Plenty of hype but no breaks in Hacking case

Despite a lot of hype and anticipation Sunday that a big break was near in the Lori Hacking investigation, both police and family members remained tight-lipped about any new information.

As of late Sunday, no arrests had been made in the case, the Salt Lake woman remained missing and her husband, Mark Hacking, remained the "primary person of interest" to police investigating her disappearance.

The Hacking family released a statement late Saturday that apparently even caught police off guard. "The families understand that Mark Hacking has provided information that makes it unnecessary for individuals or groups to continue the volunteer search," according to the statement.

Sunday, Salt Lake City police responded with their own prepared statement that did not answer questions about whether the Hackings now know where Lori might be or if Mark might be responsible for her disappearance or offered any type of confession.

Salt Lake City police detective Dwayne Baird, who did not take questions from the media, said, "A member of the Hacking family came in and provided additional substantive information. This information along with other leads will continue to be followed up by investigators."

Police seemed to be caught off guard when the family statement was released Saturday, but that may not be the case. Chris Smart, an uncle of kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart who helped organize and train volunteers to search for Lori, said he spoke to the Hacking family on Saturday and understood that the family had communicated with police prior to making their decision.

Both families crafted the statement together and asked police for input before it was distributed, Smart said.

Smart said someone from the Hacking family called him late Saturday to inform him of their decision. He then called off a search of Emigration Canyon that had begun about 2:30 p.m. by a mounted patrol unit with dogs.

Making the decision to end or scale back a public search effort isn't easy, Smart said. And when police initially discouraged the Hacking and Soares families from continuing the search, he said he counseled them to follow through.

"When I had spoken with the Hackings, I said, 'I understand (what police are advising), but unless they can give you something concrete, I would encourage you to continue unless you have something more firm,' " Smart said.

Had that information — whatever it is — not come, Smart believes both families would have continued search efforts.