Fox tries to blame Call of Duty video game on Eric Hall's disappearance

How did NewsHounds miss this one?

From Destructoid
www.destructoid.com

Call of Duty 4 linked to ex-Marine's disappearance: Thankfully FOX has the scoop
by Jim Sterling on

FOX, America's agenda-free and unbiased source for well-researched news, has a new videogame related story up that links Call of Duty 4 with the disappearance of former Marine Eric Hall. Hall, who was wounded in Iraq, had been playing the game before he apparently got up, said he had to go, and then left, never to return. FOX would like to remind you again -- it was a videogame that caused this.

Hall's time in Iraq was traumatic, to say the least. He was injured by a bomb that caused damage to his right arm, left leg, hip and abdomen, and also had to witness his best friend's decapitation during the conflict. Prior to his disappearance, Hall had been suffering from flashbacks and hallucinations. It is believed he fled his home on a motorcycle, which was later abandoned.

Not to be mean spirited or anything, but who decided that playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a good idea after you've been traumatized in the Iraq conflict? Do people who have been savaged in a shark attack watch Jaws as soon as they're released from hospital? Perhaps he thought it would be cathartic, but obviously that's not how it turned out. A worrying story, and testament to what war can do to one's mind. Honestly though, I wouldn't recommend anybody who went through what Hall did playing CoD4. A negative reaction to the gritty and grounded war title should have been seen a mile away.

http://www.destructoid.com/call-of-duty-4-linked-
to-ex-marine-s-disappearance-thankfully-fox-has-the-scoop-69583.phtml

The question is, did the game have anything to do with this or not?

From FOX

Missing Ex-Marine's Family Says Video Game May Have Sparked Disappearance
Sunday, February 10, 2008

Relatives of a missing ex-Marine wounded in Iraq fear a video game that simulates combat may have triggered war memories that led to his disappearance, Florida's Herald Tribune reported.

After playing "Call of Duty," Eric Hall "just got up and said he had to go," Courtney Birge, a family friend, told the newspaper.

The 24-year-old Hall left the home of a relative in Deep Creek, Fla., where he was staying, on Feb. 3, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. He rode away on a motorcycle that was later found on a roadside, still running.

Hall had been hallucinating and having flashbacks, the sheriff's office said.
Hall's father, Kevin, remained in their native Indiana in case his son returned.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330225,00.html

Even though they gave the game this review less than two months ago.

Review: 'Call of Duty 4' One of Best Games of Year
Friday, December 21, 2007

By Dan Scheraga

NEW YORK — "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare," the latest in the celebrated series of first-person shooters, has some pretty big shoes to fill.

The fact that it must compete with the much-hyped "Halo 3" and "BioShock" doesn't make things any easier.

But "Call of Duty 4" ($59.99 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC) has one major advantage: It does everything right.

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Video Gaming Center.

First, the graphics are awesome. As in, my jaw hung open in awe when I first saw the beautifully rendered images on a high-definition TV. It still looks like a video game, but sometimes not by much.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317705,00.html

The other question that needs to be answered is, what point did FOX have of reporting on this game when all the other reports did not? What do they have to gain by trying to tie Call Of Duty to this Marine suffering PTSD? Are they trying to say this wouldn't have happened if he didn't play the game? Well then, that explains why VIETNAM VETERANS WENT MISSING BECAUSE OF PTSD BEFORE THESE VIDEO GAMES WERE EVEN INVENTED! ARE THEY (FOX) INSANE? We had over 300,000 homeless Vietnam veterans and Lord knows how many more were missing from their families and never reported to the point where they were linked to Vietnam. PTSD is documented all the way back to ancient Greeks and Romans and yes, even in the Bible. So what the hell are they trying to say?