LTTE writer abducted from home (apparently) over letter.

[City Lights]

The abducted woman referred to in the article below recently wrote a LTTE of the Tribune in which she compared Barack Obama's speaking skills and charm to her 3rd-grade son, declaring her son only slightly less qualified than Obama to run for president.

Her letter struck a nerve with someone, because she received an angry phone call after the LTTE appeared in the paper. The police believe the abduction was related to her letter, and deciding to err on the side of caution, her son's school was on lock-down a couple of days this week. While the article does not mention any connection to her letter, the note sent home from school did (a former co-worker of my husband's has a child at the school).

While I don't agree with her point of view, I do respect her right to air her opinion, and I think it totally sucks that Bush's "you're with us or against us" attitude has so bitterly divided Americans. :-(

Libertyville woman’s abductor needed a lift
By Russell Lissau
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Wednesday, September 27, 2006

A Libertyville woman told police she was abducted from her home Tuesday and forced to drive her kidnapper to Park City, authorities said.

When the unidentified woman and her abductor got to the nearby city, he got out of her sport-utility vehicle and left on foot, police said. The victim then flagged down a Park City police officer and reported the kidnapping.

The 46-year-old woman was not physically injured and declined medical treatment, Libertyville Police Chief Patrick Carey said.

“She is safe,” Carey said.

more... http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=232304

edited to clarify subject.

[tanyev]

1. Where was Phil Parlock when it happened?

[11 Bravo]

2. Great minds!

Old Phil immediately came to mind.

[madame defarge]

3. My immediate & cynical reaction...

She's making this up. Sorry, but this smells very fishy. I suspect that the person just wanted a ride to Park City.

[City Lights]

5. I'm not convinced the letter caused the abduction.

I honestly don't know what to make of it. It could just be a coincidence that someone happened to pick her home. :shrug:

[Heidi]

4. I'm skeptical.

If the guy didn't have a vehicle, and forced her to drive him to Park City, how did he get to her house in the first place? Just askin'. Even the police say the story is bizarre. :shrug:

[City Lights]

10. Are you saying she was in on her own abduction?

:shrug: I sure can't rule that out... The whole thing is odd. If she was in on it, I hope she's happy that she dragged the entire school full of children into it.

[Heidi]

12. I'm saying

that I don't believe the story as it has been presented to readers. As a former journalist, it seems to me that this story doesn't add up, and I can't believe journalists aren't asking some hard questions about this situation. If journalists _are_ asking, and they're getting the whole "no comment" line, they should be reporting that, too.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

15. As a Daily Herald subscriber, I can assure you that not getting

the whole story is par for their course. There's plenty to like about the paper but covering hard news stories just isn't their forte.

[Heidi]

16. That's disheartening,

but sadly true of many community newspapers. In my opinion, they should be doing a _better_ job of reporting local hard news than the "big papers."

[Buns_of_Fire]

6. Yeah, I hate it when that happens.

Occurs here all the time. People force their way into your house, don't steal anything, don't assault anyone, make you THINK they have a weapon, and then make you drive them to town. What is this world coming to? :eyes:

[Horse with no Name]

7. Liberals don't kidnap these idiots

I mean, who'd want them? They are damaged goods.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. This just screams of hoax.

She was in the car with him for how long, and she couldn't figure out if he was black or hispanic? Cleft palate? The description is too vague, but has one critical detail that would prevent the police from picking up some innocent schmuck off the street.

This was probably her first LTTE, and she was disappointed when nobody responded to it.

[City Lights]

11. Lots of people posted comments to her letter, and she claims she

received an angry phone call at home about it. I, of course, can't confirm that she received a phone call, only that she claims she did.

[dogday]

9. How low can you go

So this person just kidnaps this woman, drives her around for a while, then gets out of the car and runs... If this person was angry enough to do this, he would be angry enough to beat up this woman or worse... Sounds like a guy needing a ride or a story waiting to happen.....

[gratuitous]

13. Yeah, of course

As we all know, it's the liberal way to attack someone physically over a difference of ideas. Oh wait, no. That's the reactionary right. If she was abducted, and I don't for a second concede that without further evidence than what's in this sketchy story, that it had anything to do with her letter to the editor, which is not mentioned.

What makes anyone think the unidentified woman even wrote a letter to the editor?

[City Lights]

14. Because I know who the identified woman is and she's the one who

wrote the letter. It's no longer up on the Trib's site, or I'd include a link to it.

On edit - I found the LTTE:

Beyond charm

Yes Sen. Barack Obama is charming and charismatic.

Yes he is an eloquent speaker.

My son possesses all of these qualities, and being in the 3rd grade puts him only slightly behind Obama in the requirements necessary to run for the office of president of the United States.

Do I have any financial backers?

Mary Milani

Libertyville

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_opinion_letters/2006/09/beyond_charm.html

[gratuitous]

17. I guess I'll take your anonymous word for it

But nowhere in the story does it mention from the woman herself that her alleged abductor said anything to her, except "take me to Park City." And when they get there, he simply walks away from the vehicle. Hmmmm.

In any event, I don't see a bright line connecting her letter to her abduction without a great deal more information.

[City Lights]

18. I don't see any connection between the abduction and her letter either.

However, I do know the woman "abducted" is the woman who wrote the letter. I can't prove it to you because the letter sent home with the kids hasn't been published online, however, it does state that the woman abducted is the one who wrote the letter. Take my word for it, or don't.