Bret Michael Edmunds
- 6"2'
- 235 lbs.
- 1997 green Saturn
- Considered Dangerous
Posted on 06/22/2002 10:17:01 PM PDT by stlnative
June 22, 2002 - Late Evening Report
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) _ A hospitalized drifter sought for questioning in the disappearance of a teenager in Utah was alert and talking with investigators Saturday.
Bret Michael Edmunds, 26, was cooperating with investigators, said FBI spokesman Kevin Eaton. Salt Lake City police sought Edmunds for questioning in connection with the disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart from her family's home June 5.
Bret Michael Edmunds
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"He's talking to us. He's not telling us, 'go away, I want a lawyer,"' Eaton said.
But investigators won't say what information Edmunds is giving them. They will release information after Salt Lake City detectives have a chance to interpret Edmunds' responses.
Questioning Edmunds likely will not substantially affect the Smart case because he was only a possible witness and not a suspect, Eaton said.
"We've been hitting five to six promising areas, and we've been concentrating on a lot of important stuff" not related to Edmunds, Eaton said.
Edmunds remained in serious condition in a secure section of intensive care at City Hospital under the watch of U.S. marshals. He is being treated for a drug-related liver damage.
"He's conscious, he's coherent and he's talking," hospital spokeswoman Teresa McCabe said.
Edmunds, who appeared at the hospital Friday, began talking with a Salt Lake City police officer and FBI agent Saturday morning. Doctors monitored Edmunds' condition to ensure he was up to the questioning.
McCabe said Edmunds would stay at the hospital at least three or four days. She would not divulge details of his condition, citing confidentiality rules.
Edmunds is being held on a federal warrant charging him with fleeing to avoid prosecution for a probation violation. The charges are unrelated to the Smart case.
"He is still not a suspect at this time," Police Chief Rick Dinse said. "He's a question mark, and we want to put a period on that question mark."
Edmunds, who was living out of his Saturn sedan, had been seen in the Smart neighborhood the week the girl vanished. While Elizabeth's sister described the alleged kidnapper as a 5-foot-8 man, Edmunds stands 6-foot-2.
A Saturn found in the hospital parking lot was photographed, impounded and towed away. Police saw nothing suspicious through the windows, and are seeking a search warrant.
Also Saturday, sheriff's deputies said cadaver dogs were unable to find a scent at a subdivision near Salt Lake City. A police search was prompted after dogs owned by search volunteers apparently picked up an unusual scent.
Edmunds has been sought since last fall for outstanding warrants on charges of fraud and assault on a police officer in Utah. He had served 60 days and was put on probation in 2000 for stealing and forging checks.
When he is physically able, Edmunds will be taken to a magistrate for a hearing, the marshals service said.
My main point through all of them is that NOBODY can yet be ruled out as a suspect. The police agree with me. If you do not, you have something else to protect.
I'm grateful you are not running the investigation. It takes a darker inventory of possibilities than you have demonstrated capacity for here.
Girl was kidnapped at 1am, sister notified parents at 3am. You don't beleieve they called tom smart and the bishop before then?
Your bias is showing. You can't even allow yourself to go to sleep.
If the police didn't sy it, it didn't happen
It really feels to me that they are leading the Smart's down a garden path a la Susan Smith.
Well, like I said, it was just a hypothetical situation taken from the immediate discussion at hand; there are all sorts of other potential situations that would probably make better arguments then this nitpicking about the order of phone calls
But let's take this hypothetical a little further: Assume for a moment Elizabeth's father IS directly involved in her disappearance, and did make calls to other family members in order to have them come help launch a cover up before calling the cops. Say he made those calls on a cell phone, and then called the police from his home phone. If Mr. Smart is relatively naive about a lot of things in the world (as he does seem to be, IMHO), perhaps he doesn't think local cell phone calls can't be traced that accurately, or that local landline call records aren't kept by the phone company. So at their first interview, the father lays out the false timeline of phone calls, hoping the cops will buy it. Of course, within 24 hours the cops would have the records from both the cell phone company and the local phone company, laying out the full details of every call down to the second. The police don't tell the Smart family this, but the father, and all the rest of them, continue to maintain their version of the phone call timeline for weeks. The police now know that they're being played for fools, and that the Smarts have something to hide ... and, thus, that the Smarts are directly involved in Elizabeth's disappearance. Obviously, under such a situation, it is in the cops' best interest to continue to treat the Smarts as if they believe them 100%, so they'll have continued access and can continue slowly building evidence, holding more interviews, etc. If they just said flat out, "Hey, we know you're lying about the phone calls," then the entire family will get lawyers and clam up immediately. And the chances of ever finding Elizabeth, dead or alive, go way down.
Again, this is all just a hypothetical situation, which I have no reason to believe is actually true. I'm just trying to explain why the authorities would want to play the game, and lie to the media, in order to ensure a suspect or suspects continues to cooperate with them, or at least ensure they don't think the police suspect them. Remember, at the end of the day the ONLY thing that matters is finding Elizabeth. Not satisfying arrogant reporters, not adhering to some nonexistent oath to tell the truth to the public at all times, not even to tell the truth to the Smart family.
Ah, I love being right. *grin*
It's about Elizabeth and getting her back safe and sound. Until that happens, nobody can be ruled out. I'm all for letting the accusations fly and letting the chips fall where they may. If a few relatives get soiled in the process, so be it. The life of that lovely girl is worth it!
Her life is my first motivation, not the reputation of the family.
Did they actually verify it, or did they just claim it? Did they provide call logs, pphone recorss, police operator affadavits, or what?
Your version of the story does not squarte with the latest Newsweek story, printed on this thread.
There are troubling questions about how a stranger could have broken into the Smarts’ million-dollar home and known exactly which of the seven bedrooms was Elizabeth’s. The Salt Lake Tribune reported Thursday that some investigators now think the screen on the kitchen window where the kidnapper was alleged to have entered was cut from the inside, a sign that the break-in may have been staged
Keyword: Staged. Some say there is nothing that "indicates that the family is involved." I think this is SOMETHING.
If this is her, I'm going to be furious with the police who didn't open up to the public, and in fact played fast and lose with the facts.
I see someone has already answered on this question. I thought I would jump in here and post how I find obits. (Genealogist's here)
I ususally just use the following link and put the name I am looking for in the first window that shows up. Then you get results that will refer you to everywhere that name is found. then click on the one for obit daily times. Or you can go there directly. But, truthfully the first one works better.
Rootsweb
Interactive Search
Obit Daily Times
Results:
FRANCOM, Myron LeGrande; 81; Salt Lake City UT; Deseret News; 2002-6-1; kwday
FRANCOM, Myron LeGrande; 81; Salt Lake City UT; Salt Lake Tribune; 2002-6-1; kwday
The results show what newspapers the obits ran in and when. for current obits you can go directly to the paper. For older obits, obit daily times can refer to a volunteer that can direct you for that area or look it up in the newspaper archives on microfilm at local library. Hope this helps for future reference.
stash
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