The morning 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her Federal Heights home, police told reporters that her abductor entered through a kitchen window.
They are no longer saying that, and exactly how the unidentified man got into the million-dollar home is now a key question in the baffling case.
Salt Lake Police Sgt. Fred Louis on Saturday refused to comment on the man's point of entry, citing it as evidence.
However, an interview with Elizabeth's father the day after his daughter's June 5 disappearance raises another possible scenario.
Edward Smart said he mistakenly left the garage door open the night Elizabeth was abducted, and he believes the man may have hidden inside the home until the family turned in for the night.
It is unclear exactly how long the door remained open, although it was likely ajar for at least two hours.
That night, the family attended an end-of-the-year program at Bryant Intermediate School. A talented harpist, Elizabeth was supposed to have performed that night. However, the family was running late and did not make it in time, Edward Smart said. Elizabeth received several awards for academics and physical fitness that night.
When the family returned, Edward Smart said he was in a hurry to get Elizabeth's heat-sensitive harp into the house. On his way inside, he pressed the button to close the garage door. The automatic door came halfway down but sprang right back up, he said.
Figuring something was blocking the door's sensor, Edward Smart said he went inside and planned to close the door later.
Later that night, the family gathered for prayer at the top of the stairs and went to their bedrooms for the night.
It was then that Lois Smart asked her husband to go downstairs and double-check the doors and Edward Smart remembered the open garage door.
After checking three sliding glass doors in the front of the house and another near the kitchen, Edward Smart said he walked into the garage and found a tarp blocking the door's infrared sensor. After moving it out of the way, he closed the door.
Reflecting on his actions, Edward Smart said it's possible that someone could have entered the home at some point and gone downstairs without the family knowing.
"You know, somebody could have come into the basement," he said. "There are a number of places he could have hidden. We just don't know."
It was discovered that the kitchen window was left open while they were searching the home for Elizabeth. Edward Smart said one of his sons first noticed the screen on the narrow window was ripped. However, he said, the screen frame was still locked firmly in place.
Meantime, police announced late Saturday that Elizabeth's abductor wore a tan-colored Scottish-style golf hat. Salt Lake police detective Dwayne Baird said the hat description was based on "further investigation" but would not elaborate.
Family members on Saturday declined to comment on specifics of the investigation and on leads that have arisen during the 11-day search for Elizabeth.
The search for Elizabeth has now officially shifted focus as volunteers on Saturday dismantled an organized search effort and family members urged neighborhood groups to establish their own community-oriented searches.
Edward Smart thanked the some 8,500 volunteers who have already participated in the search and urged community members to continue to look for Elizabeth.
He said he is still hopeful Elizabeth will be found and expressed confidence in the police investigation.
"I've had this inner peace today," Edward Smart said. "I feel very strongly that things are moving in the right direction."
The decentralized search will allow individual citizens and community organizations — Neighborhood Watch chapters, hiking clubs, church groups — to cover more ground in a shorter amount of time, said David Smart, Elizabeth's uncle.
The family announced the revamped search effort Friday evening. Since that time, David Smart said the phones "have been ringing off the hook."
He asked interested groups to either contact their city's mayor or come to the Smarts' Federal Heights ward. Beginning Monday, three rooms in the church building will serve as search headquarters until further notice.
Those interested can also call the center at 536-3706 and visit www.elizabethsmart.com for more information.
Family members have asked that today be made a day of prayer for the missing teen.
"We know that God knows where this person is. We need his guidance," said Elizabeth's aunt, Cynthia Smart-Owens.
Contributing: Brady Snyder
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com