topic Re: Missing University of Utah Student in Community Chat

Missing University of Utah Student

golding76 — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 06:30:23 GMT

(I am fervently hoping there is no foul play involved, but I sense something is not right with this young woman's disappearance. Would a young lady with future travel plans drop out of sight like this? She had returned to her home state for her grandmother's funeral and then flew back to Utah, arriving at 1:00 a.m, where she went to school and worked. Took a Lyft to an address that is not her home address. Has not been heard from since. In another article I read that she was to fly to Los Angeles today, 6/23, after taking some midterm exams. Odd and disturbing.)

NIGHTMARE University of Utah Student Mackenzie Lueck Missing for Nearly a Week After Taking Lyft

She texted her parents to say her flight landed safely, they haven't heard from her since.

Audrey McNamara

Reporter

Updated 06.23.19 4:59PM ET / Published 06.23.19 4:45PM ET

SLC Police Department

Mackenzie Lueck, a 23-year-old University of Utah student, texted her parents on June 17 to let them know she had landed safely at the Salt Lake City airport, her father told Fox News. Nobody has heard from her in the week since.

According to police, Lueck landed home from a trip around 1 a.m. She then ordered a Lyft to an unfamiliar address in North Salt Lake City, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. According to friends, Lueck’s phone has been off since she went missing, her car is still at her home, and her luggage hasn’t been found. She has not shown up to work, or class, since that early morning ride.

Lueck's dad told local Fox station KTSU his daughter texted he and his wife to tell them her flight landed around 1 a.m. on Monday, June 17. Her family officially reported her missing that Thursday.

Though Lueck has been missing for nearly a week, and police are investigating her disappearance, a formal search party has not been set up, the Tribune reports.

In a press release issued by the Salt Lake City police department on Saturday, investigators said they have not “discovered any information that would lead us to believe that Mackenzie has been harmed or is in danger at this time.” In the same release, police also said “detectives are concerned for Mackenzie’s welfare.”

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Lyft has been working with Utah police to help trace Lueck's last known whereabouts, the Tribune reports.

The ride share company told Fox News that the car’s route showed no irregularities, Lueck was successfully dropped off at her desired destination, and the driver began picking up more passengers immediately after her ride was complete. Authorities said they've been in contact with Lueck's apparent driver, but have not provided details of their account.

“We’ve confirmed with Lyft, the app, that’s where she requested to go, and with the driver that that’s where she did go,” Salt Lake City Police Sargeant Brandon Shearer told ABC News. Shearer said the driver and Lyft have been cooperative.

Lyft told Fox News in a statement on Sunday that they “recognize how scary this must be for those who know and love Ms. Lueck... The safety of our community is fundamental to Lyft and we are actively assisting law enforcement with their investigations.”

Lueck, who reportedly goes by “Kenzie,” is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, according to the Tribune. Her sorority sister Ashley Fine has been organizing volunteers to help in the informal search. Fine told The Salt Lake Tribune she does not know why her friend, who does not have a significant other, would have taken a ride to the address in North Salt Lake, instead of going directly to her home.

As part of the community effort to find her, Lueck's friends organized a postering event at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday. A Facebook page with over 2,000 members has also been set up to help spread the word about her disappearance.

“Everyone thinks that there’s danger in this story,” Fine told a local abc news affiliate. “Things aren’t adding up. She had another trip planned,” Fine said. “She’s making those plans with friends and family to have plans for the future. I don’t think she would hurt herself or anything like that... If you’re in a bad situation, please reach out... We’re really concerned for you.”

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John Franchi

✔@JFRANCHIREPORTS

Friends of Mackenzie Lueck are passing out these fliers near the University of Utah. Lueck hasn’t been heard from since Monday.

17
8:19 PM - Jun 21, 2019

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

GCR18 — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 04:05:00 GMT

Something seems off. If she was going to drop out of sight, why text her parents to say she landed. She was supposed to go back to CA to attend a wedding this weekend. When she wasn't on the plane, her parents tried to locate her and found out she hadn't returned home from the funeral.

There's no talk about what was at the address she asked to be dropped off. Lift didn't have much to say. Her phone hasn't been used since the text to the parents. Her bank account hadn't been touched. It doesn't sound good.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

Lindsays Grandma — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 05:04:06 GMT

I'll pray this lovely young woman is safe, however, to be honest I fear the worst. The facts tend to lean toward a very bad ending, as I said I will pray for her.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

sue311 — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 12:16:51 GMT

I am curious if anyone went to the address she gave the Lyft driver and why that information hasnt been published. I am sure they looked into that. They interviewed the Lyft driver but no mention of the person (s) who live at the address she gave to the Lyft driver. Why?

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

colliemom4 — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 12:21:57 GMT

I saw this story on the news yesterday. It's very strange. I was thinking perhaps she was meeting someone she met online trying to run away. Then again she may have been killed by a stranger. I feel bad for her family.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

chrystaltree — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 12:26:23 GMT

@sue311 wrote:
I am curious if anyone went to the address she gave the Lyft driver and why that information hasnt been published. I am sure they looked into that. They interviewed the Lyft driver but no mention of the person (s) who live at the address she gave to the Lyft driver. Why?

Because that's where the focus of the investigation is. This disappearance is not a LYFT issue. The driver took her to the exact address that she put in the LYFT app, he dropped her off and continued picking up other passengers. There was not break in work for him. They also can tell if she completed the transaction, meaning did she pay and rate the driver. I don't believe they disclosed that. Their investigation centers around who she has been in contact with near the time of her disappearance and why she went to that address. She went there for a reason. Of course the police know much more about this than they are telling. It's an on going investigation.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

sweetee2 — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 13:45:42 GMT

Hubby and I flew in from Germany arrived at midnight. There was literally no one there. Found the taxi area where a gentleman called us a cab. I was a little scared. If it hadn't been for him I don't know what we would have done.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

Montana — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:09:16 GMT

I think that headline is totally misleading. Definitely does not appear to be a Lyft issue.

In my opinion this headline would have more accurate:

University of Utah Student Mackenzie Lueck Missing for Nearly a Week After Visiting An Address Police Are Not Disclosing At This Time.

I guess throwing in Lyft gives the story more punch.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

chrystaltree — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:22:46 GMT

@ Montana wrote:
I think that headline is totally misleading. Definitely does not appear to be a Lyft issue.

In my opinion this headline would have more accurate:

University of Utah Student Mackenzie Lueck Missing for Nearly a Week After Visiting An Address Police Are Not Disclosing At This Time.

I guess throwing in Lyft gives the story more punch.

Yes, they do that because there is bias against ride share apps by the people who have never used them and don't have foggiest idea of what they really are or how they work. The media caters to that.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

golding76 — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 23:13:08 GMT

The latest from the police is that the Lyft driver says he left her at a park, where she was met by someone in a car. The chief of police said it was Hatch Park, for those who might know this area of Utah.

Oh my, this is getting murky.

The driver reports that she did not seem in distress.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

lovesrecess — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 00:39:25 GMT

I don’t understand why the police say they have no reason to think she is in danger....I think they have every reason to think she’s in danger! Shame on them for not treating this more seriously. Everything about the released info points to something serious. I pray there is a happy ending and she turns up safe and unharmed.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

ROMARY — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 18:46:14 GMT

The driver dropped her off at a park?

'Could be' that she met someone, and they planned to secretly meet at a park, maybe because he's married, popular, or something similar...........

Why would someone meet someone else at a park?

In the dark, no less.

'That is the question'...........

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

Anonymous032819 — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 01:00:12 GMT

@lovesrecess wrote:
I don’t understand why the police say they have no reason to think she is in danger....I think they have every reason to think she’s in danger! Shame on them for not treating this more seriously. Everything about the released info points to something serious. I pray there is a happy ending and she turns up safe and unharmed.

Maybe the police know more than they are releasing to the public.

Maybe they want whoever has her to relax, and think that they got away with it, therefore, make mistakes which will lead to his capture.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

golding76 — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 01:59:08 GMT

ETA: My theory has a hole in it. The young lady would have keyed in the address in her Lyft request, so there goes my great theory. Unless... something else happened to her original submission. I'm still working on this.

Of course the Lyft driver knows how his company operates and would be clever enough to evade the snares of the accumulated online data collected about him and his passengers if he chose to do something evil.

Just suppose for a moment that he and a friend decided to abduct young girls for acts of moral turpitude. Or even to sell them to those in s_x slavery trafficking. Perhaps he had childproof doors and this young lady could not escape. He overccame her and subdued her in some manner. He then handed her over to his colleague waiting at the park. Since the park is on record, he has to account for it. Good anonymous handover point, too. Probably no one there to witness the exchange of the victim.

The plan, of course, would be one that was already in place and all the Lyft driver needed to do was signal (text) his partner in crime. There have been wilder schemes in the annals of crime.

Then the driver picks up his next passengers for the remainder of his work evening.

Yes, a lot of imagined thoughts going on here, but sadly, all possible. Why does this young lady seem like someone who would not run away and hide? Was she not ready for her midterms? Could it be as simple as this and she is hiding until she feels sympathy for her is high enough and she can emerge and be forgiven? Finals? Take them another time. All forgiven.

Somehow, she does not seem to be that conniving or manipulative from what her sorority sisters have said about her and the bits the parents have conveyed.

Frankly, I am worried about her welfare. It would be wonderful if I can be proved to have too much imagination.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

GCR18 — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 02:39:12 GMT

I was just reading up on today's events. The lyft driver, a female, has been cleared. The girl was driver off at the park and met up with whomever she was meeting. No clues on who that was. Police are checking all the houses around the park to see if anyone saw anything.

Meeting someone at the park in the middle of the night doesn't sound good. To not tell anyone seems even odder. I would guess the police are checking her phone records. They know her phone was turned off after the text to her parents and hasn't been turned on.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

occasionalrain — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 03:09:07 GMT

The meeting seems like someone she met online and explains the breakup with her boyfriend. That he/she didn't pick her up from the airport seems suspicious and should have concerned her.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

Anonymous032819 — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 03:21:14 GMT

@golding76 wrote:
ETA: My theory has a hole in it. The young lady would have keyed in the address in her Lyft request, so there goes my great theory. Unless... something else happened to her original submission. I'm still working on this.

Of course the Lyft driver knows how his company operates and would be clever enough to evade the snares of the accumulated online data collected about him and his passengers if he chose to do something evil.

Just suppose for a moment that he and a friend decided to abduct young girls for acts of moral turpitude. Or even to sell them to those in s_x slavery trafficking. Perhaps he had childproof doors and this young lady could not escape. He overccame her and subdued her in some manner. He then handed her over to his colleague waiting at the park. Since the park is on record, he has to account for it. Good anonymous handover point, too. Probably no one there to witness the exchange of the victim.

The plan, of course, would be one that was already in place and all the Lyft driver needed to do was signal (text) his partner in crime. There have been wilder schemes in the annals of crime.

Then the driver picks up his next passengers for the remainder of his work evening.

Yes, a lot of imagined thoughts going on here, but sadly, all possible. Why does this young lady seem like someone who would not run away and hide? Was she not ready for her midterms? Could it be as simple as this and she is hiding until she feels sympathy for her is high enough and she can emerge and be forgiven? Finals? Take them another time. All forgiven.

Somehow, she does not seem to be that conniving or manipulative from what her sorority sisters have said about her and the bits the parents have conveyed.

Frankly, I am worried about her welfare. It would be wonderful if I can be proved to have too much imagination.

Sounds like a Lifetime movie plot.

I think that the Lyft driver just picked her up, and then just droped her off at the park, nothing more, and certainly nothing nefarious.

Besides, the FEMALE driver has been cleared of any and all wrong-doing.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

golding76 — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 05:21:20 GMT

Did not know Lyft driver was a female.

Back to thinking of what has happened to her.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

suzyQ3 — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 17:26:18 GMT

It's always important to remember that people are not always what they may seem to be. People can and do harbor secrets. And young people are especially impulsive.

The best hope is that that's what has occurred in this case.

Re: Missing University of Utah Student

cherry — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 18:05:36 GMT

@golding76 I am concerned too. I recall what happened to the young lady that got into the wrong car, by mistake

People are too trusting, I fear

May God protect her