Search For Elizabeth: Day 4

KSL-TV ^ | June 8, 2002 | KSL, AP

[The people have spoken]

A massive air search is planned today for the missing 14-year-old girl, Elizabeth Smart.

It's been a frustrating lack of leads four days after Elizabeth was snatched from her bedroom at gunpoint in front of her little sister.

A supposed suspect sighting in Emigration Canyon didn't pan out.

Sheriff's deputies say the volunteer searcher who reported seeing the suspect at the top of Emigration Canyon has a credibility problem.

Deputy Peggy Faulkner told Channel-13 the man and his twin brother were wearing fake law badges.

Police are discounting another lead from a security camera at a convenience store two miles from Elizabeth's Federal Heights neighborhood.

The store's manager says the tape shows a man like the suspect. Police checked it out and say it led nowhere.

Then there's the tip from the milkman. He supplied the license plate number of a suspicious car. But he couldn't come close to matching any registered Utah car.

Volunteer pilots showed up at 9 am Saturday at Shriner's Hospital. They'll plot a search grid for the Wasatch hills and other places.

Elizabeth disappeared in her pajamas with a pair of Polo white canvas shoes that police say are missing from the house.

Police aren't saying anything about the conversation the intruder reportedly had with the sisters, before taking Elizabeth.

From Friday

--Police say they are frustrated by the lack of solid leads three days into a search for 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, who was reportedly kidnapped from her home at gunpoint.

"Everyone is still a suspect," Salt Lake City Police Capt. Scott Atkinson said. But the family is not the focus of the investigation, police said.

About 100 detectives are actively working on the case, sifting through the hundreds of tips coming in from the public. None of those tips has helped advance the investigation, police said.

Meanwhile, the family is asking volunteer pilots to fly over the region Saturday and to carry spotters in an effort to cover more ground. A candlelight vigil is planned for a city park Sunday night.

Bob Smither, co-founder of the Laura Recovery Center Foundation, says there is always hope.

In 1997 Smither's 12-year-old daughter Laura was also abducted near her Texas home. Volunteers launched a nationwide search and the girl's body was found 17 days later. Foundation members are now in Salt Lake City leading the volunteer effort and training people who want to help.

"Law enforcement just does not have the resources to put hundreds of people on the ground searching. But a community can do that, and that's what this community is doing to try and find Elizabeth.," Smither's says.

The mere report of a man acting suspiciously was enough for authorities searching for Elizabeth to block off a heavily wooded canyon late Thursday.

One of 1,200 volunteers searching for the girl reported seeing a man acting suspiciously at the top of Emigration Canyon. An all-night search yielded nothing and deputies ruled out that tip by Friday afternoon.

Police on Friday also were asking for information about a man that was seen in the neighborhood a day or two before Elizabeth disappeared. A milkman said he saw the man in an older, dull gray Nissan or Honda, but the license plate number he recalled _ 266RLA _ didn't match any number in the state's database.

The milkman, Charlie Miller, said Friday that he saw the car around 7 a.m. Monday. It drove slowly up and down the Smarts' street, which ends in a cul-de-sac. He said the man followed him up another cul-de-sac street in the neighborhood. That's when he took note of the car and the Utah license plate.

"He was short, he had a white cap, he was wearing plaid," Miller said, adding that the car "had a rough sound to it."

He didn't think much of the sighting until he tried to deliver on Thursday and ran into a police roadblock on the Smarts' street.

Police said that on Wednesday between 1 and 2 a.m., an intruder forced open a window at Elizabeth's home and went into the bedroom where the teen-ager and her 9-year-old sister slept. Police said the gunman warned the younger girl her sister would be harmed if she told anyone.

Because of the gunman's threat, the frightened younger girl waited two hours before alerting her parents, police said.

Salt Lake Police Chief Rick Dinse said police have evidence that an intruder was in the house, but wouldn't discuss what the evidence may be. They don't know what the suspect knew about the house or how long the man may have been in the home.

The list of those to be interviewed by police is "a list that's probably longer than any list I've ever seen," Dinse said. "We're going to be interviewing everybody."

No one who has been interviewed has been given a lie-detector test, Dinse said.

"The fact that all the neighbors were there before the police got there is a problem," Dinse said.

He said at least 10 people, mostly neighbors, came into the home in the two to three hours between Elizabeth's disappearance and when police arrived at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the girl's father, Ed Smart, was hospitalized Friday morning after collapsing from exhaustion. He had slept little in the hours since his daughter's disappearance. The family did not say which hospital he was in.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

lfs, you read my mind. If they have a good idea who it is, I'm wondering why they haven't released his picture. Also, if the family knew him then it's possible the neighbors knew him too. That might explain why the dad called the neighbors over early in the morning.

This is kind of a hopeful thing, IMO. It leads me to believe he may have had a crush on her or is doing it to get back at her father in some way, perhaps a perceived grudge of some sort. Maybe he just wants the family to suffer a bit. This scenario would lend more to the belief that she is still alive.

[MHT]

It's interesting how much she and this case resemble JonBenet Ramsey. If the "intruder" theory had held in Colorado, it would almost make it look like a serial pedophile predator. Both blonds,both known through a select activity (beauty contests/harp playing), both wealthy families, same part of the country, both stranger home intruders......

[homeschool mama]

**If I heard correctly, soon after it was reported that Elizabeth was missing her father said something about a neighborhood girl being taken for ransom years ago and ran to a neighbors house to tell him to check on his kids. **

I thought that was about 9-10 years ago. The family didn't live in the neighborhood at that time.

[homeschool mama]

**I never understood the Ramsey's behavior, if I had a missing/murdered child, I would be cooperating with the police in a big way... **

The Ramsey's behavior was/is very suspicious. For good reason I fear.

[Utah Girl]

Elizabeth does play the harp, she played at the Olympics, and is quite accomplished. I'm starting to wonder if this might be a connection. Just a thought.

[homeschool mama]

Continued prayers heavenward.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Can you elaborate on that? Are you saying it could be a 'fan' of some sort?

[Utah Girl]

My thoughts didn't quite come out completely on my reply. I'm just wondering if the man they want to question is a harp teacher, or orgazined the Olympic cultural events that Elizabeth played in. Something along those lines.

[JustPiper]

Inclusions: Alarm System

Like the Ramsey's why wasn't the alarm on while they slept? Was their house also on the market?

[archy]

Of course, anyone who looks like Howdy-Doody also looks like...

It's hard to imagine that composite sketch being to helpful, but stranger things have happened.

It's possible too that a scared young girl, pressured to provide a description of a mean man she'd rather forget, might revert to a mental image of a bad guy or cartoon character from an old TV show or movie. I'd think Howdy Doodie would be a bit before her time, but Mad Magazine's Aflred E. Neuman might not be, nor Actor Michael J. Pollard- who's been in some scary roles.

Or, perhaps, some more prominent, recalled from a picture seen at school, perhaps.

[Utah Girl]

Here is some continuing news about the mysterious man. This is from KSL-TV's website.

Police on Saturday said they are looking for a man who had contact with 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart before she was reportedly kidnapped from her bedroom at gunpoint four days ago.

That man is described as white, in his late 30s to 40s, with a ruddy complexion and a lined face. He is missing a front tooth and was wearing a red beret, police said. He may have a gold earring.

The man is not considered a suspect, but is wanted for questioning, said Salt Lake City Police Capt. Scott Atkinson.

The man reportedly had contact with Elizabeth at a social function, but Atkinson wouldn't say where or when that was. The sketch was drawn based on descriptions from Smart family members.

Detectives want to talk to the red-hatted man to either eliminate him as a suspect or investigate him further, Atkinson said.

"It's important not to say 'this is the guy,"' said Tom Smart, Elizabeth's uncle.

While about 100 detectives follow up on the thousands of potential leads being called into the Salt Lake City Police Department, the Smart family asked volunteer pilots to coordinate an air search Saturday.

About a dozen pilots responded to the request and are expected to take to the air Saturday afternoon.

"We believe that Elizabeth is alive. We feel in our hearts that we know she is alive. That is a very strong thing," Tom Smart said on Saturday. "She's somewhere. Check your basements. Check your houses."

Elizabeth, described by friends and family as a quiet girl, was taken from her home between 1 am. and 2 a.m. Wednesday. She was wearing short red satin pajamas. Police said the kidnapper allowed her to put on white canvas tennis shoes before she was taken away from her wealthy Federal Heights neighborhood.

The younger girl has not been able to clearly describe the man, telling police only that the kidnapper carried a small black gun and was about 5-foot-8, white, with dark hair, and dressed in a tan denim-type jacket and white baseball cap.

Dinse said police have some evidence that confirms an intruder was in the house, though he wouldn't reveal it. He also refused to discuss the conversation the intruder had with the sister before taking Elizabeth.

The police chief also expressed frustration with the crime scene. He said at least 10 of the Smarts' neighbors were invited into the house before police could arrive at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

"Everyone is still a suspect," Capt. Atkinsosaid. But the family is not the focus of the investigation, police said.

The girl's father, Ed Smart, was released from a hospital in good condition Friday after collapsing from exhaustion. He had slept little in the hours since his daughter's disappearance. He and his wife, Lois, planned to meet with search volunteers Saturday afternoon to thank them.

Ed's brother, David Smart, said the man is doing well.

Thousands of volunteers have been searching the city and nearby foothills for any trace of the teen or her abductor. Police, however, are no longer searching locally for the girl.

Tracking dogs had indicated they smelled something in Red Butte Canyon, several miles from the Smart home, on Friday, but a grid search of the area turned up nothing, Atkinson said.

[JustPiper]

I will be following your posts Utah Girl, thanx!

[Utah Girl]

You're welcome. I'll try to remember and ping you. I'm going out for the evening, but I will be home in time to watch the late news, and will post anything I hear...

[let freedom sing]

lfs, you read my mind

sorry, I didn't, but maybe someone could read mine.

What do you think?

I think it could be an Alfred E. "Wanna-Be", except Alfred E. would NEVER wear plaid-- Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

I would think they called their neighbors because they probably have some kind of a neighborhood watch group, and wanted to know if anyone saw or heard anything unusual. It took PD too long to respond-- they could've been there in five minutes. I've had the opportunity to deal with SLPD a few times in emergencies, and I always felt secure knowing they were there to help. For the most part, they're hands-down, better looking, without the macho, than cops I've dealt with here.

[homeschool mama]

Thanks for this additional information.

***Detectives want to talk to the red-hatted man to either eliminate him as a suspect or investigate him further, Atkinson said.

"It's important not to say 'this is the guy,"' said Tom Smart, Elizabeth's uncle. ***

I'm wondering if the sketch looks like the abductor or is the abductor a different person. So confusing..can't imagine what the Smart family is going through.

There but by the grace of God go I.

[let freedom sing]

LOL-- you're making this too hard, archy-- but you could be right, about Jimmy.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I wonder if they've been able to retrieve fingerprints from the window or any doors? Maybe the crime scene has been contaminated.

Check your basements. Check your houses. That's interesting. Sounds like they know something.

[hergus]

No one who has been interviewed has been given a lie-detector test, Dinse said.

The parents haven't been asked or they refused? Does anyone know? That's the first thing that should have been done. So they could eliminate the parents as suspects. I hope money and class hasn't messed this case up like it did the Ramsey case.

"The fact that all the neighbors were there before the police got there is a problem," Dinse said. He said at least 10 people, mostly neighbors, came into the home in the two to three hours between Elizabeth's disappearance and when police arrived at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Why were at least 10 people in that home in the middle of the night between the disappearance and the police arrival if the 9 yr old waited 2 hours to tell her parents? It sounds like Grand Central Station.

Or are they saying it took LE 2-3 hours to get there? This makes NO sense. If true, then it is suspect that the 9 y/o waited to tell the parents. Did she tell them right away and they called their friends first...before the police, possibly to protect themselves or their image? This is getting stranger and stranger. This guy isn't a polygamist is he?

[tippytoes]

There hasn't been much said about the attempted abduction of a child across the street from the Smart's home. Do you know anything about it? Talk about a coincidence. I wonder.

[PoisedWoman]

Yikes, what an ugly jerk, clearly no one's boyfriend, least of all Liz's. There goes that theory.