I received this from a friend of mine the other day:
Brett Davies at Tamworth Police.
IF YOUR CHILD WAS MISSING WOULDN ' T YOU PRAY THAT EVERYONE PASSED THIS EMAIL ON?!!!
PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING. LOOK AND FORWARD. A 3-year-old girl named Reachelle Marie Smith is missing
You never know where this e-mail could end up and I ' m not going to stop passing this one around if it means a little girl can be found!!!
Please spread this picture far and wide.....You just never know. Someone you know might know her!
BEFORE YOU DELETE THIS, LOOK AT THE CHILD.. DO IT AGAIN. NOW SEND IT TO ALL IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. IT TAKES ONLY 10 SECONDS. THANK YOU!
This is a hoax. Check out the following links:
It's possible that the original story was true, that there really was a child that had gone missing. However, over time, the details have changed. The original email associated with this particular message was about a little girl in North Dakota, which is a long way away from New South Wales, Australia.
The chances that someone would actually recognise the child through an email are very remote. And, even if you did see the child, who would you contact? There are no contact details in the email.
So, please be wary when you receive this. Check the source, before passing it on.
10 comments:
I question your post that this email is a "hoax".
The websites you use to disprove the facts are not authoritative. Actually, if you dig deeper, the girl is still actively listed as "missing" by the FBI to this day.
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/reachelle-smith
So to the extent that you say the facts "might" be true then actually, we could start by saying they certainly are true (unless the FBI website has been hacked).
Just because the email is circulated (or purported to be circulated) by "Brett Davies of Tamworth Police" does not mean that it is a hoax. Firstly Tamworth is a town in a few countries including the U.S. and Australia. You wrongly assumed that "Tamworth" was a reference to a town in Australia? But on what basis?
Even if the email was circulated by Tamworth New South Wales, Australia then how does that origin make it a hoax? Missing persons can easily be circulated to international counterparts. For example Madeleine McCann's details have been circulated worldwide.
You also state as a reason for it being a "hoax" is the date between kidnap and current date. The kidnapping date was 2006 and today it is 2010. Why should such an email stop circulating simply because it's a "cold case"? How does the length of time indicate that it's a hoax? Isn't it more likely on the balance of probabilities that this story touched the hearts of those who read it? Isn't it more likely that it continues to be forwarded because the girl is listed as missing? Why should the relatives of this child stop to search for her after only 4 years when there are reported cases of people being found 15 years later?
You finally argue that there are no details to contact - thus it must be a "hoax". In fact, the lack of details lead me to search for the facts instead of pressing the delete button in my email. Further it is very common for parts of emails to be lost and amended along the way - it's hardly the best way of preserving an original statement - although it's one of the best ways to communicate fast and effectively.
So the question to ask is: in circumstances where the facts are true; the girl is still missing; listed on the FBI website - is this a "hoax"? The answer is clearly no.
The more sinister question here is: has this email been hijacked by spammers to harvest emails? That option can not be ruled out entirely ... maybe someone more technically minded could answer that.
I question your post that this email is a "hoax".
The websites you use to disprove the facts are not authoritative. Actually, if you dig deeper, the girl is still actively listed as "missing" by the FBI to this day.
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/reachelle-smith
So to the extent that you say the facts "might" be true then actually, we could start by saying they certainly are true (unless the FBI website has been hacked).
Just because the email is circulated (or purported to be circulated) by "Brett Davies of Tamworth Police" does not mean that it is a hoax. Firstly Tamworth is a town in a few countries including the U.S. and Australia. You wrongly assumed that "Tamworth" was a reference to a town in Australia? But on what basis?
Even if the email was circulated by Tamworth New South Wales, Australia then how does that origin make it a hoax? Missing persons can easily be circulated to international counterparts. For example Madeleine McCann's details have been circulated worldwide.
You also state as a reason for it being a "hoax" is the date between kidnap and current date. The kidnapping date was 2006 and today it is 2010. Why should such an email stop circulating simply because it's a "cold case"? How does the length of time indicate that it's a hoax? Isn't it more likely on the balance of probabilities that this story touched the hearts of those who read it? Isn't it more likely that it continues to be forwarded because the girl is listed as missing? Why should the relatives of this child stop to search for her after only 4 years when there are reported cases of people being found 15 years later?
You finally argue that there are no details to contact - thus it must be a "hoax". In fact, the lack of details lead me to search for the facts instead of pressing the delete button in my email. Further it is very common for parts of emails to be lost and amended along the way - it's hardly the best way of preserving an original statement - although it's one of the best ways to communicate fast and effectively.
So the question to ask is: in circumstances where the facts are true; the girl is still missing; listed on the FBI website - is this a "hoax"? The answer is clearly no.
The more sinister question here is: has this email been hijacked by spammers to harvest emails? That option can not be ruled out entirely ... maybe someone more technically minded could answer that.
Thanks for your comments. You raise some very good points.
One of the reasons I started this blog was to respond many of my friends when they send me an email that is possibly a virus, or a hoax. The number of headers in this email where this message was forwarded on from - if I were a spammer, this would hit the jackpot. There were hundreds of email addresses!
I wanted to be able to reply to people in bulk and encourage them to check out the veracity of the story before sending it on. That way, the number of bogus messages sent can be minimised. Often my friends just send the information through and don't actually dig deeper.
Re-reading the original message, I can see that the country is not mentioned. Being Australian, and receiving it from an Australian friend, I assumed Tamworth New South Wales. Tamworth as a place name also appears at:
* Staffordshire, United Kingdom
* New Hampshire, United States
* Ontario, Canada
* Virginia, United States
I wouldn't know how to contact authorities in other countries.
Once again, thank you for reading!
Anyone thought of contacting Brett Davies at the Tamworth Police and checking for his spin on things?
Yes... why not contact Tamworth, NSW, Australia - Police - as Brett Davies appears to be an officer there.
If anyone is interested in contacting the Tamworth Police station and verifying the story, here are the details:
Tamworth Police Station
40-42 Fitzroy Street
TAMWORTH 2340
Phone: 02 6768 2999
Fax: 02 6768 2805
Open 24 hours
doesn't anyone use google anymore?
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/reachelle-smith-missing.shtml
Analysis: True. Three-year-old Reachelle Marie Smith of Minot, North Dakota has been missing "under suspicious circumstances" since May 16, 2006. Her suspected abductor, 22-year-old Leigh Cowen, was found dead in a stolen van in the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge not long after the girl was reported missing. It is believed he committed suicide.
An Amber Alert was issued at the time Reachelle Smith went missing, but enough time has elapsed that it's no longer active.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the Minot Police Department at 701-852-0111.
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