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Nancy Grace

2-Year-Old Disappears in Tennessee; New Witness Emerges in Grinstead Disappearance

Aired April 27, 2006 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, breaking news out of Tennessee. Local police declare, quote, "Everybody`s a suspect" in the disappearance of a beautiful 2-year-old little girl, Analyce Guerra. As we speak, the FBI and local and state investigators on a desperate search for this little girl and whoever took her from her own home.
And also tonight, breaking developments out of Ocilla, Georgia. Is there finally a crack in the case of a missing beauty-queen-turned-school teacher, Tara Grinstead?

Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. Tonight, live to Ocilla, Georgia, breaking news in the missing beauty-queen-turned-teacher mystery. Tara Grinstead vanished without a trace. Tonight, a new witness emerges.

But first tonight, breaking news out of Tennessee. One of the single largest searches in Tennessee history -- federal, state and local law enforcement working around the clock in a desperate search for a tiny toddler, 2-year-old Analyce Guerra, last seen four days ago tonight. The dragnet widens, police up against a wall, now declaring openly, "Everybody`s a suspect." And tonight, we report to you live from Tennessee to Ocilla, Georgia, and we are taking your calls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re currently out searching the creeks (ph) area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got a 2-year-old child, how long can she survive out there (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more time goes on, the more concerned we get to finding a child unharmed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You would nobody would do it, but there`s a chance that somebody may have (INAUDIBLE) or something like that. You never know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If she is with someone, are they going to get to a point that they`re going to get scared and do something to her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel that we`re doing everything we possibly can to try to locate her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Please help us help police find this tiny toddler. She`s only about 28 months old.

Straight out to reporter with "The Daily News Journal," Mealand Ragland-Hudgins. When was Analyce last seen? Tell me what happened.

MEALAND RAGLAND-HUDGINS, "DAILY NEWS JOURNAL": As far as I know, the last time anybody`s seen her was 11:30 Sunday night. Her mother said that she was at home sleeping, and when she woke up at 4:00 o`clock to get some water, she looked around the house and couldn`t find her anywhere.

GRACE: OK, Mealand -- everyone, Mealand with us from "The Daily News Journal." Mealand, explain to me the sleeping situation. Was the little girl in her own bedroom? I know they said they had fallen asleep watching TV. Were they all on the sofa together or what?

RAGLAND-HUDGINS: From the conversation that I`ve had with her mother, she was on the floor.

GRACE: On the floor, mom on sofa?

RAGLAND-HUDGINS: I`m not sure.

GRACE: Were they all in the same room together, Mealand.

RAGLAND-HUDGINS: So far as I know, that -- the answer to that question is yes.

GRACE: I want to go straight out now to Eva Guerra -- this is Analyce`s mother -- in her first national interview regarding the disappearance of her little girl, Analyce. Ma`am, thank you for being with us.

EVA GUERRA, ANALYCE`S MOM: Thank you for having me.

GRACE: Tell me what happened that night.

GUERRA: I remember coming home from a friend`s house. It was pretty late. I remember just getting my kids off. I put them down to bed while I was speaking to a friend of mine. The last person who walked out that door was my son, who I had sent out to the truck to get some things off, which was some of our dinner. He was kind of hungry.

And I must have dozed off a little after we ate, and that must have been maybe around -- I`m going to say 11:45, 12:00 midnight. I just dozed off. I fell asleep. the next thing I know, I woke up a little bit later. I wanted to get a drink of water. I just felt thirsty and woke up. And when I sat up, I looked at my kids, and I realized my daughter was not there.

I ran immediately to the room, after waking up my 10-year-old son, asking him where the baby was at. He was telling me she was laying right here. He actually sat up himself and didn`t see her, and he went to the other room. We looked for her in the rooms (ph) bedrooms. We just didn`t find her anywhere. And I had seen that the door was unlocked, my front door.

GRACE: The front door was shut but unlocked?

GUERRA: It was shut but unlocked.

GRACE: Ms. Guerra, when you went to sleep, was the door unlocked?

GUERRA: No. And that`s what kind of makes it a little bit harder for me to understand. I try to think if I dozed off and my son maybe opened the door again. I don`t know if my baby opened the door again because she is 28 months old, but she can open doors. She has opened it before. But I don`t think she would have gone out at night.

GRACE: We are looking for Analyce Guerra. She is only three feet tall, 35 pounds. She is 28 months old, shoulder-length dark hair in a ponytail. She has brown eyes, last seen wearing a little denim overall dress with sunflowers and beads on it. Look at this little girl`s face, 28 months old, 2 years old, a toddler.

Back to her mother, speaking out tonight. A couple of questions, Ms. Guerra. Let me get this straight. You guys live in an apartment, correct?

GUERRA: That`s correct.

GRACE: How many bedrooms?

GUERRA: It`s a three-bedroom.

GRACE: Three-bedroom, with a den, a kitchen, and a what, a dining room?

GUERRA: Yes.

GRACE: So you`ve got about a six-room home. Were all the children in the den with you, watching TV?

GUERRA: We had all stayed in the living room.

GRACE: And that`s -- how many children do you have?

GUERRA: I have six.

GRACE: Six kids. All of them -- were you on the sofa?

GUERRA: I was on one sofa. My 10-year-old was on another sofa, and the other ones were on the floor.

GRACE: And what night was this?

GUERRA: This was Sunday night.

GRACE: Sunday night. OK. You fall asleep around 11:45-ish PM. You guys had just eaten. You wake Up around 4:00 o`clock in the morning, correct?

GUERRA: It could have been a little bit earlier, maybe around -- it was probably 10, 15 minutes, before I called, made that 911 call.

GRACE: And in those hours, your door went from being locked and closed to unlocked and closed, correct?

GUERRA: That`s correct.

GRACE: Elizabeth, let`s roll what police had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If she is with someone, you know, are they going to get to a point that they`re going to get scared and do something to her? So the timeframe is a concern. of ours, and I feel that we`re doing everything we possibly can to try to locate her.

You would hope nobody would do it, but there`s a chance that somebody may have, you know, put her on a roof (ph) or something like that. You never know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to Smyrna police department chief Mike Beach. Chief, thank you for being with us.

CHIEF MIKE BEACH, SMYRNA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good evening, Nancy.

GRACE: Chief, what are you doing to find this little girl tonight?

BEACH: We`re conducting a -- pretty much of a two-pronged investigation and search. One, of course, looking into the possibility of foul play, and at the very same time, putting as much effort into that -- the other side of that, which would know the search effort.

GRACE: I see that we`re running video of a body of water. Is the body of water near this apartment, Chief?

BEACH: It`s near the apartment. It is still quite some distance.

GRACE: How far away?

BEACH: I would say probably a little bit less than a quarter of a mile.

GRACE: OK. Now, you said that you were looking into the possibility of foul play. Chief, do you really think a 28-month-old little girl could get up in the middle of the night, unlock a door, the front door, go out it, shut it behind her and disappear into thin air?

BEACH: I don`t think she disappeared into thin air. The mother`s related to us that she has opened the door in the past and gotten out, and she was found very shortly thereafter outside. So going off of the mother`s statements concerning her ability to open the door, then we know that that`s a possibility.

GRACE: Right. Back to Analyce`s mother, Eva Guerra. Ms. Guerra, let me ask you about the lock on the door. Was there a deadbolt? Was there a chain? What kind of lock was it?

GUERRA: It was just one deadbolt.

GRACE: A deadbolt. And how high up was the deadbolt?

GUERRA: It`s not too high up. It`s just right above the doorknob.

GRACE: Could she reach the deadbolt?

GUERRA: She could reach it.

GRACE: Has she ever switched the deadbolt before and gone out the door?

GUERRA: She has run out after her brothers.

GRACE: Opening the deadbolt?

GUERRA: She has unlocked it before.

GRACE: Has she ever done it at night?

GUERRA: Only when there`s -- there`s been a few occasions where she`s done it, but only because there`s family members or friends or her brothers are running in and out. But as late as 10:00, 11:00 and on, no, she has not.

GRACE: Here is what police had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more times goes on, the more concerned we get to finding the child, you know? And we`re hoping that when we do, we find her unharmed and in good health and everything.

When you got a 2-year-old child, if she is out there on her own, you know, how long can she survive out there on her own?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Let`s go to a reporter with "America`s Most Wanted." You know him. Ed Miller is with us tonight. Ed, explain to me what is happening in the search for this little toddler.

ED MILLER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": Well, the first thing we should talk about is the fact that there was some misinformation, that somebody had spread the rumor, or thought that the search had been given up. The search has not been given up. A two-and-a-half-mile-square area around the home has been searched five times, five times, and they`re continuing to search. It`s just not as intense as it was before.

The important thing that many people that follow these things want to know is, Why haven`t the dogs been able to pick up this child`s scent? The problem is, there were so many children in the house that the dogs got the scents all mixed up. So...

GRACE: Oh!

MILLER: ... While dog did pick-up the scent...

GRACE: Ed, Ed, Ed! Wait! I`m hearing what you`re saying, but I`ve never heard that before. They can`t take an article of clothing belonging to this little girl only?

MILLER: That`s exactly what they did do. They did take an article of clothing, and they did pick up the child`s scent. But again, because there were so many children in the house and in a close proximity, the dogs lost that one particular child`s scent and picked up the other children`s scent. So while the dog did find her scent for just a short period of time, he very quickly lost it. So that`s why...

GRACE: Where? Where?

MILLER: Outdoor the door.

GRACE: So just right outside the door?

MILLER: Yes.

GRACE: And that could have been from earlier in the day, right?

BEACH: Absolutely. Absolutely.

GRACE: That didn`t help anything.

BEACH: Absolutely. So that`s complicating the search, is that the dogs have not been able to even steer them left, right, center, anywhere. So that`s a big, big part of the problem.

GRACE: Man, you`re not kidding. OK, now, Ed, Ed, the circumstances surrounding Analyce`s disappearance -- was there any forced entry into the home? Her mom says the door was locked.

MILLER: No. And you know, something we should point out for parents everywhere, that young children are encouraged to know how to open an unlocked door as very, very young children. Even infants are encouraged, in case of fire, they`re taught two things, how to call 911 and how to open up a locked door. So the fact that this child was able to open a locked door and did it in the past is not necessarily a bad thing at all. It`s actually a good thing that she knew how to work that lock.

GRACE: Right. So if anyone is thinking somehow this is the mom`s fault for the child getting out the door, of course, it`s going to. Ed is correct. Children are taught dial 911, scream fire if they`re approached by stranger, and how to get out of a locked door.

Let me go back to the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Tell me, Ed, about the apartment complex where she lives. How many units? How many people are there? Have the apartments been searched?

MILLER: They have been searched, as a matter of fact. They`ve been searched over and over again, and they`ve talked to all of the people in the area. Part of the problem is some of the people did not speak English. Many of them spoke Spanish only. And from what I understand, the police department had a limited number of Spanish-speaking officers. So that did slow down the investigation.

But from what I understand, they are continuing in that vein and they are continuing to speak to all of the neighbors. And at this point, they just have not been able to come up with anything. A couple of people did report seeing the child, but all of those leads turned out to be false. They didn`t go anywhere.

GRACE: Where did they report they saw the little girl?

MILLER: There was a tip that they saw her at a big-box store, you know, a Kmart, a Target in the area, but that proved to be false. There were a couple of people that said that.

GRACE: To Nancy McBride with National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Nancy, these first few hours, these first few days are crucial, and if police could not follow through with potential witnesses because they spoke Spanish, that could have hamstrung the whole thing.

NANCY MCBRIDE, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Well, I think what`s so important here, Nancy, is the fact that we`ve got the photo out there. We`ve got people looking. We know that the public helps us find missing children. I believe there`s somebody out there who might recognize her.

The National Center has two of our retired law enforcement officers from the FBI on the ground, assisting law enforcement. We`ve analyzed the neighborhood. We know where the sex offenders live. We mapped that all out for law enforcement. And we`re trying to offer support to the mom.

GRACE: Back to Ed Miller with "America`s Most Wanted." OK, tonight, nobody`s a suspect. Everybody`s a suspect. Tell me, where`s the father?

MILLER: That`s a very important point. As painful as it is to hear, of course, Nancy, as you well know, that they have to look at family members very closely. And they are saying -- police are saying, and I just spoke with them just a short time ago, that everyone is a suspect, including the mother and the father.

In particular, there are some questions about the father and his possible involvement in an arson fire that he has still not been cleared from. So that`s just raising a red flag. The mother and father are separated. And again, it`s not accusing him of anything directly. It`s just raising a question that he has been linked to this arson fire. They know there was an arson fire there. They`re just -- they have not cleared him of that.

GRACE: Right. The arson that Ed is referring to -- before the Guerras had moved into this apartment, they lived in a home. I believe it was a couple of months ago -- was it December, Ellie? December 17, actually, the home burned down, and a lot of people were questioned, including the husband at that time. Nobody is a suspect. Nobody`s a suspect tonight, but everybody is a suspect. In other words, police don`t have a lead.

Elizabeth, before we go to break, let me just give this information about this little girl. She`s 28 months old. She`s a little angel. She`s last seen wearing a denim dress, an overall dress with sunflowers. She`s three feet tall. And she`s out there somewhere tonight. Tip line, 800- TBI-FIND.

Very quickly, to tonight`s "Trial Tracker." In an Ohio courtroom, Father Gerald Robinson on trial for the ritualistic 1980 murder of 71-year- old Sister Margaret Ann Pahl (ph), herself a Catholic nun. Taking center stage today, renowned forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. HENRY LEE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: That`s my interpretation. She either was immobile or some quick attack. She lie on the floor. Most stabbing is inflict (ph) upwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Tonight, in one of the largest manhunts in Tennessee history, federal, state and local law enforcements have banded together to find this little girl, a 28-month-old toddler. Her name, Analyce Guerra. She`s only three feet tall. She`s only 35 pounds, shoulder-length dark hair, last seen in a ponytail, big brown eyes, wearing a denim overall dress covered in sunflowers. This child was not lost at a mall or an amusement park. The mom was not being neglectful in any way, the whole family at home in their little apartment there in Tennessee. Some time during night, the child goes missing.

Let`s go to the lines. Sharon in Ohio. Welcome, Sharon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I just got to say I love you!

GRACE: Thank you, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, honey. I`d just like to know, how many keys could possibly be floating around...

GRACE: Good question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... in that apartment?

GRACE: Let`s throw that to Eva. Analyce`s mother is with us tonight, speaking out on national TV for the first time, asking for your help. Eva, how many people had keys?

GUERRA: The only people who had keys to my apartment were myself, my mother and my sister, and of course, the maintenance people, the front (ph) office.

GRACE: The maintenance. OK, now, question. Were you dating anybody? Did anybody you were dating or did date have keys?

GUERRA: No. No.

GRACE: How about the back door, Eva? Was the back door locked? Were all the doors locked?

GUERRA: No. I have a sliding door. The sliding door...

GRACE: A sliding door?

GUERRA: Yes, and that was locked.

GRACE: That was locked. OK. All right.

Let`s go back to the lines. Marybeth in Louisiana. Hi, Marybeth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. Can you tell me if they have searched to find out if there are pedophiles in the immediate area?

GRACE: Marybeth, my immediate thought. Liz, do we have the map? Do we have Chief Beach with us still, Liz? Do we have the chief with us, Chief Beach? Chief Mike Beach, I`m sure -- these are the pedophiles we found on our search in red. There are 12 in this tiny area. Chief, it`s my understanding you have already spoken to them.

BEACH: Yes, we have.

GRACE: Did they give you alibis for the time?

BEACH: Yes, they did.

GRACE: Did they allow their homes to be searched?

BEACH: I believe that they all have, yes.

GRACE: What about their cars?

BEACH: I believe so.

GRACE: Everyone, we are asking for your help tonight, along with Analyce`s mother, to find this little girl, Analyce Guerra.

Very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." An important story we brought you last night, still no leads in the case of a missing 23-year-old American hero, Robert Hornbeck. He took fire in Iraq, made it home to one piece to U.S. soil, only to go missing, vanished in Savannah, Georgia. Is there evidence Hornbeck is a victim of crime, or is he avoiding being found? Tonight, his family still asks for your help. If you have info on this American hero, Robert Hornbeck, just two weeks left in the military, please call 912-234-2020.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`ll want to go out. If she hears kids outside, she`ll hear a noise, she`ll unlock it and she`ll come outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think she`ll go far if it`s dark. She won`t go far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: A 28-month-old little girl missing tonight out of her own home. Please help us find Analyce Guerra.

To her mother, Eva. Eva, I understand your husband -- you guys are separated now -- was just in the studio, about to make an appearance, and then left. Why wouldn`t he want to come on and ask for help?

GUERRA: I was not aware he left the building.

GRACE: To Chief Mike Beach, there also, joining us from Nashville. Has he been cooperative?

BEACH: Yes, ma`am, he has.

GRACE: How?

BEACH: He`s spoken to us every time that we`ve asked him to speak to us. He`s been there near the complex, near the apartment complex since the report of the missing -- the missing report. And as far as I know, he`s been active in the searches and hasn`t shown any signs of un-cooperation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re currently out searching the creek area. We have officers that have been searching that, following up on a lot of the tips and information that they`ve gotten yesterday from the search and interviewing of people yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: A 28-month-old little toddler missing tonight. Please help us find her, Analyce Guerra. She`s only 35 pounds, three feet tall, shoulder- length dark hair, brown eyes, wearing a little denim overall dress, covered in sunflowers.

To Pat Brown, criminal profiler, Pat, what jumps out at you?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, Nancy, I think the police have a very difficult situation here. I think there`s only two possibilities. One is that something happened to the child in the house, or that the child actually did leave the house on her own.

That somebody came into the house is just absolutely ludicrous. First of all, they have to get through the door. They have to unlock it somehow. There`s a lot of noise when the door opens. There`s a bunch of people lying right there.

GRACE: Do I have to say Elizabeth Smart?

BROWN: Yes, but that was a bedroom, and we`re talking about all of the people who are in the room at the same time, so that somebody could come in and take the child in front of all of these people sleeping around right in the living room makes no sense.

So I think they`re going to be looking at either something happened in the home or the child actually did do an unusual thing and get out of house. So they`re going to be looking at an in-the-house situation or probably right there at the apartment complex, somebody who would grabbed her, just coming out of the doors, you know, one of the neighbors.

GRACE: To Chief Mike Beach, I know you were looking in the water you said that was near the home. So is it your belief the child left the home?

BEACH: We`re looking at all of the possibilities. And just one quick thing I want to say, Nancy, is I really appreciate the time that you`ve given us and the exposure you`ve given this case.

And I know that you as a former prosecutor would know that these things are difficult. These types of cases are difficult. But we are looking at every possibility and every efforts being -- the same amount of effort`s being put into all of the possibilities.

GRACE: Chief, I read you loud and clear: I know that you are pursuing every avenue possible. I hear you.

To Clark Goldband, how was an Amber Alert effective without a car, without a car tag?

CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: That`s a great question, Nancy. And we see time and time again how effective these Amber Alerts are.

So in this case, as you see the example behind me, you see the signs on the highway when you drive all over the U.S., Amber Alert, you have the name of the person and the car they were last seen in.

We don`t know if she was taken by car, so you have this group of law enforcement agencies thinking outside the box. Here`s what they did: They put her name and this 800 number. That`s 800-TBI-KIDS. So if you`re at home this evening, call 800-TBI-KIDS, and you hear all kinds of information about her.

Because as you know, Nancy, when you`re driving down the highway, it`s hard to read those signs.

GRACE: To defense attorney Anne Bremner joining us out of Seattle, Anne, you and I have seen a hundred cases like this at least.

ANNE BREMNER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: We have.

GRACE: My question to you is: What are police saying? The chief tonight, as he should, playing it close to the vest.

BREMNER: Absolutely.

GRACE: But when they say, "Everybody`s a suspect, nobody`s a suspect," explain.

BREMNER: Well, they just don`t want to clue anybody in, Nancy. I mean, everybody`s a suspect, nobody`s a suspect. But you know they have many leads early on.

They have no forced entry in this case. They have issues with respective family members they may look at. This is a toddler that`s completely defenseless. It`s not like an adult who can go out and leave on their own and remain somewhere.

And this is what I think is so important in a case like this, Nancy. There`s such thing as without a trace, no such thing as without a trace. There`s something out there. It`s just a question of the police finding the evidence, hopefully finding her, and finding the perpetrator, if there is one.

GRACE: To Richard Herman, veteran defense attorney, Richard, it`s true: The husband, the estranged husband, the various boyfriends, they`re always the first suspect, just period. Whether they`re there, not there, living down the street, living in another state, why are they always the first people the police question?

RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Because, Nancy, these are ones that are close with these infants. These are the ones that communicate with them on a routine basis. And these are the people that these infants trust.

They put trust in them, and that`s why you have to start with them. You have to start with the family in this case.

GRACE: To Patricia Sanders, clinical psychologist, Analyce has been missing since Sunday. How critical is the time period?

DR. PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: It`s really critical, Nancy, and in a lot of ways. A 2-year-old can`t take care of herself, so we have to think about starvation. Can she get water? And the grim fact that, for stranger abductions, for children, that, when they are killed, it happens within the first few hours of abduction. The more time goes on, the worst things look.

GRACE: To Eva Guerra, Analyce`s mother, you and your husband estranged at the time. Are you currently seeking a divorce?

GUERRA: We`ve been separated for a year and a half already, and I am seeking a divorce.

GRACE: What do you want to see done that is not being done to find your girl, Eva?

GUERRA: That has not been done? I think everybody is doing the best they can.

GRACE: Eva, are you a sound sleeper? Is it possible that everyone would have slept through this child getting up and going out the door?

GUERRA: That`s what scares me. I mean, I am a sound sleeper when I`m very tired, and I have been known to fall asleep and leave the TV on. And my mom`s had to get up a few times and turn it off for me and sometimes actually lock the door.

The scary part is not knowing if somebody was actually in my home or if my little girl did open the door.

GRACE: Eva, here is a chance for you to speak out to whoever has your girl. Go ahead.

GUERRA: I just want them to know that they`ve hurt this family. My little girl hasn`t hurt anybody. She`s just an angel; she doesn`t do no wrong to nobody. She needs to be home.

If somebody does have her and they`re watching right now, I just ask and I beg you to please bring her home. If you`re scared of drop her off at home, drop her off at any hospital, drop her off anywhere, but just please let her be safe. Don`t hurt my baby. We love her, and we miss her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tara is a friend, as well as a colleague. And so it`s a daily struggle. Every day, it`s difficult to walk down the hall and see her room, it`s difficult to drive by her house and her car`s not there anymore, to know that she`s not at the end of the phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When she`s walked in the class, she taught until the bell rang. And the kid`s got a lot out of her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re just looking for that one thing that`s going to give us the tip to find her, because we know she`s out there. And we just need to find her. Good, bad, or ugly, we need a resolution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: This beauty queen-turned-high schoolteacher has been missing for months now. Finally, is there a break in the Tara Grinstead mystery?

Straight out to Robert Preston with the "Douglas Daily News." Tell me about the vehicle, now allegedly spotted parked up in her yard the night she went missing.

ROBERT PRESTON, REPORTER, "DOUGLAS DAILY NEWS": Nancy, as you know, Dr. Maurice Godwin, a forensic psychologist has been in Ocilla trying to track down any leads, any other leads that may have been overlooked in this case. Dr. Godwin identified three people who saw a black Chevrolet pickup, a late-`90s model pickup here in Tara`s yard, approximately where we`re standing right now.

Two of the people did not see anyone who may have been driving that vehicle. One of those people did. One of the person -- one the people saw the person believed to be driving this Chevrolet pickup, and actually spoke to this person, had verbal contact with him.

So now investigators are trying to track down this pickup, trying to track down whoever this person who may have been driving is.

GRACE: Robert, are they sure it was a Chevy? Are they absolutely positive it was a Chevy pickup?

PRESTON: It has been positively identified as a Chevy pickup. Initially, there was some confusion whether it may have been a Chevy, may have been a Ford. But for those of you that know pickups know that a Chevy and a Ford are two distinct vehicles. So...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Robert, Robert, what time of the night was this?

PRESTON: The truck was seen several times during the weekend. The most recent time or the latest time it was seen was about 6:00 in the morning on October 24th when Tara was reported missing.

GRACE: To Tara Grinstead`s sister, Anita Gattis, I`m happy we`ve got tip, I`m happy we`ve got the break, Anita. But why are we just learning this?

ANITA GATTIS, MISSING TARA GRINSTEAD`S SISTER: Well, Nancy, we had heard early on about neighbors of Tara`s who saw a dark vehicle in her yard early Monday morning when they went to the convenient store. This person was interviewed by GBI police. I don`t know what they chalked that experience up to, you know, not really sure why they didn`t pursue that any further.

We`ve also found out that a teenager who saw the car had verbal contact and some profanity was exchanged. So I can understand why he`s been a little hesitant, plus he was here visiting with a neighbor who had moved a few weeks after Tara disappeared. So we had some issues in tracking him down.

While we were tracking that kid down, we found a 23-year-old man who saw the vehicle here at another point. Now, I want to make it clear: The vehicle was not here all weekend; it evidently was coming and going and came without being noticed and drawing a lot of attention, so we`re wondering if it was a vehicle that had been here before, someone that knew Tara.

GRACE: OK, let me get this straight. The vehicle was parked -- and, everyone, this is video. We went down and took ourselves to the inside of Tara Grinstead`s home. It`s exactly the way it was, the way when police came in looking for Tara.

And the point is: It`s totally in order. It is untouched. There was no struggle, nothing. Now, there was a broken lamp beside her bed, as I recall. Her necklace was found on the carpeted floor, and her radio clock was thrown off the side table beside her bed. Other than that, everything as you are seeing it right now inside Tara`s home.

Back to her sister, Anita Gattis. Now, why would someone exchange profanity with -- I assume it was a male -- the guy driving this black Chevy parked up on her yard?

GATTIS: Well, you know, that`s a big question to us, too. This kid was playing in the side street that`s next to Tara`s house. The guy was outside the truck. He looked over at him, said some profanity to the kid, so the kid, you know, takes off back inside. That`s what we don`t know: Why this was person angry just because he was recognized?

GRACE: Well, to Richard Herman, whoever is driving a black Chevy pickup -- and maybe you`re better at it than I am -- but in the middle of the night, I don`t know if I could tell a Chevy from a Ford parked up in somebody`s yard, but apparently not one, not two, but three people have observed this vehicle.

Now, Richard, you know, I don`t want to prejudge the case. I would never do a thing like that.

HERMAN: No, not you, Nancy.

GRACE: But here`s the thing: If this person isn`t connected to her disappearance, why haven`t they come forward to say, "Oh, I`m part of the time line. I can tell you she was here, there, this, that, at this time the weekend"? So why are they shrinking back?

HERMAN: You know, Nancy, this is six months after this alleged truck was in and out of that area all over that weekend. I mean, if this guy`s casing the house out in a black truck, a lot of people are going to see him.

I am sure the police have investigated this case up, down and around. And I am a little suspect about of the information about this black truck. They`ve got to investigate it. They`ve got to take every lead possible.

GRACE: Why you are suspect? Three people saw it.

HERMAN: They saw it at different times outside the house there. And, again, you asked the right question: Why would there be profanity exchange? What time did this profanity take place? And why haven`t the police interviewed this kid?

GRACE: You know what? Let`s go to the source. Anita Gattis, what time was the profanity?

GATTIS: It was late in the night.

GRACE: Like, are you talking 1:00 a.m., 11:30 p.m., what?

GATTIS: No, it was before midnight.

GRACE: You know, back to Robert Preston with the "Douglas Daily News," is the search for Tara Grinstead going cold? Is it true a pond has been drained and searched?

PRESTON: Yes, it is true. A pond here in Irwin County has been searched. It`s one that is located behind the house that burned on November 7th. Now, this house burned about two weeks after Tara was reported missing.

And cadaver dogs have been in the area, and the dogs alerted on this pond twice. So, given that, the landowner gave permission, and the pond has been drained. And if I understand it correctly -- go ahead.

GRACE: Question: Didn`t the pond have some type of ammonia in it?

GATTIS: Wrong pond.

PRESTON: No, that was another pond.

GRACE: Ah, I heard you Anita, wrong pond.

PRESTON: Yes, that was a different pond, but this pond did have something in it, have an object in it that investigators believe may be connected to this case. Now, they haven`t said what it is on the record.

GRACE: An object.

PRESTON: We don`t know exactly -- yes, but it is an object.

GRACE: You say you don`t know exactly, but what do you think it is?

PRESTON: I really don`t know; I would hate to speculate at this time.

GRACE: Anita, do you know what it is?

GATTIS: Yes, I do. I was there when the searchers found it. It was bagged up. It`s been given to GBI. It`s an object that you would not expect to find at a pond.

GRACE: Was it connected to Tara?

(CROSSTALK)

GATTIS: That we don`t know. It`s not an object that you would say would be connected to any person, just because of what it is, but we have reason to believe there is some forensic evidence on it, and GBI has possession of it now.

GRACE: To Anne Bremner, Seattle defense attorney, the same guy who managed to dig up these three separate witnesses, criminologist Maurice Godwin, actually got a death threat in the middle of all this.

BREMNER: Right.

GRACE: You know, you don`t get death threats every day, and this is the case he is working on.

BREMNER: You know, and it`s either one of two things, Nancy: It`s that he`s getting too close to the true perpetrator, in terms of uncovering evidence in the case, or there are sometimes threats from those that are just deranged and, for some reason, have a strange interest in the case and make threats. But it`s very interesting, a very interesting development, indeed.

GRACE: And to Dr. Patricia Saunders, we see ebbs and flows in missing people cases. Remember in Laci Peterson, people kept saying they had spotted her as away as Seattle at a coffee shop? Why ebbs and flows?

SAUNDERS: Well, I think each case has its own rhythm, it`s own pattern that the police will exhaust one particular source, and there may be a lull in connections. Witnesses...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: And this case has been that way, as well, until tonight.

Quick break. I want to remind you at Court TV, 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern every day, we`re covering live a priest on trial for the murder of a nun.

Let`s stop for a moment and remember Army Private First Class Amy A. Duerksen, just 19, of Maryland. She died of injuries sustained in Iraq. Always quick with a smile, a gentle spirit, says her father. Amy Duerksen, an American hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because they have found no evidence of her being dead anywhere and all of the searches they`ve done, I just feel like she is still alive. I believe she is alive. It`s just a mother`s instinct, just a mother`s feeling. I`m going to have to be shown that she`s dead before I will believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: What has become of a beauty queen-turned-high school teacher, Tara Grinstead? Her family still grieving, no questions answered.

Let`s go to the lines. Will this black pickup, Ford, Chevy, I don`t know, but three people have seen it in her front yard parked up on the grass.

Let`s go to Lisa in Louisiana. Lisa, hi, dear.

CALLER: Hi, how are you? My question is: Why is this witness just coming forward?

GRACE: Oh, that`s a good one.

CALLER: And is anyone that Tara was acquainted with, do they drive a vehicle like this, anyone she knew?

GRACE: Anita, why are we just learning about three separate witnesses that say the same thing? And who drives the black truck?

GATTIS: Well, one the witnesses we`ve known about from the beginning, the one that saw the truck on Monday morning. Who drives that truck, we do not know. We`ve had several tips called in since a local paper did a story about it.

GRACE: Got you.

GATTIS: They were not from Ocilla; they were from the Tifton area.

GRACE: Let`s go to Sharon in Arizona. Hi, Sharon.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: Good, dear.

CALLER: Listen, my question is, the two that saw the driver of the black vehicle, are they going to get him to do a sketch of the person?

GRACE: Good idea.

Anita, have they? Have they given a description or done a sketch?

GATTIS: We are having trouble getting his parents, because he is a minor, to allow him to cooperate. And I can understand that. I have a 13- year-old son, and I absolutely do not want to put this child in any danger. That is what -- I ultimately hope he will be able it meet with a GBI forensic sketch artist, and maybe we can get a drawing out of this person.

GRACE: Yes, no, was it a white male, Anita?

GATTIS: White male, late-20s, early-30s.

GRACE: Anita Gattis with us tonight, Tara`s sister, along with Robert Preston from the "Douglas Daily News."

Thank you to both of you, but I want to thank all of my guests. Our biggest thank you here on this show is to you for inviting us and our legal stories into your homes.

Coming up, headlines from all around the world. I`m Nancy Grace signing off again for tonight. I hope to see you right here tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END