Published April 10, 2003
I SAW ELIZABETH'S STALKER - BUT THE COPS WOULDN'T LISTEN
According to this article, in the NE July 16, 2002 issue, a man by the name of Corey Dennis described a "suspicious looking 50-year-old guy with a grayish beard and wearing a gray jogging suit" lingering right in front of the Smarts' home on May 31, 2002.
After Elizabeth's disappearance, Dennis called the police 3 times & his mother-in-law called once. No one called them back or came to interview him about what he had seen that day.
On this, we have to give LE some slack. There were literally hundreds, if not thousands, of calls. LE cannot be expected to handle every call as a follow-up. And they did eventually call Mr. Dennis after Ed Smart revealed the composite sketch to media of Brian Mitchell, aka Emmanuel, in early February. (I'm having some trouble with the date - I thought someone posted that it was first shown in December on the John Walsh Show.)
Obvious question: Why didn't Dennis contact Ed? Answer: Physical contact may not have been possible. But he could have gone through the mails or Internet, chancing that his message would be overlooked or viewed suspiciously as that from a weirdo ... even though Ed didn't seem to think another e-mail (the "lost" one) was "far-out."
No doubt Mr. Dennis is looking for a part of the reward money. If he is denied anything, I hope he raises the roof!