Found Deceased UT - MacKenzie "Kenzie" Lueck, 23, Salt Lake City, 17 June 2019 #2

[CluelessWonder]

Where does a couple go at 3 a.m. that she couldn't have gone to on her own? His office?

 

[crhedBngr]

I dunno Cody, your wife has to be asking herself, “what contest in hell did I win?”

Today's best chuckle. That said, I strongly suspect my DH asks himself the same question, every so often

I do hope and pray ML is safe. There's always hope.

 

[Inthedetails]

Where does a couple go at 3 a.m. that she couldn't have gone to on her own? His office?

A date in the car itself?

jmo

 

[MKZoo]

I don't think that's possible. You access the app and it already has your starting point, you enter your destination, and the "call" goes out to cars in your area. When a driver accepts, his location, name, car, license number, and ETA pop up on your phone along with a map and you can track the driver's progress to you. He couldn't use his own phone to request a ride. I believe the Lyft driver is telling the truth.

I agree. And given that they would definitely know who the later passengers were, I’d hope LE would also reach out to them and ask about the driver’s demeanor, etc. just to close the investigative loop.

Given the tight timeline and the many ways to get caught with the level of subterfuge it would take to pull off doing something to ML and hacking the Lyft app system, it just seems more likely the driver is being honest.

Jmo

 

[SuziQ]

Well, I feel sad for ML right now so I'm going to slip away for a bit.
For very personal reasons, this touches an old nerve of mine.
Like I said, we all have a past.
I'm just praying ML has a future.
For some unknown reason, I got to have one.
BBL
Chi

goodnight Chi, hugs.

 

[JudgeJoe]

How would they know?

Perhaps someone the perp knew told of an incident in the park. Purse snatching, vehicle broken into... when police report filed, third party learned cameras don’t work. Lots of ways perp (if there is one) could have learned surveillance isn’t working.

 

[Inthedetails]

I agree. And given that they would definitely know who the later passengers were, I’d hope LE would also reach out to them and ask about the driver’s demeanor, etc. just to close the investigative loop.

Given the tight timeline and the many ways to get caught with the level of subterfuge it would take to pull off doing something to ML and hacking the Lyft app system, it just seems more likely the driver is being honest.

Jmo

I appreciate the input, and I'm removing that possibility (that the driver faked subsequent rides) off my list. Good.

jmo

 

[truetexan]

Are there really that many Lyft riders at 3am on a Monday morning that he immediately got other customers? Something isn’t sitting right with this.

Although it does some odd to some I can tell you as a Lyft driver myself that many request come in 24/7 there are people working all hours of the day and night along with other reasons. I myself do a lot of airport runs and get plenty in the middle of the night then catch a few rides from late night shift workers. So this doesn't seem odd to a fellow driver at all. But you never know. I would still keep the driver on the mind until she is found.

 

[gitana1]

I don't know if @gitana1 is free and able to field this question, but we could sure use an attorney's expertise and input here...what will it take for LE to get the warrants for ML's electronic data/phone records?

Is it simply a matter of letting enough time elapse to make the case that something is amiss, or what is it going to take to get a judge to sign off on the warrants?

Simple - probable cause that a crime has occurred. Or that the missing person is in imminent danger.

 

[JudgeJoe]

Where does a couple go at 3 a.m. that she couldn't have gone to on her own? His office?

Actually... that’s possible!

 

[mfmfan77]

I think the Lyft driver is in the clear, but your post gave me an idea. Could the Lyft driver have faked other rides after dropping off ML? Could he have used his own phone to request a ride and then be the driver who took that ride?

I've never used Lyft so I don't know. Anyone?

jmo

I also think the Lyft driver is likely in the clear and that a third party is responsible, but it might be worthwhile to explore the idea of the Lyft driver a bit more since he (or she?) is the last person verified to have had contact with Mackenzie.

The only scenario I can come up with that could possibly work for the Lyft driver being responsible is complicated and VERY unlikely, but possible. Say the Lyft driver saw that he got a call from a woman needing to be picked up at the airport that late and he assumed she might be alone, so he calls up a friend to be on standby in case this is a woman they can take advantage of -- again unlikely but possible.

The driver manages to get Mackenzie to the park (which is the opposite way from her house, which she would have known -- maybe she was asleep? maybe he somehow incapacitated her and/or took her phone so she couldn't call for help?) where he meets his accomplice, trades off Mackenzie, and continues to take another ride or two to give himself an alibi while Mackenzie is with his accomplice.

Obviously this is far-fetched and would require a) a prior knowledge that the cameras were down at the park (maybe he lives near by?) and b) two people willing to abduct a young girl who are willing to keep quiet about it during national news coverage.

I don't think this is likely the case -- it usually seems like the simplest scenario is the real scenario in cases like this -- but possible.

ETA: a great big "this is only minimally possible IMO", if I didn't make that clear in the post

 

[tmar]

According to the Heavy.com article she was "known to date older men and was currently dating multiple people casually." Hmmmm….. seems to me there is a chance that one of her older men might not have had the same "casual" dating view that she had. Perhaps he wanted something more exclusive and serious. If he confronted her about this, something could have happened to ML in the heat of an argument. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a very bad feeling that something like this could have happened.

Meeting people, dating, for whatever reason, has risks.
It appears Kenzie has met 'foul play' as probably we would have heard from her, after this time, if she was fine.
MOO.

 

[wary]

Simple - probable cause that a crime has occurred. Or that the missing person is in imminent danger.

Based on what you’ve seen, has LE reached probable cause yet? If not, what would have to happen?

 

[EmilyVan]

Where does a couple go at 3 a.m. that she couldn't have gone to on her own? His office?

Office/clinic is definitely a good possibility.

 

[jbacon]

Are there really that many Lyft riders at 3am on a Monday morning that he immediately got other customers? Something isn’t sitting right with this.

Salt Lake City is a very busy city and the Lyft and Uber drivers there make really good money constantly, especially to and from the airport and any area near downtown. In my opinion it’s completely reasonable the driver had other fares after her even at the late hour.

 

[BensCafe400]

Great catch!

I called in the tip and spoke to an SLCPD officer. I told him about this website, her second insta account and the Ninja Kiwi website with the username and timestamp, he seemed decently interested and asked me to go more into detail on how I found everything and about her other Instagram account. That was about it though

 

[Whiteorchids]

One of the neighborhood residents comments about the park in this article.

Missing Utah college student last seen in a park at 3 a.m.
[...]

She was dropped at just about 3 a.m. at the park in North Salt Lake that sits in a popular downtown area nestled between apartment complexes and restaurants. A police station is located up the street and the park is a popular spot for families and community events with two playgrounds, a basketball court, baseball diamond and a large, grassy field.

[...]

JW, who lives in the area, said he frequently brings his children to play in Hatch Park.

“It’s a relatively safe neighborhood, there’s no reason to believe it’s not a safe area,” he said Monday.

[...]

(Name changed to initials by me)

Sure it’s safe until something bad happens and with no working cameras who knows what goes on there all hours of the night.

 

[DenverJack92]

I called in the tip and spoke to an SLCPD officer. I told him about this website, her second insta account and the Ninja Kiwi website with the username and timestamp, he seemed decently interested and asked me to go more into detail on how I found everything and about her other Instagram account. That was about it though

She tagged the private account in numerous photos on her public insta as well if you didn't catch that. Very interesting

 

[chihuahua]

goodnight Chi, hugs.

Thanks, I'm still here, but nothing else to say right now.
When I follow a case, I really follow it.
There's a real reason behind that, but this isn't about me.
Hugs to everyone,
Chi

 

[PommyMommy]

UT - Mackenzie “Kenzie” Lueck, 23, Salt Lake City, 17 June, 2019 Media, Maps, Timeline, *NO DISCUSSION*
The media maps timeline thread is set up and I’m starting on this new thread with updates to it -

Thank you for your hard work! I'm ready to help if you run out of time.