Posted on 06/11/2002 6:33:20 AM PDT by MVV
BY KEVIN CANTERA
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Six days after a teen-age girl reportedly was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home by an unknown gunman, police said Monday they have ruled out the possibility Elizabeth Smart staged her own abduction and was a runaway.
With no credible leads and almost no physical evidence, baffled investigators have re-examined the family's Federal Heights home, reinterviewed members of the family and administered a polygraph test to the 14-year-old girl's father, said Salt Lake City police Capt. Scott Atkinson. He emphasized Edward Smart is not a suspect in his daughter's disappearance.
Edward Smart took the lie detector test willingly Sunday and the results were being scrutinized by FBI agents Monday, said Atkinson.
"We are looking at every possible angle. [The polygraph] is just one of the tools we've been using," Atkinson said.
Investigators refused to say what questions Smart had been asked during the interview. He is the only family member to be tested, but Atkinson said other relatives could be asked to take a similar test.
"We are no closer to solving the case," Atkinson said, noting that 100 detectives, including about 40 federal agents, were sifting through "hundreds" of leads pouring in to police dispatchers from around the country.
In a brief statement Monday, Edward Smart said he took the test because he had "nothing to hide. . . . It's not uncommon in a case like this for a polygraph to be administered. When asked by law enforcement, I fully cooperated."
Elizabeth was taken by an armed intruder inside her family's Federal Heights home between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to police. The man, who reportedly carried a small black handgun, entered the bedroom shared by Elizabeth and her 9-year-old sister. He forced Elizabeth to go with him and threatened the younger girl that if she told anyone, her sister would be hurt, the child told police.
The girl -- the only witness to the abduction -- waited two hours or more, then woke her parents, police said. The abductor "didn't leave any clues," Atkinson said. Police planned to question the 9-year-old girl, but would probably not issue a more detailed description of the suspect, he said.
Dozens of off-road enthusiasts were asked Monday to bring their all-terrain vehicles to a wide expanse of barren desert west of Salt Lake City to hunt for clues.
"Every day we want a place where we can do one search," said Tom Smart, Elizabeth's uncle, in making the plea for the off-road quest. No specific information prompted the plan to search the desert, said Smart, who suggested "horse posses" might be used to hunt for the girl in the future.
Between 400 and 500 volunteers took part in other search efforts, going through neighborhoods, city parks and surrounding foothills, calling Elizabeth's name and posting fliers.
Residents throughout Utah have been asked to search their own property -- under boat covers and inside vacation cabins, for instance -- and the Utah Farm Bureau Federation encouraged the state's farmers to comb their farms, fields and outbuildings.
As the hunt continues, Elizabeth's loved ones remain hopeful.
"The whole family believes she is alive," said Elizabeth's cousin, Sierra Smart, who said she is as perplexed as police investigators by the girl's disappearance. "It is exactly as confusing as it appears. There's no secret."
kcantera@sltrib.com
Hannity asked ..." If she didn't scream..could it be that she knew the person? " Dective: "yes". Whoa !!
"We know what kind of person the abductor is" " How did you know that?" " We brought in Behavioral Scientists". " We know she will come home"........
Huh ?
A friend attempting to protect her ? From what, the father ? I have a feeling this might get a little perverse.
I don't see it like that. I see , first, that it makes NO SENSE that they would not talk FIRST AND FORMOST TO HER. She is the ONLY ONE to talk to ! And her description was the ONLY LEAD to get an artist to draw.
I think they KNOW that something fishy went on. They know that it is a family matter, and therefore, THAT IS THE REASON why they didn't rush to talk to the girl. After all, Mary Kathryn is the only one to give detail. Who knows, maybe she already has told them WHO it is. THERE HAS TO BE A REASON WHY A PICTURE WAS NOT GIVEN !and I am sure it is not because she is 9, and they didn't want to badger her. Without her, they don't have a lead. And no 9 year old child is mature enough to not slip up if they are cornered. They, in a very short time will tell the truth. Now...if the parent's or strong Uncle protecting the Dad, do not co-operate..welllllllllll........
The Grandfather and Grandmother (Mrs. Smart's parents) were interviewed by Anne Currey. When the Grandfather said that..I KNEW that he was NOT suppose to say that on t.v.
Ann, then, had her eyebrows raised, like an exclusive..and had him repeat it. I thought the Grandmother was going to choke !! But they said...yep, everyone was interviewed, and I believe it was yesterday.
Most people think they are christians. Most people think they are the Morman Tabernacle Choir. Not so. It is alot more than that.There is alot of secrecy there. People just don't know it.
I think they went off on foot, and he is holding her. Don't get the feeling she is dead...and I'm no psychic. Just perceptive.
sw
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