Photo: Instagram
Lueck missed exams and a flight on June 23.
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on Jun 24, 2019
A 23-year-old California native has vanished in Salt Lake City, Mackenzie Lueck, a student at the University of Utah, flew home from a family funeral on June 17, grabbed a Lyft to a location in North Salt Lake, and was never heard from again. Now, more than a week since she disappeared, her friends and family are scared and mystified about what might have happened. The destination she selected for her Lyft wasn’t her home but authorities haven’t shared where she was going. The Lyft driver is said to be cooperating with police. Police are also not convinced that Lueck is in any danger at this time; she is just missing with no explanation.
Where is Mackenzie Lueck? Read on for all the details.
1. Travel
Lueck was in California for her grandmother’s funeral prior to her disappearance. She flew back to Salt Lake City where she attends the University of Utah and was scheduled to take midterm exams. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that she landed at Salt Lake City International Airport at about 1 a.m. Monday, June 17. Once she was on the ground, she texted her parents to let them know she had arrived. After that, she got into a Lyft. The driver dropped her off in North Salt Lake, though the police have not shared specific destination information about the Lyft ride.
The case has national attention.
2. Lyft
With a spate of stories about people being harmed by rideshare drivers, such as a case where a man pretended to be an Uber driver and murdered his passenger and a situation where a driver attempted to kidnap and assault two female passengers, it is easy to jump to conclusions about the driver in this case. However, the driver is cooperating with police according to the New York Post, and so far, authorities have not given any indication that the driver might be a person of interest in this case. Lyft confirmed to CBS News that the North Salt Lake address she entered in the app is the destination at which she was dropped off.
She has been missing for a week.
3. Destination
The area where Lueck was dropped off is not near her home in Salt Lake City, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The paper reports that the area where the Lyft driver dropped her off is twenty minutes from where she lives.
Her destination on the night she returned to SLC is unknown to the public.
4. Friends are terrified
Jenny Stoner, a sorority sister and close friend of Lueck’s, spoke at a press conference about the disappearance and highlighted how unusual all of this is. “For her to not reach out to me is very unlike her. She is usually in touch with me every day. We don’t believe she would miss a midterm because she was stressed. I am positive something is wrong. I don’t believe she would go off and not contact one person.”
In addition to missing exams, Lueck didn’t check-in for a flight to California on June 23, when she was supposed to attend a wedding.
Another friend, Juliana Cauley told CBS News: “It’s not like her to go off the grid, and if she did, then she would tell me. I would do anything to get her back. And honestly, I would trade places with her in a heartbeat just to know she’s safe.”
Friends have been posting flyers.
5. Family effort
Lueck’s family is working with police and her friends in Salt Lake City to try and find the 23-year-old student. In a statement during a press conference last week, they said: “Our primary goal is to find Mackenzie and bring her home. Her family is grateful for the concern, prayers and the tireless efforts of the Salt Lake City Police and members of the community.” They have created Facebook and Twitter pages to bring awareness to the situation in the hopes that someone will be able to tell them where she has gone.
Friends and family appealed to the media for help.
6. Search
The Salt Lake City police are conducting an investigation, though they told the Salt Lake Tribune that there aren’t search parties being organized because of the lack of specifics about where Mueck could be. In a statement on their website, the department says “The SLCPD has not discovered any information that would lead us to believe that Mackenzie has been harmed or is in danger at this time. Detectives are concerned for Mackenzie’s welfare.”
The SLCPD is working to find Lueck.
Lueck is a 23-year-old woman with blonde, medium-length hair. She's 5-foot-6 and weighs 120 lbs. If anyone has any information on Mackenzie Lueck or where she may be, please contact the salt Lake City Police Department at (801)799-3000.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.