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
I think the only reason she would have gone over (instead of observing from inside her home and then calling police) was if she knew the perps (e.g. friends of hubby), and therefore didn't suspect that a crime was in progress.
Two crimes happening in the same location at nearly identical times is TOO much of a coincidence.
Exactly. Either she witnessed a crime and was silenced, or she was silenced well before the burglary. Maybe the day before. I hope it was the former and the husband isn't involved. Well, I hope she is alive but no news is not good news.
The parallels to Chandra Levy are eerie indeed. She goes out for a jog never to return. Ergo, some random citizen will probably find her remains in that park after the searches are completed. :-(
I was encouraged to exercise to promote labor, and after hearing for 7+ months that first labors last a very lonnnng time, we didn't consider a two hour drive to be a risk. And every day past the due date seemed like a month. So let's see, we went to Pompeii, Paestum, Tivoli, Hadrian's Villa, even the Adriatic coast, among other places.
My labor started with water breaking and mild 5-min contractions at 11 PM one night after being gone all day on one of these adventures. I had a c-section about 5 hours of very mild contractions later. So you see, if this had happened in the daytime, I would have had plenty of time to get back to the hospital! :-)
BTW, with the next baby, we lived 2 minutes from the hospital, and I made sure to stick very close to home, LOL.
About the 8 mo. preg thing: being 8 months pregnant myself (due in Feb also; it actually takes 10 months the way doctors calculate it), my DH leaves me every day to go to work. He worked Christmas Eve. That is not in itself necessarily suspicious, especially with good phone connections these days.
Water seems WAY too shallow to hide a body for any length of time.
sw
Oh, puhleeeeez!
Well, now we know what Alexandria DOESN'T do for a living.
Well, maybe not everybody but certainly the woman.
HA!
KCRA 3, Sacramento reported the same thing at 5:00 pm. It was also reported that Scot was working at the volunteer center.
I live about 2 miles from the Peterson residence. All the light poles in our neighborhood have flyers attached to them.
I'm inclined to go with my wife's gut feelings. Laci was kidnapped by baby brokers.
Last week it was reported that down on Yosemite Blvd. (where the bloodhounds followed scent) a person reported hearing a woman's voice yelling "Help ME!" Nothing more has been reported of that event to my knowledge.
The Modesto cops were busy on New Year's Day with an unrelated murder across town. Fight erupted during a New Year's Eve party. Perp came out of the house with a gun and started shooting.
There will now be another call for gun confiscation. The gun manufacturers will be sued. How about sueing Corona, Bud, Miller etc?
/rant
Well, I sure as heck don't sell Makita drills.:o}
Really though, without fail every time i've tried to use a Makita to do something (roomate has one) halfway through the job the battery starts wearing out. They make a pretty good flash light though.
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