This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It was a story for the ages. A former Wyoming beauty queen and BYU co-ed was charged in England with abducting a Mormon missionary and allegedly tying him to a bed in a hotel room and forcing him to have sex with her.

Then, after jumping bail with her male accomplice in the alleged crime, she became an international fugitive and a tabloid celebrity.

That was 34 years ago, but Joyce McKinney keeps popping up in the news.

Now, you can call it the story that won't die.

A documentary about the escapade, titled "Tabloid," will open in theaters in July, with an advance screening in Salt Lake City on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Tower Theatre. If the pattern of the Joyce McKinney story holds, those in attendance may get more than just the movie.

When a screening was held earlier in New York, McKinney was there. She was invited to the stage for an introduction and a short Q&A. But to the chagrin of the evening's moderator and the movie's director, Errol Morris, she took over the microphone and dominated the stage for more than 10 minutes. She claimed much of the movie was wrong and missed the real story: that McKinney was the victim of a LDS Church conspiracy. She said before she dies, she hopes the story of Mormon chicanery is finally told.

After McKinney was arrested in England in 1977, she claimed the missionary, whom she had known at BYU, came with her willingly, and the story of him being abducted was concocted by "spin doctors" for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' At the New York screening, she told the audience that she was sincerely in love with the missionary, but her life was ruined by the Mormons.

When she was on the run from the English authorities, she often would call news reporters, including those at The Salt Lake Tribune, to tell her side of the story.

She was arrested in the United States in 1979, but by then England was not interested in extradition. She was arrested again in Utah in the 1980s for allegedly stalking the same missionary, who by then was married with children.

McKinney made international news three years ago when she had a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, to announce the successful cloning of her deceased dog. When reporters who had covered the McKinney story noticed a resemblance to the woman in the cloning story, they inquired about it. She at first denied she was the same woman, but later admitted that she was.

She was accompanied by a dog when she took the stage at the "Tabloid" screening in New York.

—

Beyond the veil • Social media can be a confusing arena.

There is an active Facebook page for Rich Kuchinsky, former Salt Lake County Republican chairman and longtime GOP insider. Facebook has a birthday alert so friends can post greetings.

Saturday was Kuchinsky's birthday and the alert kicked in, attracting several birthday wishes from family members and fellow conservatives. Most said just "happy birthday" or "we miss you."

But West Valley City Mayor and rising Republican star Mike Winder may have missed something.

"Have a great day, Rich! You are a great patriot and workhorse, and I am glad that you are on the Republican team," Winder wrote on the page.

Unfortunately, Kuchinsky passed away in February 2010. But his page and his memory live on.

When asked about it Tuesday, Winder said: "I have no doubt that Rich continues to be a great patriot and will continue to work hard, wherever he is, and will assist Republicans if he can as a guardian angel."

—

It's for the cause • Utah Moms for Clean Air is so concerned about environmental health, they are asking Utahns to give up their lungs for a better life.

Literally.

Cherise Udell posted on the Moms for Clean Air Facebook page a request that Utahns donate their lungs post-mortem "to see how much of Kennecott's pollution ends up in your lungs. Experts believe we can identify a signature unique to Kennecott Utah Copper."

Of course, if you are one of the donors, it won't do you any good. prolly@sltrib.com