In this case though, the police didn't say "don't search." They said if you're going to search to 1. STOP and immediately call 911 if anyone sees anything suspicious, and 2. be safe. Yes, they discouraged the search, but they didn't say "don't search," and they were fully aware of our plans. They can't disallow people to search public property, or even private property as long as the searcher has permission to search on said private property. The police only emphasized their discouragement after someone called complaining loudly about it.
Sounds about right, sadly.
The police could have met us on that Sunday to further prepare us, in my opinion, if that was their concern. The search scenes weren't going to fold out looking like people trudging through the snow, clumsily tripping over each other, grabbing at items should they see some, holding them up and shouting, "Hey! Check this out! Look what I found," before stuffing it in a lint-filled wool pocket. I would think that most people have common sense, and would tread lightly after listening to the rules prior to the search. It was by no means going to be a free for all...
Has this ever happened? A killer going free because a hiker found and touched evidence? I mean, it's certainly plausible that that could happen, but how likely, I wonder?
Lavonda, do you know if our police will (or can) plea to the media for people to check their own properties and property boundaries? Someone mentioned the teacher that went missing a couple of years ago, and I believe LE put out an announcement asking for people to check their property. I think that's how she was found, actually (?) Why isn't our local LE doing that? Just a thought...
lease:
