'Sighting' of Edmunds is just another dead end
Posted on 06/17/2002 3:35:27 PM PDT by MVV
Was car at hospital linked to Elizabeth?
'Sighting' of Edmunds is just another dead end
By Derek Jensen
Deseret News staff writer
Police have examined surveillance footage of a suspicious car spotted at Shriners Hospital moments before Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her Federal Heights home.
Fred Trujillo, assistant director of security for Shriners Hospital, told the Deseret News he saw a suspicious-looking car pull into the parking lot at Shriners Hospital just before 1 a.m. June 5.
Elizabeth was kidnapped from her home between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. the same morning, and Shriners Hospital is located just half a mile from the Smart home near 1500 E. Kristianna Circle (420 North).
"There were several coincidences that occurred that night," Trujillo said.
Police, however, have not established any connection between the car and Elizabeth's kidnapping.
"At this point there is nothing legible on that videotape that would lead us in any direction," Salt Lake Police Capt. Scott Atkinson told reporters Monday.
News of that apparent dead end came as police also questioned a possible sighting of Bret Michael Edmunds, the 26-year-old transient wanted for questioning in connection with Elizabeth's disappearance.
A man matching Edmunds' description was spotted Saturday about 11 p.m. picking up a take-out order from a Denny's restaurant in Woods Cross.
Two Denny's employees recognized the man as matching Edmunds' description and called police, Woods Cross Police Lt. Clarence Montgomery said. The man fled on foot when he saw a police car, Montgomery said. The officer saw the man from about 40 feet away and reported he matched Edmunds' description.
Montgomery said the man ran into a field that led to an open area with a subdivision to the north. SWAT teams from Salt Lake police and other agencies searched the neighborhood door to door, looking for the man with tracking dogs and a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter with an infrared camera.
Police did not know the location from where the man called his order, but he told Denny's employees the location was Room 244 at the nearby Motel 6. Police searched the room but it appeared no one had been staying in it, Montgomery said.
Police finally called the search off at 5:30 a.m.
Montgomery said Salt Lake police dispatchers called his department after 5:30 a.m. reporting that their department had arrested another man, not Edmunds, who admitted to fleeing from police at the Denny's in Wood Cross. The man apparently told police he ran because he had a fugitive warrant, Montgomery said.
Salt Lake police could not confirm that arrest Monday morning.
That apparent dead end is just one in a series of mounting frustrations for investigators in this case.
"I think we're a lot further than we were on day one," Atkinson said. "We are closer but we don't have any particular focus at this time. . . . I don't know that we're closer to finding her."
Salt Lake Police Sgt. Fred Louis said Monday police were "hopeful" Elizabeth was still alive. The girl's family continued to hold out that same hope Monday.
"Yesterday was a very difficult day for us, and we still feel that Elizabeth is out there," her father, Edward Smart, said at a Monday morning press conference.
In its June 24 issue which hit newsstands Monday, Newsweek cited one "well-placed law enforcement source" as saying Elizabeth's father "came out clean" on his polygraph test. Polygraph tests for other family members, including Elizabeth's uncle Tom Smart, were "inconclusive," Newsweek quoted the source as saying.
Police continue to sift through hundreds of leads hoping to find any clues in this mysterious case.
They reviewed the Shriners videotape the morning of Elizabeth's kidnapping and eight days later at the hospital, Louis said.
Trujillo said he was making his rounds at Shriners just before 1 a.m. June 5 when he noticed a car pull into the parking lot. Trujillo said he was about 15 to 20 yards from the car. It appeared the driver was by himself, Trujillo said.
"He didn't make eye contact," Trujillo said. "I got a look at him sideways."
Trujillo described the driver as a white male in his 30s with short but thick dark hair and wide sideburns. The man was not wearing a hat but had on an off-white or cream-colored shirt or jacket, Trujillo said.
The man's car was a light-colored, late '80s, four-door sedan. Trujillo said he didn't see the license plate.
The car eventually pulled into the narrow drive behind some bushes near the hospital's exit. Trujillo went inside to monitor the car on the hospital's security camera, which covers the entire parking lot on the west side of the hospital.
"He made an effort to nestle himself in there," Trujillo said. "He adjusted his vehicle several times. His lights would go off and on several times."
Trujillo, who has 17 1/2 years law enforcement experience, debated a few minutes before reporting the suspicious car to police.
Within a few minutes, another car pulled in, but because of the darkness, Trujillo couldn't see what kind of car it was or how many people were inside.
"They both interacted for 20 to 30 seconds," Trujillo said. "No one got out of the car."
About 1:05 a.m., Trujillo said both cars drove south on Virginia Street and turned east onto Fairfax before making U-turns and going back to Virginia Street. At Virginia Street, one of the cars drove north into the Smarts' neighborhood and the other car turned west onto 11th Avenue.
Trujillo said he called police again to tell them both cars had left, but that he never saw an officer until later in the morning when a detective asked for the hospital's surveillance tape.
"I'm not going to second-guess the police," Trujillo said. "We had some information that was vital, and we wanted to share that to help find this little girl."
E-MAIL: djensen@desnews.com
We want to trust the family - yet - with so many parents killing their own children daily in the news, we begin to be suspicious of all parents when something happens to a child.
Ok - put on the tin foil hat (I can't help it). This could be the signal that he has the girl, then the other car comes up, gives info on where to collect the payoff or the next step, they both leave, do a u-turn - one back toward the Smart's neighborhood, the other to the next destination.
This brings up what is going on?
What does the father do for a living? Any money problems? The other relatives? Would there be any chance someone could allow her to be kidnapped and who knows what for money reasons or as a hold on the family to promote some action?
I just can't get over someone coming in a shared room unless they did not know it was shared until too late. Then, why not take both girls rather than leave a witness? Also, if knew there were two in the room, seems he would have worn a stocking mask or something to be sure he was not seen.
How in the world would he expect to be able to get IN and OUT of a house with 5-6 kids and two parents without anyone hearing him or seeing him?
Again, this is so perplexing and I just pray she will be found safe.
Ed Smart is in real estate. He buys homes, fixes them up, and sells them for a profit. The house is currently on the market and has been undergoing renovations.
I have not encountered information regarding family financial troubles.
The website ElizabethSmart.com lists the reward for her return at $250,000 that family, friends, and the community have set up.
I heard that too and at first thought I was hearing things. Because they did not make much of it, I assumed that the speaker mispoke, b/c that would be huge info!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.