It was a distraught Darlene Heatherington who approached valet parking attendants at the Treasure Island Hotel in Las Vegas saying she had been kidnapped and needed help.
When police arrived, the Alberta city councillor also said she may have been drugged and sexually assaulted. But when they asked for details, they say she became unco-operative and argumentative, saying she was too tired to speak with them at the time, which was late Tuesday night, and would give them a statement the next day.
Instead, she left them in the lurch, departing Nevada for her home city of Lethbridge in a donated private plane with her husband, Dave. For reasons that are unclear, the couple stopped on the way to meet with police in Great Falls, Mont., where Ms. Heatherington went missing on Saturday after ending a business trip and giving her husband and a U.S. politician contradictory accounts of her plans for the day.
Walking with a slight limp, Ms. Heatherington went to police headquarters in Great Falls in the afternoon, accompanied by her husband and police officers. She did not speak publicly. There was no statement from police or Mr. Heatherington.
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Las Vegas police, who had expected to take a statement from Ms. Heatherington, were left wondering why she left so quickly.
"Obviously, in a case like this we would like to talk to our victim so we have a place to start our investigation, but at this point we don't have that information," said Lieutenant Jeff Carlson of the Las Vegas Police Department's sexual assault division.
While Ms. Heatherington's actions have gone unexplained, it emerged yesterday she had complained that a Lethbridge man was stalking her. Earlier this week, Great Falls police suggested her disappearance may have been intentional, saying she and her family were known to police in Lethbridge.
No one from Ms. Heatherington's family would comment yesterday.
The developments added another layer of mystery to the baffling case that has perplexed investigators in two countries.
Staff Sergeant Jeff Cove, head of the Lethbridge police's major crimes unit, said Ms. Heatherington's behaviour does not appear to make sense, especially given that she told Las Vegas investigators she wanted to press charges.
"Those actions aren't consistent with that and those actions have us confused," he said.
While someone who has been kidnapped and sexually assaulted would undoubtedly be traumatized, the former sex crimes investigator said victims "normally follow through with what's necessary."
No matter the circumstances of her disappearance, her friends yesterday welcomed the return of the 39-year-old mother of three.
"We're just happy that she has been found alive," said Rev. Lois Punton of the Southminster United Church, where the Heatheringtons worship down the street from their home.
Lethbridge Mayor Bob Tarleck, who has known Ms. Heatherington since she joined city council 18 months ago, said the entire city seemed to be consumed by her disappearance.
"My first response is relief; I've always been concerned that she'd be able to return to her family," he said. "I saw her children [Tuesday] night and I thought those children deserve a mother."
Jim Day, who lives next door to the Heatheringtons and considers them ideal neighbours, dismissed conjecture that Ms. Heatherington orchestrated her disappearance.
"I find it hard to believe that there was anything planned in any of this. Even if she said to herself: 'I need some time,' I really find it hard to believe that she didn't discuss it with Dave before she took the time. The idea of her skipping out on a whim seems really far-fetched to me," he said.
Mr. Tarleck said lingering questions surrounding the case are perplexing both for strangers and acquaintances of the politician.
"I think all of us will have more questions as a result of the allegations that Alderman Heatherington made in Las Vegas, and that just adds, I think, a whole new layer of complexity to this issue. And like everyone else, I'm looking forward to completely understanding this," he said.
The mayor said the desire for answers "is only reasonable," especially given that police departments in three cities were involved in the case. The Great Falls force assigned its entire detective squad to the missing persons file and sent helicopters and boats to search the Missouri River area, where Ms. Heatherington had said she intended to cycle.
She bought a used bicycle a few hours after making two phone calls. She told her husband she would be back late Saturday evening, but she cancelled a meeting with a Great Falls councillor, saying she wanted to be home for her daughter's afternoon piano recital.
Police also said that around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Ms. Heatherington approached the valet attendants outside the Treasure Island hotel and casino on Las Vegas's busy strip, telling them she had been kidnapped and needed help.
She told police she had been taken against her will from Great Falls on Saturday and brought to Las Vegas. And, she said, she may have been sexually assaulted because she thought her abductor gave her "something," which police interpreted to mean that she may have been drugged. But she refused to provide any details about the person responsible or how she got to Las Vegas, which is 1,600 kilometres from the Montana city.
"The detective stated that Ms. Heatherington was extremely argumentative and unco-operative. She told them that she was extremely tired and that she was in no condition to have an interview with the police," said Las Vegas Police Officer José Montoya.
Police brought her to the University Medical Center to be examined and to confirm whether she had been sexually assaulted. There, she was "resistive," Mr. Montoya said, and the exam could not be completed. Officers arranged with a victims' services organization to find her a place to stay.
Before dawn yesterday, Mr. Heatherington accepted an offer from a local man to fly him in a private plane to Las Vegas.
The couple have now returned to Lethbridge.
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