Police have person of interest in Utah woman’s disappearance after neighbors report ‘strong stench’ coming from home

Neighbors of a home located in the Fairpark neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, reported that the occupants of the house had recently burned something in the backyard that gave of a “strong stench.” Police later arrived with a search warrant and proceeded to dig several holes in the backyard in the early morning hours of Thursday, according to witnesses. The police were spotted lining up several brown bags of evidence and used K-9 units to search the property. After much speculation, the Salt Lake City Police Department confirmed via Twitter that their search warrant had been executed in connection with the disappearance of 23-year-old college student Mackenzie Lueck.

Lueck has been missing since June 17, when she was dropped off by a Lyft driver at 3:00 in the morning. The driver, who has been fully cooperating with investigators and is not considered a suspect in the case, said he picked up Lueck from Salt Lake City airport and drove her to an industrial park, where she met an as yet unidentified person. Friends and family of Lueck do not know why she would have requested to be dropped off at the location that was over 8 miles from her home and sorority house on the University of Utah campus.

The college student has been silent on social media, and her phone has been turned off since her disappearance. She has also missed several obligations, including a planned flight home to visit family in Los Angeles. Police were asking friends if they knew of alternative social media profiles for Lueck, including those on dating apps, or if she kept a second phone.

In a Thursday morning press conference, police confirmed they had identified the Fairbank homeowner as a “person of interest,” but he had not yet been arrested. They were alerted by several neighbors that the person had given away a mattress and box spring in the past week that police are asking the public to help them find. Police also confirmed that several items of evidence were taken from the home that are being processed and analyzed. A car was also taken from the scene in connection with the case

Assistant Police Chief Tim Doubt declined to confirm whether police had recovered human remains at the scene, saying this is still considered a “missing person’s case.”