Police say foul play likely (Laci Peterson)

A week after Laci Peterson disappeared, Modesto police said Tuesday that foul play had become the main focus of the investigation.

But, he said, "as we continue to profile Laci's background, gather witness statements, recognize her close relationship with family and friends, investigate the circumstances of her disappearance, and in view of the timing with the holiday season, it is becoming more apparent that her disappearance is the result of foul play."

Police spokesman Doug Ridenour said: "We are hopeful that we will find her alive. But seven days after the fact, we are not as optimistic."

Peterson, 27 and pregnant, has been missing since Christmas Eve. Her husband, Scott, 30, said he last saw her at 9:30 a.m. when he departed their La Loma neighborhood home en route to San Francisco Bay to go fishing.

At a news conference Tuesday, police said they had confirmed the validity of a time-stamped parking receipt, presented by Peterson, from a vending machine at Berkeley Marina, which is where he said he launched his aluminum boat in the hours after he last saw his wife.

Peterson said he departed as his wife prepared to go to East La Loma Park, not far from their Covena Avenue home, for a walk with their golden retriever.

Police said Saturday that their investigation had led them to doubt whether Peterson ever made it to the park. They believe she disappeared between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.

Ridenour said police still have no strong leads. Two more seemed to fizzle Tuesday:

Video surveillance tapes from Copeland's sporting goods store on McHenry Avenue showed that Peterson did not shop there on Christmas Eve. Monday, police said they had received a credible tip that she had been there in the afternoon.

Detectives said it seemed less likely that a burglary across the street from Peterson's home had anything to do with her disappearance. The timing does not seem to fit, detectives said. The burglary occurred some time between 10:30 a.m. Dec 24 and 4 p.m. Dec. 26.

Witnesses reported that they saw three suspicious-looking people in front of the home at about 11:40 a.m. Dec. 24, Detective George Stough said. That sighting was more than an hour after a neighbor found Peterson's dog -- with leash attached -- wandering in the neighborhood.

Still, police said they could not discount a connection, and they again announced a $1,000 reward for information leading to suspects in the burglary.

Police described the possible burglars as short, dark-skinned men. They were seen in an older, full-size van, either tan or light brown, with one or two doors in the rear.

Detectives especially want to know if the burglars were not involved in Peterson's disappearance. "If we got a call from the suspects saying that they saw something happening over there but they are afraid to come in, we might be able to work out a deal," Stough said.

Police launched their search soon after Peterson reported her missing at about 6 p.m. Christmas Eve.

Ridenour would not comment on whether Scott Peterson had taken or been asked to take a lie detector test. Such an examination would be part of the investigation, and as such he said he could not comment.

"It would be wonderful to be able to eliminate Scott from the investigation," Ridenour said. "Mr. Peterson is still considered a suspect." In fact, no one has been ruled out, police have said.

Peterson's relatives said Tuesday that he had hired an attorney. Securing legal representation is not unusual in cases like this one.

Police started their search at East La Loma Park and the rest of Dry Creek Regional Park, and later went to Tuolumne River Regional Park. Police also have checked parts of the Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers, and the wetlands where the rivers empty into the San Joaquin River.

Tuesday, volunteers continued to check various neighborhoods, moving to Salida and Ceres, Sgt. Ron Cloward said.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department dive team searched parts of the California Aqueduct and the Delta Mendota Canal, as well as the Fox Grove Fishing Access on the Tuolumne River near Hughson and the

Police are continuing their effort to talk to 155 known sex offenders who live in southeast Modesto. Some of them listed the Modesto Union Gospel Mission on Yosemite Boulevard as their residence, but were not there when police came calling.

In an effort to locate them, officers planned today to go by horseback to homeless camps.

Bee staff writer Patrick Giblin can be reached at 578-2347 or pgiblin@modbee.com

Hope unites crowd at vigil for Peterson

January 1, 2003 Posted: 06:13:00 AM PST

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER
As the sun set on another year, more than a thousand people held aloft glowing candles Tuesday in a tearful vigil for Laci Peterson, the expectant mother who has been missing for more than a week.

"Just keep looking for her," said Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, wiping back tears after briefly speaking to the crowd. "Don't give up."

The vigil took place at East La Loma Park, which is where the search began after Peterson's husband reported that he last saw her as she prepared to go there for a walk.

Modesto Police Chief Roy Wasden joined members of Peterson's family on a flatbed trailer, which served as a stage in a soggy field bordered by television trucks and the Police Department's mobile command center. Police estimated a turnout of 1,200 to 1,400 people.

"Wherever that search takes us, let's keep looking for Laci," Wasden said.

Family members, including Peterson's parents and in-laws, took turns addressing the crowd in a ceremony punctuated by songs and prayers.

Peterson's husband, Scott, who told police that he last saw his wife at 9:30 a.m. Christmas Eve when he left for a fishing trip, attended the vigil but did not sit with other family on the stage. He did not address the audience.

He tearfully greeted friends and family after the ceremony but declined an interview with The Bee.

Since Laci Peterson's disappearance, more than 600 volunteers have worked telephones, distributed fliers, and helped search parks and neighborhoods in a desperate attempt to find her.

Friends, former classmates, teachers and people who have never met Peterson said they came Tuesday to express their support for the family and community.

"I don't know Laci, I don't know her family, but I feel she's part of our lives," said Toni Litke, a 46-year-old Modestan who said she now does not visit East La Loma Park alone. "I just want her to know there are people who are hoping and praying for her and her baby."

Chris Adamakis, 36, a third-grade teacher at Virginia Parks School in Ceres, said: "Being a mother I know how vulnerable you are when you've got a baby on the way. She seems like such a wonderful person, somebody I would be friends with."

Peterson's father, Dennis Rocha, waded into the crowd after leaving the stage, shaking hands, receiving hugs and declaring, "I want to meet you all. Thank you."

Dozens of family members and friends wore pale yellow and blue ribbons: the yellow to symbolize hope and the blue for the son Peterson is expecting.

After the ceremony, improvised memorials sprung up around the park as community members shared hugs and tears.

At one memorial, candles encircled a tree with a large yellow and blue bow tied to its branches. Above the bow hung a poster offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to Peterson's return.

"Everyone is real hopeful," said Amy Rocha, her sister. "No one is giving up at all."

Some people at the vigil said the community is taking the case so hard because it is another in a string of Modesto-area heartbreaks: the Yosemite sightseers slayings in 1999, and the Chandra Levy disappearance and death in 2001-02.

"This is her first time at one of these," said Kristy Payne, nodding to her 9-month-old daughter, Kaylin, who lay smiling in a stroller. "Hopefully, it will be her last."

Bee staff writer John Coté can be reached at 578-2330 or jcote@modbee.com.

http://modestobee.com/local/story/5764486p-6734912c.html

Yes, I'm starting to believe that too. Especially when I read stuff like this:

Family members, including Peterson's parents and in-laws, took turns addressing the crowd in a ceremony punctuated by songs and prayers.

Peterson's husband, Scott, who told police that he last saw his wife at 9:30 a.m. Christmas Eve when he left for a fishing trip, attended the vigil but did not sit with other family on the stage. He did not address the audience.

He tearfully greeted friends and family after the ceremony but declined an interview with The Bee.

Hubby poo's behavior is getting a little too weird.

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