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Ninjaman · 12-05-2004, 03:17 PM

I thought I would try and get everyone's perspective on this issue: How do you think UM used to decide which cases they profiled? Some of the things that I've heard are somewhat contradictory. For example, there was a discussion on this board earlier about Jacob Wetterling, a Minnesota boy who was abducted at gunpoint in front of his brother and friend in the late 80s. As Minnesota is my home state, I can accurately say that this story was the most widely publicized missing persons case in the state's history. Yet I read a message on this board that UM refused to run the case because they thought that there wasn't enough of a chance to solve it.

However, I remember seeing a segment about someone who was staying at his brother's house (I think). They were driving on the highway when they had a minor accident with someone driving a champagne color car. The driver of the champagne color car got out and simply shot the driver of the other car. Anyone remember this case? If so, why would they think that there would ever be a chance to solve this case when they didn't even have a profile of the shooter. All they had to go on was the color of the man's car. I think that it is somewhat strange that they would choose to air such a case and not a story like Jacob Wetterling.

Any thoughts?

UMfan77 · 12-06-2004, 02:32 PM

I definately agree with you, the Jacob Wetterling case would be an important one to do a segment on. Child kidnapping cases should be one of the top priorities for UM because it is very important to try everything humanely possible to find these children. If UM ever starts making new episodes, they should look into the Jacob Wetterling case. Who knows, maybe the case could be solved.

ddelta · 12-07-2004, 02:25 PM

I personally think that UM wanted cases that had twists to them. Jacob Wetterling really didn't except that he was abducted at gun point and two people witnessed it. If i think about other ones all of them had a little bit more then a abduction (whether questions of who did it or some other twist)- some that come to mind:

The Nyleen Kay Marshall case where a letter writer wrote to the police stating he had her.

The Carrie Nixon case where there was a sighting of her in some park by a reliable witness (later turned out not be right)

Tara Calico and they only profiled this case when that strange picture showed up that supposedly had her in it.

The Angela Hammond case wher she was not only on the phone with her boyfriend, but he chased the car. I think they did this one because there was also a possibility that the boyfriend did it.

I know they did the Kristen Smart case but they did it with another college student who disappeared (who later was found dead and her boyfriend convicted) and made it a "theme".

They just did the Marfeo and Paige case who were both missing wifes. There was a lot of quesiton of their husbands involvement and many clues.

As sad as it sounds Jacobs case was pretty straight forward...there was no real entertainment even to people like us who love mysteries. It would fit better on AMW.

However, i will admit that Unsolved has done cases almost like Jacob's (the rest stop murders come to mind) just because of the senselessness of the crime.

Ninjaman · 12-08-2004, 11:13 AM

ddelta,

you have a point about stories with twists in them. However, the Jacob Wetterling abduction had its own twist to it. The abductor encountered three boys and asked them their names and ages. The person let the other two boys go, but personally decided to take Jacob. If that's not a little strange, then I don't know what is. It would suggest that there was some type of premeditation behind the taking of this particular person.

When juxtaposed with the other segment that I mentioned, it seems a little strange to me why they decided to leave out a case like Jacob Wetterling and profile a case about random violence, especially when there was no real chance to solve it in the first place.

I actually do think that AMW profiled Jacob Wetterling's case. The case was actually in the news fairly recently. Until recently, everyone assumed it was the work of someone out of town. However, some new evidence led people to believe that it very well could have been someone local.

On a somewhat unrealted note, Jacob's mother recently ran for US congress from Minnesota, but lost narrowly.

12-05-2004, 03:17 PM	#1
Ninjaman Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 15, 2003 Location: remote island in pacific Posts: 103	criteria for segments I thought I would try and get everyone's perspective on this issue: How do you think UM used to decide which cases they profiled? Some of the things that I've heard are somewhat contradictory. For example, there was a discussion on this board earlier about Jacob Wetterling, a Minnesota boy who was abducted at gunpoint in front of his brother and friend in the late 80s. As Minnesota is my home state, I can accurately say that this story was the most widely publicized missing persons case in the state's history. Yet I read a message on this board that UM refused to run the case because they thought that there wasn't enough of a chance to solve it. However, I remember seeing a segment about someone who was staying at his brother's house (I think). They were driving on the highway when they had a minor accident with someone driving a champagne color car. The driver of the champagne color car got out and simply shot the driver of the other car. Anyone remember this case? If so, why would they think that there would ever be a chance to solve this case when they didn't even have a profile of the shooter. All they had to go on was the color of the man's car. I think that it is somewhat strange that they would choose to air such a case and not a story like Jacob Wetterling. Any thoughts?

12-06-2004, 02:32 PM	#2
UMfan77 Member Senior Member Join Date: Nov 28, 2003 Posts: 1,064	I definately agree with you, the Jacob Wetterling case would be an important one to do a segment on. Child kidnapping cases should be one of the top priorities for UM because it is very important to try everything humanely possible to find these children. If UM ever starts making new episodes, they should look into the Jacob Wetterling case. Who knows, maybe the case could be solved.

12-07-2004, 02:25 PM	#3
ddelta Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 07, 2003 Posts: 218	I personally think that UM wanted cases that had twists to them. Jacob Wetterling really didn't except that he was abducted at gun point and two people witnessed it. If i think about other ones all of them had a little bit more then a abduction (whether questions of who did it or some other twist)- some that come to mind: The Nyleen Kay Marshall case where a letter writer wrote to the police stating he had her. The Carrie Nixon case where there was a sighting of her in some park by a reliable witness (later turned out not be right) Tara Calico and they only profiled this case when that strange picture showed up that supposedly had her in it. The Angela Hammond case wher she was not only on the phone with her boyfriend, but he chased the car. I think they did this one because there was also a possibility that the boyfriend did it. I know they did the Kristen Smart case but they did it with another college student who disappeared (who later was found dead and her boyfriend convicted) and made it a "theme". They just did the Marfeo and Paige case who were both missing wifes. There was a lot of quesiton of their husbands involvement and many clues. As sad as it sounds Jacobs case was pretty straight forward...there was no real entertainment even to people like us who love mysteries. It would fit better on AMW. However, i will admit that Unsolved has done cases almost like Jacob's (the rest stop murders come to mind) just because of the senselessness of the crime.

12-08-2004, 11:13 AM	#4
Ninjaman Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 15, 2003 Location: remote island in pacific Posts: 103	ddelta, you have a point about stories with twists in them. However, the Jacob Wetterling abduction had its own twist to it. The abductor encountered three boys and asked them their names and ages. The person let the other two boys go, but personally decided to take Jacob. If that's not a little strange, then I don't know what is. It would suggest that there was some type of premeditation behind the taking of this particular person. When juxtaposed with the other segment that I mentioned, it seems a little strange to me why they decided to leave out a case like Jacob Wetterling and profile a case about random violence, especially when there was no real chance to solve it in the first place. I actually do think that AMW profiled Jacob Wetterling's case. The case was actually in the news fairly recently. Until recently, everyone assumed it was the work of someone out of town. However, some new evidence led people to believe that it very well could have been someone local. On a somewhat unrealted note, Jacob's mother recently ran for US congress from Minnesota, but lost narrowly.