There is no conspiracy here: SLPD Press Conference (Elizabeth Smart abduction)

KSL Radio ^ | 6/19/2002

[Utah Girl]

Elizabeth Smart's little sister, the sole witness to the teen's abduction, waited two hours to tell her parents about the kidnapping because she feared the kidnapper was still in the house.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said Wednesday that the girl, Mary Katherine, got out of bed soon after the abduction and headed toward her parents' bedroom. But she saw the man still in the house, so she went back to her room and waited for two hours.

On Tuesday, police changed a key detail in the case. Their initial report, based on secondhand accounts, stated that Mary Katherine had been threatened by the kidnapper to keep quiet about the abduction.

They now say that Mary Katherine, who was in the same bed as Elizabeth, feigned sleep during the abduction.

"She hasn't wavered one bit from her original statement that she gave investigators," Dinse said.

Dinse rejected any idea that his department was deliberately deceiving the media.

"There is no conspiracy afoot here," Dinse said. "We are not telling you everything ... and we probably are not going to until we're further along."

Wednesday was the 15th day of the investigation into Elizabeth's abduction. She was reportedly taken from her bedroom at gunpoint in the early hours of June 5, police said.

Police still have no suspect in the case. They have received a total of 8,000 to 10,000 leads, of which 1,300 warranted follow up, Dinse said. Up to 900 of those leads have been cleared and about 400 remain to be looked at, he said.

Police who interviewed Mary Katherine four times now say the man did not speak to the younger child or apparently realize she saw him.

Working from Mary Katherine's description, police are looking for 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 Scottish-style golf hat. He held a small handgun.

"This investigation would be very, very difficult without Mary Katherine. She has provided us with a tremendous amount of information, and we're very appreciative of her," Dinse said. "I'm saying again, I believe we will resolve this case eventually, and Mary Katherine is a big part of doing that."

The community is offering a $250,000 reward for Elizabeth's safe return.

Investigators still want to talk to Bret Michael Edmunds, a drifter who continues to elude them. Edmunds was spotted near the Smart home two days before Elizabeth's disappearance.

Police have repeatedly said they don't consider Edmunds a suspect, but may have seen something in the Federal Heights neighborhood that would help the investigation.

A Web site set up to find the teen is getting more than 2 million hits a day, said David Smart, Elizabeth's uncle.

[Faith]

Please pray for Elizabeth. It is the most powerful action we can take. Thank you.

Dear God,

Your Word says that we should pour out our hearts like water before Your face, and that we should lift our hands toward You for the lives of our children. We come before You pleading for mercy for Elizabeth. Father, only You are able to bring her home safely. Shine a light on her, Lord, so that the investigators may be led to her. Tie the hands of her abductors and set them to confusion. Rescue her from the plots and schemes of the wicked. Father, we cry out to You on her behalf. Save her, for she is Your child. Help her to be comforted by the song and the words that let her know You are with her. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

[Neenah]

Thank you very much for this nice post. You could well be right. I sure hope you are. thanks.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Obviously, given the combination of your status as a just-registered-today freeper, the dubious journalistic standards of the National Enquirer, and the sensational nature of the information you describe, we need to take your posts with a hearty chunk of rock salt. However, if even a tiny speck of this stuff is true, it could explain the sense many freepers have had that the Smart brothers are "hiding something", even if it has no direct bearing on the abduction. Anything resembling proof that even one of the adult brothers had deliberately looked at pornography even once, or experimented with gay sex even once, could have a devastating effect on a respected Utah Mormon family's social standing.

[Palladin]

WOW! This is breaking news on this family. Thanks, Enq Mind. I thought they all looked too perfect to be true. So, all three brothers are into kinky sex? No wonder they all appear so nervous and GUILTY-looking. Where did the orgies take place? On the racquetball court that is part of the house?

I don't think the Enquirer would print this stuff if it weren't true, for fear of being set upon by a horde of Mormon lawyers.

[janette]

Yes these hats are fashion. They are worn mostly by "Juppies". The last one I saw Sunday in Buckhead/Atlanta, lot's of young fashionpeople hanging around there. This guy was a good looking mid-twenties black man. They wear it always backwards., so the little Kangoroo-sympols is seen. My daughter wore it when she was 13 (1996) to school in Germany. It was so popular, it was stolen from her the next day! And the Canadian Olympic team wore them in red. Prince William likes them too! I think it cost about $40 or so.

[Palladin]

Never mind....I see we have ourselves a hoaxster who just joined up today. Silly boy!

[GovernmentShrinker]

The National Enquirer and similar publications are highly skilled and experienced in the art of avoiding successful suits over what they publish.

The primary method is to emphasize repeatedly in the article that what they are reporting is just someone else's account. Then everything they printed is technically true: Joe Schmoe really DID say he knew those things about the Smarts. And when Joe Schmoe is tracked down, he of course has no assets to speak of, and it would cost more to sue him than the plaintiff could ever hope to collect.

Usually there is also at least a speck of proveable truth to Joe Schmoe's story, which makes the plaintiff reluctant to sue, because the plaintiff would have to own up to the small speck during the course of the trial. Most plaintiffs would prefer to just make a public denial of the whole story, including the part that was true, and hope the public gives them the benefit of the doubt on account of the newspaper's reputation as an unreliable gossip rag.

They get nailed once every few years, but considering the amount of wildly speculative, unflattering stuff they print about a wide range of public figures, their techniques are pretty effective.

[janette]

Today her parents said on LK that they build the house and from the beginning, the big front-room was planned for both of them, becauce they liked to be together and share the room, like their mother did with her sister in her childhood.

[Vinomori]

Rescue her from the plots and schemes of the wicked.

Essentially you are praying for God to wake up and do the right thing. Your prayer suggests God is a bad kid with a good heart and if enough of us lobby him he'll snap out of His mysterious ways. You could be right! I join you in this prayer.

[Palladin]

Yes, you are right. Anyway, I think that brand-new poster is pulling our collective leg. Dumb of me to bite. I wish with all the bells and whistles here, they would have put in an option for us to delete our own posts. Then I wouldn't have to sit here with egg on my face.

[Utah Girl]

I just don't know what to think. The police don't seem too concerned that Edmunds hasn't come in, I heard one policeman say that they expect this type of behavior from Edmunds, he has been known to run before and switch license plates. He allegedly also has hiding places in cabins from here to Colorado. I just don't know...

[EnquiringMind]

Being a just-registered-today freeper does not alter the fact that this headline is coming soon to your local grocery store. The information may have nothing to do with the abduction, I agree, but does add a very disturbing dimension.

[Lanza]

Well, I can't knock the Enquirer too much. After all, they did break the Jesse Jackson love child story, and it was true. Sometimes they do get it right.

[PoppingSmoke]

I just hope the kid is alright. Whether she was abducted or ran away. We will hav enough time later to sort out what happened. Let's find the kid first. But I will say this much. I have to wonder why all the media attention to this case? Does anyone know how many kids are abducted every year and don't get anywhere near the attention this case is getting? That is the real crime!

[EnquiringMind]

This story has been printed and will be on newsstands tomorrow.

[Utah Girl]

It's not Elizabeth Smart's fault that there is all this media attention. I think it is a variety of reasons: slow newsweek, abduction at the point of a gun, taken from her own house underneath her parents' noses, the Smarts are a prominent family in the community with ties to a former US congressman and a former US Senator. Plus the abduction met the criteria for the Rachael alert system to be used for the first time there are four criteria:

* The child is assumed kidnapped;
* The child is 15 or younger, or has a proven mental or physical disability;
* The child is in imminent danger of serious injury or death;
* There is information provided to aid the police, such as a description of the abductor, the abductor's vehicle or the child's last known location.

Other factors include that kidnappings such as these rarely take place, the family lives in an upscale neighborhood, and Elizabeth is young and pretty.

But I blame the media in part. They're the ones who choose the children they are going to highlight on their shows each evening.

[stlnative]

Turn on MSNBC if you have it, Ashleigh Banfield is on with the Smart Family (recorded earlier today)

[janette]

Listen to the new information about the girl's bedroom and the reason why they share. The parents appeared on LK and AB the same time 9.00am East. I don't remember, where they mentioned it.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Don't feel TOO eggy -- at least not 'til tomorrow. I haven't ruled out the possibility that the poster may have seen such an article, but that of course would have no bearing on whether there's any truth to it or not. Despite it's remarkable forays into real journalism last year, the National Enquirer remains the National Enquirer, and still needs to sell papers to its core readership, which is eager for racy scandals and doesn't much care whether they're real or fabricated as long as they're fun to read and gossip about. However, this is the type of story where IF some information like what the poster described came to light, the Enquirer would likely be the first to publish it, as all the "legitimate" news outlets would be busy checking with their lawyers, and concocting lame excuses about why it was really legitimate news and thus okay for them to print.

[GovernmentShrinker]

We'll know tomorrow -- either your description of the article is true, or "EnquiringMind" will magically be transformed into "No current freeper by that name".