‘Person of interest’ emerges in case of missing woman
Mattress removed from home sought
SALT LAKE CITY — Police investigating the case of a college student who went missing in Utah 10 days ago said Thursday that the owner of a home they searched in connection with the disappearance is a “person of interest” and that they are trying to find a mattress that had been inside his home.
The announcement came shortly after authorities spent 19 hours searching the man’s home in a middle class neighborhood on Salt Lake City’s west side. Neighbors described officers entering it with shovels and police dogs.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said the man was not in custody and he declined to name him. But authorities have said that they believe that the house has a connection to the disappearance of 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck, without providing details.
The mattress inside the man’s home had been given away, Brown said, and investigators want to speak with whoever might have taken it.
Lueck disappeared after taking a Lyft on June 17 from the airport to a park, where police have said she met someone at about 3 a.m. and did not seem distressed. They have said the Lyft driver had no connection with her disappearance
The home police searched is about 5 miles from the park.
The owner of the home that was searched rented part of it to short-term renters using home sharing rental sites, said neighbor Tom Camomile.
Lueck’s close friend, Ashley Fine, say she believes her friend is still out there. She pleaded with people to call police with any information that could help.