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To: EverOnward
Re the National Enquirer -- does this rag still feature the magic blue dot that readers can touch to cure all their physical ailments?

I have no idea since I don't read them all the time, and I did go out to see if it's available in our area as yet, which it isn't...I was just sent a copy of the article from a fellow freeper. To those of you who have the NE, would you check if this is the same story as in the physical NE? Are there photos also in the NE? Here's what I received--

Elizabeth Smart Kidnapping Enquirer World Exclusive By Alan Butterfield, Alan Smith, John South, Courtney Callahan and Michelle Caruso

Police probing the mysterious adduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart have made a discovery that's rocked them to the core- a shocking gay sex scandal involving her father Edward and two uncles, the ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

Beneath the family's respectable façade as pillars of the Mormon community, authorities are unearthing horrendous facts that will forever change the devoutly religious city of Salt Lake- and perhaps explode the case wide open.

"There is a bizarre gay twist to this story," a law enforcement official told The ENQUIRER.

Shortly after Elizabeth's disappearance, police conducted a search of the family mansion.

And The ENQUIRER learned there was a lot to hide!

"During the second search, police confiscated Edward's computer-and found several explicit pornographic pictures on the hard drive," revealed a source familiar with the investigation.

Could Elizabeth have stumbled upon one of the family's dark secrets? "The computer in Edwards's office was mostly used by him-but on occasion his kids used it to download music," disclosed an insider.

The police also searched the Park City home of Edward's brother Tom, revealed the investigative source. "They confiscated his computer and found that someone had attempted to erase files on the hard drive. But computer technicians were able to extract more than a hundred homosexual pornographic pictures."

No child pornography was found on the seized computers.

During one search of a family member's home, police found a horrifying journal alleging the mind-boggling activities of all three brothers, according to the investigative source.

"It contained explicit allegations of homosexual activity concerning "Dave," "Ed" and "Tom," including preferences for sadomasochism, a history of their homosexual activity, and details of their wives' knowledge of the brothers' homosexuality."

The journal also recorded their alleged use of male escorts.

Their alleged activities may hold the key to solving the baffling case.

Soon after the kidnapping, police began searching for jailbird Bret Edmunds. The ENQUIRER has learned that Edmunds was seen near the girl's home before the crime-and even showed up at search headquarters for the missing teen.

"Edmunds is not a known homosexual, but with his prison record, he may not be a stranger to this sort of (homosexual) activity," an investigator involved in the case told The ENQUIRER.

In a recent case with chilling similarities-the slaying of 7-year old Danielle van Dam in San Diego-suspicion quickly centered on seedy characters well known to her wife-swapping parents.

"If that family were not into sex-swapping that little girl would probably be alive today," said the investigator.

Police wasted no time following the trail of Elizabeth Smart's disappearance.

Tom claimed he was at home with his wife. But his own polygraph test was "inconclusive" and his alibi for the night of the crime "is not solid," according to a source.

As police peel away layers of the mystery, they come up with more and more evidence-that almost nothing with the prominent Smart family is what it seemed to be.

Edward appeared to be a prosperous builder. Although the family lived in a $1 million home, he was trying to sell the residence and he planned to move the family into a small ski cabin they owned in the mountains.

Tom. A hard-driving photographer; was renowned for his quick temper. And to tangle the web of mystery even more, Ed and his wife Lois were reportedly having marriage problems, according to an inside source.

Although Elizabeth was an angelic-looking harp player, she too, was troubled.

She complained to girlfriends about her father trying to enforce a curfew.

Sources told The ENQUIRER that something was bothering Elizabeth, who stuck close to her 9-year old sister, Mary Katherine. The two girls slept in the same queen-sized bed in the seven bedroom mansion.

Elizabeth even took her little sister jogging with her when she went jogging around the neighborhood.

An once she alerted their father Edward, his behavior raises eyebrows.

Instead of immediately calling the police, he began phoning church leaders, friends and family. Then he ran across the street to neighbors, the Beesley family.

"Ed Smart pounded on Brent Beesley's door and told him, 'My daughter has been taken ay gunpoint. Check your kids!'" a source told The ENQUIRER.

As friends gathered at the Smart home, their attention was drawn to a cut screen on the kitchen window.

But The Enquirer learned that the headline-making screen was cut from the inside and that the burglar alarm was not on. What's more, the window is only about a foot-wide-making it extremely different to squeeze through.

We also learned there was no scuff marks on the outside wall below the window nor any shoe mark on the sink or dirt beneath the kitchen window.

The night of the crime the Smart garage door was also mysteriously left open.

After the kidnapping and before police arrived, so many concerned people flocked to the house that the crime scene was contaminated, making it even harder for the police to do their work.

The most suspicious person in the area around the time of the disappearance was ex-con Bret Edmunds, who'd been convicted of burglary and forgery in 2000.

In an exclusive ENQUIRER interview, Mormon Bishop David Hamblin revealed: "I saw Bret Edmunds at the Shriner's Hospital the day before a candlelight vigil for Elizabeth Smart.

"The hospital was being used as a volunteer command post. I saw an individual, who later I found out was Bret, standing near the volunteer check in desk. He had an official-looking plastic badge hanging from his neck.

"I notified the police and told them of my sighting."

Elizabeth's uncle Tom appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" show on June 12, and was questioned by guest host Nancy Grace.

A police detective interviewed by The Enquirer divulged, "The interview raised a number of red flags in my book."

When Grace asks Tom how the family is doing, he doesn't exhibit anxiety. He doesn't appear to be upset or fear for Elizabeth's fate, said the detective.

He says, 'I don't know who this guy is.' That makes me think: Does he know that guy? Could he have hired Edmunds?

"It also concerns me that Tom never makes a distinct plea to the kidnapper. When asked if he had a message for he answers, 'I believe the person is not a bad person at all.'

"Why is Tom speaking up for the kidnapper-almost vouching for him?"

As cops continued their frantic search for Elizabeth and the drifter Edmunds, they had more questions than answers.

But with every clue uncovered, the Smart family continued to come under scrutiny.

276 posted on 06/24/2002 3:47:04 PM PDT by Bella
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To: Bella
But with every clue uncovered, the Smart family continued to come under scrutiny.

That's funny, I could've sworn they were concentrating on Edmunds and Ricci!

This is garbage, and the Enquirer--ONCE AGAIN--is going to get the pants sued off 'em.

So why do they do it? Well, they actually admitted in the wake of the last few successful lawsuits, that they still end up in the black after the settlements are paid, because they sell tons of their trash to the small-minded (examples appear on this and related threads).

327 posted on 06/24/2002 6:33:04 PM PDT by Illbay
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