Authorities Digging In Yard Where Search Warrant Served In Lueck Case
Jun 27, 2019, 5:34 AM | Updated: 2:10 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After serving a search warrant Wednesday for a house in the Rose Park area, authorities worked through the night removing items from the home.
Video from Chopper 5 also showed police working in the back yard of the residence near 550 North and 1000 West, digging holes beneath canopies.
Police haven’t said — if anything — they have found in the backyard, but they are continuing to follow leads Thursday morning in the Mackenzie Lueck missing person case.
Video from @KSLChopper5 of @slcpd in the backyard digging holes #MackenzieLueck #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/pCP7smoau4
— Derek Petersen (@Derek_Photog) June 27, 2019
“After developing leads in the Mackenzie Lueck missing person case, we have served a search warrant on this home here in Rose Park,” said Salt Lake City Police Assistant Chief Tim Doubt. “Obviously we are treating this with a high degree of care and caution, as it is an open case.”
“Given the nature of this case, we just don’t want to make any mistakes,” he added.
Officials have not said what exactly led them to this particular house.
KSL TV has identified the owner of the home, a 31-year-old man. Officials have not publicly released his identity. According to state court records, though, it does not appear the homeowner has a criminal record in Utah.
The property has been involved in rentals on Airbnb, but it isn’t known if it was being rented at the time the search warrant was served or at the time Lueck disappeared. A Facebook search linked the owner of the home with the Airbnb listings, with the same photos used on both accounts.
Neighbors said the owner lived in the top floor of the house and used the lower level for Airbnb rentals.
After serving the warrant at about noon Wednesday, authorities appeared to be wrapping up work at the scene at approximately 5 a.m. Thursday.
A police presence was still on scene Thursday morning.
A look into the backyard of the home where police were digging and had pop up tents in relation to missing 23 year old #MackenzieLueck. What did @slcpd find? We hope to find out sometime this morning. #ksltv pic.twitter.com/mYVFiaX5ju
— Felicia Martinez (@FeliciaNews) June 27, 2019
Lueck was last documented on camera at the Salt Lake International Airport, where she could be seen texting. Police have identified the person she was texting and have said that person is not a suspect.
The cameras at Hatch Park in North Salt Lake, where Lueck was dropped off by a Lyft driver, are not functioning cameras.
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