In a confusing Where's Waldo moment earlier this weekend, Katherine Jackson, the mother of Michael Jackson and the legal guardian of his three children was mysteriously reported missing by another family member on Saturday night while the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office asserted she was not missing, but with family members.
Where is Katherine Jackson and why does this iconic family seem shrouded in mystery yet again?
Prior to this most recent 'epicsode', a somewhat cryptic yet no less inflammatory letter penned by some of her children and sent to the executors of Jackson's estate, alleged Michael Jackson's Will, which left his fortune to his children, his mother and charity, was a fake.
If that was not enough, in an apparent effort to disallow the late Michael Jackson (M.J.) the right to rest in peace, Katherine now appears to have gone A.W.O.L.
While questions still remain as to exactly where she is/was, some family members have not been silent: "I want to reassure everyone (inc all sudden medical experts) that Mother is fine but is resting up in AZ on the orders of a doctor, not us," Jermaine Jackson tweeted. "This is our mother and her health is paramount. We are not inventing or plotting anything. We are following doctor's advice. Period," he added.
A disturbing twist in what has been a tangled web that has clearly impacted his children. As early Sunday, Paris Jackson tweeted: "The same doctor that testified on behalf of Dr. Murray saying my father was a drug addict (a lie) is caring for my grandmother... just saying."
The late Michael Jackson's daughter seems to have captured so much of this ongoing family drama in a simple phrase, "Just saying" as this is a brood who has had a lot to say, just rarely to one another directly.
As we reflect back on decades of accusations, one can't help but wonder where things went wrong and when things stopped being as "easy as, 1,2, 3, as simple as, do, re, mi... " Lyrics to the chart-topping song which arguably gave this family true bragging rights to being the most famous boy band of all times and endearing The Jackson Five to millions.
In the wake of so much recent calamity that defies reason; why can't this family find a way to exorcise the demons that have plagued them for decades? Is it love, is it money, or is it the love of money (and fame) that has lead them down a series of self-destructive paths that seem to bring great pain as well as front page media coverage?
Katherine goes missing while the Jackson brothers (Jermaine, Jackie, Tito and Marlon) are on a nationwide tour. Is this merely a coincidence or an attempt to grease the ticket sale wheel?
What would Michael think and equally as important, will this cycle of familial dysfunction ever be broken? Perhaps the answers and hopes rest with Paris, Prince Michael and Blanket Jackson? Perhaps they will rise above it all and restore order to the chaos. Or as is par for the course with this dynasty, will we simply be invited center ring for another well-orchestrated media circus?