The Loveshade Family Blog

(Alden Loveshade is a freelance writer who became involved in a political protest while vacationing in Boulder, Colorado, some time before JonBenét Ramsey (sometimes spelled JonBenet Ramsey) was reported missing.  Alden has been following the Ramsey case ever since.)

Yes, the story about the parents of JonBenét Ramsey being cleared--again--came out a few days ago.  This time, it was "touch" evidence, DNA that was left on the girl's panties that didn't fit anyone in the family.  Sadly, mother Patsy Ramsey didn't live to see this, but her husband John and much of the rest of the family did--after living under the horror of suspicion for almost 12 years.

So why am I writing about it now and not a few days ago?

I hesitated doing an entry at all, as I largely said what I wanted to say in a previous post (http://loveshade.org/blog/2006/08/jon_benet_ramsey_murder_case_h.html)

The reason I posted is this.  Lou Smit, a former special investigator for the Boulder district attorney's office, made a statement that could once again fan the flames of paranoia.  In fact, it seems intended to do so.  "He is still out there, he could be preying on children right now."

First off, "he" may well be in prison or dead.  JonBenét's death happened at the end of 1996, over 11 years ago.  Has America had a rash of preteen beauty queen deaths for the past 11 years?  Actually, the rate of girls in those pageants raised significantly shortly after the reports, but the deaths haven't.

Second, if he is still in America (remember that the most recent suspect was in Thailand), he may well be bothering no one right now.  One killing, as horrible as it was, doesn't mean they'll be more.

Third, even if he is in America and is actively looking for victims (which would be extremely unlikely), he's one person in 300,000,000.  Children are much more likely to be in danger because their parents don't insist they wear their seatbelts, or don't have working smoke detectors in their bedrooms, or because they overfeed the kids sugar- and fat-laden junk food.

In fact, children, and later as teenagers, are much more likely to be in danger because they haven't been prepared to deal with life, rather than be protected from some random stranger.  Children are much more likely to be harmed by their parents, grandparents and siblings than by someone they don't know.

Check the names on those missing child milk cartons--often, the last names of the child and the suspected "kidnapper" are the same.  Even when they aren't, the "abductors" are usually parents or grandparents, often responding to what they see as an unfair decision in a custody dispute.

Protect your children when they need to be protected, yes.  Prepare them for life, yes.  But let's not go around being paranoid, making false accusations, and ruining people's lives because we're afraid of the boogeyman.

See stories at http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5356818 and http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j-sLk6K-keG-1TECxtjUJEtHDycgD91T51HO1