or with the FBI doing profiling and advising LE, then by default we're ChatHounds yakking away on the 'net.

It's what people do. It's human nature. But neither is it solving this case or going to solve the case. Only physically searching for Kyron in every square inch of that county is going to help solve this case (or else a direct witness coming forward or someone confessing).

I'm not aware of any missing persons cases being solved by internet sleuthers, but I sure have been wrong before, may be wrong now, and will surely be wrong again! I do know that internet sleuthers have been instrumental in identifying the unidentified, enabling families to finally be able to put their loved ones to rest.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I agree with you---at least to a certain degree, I am very proud of the work many of our fellow internet sleuthers have done and I want to acknowledge them and the good they've done.

 

[Donjeta]

I don't believe that internet sleuthing solves many missing persons cases because whatever we can find on the internet the investigators can find too and since they have more information the chances are that they've already looked at anything remotely relevant before interested outsiders get there.

But if it helps spread information about the missing person it can be immensely helpful if it reaches the one person who can give the final tip.

 

[Charlie09]

I'm not aware of any missing persons cases being solved by internet sleuthers, but I sure have been wrong before, may be wrong now, and will surely be wrong again! I do know that internet sleuthers have been instrumental in identifying the unidentified, enabling families to finally be able to put their loved ones to rest.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I agree with you---at least to a certain degree, I am very proud of the work many of our fellow internet sleuthers have done and I want to acknowledge them and the good they've done.

I think one of the mods could answer, but I'm pretty sure there have been unidentified murder victims identified after sleuthers did their thing. Nearly always there seems to be local people who can call in tips, we may not actually know when it was a tip here (or any forum) that pushed LE into a new direction that solves a case.

 

[arielilane]

The Internet has provided a lot of pictures of Kyron and his family. He is an adorable sweet and precious child that looked like he was having a great childhood. How very sad that it has come to this...THe below link provided many pictures, however, I cannot locate even one picture of Kyron with SM. There are pictures of Kyron and his mom, Kyron and his dad, and Kyron and his step-dad.

Has anyone seen a picture with Kyron and SM? TIA

http://topics.oregonlive.com/tag/kyron horman/index.html

I didn't know where to post this because it would be a bit off topic and I didn't want to start a new thread.

 

[Wendy101]

I think internet is the reason Kyrons case is well known, it is National (I think )

Without human interest, news stationsor papers are NOT interested, they are looking for ratings, so whatever the "public" is up in arms about, is what they are going to report on.. it's almost like WE (the public) are the BOSS of the news !!LOL

 

[DairyGirl]

I'm not aware of any missing persons cases being solved by internet sleuthers, but I sure have been wrong before, may be wrong now, and will surely be wrong again! I do know that internet sleuthers have been instrumental in identifying the unidentified, enabling families to finally be able to put their loved ones to rest.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I agree with you---at least to a certain degree, I am very proud of the work many of our fellow internet sleuthers have done and I want to acknowledge them and the good they've done.

Robert Hall was found due to a Websleuth members dilligence. He went missing in his car and because of her awareness on the case one member happened to look at a body of water on the route he went missing from and saw a car antenna sticking out of the water. His family was able to have closure because of this. http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94167&highlight=robert+hall.
The point is the internet does help find missing people. Not always but I am sure more then one case was solved because people interested in a missing person's case has been able to spot something or conduct a search that lead to a discovery. I found out about Kyron being missing on the internet, although I am local and would have found out anyway due to the news. My eyes are peeled, as are thousands of other eyes. Remember Caylee wasn't found by LE she was found by a person that followed a hunch. I have a feeling this one may be, too.

 

[DairyGirl]

The Internet has provided a lot of pictures of Kyron and his family. He is an adorable sweet and precious child that looked like he was having a great childhood. How very sad that it has come to this...THe below link provided many pictures, however, I cannot locate even one picture of Kyron with SM. There are pictures of Kyron and his mom, Kyron and his dad, and Kyron and his step-dad.

Has anyone seen a picture with Kyron and SM? TIA

http://topics.oregonlive.com/tag/kyron horman/index.html

I didn't know where to post this because it would be a bit off topic and I didn't want to start a new thread.

If you are able to find SM's Facebook link there is a picture of her and the kids on there, taken about a year ago. I am sure I have seen other pictures of her with Kyron, too. I'm not sure why none were included in the recent pictures that were put out but I have a feeling that wasn't an accident.

 

[GrainneDhu]

At this point, with most effort by Internet & ChatHounds being expended to speculate and spin yarn after yarn of what could have or might have happened to Kyron, based on nothing but imagination and projection of what the poster would do in situation x, y or z, I'd say it's hurting a lot more than helping.

SBM

I agree with all that you wrote. The above stood out for me because I suddenly realised that if TMH did all the things that people have said online that she "should" be doing, based on their own projections, she'd need an army of clones to do it all.

Which would have a certain entertainment factor but it still wouldn't bring Kyron home.

 

[SleuthyGal]

Robert Hall was found due to a Websleuth members dilligence. He went missing in his car and because of her awareness on the case one member happened to look at a body of water on the route he went missing from and saw a car antenna sticking out of the water.

I think internet is the reason Kyrons case is well known

I think it would be great if Oregon-area sleuths would search for Kyron. There are so many tree and shrub-covered areas, ponds, and places he could be. Every square inch of a 10 or 20mi area needs to be combed thoroughly. People need to search waterways, etc. This is a physical task and it will probably take many thousands of people to cover all the areas.

Everyone who watches any news knows what Kyron looks like now. Even if someone doesn't have a computer and access to the Internet, Kyron's story has been featured on the cover of People, on news shows, local and national newscasts.

The best use of the Internet in a case like this is not to spew rumor after rumor about the SM and/or the family, or for a poster to share cute stories about what their child did during their own science fair in 2003, but to use the Internet as the tool it is and can be: to plan, to communicate, to organize, to conduct and then to report on search efforts. There can be real-time updates using the Internet. People are needed on the ground, in the water, in every place in that area to physically search for him.

That's what ultimately gets the job done to find missing persons and victims of crimes, esp. when the crime area is likely contained to a single county and probably within a 10mi radius.

 

[Flow]

JMO

The answer to the question depends on what happened to Kyron. If he was snatched and spirited out of the area then I would say Yes. Otherwise, the grapevine and the media in his area would probably be sufficient.

Twenty years ago if a child was reported missing in your area, would you know about it? I think you probably would. The same people who are reading about this on the internet would be the types that would have kept up with their local news in the days before the internet.

 

[txsvicki]

This case seems different from all others I've read about since finding crime message boards. From the beginning, based mostly on a few fb postings and body language, even national TV shows pointed fingers at Terri.

 

[nnrpece]

Good Morning, The internet helping or hindering all depends on what is said.
Rumors, speculations, and bashing is harmful . It has the possibility of sending searchers in the wrong area and wasting valuable time and energy, it could create a mob mentality and someone could get hurt, and it certainly hurts family members along with what would Kyron think about these things being said about his family. If the bloggers are sincere, and feel a sense compassion in finding Kyron, then it spreads the word of him being out there somewhere with his description, his likes,etc. it keeps the story alive. How many of these stories do we see fall by the wayside and years go by with nothing accomplished. I personally think the stories need to be kept alive and blogging about them in a productive way helps. It also shows humanity, and that is something we need to see in this crazy mixed up, yet beautiful world.
I truly hope they find out something soon and this does not become another statistic of a cold case.