I’ve seen a lot of photos at crime/accident scenes with a covered body. They also take a few without the cover, but taking photos with the body covered is routine.
I mean it happens all the time just not publicized, mainly in other countries like Mexico with well organized cartels who kidnap people for ransom, get paid off, then return the people relatively safe and sound.
… possibly minus a finger or toe, or in extreme cases an ear.
Has anybody really had difficulty understanding a phone call because they had “a banana in their ear”? 
It is difficult to get hard numbers but-
Kidnapping for ransom—A fateful international growth industry 05/11.
There’s one estimate that only 11% of kidnapping victims are freed without a ransom payment. On the flip side, another source maintains that 40% of all victims are unharmed and safe after a ransom has been paid.
Yet, all this is only part of the kidnap and ransom story worldwide. It appears that reported kidnappings could account for only about 10% of those that occur. Such a low figure may help explain why many potential victims ignore warnings, particularly about traveling in well-known international “K&R hot spots.”
So if it is a known professional kidnapping group (in foreign nations) generally those are not reported and the victim is returned. Here in the USA, the numbers are lower.
If you’re ever murdered, don’t worry about trying to strike some hilarious pose. The old cliché of the tape or chalk silhouette might be a nice visual crutch for a cop movie or TV show, but the police aren’t supposed to outline murder victims anymore, if they ever were.Why not? Because it would contaminate the crime scene… Some uniformed cops have been brainwashed by years of Law & Order reruns into thinking that they’re actually supposed to outline bodies, which has led to the rise of so-called “chalk fairy” contamination. “‘Chalk fairy,’” the author explains, “is a term used to describe mysterious police officers who feel the need to draw lines around the body and then disappear when investigators attempt to find out who contaminated the scene.” Since the “chalk fairies” of tomorrow are now watching CSI instead of Dragnet , I hope they’re learning a whole new array of unrealistic forensic techniques.
I imagine their business model would suffer if they didn’t return captives in one piece.
Yep, they have to be known for it. Well, maybe not always in one piece- as Lumpy pointed out sometimes a finger needs to be sent.
Agreed. “Organized” is the key word here. Your next ransom request will be handled differently if the last one ended up with a dead body.
A one-off kidnapping? I’d think the safest method would be to knock off the victim and get out of Dodge fast. Leave no possibility of a witness who could provide valuable details. You have your money, no need to complicate things.
Hmmm, sounds like you’ve thought this through…
Now that you’ve told us your plan, are we liabilities?
Well, I haven’t finalized my business plan yet. Not sure if I’m going long-term or for the one big payout. These are critical decisions for us small business owners.
Maybe you can try a pop-up at a local fair, see how the locals take to the idea.
Watching an episode of the old show Inspector Morse last night. Someone seems intent on doing Something Bad to someone else in their lodgings. Meanwhile Morse’s junior detective Lewis is at a Greek restaurant with his wife and there’s been a big delay getting their food.
The Victim of the Week is the chef for the restaurant. Sure, I bet that happens all the time. They didn’t even go with the trope of the murder happening at the restaurant while Lewis was there.
Also, Lewis’s wife has been taking Greek language lessons and Lewis brings in her teacher to help translate.
Cops that actually solve the case and find the real perp, not just pin the crime on the nearest (Black) person so their closure rate is up.
Looks like a case of Joyce Barbaby Syndrome, where the detective’s wife has a pastime that neatly fits into the case at hand.
BTW, I think Lewis is a much better show than Morse. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend a watch.
Going by that show the murder rate in Oxfordshire must be approaching 100% so it checks out.
Lewis suffers from “I feel icky watching anything with Laurence Fox in it Syndrome.”
At one point, after they followed Inspector Morse with Lewis, they were going to continue with a show focused on Hathaway. I’m now kind of glad that never happened.
I get the hate for Fox, but he plays the role well and his personality doesn’t stop me from enjoying the show just as I still like Naked Gun despite OJ.
Damn. I stand corrected! Beware of banana peels, apparently.
At least OJ didn’t kill anyone else. Fox continues to do things to make himself more unlikable.
I’m mostly with you. I tend to not care about what actors do off camera as long as I like their work. I have a real soft spot for those shows. My mother loved English mystery shows and those were two of her favorites.