# Elizabeth Smart: Who done it? Post your theories.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 18, 2002, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681 "2002-06-18T12:43:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/1 "2002-06-18T12:43:24Z")
Like many, I have been following the kidnapping of the 14 year old Elizabeth Smart in Utah. It is nearly unavoidable to not follow.
I haven’t seen any threads started on/about her, so I thought I would. If this is in the wrong forum, please feel free to move, Oh Benevolent Moderator God/desses.
The first time I saw this was the day after her kidnapping and her parents were making a plea to the media. Her mom, from what I saw, could not even look at the camera. I understand a parents anguish ( not to that level) but this really caught my attention.
If she were truly kidnapped, there would be a ransom note or contact from whomever did it. I have yet to hear her called as “Abducted” ( I could be wrong.) Is there a legal definition/reason between Abducted and Kidnapped, you know, for the court papers?
I know the authorities are/have ruled out that Elizabeth just ran away. And her family ( aunts & Uncles) are cooperating to the full extent by taking lie detector tests, which asking family to do is very common and not always well received.
Something is very fishy that I can’t place my finger on.\* So Here I go, all over the map:\*
1. I don’t know if it is the Father’s admission that he had left the garage door open for about two hours, thus enabling the intruder to hide until eveyrone was settled and the fact the media is just swarming over this.
2. The way the Uncle ( I am not sure who he is related to) is so outspoken. Whether he is the self appointed family spokesperson or they asked him to step up. (I have just read a story about an arsonist who was very clever and hard to catch in his crimes before it was discovered that the Fire Investigator was the one behind all the fires. One who speaks up is the glory hound…et all.)
3. This family is in Utah, Federal Heights, which I am guessing by the website for her [here](http://www.elizabethsmart.com) that is a suburb of Salt Lake City. Mormonville. I’m guessing the family is a member of the LDS, but it is all a guess. While religion shouldn’t factor into something like this, the press usually goes after the LDS, positive or negative. Like the way they go after Scientology (I know, it’s not a religion) or a Catholic (esp, right now with the Past of Pervert preists coming to light.)
4. The hat found in the garage is a golfers style cap. No one, that I’ve ever seen (YMMV), wears this but older white men Wealthy older white men. I am probably wrong, but who in the hell wears a golfer’s chapeau like that for a kidnapping? All that is missing is plaid knickers. If you were planning to kidnap or commit a crime, wearing something that would make you blend in ( baseball hat) and become anonymous would be imperitive. why not wear a beanie with a propeller on it?
5. The Smart Family is very wealthy, at least by their house and zip code. Perhaps Mr. Smart (what does he do for a living, or Mrs, for that matter?) got into some shady dealings and someone wanted to shut him up or warn him by taking Elizabeth, but do to the media attention, it got out of hand and could not return her in a timely matter.
6. Perhaps Elizabeth unknowingly stumbled upon a family secret ( daddy’s, since the intruder was a male.) and because it would bring instant shame upon the family ( or cause mom to want to divorce him, thus losing everything) Elizabeth had to be warned or taken care of in a permanent matter.
7. I beleive the younger daughter is innocent in this deal and is telling the truth. At nine, in the middle of the night, it would be very easy to scare her.
8. If they are Mormon, don’t the Mormons protect themselves very highly through malicous tactics ( or am I thinking of Scientologists? Who did the car bombing in SLC years ago? ) and perhaps Daddy stumbled upon some damning evidence about the LDS that needed a very scary warning? going after someones family is the ultimate threat. Money and posessions can be replaced, children cannot.
I hope Elizabeth is found alive and whomever did this is caught, but right now, things are not looking very good.
---
### Author:  [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/2 "2002-06-18T13:07:28Z")
I don’t really know all that much about the case, but I think it’s kind of fishy too.
The police keep looking for Bret Michael Edmonds and they say he’s not a suspect, but I was thinking that maybe the police think he is an guilty of something, like maybe he was paid to help in the kidnapping or something.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/3 "2002-06-18T14:30:39Z")
They’ve cooperated with the police, the dad voluntarily submitted to a polygraph, and they both look genuinely anguished. Until I know some more compelling reason to suspect them, other than the fact that she wouldn’t look at the camera (she may be shy AND it is her worst nightmare), I’m giving them the full benefit of the doubt.
You’re right, something is fishy, but when a child is kidnapped from her own bedroom, that’s pretty bizarre in and of itself.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/4 "2002-06-18T15:29:51Z")
Odd, but my friend who looks like her, beautiful & blond, & also 14 years old, was on a poster
here from Missing Kids. Turned out her uncle had her. Someone spotted her at the airport
here with some plastic bags, so I guess she got on the plane all by herself. When they went to
see if he was with her uncle, she wasn’t there at the time, but they waited & she did show up.
I guess he gave her whatever she wanted or promised it so she came to stay with him.
Therefore, I think this case is a gonna be like that.
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### Author:  [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/5 "2002-06-18T15:48:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> 1. If they are Mormon, don’t the Mormons protect themselves very highly through malicous tactics
?
Pretty uncool to attack people on the basis of their religion. That’s one of the most ludicrous things I’ve read yet on this board.
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### Author:  [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/6 "2002-06-18T16:28:29Z")
There’s certainly shades of JonBenet going on here, in Elizabeth Smart’s physical appearance to her abduction from the home (I know JonBenet was murdered inside the home, but still, there’s a similarity in that the crimes were committed in the residence)
> [@](#):
>
> Perhaps Elizabeth unknowingly stumbled upon a family secret ( daddy’s, since the intruder
> was a male.)
Where was it said the intruder was male? I’ve been absorbed with World Cup news and have neglected the Smart story details.
I’m also confused as to the malicious tactics of the Mormons referred to in the post above.
> [@](#):
>
> Odd, but my friend who looks like her, beautiful & blond, & also 14 years old, was on a poster
> here from Missing Kids. Turned out her uncle had her. Someone spotted her at the airport
> here with some plastic bags, so I guess she got on the plane all by herself. When they went to
>
> ```
> see if he was with her uncle, she wasn't there at the time, but they waited & she did show up.
> I guess he gave her whatever she wanted or promised it so she came to stay with him.
>
> Therefore, I think this case is a gonna be like that.
>
> ```
And **handy** , I hate to say it, but I think you’re wrong.
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### Author:  [@Drat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drat)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/7 "2002-06-18T17:07:38Z")
Then again, I’ll the info I get is from what I read, who knows what’s left out.
I read this [story](http://wcco.com/StoryFolder/story_278076336_html) and that left me puzzled.
Do openers with sensors stop the door too? Or do they make it go back up like mine does? Maybe its an older one and it only stops it.
I can understand forgetting about the garage door, I’ve done that myself.
Now this hand crank kitchen window that was open and the screen was cut. If that harp is so heat sensitive, why would you have an open window with the AC on?
I don’t think we are getting enough of the story to come to any type of conclusion other then, things just don’t make sense.
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### Author:  [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/8 "2002-06-18T17:38:17Z")
> [@](#):
>
> 1. If they are Mormon, don’t the Mormons protect themselves very highly through malicous tactics ( or am I thinking of Scientologists? Who did the car bombing in SLC years ago? ) and perhaps Daddy stumbled upon some damning evidence about the LDS that needed a very scary warning? going after someones family is the ultimate threat. Money and posessions can be replaced, children cannot.
Wow, this wins the award for the most ignorant thing said on the SDMB in the month of June.
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### Author:  [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/9 "2002-06-18T18:52:41Z")
Shirley, although the LDS is very defensive and secretive (and like any large organization they have “fringe” members) it’s been quite a while since their “Valley of Fear” days.
Since that Edmonds guy hasn’t surfaced even though their broadcasting his info nationwide, I’m guessing he’s the culprit.
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### Author:  [@crazy4chaucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazy4chaucer)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/10 "2002-06-18T20:51:26Z")
Okay, slight hijack here–LDS aren’t necessarily very “defensive and secretive”, at least not any more so than any other religious group. Things that LDS consider to be sacred don’t get talked about except in the appropriate places. So if that’s secretive, sobeit. And one does tend to get a little defensive when one gets attacked on the basis of one’s religion. Okay, back off the hijack.
No way did Daddy “happen on some damning information about the LDS” thus igniting his daughter’s abduction! It’s a religion, for pete’s sake.
It’s a tragedy that this family is having to deal with. I don’t really have theories.
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### Author:  [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/11 "2002-06-18T21:02:22Z")
I’m leaning in the direction of “daughter ran off on her own and it’s gotten out of hand.” Although the OP mentions it in passing as being ruled out, I haven’t yet seen any convincing evidence that she didn’t plan this herself. Barring that, I think the family knows a bit more than they’re letting on.
::shrug:: Time will tell.
-BK
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### Author:  [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/12 "2002-06-18T21:14:47Z")
The latest on this is they suspect it’s a respected friend of the family (?)
As a hijack, as tragic as this is, I wonder why some missing child cases get all this national coverage while others (esp. in the case of minorities) get virtually ignored.
Not fair.
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### Author:  [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/13 "2002-06-18T21:14:57Z")
I found it odd that during the one interview I saw, the father referred to Elizabeth in the past tense. Strange for someone who is ostensibly holding out hope that she’s alive. Then again, I have no idea how I’d react in a similar situation.
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### Author:  [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/14 "2002-06-18T21:23:20Z")
I believe this case is getting a lot of publicity ‘cause the circumstances are so very strange/unusual. It’s **very , very** odd that a child is abducted from the house where she and her parents are sleeping (note, not impossible, but very distinctly odd). I can only think of 3 other cases in recent times (the JonBennet, tho’ she wasn’t taken from the house, Polly Klauss who was abducted from her home during a slumber party by a stranger and the most recent one where the neighbor is on trial).
In home abductions are very risky, especially, one would think, in an upscale neighborhood as in this case.
IIRC, the descriptions of the abductor and the description of the guy sought for questioning are so very very different (the abductor is quite a bit shorter than the guy sought) that it’s unlikely (to me) that he’s the guy.
I’m betting on some one very close to the family
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### Author:  [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/15 "2002-06-18T21:33:39Z")
There are only two ways the cops are going to solve this.
Either they catch the guy they want for questioning, and get a confession out of him, or someone in the family confesses.
I’m not saying it didn’t happen some other way, but the boring truth is, they usually only solve them if it’s pretty obvious.
My guess is that poor young woman is dead.
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### Author:  [@benlormat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benlormat)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/16 "2002-06-19T02:47:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I believe this case is getting a lot of publicity ‘cause the circumstances are so very strange/unusual. It’s very , very odd that a child is abducted from the house where she and her parents are sleeping (note, not impossible, but very distinctly odd). I can only think of 3 other cases in recent times (the JonBennet, tho’ she wasn’t taken from the house, Polly Klauss who was abducted from her home during a slumber party by a stranger and the most recent one where the neighbor is on trial).
Another one was the famous abduction of “Baby Sabrina” Aisenberg, here in the Tampa Bay area. That was November 24, 1997. She was 5 months old. Her father left the garage door open. Nobody, including the family dog, heard or saw anything. The police spent a lot of time and effort trying to prove the father killed Sabrina and hid the body. About all they managed to do was ruin their lives. To this day she hasn’t been found.
Ben
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### Author:  [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/17 "2002-06-19T13:32:10Z")
Well, now the 9 year old is saying the perp never said a word the whole time. Why the lie? Why the confession now? What does it mean? (Dum-dum dum-dum dum-duuuuummmmmm)
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/18 "2002-06-19T13:42:39Z")
I realize the cops have ostensibly ruled it out, but the other day it crossed my mind that maybe Elizabeth had fallen in love with some creep on the Internet and had staged her “Abduction.”
There’s a vague similarity between her and JonBenet Ramsey (She doesn’t look 14, does she?) that strikes me as sort of creepy.
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### Author:  [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/19 "2002-06-19T15:40:56Z")
I just reread my post (yeah, a day later) and I realized I’m a total nonce. I know it was the sister who reported that the abductor was a male. What I meant to say was that I didn’t understand why **Shirley** seemed to have made a connection between the intruder’s maleness and the possibility of the family secret belonging to the father.
**wring** , are you referring to the Danielle Van Dam case in San Diego?
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-smart-who-done-it-post-your-theories/114681/20 "2002-06-19T15:54:35Z")
brondicon, why don’t you agree? I do have that Missing Child poster still…
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