I really hope there is some movement going on behind the scenes for Stephanie (beyond what we are privvy to).
Maybe it's just me (and feel free to shake some sense into me, fellow WSers), but I sometimes feel like it has to be a certain "type" of case to get the extra attention...again, forgive me if I sound unnecessarily negative. I guess I am just having a day where I feel discouraged on some missing persons cases.
I understand your discouraged feelings, Think. I know you've read all the threads, so you've seen us express frustration from time to time. It comes with the territory. I do believe that Detective Henderson is diligently following leads and tips. I imagine there is a lot of information LE has gathered during their searches and early in the investigation, but they obviously don't have enough to make an arrest that would stick...at this point. Henderson has come right out recently and strongly indicated that they believe/know Ames was involved in Stephanie's disappearance. Proving it is another matter.
As far as there being a certain "type" of case that gets extra attention, I think there is some truth in that, at least as far as the media is concerned. I also imagine that LE has to "triage" cases based to some degree on evidence available, danger to the public, pressure from the family and the public, etc. I prefer to believe that they don't base that decision on the victim's history and "appeal", or influential POI's, although it's easy to become cynical and make that assumption in some cases (Rebecca Zahau, JonBenet Ramsey). Also, LE, being human, does make mistakes and wrong assumptions in their investigations (McStay family).
You've probably seen me make the point on these threads that crime victims and/or victim's families MUST be proactive and not just sit back and leave everything to LE. When our home was burglarized, I did my own investigation and solved it. There is no way that LE could have gained access like I did as a private citizen. If someone in my family disappeared or was murdered, I would be actively working with LE whether they liked it or not. I would hire a PI if possible. Two really good examples of this are the families of Sheila Franks and Danielle Bertolini Brooks, two women who disappeared in Humboldt county, CA (they each have threads on WS). Unfortunately, their efforts have not paid off yet, but at least they have the satisfaction of knowing that they did all they could.
Here is a quote from an article that supports this point:
A missing person is too important to be left to one person. Those family members who wish to leave it to the professionals, and sit back on the couch to let the police do the work will probably get out of this what they put into it. I prefer the Team Approach, with the family involved in a productive way. We must help law enforcement to accomplish this mission, and if they do not know how, we can show them the way.
Will law enforcement accept your assistance? Perhaps not willingly. We in law enforcement tend to think that we dont need any help, and some investigators will view the family as hindrance. Thats too bad. The missing person is YOUR LOVED ONE. You may have to be insistent. You may ruffle some feathers. Is there anything more important?
http://justiceinmiami.blogspot.com/2008/07/everything-you-need-to-know-when-your.html
Not everyone has the personality, inner strength and ability to make that kind of effort though.
I didn't mean to write an essay, but you raised some issues that got me going.

and besides, right now there isn't anything new to talk about.
All of this is JMO.