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Police end 2-day search of Peterson homeSpokesman: No arrests imminent
MODESTO, California (CNN) -- Police have finished their two-day search of the home of Scott Peterson, whose pregnant wife, Laci, disappeared on Christmas Eve. Modesto Police spokesman Detective Doug Ridenour said investigators took a total of "94 or 95" items from the home, which will be processed at the police department or at other labs. When Scott Peterson returns to his home, he'll be walked through the residence by a detective who will give him receipts for all the items taken. Ridenour refused to say what police were looking for and what they had found. "They came here for a reason," he told reporters at a second briefing Wednesday. "They had to establish that through their affidavit in order to get the search warrant." As the second day of the search got under way Wednesday morning, police tape was put up around the Peterson yard. When one detective stringing the tape around fences was asked if the area was a crime scene, he replied, "Yes." But Ridenour said the tape was put up mostly to keep out overzealous members of the media. However, he said, any evidence taken away from the home could potentially be connected to a crime at some point in the future. Investigators first executed a search warrant at the home on December 26 -- two days after the 27-year-old woman disappeared. In the afternoon, police were seen leaving the residence with more brown paper evidence bags. Tuesday, some of the 40 to 50 evidence bags taken from the home were labeled "phone books" and "photo albums." Police also impounded Scott Peterson's new white Dodge Ram truck for a few hours Tuesday. The truck, which Peterson bought five weeks after his wife disappeared, was in the driveway Wednesday after being returned by police Tuesday evening. Peterson's Ford 150 pickup truck and a 14-foot boat were impounded by police shortly after he reported his wife missing. Peterson told police he last saw his wife on Christmas Eve morning when he left to go on a fishing trip alone about 85 miles away. When he returned home later that day, she was gone.
Police have verified that a receipt Scott produced came from a parking lot at the marina where he said he was fishing. Laci was due to deliver their son, to be named Connor, February 10. Shortly after her disappearance, police announced that Laci Peterson was likely taken against her will. Police have maintained that although Scott Peterson is "not a suspect," he can't be eliminated from the investigation. "Discoveries during the investigation necessitated this second search warrant," Ridenour said Tuesday, adding, "No arrests are imminent." The missing woman's family, which initially had stood by her husband, has urged him to be more cooperative with police, especially after he acknowledged publicly that he was having an affair with another woman. 'Knows what he did'In an interview Wednesday on CNN's "Larry King Live," Janey Peterson, Scott's sister-in-law, said she was angry herself when she found out about the infidelity. (Transcript of interview) "I told him on the phone I was going to slug him and then I was going to hug him," she said. "He knows what he did was wrong." Janey said her brother-in-law has endured heavy media scrutiny. "What we're seeing on the news is so much attention on Scott, and that's a very difficult thing," she said. "We all love Scott very much and support him 100-percent and want everyone to understand that. But more importantly, Laci's gone." She also denied that Scott hasn't been cooperative with police. "He has spent hours and hours being questioned." Hundreds of volunteers have joined police and the FBI in searching for Laci. Police say they've received more than 5,000 tips in the case, and a $500,000 reward has been posted for Laci's return. CNN Correspondent Rusty Dornin, San Francisco Bureau Chief Bonnie Gannon and Producer Chuck Afflerbach contributed to this report.
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