As questions continued to swirl about Mark Hacking's recent past, including alleged use of an alias, investigators with cadaver dogs returned to Salt Lake County's landfill Wednesday night to search for the body of his missing wife, Lori.
Mark Hacking, who was arrested Monday for investigation of first-degree criminal homicide, was asked as part of the standard Salt Lake County Jail booking procedure whether he had ever used any aliases.
Hacking replied that he had used the name "Jonathan Long," Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Rosie Rivera said. The jail was not obligated to confirm whether Hacking had actually ever used that name or to find out when, where or under what circumstance he might have used it.
Seeking to clarify the situation, Hacking's attorney, Gil Athay, said "Long" was the name assigned to Hacking when he was admitted to the University of Utah psychiatric unit. The name, intended to help avoid media attention, was picked totally at random, Athay said, comparing the selection to the alphabetic method for naming hurricanes.
Athay said he used the name whenever calling the hospital to contact his client.
Federal medical privacy law prohibits the hospital from confirming whether Mark Hacking was even ever a patient at the university's facility, hospital spokeswoman Anne Berliner said.
However, it is not unusual for high-profile patients to request or be assigned "aliases" in order to maintain their privacy, she said.
"It does occur, yes," said Berliner. "You can opt out of providing information altogether. An alias is sort of a medium ground whereby family members can call and get information on the patient."
Hacking's family confirmed on July 21 that Mark had checked into the hospital the day after Lori vanished after suffering severe emotional distress. His father, Douglas Hacking, said at that time Mark Hacking was medicated and undergoing psychological testing by doctors.
A week ago, Salt Lake City police detective Dwayne Baird told the Deseret Morning News that he knew of no fictitious names that Mark Hacking might have used or that police were checking in connection with the case.
But for several hours Wednesday Hacking's alleged alias caused a stir. A man with the same name as the alias Hacking gave police was interviewed by various media outlets. Police said later that he had no connection to the case, although according to Long's mother, her son was initially concerned that he may have been a victim of identity theft.
"(He) has spoken to the police, and they say it's just a case of mistaken identity, they have no interest in talking to him." Long's mother, Janet Killgore, said.
Meanwhile, a team of searchers returned to the Salt Lake Valley Solid Waste Facility, 6030 W. California Ave. (1400 South), Wednesday night. They must comb a one- to two-acre area of trash. In some areas the garbage is 40 feet deep.
A dozen fire, police and detective cars pulled into the landfill about 8:30 p.m. Cadaver dogs also returned, aftter six days off.
A backhoe worked throughout the night to sort through the garbage, and a truck laden with oxygen tanks arrived to provide searchers relief from the gases released by the decomposing trash.
Curious onlookers also were driving by slowly or stopping to look at the searchers from about a hundred yards away.
Baird said previously that investigators have to sort through approximately 3,000 tons of trash. As of Wednesday they had gone through about 500 tons.
In addition to the body, Baird said, investigators were also looking for certain "landmarks," or items unrelated to the Hacking case that they know were thrown out in the Hackings' neighborhood.
Duchesne County Sheriff's deputy Wally Hendricks said five K9s and a spotter from his office were at the landfill Wednesday.
Before they began searching, Hendricks said his team was determined to find Lori's body.
"We're all positive and enthusiastic about continuing the search," he said. "It's going well. Salt Lake City police have developed a very responsible search technique."
The biggest challenge for the dogs is the numerous smells coming from the landfill, Hendricks said. But he said the K9s have held up well.
"The dogs have remained accurate so far," he said. Police have made four previous searches of the landfill over the past two weeks — thrice overnight and each time lasting between four and six hours. To date police have said nothing of consequence has been discovered.
On Monday, Mark Hacking was arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, Lori, while she slept sometime between the night of July 18 and the morning of July 19. Mark reported his wife missing to police at 10:07 a.m. and again at 10:46 a.m. July 19, but questions about his alibi were raised almost immediately by investigators.
Hacking's story of what he was doing Monday fell apart quickly, as his time line of events didn't add up.
For example, about 10 a.m. that day, he telephoned his father to say Lori's work clothes were still laid out at home and her lunch still in the refrigerator, a city police report states. About the same time, Mark Hacking also called Lori's workplace, reacting with surprise to news that she had never arrived. A store clerk has also said that just before 10 a.m. Mark entered his business and purchased a mattress.
Detectives also discovered Hacking had a history of lying, including lies to his family about his schooling record. Hacking claimed he graduated from the University of Utah and had been accepted to medical school in North Carolina, neither of which was true.
In the two weeks since Lori Hacking's disappearance, police have collected evidence such as a knife with human bloodstains and hair, blood from the headboard of the Hackings' bed and the bed rail, and blood flakes from Lori's car that matched the blood found in the apartment, according to a court document.
Hacking was being held in the Salt Lake County Jail Wednesday on $500,000 cash-only bail. Formal charges were not filed Wednesday by the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors have 72 hours to file charges after a person is arrested but can also ask a judge for an extension.
Contributing: Leigh Dethman
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com; jdobner@desnews.com