By BRANDI CRAIN
brandi@du2.byu.edu
An 11-year-old Orem girl is still missing after being picked up by a second cousin Thursday, June 25.
Chelsea Lund was last seen with Frederick S. Laird, 37, of Murray. Laird, a six-time felon and parolee from a Colorado prison, served 13 years for aggravated vehicle theft. He is known to be violent and has used weapons in past crimes.
The police report that he does not have a history of sex-related crimes and has no apparent reason for targeting the young girl.
Lt. Bob Conner of the Orem Department of Public Safety said Laird had tried to contact Chelsea's mother, Dea, on Thursday morning but she was not home.
Laird then found Chelsea at the house across the street playing with her best friend. She had left with Laird at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Chelsea told her friend that Laird was planning a 'big surprise for her mother.'
Police Lt. Karl Hirst said Laird is such a smooth talker that Chelsea may think this is a game, and she probably would not appear afraid or be fighting with Laird if they were seen together.
Chelsea is a white female with brown, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes and a round mole on her left cheek. She was last seen wearing flourescent green and blue short bib-overalls and a blue shirt.
Laird is 5-foot 9-inches tall, 180 to 200 pounds, tanned and muscular with a shaved head, no facial hair and several tattoos, including a dove on his left shoulder.
Laird makes his money detailing cars and will probably be looking for that kind of work. He has been known to keep chemicals, buffers and other detailing equipment in his car.
Police are searching for the car Laird was allegedly driving when he picked up Lund. It is a 1989, two-door silver or gray Nissan Sentra with Utah license plate 736 DBW.
Lt. Conner said the girl's family did not know Laird well and no motive is known. The FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children are joining in the investigation with the Orem Police.
A warrant has been obtained by the Orem Department of Public Safety and the Utah County Attorney's Office for Child Kidnapping. Numerous leads have been received since the abduction took place and the police are following up on all of them.
Despite the many tips called in to the hotline, there have been no confirmed sightings of the suspect or the victim.
Anyone with additional information about this case is encouraged to call the hotline number at 229-7321 or the police department at 229-7200 or 229-7070.