Posted on 08/01/2004 7:25:22 AM PDT by JockoManning
Search now 'unnecessary,' say families of Lori Hacking By Jennifer Dobner Deseret Morning News
Mark Hacking told his family something important Saturday — and whatever it is, it apparently makes any further volunteer searches for his missing 27-year-old wife unnecessary.
That news came late Saturday, not from Salt Lake City police but by way of a statement faxed to the Deseret Morning News and other media by Mark and Lori Hackings' families. "The families understand that Mark Hacking has provided information that makes it unnecessary for individuals or groups to continue the volunteer search," the statement reads. "At this time, the families ask that all efforts from volunteers cease and that anyone with information that they feel might be helpful contact the Salt Lake City Police Department directly." Salt Lake City police were to meet with family members late Saturday, and the family was expected to share with investigators details of their conversation with Mark Hacking, detective Phil Eslinger said. "To my knowledge we are going to work through the night with the family to determine what that information is," Eslinger said. "All I know is that it was a legitimate fax from the family. This is not another one of those cruel jokes or rumors." Police are expected to hold a news conference sometime today.
No further statements are likely from the Hacking or Soares families in the near future. Their statement included a plea that their privacy be respected in what was described in the families' statement as "this difficult time" and indicated they plan to make no further statements about the case. Contacted at his home Saturday night, attorney D. Gilbert Athay, who has been hired to represent Mark Hacking, said he had no comment. Lori Hacking disappeared July 19, allegedly while jogging in Memory Grove just before 6 a.m. Volunteers' search efforts in the park and nearby canyons, which over a week drew more than 4,000 people, were unsuccessful.
Police now say they believe Lori, who had just learned she was five-weeks pregnant, was never in the park. Mark Hacking has been hospitalized since the day after he reported his wife missing. He has also been named a "person of interest" in the case by police but as of Saturday had never officially been called a suspect. However, investigators took numerous pieces of evidence from the couple's apartment at 127 S. Lincoln St. (945 East), including box springs and computers. Also among the evidence being evaluated by forensic experts is a knife said to have blood and hair samples. Before Lori Hacking disappeared, the couple was supposedly moving to Chapel Hill, N.C., where Mark was to attend medical school. But three days into the case, it was learned that Mark Hacking had lied about his acceptance to medical school, as well as his recent graduation from the University of Utah. Over the past two weeks, more and more information has trickled out indicating that Mark may have been lying to his friends and family for as long as 18 months about his present and future life. The details and the time line of events Hacking shared with police also quickly crumbled. Mark Hacking said on July 19 that he had learned Lori had failed to arrive at work about 10 a.m., but a mattress store clerk said Mark was shopping for a mattress at the time. A credit card receipt showed he had indeed purchased one, just 26 minutes before he called police at 10:49 a.m. Until Saturday, it appeared that Mark had also maintained he knew nothing about his wife's disappearance. In a conversation with his father, Douglas Hacking, Mark said he had lied about his life because he felt pressure to be successful like his father and siblings. But he said he didn't know what had happened to his wife.
"He looked me in the eye and said, 'No,' " Douglas Hacking said when recounting his conversation with his son to reporters July 23. No one is certain what Lori Hacking knew of her husband's deception or when she knew it. However, co-workers at Wells Fargo Bank have said that the Friday before she disappeared, Lori received an upsetting phone call and left in tears. Police have focused most of their search efforts on the Salt Lake Valley Solid Waste Facility, sifting through piles of refuse on four separate occasions with investigators and four cadaver dogs. That search was temporarily suspended on Friday, with police saying the dogs needed a day or two of rest. So far, the only comment from police about the landfill searches has been that "nothing of consequence" had yet been found. Landfill searches are expected to resume, but police have not been specific about when. The task of finding what is presumably Lori Hacking's body in the landfill could be seen as nearly impossible. More than 2,500 tons of refuse is deposited there daily by more than 600 dump trucks. Police have focused their efforts on a one- to two-acre segment of the facility. Police apparently believed the landfill held significant clues as to Lori Hacking's whereabouts as early as one day after she went missing. Landfill executive director Romney Stewart told the Deseret Morning News last week that police asked him on July 20 to suspend dumping in a certain area so that it could be searched.
E-mail: jdobner@desnews.com
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595081258,00.html
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/US/missing_Hacking_040728-1.html
Lori's going away party picture and article.
(Yes, I have three adult sons older than Mark.)
News Conference at 4. Not sure what time zone.
The key for me seems to be that these friends of so many years are of the wife, Lori and Laci. I find it interesting that so far, at least, no long standing friends of Mark have come forward. Long term friends are hers.
I find it very interesting it is also true for Laci and Scott-he apparently was unable to maintain long lasting, true friendships while she had friends from early childhood. Those friends, as they married, stayed friends and their husbands came along for the ride, but Scott appeared to bring no friends to the table whatsoever. Did Mark?
Last night, there was a girl on that tv with Rita that has known Mark since 3rd grade. There are some other friends of his (known him most of their lives), on tv in the past few weeks, or last week. (All these "friends" are beginning to run together.) LOL
Anyway ALL friends of Lori & Mark say the same thing. It's almost like they're "programmed." Heard no evil, saw no evil and spoke no evil between Lori & Mark.
Good point, but I should have clarified, male friends. Where are all the male buddies?
Don't know yet what Mark's hobbies are, but with Scott, golfing and fishing through his life would seem to build lifelong friends. Where are they?
It appears these guys might have in common some sort of casual friendship thing, but no ability to forge independently, on their own. Early to tell on Mark, I know, but interesting that all the people speaking up are her friends, female. Where are his?
Mark, like Scott, are novice fishermen.
I mentioned last week on a thread, I see a DNA connection between Scott & Mark. Both live secret lives and lies.
Separated at birth? You gotta wonder anyway.
Well yeah, I just didn't want to use the term,
"Separated at birth." LOL, it's SOOOO overused.
I prefer "DNA connected."
It's 5:15pm est. No new conference. The terror alert upstaged it.
Fox News has the johns on. I ain't watchin', just
channel surfing for Lori news.
Maybe they delayed the conference because of the terror alert.
*nudge, nudge* I think we might be getting the conference soon.
Thanks!, I've been watching Rita since the top o' the hour!
please add me to your ping list
Please add me to your ping list
Someone told me that the law has changed to where if someone claims "insanity", they are sentenced to a pych ward until they are "sane" and then they get to serve their real sentence. Is that true? I hope so....No one should get off by claiming insanity.
It will be interesting to see just how long Mark stays in that hospital. He must be really wanting a 'smoke' about now! ;)
Whatever is going on, it's clear he is going to put on a defense.
sw
Why would they say they aren't going to go back to search the landfill until Friday?
Is that to put the public in suspense or just put us on hold, while they spend the week looking at a possible body they may or may not have found?
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