“Person of interest” eyed by cops in search for missing Utah woman

Salt Lake City — Police investigating the case of a college student who went missing in Utah 10 days ago said Thursday that the owner of a home they searched in connection with the disappearance is a “person of interest” and that they are trying to find a mattress that had been inside his home. The announcement came shortly after authorities spent 19 hours searching the man’s home in a middle class neighborhood on Salt Lake City’s west side, with neighbors describing officers entering it with shovels and police dogs.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said the man was not in custody and he declined to name him. But authorities have said that they believe that the house has a connection to the disappearance of 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck, without providing details.

The mattress inside the man’s home had been given away, Brown said, and investigators want to speak with whoever might have taken it.

CBS affiliate KUTV reports the homeowner is a Utah State University graduate who served in the military and is a freelance model, according to his social media pages.

Earlier, Salt Lake City Assistant Police Chief Tim Doubt told reporters that police served a search warrant on the house after developing leads in the case. He didn’t provide details about what led authorities to the house in the city’s Fairpark neighborhood.

“Obviously we are treating this with a high degree of care and caution as it is an open case,” Doubt told reporters. “Given the nature of this case, we just don’t want to make any mistakes. We will continue to follow leads until this is resolved.”

Lueck disappeared after taking a Lyft June 17 from the airport to a park, where police have said she met someone at about 3 a.m. and did not seem distressed. They have said the Lyft driver had no connection with her disappearance

The home that police searched is about 5 miles (1.6 kilometers) from that park.

The owner of the home that was searched rented part of it to short-term renters using home sharing rental sites, said neighbor Tom Camomile.

Lueck’s close friend, Ashley Fine, uploaded a new video Thursday morning onto the “Find Mackenzie Lueck” Facebook page saying she believes her friend is still out there. She pleaded with people to call police with any information that could help locate Lueck.

“Everyone around the country is looking for you. We’re advocating for you, we’re fighting for you, and we’re going to bring you home safely,” Fine said.