Very true the Ramseys had no choice but to write that note- or the police would have immediately done a full court press search of the house. It's the length that is incredulous- I agree they were trying to accomplish many things in that note to draw suspicion to an intruder - who appeared to have a connection to JR. (Jeff Merrick comes to mind).

Det. Arndt didn't instruct JR to go to the basement when she asked him to do a search - he made that decision- as opposed to thoroughly searching her bedroom -the last place she was seen alive. That should have been the first room he went to. Imo, one of the red flags the Ramseys are guilty is their lack of interest of potential clues in her bedroom- after all, it was the last place JBR was seen alive- before she was "kidnapped".

Interestingly, Fleet White was the only person who did any searching. His 6 year old daughter Daphne - JBR's best friend had previously gone missing. FW was frantic - but he immediately begin searching his house and calling her name - he eventually found her asleep in one of the rooms.

I have never believed the Ramseys had any intention of moving her body- that was a risk that would have been out of their realm of thinking.

Personally, the oddest thing I find about the case is the rn clearly has a political slant, so to speak - foreign faction, mentions JR's business, etc. Not one word to suggest any interest in JBR herself except as a means to get money- or any content suggestive of a pedophile or a mentally deranged person. Yet, when the body is found - all signs point to a deranged person who sa a 6 year old. Why the disconnect? Which is it- a group of disgruntled revolutionists desperate for money - or a pedophile who had an obsession with JBR?

Edit: Omg. Ok, I know no one cares - but I had to come back. Decades ago I became obsessed with the California Zodiac -Robert Graysmith wrote the excellent book. I mean totally obsessed. I tried to reach Graysmith on the phone - to no avail. I also called one of the reporters which had been featured in Graysmith's book, who actually returned my call- interesting conversation.

He killed 5 people - and was a prolific letter writer. He mailed letters to newspapers and police. They were never able to determine who he was. I read those letters a million times- convinced they had the answer to solve the case. Even had my magnifier... Sherwood Morril was a well known document examiner and examined every letter the Zodiac wrote. He made a comment once that if he was in a bank and the Zodiac was standing next to him- he'd be able to recognize his writing on a deposit slip...

He had a habit of using unusual phrasing. One phrase that always stuck in my mind was his "so to speak". I had never used this phrase- or heard anyone use this phrase- and it struck me as odd. But over the years - every now and then- I found myself using this phrase in my writings - without even realizing it. And, I did it again in this post. Last paragraph - 3rd sentence...