As late as 4:30 p.m. this afternoon, the West Seattle Herald has been communicating directly with Amanda Knox's grandmother, Edda's mom Liz Huff, by phone and in person since Amanda was released from prison about 30 hours ago. She was then heading to the house of Amanda's mother and step-father, Edda and Chris Mellas.

Upon the landing of the British Airways jet containing Amanda and family, and following the brief press conference in which she spoke while overwhelmed with emotion, thanking her supporters, the family quickly departed the airport.

The motorcade brought family members to the home of Amanda's father, Curt, who lives near Edda and Liz, in Arbor Heights. While no one in the press would begrudge Amanda the desire for privacy with her family following three years and 11 months in and Italian prison, the mystery remains, "Where did she go?"

The West Seattle Herald wishes Amanda and her family well as she begins to readjust here, and perhaps considers reenrolling at the UW, which her father, when interviewed at his house tonight, speculated she would probably do.

BBC radio

The West Seattle Herald has been contacted by BBC radio, and its website, six times and counting since Amanda was freed for our local perspective on our community's reaction to Amanda's newfound freedom. In these interviews, we have pointed out that, since the gruesome murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, many in West Seattle have not forgotten about Ms. Kercher. Her mourning family, and many others in Great Britain have speculated that the memory of the murder victim was lost in the shuffle in America, particularly here in Seattle.

Also, the West Seattle Herald countered the prevailing perception the BBC tells us, which is that the British assume "everybody in Seattle always believed Amanda Knox was innocent of all wrong-doing since the murder"

Through our reporting, and anecdotal interviews over the years, we have found that many (but not all) following the trial closely in both Seattle, and specifically in West Seattle felt that Amanda "may have been involved with the murder on some level". We found that perception to shift when the independent forensics experts' found that the prosecution's initial collecting of evidence that earned Amanda a guilty verdict in 2009 was flawed. Therefore the opinion of some local skeptics were swayed toward her innocence as more evidence came in.

The BBC also tells us that many in Great Britain believe "the prosecution thinks that Ms. Kercher was murdered by more than one person, and therefore 'others' are definitely involved". The court and jury have now agreed that one person's evidence alone was at the murder scene, Rudy Guede. However, many in Great Britain rely on the prosecution's initial findings.

We will update our readers on the story of Amanda's return.