The Investigation Discovery show “Vanished Without a Trace” airs on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. Reviews have not come back favorable for the most part and you’re either a fan or you’re not. There has been some speculation that the show is little more than a highly scripted poorly executed attempt at solving cases involving strange disappearances. Is the show real or is it a fake? We think that we’ve found the answer and here is why.
Real cases are investigated
The Australian based television series investigates real cases which have been documented. For example, the case of Tara Gristead, who went missing in 2005. The 30 year old was a school teacher who disappeared in 2005. She had been volunteering her time to help with a beauty pageant just prior to her disappearance. The last time that she was seen was on October 23, 2005 at a barbecue she was leading after coaching contestants for a local beauty pageant.
The Ocilla Georgia teacher was a former beauty queen herself. When she didn’t show up for work the next day, co-workers reported her missing. The police found her car outside, unlocked, but she, her purse and keys were gone. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was alerted to the mysterious disappearance. The police solved the mystery in February of 2017. One of her former students, Ryan Alexander Duke was arrested for burglarizing her home, strangling her, then burning her body. A latex glove with DNA was found near her home in 2008 and it took law enforcement several years to match it to Duke.
Phil Sylvester was actually kidnapped himself
People go missing everyday. Sometimes they are found alive, other times their bodies are found, and sometimes they are missing without a trace. It is too easy for kidnappers to lay their hands on international travelers who are not familiar with their surroundings. Sylvester discusses his ordeal as he and his girlfriend were kidnapped in Sicily. His fast thinking got them both out of the situation before any real harm was done but he tells the story to illustrate how quickly it can happen. His interview highlighted the high number of Australian citizens who have disappeared. The subject is timely and it is something that everyone should consider. It can happen whether you’re traveling in a foreign country, shopping at the mall, or just coming home from work, in your own driveway.
The show features re-enactments
Is the show scripted? Yes, it definitely is, but the script follows what is known about the case under investigation. It is not a creation of a fictional story, so in this sense yes, the show is real. Because not all details of the case are known, there are apt to be some fill ins, or fabrications for the sake of drama. All considerations being weighed in the discussion, for the most part, the show is real.
The billing lends authenticity
“Vanished Without a Trace is categorized as a crime and law special. It delivers on both claims. The retelling of the stories come as close to the truth as possible. From what we can see, there are no false claims made about the series, so there is really no basis to consider it to be a fake.
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