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CNN Sunday Morning

Police Find Clue in Search for Smart

Aired June 16, 2002 - 11:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now to Salt Lake City, Utah, where it's believed that an important clue in the search for that 14- year-old teenage girl has now arisen. CNN's James Hattori fills us in from Salt Lake City.

JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. After more than a week and a half now, it's little details that could lead investigators to a break in this case. The latest, new details about a hat the kidnapper was wearing the night Elizabeth Smart was taken. It's now being described as a flat, golf-style hat.

Police officials showed reporters what it looks like. It's kind of like a beret but the one the kidnapper wore is tan not white. Previously, investigators thought the suspect was wearing more of a baseball-style cap but this new information indicates that it is a tan golf hat. This new development, as police officials say, they have not scaled back their efforts to solve this crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DETECTIVE DWAYNE BAIRD, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: We are not scaling back in our efforts to find Elizabeth Smart or the kidnapper.

QUESTION: Are they working through the weekend?

BAIRD: Yes, we are working through the weekend and we're working 24 hours a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HATTORI: What is being sort of scaled back is the centralized volunteer search effort. It's now shifting to a more grass roots approach, Elizabeth Smart's family asking local city officials, community watch and church groups to organize their own teams to go door-to-door across neighborhoods to see if anyone has seen anything suspicious.

Investigators are still looking for the suspicious transient, Bret Michael Edmunds, who was seen driving on the street where Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped a couple days prior to her disappearance and he was also spotted at a candlelight vigil for her last weekend. Police think he may still be in the Salt Lake City area.

Fredricka, Elizabeth Smart's family is expected to keep a low profile today, Father's Day. They are calling for this to be a time of prayer, obviously an especially painful time for them. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you very much James. I appreciate it. Now for progress reports on the search for Elizabeth Smart, go to cnn.com, AOL keyword is CNN.

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