Armywife210,
I am not attacking you, but you say that Billy gave a lot of interviews. Really? Maybe you can share where you saw them and fill me in. I would like to see or read them. I have been following this case for quite a few years. As many before me have, I read all I could about it. I have read the newspaper articles, watched the shows, I have sifted through many forums and blogs along the way. (With the exception that I noted about the first family run forum). Not once has there been a mention of Billy giving an interview. He was there for the search within a day or two. There are plenty of newspaper articles with other family members giving quotes or talking with the media. Not one that I know about with Billy doing the talking. Sharon was quoted a few times of course. Maybe Billy was too upset to do it. The police gave him a good grilling when he arrived for the search. That interview has, and I am sure will never be, made public. Fred takes a lot of flak for what he says, but you know what, he is out there. And he has been out there since day one as I would expect a father to do. Yes, Billy was in the military at the time. I understand that he couldn't drop his gun as you say and go do an interview. (And I wasn't expecting a Barbara Walters interview by the way.) When exactly did they film the 20/20 and the Disappeared episodes? Maybe you can correct me if I am wrong. But when did Billy get out of the military? Was he not available to do those shows? Was he not asked? Did he just move on with his life? He has that right of course. And I am not condemning him for that. What could it hurt at this point (or with in the last eleven years) for him to come out and talk about it? I don't think he had anything to do with Maura's disappearance that night. But I do think he could go along way in to clearing up what was going on with her in the time before she went missing. He certainly knows if Fred is telling the truth or not. Did he come out at any time and back up Fred's account that they (Maura and Fred) where looking for a car on Saturday? If he would have done that at the beginning, would we still be questioning Fred's account? Kind of threw Fred under the bus there by not doing that, no? Maura did call him after she wrecked her fathers car, what is his account of that call? He was allowed to enter Maura's dorm room to have a look around. Much has been made about the old email (or note as some have said) left out to be found. Where was this email found? Was her room really packed up and on her bed or just left unpacked? Those are simple questions that could easily be answered by him. No need to ask Fred's or anyone else's permission to answer that.
The problem with this case, other then Maura being missing, is the fact that the same questions are constantly being asked with no resolution. I was once new to this case too, so I understand an influx of the same questions are going to happen from people just getting up to speed. But many of the people reading this have been following this case longer then me. Are we not trying to find out what happened to Maura? It is like playing a song over and over and expect different words to magically come out at some point. People can say what they want about James Renner but there is no doubt that he has spurred this case forward in the public view. I hope his book sheds some more light on this case. I have or had hopes about the ongoing podcasts and documentary. However unless they come up with something new, they are just rehashing the same old info that is out there already. I hate to jump on them, but they go on about the "arm chair detective" spreading misinformation. Then do the exact same thing. Maybe this happened, maybe that happened. Not exactly what I would expect from documentary film makers. I would be more impressed if they would just confirm some of the facts. I don't mind if they want to use deductive reasoning to come up with some conclusions. They are trying, and it is more then I am doing. So good for them. But again is this all not to find out what happened to Maura? Who cares who finds the resolve in this case as long as we find Maura or what happened to her? Other then finding her, there is no prize to be won here.
After you really get into this case, you can't help but wonder why some of these questions are still an issue. You can talk all you like about the missing alcohol and weather or not she might have been involved in the Vasi incident. Or if a phone call on Friday morning is what upset her. Those are all good questions that have been asked many times with no conclusion.
I have some questions that I have come up with that maybe someone out there can answer.
I want to know what the private detectives that first started looking into this case conclusions where.
I want to know what her backpack looked like and how big it was.
I want to know who was at the scene that night and what they did.
I want to know, as it has been reported, that Butch and the officer at the scene drove around that night looking for her. Why in the heck did they not go east? Fred has made the point that had they searched east that night they would have found her. Maybe they did, but who knows as I don't recall anyone ever following up on that point. I know the family had similar questions at the start.
As Scoops has recently mentioned, Sharon apparently kept a diary of the events. It would be interesting to see what her thoughts where and what they found out. I know this is rear view thinking, but it sure would have been nice if someone would have thought about getting a camcorder to tape what happened and what they saw at the time. A video camera doesn't lie and you never know what could be important later down the road. Oh well.
I have always assumed that LE has kept the video of Maura at the ATM under wraps because they needed it to confirm any later sightings of her by what she was wearing that day.
It was mentioned at one point that when they where doing the TV shows, that some of the footage and interviews where edited out. It would have been interesting to see what didn't make it into the show.
I have come to the conclusion that the family for the most part has their resolution because they have a better grasp of the facts in this case. I read a post once from one of the investigating detectives that made a lot of sense. When looking at this case, you can start in Amherst or you can start at the accident scene. Many people, including me, have tried for years to figure out what happened in the days before Maura disappeared. If only to figure out what Maura was thinking, where she was going and what her plans where. The family simply doesn't need to start in Amherst, as they already know what happened there. They probably know what upset Maura, what she was doing and where she was going. Fred has in a some what round about way said as much. What happened to her along the way is the unknown. Then why not come out and dispel the misinformation that is out there? I am assuming here, but I think that the family can't seam to fathom why anyone else outside of them would care enough about Maura to follow this case. Do they want her found, of course they do. Just not enough to put out the fire of mystery regarding what happen to Maura prior to the accident Monday night. Again assuming, but that information to them is simply not relevant to finding Maura. I am afraid that those answers may never be known. Which I think is a shame, because if they where we could all move on and spend some resources actually looking for her.
Sorry about the long post and rant, by the way.
