i think there is a mild possibility these cases could be related..... but its hard to tell.... i do think both were abducted or lured though
I agree. I think there's a much higher chance her case is related to another than of it being a runaway situation. There are exceptions to every trend, reported or otherwise, but Abby just does not fit the profile of a runaway. She is in what appears to be a loving relationship and she and her friends come off happy and intelligent in their postings to each other. 14 can be a tough age, especially with the confusion of transitioning to high school, but she was already involved extracurricularly, just like her sister. If only more teenagers could find themselves with (admittedly external) stability like that, but unfortunately you will find a complete lack thereof with most endangered runaways. Drugs, broken homes, bad groups of "friends" promising glamour or a way out, older boyfriends with rep sheets, etc. They will have had a history of it, most of the time.
In some first-time cases with girls who are more like Abby, a couple might run away together. They tend to leave clues/signs behind. Ruling that out, girls from both types of backgrounds are lured away by internet predators. Is it within the realm of possibility Abby met someone who caught on to her maturity, and exploited her lack of
emotional maturity? Yes, but LE would know this by know. Even if she were using a burner phone, going through that length of deception would leave some sort of sign, I think, that her boyfriend would have noticed. But he seems completely blindsided. And no matter the lengths she was going to to cover up this communication and whatever plan resulted from it, the initial contact had to have been made
somewhere. Facebook messages and website/app communications can't be made to disappear so easily, and let's say she were active on some sort of chat site or message boarda sudden erasure of history would be a pretty big red-flag. One that would've at least been insinuated in press conferences.
So I don't think she would've been able to hide it. And I don't think LE would hide it from us. I feel like all the recent cases involving younger girls/internet predators have had the following in common: 1) some sort of mental/emotional vulnerability on the part of the girl OR a history of the behavior, 2) an IMMEDIATE media disclosure regarding the online predator's involvement, and 3) recovery within a few days.
That's why, in cases like this, it's strange to hear that anyone at all appears to be convinced it's a runaway situation. When Morgan Harrington simply vanished into the night (also from a very public place), her poor parents were outspoken in their hope that she was being held somewhere against her will. If they ever reassured her directly that no one will be mad that she ran away, I missed it. And running away with some roadies at a concert of your favorite band, after having asked people for a ride to a specific location... that seems a lot more plausible than the context we're working with here.
Every time there's a case like this I also find myself praying it's going to be a runaway situation or even sex trafficking. This has yet to be the case, which says there are still way too many monsters out there in need of mass extinction. So, :moo: and all that. Not trying to discourage anyone from discussing the possibility.