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Ramsey ad seeks info on 'male'
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
Friday, May 9, 1997
An ad scheduled for this Sunday's Camera offering a reward in the JonBenet Ramsey homicide may include an appeal for information about a well-dressed male approaching young children around Christmastime.
Family spokeswoman Rachelle Zimmer did not return Daily Camera phone calls about the advertisement purchased by the JonBenet Ramsey Children's Foundation and offering a $100,000 reward. The ad also lists a telephone number for Crime Stoppers, the non-profit organization designed to help police solve crimes.
"Anyone with information regarding a well-dressed male approaching young children around Christmastime, please call," a draft of the ad reads.
Boulder Police Chief Tom Koby and other officials said they have no knowledge of the new information request.
"Normally people don't put their own information in (an ad) and use a Crime Stoppers phone number," said Stacy Cornay, public relations consultant for Boulder County Crime Stoppers. "There is a procedure that we follow."
Crime Stoppers authorities must approve the ad before publication, according to their contract with the foundation, but as of Thursday afternoon Cornay hadn't seen the proposed ad.
"I don't know what'll happen with the ad, but I haven't heard anything about police looking for some man talking to kids around Christmas," a source close to the investigation said. "I mean, some people dress up like Santa around that time of year and talk to kids, but that doesn't mean they killed JonBenet."
Family friends offered a different view.
"I hope everything is OK with this ad, because there are other people out there who may have committed this crime who need to be looked at," a family friend said. "There just isn't any way the Ramseys could have killed their daughter."
John Ramsey and a friend found the 6-year-old strangled in the basement of the Ramseys' home on Dec. 26. About eight hours earlier, Patsy Ramsey discovered a ransom note demanding $118,000 and called police.
The Ramsey foundation placed an initial ad in the April 27 Sunday Camera seeking JonBenet's killer or killers.
As of Tuesday, Crime Stoppers had received about 400 phone calls regard-
"There were a couple that would be followed up on, but the majority were not helpful," she said.
Officials also have altered the phrasing of Sunday's ad, Cornay noted. The April 27 ad asked for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey.
"The normal language for Crime Stoppers is always arrest and indictment, so that's what it should say," Cornay said.
Cornay also emphasized that Crime Stoppers has no connection to fliers on the Downtown Mall that claim John Ramsey killed his daughter. The posters imitated the April 27 advertisement and began appearing in downtown Boulder on Tuesday. "We want to encourage people to not call those lines unless they have something to contribute to crime investigations," Cornay said.
The poster put up on the mall naming John Ramsey the killer was made and posted by Frank Coffman as a way to impress a BORG poster on the Internet. he told me that himself - and that he regretted his adolescent behavior of the moment.
New ad drops Crime Stoppers
Ramsey family's latest plea seeks info on "adult male"
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer

Saturday, May 10, 1997

An ad scheduled for this Sunday's Camera indicates a possible suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey homicide.

"Anyone with information concerning an adult male approaching young children in Boulder in late 1996, please call," the ad purchased by the Ramsey family reads.

Family spokeswoman Rachelle Zimmer declined to elaborate on the appeal, which offers a $100,000 reward from the JonBenet Ramsey Children's Foundation.

"We have a reason for including the new material in the ad," Zimmer said.

The foundation removed the Crime Stoppers phone number from the ad, instead listing a hot line the Ramsey foundation established, Zimmer said.

"When you call the (foundation tip line), it asks you to leave your name, your phone number and information," said Officer Larry Wieda, coordinator for Boulder County Crime Stoppers, the nonprofit organization designed to help police solve crimes. "The phone records can be subpoenaed, so if an individual is seeking to be anonymous, it jeopardizes the anonymity of the callers. We're concerned with this."

A draft of the ad submitted to the Camera earlier this week included the Crime Stoppers phone number and stated, "Anyone with information regarding a well-dressed male approaching young chil dren around Christmastime, please call."

Police, however, have not received reports about such incidents.

"If we have an active lead to follow, of course we'll follow it," city spokeswoman Leslie Aaholm said.

John Ramsey and a friend found the 6-year-old strangled in the basement of the Ramseys' Boulder home on Dec. 26. About eight hours earlier, Patsy Ramsey discovered a ransom note demanding $118,000 and called police.

The Ramsey foundation placed an initial ad in the April 27 Sunday Camera including the Crime Stoppers number and requesting information leading to the arrest and conviction of JonBenet's killer or killers. But, in accordance with Crime Stoppers' policy, officials altered the phrasing of Sunday's ad to "arrest and indictment" of the person or persons responsible for the crime.

"They changed the wording ... and that (April 27) ad got some publicity for the Ramseys, and this one should get even more," a family friend said. "The information in the new one could have come from (the Ramseys') private investigators. And I'm sure people will call the foundation hot line or Crime Stoppers if they know anything, even if it seems Crime Stoppers and (the Ramseys) aren't getting along."

The omission of Crime Stoppers from Sunday's ad doesn't indicate conflict between the organization and the Ramseys, said Stacy Cornay, public relations consultant for Boulder County Crime Stoppers.

"They (the Ramseys) chose to include language which wasn't included in our agreement. Our agreement still holds, and we at Crime Stoppers wish to do everything we can to assist with this particular crime," Cornay said. "If they choose to run ads in the future, as long as they meet the terms of our agreement, we will continue to support that."

The ads, however, deflect attention from the Ramseys, some said Friday.

"My personal point of view is that it is part of a public relations strategy adopted by the Ramseys, and (I'd suggest) the community take it as such," Boulder Mayor Leslie Durgin said. "If the Ramseys have known about this, one wonders why they haven't said something earlier. We hope if the Ramseys learn anything, they will be forthcoming with the police."

University of Colorado law professor Christopher Mueller offered a similar view.

"The Ramsey family foundation should share with police whatever information they develop through their own investigation," he said. "If a lead appears first in a newspaper advertisement, it indicates a lack of coordination with investigating authorities. Apart from this problem of coordination and sharing of information, it seems proper to put at least general leads in a newspaper advertisement."
I want to note that the reward I posted for the year of 2017 says NOTHING about Crime Stoppers. While I did speak to them about the reward and the perimeters I outlined in the ad, I never thought to involve them. That reward is being put up by me alone and the GoFundMe campaign is also being managed by me and no one else.

(I always thought individual efforts were faster and smoother than group ventures and committee conversation.)