Posted on 06/18/2002 10:50:57 AM PDT by The Energizer
Police now say abductor of 14-year-old Utah girl didn't know he was watched by her sister
By RICH VOSEPKA=
Associated Press Writer=
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Police investigating the disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart said Tuesday the man was not aware that the girl's little sister witnessed the apparent abduction.
Two weeks ago, Elizabeth was taken by gunpoint from the queen-sized bed shared by the two girls in the Federal Heights home.
He told Elizabeth to grab some shoes and as he left with her.
Although it was earlier reported that 9-year-old Mary Katherine Smart had been warned to remain quiet, police who interviewed the youngster several times now say the man did not speak to the child. The little sister waited two hours before alerting her parents.
``We believe this man may be a trusted person in the neighborhood or community,'' said Salt Lake City Police Capt. Scott Atkinson. The kidnapper was calm, he added.
Police reiterated their description of their suspect: A white man, 30 to 40 years old, with dark hair and hair on his arms and back of his hands. He was wearing tan pants, dark shoes, lighter jacket and a golf hat. He held a small handgun.
``He spoke nicely and dressed nicely,'' Atkinson said.
On Tuesday, Atkinson held up a similar pair of tennis shoes that the kidnapper allowed Elizabeth to take with her. They were white Ralph Lauren athletic shoes with dark stripes and thick soles.
Investigators still want to talk to Bret Michael Edmunds, who continues to elude them. Edmunds isn't a suspect, but he was spotted near the Smart's home two days before the kidnapping, leading police to think he might have information in the case.
``I believe Edmunds is a witness to something, we don't know what,'' Atkinson said.
Edmunds is wanted for parole violation and spraying pepper spray at a West Valley policeman who stopped him.
The community is offering a $250,000 reward for the girl's safe return. Neighborhoods are organizing searches for the teen after a centralized search effort was disbanded Friday.
A Web site to help find Elizabeth has had more than 8 million hits, which overloaded the system, said Ted Wilson, former Salt Lake City mayor.
ILBAY has serious issues of control (even domination)- I suspect that he is beaten regularly by his wife, has to sleep beneath the stairs, and comes to FR to throw his weight around!
I can only think of three possible ways that the police might have drawn such a conclusion: 1)Mary Katherine has identified who he is, 2)the police think that Mary Katherine and/or others are continuing to protect his identity, 3)Elizabeth went with the man willingly. Anyone have any other ideas?
I think this must be the likely solution. She's as old as Juliet was isn't she? I wonder who Romeo is.
Ted Williams, former detective from DC who has more brains than all of the existing ones there put together, said on Fox last night that almost always such cases are the result of someone familiar with the family, yet he had seen nothing from the family to make him suspicious. Therefore, he suggested that they continue to interview neighbors. He emphasized that and said that he thinks that one of them either knows something or took Elizabeth.
I was just about to swear off of Mexican food forever.
You gotta admit, though, salsa can come in very handy when the chips are down.....
(a copy of this post can be redeemed for one free screen and keyboard cleaning -- if it can be redeemed at all)
You may very well be correct in your assessment- and you put your argument very well (as a lady lawyer should!). The family, however, does not- especially Uncle Tom. He should refrain from making public statements at all.
ILBAY and I go back quite a ways- he likes to jump onto threads and remonstrate with posters for daring to disagree with him. He often does this in a supercilious and arrogant way that I like to think is reserved for ME!
Not much for the free exchange of ideas, is ILBAY...
I will try really hard not to flame you on this.
There is no "Mormon Code" of silence. If anyone in the Church knew anything at all about this abduction they would first call the police or the FBI and may relate it later to someone in the Church. Trust me, there would be no tolerance within the Church for the abductor under any situation. There is no "silent line of reasoning" that would gain a kidnapper or other criminal a reprieve from being turned over to law enforcement.
And by "any" I mean to include this charge of polygamist conspiracies. As I and many other people have said repeatedly here, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its faithful members have had nothing whatsoever to do with polygamy for over 100 years. The Church has no tolerance for polygamists and excommunicates them as soon as they may be discovered. There isn't a father in the Church that wouldn't go straight to the authorities (or threaten to shoot him first) if any whacko "plig" (as we used to call them in St. George, Utah) said that he wanted his 14 year-old daughter in "marriage".
I mean to disabuse you of these false notions and conspiracy theories as they are ludicrous and only tend to pollute the threads about the abduction of Elizabeth Smart.
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