Elizabeth Smart case, August 14, 2002

[IamHD]

New thread for the 14th of August.

[sandude]

That's big money and it might tweak someone who knows something into action.

Perhaps, but it is also possible that the only other person or persons that know anything about this would be facing a death penalty by coming forth.

[Jolly Green]

You could find out when visiting day is at the prison, and try to visit Ricci.

Wouldn't that be a hoot? I've done crazier things, but we won't go there.

[JudyB1938]

Ah, c'mon, Jolly. Tell us about your crazy escapades. We won't tell. Honest.

[landerwy]

This is on KSL.com

August 14, 2002--
Police seem to be at a dead end in the Smart investigation.

In a desperate attempt to reach the man who kidnapped their daughter, Ed and Lois Smart have released a letter to the abductor.

News Specialist Stacey Butler has thethe story.

The Smarts still maintain Elizabeth is alive somewhere being held captive.

Today for the first time they wrote this letter to the kidnapper begging him to release their daughter.

It's been more than two months since Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her Arlington Hills home in the middle of the night.

The only suspect in the case--Richard Ricci is being held in prison facing a life sentence.

He still maintains he had nothing to do with Elizabeth's disappearance. And police have no other real leads.

Today in an effort to communicate with whoever kidnapped his daughter--- Ed Smart read from a letter he and his wife wrote.

"TO ELIZABETH'S HOLDER, WE CAN'T EXPRESS IN WORDS HOW MUCH WE MISS ELIZABETH AS AUTHORITIES CONTINUE TO PIECE TOGETHER A PUZZLE, WE ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN ONE THING, FINDING ELIZABETH....BE RETURNED TO US."

Ed expressed frustration that there have been so few leads in the case, but maintains he has faith in police and the FBI to ultimately bring resolution.

Click Here to View the Entire Smart Letter (pdf format)
(From www.ElizabethSmart.com)

[Bella]

Thank you so much! :-)

[Jolly Green]

I agree with this but also feel that MK waking up and spotting the perp was more significant. I think the investigation would have moved much slower without the intense media interest that resulted because of the Rachel alert going out. Perhaps the Jeep would have been back at the trailer park by the time authorities got around to talking to Rick. They may have never even known it had been to the garage at all.

As I said before, you have an excellent point about the jeep being key. My theory has been the "big score", since the bank robberies only netted about $600/perp. (The burglary gone wrong theory is thought to be the cops theory.) I think that there may be three possible scenarios:

1) Ricci's accomplice raped and/or killed the girl probably while Ricci was at work, accounting for Ricci's sour attitude when he returned the jeep.
2) Ricci acted alone and may have thought he could leave the girl in the jeep in a secure location - tied and gagged. Maybe she suffocated in the unseasonably hot June weather this year. This might account for why all the windows were open on the jeep when it was returned.
3) Maybe Ricci and his accomplice(s) decided to cut their losses after the sensational publicity. It became unrealistic to assume they could safely get a huge ransom after FBI involvement, nationwide publicity, etc.

There are several interesting questions I would like to have answers to: At the time the police interviewed Edmunds, they said he provided useful information. What was it? A few weeks after Ricci was arrested and the jeep was confiscated, there was a report that they had found blood evidence in it. We never heard any more about that. Whose blood was it?

[JudyB1938]

You're sure enough welcome.

[Utah Girl]

Well, I can't find the article where it says that the perp talked about Elizabeth being held hostage. I'm continuing to search on Brigitte's site, but every new page I click on 2-3 ads pop up. Kinda frustrating. :)

I just remember the hostage statement because I had chills when I read it. The perp said something along the lines of he hadn't decided what to do with Elizabeth, but maybe he would take her hostage.

[sandude]

Thanks for your reply. I will get back to you later on this. I've got to run some errands right now. And by the way, thanks for showing a more "Jolly" side of yourself today.

[JudyB1938]

I've found that sometimes if you don't close the ads, they won't continue to pop up as you travel from page to page in the same website.

[Utah Girl]

Thanks. I finally remembered to do that, and only one popup ad would appear. :)

[Neenah]

I came on line late tonight, and so I have not read further down. I hope I am not duplicating alot here.

I am confused by this. I truly understand the grief of this couple, but I find the language strange. Maybe it is just me.....

To Elizabeth's holder(s):

We cannot express in words how much we miss Elizabeth. As the authorities continue to piece together a puzzle, we still are only interested in one thing - finding Elizabeth. We believe that she is alive and wants desperately to be returned to us. At this time the police have a potential suspect in custody. Whether or not you are the person who took her, we are pleading with you to do the right thing and let her come home. We sincerely beg you to release her or inform us of her whereabouts. She is part of our family and we are willing to do anything to get Elizabeth back. We will make it as easy as possible for you to release her or share the information that will lead us to her.

They then tell the person of the anonymously confidential tip line....

Apparently, this family does not take as fact that Ricci is "the one" that kidnapped their daughter. If they did, they would not plea with anyone else, but wait until the police put the puzzle together.

If I believed Ricci was "the one", I would have doubt after reading the words of Ed and Lois Smart on August 14, 2002.

Something is wrong.

[Neenah]

The Jeep is the key to this mystery.

Substitute the word Mk for the word "Jeep".

[IamHD]

Neenah, I think that what they mean, is that it's an 'additional' person, besides Ricci, (co-conspiritor) that they believe may have Elizabeth. At least that's how I'm understanding it. Maybe someone else has other thoughts about it.

[Jolly Green]

Well, I can't find the article where it says that the perp talked about Elizabeth being held hostage.

Spore-gasm posted this on the 8/12 thread, though there wasn't a link to it.

New York Times News Service June 05, 2002 12:30:00 The man who took Elizabeth cut a window screen and crawled inside the imposing three-story hillside house, a police spokesman said. "What are you going to do with me?" she asked him, her sister later recounted to her parents. His response was that he was "maybe" taking her hostage.

I'm continuing to search on Brigitte's site, but every new page I click on 2-3 ads pop up. Kinda frustrating

You might want to consider installing ZoneAlarm on your computer. One of the options is spoofing the ads i.e. it looks to the web like it is loading the ads, but it doesn't. More importantly, it protects your computer from hackers. It is reasonably priced and you can download it and try it for 30 days free.

[varina davis]

thanks for looking, Utah Girl. I can't recall any article that described the alleged kidnapper saying that much!

[Jolly Green]

Something is wrong.

Ya, there is. You are grasping at straws. I would prefer to hear how Jengaio interprets this from a professional linguist's perspective rather than your amateurish interpretation and prejudices.

[Jolly Green]

Substitute the word Mk for the word "Jeep".

I said "Jeep" because I meant Jeep.

[IamHD]

On the other hand, (and I'm going out on a limb, here, so catch me if I fall, :)) Ed and Lois Smart may have an idea as to whom the person(s) are, that may be holding her. Could be a stretch, but I would hate to think that she had been raped/murdered as another poster mentioned.