Browne wrong again: Chandra Levy

Psychics wrong about Chandra Levy
Skeptical Inquirer,
Nov-Dec, 2002
by Benjamin Radford
...
Self-proclaimed psychic Sylvia Browne told Fox News Channel's Paula Zahn that Levy's body was near "some trees down in a marshy area." Browne may need to buy some Windex for her crystal ball: The remains were found across a steep incline in a heavily wooded area-perhaps near some trees' but clearly not "in a marshy area," since a marsh located on an incline is geographically impossible...
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Full: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_6_26/ai_94044225

We should have a scoreboard...

Reality: 120 and counting; Browne: 0.

Wasn't she on Larry King about the Chandra Levy case? I'm assuming she didn't get "park in DC" on there, either.

Actually, I'm partway through an article where her Chandra Levy prediction is analyzed. She did get that Chandra would be found in that park.

However, it was already known that police strongly suspected that's where she was, because the day she disappeared, someone use her computer to look up directions on how to get to that park.

Yeah, the police were already searching that park, so her prediction wasn't out of the blue. All she had to do was read newspapers or watch cable news.

pspaddict said:

Yeah, the police were already searching that park, so her prediction wasn't out of the blue. All she had to do was read newspapers or watch cable news.

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Linda Rossi didn't like it when Anderson Cooper said the same thing. She just tried to imply that Sylvia didn't watch the news or some such nonsense.

I believe another arguement Linda Rossi made was that Sylvia made her prediction before they searched the park. They just didn't actually recieve the prediction from Sylvia's people until after they were already searching the park.

RSLancastr said:

Actually, I'm partway through an article where her Chandra Levy prediction is analyzed. She did get that Chandra would be found in that park.

However, it was already known that police strongly suspected that's where she was, because the day she disappeared, someone use her computer to look up directions on how to get to that park.

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Are you planning on looking at her World Trade Center bombing claim? Going through the old news reports that seems to be one of her crowning achievements.

While Cooper did a good job shooting holes through it it would be nice to have a detailed article.

From what I remember of the Chandra Levy case from following it in the news years ago, wasn't she eventually found by a guy walking his dog?

How can it be that the police didn't find her in the park where she had vanished that they had combed through dozens of times? Is the park that big?

EeneyMinnieMoe said:

From what I remember of the Chandra Levy case from following it in the news years ago, wasn't she eventually found by a guy walking his dog?

How can it be that the police didn't find her in the park where she had vanished that they had combed through dozens of times? Is the park that big?

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It is nearly 3,000 acres, some densely wooded.

And the guy wasn't just walking his dog. He and the dog were hunting for turtles in one of the more remote areas of the park.

No idea what he was going to do with turtles...

Rob- I know that you've already analyzed Chandra Levy but I think you should do a missing person's article on Browne's very publicly inserting herself into that story. And because it was on Fox, count it on her missing persons/ homicide scorecard, even if as a footnote.

I don't know if QG supplied you with the full Paula Zahn interview- I'd think he must have- but I guess it can't hurt to cover all bases.

Here, for everyone's dark amusement, is the text:

(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: We are back with more on the search for Chandra Levy.
Sylvia Browne is a psychic medium known around the world for her ability to help find missing children, and she has donated countless hours to helping police solve crimes. Sylvia has a new book out called "Past Lives, Future Healing." She joins us tonight from Los Angeles.
Welcome.
SYLVIA BROWNE, PSYCHIC AND SPIRITUAL TEACHER: Welcome.
ZAHN: All right, Sylvia. As the search goes on in this park area not far from where Gary Condit lived and where Chandra Levy lived, I think it's interesting to note that recent surveys show that approximately 35 percent of urban U.S. police departments use psychics, 19 percent of rural departments use psychics. We contacted the Washington PD tonight, and they confirmed that they have been certainly been approached by psychics, but they have not consulted with one yet.
BROWNE: Well, see, I never...
ZAHN: If you were to consult with the PD, what would you tell them to do? Where should they be looking?
BROWNE: Well, see, I never ambulance chase. They always, you know, call me. If I were to take a helicopter straight up and to look at this park, which makes sort of a square, except it's got a little bit of a point to it -- I haven't seen the -- you know, the topography of it. But to the left of this, if I were facing west, let's say, there's a marshy area. There are some trees down in a marshy area.
In other words, when you step on this land, it looks like it could have been a seabed or something. It's a marshy area. This is where the body is. This girl -- I am sorry to tell you this, but this girl is not alive.
ZAHN: How do you know that, Sylvia? Has this been something that you've been spending time...
BROWNE: Well, Paula, you know...
ZAHN: ... thinking about and analyzing?
BROWNE: No, no. No. Paula, you know, you can either be one place or the other. If you're not here, you've got to be there.
ZAHN: And why are you so convinced she's there?[tilde]
BROWNE: Because I'm a psychic. I know where she -- I know she's there. She was gone very quickly after she was first missing.
ZAHN: And do you have any insights as to how she got into trouble?
BROWNE: Well, I won't go into all of that, but let me just say -- and this is certainly not accusing, but I think that a lot more is going to come out, that Condit knows a plot more than he's saying that he knows. I don't care what polygraph tests he takes or what he does. I think he's very familiar with where she was going, what she was going to do, how she felt, what frame of mind she was in, and he's not saying anything.
ZAHN: All right. The police continue to tell us he is not a suspect, never has been, is not one tonight. Do you think he had something to do with her disappearance, or do you think he could just provide more clues as to what might have happened to her?
BROWNE: I think he could certainly provide a hell of a lot more clues. Let me put it to you this way, that he's -- I mean, let's face it, not because he lied in the beginning, because who hasn't? You know, going way back to whoever. But the thing that bothers me the most is -- and we're going to have more women coming out of the woodwork, by the way, which is neither here nor there. But he knows a lot more of the clues than he's saying.
And I think that's a terrible travesty to the family because, I mean, like you said earlier, I work with police for missing children. I have children, grandchildren. I love children. I mean, if it was my child -- you know, please come forward. If you're going to come forward and say -- first you don't have an affair, then you did. Well, then at least come forward and say that you knew she was on her way from here to there, and where she could have stopped and what could have happened.
ZAHN: OK, let me ask you this, Sylvia. As you know, there are folk in our audience tonight who look at psychics with a great deal of cynicism. And they know the Levy family contacted -- or actually, a psychic contacted the family, and she did her own analysis.
BROWNE: Yeah.
ZAHN: And what she saw was -- the words "East" kept on coming up, and the words "Brookline" and that Chandra wants to go home, but she can't get out, I guess implying that she's trapped, not necessarily dead. So what do you say to folks who say, "Wait a minute." You know, "You psychics can have 110 different theories for what happened to Chandra"?
BROWNE: I don't know about other psychics. I just keep very parochial in my own world, and I mean, my track record is pretty good. I mean, as I show on Montel's show, because we do follow-ups. I think if you're not good, they don't keep contacting you. I get a little concerned when the psychic contacts the family, though. I mean, that's sort of like ambulance chasing, like I said earlier. If you come to me, then I'll tell you, but me running around trying to get into the -- you know, the Blake case, the Chandra Levy -- no, no. I don't do that. I wouldn't have done that unless you called me.
ZAHN: Actually, I may have misrepresented that. If I remember correctly, I think, actually, a friend of the family wanted to seek out the comfort level that the Levys have of seeing a psychic because somehow they came together. But the point well taken, that I understand you have a great disdain for people you think are preying on other folks.
BROWNE: Exactly.
ZAHN: Tell me how Chandra's -- the status of this investigation might square with some of the information in your new book, "Past Lives, Future Healing."
BROWNE: Well, I think it -- not so much this, although we are going to write a mystery book. But I think it shows that life after life, time after time, we keep going through these horrible things -- and believe me, my heart goes out to that family -- is that we do chart these things, and these things keep recurring in our life until we do learn.
That doesn't mean the Levy family has to keep coming back and losing a daughter. But I mean, all the horrible things that happen in life are for a reason, as amazing as it is, because, you know, like my grandmother used to tell me, who was a great psychic, within your weakness, there lies your strength sleeping.
But I will tell the Levy family this, that for whatever they believe, she is very happy now. I mean, she -- see, I don't see her incarcerated anywhere. What do you mean? She was a healthy, strong girl. What do you mean, somebody's got her in a box somewhere, kept somewhere? That's stupid.
ZAHN: Let me ask you this. You say you have a pretty good track record. How many criminal cases have you cracked open, or missing persons cases?
BROWNE: Hundreds. I don't even know how to count. I have them on file. But I have hundreds. Hundreds. I mean, when I'm on Montel's show, I'll do six, seven, eight cases at once, and then he'll do a follow-up on them.
ZAHN: Also, I know it will be tough for people to hear what the conclusion is that you've just arrived at. Are you sensitive to share that kind of information in such a public forum tonight here on TV...
BROWNE: No, I...
ZAHN: ... when the news...
BROWNE: I think it's worse...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWNE: You know -- you know, Paula, I think it's worse not knowing, don't you think? I think -- and I do believe you never get closure. I hate that word, "closure." I don't know. I've lost so many people in my life. I don't know if you ever get closure on that. But I think false hope is also horrible, don't you think? I think that's terrible. I mean, every day, they're waiting -- and I heard a little bit before you came on - - the phone to ring, her to show up. That's horrifying. That's horrifying.
ZAHN: One last question for you this evening, Sylvia. You've come to your own conclusions about what you think has happened to Chandra Levy. Once again, for the folks out there that put very little credence into either what you've seen or what you've heard, what do you say to them tonight?
BROWNE: I don't care, Paula. I mean, you know, when you do your work for God and you do the best you can and your motive is pure, I don't care what people think. I mean, you can't.
ZAHN: All right. Sylvia Browne, good to have you with us on THE EDGE tonight. Appreciate your joining us.
BROWNE: It's good to be with you, Paula.
ZAHN: You can read an excerpt of Sylvia's new book by logging onto our Web site at foxnews.com.
And we want to thank you all for watching us at home tonight. We hope you have a great night. And thanks again for making us the fastest-growing show on cable TV. See you again tomorrow night.

This is great, EMM. Aside from the case, I find this little exchange to be enlightening:

BROWNE: This girl -- I am sorry to tell you this, but this girl is not alive.
ZAHN: How do you know that, Sylvia? Has this been something that you've been spending time...
BROWNE: Well, Paula, you know...
ZAHN: ... thinking about and analyzing?
BROWNE: No, no. No. Paula, you know, you can either be one place or the other. If you're not here, you've got to be there.
ZAHN: And why are you so convinced she's there?[tilde]
BROWNE: Because I'm a psychic. I know where she -- I know she's there. She was gone very quickly after she was first missing.

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"You just know," and "Because I'm a psychic. I know where she is" seems to be in stark contrast to someone who admits she can be wrong 20% of the time (and is in fact wrong as near to 100% of the time as can be measured).

Claiming to "know" something is not at all the same as having a hunch or intuition about something that you admit might be wrong.


So, SB believers, does she know or does she just make guesses based on some kind of probability?

Can she be wrong even some of the time and still have the psychic powers she claims to have?

Towards the end she says, "But I think false hope is also terrible, don't you think? I think that's terrible."

As if SHE hasn't given false hope or hurt people who are waiting for news about their loved ones.

JoeTheJuggler said:

This is great, EMM. Aside from the case, I find this little exchange to be enlightening:

"You just know," and "Because I'm a psychic. I know where she is" seems to be in stark contrast to someone who admits she can be wrong 20% of the time (and is in fact wrong as near to 100% of the time as can be measured).

Claiming to "know" something is not at all the same as having a hunch or intuition about something that you admit might be wrong.


So, SB believers, does she know or does she just make guesses based on some kind of probability?

Can she be wrong even some of the time and still have the psychic powers she claims to have?

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Thank you, Joe, I appreciate it. I can't believe that QG and I somehow never posted it before.

The whole interview is enlightening like that. I wondered if Paula Zahn was just asking her the obvious questions as a matter of course, like Larry King does, or actually trying to get Browne to say the most embarrassing and incriminating things she possibly could.

Minarvia said:

Towards the end she says, "But I think false hope is also terrible, don't you think? I think that's terrible."

As if SHE hasn't given false hope or hurt people who are waiting for news about their loved ones.

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I also noted the part where she rails against psychic frauds preying on people, says she'd never ambulance chase disappearances, claims to do follow ups on Montel and says that as a mother, she'd always sympathize with the parents of missing people.

This is article material for sure.

EeneyMinnieMoe said:

ZAHN: Actually, I may have misrepresented that. If I remember correctly, I think, actually, a friend of the family wanted to seek out the comfort level that the Levys have of seeing a psychic because somehow they came together. But the point well taken, that I understand you have a great disdain for people you think are preying on other folks.
BROWNE: Exactly.

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I'm just now reading this thread.
I do wish you had added a warning at the top of the page.
ex:
The following article will probably make you sick to your stomach. Please
make sure you're near a bathroom or holding a barf bag before you read further.

I find Sylvia's comment about the follow ups they do on Montel interesting. Has anyone every actually seen one of these?

There have been four follow-ups of any kind I can think of. One was missing person's Terry Webb's daughters (search the forum for that, it's covered in a thread) and another, another was a follow-up on two sisters who had been given medical advice, one was a follow-up on the mother of a murdered boy (search for "Weyman Robbins") and another was an Iraq war widow who had gone on Montel to corroborate dreams she was having about her husband.

She had also inseminated herself with her late husband's sperm (or did they freeze embryos? I don't remember now) after his death and was pregnant at the time. Sylvia also gave her a prediction on that. Search for "Linda Torres". It's very, very sad.

To my mind, all the followups save the medical one show how miserably she failed. I can't believe she'd pass them off as hits.

Edit: And the medical one is a "Not enough information to tell". Frankly, it looks as if she had gotten one element right in the context of five or six failed predictions. And that's if she was accurate about the one thing.

Here's some interesting quotes from a NY Daily News article:

TITLE: PSYCHICS BURN UP THE HOTLINE TO CHANDRA
PAPER: New York Daily News
DATE: Sunday, July 22, 2001
BY: HELEN KENNEDY DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Chandra Levy says she was murdered and can finger her killer - or so says medium Lysa Mateu, who claims to talk to Levy every day.
...
"I have never, in 25 years as an FBI agent, ever worked a case with a psychic who gave us information of value," said former agent Clint Van Zandt. "And I've never heard of such a case."
...
Desperate, Robert and Susan Levy have consulted a few psychics. One, who was given some of their daughter's clothing, told them she was buried in woods in Fairfax, Va. - then sold the story to a supermarket tabloid. Another said the former intern is alive, trapped in a bad Brooklyn neighborhood, according to a family friend.

Last month, Robert Levy was booked on a Fox News show the same night as psychic Rosemary Altea. But after speaking to Altea just before airtime, the distraught father abruptly canceled his appearance.

Altea, who claims to speak with the dead, went back on Fox News to complain that the Levys won't return her calls. "If she were not alive, I would certainly be able to speak with her," Altea said. "I've not yet been given the opportunity to try, and that's a great shame."

Sylvia Browne, who does psychic readings over the phone for $700 a pop, has been on TV proclaiming that Levy is in a marsh in Rock Creek Park.
...

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Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2001/07/22/2001-07-22_psychics_burn_up_the_hotline.html

God, anybody living in DC would tell you that Rock Creek Park is the most likely place for dumping a body. It is 3000 acres of heavily wooded wilderness dumped into the middle of a major city.
I cannot understand how Anybody takes Brown seriously.
And that Larry King never challenged her is just another reason why it is impossible to take King seriously as an interviewer.