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Posted on 03/01/2003 7:57:53 AM PST by runningbear
Cementing A Case?
Police Study Cement Traces On Scott Peterson's Boat
The man who sold Scott Peterson the boat the Modesto, Calif., man says he went fishing in the day his pregnant wife disappeared, said he found traces of cement on the vessel that weren't there when he sold it.
Feb. 27 — Police are looking at whether traces of cement found on Scott Peterson's boat and three containers of cement at his Modesto home could be related to the disappearance of his pregnant wife, Laci.
Investigators carried out a two-day search of the Petersons' home last week in what they said was an effort to "eliminate or connect" him as a suspect in the case.
One of the things they found in that search were containers of cement, which he said were for the people who were working on his pool. When police asked the pool workers, though, they said the cement was not theirs.
Police asked the man who sold Peterson the boat he said he was fishing on the day that his wife disappeared to look it over and see if anything was different about it. He said that he saw traces of cement on the boat that were not there when he turned the boat over to Peterson.
"I know it wasn't that way when I sold it to him," the man, Bruce Peterson, who is not related to Scott Peterson, told ABCNEWS affiliate KGO in San Francisco. "I don't know what he used it for, if he was hauling stuff or anything."
The 14-foot aluminum boat is a 1991 Sears Gamefisher, equipped with a 15-horsepower Gamefisher outboard motor. Police seized the boat, its trailer, and a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup truck shortly after Laci Peterson disappeared.
Peterson bought the boat a few weeks before his wife disappeared on Dec. 24. He said he last saw his wife at 9:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve when he left to go fishing on the boat.
Since Laci Peterson disappeared, police have searched the San Francisco Bay near Berkeley, where Scott Peterson said he was fishing. They have also combed virtually every waterway in Stanislaus County, and portions of Merced, Calaveras, San Joaquin, Tuolumne and Mariposa counties, but found nothing in any of the searches.
And to go along with the story line:
Peterson's mother replies to comment
Peterson's mother replies to comment
By PATRICK GIBLIN
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published 12:55 p.m. PST Friday, February 28, 2003 Jackie Peterson said Thursday it's not surprising that a man found concrete dust in the bottom of her son Scott Peterson's boat.
The residue was likely there because of the boat's concrete anchor, she said. "It was mentioned long ago that Scott had a cement anchor."
Scott Peterson's wife, Laci Peterson, was reported missing Dec. 24. Scott Peterson told police he last saw her at 9:30 a.m. as he left with the boat to go fishing in the Bay Area and she prepared to walk their dog in East La Loma Park.
Jackie Peterson was responding to comments made by Bruce Peterson during a television interview. He sold the boat to Scott Peterson in December. They are not related.
Detectives asked Bruce Peterson to look at the boat after police seized it.
Since Laci Peterson's disappearance, hundreds of officers and volunteers have searched from Tuolumne County to the Berkeley Marina for the missing pregnant woman.
On Wednesday, Vivian Mitchell reported that she saw Laci Peterson walking her dog between 10 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Dec. 24. She said she reported that to police but never received a return call.
Lee Peterson, Scott Peterson's father, reacted to that story Thursday.
"How do you follow up on a lead if you don't return someone's calls?" Peterson said by phone Thursday. "It makes me wonder about their competency. Here's an eyewitness account of my daughter-in-law and they don't follow up on it."
Police spokesman Doug Ridenour on Thursday confirmed that the department received the tip and said "it was appropriately handled during our investigation.
"But we have 8,000 tips," he said, "and the majority we haven't called back."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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And one other just to set off on this Saturday of news:
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Nobody Ever Followed Up’
Neighbors Say Police Ignored Sightings of Laci Peterson
M O D E S T O , Calif., Feb. 28 — Neighbors of Laci Peterson say the Modesto Police Department ignored their report of a Laci Peterson sighting the day she went missing.
Vivian Mitchell, 78, says she and her husband, Bill, were the last people to see Laci Peterson, but she says Modesto police haven't talked to her about their Christmas Eve sighting.
"I called and told them that I'd seen whom I thought was her and it would be pretty difficult to have an identical twin and identical dog," Mitchell told ABCNEWS affiliate KGO in San Francisco. "I did think that it was strange they didn't call. I just thought they had some information that over-rode what I had seen and I just thought it was strange that nobody ever followed up," she said.
Mitchell says it took her a week to call the police, because she assumed others in the neighborhood had also seen Peterson walking her dog.
Mitchell says she remembers seeing Peterson, who was eight months pregnant at the time, between 10 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. on Dec. 24. That's about 45 minutes after Scott Peterson told police he said goodbye to his wife and went fishing.
‘It Was Frustrating’
"It was frustrating when the [local] paper went on and on and they kept on reporting that 9:30 a.m. was the last anybody had seen of her," Mitchell said. "I am pretty well convinced it was her because it was just too close circumstance to be not her. What she looked like, the dog, the time element, the whole thing," Mitchell said.
Mitchell's report prompted frustration from the family of Laci's husband Scott Peterson. His sister-in-law, Janey Peterson, says she doesn't understand why Modesto police haven't focused more on reported sightings and tips.
"When this all started, there was many reports of people who had said they seen her walking," Janey Peterson told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "That's why all the posters say 'Last seen walking her dog' in that area. As time went on, it became, 'well, we cannot confirm that she had been walking her dog.' Then it became, you know, 'we believe she left the area in a vehicle,'" Janey Peterson said.
In the wake of Mitchell's claims, Scott Peterson's father, Lee, on Thursday criticized police for focusing suspicion on his son .
"How do you follow up on a lead if you don't return someone's calls?" Peterson said in a Thursday telephone call to The Associated Press from Solana Beach in San Diego County.
"It makes me wonder about their competency," he said of Modesto Police. "Here's an eyewitness account of my daughter-in-law and they don't follow up on it."
Police: ‘We Have 8,000 Tips’
Modesto Police spokesman Doug Ridenour declined comment on Lee Peterson's remarks to the AP. He confirmed that the department received the tip, and said the tip was appropriately handled. "But we have 8,000 tips," he said, "and the majority we haven't called back."
The Modesto Police Department declined a request to appear on Good Morning America, saying it's an ongoing investigation.
Mitchell said she talked to a woman when she called the Modesto police. She says the woman asked for her name, address and phone number.
The Mitchells live about 10 blocks from the home that Laci Peterson, 27, and her huband shared.
Scott Peterson, 30, told police he last saw his wife at about 9:30 a.m., before he left for the Berkeley Marina. Police still say that Peterson is not a suspect in his wife's disappearance, but he hasn't been ruled out either.
Police Search Turns Up Cement
Police removed 95 items from Scott Peterson's home during a two-day search last week. One of the things they found in that search were containers of cement, which he said were for the people who were working on his pool. When police asked the pool workers, though, they said the cement was not theirs.
Police contacted the man who sold Peterson the boat he said he was fishing on the day his wife disappeared, asking the seller to look it over and see if anything was different about it. He said that he saw traces of cement on the boat that were not there when he turned the boat over to Peterson.
"I know it wasn't that way when I sold it to him," the man, Bruce Peterson, who is not related to Scott Peterson, told ABCNEWS affiliate KGO in San Francisco. "I don't know what he used it for, if he was hauling stuff or anything."
When asked about the cement, Janey Peterson said Scott and Laci spent a lot of time on home improvement. "I know they've done a lot of work on their home," she said.
Janey Peterson says her family is waiting for a call from the Modesto Police Chief on the Mitchell sighting.
ABCNEWS affiliate KGO in San Francisco and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(Excerpt) Read more at abclocal.go.com ...
LOL at the mental picture of big clunky ol' Scott wearing tiny Laci's raincoat!
Cement anchors??? This is really odd. If I owned such a small boat, I'd want to use of the ultra lightweight aluminum-magnesium Fortress anchors. A small one only weighs about 4 lbs. and has great holding power. They are not cheap, however. An inexpensive alternative can be bought for about $10 but is about 50% heavier.
He didn't want more children? He didn't even have one child yet.
It sounds like Scotty boy doesn't like kids.
1) Is the woman that saw Laci walking the dog, sure that it was Dec. 24th?
I am not sure that Mrs. Mitchell is sure of anything. Does not sound like it from her and her husband's description of the weather and what was/was not being televised that day.
2) What was the weather like? Rain, mist, drizzle? Could or would Laci have worn a raincoat with hood to walk the dog? If so, could it have been Scott wearing Laci's raincoat with hood up, to make it appear that it was Laci walking the dog?
According to Modesto Bee weather history it was 44 degrees and misty. According to SP it was raining.It probably was not Laci if someone wore a raincoat with a hood, I don't believe Laci walked McKenzie. Yes it could have been SP, at this point I don't put anything pass him.
3) How far from Modesto to that lake? How long to get there?
From Covena to Brooks Island = 94+ miles, from Covena to San Francisco = 93+ miles.
4) The person that suggested that perhaps he towed the body with anchors out to a deeper spot in the lake, brings up a possibility.
Uh huh!
5) Wasn't there recently poured concrete at the Peterson home? If so, what/where?
Not sure where the concrete was poured for SP's anchors (home or warehouse), but that was the only recent pouring of concrete that I have heard about. And I guess it is what your meaning of recent is.
6)Anyone know if the home has a basement? What about a 'fake' wall?
I don't think there is a basement at the Covena residence, but if you want to go in a check for a fake wall, go ahead. I've got your back.
May I ask what the url of the Purgatory forum is? Not checking up on your sources;) Just curious. I went to Purgatory.com, not sure it that was the correct site. Thanks for the transcript.
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