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CNN Live Today
Miami Police Hunt Baby Kidnappers
Aired May 21, 2002 - 11:15 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: Now to Miami, where police are looking today for two men who apparently tried to kidnap a baby there. And this case has some disturbing similarities to the disappearance of Rilya Wilson, a case that we have been following.
National correspondent Susan Candiotti has been watching this story this morning -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.
First of all, we would like to say that the police who are investigating the disappearance of Rilya Wilson say they do not think that this situation that just occurred overnight in Miami is in any way related at this time to the disappearance of Rilya Wilson. But let's go over why they certainly are looking into the matter and are very serious about it.
Last night in Miami -- or yesterday afternoon, two men, according to police and the woman who was involved, who were dressed in suits showed up at the doorstep of a woman who had been living at that address for only a couple of weeks. The woman did not let her inside the house. But as she describes it, two men who were wearing suits and who presented to her some papers that had the identification logo for the Florida Department of Children and Families said that they wanted to take away her little girl for some tests.
And she said that they wanted to take her away and not allow her to accompany the two men. This woman said that she was very suspicious about the matter. That she had only been living at this address for two weeks, so therefore she wondered how would anyone know that I've even been living here from the government. And she had lost her wallet in the recent past that had her identification in it, that had food stamps in it, and other identifying documents.
And so it suspected by the police that someone might have taken that information and wound up at her doorstep. Also very important to note here, and that is that this woman who is involved here said she had no information, didn't know anything about the Rilya Wilson case, but had simply used her common sense to raise questions when these two people showed up at her doorstep to try to take the child away.
So, again, to sum up here, whether these are two people who are trying to copycat in some way the Rilya Wilson case, is -- is under investigation right now. But police do not think there is any connection here. Also, important to remember that in the Rilya Wilson case, you will remember that the grandmother involved said that a woman, not two men, showed up at her doorstep to take the child away. And police are looking into all aspects of that and the other circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
In the meantime, Leon, and our viewers, certainly that investigation goes on into the disappearance of Rilya Wilson. And we'll give you an update now as to what's been happening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Nearly 17 months after Rilya Wilson vanished, the trail appears as cold as ever. What is heating up, a tax on Florida's child welfare system. One lightning rod, Secretary of State Kathleen Kearney, who insists Rilya's case is isolated.
KATHLEEN KEARNEY, FLORIDA DEPT. OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: We don't believe that we have another child like this out there. We certainly -- that has been our focus and our concern.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): When the Florida secretary says that the Wilson case, the Rilya Wilson case is isolated, do you agree?
HOWARD TALENFELD, ATTORNEY: Absolutely not.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Last month, Attorney Howard Talenfeld won a record $5 million civil rights judgment against the state of Florida in another foster care case with eerie parallels to Rilya Wilson.
TALENFELD: Rilya wasn't visited for 15 months. There were no documented visitations of these children for 20 months.
CANDIOTTI: Rilya Wilson was last seen by a caseworker in January 2001. Her caretakers say a social worker took the youngster away for tests and never returned. The caseworker is under investigation for falsifying reports about the child. The youngster's caretaker showed deception on a polygraph, as did others who worked for the state.
ROBERT STEINBACK, "MIAMI HERALD" COLUMNIST: You have basically everyone trying to pass off the responsibility on someone else because nobody wants to be the ultimate person to whom the finger points.
CANDIOTTI: Florida Governor Jeb Bush is under political attack for not doing more to improve the state's long troubled child welfare agency. On Monday, opponent Janet Reno won the labor union endorsement, while making it a campaign issue. The governor's Blue Ribbon Panel promises get tough recommendations. But in the past decade, similar panels did the same.
DAVID LAWRENCE, CHAIRMAN, BLUE RIBBON PANEL: Most of these recommendations collect dust.
CANDIOTTI: This time, the governor's panel promises things will be different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I certainly don't think any of us will be wasting our time.
CANDIOTTI: How much time will it take to find Rilya Wilson? It's one question no one can answer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: By the end of this month the governor's panel will present its recommendations to the governor in hopes to prevent another Rilya Wislon case from happening again -- Leon.
HARRIS: Interesting. Susan Candiotti, thank you very much. We'll get back to you later on.
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