I have written before about the lawsuit filed by Trenton Duckett‘s grandparents against talk show host Nancy Grace and her network, CNN. In a nutshell: Melinda was, and remains, the prime suspect in Trenton’s 2006 disappearance. Nancy conducted an aggressive interview with her for the show, and only hours later, Melinda killed herself. Her parents said it was the interview that pushed her over the edge. This in spite of the fact that Melinda had a documented history of instability and suicide attempts and had been hospitalized multiple times for her mental problems.
Anyway, the suit has been settled after four years of wrangling: CNN agreed to set up a $200,000 trust fund to help finance the search for Trenton. If Trenton (who would now be six years old) is found alive before the age of thirteen, whatever remains in the fund will be given to him. If he is not found by then, or if he is found dead, the fund goes to the NCMEC.
I highly doubt Trenton will be found alive, but the NCMEC is certainly a worthy cause.
The Charley Project Blog 
And if Trenton turns up after 13 and finds out the money is gone he will be pissed. And he’ll probably sue old Nancy all over again. lol
Nancy Grace is much of a menace to society as the late Melinda Duckett ever was. As for NCMEC, entirely worthy, yes, though it still has Zahra Baker’s middle name spelled wrong and its weight estimate for her is thirty pounds below all others I have seen. And she’s still listed as “endangered missing” although for whatever reson, Hickory police turned off the Ambert Alert early and declared it a homicide investigaton. Doesn’t hurt to hope though! That’s what Jupiter Andromeda Scrambles-Ashmole, Bart., always says.
“Endangered missing” is really a catchall category, from suspected homicides to kids who get lost to kids who just vanish.
They have a category called lost, injured missing but you almost never see them use it.
And the few NCMEC kids that could be classified as lost/injured missing, are not.
I can’t stand Nancy Grace either. But she didn’t kill Melinda Duckett. Melinda was responsible for her own suicide and for her actions that lead up to it.
The NCMEC has several people listed who are known to be dead — no one, for example, believes Robin Kerry is alive. I think the posters for those chldren are there mainly so that it would be easier to identify the bodies if they even turn up.
Anyone under 18 (or 21 as is the case now) who’s in NCIC can be put on NCMEC if LE requests it. And while this isn’t the case with Robin Kerry, some of those people known to be deceased could turn up anywhere, so a poster to raise awareness is in my mind worthwhile.
I’m agreeing with J.A-a lot of the info on the NCMEC is incorrect, like the circumstances of Michael Anthony Hughes’ disappearance list him with the kidnapper-who’s no longer with him…
As for Trenton, well, I doubt he is alive…but at least money will be going for a good cause.
The guy that kidnapped and probably killed Michael Hughes is on death row down in Florida. Major creep and who knows what all he did?
I agree about bad info on ncmec. I’ve always thought that Shannon Sherrill had to weigh more than 32 pounds if she was 6 years old. She should of weighed almost 20 pounds more than that. A 32 pound 6yo is not normal.
I once approached an NCMEC person about some misspelled kids’ names and was told that it was a rule that they had to post the info as it appeared on the NCIC, even if they knew that info was incorrect. *headdesk*
When I say it lists him with Michael, I mean, they still have his info on their site.
He’s listed as an abductor if you click on his file, but he’s not on his poster. I suspect he just wasn’t removed from the related database.
The ncmec listed Thomas Zinza (sp?) as missing and he was way over 21, like in his forties. Why?
I wondered that myself.
Zima eventually got taken down. He wasn’t added by NCMEC staff but the Alaska State Troopers. The other agencies aren’t always good at following the rules, and some leave up cases for years after the person is found.
Nancy Grace is a total nutcase, but I don’t think she caused Ms. Ducket’s suicide… she was already ill in the first place, and I don’t know what happened to Trenton, but I’m not surprised that people are blaming his mom for it. For all we know she may have been planning her suicide.
She actually shot herself in a closet. Which shows, I think, some presence of mind — the mess was contained.
GGoodnight, Friend