A woman was missing and considered in danger for 8½ hours before Salt Lake City police found her hiding in her basement crawl space Friday.
Veronique Moses, 34, was upset about an argument she had with her boyfriend and retreated to the basement of her home near 2400 South and 800 East, said Salt Lake City police Detective Robin Snyder. Homicide detectives on Friday were searching the house for clues when Moses, with soot on her face and a blanket pulled over her, called out about 11 a.m., Snyder said.
The find brought a quick end to a case that initially seemed to portend bad omens. About 2:30 a.m., Moses triggered a security alarm and told a dispatcher for the alarm company to call police, Snyder said. The dispatcher could hear Moses arguing with a man.
When police arrived, there was no sign of anyone home, and a ladder was leaned against a rear window that had been under repair. Police forced their way into the home, Snyder said, and found Moses' purse and the security alarm ripped from the wall. Her car was missing.
"The circumstances, taken together, were suspicious, so the endangered person's alert was issued," Snyder said.
Snyder said that as it turned out, the woman did have an argument with a boyfriend and tripped her security alarm. The argument doesn't appear to have been physical, she said. Afterward, she went to the basement and hid in the crawl space.
Police initially named Stephen E. Carnegie a person of interest, however they later said Carnegie had nothing to do with Moses' disappearance.
Snyder said police are continuing to investigate the case, but no arrests have been made.
