So once in awhile I’ll get emails from people who claim they have found, or think they have found, a missing person or some information on a missing persons case through paranormal means. Psychic impressions, talking to ghosts, and so on.
This post is not meant to spark a discussion on the various pros and cons of using paranormal means to find a missing person, or find anything at all. All such methods are just so much made-up nonsense. I am not here to debate this and please do not do so in the comments section.
One paranormal “search method” is something called map dowsing. You can read more about it at this link, but basically it involves studying a map of an area, pointing out a particular spot and claiming that whatever you’re looking for is in or near that spot. It’s no more accurate than any other person’s educated guess.
(Once I actually replied to a map dowser’s email politely telling him that map dowsing was hooey and not to waste his time. A few weeks later, to my astonishment, he wrote back saying upon further reflection. I had been right and he was sorry he’d bothered me. Shocking.)
Anyway, today I got an email from another map dowser who claims to have located a certain missing person. He says he will reveal the person’s location, but only in exchange for whatever reward money is being offered for the recovery of that person. (I don’t know what the reward is, I don’t talk about those in my case summaries.) He wanted me to connect him with the missing person’s family.
I have a strong urge to reply and very IMpolitely tell him where he can shove his psychic abilities and theories. Like, if he actually knows some long-term missing person’s location and he’s refusing to disclose if he gets paid? Disgusting. And he DOESN’T even actually know (though he may perhaps genuinely think he does) so he’s just trying to scam a vulnerable, desperate family.
Yeah.
So as far as my vehicle change/purge is going, I’m up to the letter N now. I plan to finish N tonight.
The Charley Project Blog 
It might be worth directing these people to the law enforcement agency associated with the missing person. I am not a believer in psychic ability either, but I have read that investigators still talk to them. This is because there have been cases where someone really did know something and claiming to be psychic kept them from having to explain HOW they knew this info.
Just a thought.
As I said in a previous post, I am glad that Frederick Valentich does not qualify for the Charley Project.
You and me both! Also those missing Malaysian plane people.
I thought that some of the passengers were American.
Maybe, I have no idea. But I’m not posting them.
Hey Meaghan, that reminds me… why is Lauren Spierer’s case not listed on Charley? Not that she hasn’t received enough publicity – just wondering.
People keep writing to me volunteering to help write cases and I keep saying no. If I ever change my mind I think Lauren’s case would be a great sort of job interview: “Take this very high profile case, write up a casefile thoroughly and accurately and in a style consistent with the other Charley Project cases, and if you do a good job, I might take you on as a volunteer.”