There are good reasons to seriously doubt the "hearing voices'" story.
In another thread, poster "just browsing" declared the following:
"For all the non believers in an afterlife. Comments [requested].
"LINK FROM DESERET NEWS--4 police officers heard an adult woman's voice pleading to be helped coming from a partially submerged car--Only occupants inside were a deceased woman and an unconscious 2 year old. SPOOKY !!!!
"What think you?"
("For All the Non-Believers in an Afterlife, Comments," at:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1532848,1532848#msg-1532848)
_____
As the saying goes, dead women tell no tales--but believers in non-deadism do.
All of the following are "proof" of an "afterlife," of "God," of the "supernatural"? Not so fast, folks:
"'II FELT LIKE I COULD HEAR someone telling me, "I need help,' [Officer Bryan] DeWitt told CNN affiliate KSL. 'It was very surreal, something that I felt like I could hear.'" [emphasis added]
"Tyler Beddoes, a third officer at the scene, said the same.
"'Someone said "help me" inside that car,' he said.
("Baby who survived car crash in Utah river is getting better," at:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2015%2F03%2F09%2Fus%2Futah-baby-alive-submerged-car%2F&ei=xv_9VLqKKYinNoeUgKgH&usg=AFQjCNG89jK6Ix774Fy3muuiECc54LkmeQ&bvm=bv.87611401,d.eXY"'I remember hearing a voice that didn't sound like a child just say, "Help me," one of the rescuers, Officer Jared Warner, told NBC affiliate KSL. 'TO ME, it was plain as day,' he added." [emphasis added]
("Lily Groesbeck Rescue: Utah Cops Recall Pulling Toddler From Overturned Car in River," at:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CCcQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnews.com%2Fnews%2Fus-news%2Futah-rescuers-recall-pulling-toddler-overturned-car-river-n319831&ei=xv_9VLqKKYinNoeUgKgH&usg=AFQjCNGvigvAVw3yJy_pB8ceeb7ilbVdVw&bvm=bv.87611401,d.eXY)
"Four Spanish Fork police officers all said they heard it.
"'We've gotten together and just talkin' about it, and all four of us can swear that we heard somebody inside the car saying, "Help,"' officer Jared Warner recalled Sunday. . . .
"Dewitt was one of the first officers to arrive. The incident was originally reported as a possible abandoned vehicle in the river. But as he got closer, he said he could see the mother inside. Three more officers arrived almost simultaneously at the river.
"'We were down on the car and a distinct voice says, "Help me, help me,"' Dewitt recalled.
"'It wasn't just something that was just in our heads. TO ME it was plain as day cause I remember hearing a voice,' officer Tyler Beddoes said. [emphasis added] 'I think it was Dewitt who said, "We're trying. We're trying our best to get in there."
"'How do you explain that? I don't know,' he said, adding that the voice didn't sound like a child."
("Rescuers Recall 'Distinct Voice' that Spurred Them to Rescue Trapped Toddler," at;
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ksl.com%2F%3Fnid%3D148%26sid%3D33747089&ei=tw3-VMnEM5PcgwTq4IKQDw&usg=AFQjCNEcswSKOgntjbIRws-eEkC6IBFd8Q&bvm=bv.87611401,d.eXY)
"The officers who rescued a Utah toddler from death’s doorstep in a submerged car on Sunday said their adrenaline-fueled heroics were triggered by a mysterious plea. . . .
"The vehicle crashed into the river around 10:30 p.m., according to a witness who told police he heard the accident. The car was not visible from the roadway, and was not discovered until 14 hours later, when a fisherman spotted it at 12:24 p.m. Saturday and called police.
"That’s when Beddoes and his partners arrived. The witness told them that he could see an arm through the window, and the four men plunged into the freezing rapids to see if they could find any survivors.
"Then, suddenly, they started hearing the distinct sound of a woman’s voice, calling to them to help.
"'We heard a voice saying "help me, WE'RE in here." [emphasis added. [NOTE: Now the voice is claimed to have been speaking for both mother and child, as opposed to just "me".] It was clear as day. We replied back 'hang in there, we're trying what we can.'
"The voice motivated them to push harder because they believed there may be someone inside who was still alive. With their adrenaline pumping they pulled the heavy, water-filled car onto its side and discovered the driver was dead.
"The officers had no explanation for the mysterious voice that appeared to come from inside the car. Beddoes said he said he wouldn’t believe it really happened JAD NOT THE OTHER OFFICERS HEARD IT AS WELL. [emphasis added]
“'I don’t know what I THOUGHT I HEARD,' he said. 'I’m not a typically religious guy. It’s hard to explain--it was definitely something. Where and why it came from, I’m not sure.'"
("'Mysterious Voice' Led Utah Officers to Child Who Survived for 14 Hours in Submerged Car," at:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nydailynews.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fmysterious-voice-leads-police-baby-car-crash-article-1.2142732&ei=kg7-VLvcDsamggTDooAY&usg=AFQjCNEtOY5a8jodSrBJb8caoz_3eHKSSQ&bvm=bv.87611401,d.eXY)
"As four Utah police officers approached an overturned car discovered below a bridge in an icy river, they heard a woman's voice asking softly for help. . . .
"And that voice? Beddoes said he and the three officers talked later and concurred they all heard the same thing. They can't explain it, but have no doubt they heard it.
"'That's the part that really sends me for a whirl,' Beddoes said. 'I'm not really religious, BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK OF.' [emphasis added] . . .
"Beddoes said the family has thanked him and the other officers for helping to save little Lily. As he recalls the events of those chaotic moments, on a frigid but sunny day, Beddoes still can't believe the girl survived--and still can't make sense of that undeniable voice coming from the car.
"'We all got together and we all heard the same type of thing,' Beddoes said. 'We just can't grasp what we were hearing.'"
("Toddler Improving After 14 Hours in Upside-Down Car in River," at:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CCcQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Faponline%2F2015%2F03%2F09%2Fus%2Fap-us-car-in-river-infant-found.html&ei=TBD-VLzrNYiUNtPXgfAI&usg=AFQjCNG2EhHZv2Seclmct1X61ugZ54vWaw&bvm=bv.87611401,d.eXY)
Whoa. Take a deep breath.
Did the officers perhaps also "FEEL" they heard someone say, "help me"? Were they subliminally predisposed to "hear" a voice because another said he "FELT" he had heard a voice? Or that, as one of the officers officer stated, "TO ME," [that voice] was as plain as day"? Were the officers affected by what one responding officer said "I THOUGHT I heard"?
"Hear" we go again. A supernatural spin being put on an event that doesn't automatically or necessarily require "GOD" as the explanation.
*Critical reaction to the supposedly mystical aspect of the story:
--"I'm skeptical. People claim to see UFOs, be abducted, see heaven when they pass away, see dead relatives etc. People as witnesses often believe they correctly identify suspects in a lineup. I think human minds are really easily swayed into creating memories that may or may not be based on real events. It wouldn't surprise me if someone told her about the event and she reconstructed it in her head, and now believes she vividly remembers it."
--"That's . . . true. Either way, that's all I'm willing to go into on that one. There's not much point to trying to prove a personal story."
("Baby Found Alive 13 Hours after Car Plunges into a River in Utah"
For those willing to swallow tales of the "sacred," superstitious and sensational, the following article is recommended, "Child’s Rescue Swirls with Supernatural":
"An 18-month-old child survives a tragic car crash into a river, a crash that likely instantly killed her mother. She is rescued 14 hours later, alive, still strapped into her car seat. Rescuers then tell the media that they were prompted by an adult female voice that called “Help” from the overturned vehicle. What are we to think of this? Miracle? Guardian angel? Or misinterpretation? The dramatic story has commentators arguing about God and supernatural intervention.
"'Rescuers Claim Mystery Voice Called to Them to Save Toddler Trapped in Car That Overturned in Utah River'
"'Lily wasn’t moving when rescuers found her, hanging upside down in her mother’s smashed car. It had flipped over into a frigid Utah river half a day before, and the baby was still strapped in her seat.
"'Lily’s mother, Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, died in the crash that had landed their car on its roof in the Spanish Fork River. She was 25 years old. . . .
"'A mystery arose from the rescue: The police officers who entered the water say they heard a voice calling for help.
"'The mother was dead, but the officers said that they heard an adult’s voice calling to them.
“'The four of us heard a distinct voice coming from the car,' Warner told CNN. 'To me, it didn’t sound like a child’s voice.'
"'The voice gave the rescuers a surge of adrenaline needed to push the vehicle upright, he said.'
A local heard the crash the night before but could not see anything strange. A fisherman spotted the vehicle. So, this was not an isolated area. Could there have been someone else around? As suggested on Group of Fort, perhaps a homeless woman was there. Or, the story notes that all the rescuers “discussed” the event. Could it be that one heard what he thought was a cry for help (but instead was an echo or other noise misperceived) and the others agreed? Or, shall we assume that after 14 hours, now was the time that God or the guardian angel chose to act? That’s confusing.
"The mysterious voice did not actually save the child since rescuers were already on the scene and checking for survivors. What saved this child was the car seat, the person who called emergency services, and the rescuers who got her out. No miracle here."
*Attached reader commentary on the above:
-"Not surprising. Religious opportunists will exploit any occasion to put a religious spin on any feel-good story. Isn’t it near Easter enough to call it an Easter Miracle?"
-"Riversides can be quite noisy, depending on what the water is interacting with as it passes by, rocks, trees, etc. And in that circumstance, the ‘cry’ could have been caused by rushing water interacting with parts of the half-submerged car. Also, the rescuers would have been trained and primed to listen for calls for help as part of their job, so perhaps they erred on the side of caution when interpreting the sound as human caused."
-"Heard this story on the 'Today Show' and, naturally, everyone had to chime in on what a ‘miracle’ it was. It seems that anytime someone escapes death or serious injury in any sort of accident it’s a ‘miracle’ to everyone working on television. Wouldn’t it be more of a miracle if everyone in the accident or tragedy walked away without injury rather than one or two? To me the 'miracle' is that some of these folks throwing the term around actually have jobs in journalism."
-"So, it was a miracle the child lived (and to be clear I’m happy the child survived)--but what about the mother who died? She didn’t deserve a miracle? Where is HER miracle? And wouldn’t the child be happier with a living mother?"
-"I was born and raised not far from where this story happened. And from my personal experience, I can say these sort of faith-promoting rumors have a long-standing tradition. Most active members of the pre-dominant religion [Mormon] are always on the lookout for divine interventions, personal revelations and anything that supports their beliefs. Almost every family has some kind of story of a relative that was saved by a vision or a voice. Chance occurrences never seem to happen--always there is some divine purpose. These stories are pretty much a dime a dozen throughout the region. My comment does not mean I think the men involved are liars. Far from it. They probably sincerely believe they were guided. Its just when you are raised to see and expect miracles, you are very likely to experience one–or assume what you see is one."
("Child’s Rescue Swirls with Supernatural Commentary," by "idoubtit," 11 March 2015, on "Doubtful News: Belief/Superstition, Paranormal, Perception, Unsolved Mystery,"at:
http://doubtfulnews.com/2015/03/childs-rescue-swirls-with-supernatural-commentary/)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2015 04:57PM by steve benson.