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Utah Girl Kidnapped From Room At Gunpoint
sandiego.com ^ | June 5, 2002 | ap

Posted on 06/05/2002 12:27:43 PM PDT by let freedom sing

Parents Were Asleep In Bedroom

SALT LAKE CITY -- A gunman forced his way into a house and abducted a 14-year-old girl Wednesday while her parents slept in their bedroom, police said.

Police said the man also threatened Elizabeth Smart's 9-year-old sister and said he would harm the teen if her sister said anything. The two girls share a bedroom in the home in the affluent Federal Heights neighborhood.

Her sister waited several hours before alerting her parents because of the threat, said Duane Baird, a Salt Lake City police spokesman.

"A two-hour window gives anyone the opportunity to be away from this area," Baird said.

Searchers began looking for clues before dawn Wednesday.

Elizabeth was abducted at about 2 a.m. on June 5, 2002. The abductor is described as a white male, with dark hair and wearing a white jacket and a white baseball cap. Elizabeth was wearing red pajamas, and he let her take a pair of shoes, police said.

The sister told police that the soft-spoken man got into the house by forcing open a window and had a small black handgun.

cont. here


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; US: Colorado; US: Idaho; US: Nevada; US: Utah
KEYWORDS: girl; gunpoint; kidnap; utah
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Comment #61 Removed by Moderator

To: Phantom Lord
**And it seems clear that the younger sister is in on the deal and putting forward the cover story for her sister. **

How can you possibly come to such a conclusion?!

62 posted on 06/05/2002 1:16:02 PM PDT by homeschool mama
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To: archy
That's a site for sore eyes. (Do you think they wait until the person is confirmed missing-- like the 11 day wait with Chandra?)
63 posted on 06/05/2002 1:16:45 PM PDT by let freedom sing
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To: let freedom sing
Ah, yes, you're right. And now I see in a more recent post that he's a white guy. But maybe they're still working on the drawing of him.
64 posted on 06/05/2002 1:17:02 PM PDT by texasbluebell
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To: texasbluebell
The construction angle isnt playing with me. The news reports say the kidnapper didnt know his way around the house, how they know that I cant figure out. Well, if someone is doing a remodel on your home, they are surely going to learn rapidly the layout of your home.
65 posted on 06/05/2002 1:17:08 PM PDT by Phantom Lord
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To: BJClinton; Utah Girl
Volunteers-- Police do NOT need any more volunteers to help search the Federal Heights area. They suggest residents look around their own neighborhoods, because the girl could be anywhere.

Utah is the VOLUNTEER STATE.

66 posted on 06/05/2002 1:18:26 PM PDT by let freedom sing
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Comment #67 Removed by Moderator

To: homeschool mama
The sisters actions seem fishy to me. Plus check out #59 regarding the sisters statements on the kidnapper.
68 posted on 06/05/2002 1:19:31 PM PDT by Phantom Lord
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Comment #69 Removed by Moderator

To: let freedom sing
Utah is the VOLUNTEER STATE.

No, that would be Tenn.

70 posted on 06/05/2002 1:20:25 PM PDT by Phantom Lord
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To: let freedom sing
Healthy skepticism is ok, but I don't see Al Sharpton, here, knocking on doors. Come on, you guys, this is Utah. Look at that innocent face-- 14, with a ponytail.

Al Sharpton didn't have a thing to do with Susan Smith killing her kids and making up a story. He didn't have anything to do with the brother and sister who recently strangled and buried their baby brother and later pretended not to know what had happened to him. I have not suggested that the 14-year-old was anything other than "innocent". It should be pretty clear what I am suggesting as a possibility. Family members sometimes murder other family members, even in Utah. And sometimes they try to cover it up.

If it happened exactly the way the little girl claimed it did, I hope they find her sister in time.

71 posted on 06/05/2002 1:21:33 PM PDT by hellinahandcart
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To: r9etb
I have a hard time believing that if this 14-year old wanted to run away with her "boyfriend" that the only thing she would bring is what she had on.

Yes, the parents had the house up for sale. Yes, they had held open houses, which would be how this person could have known where the girls bedroom was. Yes, they were remodeling the house. Which means that it could have been someone that was working on the house. However, this can easily be checked out by people who were doing the remodeling to see if someone shows up missing.

As far as the younger sister waiting hours to tell her parents, I don't understand that part. My son would have been screaming bloody murder if he had just seen his brother taken by gunpoint. The saddest part of all is that this "window of time" has given the perpetrator plenty of time to get away.

And let's not forget about the two girls in Oregan who were kidnapped in broad daylight--they still haven't found who did this. So sad.

72 posted on 06/05/2002 1:22:04 PM PDT by DJ88
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To: BurkeCalhounDabney
Ill give you the journalist angle of screwing up the times. But would you care to comment on the sister starting out "seeing him very clearly" to "She saw a little bit of what was going on but she couldn't see him real clearly,"?
73 posted on 06/05/2002 1:22:44 PM PDT by Phantom Lord
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To: DJ88
Yes, the parents had the house up for sale. Yes, they had held open houses, which would be how this person could have known where the girls bedroom was. Yes, they were remodeling the house. Which means that it could have been someone that was working on the house.

How would this square with the kidnapper "not knowing his way around the house" as is repoted in the 2nd story? A visitor to the house would have a minimal understanding of its layout, especially if they remembered exactly where her room was. And someone working on a remodel would have a pretty detailed understanding of the homes layout. And I still want to know how they know he didnt know his way around the house.

74 posted on 06/05/2002 1:25:46 PM PDT by Phantom Lord
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To: mhking
Call me what you want, but if the parents were asleep, how did they know that the kidnapper took the girl at gunpoint!!!???

A little slow with the grey matter and quick with the keyboard. The little sister!

75 posted on 06/05/2002 1:26:01 PM PDT by cinFLA
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To: Phantom Lord
That may be what they are saying, but wouldn't he HAVE to know the layout of the house in order to break into the house and find his way into the girl's bedroom? In the dark? Without waking anyone else up?
76 posted on 06/05/2002 1:26:23 PM PDT by KansasGirl
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To: Phantom Lord
5'6" is not a little girl, but I think the police would talk to the girls' friends and get a handle on those angles. If they're worried about her, they'll talk.
77 posted on 06/05/2002 1:26:25 PM PDT by let freedom sing
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To: let freedom sing
Workers can turn them off-- but sometimes they don't work

Homeowners turn them off too. I seldom have mine on when we are at home. Getting up in the middle of the night, when you are not quite awake, poses a danger of tripping a false alarm -- which comes with a big fine from my city, if it doesn't give me a heart attack first.

78 posted on 06/05/2002 1:26:34 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: Phantom Lord
Two news stories with two different opinions of what the suspect looks like. Could it be that our wonderful media reporter's got it wrong...one of them anyway?
79 posted on 06/05/2002 1:29:29 PM PDT by homeschool mama
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To: Phantom Lord
Maybe she stated she saw him clearly but when a sketch artist questioned her it was determined that she hadn't seen him that clearly.
80 posted on 06/05/2002 1:30:25 PM PDT by BJClinton
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