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Nancy Grace

Paris Hilton Reports to Jail

Aired June 04, 2007 - 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: Day one, ladies` lock-up for celebutante Paris Hilton. It`s "The Simple Life" for real. TMZ.com video spots Hilton checking into ladies` lock-up on a sweetheart deal for 23 days for driving drunk, then violating probation not once but twice. Straight from the red carpet to surrendering personal property, book-in and inked fingerprints. But already claims of preferential treatment, a private room with windows, keeping her long, luxurious weave, and already in conference with her lawyer. Do I smell a book deal?
And tonight, day two, the search for a beautiful Kansas girl who just graduated high school with dreams of becoming a veterinarian, vanished into thin air near a suburban shopping mall, Kelsey Smith on her way home from a local Target but never makes it. Will just released surveillance video of a mystery person driving the teen`s car lead police to Kelsey Smith? Tonight, a $10,000 reward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kansas police are searching for 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, who disappeared this weekend while running an errand for her family. Police say Smith was last seen at around 7:00 PM Saturday leaving a Target store across from Oak Park Mall. A little after 9:00 PM, Smith`s car was found parked outside Macy`s, across the street from Target. Police found the items Kelsey bought and her purse, but her cell phone and ATM card were missing.

Smith, who recently graduated from high school, planned to meet her boyfriend at home to attend a graduation party and go out to dinner. Police say they`ve gotten a lot of tips from people who might have seen the Kansas teen, but the leads haven`t panned out. Smith, 5-7, 120 pounds, long brown hair, brown eyes, last seen wearing a pink tank top and black shorts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. First, Paris Hilton reports to ladies` lock-up, and it`s not your daddy`s Hilton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARIS HILTON, "THE SIMPLE LIFE": I am trying to be strong right now. I`m really scared, but I`m ready to face my sentence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris Hilton waking up behind bars this morning. Last night, her family drove her to the Lynnwood, California, jail. It`s about 20 miles outside of LA. This video courtesy of TMZ. There she is. Looks like she`s either wiping away tears or rubbing her eyes there, her mom sitting next to her as she gets ready to head to the clink.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Hilton is in custody, beginning her 23-day sentence in the LA County jail. She was fingerprinted and she was booked. Her demeanor was -- was cooperative and calm.

HILTON: Even though this is scary thing, I`m using it in a positive way. And when I come out, I can`t wait to start my new life and be even stronger than I am now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Paris Hilton finally in ladies` lock-up after quite the saga. One thing I don`t understand -- out to you, Sibila Vargas, CNN correspondent -- she`s joining us tonight outside the jail. Sibila, she has that car coming to check in with the tinted windows but had all the windows down for the paparazzi to take pictures. What`s with that?

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know how Paris Hilton does kind of like the cameras. But I got to tell you, a lot of the media here was very surprised because we did expect her to make her way into the front of the Century City -- Century Regional Detention Facility, but that`s not the case. That`s not how Paris Hilton decided to do it this morning. She actually -- or last night. She actually surrendered to the men`s central jail, and that was downtown Los Angeles. So in a way, she was kind of trying to avoid the media -- the media being, of course, staked out here since Saturday. Then we were out here on Sunday. And then today, we kind of lost that money shot, for sure.

But yes, she ended up surrendering there. That was about 11:15. And then she made her way here to the Century Regional Detention Facility, and she was booked, actually, at about 11:30 PM.

GRACE: So why did she go to the men`s lock-up first?

VARGAS: Again, I think she was really trying to avoid the media. According to her, and according to her attorney, this was her decision. If you speak to the LA County Sheriff`s Department, it was their decision. They were doing it for her safety. They thought that the media -- it was too much of a media frenzy out here. But according to her attorney, it was something that she wanted to do, that she wanted to take this very seriously...

GRACE: Well, wait a minute! Wait a minute!

VARGAS: ... that she doesn`t want to make it a circus...

GRACE: That doesn`t even make sense. Why would she go to men`s lock- up, when then you have to get in the car -- and you`re seeing this exclusive video from TMZ.com -- then you have to go all the way back to ladies` lock-up. I mean, how is that beneficial to anyone?

VARGAS: I`m not sure. But you know, with Paris Hilton, you know how it is. Sometimes...

GRACE: OK.

VARGAS: ... truth is stranger than fiction.

GRACE: OK. Take a listen to this, Sibila.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris Hilton -- party over for the young socialite this morning. Last night, she strolled the red carpet at the MTV movie awards, but then within hours, her family drove her to the Lynnwood, California, lock-up, about 20 minutes outside of LA, this video coming to us courtesy of TMZ.com. It`s where she`s going to be spending the next 23 days.

Paris Hilton waking up behind bars this morning. Last night, her family drove her to the Lynnwood, California, jail. It`s about 20 miles outside of LA. This video courtesy of TMZ. There she is. Looks like she`s either wiping away tears or rubbing her eyes there, her mom sitting next to her as she gets ready to head to the clink.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Paris Hilton arrived at the women`s correctional facility early this morning, she was fingerprinted, then she was issued orange pants and an orange shirt, just like all the other inmates. She was then escorted to her cell, and this morning she was fed breakfast. She got cereal, bread and some juice. Now, she will be allowed to leave her cell for just one hour a day. The rest of the time, she`ll read or sleep or reflect, which is exactly what the heiress says she wants to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Read, sleep or reflect on her book deal. Sibila Vargas, let`s go through her regular day in jail. What does she have to look forward to?

VARGAS: Not very much. In fact, I hear it`s extremely boring in there. But she is going to be in a special housing unit. According to her attorney, she is being segregated, and that`s not fair, but if you speak to the inmates -- and I was here this weekend -- you speak to -- I mean, I spoke to one woman who had spent some time here, and she said she thought that Paris was getting special treatment. Then I spoke to a lot of other people, and apparently, the inmates inside, the visitors who had spoken to the inmates -- they thought that for sure -- you know, there was one lady in particular who said that her mother was here for traffic tickets, and she was spending time with, you know, pretty dangerous people. So she didn`t understand what -- you know, how Paris would be in a special unit.

However, she will -- she doesn`t really have much to do. She`s got 23 days -- 23 out of the 24 hours of a day, she is spending in her cell. This is a 12-by-8-foot cell. It`s got kind -- the beds are very thin. The mattresses are small, certainly not something that a hotel heiress, a woman that has been around the world, experienced so many different things, is used to.

So I think, you know, really, there should be some psychological evaluation. I think it`s going to be very hard for Paris Hilton. And you know, a lot of people would say that...

GRACE: OK, Sibila, is it true that she gave up lunch today in order to meet with her lawyer?

VARGAS: Well, she did. She met with her lawyer today, yes. She did meet with her lawyer today, and he was the one who came out, and he basically said, you know -- castigating the media, basically saying to check -- you know, check the facts, basically saying that...

GRACE: Right.

VARGAS: ... Paris Hilton was...

GRACE: Yes, I was just trying to find out if she met with the lawyer. Out to you, Mike Brooks, former D.C. cop, former fed with the FBI. What is the alleged preferential treatment? And tell me, what is the security risk of having a long hair weave behind bars?

MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: I`ll tell you what, I think the sheriff`s doing the right thing, Nancy, to be honest. You know, OK, she`s -- she`s a star. Boo-hoo for Paris and all that. You know, who cares? But the bottom line is, she`s doing her 23 days. Now, maybe she was meeting with her attorney today to see if maybe she can get some even more good for reporting early because she had an original 45-day sentence. But the preferential treatment -- it`s a special needs unit. Yes, she really has special needs, doesn`t she. But anyway, she`s in the special needs unit. That`s where they put politicians, former police officers, people who could not make it in general population.

I tell you what, Nancy. If they put her in special (SIC) population, it wouldn`t be pretty, not pretty at all.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paris Hilton is in custody. She turned herself in downtown, at one of our facilities downtown, known as the Twin Towers. She is now being processed into our system. And her -- she was -- actually, she`s been cooperative and focused.

She was fingerprinted and she was booked, and as I said, her demeanor was cooperative and calm. And she will be then moved into her cell. It will be a single -- she`ll be in the cell by herself. And that`s pretty much right now.

The point of this statement is, is that Miss Hilton is in custody, beginning her 23-day sentence in the LA County jail system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to Ken Baker with USmagazine.com. Ken, do you actually get good time for reporting in early?

KEN BAKER, USMAGAZINE.COM: Yes. In fact, that`s why her original sentence was 45 days. It was reduced to 23. They were accounting for good behavior. And what I`m told is that she will serve at least a minimum of 23 days. She`s not going to get out any sooner.

Now, the point is, you bring up about her being in the special needs unit. You have to really look at this not only from the fact that she might be being pampered. There`s another side to this. The fact is, is that LA County could be liable. There could be some negligence. If something happened to her and they didn`t protect her -- and I`m told that the guards are totally outnumbered. The ratio is really high from guard to prisoners -- that they really could be liable for a big lawsuit. And we know -- all of us know that the Hilton family would be the first to sue if Paris Hilton somehow was mistreated or somehow was put into a situation where harm could be done to her. That`s one of the big reasons why she`s in a special needs unit right now.

GRACE: Take a listen to what Paris Hilton had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILTON: Well, I did have a choice to go to a pay jail, but I declined because I feel like the media portrays me in a way that I`m not. And that`s why I wanted to go to County, to show that I can do it. And I want to be treated like everyone else. I`m going to do the time. I`m going to do it the right way.

I am trying to be strong right now. I`m definitely scared, but I`m ready to face my sentence. And even though this is a really hard time, I have my friends and family and my fans who support me, and it`s just been really helpful in this really scary time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know, Dr. Robi Ludwig, I seem to recall that the judge, Judge Sauer, specifically said that she -- in his order that she may not go to pay -- to a pay jail, that she cannot pay money to go to a better facility. So why say this?

ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: You know, I think she`s just trying to present herself in a positive light. I don`t think anybody respects Paris Hilton. They might think that she`s pretty and they might think that she`s fun to look at, but she doesn`t behave in a way that means anything. She doesn`t stand for anything. So you know, maybe she has a shot at really stating here, I made a mistake and I can do better.

I don`t believe this is her rock bottom because the bottom line is, who does she really care about? Whose judgment does she care about? And I think she cares about what her parents think of her, and I think the people around her enable her. So that`s my feeling about it. I don`t think this is rock bottom for her.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Terry in Indiana. Hi, Terry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How`re you doing?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question is, is if she was with somebody, let`s say one other person, and she got into a fight with that person, wouldn`t that take away her good behavior and make her do the 45 days?

GRACE: It would absolutely take away from good behavior. Let`s unleash the lawyers, Susan Moss, Randy Kessler, Anne Bremner. What about it, Susan Moss? A fight behind bars, an altercation, definitely affects good behavior.

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Absolutely. Thus beings the summer of Paris`s discontent. If she starts a fight or is involved in a fight or involved in any bad behavior, you might be seeing her of more than 23 days. And I think that`s perfectly fair because the reality is, she could have been serving 90 days for what she did, and she`s gotten special treatment all the way.

GRACE: You know, it`s very interesting, Anne Bremner, that she`s already put in a segregated area of the jail, and already, claims are flying of special treatment -- giving up lunch today to meet with a lawyer to try to get even more good time?

ANNE BREMNER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: But you know, Nancy, the last time I checked, spending time in solitary was almost like the hole. It`s not preferential, it`s the opposite. So you`re going to spend -- I don`t want to spend 23 hours a day by myself, and that`s...

GRACE: I`d rather be alone than be with a dope dealer.

BREMNER: Well, I`d rather be alone than be in a lot of circumstances in a jail. But the thing is, we put people by themselves, Nancy, when we`re trying to isolate them and punish them, not to treat them in some preferential way.

GRACE: Out to Randy Kessler, Atlanta trial lawyer. Randy, would the jail have any liability -- would she have any right to sue if she were attacked behind bars?

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, and you can count on it. That`s what she`s got, she`s got a stable of lawyers. She`s got one of the best lawyers out there, and he`s got friends and they`ve got tons of lawyers. They would be itching for something like that to happen. That`s the last thing that California wants to happen. That`s the last thing anybody wants to happen, is something to go wrong. That`s why she`s in solitary. It`s not to punish her, it`s because anybody that`s going to be matched up with Paris Hilton...

GRACE: Well, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wa-wait. Hold on. Back out to you -- with us is Mike Brooks. Everybody keeps saying solitary. Solitary and being in an exclusive wing of the jail, where you don`t have a roommate, are two very, very different things. This is not solitary, right, Brooks?

BROOKS: No, this isn`t solitary. There`s a big distinction between solitary confinement, or they call it segregated confinement, and special needs unit. There`s a big difference. Special needs unit is at least you get out of your jail cell for at least an hour a day, and you`re able to watch TV. When you`re in solitary confinement, can`t even sometimes take a shower or watch TV. It`s not a good life.

This -- it`s not the best, but if she was in general -- if she was in general population, she`d be out there with people who think that she`s, you know, given preferential treatment her entire life, and she -- and she would be in big trouble, Nancy.

GRACE: And to you, David Caplan. What more can you tell us? David Caplan with VH-1.

DAVID CAPLAN, VH-1: Well, right now, you know, I hear that Paris Hilton -- a lot of her friends are very eager to visit her, actually, in prison. And they have limited visiting hours, so friends like Nicole Richey and all the other girls in young Hollywood, they are dying to get in contact with her because she has no Blackberry service or nothing. So that`s sort of like the little young Hollywood scoop. But some of her enemies, though, in young Hollywood, they`re sort of happy about...

GRACE: Hey, hey, David. David. Don`t really care about young Hollywood, OK?

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: What I care about is the DUI sentence, how long she will serve and is she getting preferential treatment. And I see a big distinction between her statements of last night and her prior behavior. Is this for real, or is it just more of a PR stunt, Caplan?

CAPLAN: It`s definitely a PR stunt. I think when she`s out of jail, she`s going to go back to her old ways, and all of her friends are going to be enablers again. She`s not going to totally, you know, change her whole act and all that. I think we`re going to see the same story, and a huge party for her afterwards.

GRACE: Dr. Robi?

LUDWIG: Yes, and I think that`s why people are responding to Paris in the way that they are. It`s just another form of special treatment. So yes, she`s going to prison. The law is the law. But she has a special unit and she`s getting special stories done and she might have special opportunities as a result. So it really is -- she`s getting special treatment in a different form. And what does that do, at the end of the day? It doesn`t really teach her anything.

GRACE: And to you, Sheryl McCollum, former director of MADD Georgia. I just wanted to put up on the left side of your screen again young people, victims from all over this country that have died as a result of drunk drivers. And somehow, that`s getting all lost in the sauce. Everybody`s so high on talking about young Hollywood and the MTV awards. You know what? That`s BS. This is the justice system, and this is what happens when you drive drunk with a snootful and then violate your probation not once but twice and thumb your nose at the system.

SHERYL MCCOLLUM, FORMER DIR. MADD GEORGIA: Absolutely, Nancy. It`s complete BS. And I`ll tell you something. Paris Hilton is a pimp. She is pimping herself so hard, and we`re all buying into it. She`s going to meet with her lawyer every day. They`re not going to photograph her behind, you know, the police car, inside the police car. They`re not going to photograph her handcuffed. She`s going to have a...

GRACE: Well, I`ve never actually thought of Hilton as a pimp. I don`t get that.

MCCOLLUM: She`s pimping herself! She`s going to turn everything into money. Every7thing. IT`s going to be a book deal. It`s going to be a million-dollar seller. They`ve already called her the -- you know, the most famous inmate in the world. She`s going to turn this into money. It`s all about her. It`s not about the victims. It`s not about changing her behavior. It`s not about correcting a behavior.

GRACE: Well, Dr. Robi, you`re the shrink, and I guess she told you.

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: OK, to tonight`s...

LUDWIG: She`s right...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: To tonight`s "Case Alert." An Albuquerque man arrested for the 28th - that`s right, 2-8 -- time drunk driving. Police arrest Joseph Brill after spotting him parked in a neighborhood so drunk he falls out of his truck, not able to even complete a sobriety test, Brill back behind the wheel with a suspended license after 14 previous convictions. A judge sets the bond at $100,000 to keep him from getting back on the road. Hey, Judge, how about some jail time to keep this one-man crime wave off the street?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I met with Paris this morning. She`s doing very well under the circumstances. The staff here has reported that she has been gracious, polite, thankful for their help with her...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Paris Hilton in ladies` lock-up after a round-about tour of the men`s lock-up, finally makes it there, behind bars tonight, giving up lunch today to meet with her lawyers about getting even more jail time. I smell a book deal.

Out to Brad Lamm, an intervention specialist. What would have helped her along the way, if anything?

BRAD LAMM, INTERVENTIONSPECIALISTS.ORG: Nancy, I think one of the big problems that you see with so many people is family and friends fear that their loved one won`t accept help. I think that oftentimes, that`s the biggest fear I see, is families just think, They won`t say yes, they won`t say yes. And in fact, when we engage with them, (INAUDIBLE) long-term, we do see that we engage them with consequences like this, like jail time. That`s something we see frequently, or the hospital or an accident. In this case, you know, God -- thank God no one was hurt. But it`s these consequences that often help us engage someone to accept help.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Pat in Texas. Hi, Pat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who`s going to give her protection that one hour that she`s out of her cell?

GRACE: You know, interesting. To you, Ken Baker. What happens in that one hour, the one hour she`s out of her cell?

BAKER: Yes. Well, she`s allowed to do a number of things. She can talk on the phone. She can see visitors. She can watch television. She can do mild forms of exercise. But it`s one hour. And someone (INAUDIBLE) the point that there are 24 hours in a day, and 23 hours of them, she`ll be in a 12-foot 8-foot cell.

GRACE: She`ll be writing her memoirs! Put away your hanky, for Pet`s sake!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris Hilton -- party over for the young socialite this morning. Last night, she strolled the red carpet at the MTV movie awards, but then within hours, her family drove her to the Lynnwood, California, lock-up, about 20 minutes outside of LA, this video coming to us courtesy of TMZ.com. It`s where she`s going to be spending the next 23 days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Day one for ladies` lock-up, and Paris Hilton, it`s finally "The Simple Life," but this time it`s for real. Instead of walking the red carpet, as she did the night before, she is surrendering her personal property, booking in and getting fingerprints. But already claims of preferential treatment are flying.

Out to Doris in Florida. Hi, Doris.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a quick question. With all the money that Paris Hilton has, why doesn`t she hire a driver to drive her wherever she needs to go?

GRACE: David Caplan, why doesn`t she?

CAPLAN: (INAUDIBLE) she likes to drive around. She always thinks about her photo op, and you see these celebrities driving around. She knows it`ll play with the paparazzi. The same goes for all these other girls who`ve been busted for DUI.

GRACE: You know what? I don`t know why you keep referring to grown women as "girls"...

CAPLAN: Women. Women!

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Out to Karen in Connecticut. Hi, Karen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On top of her serving her time in jail, does she also lose her driver`s license?

GRACE: Oh, good question. What about that? Sibila Vargas, do we know what`s to become of her driver`s license? I think she`s already got it back.

VARGAS: I don`t -- yes, no, I don`t think she`s going to lose her driver`s license...

GRACE: Ken Baker, do we know?

BAKER: Yes. She actually has her driver`s license. She never lost her driver`s license. She was driving up until a couple days ago. She really hasn`t changed her life that much until today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Paris Hilton arrived at the women`s correctional facility early this morning, she was fingerprinted. Then, she was issued orange pants and an orange shirt just like all the other inmates. She was then escorted to her cell. And this morning, she was fed breakfast. She got cereal, bread and some juice.

Now, she will be allowed to leave her cell for just one hour a day. The rest of the time, she`ll read or sleep or reflect, which is exactly what the heiress says she wants to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Reflect? OK, a life of reflection. Out to the lines, Jean in Indiana. Hi, Jean.

CALLER: Hi, how are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

CALLER: I was wondering why a jail would be more responsible if something would happen to Paris Hilton than if they would if it happened to anyone else?

GRACE: I really don`t believe that they would. Back out to you, Randy Kessler. We originally discussed that with you. I don`t see how she would be any different getting in a fight than another inmate.

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, there`s a question of damages. You know, what are the damages? What would happen to her ability to earn money? Were she able to still be on the TV show that she was earning a lot of money to be on? Was she able to be in movies or produce records? If she`s not able to continue earning the kind of living she was because of the damages, then maybe she could sue for more money. Also, she`s going to be more adamant about getting lawyers involved, so there`s a possibility she could recover greater damages than your average inmate.

GRACE: You know, big question to you, Dr. Robi Ludwig. Does she have an addiction problem? Every picture we see of her, pretty much, she`s out drinking and partying. There`s one shot of her with what appears to be a big, fat doobie, a hand-rolled cigarette, excuse me. Is it an addiction problem? Or was it just a bad night out on the town? Excuse me, three bad nights on the town?

DR. ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, I think that`s something that people should be observing and her family should be observing, if she does have an addiction problem. I definitely think she`s addicted to attention and the limelight, and that`s what is hard...

GRACE: That is not a crime though. I`m talking about alcohol.

LUDWIG: Well, no, it`s not a crime. And I think it`s something that she should definitely look at, because...

GRACE: No, no, no, I`m asking you. You`re the expert.

LUDWIG: Right.

GRACE: Based on her behavior, does she have an addiction, or was this just some simple string of events that landed her behind bars?

LUDWIG: I think, at this point, it`s safe to say she has a drinking problem, and we need to watch her to see if that turns into an addiction.

GRACE: And what about consequences? Do you forget about consequences when you have a substance problem?

LUDWIG: Well, you can forget about substance -- you know, the consequences, but I think also her whole life is not about answering up to who she needs to answer up to. I mean, basically, her whole life is cushy, so when you live in that type of existence, you don`t see consequences for your behavior, and that`s potentially very dangerous and sometimes lethal.

GRACE: And back to Brad Lamm with Interventionspecialists.org, Brad, is it an addiction?

BRAD LAMM, INTERVENTIONSPECIALISTS.ORG: I think from this vantage point, you can look at it and say, clearly, there are big parts of her life that have became unmanageable. I mean, that`s one of the real questions you asked, if somebody`s struggling with addiction, has your life become unmanageable? Are you powerless over these things that you do once you put a drink or a drug into your system?

And from our vantage point, as we look at her, it clearly seems like there`s trouble there, too. And I think we talked about earlier that she`s in jail for traffic violations, and I think traffic violations would be like blocking the box or a speeding ticket, but in most states felony drunk driving is a felony. And it`s often a wakeup call, where we can start the discussion with people that are struggling with addiction that, gosh, you need help. Things are not as glossy as you`re saying they are, and it`s a time for us really to gather the troops together and talk about solutions.

GRACE: Out to Sheryl McCollum, former director of MADD, Georgia, Sheryl, it just seems to me that already everyone is backpedaling on the whole Paris Hilton issue, and I think it`s because nobody is going to take drunk driving seriously -- and let me say it again -- until a kid is on the front fender. That`s the only way. Up until then, it doesn`t seem to matter.

SHERYL MCCOLLUM, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MADD: Agreed, even her own sister, Nicky, has said, "Hey, it ain`t like she`s hurt anybody." So, again, it`s always downplayed until we have a major tragedy, and then everybody`s like, "Well, why wasn`t the cops doing something? Why didn`t somebody stop her? Why didn`t her probation officer make sure she was compliant?" Every time they stopped her and reminded her not to drive, she got back in the car.

GRACE: Out to the lines, Kristy in Indiana. Hi, Kristy.

CALLER: Hello.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

CALLER: Yes, I was wondering, is there any legal guidelines that say Paris can`t make a book and make money off of her whole jail sentence?

GRACE: You know, we were just talking about that off-camera. There are a set of laws called Son of Sam laws, Kristy in Indiana. However, in a case called Simon and Schuster that went up to our venerable U.S. Supreme Court, they struck down the Son of Sam laws. The Son of Sam laws named after David Berkowitz, Son of Sam, the serial killer here in New York, who was sued over making profits from your crime.

Long story short, many years later, Simon and Schuster went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court over, I believe, "Goodfellas," and it was reversed. People can make money off of a book, off a movie, about their crime. Now, a watered-down version called Notoriety for Profit is in many states, including California, but trust me on this: She`ll beat it. If she wants to write a book, she will make money off the book. Today, ending day one, lockup for Paris Hilton, already meeting with her lawyers, many people believe to get even more good time behind bars or to work on that book deal. We`ll keep you updated.

But right now, we are looking for a missing girl. Tonight, she went to a local Target, a beautiful Kansas girl, just out of high school, had just graduated a few weeks before. Goes to target to buy graduation gifts and is never seen again. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kansas police are searching for 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, who disappeared this weekend while running an errand for her family. Police say Smith was last seen at around 7:00 p.m. Saturday, leaving a Target store across from Oak Park Mall. A little after 9:00 p.m., Smith`s car was found parked outside Macy`s, across the street from Target. Police found the items Kelsey bought and her purse, but her cell phone and ATM card were missing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Where is Kelsey? This girl, incredibly bright, holding down two jobs, goes missing from a local Target. Where is Kelsey Smith, just 18? Ed Miller with "America`s Most Wanted" has the story.

Ed, what happened?

ED MILLER, REPORTER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": Well, to the best of our knowledge, we know that she went into Target to buy this scrapbook and wrapping paper to wrap up this graduation gift, and the scrapbook and the wrapping paper are in the back of the car.

So we can only surmise -- there are some holes, but because of surveillance tape here, and the gifts in the back seat of the car -- we can surmise that she somehow left the Target store, put those gifts in the back seat of the car, and then somehow, between that point and where the car showed up later across the street at Macy`s, she disappeared.

GRACE: Tell me, do we have Chief Douglass with us yet, Elizabeth? Chief John Douglass is with us from Overland Park Police. Chief, thank you very much for being with us tonight.

CHIEF JOHN DOUGLASS, OVERLAND PARK POLICE: Yes, ma`am, thank you for having us.

GRACE: Chief, also with us, Kelsey`s family. You see them all there together. Chief, isn`t it correct -- let me get these facts straight -- she goes to a Target to buy a graduation gift for somebody else, and there is actually video of her leaving the Target on time, correct?

DOUGLASS: That`s correct.

GRACE: She was supposed to be home, her home with her parents, her boyfriend waiting to take her to a graduation party, I believe it`s 7:30, yes, no?

DOUGLASS: Yes.

GRACE: Here`s my question. When she was leaving the Target, she was alone. Take a look at this video, people. There she is. There`s Kelsey, walking out. She`s got her wrapping paper. She`s got her little present in her hands. Does the video show her, Chief, turning the wrong direction out of Target?

DOUGLASS: Once she left or once her car left the Target store and out onto the street, it went the wrong direction to be going home. At that point in time, we determined or felt very strongly that, when she should have been going home, the car was going in the opposite direction.

GRACE: Joining us along with Chief Douglass, Melissa and Greg Smith. These are Kelsey`s parents. They have not given up hope. Tonight, they are asking you for help. Look at Kelsey. She`s leaving, just like she said she was, right on time, leaving a local Target to go home to her mom and dad, her boyfriend waiting to take her to a graduation party. This girl straight out of high school, dreams of being a veterinarian, working with a local vet, trying to make that dream come true. Tonight, we want to help find this little girl.

Out to Melissa. This is Kelsey`s mom. What does it mean to you, Melissa, that she took the wrong turn out of Target?

MELISSA SMITH, PARENT OF MISSING KELSEY SMITH: It means someone was in the car with her, that she would not have turned left. That`s not the way she would have gone to go home.

GRACE: Thank God for the surveillance video. Now, let me ask you this. Did she typically always lock the doors? Do you think maybe she didn`t lock the doors? Could they have been in the car?

M. SMITH: The chief has some information I`d like for him to give out.

GRACE: OK, Chief, Chief, what do you know?

DOUGLASS: Well, Miss Grace, we are, as you might imagine, we have been reviewing videotape all day long, and we have some videotape that would suggest there was another individual in the back of the car with her. Now, it`s very grainy, and it`s very difficult to see, but some who have seen it believe that there is another individual there, and we`re working very hard to substantiate that right now.

GRACE: Take a look at Kelsey. Can you help us?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kansas police are searching for 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, who disappeared this weekend while running an errand for her family. Police say Smith was last seen at around 7:00 p.m. Saturday, leaving a Target store across from Oak Park Mall. A little after 9:00 p.m., Smith`s car was found parked outside Macy`s, across the street from Target. Police found the items Kelsey bought and her purse, but her cell phone and ATM card were missing.

Smith, who recently graduated from high school, planned to meet her boyfriend at home to attend a graduation party and go out to dinner. Police say they`ve gotten a lot of tips from people who might have seen the Kansas teen, but the leads haven`t panned out. Smith, 5`6", 120 pounds, long brown hair, brown eyes, last seen wearing a pink tank top and black shorts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I want to help find this girl. Won`t you help us? Joining us tonight are her parents, along with Chief John Douglass, the Overland Park Police chief. He has just told us that, after careful and hours-long review of grainy surveillance video, there may be an indication someone else was in the back of Kelsey`s car when she left that local Target.

And, listen, this girl is scrubbed in sunshine, wanted to grow up to be a veterinarian. Look at this Target video, everybody. She was working not only at a local theater, movie theater, she was also working with a vet to try to make that dream come true. Now, she came out of Target right on time, a little after 7:00 p.m., she was supposed to meet her family, her boyfriend at home, around 7:30 to go to a graduation party.

But, Chief, her car was spotted again, where?

DOUGLASS: Well, it came back to the general area of the Target store, which is by the shopping center, and was parked in the parking lot by the Macy`s store at the shopping center. It was some distance from where it originally started, but it was in the same general area.

GRACE: How do you know this?

DOUGLASS: Well, we have surveillance tape that shows the car leaving, and we have, again, very grainy surveillance tape showing the car returning, but we can`t determine exactly what the condition of the individuals or who it was in the car when it returned.

GRACE: For all we know, this girl could be in some basement somewhere right now, but still alive. She`s only been missing for a short time. And isn`t it true, Ed Miller, that there is a chance to save missing people, especially within those first three or four days?

MILLER: Absolutely, Nancy. You and I have talk about that before several times. We should point out the fact, because we`ve been critical of bad surveillance cameras. Let`s point out the fact and cut to the chase: There was a bad surveillance camera. If there would have been a better one, you could have seen exactly who was in that car. So while Target had a great surveillance camera, the camera outside of Macy`s was not so good.

GRACE: And very quickly to Bill Grady, reporter with KMBZ 980 there in Kansas City, tell me about that video of her car being parked. Wasn`t it around 9:15?

BILL GRADY, REPORTER, KMBZ 980: Well, that`s what we were told. And then, of course, the developments here, Nancy, with regard to how grainy the video was, and whether somebody was actually in the car waiting for Kelsey when she came back, that`s all stuff that is very, very new. And something that I do want to focus on here is, when we talked about Target and Macy`s, I mean, literally if you have a strong pitching arm, you could stand in the parking lot of Target and hit Macy`s. It`s in the same general area, the same shopping complex. And so, whatever happened, it was in a distance of probably 150 yards, maybe less, whatever happened to this young woman.

And one of the other things that I`d like to point out is that Kelsey`s father is in law enforcement at a very large community college here, and so he is extremely knowledgeable on police procedure. They have done everything, I mean, they have dotted all the i`s and crossed all the t`s, with regard to how they`ve handled these volunteers.

These folks have come in, several hundred of them, and have been assigned a different grid within a five-mile radius of where this alleged crime may have occurred, and they`re all going door to door, business to business. They`ve been -- they have been told how to handle, if they find a clue, not to break the chain of evidence. So, you know, the confidence is very high that they will find some substantial leads in this, and the reward fund continues to grow.

GRACE: Thank you. That`s Bill Grady reporting with KMBZ 980 there in Kansas City.

Let`s go to Kelsey`s dad. Greg Smith is with us, along with his wife, Melissa. With them, Chief John Douglass.

Greg, tell me about the search. You know, it does make good sense what he said. The car`s only gone two hours. The stores are very close to each other. Tell me about this grid search.

GREG SMITH, PARENT OF MISSING KELSEY SMITH: Well, the grid pattern was something that several of the volunteers discussed, and I just merely gave a little bit of advice. It`s really the credit of a young man by the name of Eric Hilmer (ph).

GRACE: Yes, where are you searching?

G. SMITH: It`s basically just a five-mile-square area around the Target in the mall. And each grid has been cut up into -- or that grid has been cut up into smaller grids, and then we jus send a team in, and they go door to door with flyers, and they just look for anything unusual. And if they find anything, they`re supposed to notify...

GRACE: How about tracker dogs, Greg? Have you called in the tracker dogs yet?

G. SMITH: I don`t have any access to anything like that.

GRACE: Chief?

DOUGLASS: I don`t believe we`ve used tracker dogs at this point in time, because we saw the car leave, but there are those possibilities in the future. Could I also point out that, when we talk about the videotape, it was not seeing someone in the back of the car. It was seeing someone at the back of the car.

GRACE: Ah, thank you for that correction, Chief. That is a subtle but important distinction, very important.

Out to the lines, Bob in Kansas. Hi, Bob.

CALLER: Hi, there. How are we doing?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

CALLER: Why doesn`t the mall use better security cameras?

GRACE: Oh, God in Heaven, I could shoot that prayer up to Heaven to ask that, because this is very true, Ed Miller, why?

MILLER: You know what? The bottom line is cost. And the biggest offenders are banks. Even though banks are loaded with money, they`re the worst security cameras. ATMs are the very worst.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kansas police are searching for 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, who disappeared this weekend while running an errand for her family. Smith, 5`6", 120 pounds, long brown hair, brown eyes, last seen wearing a pink tank top and black shorts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: There is still time to find this girl. She`s been missing since Saturday evening. Her parents are with us tonight. Where is Kelsey Smith? Tip line: 816-474-TIPS, $10,000 reward. If you saw an `87 silver two-door Buick Regal between 7:10 and 9:10 on Saturday night, won`t you help us? Where is this girl?

I want to go straight back out to Chief John Douglass with Overland Park Police. What about forensics in the car? Has it been dusted and processed?

DOUGLASS: The car has been dusted and processed, with all of the forensics that you might imagine, both by our department and the Johnson County crime lab. So they are going over that even as we speak and are being extremely thorough in the collection measures they`re taking.

GRACE: Thank you, chief.

Back to Kelsey`s mom, Melissa. If you could reach out tonight, what would you say?

M. SMITH: I just ask whoever has her, let our Kelsey come home. And I`d ask the public, please help us to bring her home. Someone saw something. Even if you think it`s the smallest thing, call the police. And, please, pray we get Kelsey to come home.

GRACE: Take a look at this girl. Won`t you help her come home? 816- 474-TIPS, there`s a $10,000 reward.

Let`s stop to remember Army Sergeant First Class Jesse Albrecht, 31, Hager City, Wisconsin, killed Iraq. Enlisting straight from high school, he dreamed of a military career and settling into a brand-new Alaska home with his wife. A smile that lit up a room, he loved winter sports, outdoors, playing cards and golf. A newlywed, he leaves behind a grieving widow, Crystal, 11-year-old daughter, Salena, and mom, Denise. Jesse Albrecht, American hero.

Thank you to our guests, and especially to you. A special happy birthday to NANCY GRACE regular, high-priced Seattle lawyer Anne Bremner. What a smile.

ANNE BREMNER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Nancy, you`re the best. I love you.

GRACE: Again, that tip line, 816-474-TIPS. Until tomorrow night, good night, friend.

END