Police search house in missing University of Utah student case
Jun 27, 2019, 6:52 AM | Updated: 7:39 am
Police served a search warrant in the Fairpark neighborhood in late June in the disappearance of Mackenzie Lueck. The owner of that home was later arrested. Photo: Kelli Pierce / KSL Newsradio
SALT LAKE CITY — Police have been searching a home in Fairpark throughout the night in relation to the investigation of missing University of Utah student, MacKenzie Lueck.
Salt Lake City Assistant Police Chief Tim Doubt said late Wednesday that police were serving a search warrant at a home located at at 547 N. 1000 West, five miles away from the park Lueck was reportedly dropped off at in North Salt Lake, but did not share any other details.
Exclusive video from Chopper 5 showed police digging at the house where the search warrant was served but as of Wednesday morning we have not heard what police belived may have been buried there.
“We are treating this with a high degree of care and caution,” Doubt said. “Given the nature of this case, we just don’t want to make any mistakes.”
Property records show that the house has been used as an Airbnb rental with the owner living on the first floor. Police have not said anything connecting the owner to this case.
Retired Unified Police Deputy Chief Chris Bertram says the fact a search warrant was served means the police have something more than suspicion.
“To get a search warrant there is something more than just mere suspicion. There’s some probable cause that ties somebody or that place to this missing person.”
In a new twist, a social media account belonging to Mackenzie Lueck was active just yesterday. Her public Instagram profile was seen to have followed another yesterday. Computer forensics analyst Trent Leavitt told KSL about the chances of this actually being Lueck.
“Either the cell phone has been active again and being used, or second to that her Instagram account is already logged into a different machine,” Leavitt said.
“It could be another cell phone it could be a laptop that already had [the account] logged in and someone went on and followed someone.”
Lueck disappeared 10 days ago shortly after returning to Utah from her grandmothers funeral in California. She was seen getting in a Lyft car 10 days ago around 3 a.m. where police say she met someone.
