Salt Lake City police officers have released security footage of what is believed to be the last time missing University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck was seen after her sudden disappearance on June 17.
The officers released the footage on June 25, which was captured by surveillance cameras at Salt Lake City International Airport.
The images show the 23-year-old at the airport between 2:09 and 2:40 a.m., before she was collected by a Lyft driver and dropped off at Hatch Park in North Salt Lake where she met an unknown person, authorities said. She hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
The newly-released images show she was last seen wearing a white hoodie, black trousers, and a black backpack.
Lueck’s Lyft driver told detectives she didn’t seem to be in any distress when she met the unknown person, said Salt Lake City assistant police chief Tim Doubt.
Speaking to reporters on June 25, Doubt said Lueck didn’t appear to speak to anyone at the airport before getting in the taxi.
“Over the course of approximately 31 minutes, Mackenzie walked from the jetway to catch the Lyft with a quick stop to pick up her luggage.”
“This is the last known footage we have of her,” he added.
Lueck, who is a part-time senior year student majoring in kinesiology and pre-nursing at the University of Utah, reportedly had just returned home to Salt Lake City after flying to Los Angeles to attend her grandmother’s funeral.
Doubt was unable to confirm the identity of the person who reportedly met Lueck in Hatch Park, which is eight miles from her apartment.
“At this time, we cannot confirm the make and model of the vehicle that picked up Mackenzie or the description of the person at Hatch Park on June 17. The description we have is vague. It could have been a male or a female,” he told reporters.
“We have exhausted all avenues of determining that information and ask that person to please call us.”
The Lyft driver, whose identity has not been revealed, is not being considered as a potential suspect linked to Lueck’s disappearance. The driver gave other rides after dropping her off, Doubt said.
Around 7.25 p.m yesterday, its mobile command center was deployed to the property.
Doubt said there is no immediate evidence that the 23-year-old woman is in danger, but said family and friends are concerned because they haven’t heard from her. He added that Lueck has not been on social media and has missed classes.
“After discussions with her family and friends, we see no indication that she has gone off the grid before,” he said. ”This kind of behavior is uncharacteristic for her according to them.”
“She would never miss her midterms or anything like that,” she added.
Kennedy Stoner, a friend of Lueck, told a news conference on June 23, “We are all worried and looking out for you 24-7, I cannot sleep at night knowing you are out there. I am constantly thinking of you.”
Doubt told the media, in the hopes that Lueck was listening, “Mackenzie, we are asking you to please reach out to either the Salt Lake City police department or a law enforcement agency where you are at.
“We want to make sure you are safe and we will respect your wishes,” he said, while acknowledging that sometimes people who are reported missing don’t want to talk to family and friends, and issued a plea if that’s the case, for her to reach out to police.
