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CNN Live Today
FBI Searching Father's Van of New Hampshire Kids Feared Dead
Aired July 15, 2003 - 10:36 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: Another case involving children in danger also in the news today as well. A New Hampshire man due back in his home state today to face charges of snatching his children on a cross-country trip. The children are missing and are feared to be dead. Police say their father, Manuel Gehring, is the sole focus of their investigation.
For more on this case now, let's turn to our correspondent Mike Brooks, who himself is a veteran of law enforcement and has been tracking down and getting back in touch with his own sources to find out what's happening with this case. What have you learned?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a very difficult case right now, you know bringing him back to New Hampshire. They're being very tight-lipped, holding the case close to their vests right now, Leon. But we know his truck was recovered in California.
Now, we saw the FBI's evidence response team out there processing the truck. There's a lot of things they can get from that because they're very close, they say, authorities say they're very close to charging this man with homicide.
Now, what kind of evidence do they have? Probably some of the evidence that they did glean from the truck because his little cross- country trek, they've been able to follow exactly where he went by his credit card purchases.
HARRIS: He made a number of stops?
BROOKS: He made a number of stops along the way, through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, through San Francisco and down then into Gilroy, California where he was actually arrested.
Now along the way, there are different kind of soils and those kinds of things, so the FBI is going to be looking underneath his truck for different soil samples to go back and try to compare that to.
We're also -- we haven't been able to confirm it. We're also hearing there was other evidence in the truck that they could possibly use to link him to certain areas.
HARRIS: So they can actually pinpoint which states he was actually in, may have spent more time in by the kind and amount of soil they find inside or on the vehicle?
BROOKS: There's a good possibility. And also, with your receipts, go back and take the soil that if you went off road to, what some authorities think, to get rid of his two children's bodies, that they believe he may have killed them in New Hampshire, before leaving, and then dumped them along the way somewhere.
There are different soils. You can take a known and an unknown sample and compare the two. There are also other things from hotels, carpets, hairs and fibers. All these kind of things. I can guarantee you that the FBI evidence response team went through and vacuumed that truck and also took samples from underneath by the axle, the wheel wells all those kinds of things to try to glean any evidence from the truck.
HARRIS: So you've got no indication that they've gotten direct evidence from him? That he hasn't talked or said anything yet?
BROOKS: Well that's a possibility. Apparently, the conversations he has been very kind of distraught, and hasn't been giving up much information. But they're not really saying exactly what he's saying or what he is not saying.
HARRIS: Are they saying exactly why they're convinced or believe those children are dead right now?
BROOKS: No, they're not really saying.
HARRIS: Because they did reach that conclusion fairly early in this...
BROOKS: They did, they did. And so it's either what he's saying or what he's not saying, or some evidence that they may have found in the truck. Hairs, fibers, blood, other kind of DNA, those kind of things from the kids that would not normally be in the truck when you just take your kids to and from school, to and from the mall, those kind of things.
HARRIS: Interesting. Fascinating what they can actually come up with and what they can do.
Mike Brooks, appreciate that. Thank you for getting back with us on that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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Aired July 15, 2003 - 10:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Another case involving children in danger also in the news today as well. A New Hampshire man due back in his home state today to face charges of snatching his children on a cross-country trip. The children are missing and are feared to be dead. Police say their father, Manuel Gehring, is the sole focus of their investigation.
For more on this case now, let's turn to our correspondent Mike Brooks, who himself is a veteran of law enforcement and has been tracking down and getting back in touch with his own sources to find out what's happening with this case. What have you learned?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a very difficult case right now, you know bringing him back to New Hampshire. They're being very tight-lipped, holding the case close to their vests right now, Leon. But we know his truck was recovered in California.
Now, we saw the FBI's evidence response team out there processing the truck. There's a lot of things they can get from that because they're very close, they say, authorities say they're very close to charging this man with homicide.
Now, what kind of evidence do they have? Probably some of the evidence that they did glean from the truck because his little cross- country trek, they've been able to follow exactly where he went by his credit card purchases.
HARRIS: He made a number of stops?
BROOKS: He made a number of stops along the way, through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, through San Francisco and down then into Gilroy, California where he was actually arrested.
Now along the way, there are different kind of soils and those kinds of things, so the FBI is going to be looking underneath his truck for different soil samples to go back and try to compare that to.
We're also -- we haven't been able to confirm it. We're also hearing there was other evidence in the truck that they could possibly use to link him to certain areas.
HARRIS: So they can actually pinpoint which states he was actually in, may have spent more time in by the kind and amount of soil they find inside or on the vehicle?
BROOKS: There's a good possibility. And also, with your receipts, go back and take the soil that if you went off road to, what some authorities think, to get rid of his two children's bodies, that they believe he may have killed them in New Hampshire, before leaving, and then dumped them along the way somewhere.
There are different soils. You can take a known and an unknown sample and compare the two. There are also other things from hotels, carpets, hairs and fibers. All these kind of things. I can guarantee you that the FBI evidence response team went through and vacuumed that truck and also took samples from underneath by the axle, the wheel wells all those kinds of things to try to glean any evidence from the truck.
HARRIS: So you've got no indication that they've gotten direct evidence from him? That he hasn't talked or said anything yet?
BROOKS: Well that's a possibility. Apparently, the conversations he has been very kind of distraught, and hasn't been giving up much information. But they're not really saying exactly what he's saying or what he is not saying.
HARRIS: Are they saying exactly why they're convinced or believe those children are dead right now?
BROOKS: No, they're not really saying.
HARRIS: Because they did reach that conclusion fairly early in this...
BROOKS: They did, they did. And so it's either what he's saying or what he's not saying, or some evidence that they may have found in the truck. Hairs, fibers, blood, other kind of DNA, those kind of things from the kids that would not normally be in the truck when you just take your kids to and from school, to and from the mall, those kind of things.
HARRIS: Interesting. Fascinating what they can actually come up with and what they can do.
Mike Brooks, appreciate that. Thank you for getting back with us on that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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