I have some questions about this. What, exactly, is the working relationship between the SLCPD and the FBI in this case?Rumors popped up on these threads some time ago about the two agencies not working well together. More recently, there have been a couple of things reported that would seem to possibly support this.
The National Enquirer (yeah, I know....) printed an article a couple of weeks ago with a front page "CASE SOLVED" headline. In the article, the SLCPD's case against Ricci was outlined, and it was suggested that Ricci was the SLCPD's final "solution" to the crime. However, at the end of the article, there were a few paragraphs stating that FBI sources had expressed skepticism over SLCPD's emphasis on Ricci. The article indicated that the FBI would be continuing to pursue other avenues of investigation.
On Sept. 20, the Deseret News printed an article entitled, "Officials say Elizabeth Smart rumor is false." According to this article, there had been televised reports that Elizabeth Smart was living in Yuma County, AZ. A spokesman for the SLCPD is quoted as denying the reports. A spokesman for the FBI said only that the FBI had been "told" by the SLCPD that the story had been discounted based upon a photo. Now wait a minute....if this story was deemed substantial enough to have been reported on television, surely it would merit more than a simple photo examination! Wouldn't the FBI have been the most appropriate agency for investigating an out-of-state rumor of this magnitude? According to the Deseret News article, it appears that the FBI was not included at all in checking this story out. To add to the mystery, the alleged "television reports" of this sighting never seemed to come to fruition......did anyone see this story reported anywhere besides in the Deseret News?
On Sept. 7, there was a Deseret News article in which SLCPD admitted that its officers had failed to secure the crime scene for a full 3 hours after arriving on the scene. Although SLCPD reportedly "downplayed the impact" of their failure to secure the scene, there are no comments from the FBI on how this might affect their avenues of investigation.
Can anybody here provide a source that might shed some light on the interplay between local police and the FBI in a case such as this one? Is there indeed a point at which the FBI steps in and takes over, or is always a joint effort?
I'm not sure, but I thought the FBI was always called in for kidnapping cases -- particularly if the perpetrator was thought to have crossed state lines.