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American Morning

Search for Dru

Aired December 11, 2003 - 08:15   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The sheriff in Grand Forks, North Dakota now offering an apology to the family of Dru Sjodin for saying publicly that he doubts the missing class is still alive. She disappeared about three weeks ago.
And last night here on CNN, Anderson Cooper asked Dru's brother about the growing evidence that his 22-year-old sister might have been killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SVEN SJODIN, DRU SJODIN'S BROTHER: My understanding of the blood is that it's speckles and splatters of blood. You know, I've cut my finger and probably bled more than a speckle or a splatter, if that's, you know, a good enough description. A knife, I would have to understand that he would have to have a weapon in order to sequester, you know, my sister within his vehicle. You know, she's a tough girl. You know, if she didn't feel completely threatened at that point, she probably would have fought her way away from him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was from last night on "360."

Bob Heales is a private investigator who's been helping the Sjodin family search for Dru.

He's live with us today in Grand Forks.

Sir, good morning to you.

Nice to have you.

BOB HEALES, SJODIN FAMILY INVESTIGATOR: Good morning.

HEMMER: I understand you're offering your services on a voluntary basis.

Why did the family feel it had to take on your services there in the search?

HEALES: Well, you know, initially I just came up. I have a home in the community and just came up to help, walk the ditches, do whatever I could do to help find Dru. And the first day everybody was out there, there was a little frustration. It was a little bit disorganized. They weren't getting, you know, complete cooperation from law enforcement. And I just thought that maybe through some contacts I had we could get together and make this a little better coordinated.

HEMMER: Since that time, are they satisfied with the help they're getting from the police or not?

HEALES: Oh, I think very much so, and I am, too. The cooperation has been great.

HEMMER: How is your work different, then, from what's happening with the main searchers there?

HEALES: I'm dealing strictly with family members, classmates, close friends, people from the community and we're very focused on separate areas that we coordinate with the sheriff's department.

HEMMER: Do you have access to evidence and other things that pertain to this case?

HEALES: No, not necessarily.

HEMMER: Would you like it?

HEALES: You know, I don't know if that's going to help me that much with what we have to do at this point. I imagine at some point that could be helpful.

HEMMER: Yes. We mentioned a short time ago, Bob, that the sheriff has apologized to the family.

How did they react when they heard the words earlier in the week that the sheriff in that county thinks that Dru Sjodin might not be alive?

HEALES: I think those words came as a surprise. They weren't prepared for it yet. My understanding was that they had not met with him and it just came as a total, total shock to hear that.

HEMMER: Yes. It's my understanding, are you a friend of Dru's boyfriend?

HEALES: That's correct.

HEMMER: Yes. How is he doing right now? We haven't heard much lately.

HEALES: I've been with Chris on a daily basis. I see him quite often. And it's pretty tough on him. He's holding up, but it's a tough situation.

HEMMER: Yes, we have been watching the weather reports up there and it looks downright frigid in your part of the country.

How is that affecting things now?

HEALES: Well, when I came over here this morning, I believe it's about 13 below zero. When we had larger groups, we were out on ATVs every day covering 40, 50, 60 square miles on the average and days like this, it's tough to get out on those ATVs. You pretty much have to go out in cars and go out and walk areas for a little bit and come back and warm up.

HEMMER: So many times we have heard so many people close to this matter mention the name of Elizabeth Smart. Is she giving you and others hope right now?

HEALES: There isn't a day or an hour that goes by that when you're out there and you're looking that I don't see Elizabeth's face. And she gives us encouragement and the strength to keep looking and never give up.

HEMMER: Good luck to you.

HEALES: Thank you.

HEMMER: Thanks, Bob.

Bob Heales there in North Dakota.

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 December 11, 2003 - 08:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The sheriff in Grand Forks, North Dakota now offering an apology to the family of Dru Sjodin for saying publicly that he doubts the missing class is still alive. She disappeared about three weeks ago.
And last night here on CNN, Anderson Cooper asked Dru's brother about the growing evidence that his 22-year-old sister might have been killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SVEN SJODIN, DRU SJODIN'S BROTHER: My understanding of the blood is that it's speckles and splatters of blood. You know, I've cut my finger and probably bled more than a speckle or a splatter, if that's, you know, a good enough description. A knife, I would have to understand that he would have to have a weapon in order to sequester, you know, my sister within his vehicle. You know, she's a tough girl. You know, if she didn't feel completely threatened at that point, she probably would have fought her way away from him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was from last night on "360."

Bob Heales is a private investigator who's been helping the Sjodin family search for Dru.

He's live with us today in Grand Forks.

Sir, good morning to you.

Nice to have you.

BOB HEALES, SJODIN FAMILY INVESTIGATOR: Good morning.

HEMMER: I understand you're offering your services on a voluntary basis.

Why did the family feel it had to take on your services there in the search?

HEALES: Well, you know, initially I just came up. I have a home in the community and just came up to help, walk the ditches, do whatever I could do to help find Dru. And the first day everybody was out there, there was a little frustration. It was a little bit disorganized. They weren't getting, you know, complete cooperation from law enforcement. And I just thought that maybe through some contacts I had we could get together and make this a little better coordinated.

HEMMER: Since that time, are they satisfied with the help they're getting from the police or not?

HEALES: Oh, I think very much so, and I am, too. The cooperation has been great.

HEMMER: How is your work different, then, from what's happening with the main searchers there?

HEALES: I'm dealing strictly with family members, classmates, close friends, people from the community and we're very focused on separate areas that we coordinate with the sheriff's department.

HEMMER: Do you have access to evidence and other things that pertain to this case?

HEALES: No, not necessarily.

HEMMER: Would you like it?

HEALES: You know, I don't know if that's going to help me that much with what we have to do at this point. I imagine at some point that could be helpful.

HEMMER: Yes. We mentioned a short time ago, Bob, that the sheriff has apologized to the family.

How did they react when they heard the words earlier in the week that the sheriff in that county thinks that Dru Sjodin might not be alive?

HEALES: I think those words came as a surprise. They weren't prepared for it yet. My understanding was that they had not met with him and it just came as a total, total shock to hear that.

HEMMER: Yes. It's my understanding, are you a friend of Dru's boyfriend?

HEALES: That's correct.

HEMMER: Yes. How is he doing right now? We haven't heard much lately.

HEALES: I've been with Chris on a daily basis. I see him quite often. And it's pretty tough on him. He's holding up, but it's a tough situation.

HEMMER: Yes, we have been watching the weather reports up there and it looks downright frigid in your part of the country.

How is that affecting things now?

HEALES: Well, when I came over here this morning, I believe it's about 13 below zero. When we had larger groups, we were out on ATVs every day covering 40, 50, 60 square miles on the average and days like this, it's tough to get out on those ATVs. You pretty much have to go out in cars and go out and walk areas for a little bit and come back and warm up.

HEMMER: So many times we have heard so many people close to this matter mention the name of Elizabeth Smart. Is she giving you and others hope right now?

HEALES: There isn't a day or an hour that goes by that when you're out there and you're looking that I don't see Elizabeth's face. And she gives us encouragement and the strength to keep looking and never give up.

HEMMER: Good luck to you.

HEALES: Thank you.

HEMMER: Thanks, Bob.

Bob Heales there in North Dakota.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com