07-28-2015, 11:48 AM
(07-28-2015, 10:25 AM)Carsman Wrote: Enough time has now passed without even the slightest clue as to what happened to this poor kid, seems like it may/will not be solved. Unless the weirdo in the video (supposedly cleared) & or the parents (supposedly cleared) becomes a factor. Baffling!
The way LE words things when making public statements during missing persons and criminal investigations is sometimes confusing. They don't want to give away information that they think will harm the investigation, but they sometimes feel motivated or obligated to respond to public interest.
In this case, the only person who has been "cleared" is gramps. The sheriff said yesterday that he "was ruled out early on" because of his declining mental and physical health.
The parents and Reinwand are not cleared. The sheriff said all three are Persons of Interest (POIs). Mom Jessica Mitchell, Dad Deorr Kunz, and gramps' friend Isaac Reinwand are all considered POIs because they were at the scene of the potential crime, they are part of the investigation, and they have not been ruled-out/cleared.
Very rarely will LE publicly label a person a "suspect" before they have enough evidence to file charges. LE almost always publicly keeps individuals classified as POIs unless/until they have such evidence.
So, gramps is cleared. The three other adults at the campsite are all POIs. And, there are no official suspects in the case at this point.
The sheriff has said that all three POIs have been cooperative and that the parents were "solid" in the past. It's common for such statements to be made in missing person cases because LE either (1) can't rule-out/clear the POIs but doesn't believe they're involved, or (2) suspects the POIs are involved but doesn't have enough evidence to file charges and doesn't want the POIs to stop talking or the public to stop looking for the missing person. Also, LE doesn't want to hand a defense attorney alternate suspects if they end up charging someone else down the line.