And Now, Irony with Added Schadenfreude

The July/August issue of the Skeptical Inquirer reports on the April 12 abduction of six-week-old Graciana Heughan in Toronto. The abductor was Graciana's mother, Lisa, whose father is Anthony Carr, a prominent Toronto area psychic billed as the "World's Most Documented Psychic." Carr has appeared in tabloids such as The Sun, The Globe, The National Examiner, and on Fox News. According to Carr's Web site, "politicians, royalty, Hollywood stars, and media people know that Carr is in a class all by himself. He has done readings for Sylvester Stallone, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Lillian Gish, Richard Burton, Liberace, and Mikail [sic] Gorbachev."

Nevertheless, shortly after the abduction, Carr appeared on the Canadian television network CTV saying he had no idea where his granddaughter was and pleading for his daughter to turn herself in. His allegedly "amazing" psychic abilities apparently didn't warn him that his granddaughter would be abducted, nor did they tell him where she could be found and rescued.

The child was recovered safely early the next morning, and Lisa Heughan, who had a history of drug abuse and mental illness, was charged with the abduction along with an unidentified man.