Psychic Detectives: Why I Doubt their Abilities and Motives

My mother has been a missing and endangered person for 31 years. Therefore, I consider myself qualified to ask and answer one particular question: Do I believe in psychic detectives?

The answer for me is a resounding no. The question isn't so much do I believe in the existence of intuition. Rather does it seem likely that psychic detectives are capable of placing themselves at a crime scene in order to tell us what happened the night such and such person died?

Now, someone is going to bring up the alleged cases solved by self proclaimed miracle workers. My intention isn't to insult or degrade one specific so-called detective, but if enough cases were truly being solved by a medium there would be no debate.

The point of interest, I'd like to bring up at this time, my mother. First, understand a person whose family member is listed as missing will do anything to see to it that their loved one is located.

I have called nine hundred numbers, sat down for tarot card readings and even contacted so called free psychics who claim they will work a case out of the goodness of their hearts. The latter half are expecting a donation or in search of a high profile case in which they can exploit the details the family gives to them in order to gain attention for their own purposes of fraud. I have been turned away by every free psychic detective, I've ever discovered. A phone psychic claimed the ability of intuition, recommending making contact with a clairvoyant. Well, I wanted to ask,"why do you think I called you?" This "fortune teller" also masqueraded as a medium, stating he would know if my mother was dead or not. I'm not so sure this person would know anything I didn't first suggest.

Well meaning friends who feel they are able to sense past events have told me everything from she was killed near a large body of water to she is alive and in hiding. Wow. Where is she exactly? That's what the families of missing people both want and need to know.

A tarot reader promised to tell me if I'd bring in a picture and pay more money. I declined the invitation. Aren't you proud of me ?

So, does this mean I no longer believe in psychic phenomenon period ? Most of us have sensed impending danger or had "a feeling" about a shady character. The sixth sense may well be an often undiscovered part of all humanity. However, do psychics really have conversations with the dead, conversations that make clear sense ? In my opinion and from my experience, not the ones I've encountered.