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

KSL Radio ^ | 6/19/2002

[ET(end tyranny)]

This would therefore suggest that there was at least a reasonable opportunity for the police to get fingerprints. And perhaps the "trusted person in the community" statement reflects that those fingerprints don't match anyone with a record. Considering that at least 10 people (neighbors) were in the house before the police arrived, there could have been a lot of fingerprints!! I would imagine all were asked what if anything they may have touched.

[Utah Girl]

Here are my notes from the SLPD press conference. They are a bit cryptic in spots, but let me know and I will clarify them (I sound like Dinse. :) The reporters questions are in italics, I bolded the parts that leapt out at me.

David Smart, the uncle of Elizabeth Smart spoke first.

The elizabethsmart.com website has been updated with more information, many more news pictures of Elizabeth. Also there are links that you can click on to find out What can I do? How can I get involved? etc.

Searches are being performed all across Utah.

Even if no new information is found during these community searches, please fill out the debriefing form, telling us exactly what area(s) you searched, and send it to us.

The website is receiving 2 million hits + per day.

The family is grateful for help received from many companies who have develped the website and are hosting it. It will continue to be maintained not only for Elizabeth, for in the future, for other abducted children as well.

Ed and Lois Smart
Please pray for Elizabeth. We appreciate all the prayers and the help that has been extended to our family.

Lois Smart spoke directly to her daughter, saying that she thought of Elizabeth every minute. And she told her daughter to remember the song "If the Savior Stood Beside Me". Elizabeth just learned the song on the harp. Her mother told Elizabeth to remember the words of the song, and to know that her Heavenly Father loved her and was watching out for her.

Chief Rick Dinse
There was a massive search in Draper last night, I'll give you the details later in the press conference (but he never did.)

Here is the update on things I can tell you, clear up some speculation from yesterday:

Continuing to receive leads
8 to 10 thousand leads
Identified 1300 leads that might be useful, 800 followed up on so far
Some of the leads are very promising
No identified suspect at this time
Encouraged by the efforts, think we're in the right place doing the right thing by looking at the house and around the house; looking at people who live and work in the Federal Heights neighborhood.

A week ago, Dinse said there were ambiguities with the statement between the information and what is being reported.
Yesterday's statement was purposeful.
The first statement was provided by the first reponders at the scene (police) and they hadn't interviewed Mary Katherine thoroughly yet. But they felt like the information should be gotten out about the abductor immediately because of the Rachel alert.
Info went out that wasn't accurate at the time, police thought it was, and realized it wasn't after the interviews with Mary Katherine, that is why the statement was clarified yesterday
No conspiracy afoot to keep info from the media
We are NOT telling you everything, that's the truth
We're not going to until we are further along and identify some people
Will take some questions from the FBI guy for awhile, not all day

Not going to answer that question, won't reveal info, part of investigation (I didn't hear that question, but I thought the comment was good.)

Mary Katherine saw him after he left the room
Any doubt she saw a gun? NO
She got up from bed and saw the abductor
Won't clarify if Mary Katherine recognized the voice of the abductor

When did you connect Edmunds to this case? Info from the milkman with the license plates of 266, letters on the tag not accurate, The police wanted to talk to Edmunds to talk about what he might have seen when he was in the neighborhood.
The police looking for the tag number at the vigil, NOT Edmunds

Mary Katherine saw the abductor in another place in the house, won't reveal the location because of the investigation,
Still evaluating information to put out to the media, if they don't want to talk about certain information, it is because it has impact upon the investigation

Why did she go back to bed? She waited because she heard the threat, she got up to tell her parents, saw the suspect, went back to bed scared to death, and waited

Have the police made a sketch on their own of the abductor? NO

Police received the information Saturday from Mary Katherine on details about the hairy hands and arms.
Four interviews of MK with investigators
Let me finish the question, I'll get to you
Formal interviews (4), have talked to her other times, once they drove Mary Katherine around the neighborhood, and no, we won't tell you what we talked about.

Why is Dinse here today? Because of scrutiny yesterday, and BTW, he was out of town yesterday, but the information was put out with Dinse's approval

No nefarious reasons or conspiracy to keep the information from Media
Timing? Releasing according to how it will help police, not according to media timetable

Can you tell us the exact wording of the threats made to Elizabeth? Things in the threat that we want to keep out of the public view at this point, but he did threaten Eliabeth's life

Possible sightings around the country? Calls are coming from everywhere.

Interviewed all members of the extended family? Most of them

Talked to all neighbors within a mile? Yes.
FBI doing an immediate canvas of the area within several blocks
There were checkpoints in the Federal Heights neighborhood last night. Can you give us more info?
(FBI guy) Identify all people who came through the neighborhood on Tuesday nights and Wed mornings to see if they've missed talking to everyone in the neighborhood.

Extensive database set up for families, kids, etc Identify a few more leads out of there, picked up more on neighborhood canvas
Specific questionaire? Yes, door to door FBI agents. Who has been in the neighborhood, visiting, working? The police and the FBI want to nail this down.

Any screams in the neighborhood? Nobody anywhere close to house or around heard any screams

How's Mary Katherine? She has been a great witness to this point, she has provided us a tremendous amount of information. Very appreciative of her.

I believe we will resolve this

Why false info? Heresay from police dispatchers, etc.
No one was doing thorough interviews with Mary Katherine and the family at the very beginning.
The police put out the info quickly, basics were there of the description of the perp. And the information needs to get out quickly for the Racheal alert system.

Parents speaking directly to Elizabeth; believe that she is still alive. Hope or hunch?

Ed Smart: I feel in my heart that she is alive and she is waiting to be found. Both feel very strongly that she is alive, and the media is facilitating her coming back to the family. We're praying for her all the time, and are feeling others' prayers.
Mary Katherine is doing quite well holding up everything considering. Not coming out with the children, they want to keep things as normal as possible. Mary Katherine wants to help.
It is this help that will help Elizabeth come back. Mary Katherine is with the family, all together now. Tried to resume a family life, appreciate your courtesy in staying back a bit, kids want to do what they normally do.

Separated at interviews?, mom is with her, no further details, I don't want to comment at this time about that.

Clarify info about suspect: jacket and dark hair contradictory, can't clarify that one, dark hair on the hands, assumption that it is on his arms

The 2nd time that Mary Katherine saw the abductor was Elizabeth still with him? Yes

You said last week that the SLPD felt as if they had already spoken to the abductor. Do you still feel that way? Yes.

More than one suspect? We have not eliminated multiple people in this abduction.

Consulted psychics? psychics are coming out of my ears! No we haven't consulted psychics

Do you feel the suspect is still in the state? Working closely with FBI, much cooperation, etc.

You said that Mary Katherine recognized the voice of the abductor? I didn't say that.

You didn't answer the question if you think the abductor is still in the state of Utah. We believe that the abductor is still reachable and may still be in the state, no further comment

Because of the focus, grown in the last week, around the house, people who had access to the house, etc Re-interviewing people, very convinced they are doing the right thing.

[SarahW]

They are called Kangol hats, and while they may not be fashionable for golf (there was one pro golfer who made them in for a time), they are worn by a lot of men.

[Utah Girl]

That is correct information, Mary Catherine and Elizabeth were sleeping in the same bed.

[r9etb]

The kidnapper felt comfortable enough to remain in the house long enough for a scared nine-year old to attempt a little investigating. Interesting.

IF they shared a bed because Elizabeth's room was being renovated (source, other than the comment on this thread?), it's possible that "getting her shoes" involved going back to Elizabeth's room -- which would explain several things.

[Utah Girl]

The kidnapper felt comfortable enough to remain in the house long enough for a scared nine-year old to attempt a little investigating. Interesting.

From the press conference just held, the police didn't say if they have an idea of how long the perp had been in the house, but they did say that Mary Katherine was going to tell her parents, and she saw the perp and Elizabeth again, got very scared (because of the threats made to Elizabeth), and went back to bed.

[r9etb]

I work at a golf club and I seldom see anyone wearing that type of hat as they have not been fashionable for a long time.

I see men wearing them occasionally -- usually they seem to be trying to project an image of youthful sophistication, or some such.

[stlnative]

We all have to remember WE do not know what the perp said to Elizabeth and what Mary K overheard, we do know he had gun. It very possible that he told Elizabeth not to look him in face (maybe he feared she would ID him by saying his name before they left the house if she knew who he was before they left the house) and this may be why Mary K also did not look at his face because she may have heard the perp tell Elizabeth not to look at him, plus we know she was pretending to be asleep. He may have threaten Elizabeth if she made any noise or alarmed the family in any way and that he would kill everyone in the house if anyone woke up. It sounds logic to me that whatever Mary K heard him say to Elizabeth possibly after they were downstairs was enough to put total fear into Mary K to cause her to go back into the bedroom and stay put. We know that Mary K was brave enough to come out of the bedroom, but what she heard or saw after she came out of the bedroom was enough to scare her back into bedroom for the next 2 hours.

Not only is Elizabeth missing, but now Mary K will be scarred for life as when she gets older she will start understanding what really happened and the what-if's will be always haunting her. Mary K has to be handled with kid gloves as the family, police and even the community does not know what the future brings since she is the only witness to kidnapping of her sister. If her sister if found dead and then the perp is caught. There will be funeral and a trial that this family will have to go through. Who do you think it will impact the most? It will be Mary K.

The parents are staying positive that Elizabeth is alive still, they have to for the other children. We can only hope that who took Elizabeth, has a heart and actually cares about Elizabeth. There is a chance that she may be still alive and is locked up somewhere.

All we can do is pray and try to understand what this family is going through. People should try to place theirselves in Mary K's place and the family's place, to understand her actions and family's. It is very possible that Mary K did not see the perps face but did pick up other details of the perp. Plus you we need to understand that we do not know what was said by the perp to Elizabeth and what Mary K overheard. We have to remember this is a fragile 9 year old child, who saw her sister kidnapped.

Brigette

[Utah Girl]

Rick Dinse, the police chief was pretty emphatic that they didn't have a sketch of the perp.

[Carolina]

I hope brigette doesn't mind my posting this here:

[r9etb]

Why did she go back to bed? She waited because she heard the threat, she got up to tell her parents, saw the suspect, went back to bed scared to death, and waited

Well, I speculated that one right, at least.

[Utah Girl]

Oh good, you found the thread. I couldn't find your screen name to post.

[stlnative]

Kangol Caps is brand name that has a Kangeroo Emblem embroideried on the caps, not a shape/style of cap. Kangol makes all different styles of caps. It is a Autobahn Cap (english driving cap), that the true name for the shape/style of the cap. Just to clear that up, we do not know if it was Kangol Cap... unless she saw the Kangeroo Emblem Embroidery on it.

[r9etb]

Whoa, good graphic.

Suggests that MK probably saw them the second time when she was near the stairs, and the other two were by the front door.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Revealing ANY facts about the case can hinder the investigation, primarily by making it difficult to sort out real tips from fake ones. They still have backlog of 400 tips deemed worth following up on which have not yet been followed up on, and that's after screening out at least 6700 which were deemed not worth following up on. Many "tips" which are not worth following up on are deliberate hoaxes, which are made harder to screen out when the public has a lot of detailed information about the case.

There is no reason for the investigators to reveal any facts, except those that they have reason to believe may HELP the investigation if made public. Making lots of information public tends to cause investigators' time to be spent on wild goose chases. I don't see how it could possibly help the investigation for us to know where else in the house Mary Katherine saw the abductor. The public's help is only needed to provide information about the possible whereabouts of Elizabeth and/or her abductor since they left house.

[Illbay]

Read the article again: Yes, they do know some things they aren't discussing. No, they're not going to discuss those things until they're "further along."

My advice is to sit tight and wait for OFFICIAL word.

[stlnative]

Not at all... The diagram of the house is very helpful! Thanks for reposting it for me...!

[r9etb]

Thanks for keeping us up to date on this.

This is such an odd case. About all I can do is keep praying.

[Grig]

They will not be releasing a sketch to the media.

Does this mean they have a sketch but it's only for SLC police?