Elizabeth Smart speaks re Maddie

jay2001 wrote:How do these people live with themselves? Making money from missing children and dodgy abductions. There seems to be a lot of moolah to be made from dodgy dealings in the name of charity.


Sickening!

Note Elizabeth Smart (together with her father Ed Smart, Gerry's buddy) run the "Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which works to educate parents and guardians to prevent children from going missing".

They actually accept donations, "to prevent children from going missing".

There is no wonder that Gerry McCann found time to meet with Ed Smart after his White House(?) meeting.

(See also, on another thread, "Elizabeth Smart Adds to the Madelein McCann Misinformation Factory" for an expert's take on Elizabeth Smart's comments.)

halfamo wrote:I‘ve never felt comfortable about the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart something never sat right with me about the whole thing.

Yes, me too. Eldest daughter 'abducted' for 9 months then, she is found. doesn't seem to be traumatised then gets married quickly. Perhaps I'm just cynical.

When Elizabeth disappeared, I saw real panic and anguish in her parents... Elizabeth's mum was frantic and could barely speak, and Ed Smart was rushed to hospital at one point. They were both in a state of shock and near hysteria in my opinion, and I absolutely believed they did not know what had happened to Elizabeth.

Ed Smart very unwisely hired ex cons and homeless people to do chores around his home... and his children were encouraged to be polite and kind to people from all walks of life. They were very well behaved and gentle children. One man who the police considered a suspect, had various items in his home that he had stolen whilst doing chores around the Smarts home.... but I never believed he was involved, as he was a petty thief and had never harmed or been interested in children.

I believe Elizabeth was indeed abducted by this mad man.... and I am happy to see her finding love and marriage and hopefully living a normal life. Her parents seem very loving to me... but I believe they were very naive to encourage their children to be so approachable, and they were all way too trusting of people.

It doesn't surprise me one bit that the Smarts have been taken in by the McCanns and their façade..... they would be putty in their hands (imho).

I'm going to have a good read up about this case when I have more time to see if I can decide whether in my opinion this was a genuine abduction. Fred, it was nine years before Elizabeth got married so I don't think that is too soon after the traumatic events.

Personally I wasn't interested in the Smart affair, in fact I'd never heard of the Smarts until GM jetted over to the White House and it was reported that he had met with Ed Smart during that trip. A true wtf moment for me. The father of a small child allegedly just been abducted, leaving his wife and remaining children alone to jet off across the Atlantic to meet US government officials at the White House and meet up with Ed Smart was a red-flag which only strengthened my initial doubts about the veracity of the McCanns' abduction story. How on earth could all this have been arranged in the short time following the alleged abduction? What possible purpose could it serve?

T4two wrote:Personally I wasn't interested in the Smart affair, in fact I'd never heard of the Smarts until GM jetted over to the White House and it was reported that he had met with Ed Smart during that trip. A true wtf moment for me. The father of a small child allegedly just been abducted, leaving his wife and remaining children alone to jet off across the Atlantic to meet US government officials at the White House and meet up with Ed Smart was a red-flag which only strengthened my initial doubts about the veracity of the McCanns' abduction story. How on earth could all this have been arranged in the short time following the alleged abduction? What possible purpose could it serve?

Careful T4two!
You're beginning to sound like a conspiracy theorist!

T4two wrote:Personally I wasn't interested in the Smart affair, in fact I'd never heard of the Smarts until GM jetted over to the White House and it was reported that he had met with Ed Smart during that trip. A true wtf moment for me. The father of a small child allegedly just been abducted, leaving his wife and remaining children alone to jet off across the Atlantic to meet US government officials at the White House and meet up with Ed Smart was a red-flag which only strengthened my initial doubts about the veracity of the McCanns' abduction story. How on earth could all this have been arranged in the short time following the alleged abduction? What possible purpose could it serve?

Imo it was the whole point of the exercise. Globe trotting ambassador for children/Amber alert/ microchipping/ etc.
In his blog there is an entry I'm trying to find again, quite early July or so - to the effect that no suitable children's charities had as yet presented themselves to Kate.
The US trip was a bit of a disappointment, although he got to the White House - no president just a side-kick. After Rome having prepared itself for their visit, Washington didn't seem too interested. At a later date they hi-jacked the European Amber Alert system, from the newspapers you'd think it was their baby - gave a power-point presentation for MEP's - whilst the thing had already been accepted or tabled in 2006!
That didn't work either. Diddums.

tigger wrote:

T4two wrote:Personally I wasn't interested in the Smart affair, in fact I'd never heard of the Smarts until GM jetted over to the White House and it was reported that he had met with Ed Smart during that trip. A true wtf moment for me. The father of a small child allegedly just been abducted, leaving his wife and remaining children alone to jet off across the Atlantic to meet US government officials at the White House and meet up with Ed Smart was a red-flag which only strengthened my initial doubts about the veracity of the McCanns' abduction story. How on earth could all this have been arranged in the short time following the alleged abduction? What possible purpose could it serve?

Imo it was the whole point of the exercise. Globe trotting ambassador for children/Amber alert/ microchipping/ etc.
In his blog there is an entry I'm trying to find again, quite early July or so - to the effect that no suitable children's charities had as yet presented themselves to Kate.
The US trip was a bit of a disappointment, although he got to the White House - no president just a side-kick. After Rome having prepared itself for their visit, Washington didn't seem too interested. At a later date they hi-jacked the European Amber Alert system, from the newspapers you'd think it was their baby - gave a power-point presentation for MEP's - whilst the thing had already been accepted or tabled in 2006!
That didn't work either. Diddums.

So they were expecting an approach to them to perhaps be figureheads for a charity?