Doubts Arise Over Reported Abduction of Encino Woman

LAS VEGAS —  As detectives continued to investigate the alleged kidnapping of an Encino stockbroker and Bible study teacher, doubts emerged Monday about the woman’s harrowing tale, sources said.

Chief among investigators’ concerns is a grainy image on a videotape showing Laura Dekkers’ silver convertible BMW pulling into the parking garage next to Whiskey Pete’s in Primm, Nev., just across the state line, where she was later rescued from the trunk of her car.

The tape, according to several sources who have reviewed it, appears to show a woman behind the wheel as the car enters the garage about 7:20 a.m. Sunday. There is no sign of Dekkers’ alleged assailant, whom she described as a slight, 5-foot, 7-inch white man. Ten minutes later, Dekkers, 44, phoned her husband telling him she had been kidnapped at gunpoint and was using her cellular phone to call from the trunk of her car.

Information gleaned from the videotape seems to clash with Dekkers’ version of events, in which she said a masked gunman kidnapped her from outside her Mulholland Drive church, forced her into the trunk of her BMW and left her there until she was able to free herself and use her cellular phone to call for help.

Another source close to the investigation said the videotape image is open to interpretation. “It could be a woman,” he said.

“The image is not clear enough to say ‘Bingo! That’s her.’ ”

Despite the questions being raised, investigators said they were moving forward in their kidnapping investigation. Late Sunday, FBI forensics investigators scoured Dekkers’ car for clues.

Michael J. Burke, director of security at Whiskey Pete’s, said he turned over the videotape to the FBI. A review of numerous tapes taken from the parking garage and nearby casinos showed no sign of Dekkers’ alleged assailant.

Dekkers told authorities that her ordeal began about 10 p.m. Saturday when a masked man kidnapped her from Bel-Air Presbyterian Church, commanded her at gunpoint to drive to a deserted location, forced her into the trunk of her car and bound her hands and feet.

He drove for several hours with her in the trunk. She eventually was able to free her hands and feet.

After using her cellular phone to call her husband, she dialed 911. Authorities, with the help of cellular telephone officials, were able to find Dekkers.

Dekkers was treated and released from a Las Vegas hospital after her rescue.

*

Glover reported from Las Vegas, Moore from Encino.