Utah Man Sought in Missing Girl Case

Associated Press ^ | June 12, 2002 | RICH VOSEPKA

[beckett]

Utah Man Sought in Missing Girl Case

By RICH VOSEPKA
Associated Press Writer SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — More than a week after 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart disappeared, police said Wednesday that they want to talk to a man they think may have information about the girl.

They are searching for Bret Michael Edmunds, 26. He is probably living in a 1997 green Saturn with Utah license plate number 266XJH, police said.

Elizabeth was reported taken at gunpoint from her million-dollar home last Wednesday between 1 a.m. to 2 a.m They were not calling Edmunds a suspect, but said they do want to talk to him. They had identified him through a partial license plate number provided by a milkman who had seen a vehicle in the area arround the time of the girl's disappearance.

Authorities said Edmunds is also wanted on two warrants — for fraud and assault on a police officer, Sgt. Fred Louis said. Police said he may have been in the area.

Tuesday, Police Chief Rick Dinse said the investigation was looking at those who had access to the neighborhood or the house, although not necessarily a family member. He said they have received some promising leads in the case.

Officials from the Utah Department of Corrections have given police a list of dozens of names of known sex offenders on probation or parole, but nearly all of them have been cleared, said Jack Ford, an agency spokesman.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I think we can safely assume that whoever did this is not a terribly rational person.

[NativeNewYorker]

Smart thieves read funeral notices for tips as to who might be away, making arrangements.

Here in FairGotham, ghoulish realtors read the death notices looking for apartments!

[GovernmentShrinker]

And dogs are useful in ensuring that you are.

[beckett]

I'm wondering where this picture came from......is it a photo or a very detailed drawing/painting?

I'd say it's definitely a photo, but the lighting and background don't quite jive with a DMV photo, do they? Could be a jail pic, or even a studio photo, I guess.

And since he is only 26, I'm sure he looks much the same now as he does in the photo.

[buffyt]

Maybe this Edmunds guy worked on some of the houses Mr. Smart renovated? Maybe even this house. Maybe that is how he became familiar with it, may even have had a key if he worked on it when it was almost finished....

[NativeNewYorker]

It's easy for me to be judgemental, seeing as I have 24/7 uniformed doormen, visible security cameras, and de facto indoor draw-bridges protecting my mid-floor coop.

The costs are borne by the dozens of coop owners, so the price for any one family is reasonable.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I was just posting on another thread last night that I didn't see how they could have gotten any firm estimate of the guy's height from a terrified 9 year old, who saw him only in the dark, and while she was lying down. Looks as if my doubts may have been justified.

[wardaddy]

It would appear to even a novice Sherlock Holmes that given the odd place of that upstairs window that the perp would have had to know something about his target and the house. It just doesn't smell like random snatch job like one would hear of happening in a park or mall.

[blam]

"I can't buy it."

Yup, something does not quite connect.

[Fracas]

Mark Klass gives me the creeps! He has made a career out of his daughter's death. He has no credentials to be the 'expert' he's purported to be. Last week, he gave an impassioned defense of Winona Ryder because she offered money for Polly's fund. He was VERY proud that he and Winona were such close friends.

[blam]

"Shotguns are useful if you're awake and ready."

That's what the four dogs outside are for, early warning and deterrent.

[glock rocks]

from ksl.com (salt lake channel 5)

Wanted for Questioning

Bret Michael Edmunds

• 6"2'
• 235 lbs.
• 1997 green Saturn with Utah license plate number 266XJH
• Considered Dangerous

[stlnative]

NO... because it has been reported time and time again that the little sister did not see the guy clearly or fully.

Klaas has no right to go on O'Reilly and imply that the uncle decision is strange. The Smart's did the right thing and Klaas needs to stay away from the family. He is more interested in being in front of the camera's then he is in finding Elizabeth. Why is he not out on foot searching like other people? No... he would rather be in front of the camera. Why should the parents take the risk of is big mouth running of. What if he says something that could hurt case or cause the perp to kill Elizabeth if he has not done so yet. I sorry but Klaas has done nothing to help this case, except be in front of the cameras mouthing off with his own ideas on how HE thinks it should be handled.

[NativeNewYorker]

Yep. My fantasy home in the country features impenetrable hedges/fencing, some fine shooting irons, and a German shepherd named Adolf.

[Mixer]

I'm with you on all of that. If the girl is in on it and is lying for her sister I hope she comes clean soon because if so a lot of people are wasting their time looking for her. Ifshe was kidnapped then I hope she returns safely although that is almost never the case. Keep her family in your thoughts.

[GovernmentShrinker]

You never know. Remember 10 year old Katie Beers, who was kept in an underground cell for over two weeks in late 1992, and finally found unharmed. In that bizarre case, she probably wasn't even seriously psychologically harmed, since her "home" life was so awful that the fact she had been sexually abused by her sort-of-stepfather barely stood out on the laundry list of offenses committed against her by the 3 adults she lived with. The kidnapping, imprisonment, and fondling by the perv wasn't nearly as big a deal as it would have been for a kid with a normal or sheltered background. Ironically, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to her, since it finally brought attention to the state of her "home" life, and resulted in her being moved into a good foster home. She should be graduating from high school about now; I've often wondered what became of her -- she was a feisty little kid, who seemed likely to rise way above the sewer she came from.

[stlnative]

Correction;

Why should the parents take the risk of is big mouth running of.

Why should the parents take the risk of his big mouth running off.

Sorry for the typo's I am just sick of seeing Klaas run his big crooked mouth off. He is rude and has no idea what he is doing. He is a victim, just like the Samrt's and is not an expert in cases like this. If the Utah Police felt they would get a good composite out of the little sister, it would have been done.

[marktuoni]

I don't think this is the guy...

At 6"2', and 235 lbs. He must have a very hard time just getting around!

[GovernmentShrinker]

Not if the sketch was likely to be as far off as the height estimate was, since it might do more harm than good by shifting suspicion away from the real abductor (remember the little girl saw the abductor only in the dark and in profile). Also, the process of having the sketch made was likely to further traumatize the already seriously-traumatized little girl.

[beckett]

Katie Beers was a great little kid, you're right. I haven't thought about her in ages, but I too wonder how she is doing.

I wonder if her feistiness faded in adolescence, as it does for so many kids who suffer severe childhood abuse, or if with proper loving care she learned to burnish it and keep it strong.