Non-Psychic's Hunch Fails. Media Amazed.

Following on from yesterday's bad psychic, Andy has brought another to EoR's attention.

Variously described as a psychic finding a body in a park, and a psychic finding the 'wrong body', the actual situation seems a lot less clear.

Aboriginal elder Cheryl Carroll-Lagerwey was apparently searching for Kiesha Abrahams, a young girl who has been missing for over a fortnight. It is not known whether she is alive or dead. Instead, Ms Carroll-Lagerwey came across the torso of an adult woman. EoR hesitates to say she 'found' the torso, since she wasn't looking for it. She also, notably, failed to find the girl she was actually looking for.

Ms Carroll-Lagerwey is not a psychic. She has never claimed to be a psychic. EoR has been unable to find any evidence that she has previously ever made any predictions, psychic or otherwise. She states she is

not psychic, but has a third sense and a dream that led her to believe she could help find Kiesha Abrahams.

The distinction may be subtle, but the media labelling her a 'psychic', rather than someone who had a 'hunch', creates a whole different set of expectations. For instance, 9 News states she is a psychic, even though the same report directly quotes her:

It's just my feeling ... so I went with my gut feeling.

Nurragingy Reserve is not a park (as Psychic Line News reports), but a 90 hectare bushland reserve. Shallow bush graves are a traditional method of disposing of bodies in Australia. In fact, if you're going to dispose of a body in Blacktown (not that EoR is encouraging anyone to do so) it sounds ideal:

Nurragingy Reserve is one of the most significant remnants in the Blacktown LGA. It is the largest and least disturbed area of bushland along Eastern Creek.

Ms Carroll-Lagerwey also only related her 'feeling' after discovering the body. Post-hoc psychic revelations are properly termed 'reporting'. They do not require any special skills.

The Police reaction is interesting. Thaindian News reports that

Police are pleased to have been led to a body by the psychic even though it was a different one and they are counting on her help to find the missing girl.

EoR takes that report with a huge pinch of salt, since it states the body was found in a park by someone who is psychic (but not a witch), which is a distorted and inaccurate record of what happened. Chief Inspector Pam Young from the NSW Homicide Squad is rather diplomatic about just how helpful psychics can be in murder investigations:

I have certain strong feelings about people who claim they are psychic. I don’t think it will help if we enter a discussion on that.

Edit:

The mother of a man recently killed by a shark in the south west of Western Australia has commented:

"I was worried, always worried and lived in fear that I would get this phone call, because it's dangerous, absolutely dangerous," she said.

EoR wonders why she's not also being touted as a 'psychic' since she, too, had a hunch that came true, and which is also reported after the fact.