From Ric: At what point does TIGHAR's evidence become so good that we don't dare release it before we've had a chance to secure the site? Is there such a point?
Ric, I believe that there is such a point and that point is reached when evidence indicates that an object(s) that would offer definitive proof is at a specific location or in a specific area and that, without responding to and securing that area before announcing the evidence, it would be possible for someone else to reach the area first and either destroy the evidence out of malice or claim the discovery for themselves. In TIGHAR's case, the evidence being destroyed before it could be collected and proven for what it is can be used to discredit the hypothesis of what happened to AE/FN, making the quest that much harder. The evidence being announced as a discovery by someone else, although proving TIGHAR's case, would still be a bitter pill to swallow. Having been in law enforcement for 22 years I can say that, when we have sufficient evidence to believe that something happened at a specific place we secure that place, obtain a search warrant, and locate the evidence we were looking for (most of the time). In this case you are dealing with an island controlled by a sovereign nation that is located in an inconvenient place with a less than hospitable environment, making the security and search for whatever the object(s) might be much more difficult. No, much as I'd like to know every detail and what it is that may be waiting to be found, some things need to withheld from the rest of us until the search is concluded. Although a tid bit released here and there does keep the forum moving. In a round about way I would believe that something is on the horizon, the thunderclap perhaps? LTM- John