Psychic says Lisa in lake, police remain skeptical
PLAINFIELD -- Police are reluctant to dismiss any information in an investigation, but they're also reluctant to base investigations around information from beyond.
A medium from Colorado contacted Plainfield police and community leaders last week after he reportedly channeled the spirit of Lisa Stebic.
Stebic was last seen April 30 and is believed to be the victim of foul play.
Deputy Chief Mark Eiting said police "take and document all reports that come in," and said detectives would review the medium's claims before determining whether to make them a focus of the investigation.
"We always welcome any information someone believes will help with an investigation," Eiting said.
"You really don't know what's accurate (information) until you examine it."
Harold "Hob" Danforth, of Crestone, Colo. said he sought out Stebic's spirit after learning about her disappearance.
"It's been on all the TV stations and when a woman disappears leaving two children behind like that, you want to know what happened," Danforth said.
Danforth said he has never been to Plainfield and does not know if there are lakes in the area.
The missing woman has been the subject of several large-scale searches. On July 7, several hundred people and police scoured Silver Springs State Park near Yorkville.
Danforth claims the information Stebic's spirit gave him is "100 percent true." He claims he has been "deeply involved" in the psychic and spiritual community for more than 60 years.
Despite Danforth's belief in the accuracy of his information, local law enforcement remains reluctant to use metaphysical evidence in an investigation.
"Law enforcement always has an open ear (to any source)," said Joliet Police Chief Fred Hayes.
"But the credibility of evidence without a lot of scientific validity (means it's usually) not given high priority during investigations," he said.
"In cases with a lot of media scrutiny there is a danger the investigation can be slowed down when detectives have to filter through all the information that comes in."
"I spent 20 years in investigations and I've yet to hear of a psychic getting a conviction, I've yet to hear of a psychic leading to anybody in jail," he said.
"The problem (when a psychic claims to know what happened) is the focus of an investigation will turn to what a psychic said. It gives the victim's relatives false hope. They'll go to the media with the claims and complicate the investigation."
Danforth concedes police are generally skeptical of the information he provides.
"But it's a healthy skepticism on their part. They're not sure how to handle my kind of help," he said.
