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CNN Live Today

No Clues of Florida Girl Missing One Year From State Care

Aired May 02, 2002 - 10:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: More from Florida now on that disturbing case of a little girl lost in a child welfare system. Investigators say that there is still no trace of a girl who vanished more than a year ago while in state care in Florida.

Our Susan Candiotti joins us now. She is in Miami, and she has got the very latest for us -- good morning, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon. State officials from the Child Welfare Agency who are in charge of this case are themselves calling the situation appalling and just horrible, admitting that this agency failed miserably when it lost track of a child for more than a year, little 5-year-old Rilya Wilson. And now, the child's mother, who lost custody of her little girl because of a drug problem, is also speaking out, asking how something like this could happen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Her mother says Rilya's name stands for, "remember I love you always."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted her to always remember that I love her always.

CANDIOTTI: The last time the state of Florida saw chubby-cheeked Rilya Wilson, it was more than a year ago. They thought the 5-year- old was living with her grandmother in this house, until last week when welfare workers, who were supposed to be checking on the girl once a month but weren't, discovered she was missing.

The grandmother told authorities a social worker took the child away 15 months ago. The grandmother, who declined to show her face on camera, told a Miami TV station she called the state several times but got nowhere. The state has no record of the calls, but police have confirmed at least one contact.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that somebody has her. I think that just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) proper people (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that she has just fell through the cracks in the system somewhere.

CANDIOTTI: Complicating matters, one of the little girl's caseworkers was forced to resign last month. The state says she faked visitation logs in another case. (on camera): Mr. Rosslander (ph), you are in the unenviable position of trying to answer this question: What went wrong here?; how could something like this happen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the short answer is that people weren't doing their job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How in the hell does a whole state department lose a 5-year-old child?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Police are disappointed to learn that finger and palm prints of 5-year-old Rilya Wilson do not apparently match those of an unidentified youngster, who was the victim of a year-old unsolved murder case in Kansas City. That little girl's name is Precious Doe, that's what they are calling her. Although the two little girls look similar, apparently these finger and palm prints at this point do not match.

Now, another little girl, we have learned just this morning, another little girl who lives with Rilya Wilson's grandmother, who is also in state custody, has been taken away from the grandmother according to police. Police also tell CNN that there are plans to remove a third child also living with the grandmother, while this police and state investigation continue.

Finally, we understand that Miami-Dade police, as they told us yesterday, are in Cleveland, Ohio today, where the mother of 5-year- old Rilya is living. They plan to take DNA samples from the mother, so that they can make another comparison between little 5-year-old Rilya Wilson and that unidentified Precious Doe, whose body was discovered in Kansas City -- Leon.

HARRIS: Boy, a heartbreaking story. Susan, before we let you go, real quickly, have any of the people you have talked with behind the scenes given you any indication of whether or not the publicity that this case is now receiving is actually helping in some way?

CANDIOTTI: I am sorry. I missed the very last thing that you said, Leon.

HARRIS: I'm just wondering if anyone you have talked to behind the scenes has told you whether or not that any of the publicity that this case is now receiving is actually helping in any way now?

CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly it is prompting a lot of people to talk about the case from here all the way to the state capitol, where already they are talking about the possibility of new legislation to make it a crime for caseworkers to doctor paperwork in these child welfare cases. Apparently that was not the situation before, if can you believe that. And they are looking into some laws to change that.

HARRIS: Boy, yes, hard to believe. Susan Candiotti, thank you once again -- appreciate it -- Susan in Miami this morning.

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