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Nancy Grace

Tip May Help Crack Missing Persons Case

Aired July 24, 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: Tips lead police to hope for a crack in the missing person case of a 5-year-old little girl, Destiny Norton. Destiny vanished from her own front yard.
And tonight: How did they get on the bench? Viewing porn, pornography on the courthouse computer, ignoring a sleeping juror, accusing another judge of complicity in a murder to get a leg up? The "Broken Gavel Awards" go out to the worst judges in this country. Let`s all hope they`re not in our jurisdiction. The losers include Maryland judge Richard Palumbo. Remember him? He turned away a woman who begged him for help. Her husband burned her alive just days later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The way he was talking to my sister is inexcusable.

YVETTE CADE, HUSBAND CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER SETTING HER ON FIRE: I want an immediate, absolute divorce.

JUDGE RICHARD PALUMBO: Well, I`d like to be 6-foot-5, but that`s not what we do here. You have to go to the divorce court for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Yes, I bet you would, Judge, but you`re not!

But first, to Salt Lake and the search for 5-year-old Destiny Norton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have the gut feeling that I know she did not run off. So unfortunately, I just -- my feeling is somebody probably snagged her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: A little 5-year-old girl, Destiny Norton, has been missing for days. Developments last night lead police to believe they`ve got a crack in the case, but do they?

Out to KTVX reporter Heidi Hatch. Heidi, what`s the latest?

HEIDI HATCH, KTVX: In the last 15 minutes, we have been given new hope that Destiny may be alive and they may know how to track her down. That tip from last night, they think it was cold. They found the truck, decided it was the wrong guy, and they have not seen Destiny. Police are now saying they found the wrong truck. They`re looking for that black Ford pick-up again and hoping Destiny is still alive.

GRACE: OK, let`s take it from the top. With us, KTVX reporter Heidi Hatch. Heidi, I know there was an Amber Alert last night at a gasoline station. Bring us all up to date. I was under the impression they thought it was a bad tip.

HATCH: We were under that same impression until just a few minutes ago. There was so much hope last night when a gas station clerk just a little bit north of Salt Lake City thought he saw a truck with little Destiny Norton in it. He said, you know, I saw the green streaks in her hair, the teeth that we`ve all been looking for. They tracked down that truck a couple hours later, said, Wrong guy, wrong person, you must not have seen Destiny.

But now they`re saying that it could have been they found the wrong truck, maybe had the wrong partial plate. They now have a sketch of the man they`re looking for. They took that witness from the gas station in today. They released it only about 10 minutes ago, so they actually have new hope. They`re looking for that truck again, and they believe that Destiny may still be alive.

GRACE: Let`s talk about the truck. What can you tell us, Heidi?

HATCH: We know it`s a black Ford pick-up truck. They believe it`s kind of an older model, maybe 1995 to 1999. They say it`s a four-door, probably with an extended cab. And they say they believe that Destiny was in it last night, if it was her. They say that she had on a baseball cap, possibly green streaks in her hair. It was at a Smith`s (ph) grocery store, so they think they actually have some surveillance tape with her on it. Really, it`s so grainy, all they can see it`s a child on the tape, really can`t tell much from that.

But this witness they were talking to at the gas station, after they cleared that suspect, said, I really believe that I saw her. The guy you talked to is not the right one. Let`s go at it again. And that`s why they made the sketch.

GRACE: Well, Heidi, right as we went to air tonight, members of the police force were joining us, and they all had to leave, leave the studios, leave the microphones immediately. They told us it was because of a development on this case.

Everyone, there`s been a lot of local reports that no one is concerned about this missing girl, Destiny Norton. She`s not from a wealthy family. She is not from an elite or educated family. But take a look at this picture. Who can turn away from this little girl?

Back to Heidi Hatch. Let`s go back to the evening she went missing. What happened, Heidi?

HATCH: Well, it`s been a week and one day. It was Sunday a week ago, at 8:30 in the evening. Her parents were fixing dinner, and apparently, something happened where she decided to go to her room for a minute. They believe she may have left the house, gone into the back yard. When they called her in for dinner, no Destiny.

GRACE: Well, it`s my understanding, at first, they said she had had an argument with them and she went outside to cool off. Then I had the mom on the show the other night, she said, no, no no, no, no, no. We were just arguing about whose lap she could sit in. And she went outside to play in the front yard. Today`s report says she was in the back yard.

Heidi, from their home, what can you see in the back yard?

HATCH: It`s kind of a strange layout, but their home is connected to several other homes and some apartments, so you don`t actually go directly into the back yard when you go out the back door. It`s kind of down a side, so maybe more of a side yard, and you really can`t see it from inside the house. So if she went out there, her parents wouldn`t have seen her. When they went to call her in for dinner, again, she wasn`t out there. So whether or not she was out there, if she`d gone out the back door by herself, maybe in the front door, I don`t think they`re positive about what happened.

GRACE: Breaking news tonight in the search for this little girl, a 5- year-old girl out of Salt Lake, 5-year-old Destiny Norton. She went outside. She was wearing her mom`s big shirt. Her mom is eight months pregnant. About 10 minutes later, they went out to get her, she was gone without a trace. Neighbors, volunteers, family, police, even the FBI have been combing the area there in Salt Lake. Not a clue.

Now, tonight, in the last hour, a stunning turn of events, an Amber Alert just last night about a truck with a little girl in the front seat was discounted. Now, could police have been wrong? Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart goes out to them, and I just don`t know what to say. If it would be me, I would -- I think they`re going through a little bit of hell right now. And it would be sad. You know, I just hope and pray they find her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know what to think, you know, what could have happened to her. Don`t know if she`s hiding somewhere or someone`s got her, they keep doing something. You don`t know. It`s scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Joining us now, Jeannie Hill. She is a Norton family spokesperson. Jeannie, thank you for being with us. Jeannie, what is the new development? What do police think they know tonight?

JEANNIE HILL, NORTON FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: Honestly, they have not told us very much at all. They`re trying to keep us out of the loop. They -- you know, just like in any investigation, someone from the family could leak something, and so they have kept very quiet with us.

GRACE: Well, what do we know about what`s being done to find Destiny?

HILL: We have been on the search. Our family is so, so strong, and we work together. The first night, we were out in droves, every single person we know, searching and combing the area. And the second night, we were out there again. Every single night, even after the volunteer searchers go home, family members are out there, searching for her.

GRACE: This recent development, we`re not sure what it is yet. Police have not released it. We`re waiting to hear what it is. Are you aware that there is a turn in the case, Jeannie?

HILL: I am aware since you guys have said it.

GRACE: Let`s go out to Vito Colucci joining us. What stands out to you, Vito? Vito is a private investigator with his own firm. Vito, what stands out to you in this case?

VITO COLUCCI, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, two things, Nancy. First of all, I think up to this breaking news, I was feeling it through my research that they were doing a good job. You know, you had 60 officers yesterday working. The FBI`s manning every call, 1,000 volunteers the last two days. They`re taping all their interview, fingerprints, dogs, the whole bit.

Now, what I don`t understand, though, is they get a clerk that says, You know, officer, I`m sure -- I mean, the girl got green streaks in her blond hair and silver caps on her lower teeth. That`s 24 hours ago, Nancy. That`s a long period of time. So I mean, how could that happen? I mean, you -- how soon can you let this guy go now, he`s not the right guy, or the truck or whatever it is?

It just doesn`t make sense. If somebody`s saying to me, Vito, I`m sure, man, that`s the girl. That`s the girl. I got look into it a little bit more. Up to that point, I think they were doing a fine job with everything I saw. That just bothers me now.

GRACE: You know, it`s very interesting to me -- back to Heidi Hatch with KTVX -- how someone can call in the description and then police be wrong. What did they find, the wrong car that matched the description? Was the gas attendant wrong on the name plate?

HATCH: There`s still a little bit of confusion on what happened. They put out another Amber Alert last night as soon as this guy called in and said he thought he saw Destiny Norton in that truck. He thought, again, it was a black Ford pick-up and had a plate -- a partial plate of 518. They apparently had someone call in after hearing this Amber Alert in the Salt Lake City area and say, I see this car, it`s parked in my neighborhood. They went to check it out, talked to the guy. Wasn`t the exact truck they were looking for, wasn`t the girl they thought was there. So they thought, OK, maybe this guy didn`t see what he thought. Maybe they didn`t believe he was as credible as he was. Still -- we`re trying to work out what happened there.

But it sounds to me like this witness at the gas station said, Wrong guy, wrong truck, let`s keep looking, because when you think about those green streaks we were just talking about and that row of silver teeth she has on the bottom of her mouth, that`s very different than what you`d see with anyone else. If you saw that, I think that`d probably stick in your mind.

And I think this witness is very serious. He`s talked to police. And I think police are doing a good job in that they`ve done a sketch and they`ve just released that. It was something I know that was very frustrating in the Elizabeth Smart case, where they were hoping for sketches, never came out. So in that regard, they actually have a picture to go after and now a truck that they`re looking for. And having something tangible helps.

But because this happened last night, we were just saying 24 hours later, I don`t know if they could be hiding somewhere in the state. They could be a couple states away, at this point.

GRACE: Let`s talk about the vehicle, everyone. The vehicle is described as a 1996 black truck, an extended-cab Dodge pick-up. The license plate began with either 519 -- OK, it does begin with 519. It is seen near U.S. 89 and Shepherd Lane (ph) in Davis County, Utah.

Rosie (ph), let`s see if you can pull up this map for me. We took a look at the known sex offenders around Destiny`s home. Within a three-mile radius, there were 277 sex offenders -- 277 sex offenders within just a three-mile radius.

To psychotherapist Lauren Howard, joining us on the set. You have studied the facts surrounding Destiny`s disappearance. What`s your take?

LAUREN HOWARD, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Yes, well, you know, this is a tough one. There`s no way this can`t be malfiance (ph). It does not look like this girl fell or got hurt or went into water. Somebody took her. How she could not be seen at this point is a little bit -- you know, it`s questionable because she is distinctive-looking. She doesn`t look like every other girl.

GRACE: She is distinctive. This little girl -- she`s got dark brownish-blond hair, dark blond-brownish hair, and she`s actually got -- the little thing has some green streaks in her hair. Her parents put some green streaks in her hair.

To Heidi Hatch. What about draining a local pond? What do we know about that?

HATCH: There`s a park right by their home. It`s called Liberty Park. It`s the big city park, and they live very close to that. And so there`s a couple issues with that park right now. There is a pond. They said that they went and questioned that night to see if anyone had seen her around the lake. Nobody had after doing that cursory search. So they decided not to drain the lake. I know that there`s been a couple issues with chemicals they put in it, so they couldn`t immediately drain it. They said were talking about it, but there was no big rush on that.

GRACE: Why?

HATCH: You know, that`s hard to say. We talked to them about this a couple days ago, and we asked if there were going to be divers going in or if this would be drained, and they said it was a possibility but nothing very imminent.

GRACE: OK, hold on. What`s the name of the lake, Heidi?

HATCH: It`s just a little pond, and it`s in Liberty Park.

GRACE: And the reason they haven`t drained it is?

HATCH: They`ve talked about the fact that they didn`t think they saw anyone who would have seen her around it. And also, they said that there were chemicals in it, so they couldn`t drain it immediately.

GRACE: OK, I want to go out to Marc Klaas. You all know Marc Klaas, not only victims` rights advocate but a victim himself when his little girl, Polly, was kidnapped from his home, Polly Klaas.

Hey, Marc, I want you to hear this. We`ve got breaking news just handed to me. This is from "The Salt Lake Tribune." Cops investigating positive sighting of Destiny Norton in Farmington. Police think a gas station employee saw Destiny Sunday night. "We now believe it was a positive sighting."

OK, Marc Klaas, that`s nothing but good.

MARC KLAAS, BEYONDMISSING.COM: Well, you know, it`s shades of Shasta Groene from last year, Nancy. If you remember, it was a very similar circumstance that resulted in the recovery of that girl. So I don`t think that we can discount anything that this individual is saying. There could easily be a couple of black vans with similar license plates in the state of Utah. One would hope that they will just continue to drill this thing down.

But you know, listen, I think the fact that -- if she was in her back yard, I think it makes it a very different kind of a case than if she was in her front yard. Obviously, in her front yard, anybody could drive by and theoretically pick this child up. And if she`s in the back yard, that`s going to limit the number of suspects, I would think, to anybody that would have access.

GRACE: You know, Marc, that hit me like a ton of bricks. Heidi, you`ve seen the house. I think Marc is correct. Now, again, tell me, what do you see when you drive by the house? Can you see the back yard at all? Heidi?

HATCH: (INAUDIBLE) yard. But when you go into the side yard, it`s important to note that it`s shared by several families, and so you don`t immediately see into the yard, but there`s...

GRACE: Heidi, I`m sorry. Your first sentence was cut off.

HATCH: OK.

GRACE: What do you see when you drive by?

HATCH: You don`t necessarily see the back yard. If you were to go park kind of on the side of the house, you could see into the back yard. But it`s important to note this is shared, at least under my understanding, by several families. It`s not just one family who uses this yard. And there`s also a public access along there. And you have to remember it`s by this large city park, so anyone who knew the family or walked by the area might know that there were kids that lived there and could walk back into that back yard without anyone knowing.

GRACE: We are waiting for a press conference by police. As you know, there was an Amber Alert last night for this little girl, the sighting in, allegedly, a black pick-up truck. Now, the truck is slightly different from the one that was sighted on Sunday, the description. We`re looking for a truck, mid to late 1990s, model Dodge, painted black, extended cab, chrome grill, and sport, the word "Sport," S-P-O-R-T, written on the tailgate.

Now, Ellie (ph), ding! That`s distinctive, "Sport" written on the tailgate, for Pete`s sake? I mean, what more do you want?

Let`s go to the lines. Cheri New Mexico. Hi, Cheri. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, where is this girl`s biological father? And have both of her parents been ruled out in having anything to do with her disappearance?

GRACE: Well, unfortunately, in this day and age, Cheri, that is the very first question we ask, and we`re going to answer that for you when we get back. Got to go to break.

But quickly, Rosie, let`s work in tonight`s "Case Alert." The fight against sex predators on the Internet goes on for Masha`s Law, Senator John Kerry demanding legislation as a key portion of any new bill Congress may pass against cyber-predators.` At just 5 years old, this little girl was adopted from a Russian orphanage by a man who repeatedly abused her. This courageous little girl speaks out against child exploitation, demanding harsher punishments for sex predators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASHA ALLEN, 13, INTERNET CHILD PORN VICTIM: Some people say we can`t control what`s on the Internet, but that`s ridiculous. If we can put a man on the moon, we can make the Internet safe for kids. That`s just common sense. I`m going to work hard to protect other kids and make sure people who hurt them are punished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And our detectives are working night and day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All along, police have talked about the intensity of their investigation. Here are the numbers. Seventy officers assigned to the Destiny Norton case, and that`s just from Salt Lake City alone. It does not include other local agencies or the FBI. Two hundred and fifty people have been formally interviewed. Two hundred and sixty tips have come into the 799 info line. And 70 percent of those tips have been cleared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are really looking for more information about what could have happened to Destiny and where she might be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Just as we go to air tonight, we learn there is breaking news in the search for a 5-year-old little girl, Destiny Norton. Destiny went missing from her own front yard. There was an Amber Alert last night at a local gas station. Police mistakenly found the wrong pick-up and canceled the Amber Alert.

Explain, Heidi Hatch.

HATCH: Well, if we go back to Sunday night, this cashier at a gas station -- it was at a grocery store -- looked out of his little window and he thought he saw Destiny Norton in this truck. He saw a little girl with blond hair, the green streaks, and he said the most notable thing was that the bottom row of teeth he thought had the silver caps on it. We all know that there`s not a lot of little girls out there you`re going to find that look like that.

They called police. They started a search for the truck. They thought he saw a Ford pick-up truck. It was black. He had a partial plate number. They tracked down that truck a couple hours later, but now we`re finding out it was the wrong truck and they`re back at it again, looking for this truck. The question now, Is it still in the state? Where is the driver, and was it Destiny Norton?

GRACE: And let`s talk about Cheri`s question, Cheri in New Mexico, Heidi. What about the parents?

HATCH: The parents -- I know there`s been a couple questions about, Is this her natural father or mother? The parents have been living together for years. All the children are theirs. And they were just barely married a couple of weeks ago. That`s where the questions in that regard come from. As for the polygraph, we understand both of them have taken them and passed them. That doesn`t always rule you out, but at this point, they don`t have any reason to believe the parents were involved.

GRACE: Back to Marc Klaas. What should they be doing right now, Marc?

KLAAS: What should who be doing right now?

GRACE: The parents.

KLAAS: Well, the parents should certainly continue to cooperate with law enforcement in every way that they can. I think you really have to clear up this whole business about what happened to this little girl the first day that she disappeared because the story keeps shifting, and that certainly doesn`t serve anybody. And then I think that they also have to - - if they`re going to continue the volunteer searches, which I don`t know if that`s even a good idea, they`re going to have to come up with some resources. They`re going to have to come up with water for these people. They`re going to have to come up with whatever it takes to continue to keep this thing alive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a role in finding that missing child, and we will continue to play that role in support of the police department`s efforts, in support of Rachael and Rickey and the Norton family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Can you help us find this little girl? Her name is Destiny Norton. She`s missing out of Salt Lake. She`s only 5 years old. There was an Amber Alert. Last night she was believed to have been spotted in a pick-up truck with a male. The girl last night that was observed was wearing a baseball cap. Mistakenly, it was ruled out. The Amber Alert is back on. Can you help us find her? The reward has now climbed to $30,000. The tip line is 801-799-3000.

Let`s go to the lines. Let`s go out to Seth in Massachusetts. Hi, Seth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Nancy. I`m a fan of yours.

GRACE: Bless you!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And I would like to know if they have hope of finding this girl?

GRACE: Well, you know what, Seth? She`s been gone now for over a week, and Marc Klaas will tell you, after the, what, first 72 hours, the likelihood of finding a child alive is zero, practically zero. But in light of this breaking development, as we walked to the set tonight, Seth, I think there`s entirely new hope.

What about it, Heidi?

HATCH: There`s absolutely new hope. And I think that`s really what the search for Destiny needs at this point. It gives people something to look for, and it keeps people coming out to search. We`ve talked about how, at first, there was trouble getting people out to search. The family made a plea for help, and some thousands of people have come to search, even when it was over 100 degrees, even today, when it`s a state holiday, everyone has the day off from work, people were at the parade, handing out flyers.

GRACE: A state holiday? What`s the state holiday?

HATCH: Well, it`s a holiday here. It`s Pioneer Day...

GRACE: Oh, yes. Right.

HATCH: ... when the pioneers came to Utah.

GRACE: The 47,000.

HATCH: Absolutely. So...

GRACE: Hey, to Alan Ripka. Very quickly, Alan, the FBI has doubled the reward to $30,000. In your practice as a defense lawyer, have you known rewards to actually work?

ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, I don`t think so. If it was already $15,000, I think that gives enough incentive to those that are out there that would want to call and help this poor young little girl. Doubling it, hopefully, will do something more, but I don`t think so.

GRACE: Lisa Wayne, has it worked in your practice?

LISA WAYNE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: (INAUDIBLE) so I do think they can work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK NORTON, DAUGHTER IS MISSING: I just want her found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rick Norton is devastated.

R. NORTON: I just want her back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the hours after his 5-year-old daughter disappeared, he has been wandering the streets, searching for her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came out, started looking for her, and since she didn`t respond like she usually does, I called the cops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the best bloodhound teams in the Mountain West is on the job, but tonight no luck yet. For Destiny`s extended family, they still have hope, 16 hours into the search.

R. NORTON: I hope there is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: There have been complaints in the local media there in Salt Lake that this disappearance has not been covered to the extent others have. It`s been alleged that it is because this family is not educated, they`re not wealthy, they`re not a member of the elite there in the community of the socially accepted.

All I know is this little girl has now been missing over a week. Can you help us find Destiny Norton? She`s 5 years old. She went missing from her front yard, we believe, wearing one of other mom`s pregnancy shirts. Here`s a shot of her.

Out to Lisa Wayne, veteran trial lawyer, Lisa, your answer got cut off earlier. You want to give it another try?

WAYNE: Sure, Nancy. What I said is I think money always gives an incentive to come forward. It`s something that, if it`s normally not there, you`re thinking to yourself, "Well, there`s a little something here, I can put myself out," because money makes people talk. And unfortunately or fortunately, it can help in these kind of case.

GRACE: To Jeannie Hill, the Norton family spokesperson, Jeannie, I know the family must have been devastated when last night there was this Amber Alert with the little girl possibly being sighted in a pickup truck only to find out a few hours later no good.

HILL: Well, Nancy, we`ve all been realistic about it. And we had a glimmer of hope for a moment there, but we realize that not every lead pulls through.

And, yes, we were a little frustrated, but most of us were just so tired from looking for this truck, we`re running on three hours of sleep that we went home, went to bed, and said, "You know what? We`re going to keep looking. That`s what`s most important, to get Destiny home. That`s the only thing that`s important to us right now."

GRACE: To Heidi Hatch with KTVX TV, Heidi, my research suggests that two men were questioned. Who are they, and what became of them?

HATCH: We`re going back to that park that`s about a block from the family home at Liberty Park. And every Sunday there`s a drum circle there, and it`s basically -- but you hear it`s a drum circle. Kind of, for lack of a better word, is a hippie-type group that gets together, they play music, hang out there on Sundays.

They went to question them because they believe a couple of them may know something about the family or know the kids. There was one man they questioned there. He was there for about an hour. They talked to him. He said there wasn`t much he could give them.

There is, however, one man who`s usually at that drum circle who was not, and he goes by the name Bubbles or Bubble Man. And they call him that because he usually has like a toy gun that shoots bubbles, and kids like him and like to hang out...

GRACE: And he always has a lot of kids around him, too.

HATCH: Yes. And that man has been missing now for a couple of weeks. I guess not missing, but they haven`t seen him at the park. He wasn`t there on Sunday. So they want to find him. They`re not calling him a suspect or a person of interest, but they do say that he knew Destiny. They want to talk to him and want to know where he`s been these last few weeks.

GRACE: And what about the other person?

HATCH: The other person they actually found at the circle. They pointed him out, and they talked to him for about an hour. After that, he said he didn`t have much to give them, but he was willing to talk.

GRACE: Now, it`s my understanding, Heidi, that the people at this informal get-together were questioned because the family had been there the week before. Is that correct?

HATCH: I believe that is true. And I think, because the park is so close to their house, it`s someplace they probably go on a regular basis. And this group, the drum circle, is there every Sunday, rain or shine. They`re always there.

GRACE: I want to go back to Lisa Wayne. You know, a lot of people don`t watch TV. They don`t watch, for instance, the 6:00 news. And unless they`re watching cable 24/7, they`re going to miss shows like this that try to find her. What is another way for the family to get the message to the community?

WAYNE: Well, I think we have to go back to the traditional things that we used to use in our community, Nancy. And that is, there`s resources within the community of just going to your neighbors, putting the word out.

I mean, the community, the church is a wonderful way to get the word out in the community and radio. So we`re going to have to go back to those traditional things. This seems to be a small, tight-knit community where you can do that, so if you let your neighbors know, they`re going to let their neighbors know. They`re going to go to the community meeting or the group gathering, and get the word out, and just keep it alive.

GRACE: Back to Heidi Hatch, police have gotten about 300 tips. How are they following up? And have they brought in dogs, tracker dogs?

HATCH: Well, first of all, with the tips, they`ve been going through those, but as of yet, until this one last night with the truck, it seems that most of them have kind of been kind of dry leads, nothing really to go on. And they felt very lost. Now they have this truck to go after, so that`s a definite big help. And then, I`m sorry, your second question?

GRACE: Well, I was trying to find out, you know, what the family can do, how they can go through the tips, and about tracker dogs.

HATCH: Tracker dogs, they actually had them out the first day. They were trying to get a scent from the family home. They searched around the neighborhood, and they did a very thorough search that first day and a second day of the surrounding blocks. I think they went 100 square blocks around and they searched with those dogs, but they just didn`t come up with anything.

GRACE: To Vito Colucci, with his own private investigation firm, Vito, how long will a scent last? How long can dogs pick up a scent?

COLUCCI: Well, you are limited in that. Now, obviously, they went -- the technicians went in the home, they pulled out her clothing and things like that. And from everything I`ve read and seen, these are the best dogs that are out there in the whole part of the country.

So I would say, from my knowledge, it could last a couple of days. But you know, Nancy, one thing to say here, two things I think are going to hold a key to this case. Those 277 sex offenders, who some of them may even live in the complex in that area, which would know her back yard and things of that nature. That`s number one. And number two, even though we`ve heard about the chemicals, they`ve got to drain that pond. That`s a block away.

GRACE: Well, it`s interesting to me, Heidi Hatch, have they even sent divers down or did the chemicals in the pond preclude that?

HATCH: They haven`t. I asked them a couple of days ago about this when we were out on the search, and they just said it`s not a priority right now. Whether or not they`re ever going to, we`re not sure. They said it`s a possibility.

They just said that there was nothing pressing to make them do that. And it`s not a type of pond where you can look to the bottom. It`s kind of a mossy pond where people ride paddle boats.

GRACE: How close is it to her home?

HATCH: It`s about a block from her home. It`s in that park right by there. It`s a pretty large park. It`s on the far end away from her home, but it`s definitely somewhere where, if a 5-year-old wanted to walk, they could, or it`s close by if someone were to make away with her.

GRACE: Heidi, let me get this time line down. About what time of the day was it she went missing?

HATCH: It was about 8:30 in the evening. The sun sets around 9:00, so it`s pretty quick after that, that it was dark.

GRACE: So she went outside in the yard wearing her mom`s shirt at around 8:30?

HATCH: Correct.

GRACE: Let`s see. There we go. Thanks, Rosie: 8:40 p.m., Destiny last seen stepping outside her home. OK, wait a minute. Hold on. Amber Alert issued the next day, 6:50 a.m. What happened between 8:40 and 6:50? Who was the last person, other than the parents, to see Destiny?

HATCH: They really don`t know who saw her, and I don`t know that anyone saw her step out the door. And there`s very strict guidelines for what an Amber Alert has to be to put that on the air. And they have to have specific information of who they`re looking for or know specifically that she has been kidnapped, just not missing.

And there was a man in the neighborhood that people had been seen driving around. They happened to know his car. They put out a suspect description. They called for him to people look for them with that Amber Alert. That man actually turned himself into police the next morning. They took the Amber Alert off the air. And until last night, they did not have another Amber Alert because they didn`t have someone or something specific to look for.

GRACE: To Marc Klaas, explain the whole Amber Alert function. There have to be certain requirements met before you do an Amber Alert.

KLAAS: Well, there absolutely do. The child has to be of a certain age or less. Depending on where it is, it would be probably 16 or less.

There has to be some kind of information that the public can impart to -- I`m sorry, that the law enforcement can impart to the public, that they can use to help look for the child, i.e., vehicle information, suspect information, and/or direction that they were going. And then it`s also something that has to be activated within the first few hours after the child disappears, for the very reason that you stated earlier, that the longer you go without recovering the child, the less your chances of recovering that child alive.

GRACE: Let`s go to the lines, Rosie. Jen in Tennessee, hi, Jen.

CALLER: Yes, I`m appalled at the number of sex offenders in that small area. Is this a haven for them?

GRACE: Good question. Rosie, can you show me that map, again?

Ellie, how many sex offenders do we say were there? Oh, I`ve got it, 277 registered sex offenders within a three-mile radius of Destiny`s home.

To Alan Ripka, defense attorney, that is true in a lot of areas.

RIPKA: It may be, Nancy, but you know something? When people are sex offenders, and they pay their penalty, whatever it may be, they have to live somewhere. It`s unfortunate there are so many in this particular area. It makes you think that they feel safe there and comfortable in their surroundings.

GRACE: Let`s see that map again, Rosie.

Heidi Hatch, it`s near Salt Lake. Is it in the city or outside of the city? Where is it?

HATCH: It is in the city. It`s basically in the heart of the city. There is, obviously, different kinds of housing in that area, but one would assume that, because of some of the types of housing, more of them might be there. But also, when you look at sex offenders, sometimes they don`t know socioeconomic lines. They`re everywhere. It just happens to be that there are a lot of them there, unfortunately.

GRACE: And to Lauren Howard, will parents unfairly blame themselves over this?

HOWARD: Well, of course. And you know what? To a certain extent, it`s not even unfairly, because as a parent, without, you know, malice of forethought, it is your job to protect your children. And so when something happens to your child, you do feel some culpability. It`s not just a neurotic notion. Somewhere you fell down.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: You may not recognize them, but those mug shots are some of the worst offenders in the country, and they`re all wearing black robes. Why? They are judges. Well, our old friend -- they`re in contempt! Thank you, Rosie.

Our old friend, "Reader`s Digest," has conducted their own survey, in addition to the one we conduct here on the show, for the worst judges in the country. Now, we`ve got some finalists we want to add to that list, but let`s kick it off with Sacha Zimmerman, senior editor with "Reader`s Digest."

OK, Sacha, I have on my seat belt. Hit me.

SACHA ZIMMERMAN, SENIOR EDITOR, "READER`S DIGEST": OK. Well, Nancy, you`ve done a great job in pointing out a lot of these terrible judges, but we`re going to add our favorites to the list. Mine is Brandt Downey, who is a district court judge in Florida who downloaded such voluminous, massive amounts of pornography that he actually corrupted the servers at his courthouse and contaminated his own government-owned computer with viruses.

It became such that the I.T. department actually had to admonish him about downloading pornography in chambers at work, where it`s possible he could see anything from domestic violence cases to sexual harassment suits.

GRACE: OK, good to note. Next?

ZIMMERMAN: Next...

GRACE: Wait, what was his name?

ZIMMERMAN: That was Brandt Downey in the Sixth Circuit Court of Florida.

GRACE: Is that a federal judge or a trial judge?

ZIMMERMAN: That is a federal judge, and...

GRACE: Uh-oh, that means he`s in for life.

ZIMMERMAN: He`s actually going to be retiring in January.

GRACE: With a full pension, I`m sure.

ZIMMERMAN: With a full, $100,000 yearly pension.

GRACE: Ow, ow! OK, go ahead.

ZIMMERMAN: OK, next up we have Dana Fortinberry. And this is a bit of a drama, soap opera, if you will. She was running for...

GRACE: Nice head shot.

ZIMMERMAN: She was -- that`s right. She was running for election against Kelley Kostin, who is another would-be judge, and decided to wage a kind of all-out war on her opponent, Kelley Kostin.

Fortinberry actually won the election pretty handily, but still it somehow that a personal affront that someone dared challenge her in this race. So when the county executive, who is also a Republican, approached her about endorsing Kostin for another seat that was opening up to keep kind of support of Republicans, she not only refused, but she accused Kostin of nothing less than murder.

GRACE: Now, let me get this straight. Was it Kostin`s husband`s previous wife killed?

ZIMMERMAN: Right. Kostin`s husband`s previous wife was not killed. She committed suicide.

GRACE: Oh, right, right, right, right. OK, so she takes it upon herself to suggest the judge had something to do with the murder, right?

ZIMMERMAN: That`s right. She not only suggested it, she wrote a letter to this sheriff`s union suggesting it.

GRACE: OK. Has she been sued for that yet?

ZIMMERMAN: You know, she hasn`t.

GRACE: Is she still on the bench?

ZIMMERMAN: As of now, she is still on the bench.

GRACE: OK. And last but not least, someone we all know well.

ZIMMERMAN: Richard Palumbo. Now, Nancy, you`ve done an amazing job of spotlighting this guy. He`s due for his day in court in August. But this is the guy that basically scoffed at Yvette Cade after she asked for protective order.

GRACE: Begged. Begged.

ZIMMERMAN: Begged, right, for a protective order against her husband.

GRACE: OK, Sacha, it`s your turn to put on the seat belt. Rosie, roll it.

ZIMMERMAN: Bring it on!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YVETTE CADE, BRUTALLY BURNED BY HUSBAND: He`s contacted my family. He`s still contacting me. He`s intimidating my daughter. And he`s vandalizing other people`s property. I want an immediate, absolute divorce.

RICHARD PALUMBO, NOMINATED AS WORLD`S WORST JUDGE: I`d like to be 6`5", but that`s not what we do here. You have to go to divorce court for that.

CADE: He was trying to force me to marriage counseling.

PALUMBO: It might not be a bad idea, if you want to save your marriage.

CADE: I don`t want to, because...

PALUMBO: Well, then you`re in the wrong place. Get a lawyer and go to divorce court. This inquisition is denied or dismissed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: He was not even paying attention, Sacha. We have a copy of the petition where the attacker was trying to force her to get marriage counseling, and the judge writes -- they write on here, "Judge Palumbo dismisses protective order." Now they`re saying it`s a clerical error. Well, look what happened. That`s what happened to Yvette Cade.

And, Sacha, we have a few judges we`d like you to consider for next year. No pressure.

ZIMMERMAN: OK.

GRACE: Just think about it.

All right, here we go. Georgia Judge Jon Philip Carr out of Milledgeville, accused of having sex with teenage girls. Judge Clarence Cooper throws out a law banning convicted sex offenders from living near school bus stops. Eileen Gallagher, she dismissed a charge against a man accused of raping a 9-year-old because the prosecutor was late.

Judge McCann out of Massachusetts sentenced a most wanted serial child rapist to probation. Judge Cashman, who could forget about him? He sentenced a guy for just 60 days for having repeat sex contact with a 6- year-old.

Then there`s Massachusetts Judge Suzanne DelVecchio, who gave a teacher accused of raping a student a suspended sentence. And of course, Judge Kristine Cecava, she allowed a man to walk out of court charged with sex on a child because he was too short to go to jail.

To all of you, you`re in contempt.

Rosie, do we have time for tonight`s "All-Points Bulletin"? Let`s go straight to it.

Law enforcement across the country on the lookout for Antonio Castro in the `94 murder of Mike Podett (ph), Seattle, Washington. Castro, 39, 5`7", 160 pounds, black hair, brown eyes. If you have info, call 206-622- 0460.

Local news next for some of you, but we`ll all be right back. And, remember, live coverage of the arson death in a child`s murder, 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern, Court TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Straight out to the star chamber. First to veteran Judge Margaret Finerty, response?

JUDGE MARGARET FINERTY, FORMER CRIMINAL COURT JUDGE: Oh, Nancy, this is unbelievable, but what you have to remember is that these judges are being held accountable. There are commissions in each state that the public can complain to, and then these commissions do an investigation.

There are hearings, and these judges do have to face consequences. They can either be reprimanded or they can be removed from the bench. So the public isn`t helpless when a judge acts improperly.

GRACE: I hope you`re right, Judge Finerty.

And to Congressman Ted Poe, response?

JUDGE TED POE, FORMER JUDGE, TEXAS: Well, she`s exactly right. Judges need to be accountable for what they do, just like we make criminals accountable for what they do. And those states that elect judges are fortunate because they can un-elect them and get this rogues gallery of incompetence off the bench.

You know, justice is doing the right thing for the right reason. If judges don`t need that, they need to find another line of occupation.

GRACE: And to Judge Fox, you`ve only got 15 seconds. I`ve never told a judge that. Hit me.

JUDGE CARL FOX, SENIOR RESIDENT, SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE: Well, first, I want Destiny Norton found safely. But I think we`ve got to remember, too, that these are very small minority of all judges. Most judges are hard- working judges, dedicated, competent judges, doing a great job, and these...

GRACE: That`s true, Judge.

FOX: ... these judges cannot be viewed as the norm. They`re an aberrant few.

GRACE: And this is from three judges with a sterling reputation.

Very quickly to Glenn Beck. What`s on for tonight, Glenn?

GLENN BECK, HOST: Hey, Nancy.

Coming up tonight, I have a story of one town where taxpayer money is being used to house alcoholics, and they don`t even have to try to sober up. As a recovering alcoholic myself, believe me, I have a few things to say about it.

Also on the agenda tonight is Iran and the problems in the Middle East. What a surprise: They`re kicking up trouble. How much longer will the regular people in Iran put up with the policies of the nut-ball mullahs? I`ll tell you why we really went into Iraq, based on that.

Also, what is it with supermodels that make their husbands want to cheat? All that and more coming up -- Nancy?

GRACE: I`m really interested in how many people have been killed in Iraq. Stay tuned for Glenn. He`s coming up next.

Tonight, let`s remember Army Staff Sergeant Bryant Herlem, 37, killed Iraq, from Whittier, California. He always dreamed of joining the military. He leaves behind a loving family, two sisters and a grieving widow. What a romance. They met while serving their country. Bryant Herlem, American hero.

Thank you to all our guests, especially our star chamber. And thank you for being with us.

And to our regular shrink, Robi Ludwig, break a leg tonight on your very own show, "One Week to Save a Marriage," network, TLC.

Nancy Grace signing off. Until tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, good night, friend.

END