Letter May Be Tied to Kidnap, Father Says

SALT LAKE CITY —  Elizabeth A. Smart’s father said Wednesday he received a letter that he suspects may have come from someone with knowledge of his 14-year-old daughter’s disappearance.

But Ed Smart said he couldn’t say whether the letter, which was postmarked July 3 and received Tuesday, was credible. Smart said the letter lacked solid information that it came from a person with specific knowledge about his daughter but was the first that seemed to be from someone willing to negotiate.

“I’m just anxious to do whatever it’s going to take to get her back,” Smart said at a news conference.

Smart said police received a copy of the typewritten, unsigned letter by fax before he received a copy in the mail. He declined to say where it was postmarked.

But Salt Lake City police Capt. Scott Atkinson said Wednesday the letter was never faxed but that Smart gave them a copy after telling reporters about it.

Police say Elizabeth was abducted from her bedroom at gunpoint June 5.