Divers set to renew search in SF Bay

The Modesto Bee ^ | January 11, 2003 Posted: 04:55:09 AM PST | Ty Philips and Patrick Giblin

[runningbear]

MODBEE.COM

Looking west toward Alcatraz Island from the restored Berkeley pier, you can see the old pier stretching out into San Francisco Bay.
AL GOLUB/THE BEE

Susan Caudillo, center, sister of Scott Peterson, and Kim McGregor, a neighbor of the Petersons, watch as Laci Peterson's brother, Brent Rocha, is interviewed on KFIV 1360 AM on Friday morning in Modesto.

JOAN BARNETT LEE/THE BEE

Divers set to renew search in SF Bay

January 11, 2003 Posted: 04:55:09 AM PST

By TY PHILLIPS and PATRICK GIBLIN

Divers plan to return to San Francisco Bay today to determine if an object found two days ago is a body.

Searchers with sonar equipment spotted the object Thursday afternoon while hunting for clues in the disappearance of

Laci Peterson, the 27-year-old pregnant Modestan who has been missing since Christmas Eve.

Modesto police said they put off the object's retrieval until today to give divers a rest and to let stormy weather pass.

Nevertheless, the media showed up Friday at the Berkeley Marina on the chance that divers would go after the object. But police stuck to their plan to attempt the retrieval today.

Officials said there was a 50 percent chance of the object's being a body.

The Bee reported incorrectly Friday that a body -- not Laci Peterson's -- had been pulled from the bay. Police told of the body's recovery on Thursday, then later in the day alerted The Bee that the report was incorrect, and that no body had been found. The Bee received the corrected information before press time, but the incorrect report still appeared in Friday's editions.

"Clearly, in the media frenzy that is associated with this case, there have been a number of rumors that have made it difficult to separate fact from fiction," Police Chief Roy Wasden said. "That led to a miscommunication between The Bee and the Police Department."

Peterson's husband, Scott, 30, has told police that he last saw his wife at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 24 as he left to go fishing out of the Berkeley Marina. He said his wife had planned on taking their dog for a walk in East La Loma Park.

Family members at the volunteer search center Friday clung to hope that gets more difficult to summon with each passing day.

"As a family, we don't feel that (today's) search will end up having anything to do with finding Laci," said Amy Rocha, Laci Peterson's sister.

"They're trying to clear Scott, and they're going to have to search that area to do that. We just feel that it's been so hyped that it's going to be Laci. And we don't believe that it is."

She said the family has "the same positive attitude we've always had."

"But it has gotten harder. The days go by so quickly for us that sometimes we don't realize how long it has been."

At the marina, harbor master Ann Rial Hardinger said the mystery object was found close to the end of the old Berkeley pier, which is 2 1/2 miles long. Anglers said the water depth at the end of the pier is 12 to 17 feet.

Hardinger said searchers had been using three of the harbor's boats while operating the sonar device.

[alexandria]

Me and RG are still sticking to the notion that she's buried in the ground somewhere; RG because of his access to customers' orchards, me just "because".

Count me in on this speculation with a slight twist. WARNING GRAPHIC!!

My new possibility for a "dump site" is one of those "sh__ ponds" at the back of most dairies.
These are quite full and pretty much impossible to search without draining. (not done very often) I was serarching for information on the possible incresed decay rate because of the urine content.

[spectre]

We would appreciate any "new possibilities".

sw

[wimpycat]

My pet theory is that she is wrapped up in something and buried the old fashioned way---in a shallow grave.

[jdontom]

Oh My............

[spectre]

Well, if we have to start all over again, I guess one of those S##t ponds is as good as any other forsaken place to dump her body.

So IF SCOTT did it, then he threw the search off...clever guy. But there are those on FR who have been saying this all along. I'm becoming a believer.

sw

[spectre]

So do you think Scott had the dog with him when he was dumping the body?

The strangest part of this whole story is that not one person can positively identify seeing either Staci or Scott before the crime was reported. Or am I wrong about this?

sw

[cherry]

what was all this bluster then what the chief said last night...."if you knew what we knew, you would know why we are searching the marina"....

what was he talking about?

do they have a witness, do they have Laci's blood on the tary?...do they have blood on the mop that scotty used to clean up the kitchen...

PLease...God....please..if Laci can't be alive, please bring her murderer to justice...

[wimpycat]

That dog could have been wandering around for any length of time.

But nobody has reported seeing Laci at all (nothing that has panned out, anyway) on the 24th.

The window of opportunity begins at 8:30pm on the 23rd.

[Eva]

My husband has been saying the same thing since they first announced that they were going take a day off to rest before diving again.

First of all, they could have verified whether or not the object was a body very quickly. Second, my husband says that a mud flat like that Marina area would flush like a toilet with every tide, making it less and less likely to find anything. And last of all, my husband says that the body would be a floater by now, with pieces coming off with any movement. (He used be in the Coast Guard and knows about floaters)

[alexandria]

the body would be a floater by now, with pieces coming off with any movement.

Didn't I also hear that one of the detectives took a water sampling out of the marina? Wonder if this could have something to do with the "if you knew what we know about the marina" comment...

[spectre]

See, that's weird. NO one saw Scott or Staci from sun-up till the time he came home?

Someone should have seen Scott at the Marina, launching his boat? And let's just suppose no one saw him? Then, all the more reason to suspect he got away with dumping the body undetected. Scott seemed to be "invisible" that day.

I agree, Wimpy, the window of opportunity began the evening of the 23rd.

Cherry, I think it was reported that Scott said the last activity he observed HIS WIFE doing was mopping the floor, not ever saying he did the cleaning himself...sigh.

sw

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Yeah...that's what I was wondering since Geraldo tipped us off to the fact there are rampant rumors flying around Modesto. What's this all about?

[vikingchick]

Can they tell from a water sample if there's a dead body in the water? Eva--maybe hubby would know?....

[spectre]

OK. It's LACI...not Staci. Long day guys...

[MaggieMay]

Who was the last person to speak or see her alive? Who reported her missing? How long between the time Scott last saw or spoke to her and the time a friend of family member had communication with her. Scott had better get a very,very good lawyer.

[vikingchick]

LOL!

[Eva]

No you couldn't tell anything about a body being present by taking a water sample. My guess is that they are comparing the water sample to water that was in the boat that they seized.

Like my husband said, that mud flat would flush like a toilet with every tide. There would be very little chance of finding anything at this point. My guess is this was a charade to force the hubby to make a wrong move.

[KneelBeforeZod]

so what kind of cops are in modesto and berkeley?

dog shooting, moronic, code of silence type cops walking on the constition in their jackboots?

or hard working above reproach cops?

just wondering how long before the threads will turn on them...probably as soon as they find Laci someplace else.

[spectre]

:~)

[vikingchick]

My guess is that they are comparing the water sample to water that was in the boat that they seized.

Yeah, I figure that's why they went ahead with the Berk search, because they found the boat had indeed been in the bay water (evidence in the boat of bay water residue), otherwise they wouldn't have wasted the time or effort.

As opposed to Scott just getting the receipt on that day to cover his tracks and not even getting the boat in the water.