Utah Girl Kidnapped From Room At Gunpoint

sandiego.com ^ | June 5, 2002 | ap

[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

[r9etb]

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

Well, kids are all different. They don't react the same way, and even at 9 they're not fully rational beings. Personally, I tend to believe that the 9-yo sister would indeed be silent for fear of causing her sister to be hurt.

I really hope this poor kid is still alive.

[Phantom Lord]

When I said 'little girl' i was speaking in terms of age. The girl next door to me was nearly 6' tall when she was 10. Would you consider a 10 year old a 'little girl'?

[let freedom sing]

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?

Pardon, but I've been known to sleep through Fire Trucks (alarms)-- while other times can be wakeful all night.

[John H K]

He was also carrying a dark handgun

Well, that narrows it down a lot, don't need to be looking for anyone with a bright pink handgun or a silver pearl-handled revolver.

[PrairieDawg]

Phantom Lord wrote:

Utah is the VOLUNTEER STATE.

No, that would be Tenn.

IIRC, Utah is the "Beehive" state (for the industry and work ethic of the pioneers). Just FYI.

FRegards,
PrairieDawg

[Phantom Lord]

My family use to have a 2nd home on the water in Jersey when I was young. Well, i woke up one morning and the house next door was gone. Burned down. 2 fire houses responded and were out there all night. I never woke up.

[homeschool mama]

Prayers heavenward for this young girl. <><

[Phantom Lord]

No, 'let freedom sing' said Utah was the volunteer state. I corrected the poster.

[homeschool mama]

For heavens sake. The child is 9 years old. How many 9 year olds do you know that can identify the type and make of a gun?

[let freedom sing]

I've seen a 6 ft. 12 year old girl-- and it is hard to see tall kids as children. But often, they do seem more mature for their age.

[John H K]

Look, if the 9-year-old is lying to protect her sister, the cops would have broken her down by now. If there were inconsistencies in her story, they would have figured it out and -- well, she'd be downtown now, sitting across from a couple of very angry detectives who would scare the bejeezus out of her!

I'm sure the cops will play along for a few days or a week or so...makes them look evil if they immediately come out publicly with doubts about the story, the parents go ballistic and go on "Good Morning America", etc.

No matter what, the girl actually is missing, so they can just look for her. And I'm sure they're suspicious about the story and working quietly behind the scenes on their suspicions, while the public search for the girl goes on.

[mystery-ak]

I agree, a nine year old little girl would have *broke* by now.....she is not lying.

May God protect Elizabeth

[noexcuses]

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?

Especially since there were at least 3 other bedrooms in the house: parents, 2 brothers and another sister.

[let freedom sing]

I never woke up.

I hope you're awake, now. LOL

[texasbluebell]

Well, maybe he was a sub-contractor, just there for a day, or maybe plumbing, he wouldn't be all over the house. Or maybe they were having roof work done. It wouldn't necessarily have been inside work. I'd like to hear more about what kind of work was being done there. When we remodeled our house, some of the guys weren't inside at all, or only for short amounts of time.

This looks like a pretty good-size house too. If they were only working on a certain area, then the workers may not have been wandering all over. Too many questions...

[John H K]

For heavens sake. The child is 9 years old. How many 9 year olds do you know that can identify the type and make of a gun?

It's just strange and fairly pointless that the color of the gun is reported. Basically, 99% of all handguns any perp would use are "dark-colored." It's like someone reporting that the getaway car in a bank robbery "had four wheels."

[Slainte]

Sorry for being skeptical.

If it really played out as described, every minute following the abduction would feel like an eternity. I just don't see how a nine year old could hold out for two hours, particualarly under threat of death and knowing that her sister were in immediate danger.

Normally I'd hope I was wrong, but in this case I pray that I'm right, because the alternative is to horrible to imagine.

[let freedom sing]

Volunteer State-- meant only in the "unofficial sense". If Utah was the official Volunteer State-- everyone would move. Didn't mean to steal Tenn. thunder, by any means.

[homeschool mama]

**It's just strange and fairly pointless that the color of the gun is reported. Basically, 99% of all handguns any perp would use are "dark-colored." It's like someone reporting that the getaway car in a bank robbery "had four wheels." **

That's all that was reported because that's all that is known. K?

[wheezer]

Anyone know if the family was planning on moving out of town .. if so .. it could give the boyfriend theory more legs

I was wondering the same thing.....also betting on (and praying that it's) the ran-away with boyfriend scenario.