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About
the 1-866-LACI-INFO tip line
POSTED: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 at 2:40 AM PST
UPDATED: Sunday, March 9, 2003 at 5:32 AM PST
When Laci Peterson first disappeared, her husband, Scott, and his side of the family, worked shoulder-to-shoulder
with Laci's family at the now-closed
command center. At that time they all agreed that the only appropriate tip
line for the public to call was the one manned by the Modesto Police Department. That number was (and still is):
(209)
342-6166.
On January 15, 2003 -- about five weeks after Laci's disappearance -- it was disclosed that Scott had had a
girlfriend
for about a month before Laci disappeared; and that he may have taken out a $250,000 life insurance policy on her
shortly after she became pregnant in the summer of 2002.
The command
center closed.
A rift between the families ensued. In subsequent television interviews Scott and his family began giving out their
own, new, toll-free tip line 1-866-LACI-INFO instead of the agreed-upon Modesto Police tip line.
The public
is asked not to use the toll-free telephone tip line established by Scott Peterson and his family. All leads and
tips regarding Laci Peterson's disappearance should be directed to the tip line that is operated by the Modesto
Police Department: (209)
342-6166 |
Though at this writing Scott has not been named by police as a suspect in Laci's disappearance, it is certainly
clear that police believe there are things about this case that Scott is not telling them. Therefore, it is not
appropriate that leads and tips should be received from the public by persons associated with the man whom police
are asking to step forward and tell everything he knows about it; the man upon whom police have now served at least
two search warrants and much of whose personal property has been removed from his home by police as evidence in
the investigation of his wife's disappearance.
In its press
conference
on Wednesday, February 5, 2003 Laci's family stated that it does not
support the 1-866-LACI-INFO tip line. They asked public not to use it. Instead, they asked the public to use only the official Modesto police
tip line at (209)
342-6166.
Today's toll-free numbers are highly programmable and can be pointed at any regular phone number. Virtually every
provider offers that capability -- including the one providing the 1-866-LACI-INFO number to the Petersons. For
example, with just a few keystrokes on a computer keyboard at the offices of the provider of the Peterson's 1-866-LACI-INFO
tip line, it can very easily be pointed at (forwarded to) the Modesto Police Department's official leads and tips
line at (209)
342-6166
so that whenever it is called by anyone in the United States it would be answered by authorized police personnel
instead of the civilian operators hired by Scott and his family, as is now the case.
If the Petersons would really like to make a truly valuable contribution to the cause and do so in a way that does
not carry with it the appearance of impropriety as their ownership and control of the 1-866-LACI-INFO tip line
now does, they should immediately point it at the official Modesto police tip line at (209) 342-6166. By doing so, they will enable anyone in the United States
to be able to reach the Modesto Police Department toll-free, and that really could be helpful.
But until that happens, the public -- especially a public with tips that could potentially implicate Scott in his
wife's disappearance -- is asked not to use
the 1-866-LACI-INFO tip line number. Instead, please provide leads and tips to police either by calling (209) 342-6166 or by using the confidential
leads
and tips form
on this web site.
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