Found Deceased UT - MacKenzie "Kenzie" Lueck, 23, Salt Lake City, 17 June 2019 #3

[GordianKnot]

This is good news. I don't think the would give another update so soon unless there were actual developments or a specific question they have for the public.

Let's hope it is REALLY good news.

jmo

I think for now LE will try to give fairly regular updates on what they're doing to track down ML, and any/all progress they can share.

I think part of this is optics on the part of the SLCPD, and a bigger part of it is wanting to make sure her disappearance stays in the news. Otherwise, public interest tends to wane quickly.

We have short attention spans in this country. There's always the next sensational headline to follow....

LE is doing a good job of making sure the public stays focused on ML right now.
They may need the public's help to track down that vehicle and/or identify the driver, too.

It will be interesting to see if we're going to get the vehicle description today.
I think that's going to be released at some point.

JMO.

 

[osu]

Yikes! This thread is like lightning speed. I was all caught up and went to make a cup of coffee and came back to 6 pages behind.

 

[otto]

Had she recently started a new diet or workout? Or could the weight loss possibly come from drugs?

As a full time nursing student who was attending Spring/Summer semester classes, I doubt she was using drugs. In this case, I think it makes more sense to ask those questions if there is evidence of drug use - and there doesn't seem to be anything pointing to drugs.

 

[thebedbug]

I feel like the fact the person in question didn't want to pick KL at the airport says a lot. He didn't want to be seen in public. Someone would have more than likely recognized him/ he didn't want to be seen with a younger woman. There's no other reason. I'm thinking it's possible this is an older man, married. When I was on SD apps many of the men that messaged me were married. They said no meeting in public places or at his home, it had to either be at my place or somewhere like a hotel.

With roommates, it's pretty reasonable she didn't want to bring a date back to her place (moreso - if the relationship falls into 'other' categories). I'd expect investigation will reveal this, but I doubt this is the first time she has met someone at this park... and most likely not the first time she has met this person. You'd also think that if there were other men that had a similar experience with her (meeting in the park, etc.) - they would have come forward by now and provided details to the police about how they communicated and managed their relationship.

 

[shanadk]

I don't hold much hope for Mackenzie's cell phone records.
Let's say you have a side job, which you keep on the down low---
Would you use your main family phone?

 

[sleepysleuth]

According to everything I can find online, the crime rate in the area of the park is actually quite low in comparison to other parts of Salt Lake. I don't necessarily think it would be wise to meet someone you don't know at 3AM, but I don't really see it as "high risk behavior" if you already know the person. The park, which is located off a main street and appears to be well kept, seems as safe a meeting place as any other, imo.

 

[PommyMommy]

Has anyone searched this yet?


I bolded my concern here... how could they not know this already? Seems incompetent not to look for a vpo?

Unless she left with someone, or appeared drunk?


Any business near the route that might have video?

Oh boy, my search history... yikes as well.

absolutely

i’d really like to know the exam question too.

BBM He's the Assistant Police Chief. He didn't know but that doesn't mean that investigators most familiar with the case didn't know. MOO

 

[Inthedetails]

And when they release it they will have verified it, I hope someone is very nervous right now. As @MassGuy said LE may be giving him time to come forward before his life blows up. jmo

That's what I think is happening. LE talked to a reporter today and said they are going "scorched-earth" style with the investigation (paraphrase).

I think yesterday's press conference was opportunity #1 for the unknown person to come forward because LE has info on you.

The quote today was opportunity #2.

The press conference later today, I suspect, is to let the unknown person s/he still has the opportunity to come forward, but if not, LE intends to find him/her...and has the means and the will to do so.

jmo

 

[Bugurl747]

It is interesting to me why he wouldn't go pick her up at the airport. These are some good theories. It does make me wonder if he knew the amount of cameras that are at the airport and that's why he wouldn't get her there. But it being a last minute thing, maybe he didn't have time to get all the way down there and she suggested let's just meet here instead.

IMO, I think that the mystery person had sinister plans from the get go hence why she wasn't picked up at the airport. The park may have been a normal middle meeting ground for her in the past ( or the like) and she didn't think anything of it, but I think the person had an agenda all along.

Where would said person take her? Their private cabin, boat, or was it more immediate where he alluded to a destination and ended up on a back road, woods, fields etc? Are there areas like that close by? I know the highway is right there.

Sorry, this is where my mind has been. MOO

 

[otto]

I don't hold much hope for Mackenzie's cell phone records.
Let's say you have a side job, which you keep on the down low---
Would you use your main family phone?

She seems to be an ideal victim for every predator. She seems to be careful to ensure that no one sees who she is with, she doesn't notify anyone about her activities, she's willing to meet at an isolated location in the middle of the night. With dating apps and predators, she's a dream come true.

 

[shanadk]

As a full time nursing student who was attending Spring/Summer semester classes, I doubt she was using drugs. In this case, I think it makes more sense to ask those questions if there is evidence of drug use - and there doesn't seem to be anything pointing to drugs.

I don't believe we can make the drugs/no drugs assumption. We don't know ML.
A full time college senior, who is also holding down a job, that's a whole lot of pressure and a busy schedule.
She could be using something, to help her stay awake.
My daughter did this for awhile; some of her friends did as well.
It's something that high achievers seem to do.
Not saying ML does ....but it's certainly possible.

 

[MesquiteO21]

even as a young person (who took risks) I would never, ever meet a stranger at 3am--anywhere.

Completely agree. College students do really risky things sometimes, but I honestly can’t see a 23 year old planning ahead to meet a stranger at 3 AM. Sometimes things just happen and you may find yourself in a risky or not so great situation (in my twenties I went on a date with a guy to a mini golf place and afterwards we ended up walking through a dense dark forest around 10-11pm...not the smartest thing I’ve ever done but like I said it just happened. I would never plan ahead to do that with someone I did know/trust), but thinking back to the wildest risk taking girls I knew in college, I still can’t imagine any of them planning to meet a stranger in a park at 3am. She had to have trusted the person on some level.

(Snipped because I’m on my phone and I can’t seem to get the bold function to work?? Lol *facepalm*)

 

[MOTORUNNER]

According to everything I can find online, the crime rate in the area of the park is actually quite low in comparison to other parts of Salt Lake. I don't necessarily think it would be wise to meet someone you don't know at 3AM, but I don't really see it as "high risk behavior" if you already know the person. The park, which is located off a main street and appears to be well kept, seems as safe a meeting place as any other, imo.

This exactly. I have met friends before in the early morning hours, usually it would be at someone's home but I've picked up friends from a popular park or street of town before. 3AM is regular party time to kids our age, sometimes I'll stay out until the sun comes up. Is it a little silly? Yeah, and we feel like garbage the next day. But High risk? Not in my opinion

 

[ardean]

Wondering why you don't consider her reckless. Have you seen the hashtags she used on this IG?

We all have different life choices. While hers probably affected this situation let's focus on finding her. It is great to have @yellowmoose here and helping and we appreciate her help. I just think of her as a daughter and her family only cares about locating her at this point.

 

[ClaireNC]

To all newcomers:
Welcome to Websleuths!

 

[Gardenista]

We all have different life choices. While hers probably affected this situation let's focus on finding her. It is great to have @yellowmoose here and helping and we appreciate her help. I just think of her as a daughter and her family only cares about locating her at this point.

Not sure I understand. If the hashtags are not considered reckless, that does help.

 

[Logiccc]

Hi, just joined been following this for the past day:

Something to consider is the 3am timeframe. As far as the unknown person meeting at Hatch park this is an obscure time and I wonder if anyone knows someone who had "plans" at 3am to meet her. This or the unknown person left their appt/home at 2am unannounced to pick ML up? Someone like a roommate/spouse/neighbor must have been woken up to them leaving/arriving, unless they live alone which wouldn't make much sense (she could have just taken the Lyft to the appt/house). I assume they would go to the unknown persons appt (what activities are there to do at 3am in UT? My city most places close by 2am and the only late night food is fast food). This is speculative but how long did she plan on being with this person for the night? Quick encounter to acquire something is doubtful if ML let the Lyft leave.

I would say assume they either work late (service industry/bar) which narrows the potential people down especially on a quiet Monday morning.

This or the person was being secretive and likely left a window of time in the early morning where they were not at their house/appt, which could also narrow it down if a roommate/neighbor heard them leave. Hopefully we get more information on the car description soon.

 

[diggndeeperstill]

Meeting someone, anyone, at a park when you have an exam that day (if she did) would be risky behavior to me. I won’t delve into an attempt at a psychological assessment but I think much of her behavior indicates risky behavior, including tagging an insta account on your public one with the profile pic it possesses, and even using the hashtag she does on her private one. For those reasons, I don’t rule out meeting someone new at a park for her.

Additionally, travel costs money. Time off work to travel costs as well. A wedding attendance usually means buying a new dress or wanting to look good, hair nails etc.

 

[Inthedetails]

Thank you! Great insights and very well said. She does seem like a very upbeat, positive person and smart enough to not be reckless. That’s why this 3:00 am meetup seems so strange. If someone was supposed to pick her up, but bailed, I think we would have heard about it. Unless it was the person she met in the park that was supposed pick her up at the airport, but plans changed.

I think that's a possibility - that the unknown person said, "Sure, I'll meet you when you come home from LA" and either made plans for the pick up or let it be vague about the pick up.

When the time actually came, he told her to meet him. That right away tells me he is NOT someone who cares about ML. Most men wouldn't have a problem driving the 11 miles beyond the park location to pick up a young woman at the airport he planned to meet in the middle of the night. In fact, it seems like something he would want to do for someone he was interested in. I don't think a known person would've agreed for her to take a Lyft to meet him in park parking lot.

So, right of the bat, I don't think he had good intentions for ML and I don't think it's someone she knew.

Two, it is also a clue he is someone who knows there are cameras at airports. Who cares if their car is caught on camera? Someone about to commit a crime cares.

I think she was lured into something with an unknown person, not just a hook-up with a known person gone bad. Speculation only. Subject to change.

jmo

 

[yellowmoose]

We all have different life choices. While hers probably affected this situation let's focus on finding her. It is great to have @yellowmoose here and helping and we appreciate her help. I just think of her as a daughter and her family only cares about locating her at this point.

Thank you for this. The how do you not consider her reckless remark is a bit of a loaded question. A lot of gals have a much more forward online presence because they are behind a screen. I don’t think her behavior is reckless. Is her behavior risky? Yes. Let’s just say I can’t even count the number of friends in my college circles that have private instagrams identical to Kenzie’s. And none of them behave ridiculously recklessly either. It’s easier to come off that way online. Did she potentially put herself in a risky situation? Yes. But I know Kenzie. And I’d like to think she wouldn’t put herself in a situation like that with a stranger. My gut says Kenzie knew or thought she knew this guy or has been talking to this guy awhile.