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There is no conspiracy here: SLPD Press Conference (Elizabeth Smart abduction)
KSL Radio ^
| 6/19/2002
Posted on 06/19/2002 11:12:52 AM PDT by 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.
TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: elizabethsmith
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To: GovernmentShrinker
People get up, go to the bathroom, go to the kitchen, etc., and hearing something like that while you're really asleep, or even half awake, wouldn't be a reason to jump out of bed and go see if something's wrong. LOL -- Maybe for the siblings, probably not for the parents. When my kids move around like that at night, I nearly always wake up, even if they're being really quiet.
However looking at the layout, especially the Master Bedroom, I think it's entirely likely that people would be able to move about normally without being heard -- much less if they're trying to be quiet.
81
posted on
06/19/2002 12:52:52 PM PDT
by
r9etb
To: r9etb
A group sounds highly improbable to me. But two people -- the instigator and accomplice -- is not unknown in kidnappings. Do you recall the Steve Stainer(sp?) case, which was later made into a TV movie? That involved an accomplice who the instigator had some kind of hold over.
To: ET(end tyranny)
The two cars at the hospital could be
connected to this, yes. But the crime
has been placed in time to be AFTER
the cars were seen, not before. The
idea is they rendezvoused prior to it,
for some reason. Have no info link on
that--can anyone else verify?
To: ET(end tyranny)
Could be that what is meant is that while Edmunds WAS AT THE VIGIL, it is NOT his tag they are looking for, but the tag from the grey car that the milkman saw? Possible? YES!! On Fox news over the weekend, a PI who looked into the case said that the license tag number made public was not Edmunds', or at least I think that is what he said b/c it was confusing, and that Edmunds was known to have had at least two earlier ones. The conversation was halted and it never returned to his comment. I think something is interesting about the license tags, just don't know what it is.
84
posted on
06/19/2002 12:58:15 PM PDT
by
twigs
To: GovernmentShrinker
should have read
And by NOT giving the public FACTS you run the risk of having more false leads. Kind of a trade off!
To: All
"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."
Based upon this statement, I suspect that the interviews with Mary Katherine have gone well beyond "what did you see that night?" From all accounts, it appears that Mary Katherine spent a great deal of time with Elizabeth......perhaps more than anyone else. I feel certain that this "tremendous amount of information" that she has shared covers a lot of territory. At any rate, the police seem pretty certain that her information has put them on the right track in solving this case.
86
posted on
06/19/2002 1:01:20 PM PDT
by
freedox
To: exlibris
As far as I know, the idea that it was a temporary arrangement is only speculation -- I've never seen it confirmed by police or parents, and seem to recall either police or parents indicating that it was not a temporary arrangement. The house has 7 bedrooms, and was housing 2 parents and 6 children, leading people to assume that the normal arrangement was for each child to have a bedroom, and the information about the renovation of the house led people to speculate further that the sharing arrangement might have been temporary.
If you saw the MLS listing for the house, which someone posted on a thread a few days ago, one "bedroom" was in the basement, one on the first floor, and the rest on the second floor. My guess is that the basement and/or first floor bedrooms had never been used as bedrooms by the family, but were being advertised as bedrooms since the SLC market would have a high demand for houses with many bedrooms.
To: Utah Girl
Wow! You deserve a Freeper medal!
For service above and beyond the call of duty.
88
posted on
06/19/2002 1:01:43 PM PDT
by
TheDon
To: ET(end tyranny)
here is my theory on the Car Tags... Is it possible that the Milkman saw the gray/silver car in the neighborhood days before and wrote down the correct plate? We know from police that Edmunds steals plates off cars. Does Edmunds have access to 2 cars? Does he switch the plates on the cars? Or is possible that someone stole the plated off Edmunds green car and put them on the silver/gray car that was seen in the Smart neighborhood by the milkman. (this would be more logic as we know the plates were on Edmunds car, when the neighborhood man photographed the car right before Elizabeth disappeared. Maybe the police want Edmunds to find out when the plates disappeared from his green car. Where was the green car parked when the plates disappeared off it? Something to think about.... They are calling Edmunds a witness now. Was Edmunds a victim himself? Did someone steal the hot plates off Edmunds car and put them on the silver/gray car that the milkman saw in neighborhood. We do not know the exact date of when the photos were taken of Edmunds car with plates on them.
To: Utah Girl
Overall I think this is press conf is VERY encouraging.
90
posted on
06/19/2002 1:04:04 PM PDT
by
Grig
To: OldFriend
It's a golf type hat. What's so strange about a spring/summer type hat? Golf is played in the spring/summer/fall. What's odd is wearing it during winter! unless one lives in a perpetually warm place.
To: twigs
read my post #89 on this thread... This may make some sense to you about the plates or what may have happened.
To: Utah Girl
One thing we haven't heard any information about is how the length of the delay was determined. Did MK have the presence of mind to look at a clock and note the time of the abduction? Or is 2 hours her best guess of how long she waited? I tend to think the former, since I believe the official reports have been pretty consistent that it was approximately 2 hours (if anyone has seen any official info that steers clear of pinning down the time lapse, please do share!).
To: Grig
Your suggestion of gloves which leave the back of the hand exposed is certainly possible, but less plausible than mine. You offer a more complicated theory rather than the simplest explanation.
It would further lead many to wonder why the gloves wouldn't be mentioned by police since someone possessing BOTH non-standard gloves AND wearing an out-of-style hat might lead a golf buddy or family member to tip the police.
To: Utah Girl
I saw and heard the conference, and having seen the floorplan posted, MC was just across the hall from the parent's bedroom when she most likely saw the abductor for the second time. She obviously forgot what the abductor said when she tried to tell the parents the firs time.... soooooo why not wait for the perp to leave and them tell the parents immediately. She wasn't too afraid to make the first attempt. I only hope they have told her for future reference to tell them things immediately once things are safe, like when the perp had left. Two + hours is a lot of lost time.
She didn't lay in bed paralyzed with fear, she feigned sleep, that's cool, and she got up to tell the parent's, again this is not frozen with fear.
To: Illbay
Yeah, that figures. I knew this sounded way to sensationalist the way the gossip-mongers were batting it around. So Edmunds DIDN'T show up at the vigil at all, they were simply looking for the plate at that time.Do you include the Deseret News among the gossip-mongers. This from their site:
Police later spotted Edmunds at a Sunday night vigil for Elizabeth. Edmunds fled in his car after police attempted to pull him over. Police declined to give chase.
96
posted on
06/19/2002 1:22:51 PM PDT
by
per loin
To: ER_in_OC,CA
Actually, I think the gloves and the hat go together quite well if you consider them in terms of a sports car enthusiast. Leather driving gloves do have the back of the hand exposed (and little open circles around the knuckles).
97
posted on
06/19/2002 1:24:29 PM PDT
by
exlibris
To: GovernmentShrinker
Depends on if the police are guarding the time as well other info. Early articles varied between the abduction occuring at 1am and at 2am, thus the window. I've read articles saying MC told the parent's just under two hours later, to 2 hours later to 2 + hours later.
Maybe just more ambiguity that the police didn't feel the media needed to be clear on?
To: ET(end tyranny)
Maybe she heard the threat while she was on her way to the parents' room -- maybe that's when she became paralyzed with fear. I don't think we've been told when she heard the threat, just that she did hear it and that it frightened her into waiting before telling the parents.
To: brigette
NO, kangol is a generic name for a style of hat.
100
posted on
06/19/2002 1:28:15 PM PDT
by
SarahW
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