Littlefield Police May Have Edmunds in Custody
Littlefield, Texas, police apprehended a suspect Friday afternoon wanted for stealing vehicles in New Mexico, but they can't confirm that this person is the same man wanted for questioning about the gunpoint abduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart.
Curry County, N.M., Sheriff Roger Hatcher told The Associated Press that they have not identified the man.
Police in Texas and New Mexico spent Friday on the trail of the car thief, a man whose description matched that of a man wanted for questioning in the kidnapping.
Authorities worked off of a tip from a store clerk in Hereford, Texas, who identified Bret Michael Edmunds possibly as the man who stole a bottle of water Friday morning after his credit card was denied. That was combined with a report of an abandoned stolen car in the town and another car stolen shortly afterward.
"We've all been on alert to be watching, so when she gave the description and it matched, the officer took a long shot and showed her a picture," Hereford Police Capt. Pat Michaels said. "She said she felt pretty sure that's him."
Police have been seeking Edmunds, a 26-year-old transient, since his name was tracked down from a partial license plate number provided by a milkman who had seen a car in the Smart's neighborhood June 3, two days before the kidnapping.
From the Hereford tip, police spent Friday tracking a series of stolen and then abandoned cars across western Texas and into New Mexico and back.
Less than two hours after the clerk's report, a Mitsubishi SUV was reported stolen from Hereford, said Police Capt. Pat Michaels. That car was later abandoned in Curry County, N.M.
That's when police say a man took a white Suzuki Swift. That vehicle was found Friday afternoon in the Texas town of Sudan, about 50 miles northwest of Lubbock, said Tim Reid, FBI special agent in Amarillo.
Salt Lake City Police Capt. Scott Atkinson on Friday said he didn't believe Edmunds was involved in the abduction. Police have repeatedly stressed that Edmunds is not considered a suspect.
During a Friday morning briefing, Atkinson said investigators think they are making progress in the 10-day investigation by eliminating some of the thousands of potential leads called into the department.
More than two members of the Smart family had submitted to polygraph exams, but he didn't know exactly how many. Atkinson refused to comment on the tests except to say they hadn't resulted in new leads.
There are no plans for a composite sketch of the suspect, he said. Asked if 9-year-old Mary Katherine Smart, who shared a bedroom with her sister and witnessed her gunpoint abduction, was unable to get a good look at the man because the bedroom was dark, Atkinson would only confirm that the room was dark.
Police continued to vouch for the younger girl's credibility and say her story has stayed consistent.
Edmunds is wanted for forgery and assault on a police officer. He had served 60 days and been put on probation in 2000 for stealing and forging checks.
Police on Thursday said Edmunds was spotted by witnesses at a candlelight vigil for Elizabeth Smart in the city's Liberty Park. He was reported to be drinking beer in the park, which is against the law.
The police approached Edmunds at the Sunday night vigil. He fled in his car and escaped, Atkinson said.
The Sunday night incident occurred three days before police announced Edmunds was wanted for questioning in the Smart incident.
The Smart family say they don't know Edmunds. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Edmunds does not match the description by Elizabeth's 9-year-old sister, Mary Katherine Smart, of the kidnapper as a 5-foot-8-inch man.
Addressing Elizabeth's kidnapper during Friday's televised briefing, Cynthia Smart-Owens, the girl's aunt, said: "God knows where you are. God knows where Elizabeth is and we are praying with all our hearts to find her. The satisfaction you might have dreamed of in having Elizabeth cannot possibly be there. The best you can do is to let her go."
Source: AP
