THE EVER-CHANGING STORY
by Timothy Rollins, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
June 19, 2002
In what is becoming both the ever-changing story as well as the seemingly never-ending one, Salt Lake City police are now saying that Mary Katherine Smart (right with Elizabeth) saw the gunman twice - in different parts of the house, and had witnessed him warning Elizabeth not to speak. According to Police Sergeant Scott Atkinson, the gunman was not aware that he had been seen at all. Kind of an assumption on Atkinson's part, and if he had the same high school coach I did, he knows what the word assume means when the word is broken down.
In a FOX NEWS/Associated Press article yesterday, it stated, "Although it was earlier reported that Mary Katherine had been warned to remain quiet, police who interviewed the youngster three times now say the kidnapper did not speak to the child. The 9-year-old waited two hours before alerting her parents of the kidnapping." This is a major change from what was initially reported and is igniting a mass of confusion both among those searching for Elizabeth as well in properly informing the public. With all the daily changes in the story that are going on, you have to ask yourself what kind of a zoo do they have passing for a command post out in Salt Lake City?
Other problems we have with this kind of kidnapping include the use of more than slightly outdated thinking in the investigative phase of this case. When a kidnapping occurred in the past, the initial announcement was a description of the victim and possible suspect and what they were wearing plus a description of any vehicle that may have been seen. What makes this situation all the more difficult is that younger sister Mary Katherine's story is continually changing. Police say it is because investigators skilled at interviewing children have helped 'jog her memory'. My question at this point is what parts of her memory are true and what parts has she created in an effort to be 'helpful'? My next question is could she be in collusion with a runaway older sister distraught over the death of a favorite grandparent?
Another problem is that police are continually changing their story as well and in the process damaging their credibility on three fronts: (1), leaving people to question to what extent if any they are telling the truth; (2), igniting a mass of confusion on the part of those seeking her whereabouts, and (3), either ignoring or denying the increasing possibility that Elizabeth may have run away from home. Let's face it - it's kind of hard to find a kidnap victim if the description of her alleged kidnapper keeps changing. Yes, a hat may be a small thing, but if that person is anything at all like me, I have a favorite hat that I wear pretty much all the time, and the chances could well be the kidnapper might do the same.
In an e-mail received from a reader in the Midwest yesterday, he properly brought to my attention that were it not for the size of daddy's bank account, that this kidnapping would not have registered on the radar scope of the nation's news services at all. I have my own additional views on this as well - as they pertain to the Salt Lake area and attention from the locals - given that they are a breed all their own, hence my leaving the area for good in 1984 for anything other than the occasional visit, but must keep those reasons to myself for fear of emotional reprisals from people who have time and again proven they are totally and completely incapable of carrying on a logical and coherent exploration of important basic issues such as properly watching your children and implementing basic security measures around the home because they are too busy exercising absolute blind faith rather than an informed and disciplined faith in God, with 'discipline' coming from the root word disciple, which is from the Latin word discipulus, a term used to describe a follower of Jesus Christ in his lifetime. In another e-mail from Georgia, a reader had this to say: "I am wondering why the Smarts didn't teach their younger daughter anything about strangers or why it took 5 police visits to get information out of her). I constantly tell my children not to listen to what strangers tell them, to come to me immediately and tell me things. I can't believe the little girl waited so long to tell her parents that her sister was gone. That is one thing I go over and over with my children, that even if someone tells them not to tell because they are going to be killed, tell anyway. Two or three hours just seems so outrageously long to wait. She could have fell sleep in that amount of time.
Also why did the police wait so long to tell about what kind of hat the man had. I would think saying it was an off white golf hat would have been a good clue right off the bat. It isn't like everyone wears that kind of hat. I immediately thought of a baseball cap."
With the centralized search for Elizabeth having been called off last Friday, it is now down to individual neighborhood searches - in other words, organized exercises in futility. Elizabeth is sadly and regretfully long gone and like I said in yesterday's column, in all likelihood, if not a runaway, probably dead by now, her bargaining value having long been negated by the daily television appearances and the network dog-and-pony shows on the nightly news broadcasts.
Even now, as I think about it, there is an itch in my craw that just won't go away on this case. Like I said yesterday, I may not be a cop, but the only constant in this case are the inconsistencies. Is it possible that Elizabeth did in fact run away and make a pact of sorts with Mary Katherine to keep her mouth shut long enough to get away? From her location in the Federal Heights neighborhood in Salt Lake City, with pre-arranged transportation, she was able to reach the Nevada, Idaho or Wyoming state lines in less than two hours. By the time the missing persons report hit the wires, this was simply a case of GAME OVER. Plus, if Elizabeth DID run away as what seems to be a growing possibility, things at home could not have been the idyllic picture that is seemingly being painted by family members and friends.
As for the latest developments on the search for Elizabeth Smart and the happenings within her family? It's become like any other news story or even the weather - wait 10 minutes - it will change. ***
© 2002 Timothy Rollins