http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=13912851
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) Lubbock police are not shrinking in shame after harsh public criticism of their handling of a missing teenager who later turned out to be a murder victim. Instead, police spokesman, Captain Greg Stevens, says his fellow officers did a great job on the case.
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But here is perhaps the more salient issue for many. Even if police had reviewed surveillance video from the Carriage House on the night of her disappearance, "It would not have changed the outcome," Stevens said.
By the time Elizabeth's mother called police, "We believe that she was already a homicide victim ... and that's unfortunate."
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Should police have looked at Salinas' criminal history on the night of Elizabeth's disappearance? She was last seen babysitting for Salinas' children in the Carriage House motel.
Stevens said Salinas fooled everyone at first. "The mother very much trusted this individual," Stevens said. According to Stevens, the mother believed Salinas was telling the truth, so that led the initial officers to also believe he was telling the truth.
In retrospect, Stevens says Salinas was only cooperating with police on the night of Elizabeth's disappearance to deceive everyone.
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Will Lubbock police change the way they handle missing kids? "That's a great question actually," Stevens said. "Each missing person's case that we go on is evaluated on its own merits."