Posted on 01/01/2003 10:53:24 AM PST by vikingchick
A week after Laci Peterson disappeared, Modesto police said Tuesday that foul play had become the main focus of the investigation.
Detective Jon Buehler said other possibilities had not been ruled out.
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
Orange Blossom Recreation Area on the Stanislaus River outside of Oakdale.
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.
The police tips line is 342-6166.
Bee staff writer Patrick Giblin can be reached at 578-2347 or pgiblin@modbee.com
You and me both, vc.
They are putting the time frame of possible burglary at 10:30am on the 24th..same time the dog was returned home with muddy leash..until the 26th....yet...the neighborhood would have been filled with activity from 6pm on the 24th on....unlikely the burglary was after 6pm on the 24th..IMO.
Wonder if the Medina's house was torn apart looking for stuff or if they did know where the safe was and what was in it??
Any idea how big this safe is from the name of it?
And if they found anything in the dumpster that the dog hit on, but aren't saying..and the lady who heard the scream at the park at 10:15am is reliable.....does that mean the burglary was just a really weird coincidence?
Rambling on..
Two crimes happening in the same location at nearly identical times is TOO much of a coincidence.
The husband going fishing on Christmas Eve day doesn't bother me. I know too many hunters/fishers who would do that in a heartbeat - with their wife's blessing and despite being eight months pregnant.
Heck no, they'd get in there, they'd already have one guy grabbing the stereo system, computer equip. etc. The other one going for the jewelery box or valuables in the bedroom and other obvious places. I'd be willing to bet that that safe was in the bedroom closet maybe, or near a desk. They tuck it under an arm grab another handful and SPLIT. They can break it open later.
Also, the reported "sighting" of the perps is doubtful. In this area there is NO way that the perps would be seen in anywhere NEAR that house before they bust into it. It is an OK area but it has BUSY street traffic. I wonder if there is any alley access to this house.
But at 5 p.m. when officers released the bloodhound in front of the Peterson home, the dog did not go to the dirt path. Instead, the hound led police to houses around the corner, then south to Yosemite Boulevard and eventually to Santa Rosa Avenue near E.&J. Gallo Winery.
Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies, who supplied the bloodhound, concluded the search when the dog began nosing around some Dumpsters. Police searched with flashlights and climbed in, but it was not known what, if anything, they found.
snipped from Modesto Bee
um...that would be me. Where do I pick up my gold star? ;o)
I guess some people may not have a computer and stuff.....they did get that Ryobi drill tho!
Full term pregnancy is 40 weeks...not 36.
LOL...you've heard too many wives tales about birthing babies, TE.
The burglary involved quite a load of merchandise...the burglars would have been hard core dirtbags rather than daylight thieves, which means they'd abduct and get rid of any evidence against them (provided she indeed saw anything).
Oohhh...my hubby wanted one of those for Christmas.
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