# Geez is this family really this clueless? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 27, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187 "2014-07-27T21:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/1 "2014-07-27T21:39:04Z")
I don’t see the mystery here. Sounds very much like a typical teen runaway. Sure she’s lost weight. She’s probably been living on the streets. Dah! Another revealing fact. She returned home nine months later. Does this family need it explained on a freaking billboard? Their frightened and confused knocked up daughter was a runaway. They better be thankful she returned. A medical exam can easily confirm if she had a baby. Either way, I don’t see a big mystery here. She’s a runaway that finally came home. People can be so dense sometimes. > **[Colorado News, Politics, Sports and Information - Homepage | Colorado Newsday](http://www.coloradonewsday.com/)** > > Enter here some meta description > **[Schoolgirl Abigail Hernandez in deteriorated health say her family](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2707570/Schoolgirl-Abigail-Herndandez-15-reappeared-week-vanishing-nine-months-ago-lost-lot-weight-deteriorated-health-say-family.html)** > > The family of Abigail Hernandez, the 15-year-old New Hampshire who mysteriously vanished for nine months before suddenly reappearing. > [@](#): > > The family of Abigail Hendandez, the 15-year-old New Hampshire who mysteriously vanished for nine months before suddenly reappearing last week, have revealed that their daughter is suffering deteriorated health following her ordeal. Really? They never heard of teen runaways living on the streets? There are thousands of them out there across the country. > [@](#): > > But they are convinced a crime has been committed - as they believe there is no way the 15-year-old could have stayed hidden for nine months without some kind of adult involvement. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/2 "2014-07-27T21:47:12Z")
I think the question might be, did she do it on her own, as a runaway/homeless teen, or did she have “help” from adults who might have been committing a crime by concealing and assisting her. Yeah, I know, many shades of gray. But I don’t think the family is clueless; the reporter might be. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/3 "2014-07-27T21:56:13Z")
Yeah, she may have taken off with an older bf. They eventually split up and she spent some time on the streets. These days I guess the cops will hunt the guy down. Throw him in prison for 15 years. It was so common when I was younger that the cops never followed up. Especially if the girl willingly took off with her bf. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/4 "2014-07-27T21:56:53Z")
Yeah, I think the assumption is that she ran away to be with some dude and that he might have sexually assaulted her and/or otherwise harmed her, especially considering the reports of “she’s on solid food again” and stuff that I’ve been reading. If she’s dealing with Stockholm Syndrome she might be/might have been trying to conceal what happened during that time. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/5 "2014-07-27T22:17:30Z")
The runaway statistic is far higher than I realized. This is a cited article btw. Over a million and half a year. No wonder cops don’t waste time trying to track down every person that helped them. [http://www.1800runaway.org/learn/research/third\_party/](http://www.1800runaway.org/learn/research/third_party/) > [@](#): > > Prevalence of runaways > > Between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away in a year. > > Youth aged 12-17 are at higher risk for homelessness than adults. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/6 "2014-07-27T22:23:35Z")
Given the prevalence of runaways, I suspect there’s something else going on. Law enforcement does not have the resources they are still putting into this if she simply ran away. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/7 "2014-07-27T22:52:34Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > Given the prevalence of runaways, I suspect there’s something else going on. Law enforcement does not have the resources they are still putting into this if she simply ran away. Law enforcement has the resources to pursue anything that’s making the newspapers. High profile cases get attention regardless of their merits, or you end up with stories about how the police are “ineffective” and get their budgets cut. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/8 "2014-07-28T20:08:51Z")
A new article about the case. [http://news.msn.com/us/mom-on-teens-9-month-absence-she-isnt-pregnant](http://news.msn.com/us/mom-on-teens-9-month-absence-she-isnt-pregnant) Police have actually charged a man with kidnapping the girl. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/9 "2014-07-28T21:09:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Yeah, she may have taken off with an older bf. They eventually split up and she spent some time on the streets. > > These days I guess the cops will hunt the guy down. Throw him in prison for 15 years. > > It was so common when I was younger that the cops never followed up. Especially if the girl willingly took off with her bf. Call me crazy, but if a 34 year old man helps a 14 year old run away, I think he should go to jail for 15 years, even if if the 14 year old did think he was her “bf”. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/10 "2014-07-28T21:36:31Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Call me crazy, but if a 34 year old man helps a 14 year old run away, I think he should go to jail for 15 years, even if if the 14 year old did think he was her “bf”. That reminds me of the comment in \* Mad\* about the movie \* Bad News Bears:\* “Can a 52-year-old man handle a 12 - year-old girl–and not go to jail?” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/11 "2014-07-28T22:22:10Z")
Where did you come up with a 34 year old man? My posts were based on news that was reported on Sunday 7-27. I was assuming she might be dating a older dude, maybe 19 or 20. A lot of the girls in my Senior class had boyfriends in that age range. Depending on the state’s age of consent a 16 or 17 year old dating a 20 year old may or may not be an issue. I’m not saying a 14 year old should be dating a 19 year old. But, in real life it happens all the time. If you’re saying there’s a 34 year old guy involved then hell yeah that’s a crime. He needs to rot in prison. > [@muldoonthief](#): > > Call me crazy, but if a 34 year old man helps a 14 year old run away, I think he should go to jail for 15 years, even if if the 14 year old did think he was her “bf”. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/12 "2014-07-28T22:24:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Where did you come up with a 34 year old man? The caption on the mug shot. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/13 "2014-07-28T22:29:13Z")
This story popped up as a lead article on an Australian news site the other day, and I couldn’t understand why. “Teen girl returns home after nine months” didn’t seem like a story of international interest - hardly even national interest. Then they posted a follow up story a couple of days later saying she can’t eat, has lost heaps of weight, isn’t able to tell them where she’s been, and has drawn a picture of the man she says picked her up nine months ago. Again, the story didn’t seem big based on those facts. It seemed like a teen runaway being evasive or deceptive about where she’s been. Certainly the story of a teen girl being grabbed and held captive for nine months is a bigger story, one that would make the international papers. It’s becoming clearer why international press has been interested in this case. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/14 "2014-07-28T22:30:54Z")
No suspect or arrest was reported when this thread was started. I was assuming it was the more typical scenario of a college guy dating a high school girl. Pedo relationships aren’t nearly as common. Thank goodness. Now that more information is coming out it’s obvious why the cops pursued this. They usually don’t spend resources on teen runaways. I linked a cited article earlier that over 1.5 million teens runaway every year. No way can the cops track down 1.5 million people. Not without huge increases in their budget. So, I guess this was an abduction or did she run away with this pedo? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/15 "2014-07-29T01:44:03Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > Again, the story didn’t seem big based on those facts. It seemed like a teen runaway being evasive or deceptive about where she’s been. It’s a slow news day. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/16 "2014-07-29T12:20:35Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > No suspect or arrest was reported when this thread was started. I was assuming it was the more typical scenario of a college guy dating a high school girl. > > Pedo relationships aren’t nearly as common. Thank goodness. > > Now that more information is coming out it’s obvious why the cops pursued this. They usually don’t spend resources on teen runaways. I linked a cited article earlier that over 1.5 million teens runaway every year. No way can the cops track down 1.5 million people. Not without huge increases in their budget. Information that was publicly available at the time you started the thread: She was 14 at the time of the disappearance. She disappeared on the way home from school, which seems an odd time to meet up with your “bf” to run away. No clothes or anything were missing from her room. Her friends were interviewed, and none of them said she had an older “bf”. So as usual, you read a single news article, filled in a bunch of facts on your own based on who knows what, and jumped to a conclusion. Then you lambasted a family that had been searching for their missing daughter for nearly a year. Stay classy **aceplace57**. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/17 "2014-07-29T12:35:14Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > No suspect or arrest was reported when this thread was started. I was assuming it was the more typical scenario of a college guy dating a high school girl. So you jumped to conclusions with your incredibly offensive OP based on insufficient facts? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/18 "2014-07-29T14:01:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > No suspect or arrest was reported when this thread was started. I was assuming it was the more typical scenario of a college guy dating a high school girl. Also, let me amend my previous statement to: Call me crazy, but if an 18 year old man helps a 14 year old run away, I think he should go to jail for 15 years, even if if the 14 year old did think he was her “bf”. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/19 "2014-07-29T14:07:03Z")
I’m still wondering about “unable to eat solid foods.” Trying to figure out what conditions would cause that? Injury, certainly. But I didn’t get the sense of physical injury in the story. Starvation all this time? Maybe. Or perhaps she got very ill while abducted, and her abductor dropped her off somewhere. If she had made a daring escape, you would think that [would be mentioned.](http://youtu.be/RQ5FBY2Ixow) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187/20 "2014-07-29T15:02:15Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > So as usual, you read a single news article, filled in a bunch of facts on your own based on who knows what, and jumped to a conclusion. Then you lambasted a family that had been searching for their missing daughter for nearly a year. Stay classy **aceplace57**. Well what do you expect from someone who always uses The Daily Mail as a source? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geez-is-this-family-really-this-clueless/694187.md?page=2)