Local authorities are denying rumors reported on television that placed 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart in Yuma County, Ariz.
According to the rumor, an individual approached the Salt Lake Police Department saying "Elizabeth is living in Arizona and is pregnant," Salt Lake Police Sgt. Fred Louis said. "There is no validity to that statement."
According to the FBI, Salt Lake police told them the rumor was false.
"The only thing we've been told is someone sent a photo up to the police department asking if that matched the description of Elizabeth Smart and they ruled it out as any possibility," FBI special agent George Dougherty said.
But does the FBI believe the SLC police? Rumors are, they don't exactly see eye to eye on this case.
According to the rumor, an individual approached the Salt Lake Police Department saying "Elizabeth is living in Arizona and is pregnant," Salt Lake Police Sgt. Fred Louis said. "There is no validity to that statement."
According to the FBI, Salt Lake police told them the rumor was false."
"The only thing we've been told is someone sent a photo up to the police department asking if that matched the description of Elizabeth Smart and they ruled it out as any possibility," FBI special agent George Dougherty said."
I'm a little late to the party, but there is something about this article that strikes me as odd. First, does anyone know if this "rumor" was ever actually broadcast on television? It seems to me that if it had been, it would have been reported elsewhere. Did the Deseret News jump the gun in printing this denial?
Also, it seems to me that if this "rumor" was so huge as to merit a newspaper article, wouldn't the SLCPD have checked it out more thoroughly than just looking at a photo? Apparently, the SLCPD didn't find the "rumor" worthy of their manpower......and yet the Deseret News deemed it worthy of a newspaper article in order to debunk it?
According to the article, the "rumor" that was reported on television (or was it?) was simply that someone had contacted the police and said Elizabeth was pregnant and living in Yuma County, AZ......since when is THIS newsworthy? Surely this is not the first possible sighting that has been reported in this case! I can't imagine a television station running with a story that consisted of nothing more than "someone said she was pregnant and living in Arizona."
Rumors and speculation have run rampant since Elizabeth's disappearance. What was it about this particular "rumor" that prompted such media attention?