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CNN Live At Daybreak
A Happy Ending
Aired June 09, 2003 - 05:02 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A happy ending. She is safe and sound. That 9-year-old kidnapped from her California home on Friday has been found. It happened about 1:30 Eastern our time, 1:30 this morning. The girl was released by her abductor about 15 miles from her hometown.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us live right now -- Thelma, tell us about it.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I can say that it is very good news, indeed. In fact, East Palo Alto police tell us that 9-year-old Jennette Tamayo was found outside of a neighborhood market just about a block away from the police station where we're standing right now. She was discovered shortly before 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Police would only say the girl is safe. They wouldn't elaborate on her condition. They say that she was found about a half hour north of her San Jose home.
Now, the shopkeeper recognized her from media reports and then immediately called police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was walking in, she was crying, scared. And I asked her, "How can I help you?" She said, "Please don't call the cops. Please don't call the cops." I said, OK, I promise you I'm not going to call the cops. Let me help you." She said, "Let me use the phone." I said, "OK, here's the phone."
When she started dialing the phone, she was panicky and scared. She didn't know how to dial the numbers. And I told her, "Let me get the phone. Let me dial the number for you." And so I dialed the number after that. The number was in the San Jose area. I asked her, "How long have you been missing?" She said, "One day." I asked her again, "How long have you been missing?" She said, "Three days." And I asked her, "How old are you?" She said, "Nine." So right away I figured out she's the one missing from San Jose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: Jennette Tamayo's ordeal began on Friday and some of it was caught by a neighbor's surveillance camera. Now, police say that she was walking home from school with a friend. A kidnapper apparently waited in his car for her to return. The man then followed her inside, backed his car into the garage. A short time after that, Jennette's mother Rosalie and her 15-year-old son Pablo arrive home. Now, off camera, Pablo struggles to open the garage door. When he finally gets in, he comes face to face with the kidnapper and police say then sees his sister in the back seat of the kidnapper's car in tears.
The mother then hears the commotion. She runs into the house. A struggle ensues for some 10 minutes. The tape then shows the kidnapper's car racing away with Rosalie running outside of the home screaming for help.
Now, police say that the surveillance tape may have had something to do with the girl's safe return. As for the suspect, we do understand that he is at large and last night we were watching all of this drama unfold from the neighborhood and I can tell you that there was so much rejoicing and so much relief there amongst some of the neighbors in the neighborhood talking about this very happy ending -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, of course, Thelma, we know very little about the girl's ordeal while she was in captivity. But, you know, from just looking at her, she looks OK. She was smiling at the cameras as she was driven away from that convenience store.
GUTIERREZ: Yes, and, in fact, we're all waiting for her reunion with her parents. As of last night, there was speculation as to whether or not the parents had been brought to East Palo Alto, about half an hour away from San Jose, for that reunion. We do not know what the status of that is at this point.
COSTELLO: All right, Thelma, I know you just arrived on the scene and you want to get more information for us.
We'll check back with you throughout the hour and then in the next hour and all day, probably, here on CNN.
Thelma Gutierrez, many thanks.
Well, the news that Jennette Tamayo was found alive brought enormous relief to her San Jose neighborhood. You heard Thelma talking about that. Residents literally ran out into the streets to celebrate. The neighbor who took that surveillance from that camera, he describes the way...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN KAMFOLT, NEIGHBOR: Physically draining, mentally draining, stomach's in knots, just real nauseous all day long. And now my stomach's still in knots, but I'm elated that she's coming home. We're all waiting for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Police say the suspect, who is still on the run, is in his 30s or early 40s, around 5'5," about 160 pounds and he has dark hair. His picture from the neighbor's surveillance video camera shows the suspect's getaway car. It's believed to be a late 1980s or early '90s four door Honda Accord or some kind of similar car.
We'll have much more on this case on AMERICAN MORNING. San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis will be a guest two hours from now and, of course, we'll have much more on Jennette Tamayo's kidnapping throughout the hours on DAYBREAK.
You can read more about the case on our Web site and while there you can check out our special report on missing children. The address, cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 9, 2003 - 05:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A happy ending. She is safe and sound. That 9-year-old kidnapped from her California home on Friday has been found. It happened about 1:30 Eastern our time, 1:30 this morning. The girl was released by her abductor about 15 miles from her hometown.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us live right now -- Thelma, tell us about it.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I can say that it is very good news, indeed. In fact, East Palo Alto police tell us that 9-year-old Jennette Tamayo was found outside of a neighborhood market just about a block away from the police station where we're standing right now. She was discovered shortly before 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Police would only say the girl is safe. They wouldn't elaborate on her condition. They say that she was found about a half hour north of her San Jose home.
Now, the shopkeeper recognized her from media reports and then immediately called police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was walking in, she was crying, scared. And I asked her, "How can I help you?" She said, "Please don't call the cops. Please don't call the cops." I said, OK, I promise you I'm not going to call the cops. Let me help you." She said, "Let me use the phone." I said, "OK, here's the phone."
When she started dialing the phone, she was panicky and scared. She didn't know how to dial the numbers. And I told her, "Let me get the phone. Let me dial the number for you." And so I dialed the number after that. The number was in the San Jose area. I asked her, "How long have you been missing?" She said, "One day." I asked her again, "How long have you been missing?" She said, "Three days." And I asked her, "How old are you?" She said, "Nine." So right away I figured out she's the one missing from San Jose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: Jennette Tamayo's ordeal began on Friday and some of it was caught by a neighbor's surveillance camera. Now, police say that she was walking home from school with a friend. A kidnapper apparently waited in his car for her to return. The man then followed her inside, backed his car into the garage. A short time after that, Jennette's mother Rosalie and her 15-year-old son Pablo arrive home. Now, off camera, Pablo struggles to open the garage door. When he finally gets in, he comes face to face with the kidnapper and police say then sees his sister in the back seat of the kidnapper's car in tears.
The mother then hears the commotion. She runs into the house. A struggle ensues for some 10 minutes. The tape then shows the kidnapper's car racing away with Rosalie running outside of the home screaming for help.
Now, police say that the surveillance tape may have had something to do with the girl's safe return. As for the suspect, we do understand that he is at large and last night we were watching all of this drama unfold from the neighborhood and I can tell you that there was so much rejoicing and so much relief there amongst some of the neighbors in the neighborhood talking about this very happy ending -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, of course, Thelma, we know very little about the girl's ordeal while she was in captivity. But, you know, from just looking at her, she looks OK. She was smiling at the cameras as she was driven away from that convenience store.
GUTIERREZ: Yes, and, in fact, we're all waiting for her reunion with her parents. As of last night, there was speculation as to whether or not the parents had been brought to East Palo Alto, about half an hour away from San Jose, for that reunion. We do not know what the status of that is at this point.
COSTELLO: All right, Thelma, I know you just arrived on the scene and you want to get more information for us.
We'll check back with you throughout the hour and then in the next hour and all day, probably, here on CNN.
Thelma Gutierrez, many thanks.
Well, the news that Jennette Tamayo was found alive brought enormous relief to her San Jose neighborhood. You heard Thelma talking about that. Residents literally ran out into the streets to celebrate. The neighbor who took that surveillance from that camera, he describes the way...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN KAMFOLT, NEIGHBOR: Physically draining, mentally draining, stomach's in knots, just real nauseous all day long. And now my stomach's still in knots, but I'm elated that she's coming home. We're all waiting for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Police say the suspect, who is still on the run, is in his 30s or early 40s, around 5'5," about 160 pounds and he has dark hair. His picture from the neighbor's surveillance video camera shows the suspect's getaway car. It's believed to be a late 1980s or early '90s four door Honda Accord or some kind of similar car.
We'll have much more on this case on AMERICAN MORNING. San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis will be a guest two hours from now and, of course, we'll have much more on Jennette Tamayo's kidnapping throughout the hours on DAYBREAK.
You can read more about the case on our Web site and while there you can check out our special report on missing children. The address, cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
