Suspect in Abduction Not Talking
An unemployed mechanic with a criminal record refused to answer questions on the whereabouts of an 11-year-old girl, though “strong evidence” linked him to her abduction outside a carwash, authorities said Thursday.
Authorities said they believed that Joseph P. Smith, 37, was the tattooed man in a mechanic’s shirt who was seen in a carwash surveillance video leading sixth-grader Carlie Brucia away by the arm Sunday evening.
Smith has not been charged in the girl’s disappearance but was jailed without bail for possessing drugs in violation of his probation for a cocaine conviction.
“We have made it clear to Joseph and his counsel that we want to know where Carlie is,” Sheriff Bill Balkwill said.
An assistant for Smith’s attorney, Adam Tebrugge, declined to comment.
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