Detroit – The disappearance of Tara Grant – whose husband says he last saw her getting into a sedan in their driveway – has captivated local news and is drawing comparisons to such media-saturated stories as those of Laci Peterson and Natalee Holloway.
The growing frenzy is a mixed blessing for authorities and Grant’s husband, Stephen, who says police have told him he’s the focus of the case – a claim the sheriff denies. More exposure means more tipsters, including those who say they saw Tara Grant in a Florida restaurant or on “Wheel of Fortune.”
“We want attention drawn to the fact that Tara is missing,” Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel says. “The media is the one that gets it out. I can’t knock on every door in my county, state or country.
“The downside … is you get a lot of people calling with information that leads you nowhere, but you don’t discount it. That’s why it’s so intense.”
Grant, 34, of Macomb County’s Washington Township, has been missing since Feb. 9. Her husband, 37, reported her missing Feb. 14. He has said he waited to tell police because she might have been “blowing off steam” before returning to their home 30 miles north of Detroit.
Police say the day she went missing, the Grants argued over her frequent business trips. Her cellphone and credit cards haven’t been used since that evening, when she returned home from a business trip to Puerto Rico.
A search through woods near the home of the couple, who have two children, ages 4 and 6, turned up no clues.
Hackel denies Stephen Grant is a suspect but questions why some details that could be critical to the investigation were not provided. Hackel says investigators want access to the Grants’ home computer but don’t have Stephen Grant’s approval.
Stephen Grant’s attorney, David Griem, said his client did not release the computer because it contains privileged information and was rarely if ever used by Tara Grant.
He said that the sheriff’s department and the media are using the computer and e-mail issues to “make an innocent man look guilty” and that Stephen Grant’s TV appearances were in response to his being “bashed” by authorities.
