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CNN Live Today

Interview with Ann Scofield

Aired August 01, 2002 - 13:00   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to California where a massive manhunt is underway for a man suspected kidnapping two teenaged girls from a popular make-out spot. Police say the girls were grabbed at gunpoint overnight in a Los Angeles suburb of Lancaster. Their male companions were tied up and left on the scene.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us once again from Los Angeles. She is on the phone and has the latest developments -- Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. You are right. There is a statewide alert here in California. In fact, there are Amber alerts off the signs on the freeway. Those are big signs that are flashing a description of the vehicle with the license plate number. We see that all over Los Angeles right now. Sheriff's officials are asking for the public's help in locating a 1980 white Ford Bronco with a gray camper shell with oversized tires and raised suspension for off-road use.

Now, investigators believe that that vehicle was used in the abduction of two teenaged girls. Authorities say it happened about 1:00 this morning. An armed suspect kidnapped two teenagers who were with their boyfriends at a popular Lover's Lane area near Lancaster, California. Sheriff's officials say that 16-year-old Tamera Brooks and 17-year-old Jaqueline Marris, both girls who were described as very popular, were apparently in separate vehicles with their boyfriends.

They were approached by the suspect, a man who is described as Latino, though authorities would not say why they believe that. He has a dark complexion. He is about 30 to 40 years old with a medium build. The girls were apparently with their boyfriends. The boyfriends were tied up with duct tape and the girls abducted.

Now, one of those boys managed to break free and to run to a pay phone to call for help. Tom Pigott, from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department held a news conference about half an hour ago, and here is what he had to say.

PHILLIPS: We are having problems getting the audio on that, Thelma. What exactly did he say?

GUTIERREZ: He is basically asking for the public's help. He says that this man is considered armed and dangerous. He apparently drove up to this Lover's Lane site in a Saturn car, the car that was believed to be used in a carjacking in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is asking the public not to approach that man. They believe that he is armed, dangerous. Again, they are putting out an description of that vehicle to the public, calling it a 1980 white Ford Bronco. It apparently belonged to one of the boyfriends. The California license plate number is 1 AIZ 962.

Now, apparently, Kyra, those girls did not know one another. They are both described as being very popular. Their family members, friends, out on the scene trying to do whatever they can to help locate these girls. And Kyra, the border patrol has been alerted in the event that this man happens to head there, though they say that they have no indication that he will do so. And the FBI is also assisting local authorities.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thelma Gutierrez is live on the scene there in Lancaster. Thank you.

Now, to give us an indication of how the search for these girls is proceeding, we are joined over the phone with Ann Scofield. She is with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and she has previously investigated missing children with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department -- Ann, thanks for being with us.

ANN SCOFIELD, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: You are welcome. Thank you for asking.

PHILLIPS: You bet. Well, let's talk about roll (ph) project alert, and how is this going to have -- how is this going to get involved, this project, with finding these two girls?

SCOFIELD: Well, what California has done is exactly what ought to be done, and that is they first are prepared for these kinds of cases by putting in place the Amber Alert. That is an alert that simply galvanizes the state and all communities that it touches to help with finding missing children. What they have done is to broadcast alert the name, the kind of car, the license plate, and now you've got hundreds of thousands of eyes and ears opened for you, rather than a small group of investigators.

PHILLIPS: So it is like a weather alert?

SCOFIELD: It is exactly like a weather alert. As a matter of fact, it is a schematic of the one that we know very well, that uses a broadcast emergency alert system to warn us of tornadoes, and other kinds of weather alerts. We have received permission through the FCC to use this kind of alert on behalf of missing children, and as we see, it works very well.

Currently, there are approximately 38 local, regional, and statewide alerts. We are promoting the program nationwide, and hopefully states will come on board. Currently, only 12 states are using it statewide. It has resulted in 17 recoveries. It is a tremendous aid to law enforcement, particularly under these kinds of circumstances where immediate response is absolutely essential.

PHILLIPS: So is this alert on television, on the radio? SCOFIELD: This alert will be on radio and hopefully television, depending on the partnership that has been developed between the law enforcement agency and the media within that particular area. Amber Alert was begun in Texas through the cooperative agreement with a law enforcement agency and a radio station. The radio station manager agreed to broadcast, under certain conditions, descriptive information of an abductor and the victim. As I said, a weather -- a typical weather alert is done. We have pretty much brought that program together, put it into a tremendous promotional item that we are making available to law enforcement agencies nationwide.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now you also worked for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department for 17 years. You probably know a lot of the individuals on this case right now. Tell us the procedure. What takes place from here, what are law enforcement officials doing right now at this moment?

SCOFIELD: Well, they certainly are going to treat that scene as a crime scene, I'm sure. They are going to try to gather as much information and evidence as they can from the immediate area. They have to get out and broadcast this information immediately. Law enforcement now knows that time is of the essence. They are going to ensure that all of the information regarding that is entered into the National Crime Information database, that is NCIC, which is maintained by FBI. And then, their staff is going to determine and bring in all the outside help necessary, state police, the state missing children's clearing house, FBI, all specialized units, all resources are brought to bear in order to get the optimum response on recovering these children safely.

PHILLIPS: What kind of time line is the norm or the average with finding -- you know, two individuals like this? They know the car, they know possibly it was connected to this carjacking, so there may be information about this suspect that the FBI has, and is able to correlate with this case. What do you think, Ann? Could this -- are there a lot of positives in this?

SCOFIELD: There are a lot of positives in this. What we've got are witnesses. That is your best clue to resolving a case most immediately or at least identifying the participants of a case. You've got great witnesses there, and you've got two young ladies who hopefully will just maintain their calm, their focus, look for every opportunity they can to escape. I think, hopefully, this will resolve itself very, very good and recover those girls safely.

The time line, that is hard to say. There can be no timeline. These kinds of cases can be resolved within a very short time. On the other hand, if the suspect is well prepared, it can certainly go on for a lengthy investigative period. Hopefully, this will be a very short recovery.

PHILLIPS: Ann Scofield with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Ann, great insight. Thanks so much.

SCOFIELD: Thank you very much.

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