Return to Transcripts main page

Nancy Grace

Survivors` Story Deepens Missing Boaters Mystery

Aired September 26, 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: Breaking news tonight. A murder mystery at sea. An American crew takes tourists from Arkansas and Florida out on a one-day fishing cruise, when their worst nightmare comes true. Just 60 miles off the Florida coast, hijacked. Only two survivors found drifting on the high seas near Bimini. Tonight, authorities comb through blood evidence and personal items found on that boat to try and piece together the puzzle. What really happened aboard the Joe Cool fishing boat?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Major development to tell you about tonight in the case of that mystery yacht which was found drifting at sea, miles upon miles off course, no crew on board. Well, the two men found on a life raft 12 miles from the boat are now talking, and what they have to say is downright chilling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened? We found you two guys on the inflatable raft that was off the Joe Cool, and just explain to me why you two were found and the rest of my family and friends are gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Yes. Explain it!

And tonight, a beautiful 3-year-old little girl, baby Maddy, reportedly snatched during a luxury vacation resort, her parents party (INAUDIBLE) at a dinner just 100 yards away, leaving baby Maddy and twin siblings home alone. Police name Maddy`s own mom and dad suspects. Headlines tonight: A grainy photo, now enhanced, emerges of a toddler girl with features highly similar to baby Maddy, that snapshot taken a few hundred miles from the McCanns` luxury resort. Is this baby Maddy? And tonight: Is the police case crumbling against the parents of baby Maddy?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The search for Madeleine McCann. Authorities say that they are looking at a picture of the little girl, or a little girl that looks a lot like her. Take a look for yourself. Here`s the photo. A Spanish couple says they took it about a month ago, while they were on vacation in Morocco. It shows a local woman carrying a child on her back. Now, here`s a side-by-side comparison. The photo of the little girl on this Moroccan woman`s back looks somewhat similar to pictures that we have seen before of Madeleine McCann. It could be proof that the missing 4- year-old is still alive, if it`s the real thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. First, murder mystery at sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Coast Guard spotted the boat Sunday 160 miles off the Bahamas with no one on board. They found fugitives Kirby Archer and 19-year-old Guillermo Zarabozo on a life raft 12 miles away. But the FBI has just released its interview with Zarabozo. He claims an unknown number of people hijacked the boat and shot and killed all four crew members. Zarabozo says the hijackers ordered him to dump the bodies overboard and he complied. The affidavit indicated that the FBI does not believe the story. His companion, Archer, the man who chartered the boat, is accused of stealing $92,000 in cash from an Arkansas Wal-Mart store where he worked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: First, out to CNN`s Susan Candiotti, on the story from the very beginning. You know, the story of the two survivors in my mind isn`t really hanging together. Just take it from the top, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight for the very first time, we`re hearing what they are claiming happened to them, and frankly, it`s a pretty strange and wild story. This 19-year-old teenager, one of the two survivors rescued from the life raft, claims that while they were out at sea, out of nowhere some hijackers, pirates, came aboard the boat, shot and killed the captain, shot and killed his wife after she allegedly became hysterical, and then shot and killed two other crew members because they supposedly refused to throw the bodies overboard. Then this teenager said he complied with that order and threw the bodies overboard. Period. That`s what we`re hearing from him.

GRACE: Well, OK. This is what I don`t understand. One of the guys, one of the survivors, told the authorities he was never on board the Joe Cool, the fishing boat. There`s a shot of it right there. But yet they find his ID, his state ID, on the boat. Why? What could possibly be his motive to lie?

CANDIOTTI: Well, go figure. That`s why they presented this in court to say, Your Honor, these people obviously shouldn`t be getting bond because they`re telling an unbelievable story. And this is an example of it. They`re towing the boat, and they ask him, Hey, do you recognize that boat? He says no. And then he twice said, I don`t recognize that boat. And they said, What are you talking -- we have your -- we found your identification on that boat. Obviously, we`ve got major holes in these stories that they`re looking at.

GRACE: Yes, major holes. And let me get this straight. One of the survivors actually has -- the guy from Arkansas actually has a warrant out for his arrest for stealing about -- allegedly stealing about $90,000 from a local Wal-Mart. I believe it`s in Arkansas. That was just in January. Susan, you`re the investigative reporter. He told the authorities he didn`t have any money except for 2,000 bucks. What happened to the $90,000?

CANDIOTTI: Well, that`s the -- I don`t know, $90,000 question, right, Nancy? What did happen to the money? Now, he carried a lot of bags onto that boat. They recovered some suitcases. I would like to think that if they found the money on board, we would have known about it. But what happened to that money? Where was it secreted away?

There were rumors that he always wanted to go to Cuba, get back to Cuba, where he had once served in the military at the Guantanamo naval base and had supposedly befriended a family there. We interviewed his ex-wife today, and she said she knew that he should served there at Gitmo but didn`t know whether he intended to go back.

The point is, is that, you know, what -- who is to be believed here? What really happened here? And you`ve got family members who are, you know, so anxious and agonizing over getting to the truth.

GRACE: And when we say family members, there are four people missing. Four Americans took this cruise ship. It`s a fishing boat. Take a look at it. They`re going on a day cruise, taking people out deep sea fishing. Jake Branam, just 27 years old. He is the boat captain. His wife, Kelley Branam. 30. Listen to this. They`ve got two little toddlers at home waiting for mommy and daddy to come back home. Scott Campbell, that is the boat captain`s half-brother, just 30 years old. And Samuel Kairy, just 27 years old.

These four people vanished. They`re gone. For all I know right now, they could be floating out in the water off the Florida coast with a life preserver on. Or they could be dead by hijack.

Straight out to Randy Lantz with Newsradio 610 WIOD. Weigh in. What more can you tell us, Randy?

RANDY LANTZ, NEWSRADIO 610 WIOD: Well, I mean, Susan`s pretty much got it right. I mean, there`s definitely a lot of holes there. The family members are questioning, how could hijackers have come aboard, killed four people, and then let these other two guys drift away on a raft?

And just to also note Zarabozo and Kirby Archer actually had several pieces of luggage and some personal effects in the raft also. So if it was such a bloody scene, and you know, a lot of turmoil, why did they allow them to take the personal effects and set them adrift?

GRACE: That`s an excellent question. Back to Susan Candiotti. What exactly did they manage to put on the life boat as they were making their great escape?

CANDIOTTI: You know, I`m not clear on that, Nancy, but I can tell what you they found on the boat. According to the affidavit, they found six marijuana cigarettes, a laptop computer, clothing, cameras, suitcases, a cell phone. And oddly, a handcuff key was found on the vessel and a substance that could possibly be blood. Obviously, they`ll be taking a look at that. Nancy.

GRACE: You know, interesting about that handcuff key. I`m taking a look right now at court documents. This is in the federal court, the southern district down in Florida, everybody. We`re talking about hijack at sea. This is a sworn affidavit under oath. And what the cops are saying is a handcuff key found on the vessel, the bow, as well as on the vessel`s stern a substance appearing to be blood. Now, that can`t be any comfort for the four missing people. And can you imagine just shooting the wife in cold blood when she gets hysterical -- that`s the way it was described -- when her husband is shot right before her eyes.

Let`s go out to the lines. Al in New York. Hi, Al.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing, Nancy?

GRACE: I`m good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Die-hard listener, long-time viewer.

GRACE: Thank you very much, Al. What do you think about this scenario?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don`t know, Nancy. It doesn`t make a lot of sense. But my question to you is, Did these folks know the people before they boarded the boat for the fishing charter?

GRACE: Interesting question. Ed Miller is joining us, from "America`s Most Wanted." Now, Ed, I`m already wondering if Archer, the Arkansas guest that survived, the one that`s got the warrant for stealing 90,000 bucks -- there you go. There he is. Good shot.

ED MILLER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": The fugitive.

GRACE: Did he know Zarabozo? Because Zarabozo originally, Ed Miller, from Cuba. Archer served at Gitmo. I think he had a dishonorable discharge. Not sure about that. But the caller, Al in New York, Ed, wants to know, Did the crew know the guests?

MILLER: No. The two that are now in custody, they knew each other as long -- they were like childhood friends. So they knew each other for a long time, back, as you say, on Guantanamo, Cuba. That`s apparently where they met. But they did not know the crew of the boat. As a matter of fact, they went and solicited the boat, and they paid them $4,000 cash to take them to Bimini in $100 bills.

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Four thousand bucks?

MILLER: Four thousand bucks cash.

GRACE: To go fishing?

MILLER: Cash, to go to Bimini. They actually said they...

GRACE: OK, right there...

MILLER: ... wanted to go to Bimini. They had women waiting there.

GRACE: Right there, something`s bothering me. This guy doesn`t have any of the money he allegedly stole from Wal-Mart. How did he blow through 90,000 bucks? And he`s got $4,000 to go fishing?

MILLER: Yes. Absolutely. You want to know...

GRACE: OK. Keep going.

MILLER: Well, the fact is, they paid them $4,000 cash in $100 bills, which already should have set off some sort of alarm. But you know, you`ve got to understand and know that in south Florida, as you well know, there are plenty of drug dealers. There`s lots of people that deal in cash. And there are -- I don`t want to say pirates, but there are people that smuggle drugs through the water on high-speed boats. But we spoke to a lot of fishermen down there and a lot of law enforcement authorities. Pirates, no. No pirates.

GRACE: What do we know, Susan Candiotti, if anything -- well, we don`t know anything because the four are missing. We don`t know if they`re dead or alive. Were there any bullets found on the vessel, the Joe Cool fishing boat?

CANDIOTTI: Any bullets found? Not to the best of our knowledge, or not that has been revealed by authorities so far. FBI, of course, looking at this, and so far, keeping a lot of details close to the vest. For example, we have requested to get the rescue video of the two people that were in the raft, something that is normally given out regularly by the Coast Guard. But because there is an ongoing investigation, they`re not releasing that, either.

Now, we did talk to the family about being paid $4,000 in cash, peeling off the $100 bills. And family members of this family-owned charter business say, really, they do deals oftentimes with a handshake and with cash. That`s how business is oftentimes conducted in south Florida, and they maintain it`s not all that unusual. And they also never have anyone sign any documents, any liability documents, anything. This was just a trip to drop these guys off in Bimini because the two of them said they were hooking up with some girlfriends on another boat over there.

GRACE: I thought Archer was married.

CANDIOTTI: No. I don`t think he`s married right now. But in any case...

GRACE: You`re right, Susan. You`re right. He`s divorced.

CANDIOTTI: Yes. The story they gave was that they were working as construction surveyors there in Miami, had the weekend off, were making this trip, just a one-way trip over there to meet up with their girlfriends. And then, remember, investigators did tell us this. Halfway over, or part of the way over there, the GPS tracking system on the boat is a Godsend because it told them that they made a sharp turn and went way south, about 150 miles off course. And how do you explain that?

GRACE: Exactly, Susan. Exactly. OK. Chomping at the bit, Mike Brooks, former D.C. cop, former fed with the FBI. Weigh in, Mike. What do you think? Do you smell a fish?

MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, first of all, Nancy, if it was hijackers, there would be nobody left alive on that boat. They would have taken the boat. That`s the whole thing. The hijackers usually come in, take the boat, take all the money...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: That`s the point of a hijack, Mike Brooks...

BROOKS: That`s exactly right.

GRACE: ... is to take the vehicle or the vessel.

BROOKS: That`s exactly right. And now, you know, we know Archer was wanted now as being held on an unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, called UFAP warrant. And you know, the other thing, too, there is a name. They said that they were going to the Big Game Resort and Yacht Club in Bimini. So I can tell you, Nancy, right now that this task force, this Coast Guard and FBI task force, they`re dealing with the Royal Bahamas Police, and they`re going to go there to find out whether or not there were two women that were there waiting for anybody, to find out if there was any connection whatsoever with these two characters.

GRACE: I would love to know what is it in Bimini, why were they going to Bimini? That`s a long way to go for a date. Can everybody agree on that?

Let`s unleash the lawyers, Susan Moss, Renee Rockwell, Daryl Cohen. Come on, Daryl. All the way to Bimini for a date?

DARYL COHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s a long way to go for a date. But the fishing was great. Nancy, I`ve got to tell you...

GRACE: Depends on what they were fishing for, Daryl Cohen.

COHEN: You`ve got that right. If I were representing them right now, I would say to them, Keep your mouth shut. Say nothing. You`ve sounded like a fool. What you`re saying is just not going to fly. It`s not going to float. It`s not going to swim. You need to keep your mouth shut.

GRACE: Renee?

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Same thing, Nancy. You don`t want to back yourself into a corner...

GRACE: What is it with you people? I didn`t even ask you what would you tell the defense, I`m asking you about the scenario. And the first thing you do, while you`ve got four people possibly floating out in the water, possibly dead, possibly alive, you`re telling these two to clam up?

COHEN: Nancy, they`re not alive. They`re toast.

GRACE: Renee?

ROCKWELL: No, they`re not alive, Nancy. But they don`t need to say anything because you know what? Now they`re both in jail on these smaller charges. They`re both separated. So now they`re going to go to each of them and say, He said this, He said that, Can you respond to that? They`ve got them -- the police have them exactly where they want them, so they need to be quiet.

GRACE: Sue Moss, weigh in.

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: This was some three-hour tour. So let me get this straight. The only survivors are two passengers, and they don`t sound as smart as the professor. This is ridiculous. The only thing we know is that these two survivors say that there are four dead people, and these are the only two donkeys to pin the tail on.

GRACE: You know, what`s interesting -- back to you, Mike Brooks. I think Susan Moss has a point. If you gun down four people, you expect to find more than just blood on the stern of the ship.

BROOKS: If they did gun them down, Nancy. Who`s to say that they didn`t use some other force to force them off the ship and kill them and throw them overboard? You know, that remains to be seen. Was there another ship that came up and just -- and took their money and left them? You know, who knows what all these different pieces of this puzzle are going to add up to?

GRACE: Joining us right now is a very special guest. This is the cousin of a missing boater. That boater Jake Branam. Joining us, Jon Branam. Mr. Branam, thank you for being with us.

JON BRANAM, COUSIN OF MISSING BOAT CAPTAIN: Yes. How`s it going, Nancy?

GRACE: Well, I`m holding out hope. I`m holding out hope that there`s a chance they are still alive. What does the family say?

BRANAM: So are we. We`re just hoping and praying. You know, there is a chance. This story that this guy`s saying doesn`t make sense. You know, these guys -- my whole family, my best friend, they`re all missing. But they`ve been out in the water their whole lives. If anyone could survive, it would be them.

GRACE: Jon, how many life preservers were kept on board, do you know?

BRANAM: Yes. I ran the company with Jake. I kept 12 life preservers on board, along with the six-passenger life raft that Kirby and his friend were found on.

GRACE: Jon, isn`t it dictated by law how many life preservers, or that you have to have life vests on board and you have to have that life raft? How many were found when they searched the boat?

BRANAM: They haven`t given me that information yet. I`ve been working with the Coast Guard and FBI. I know the boat from top to bottom. But they won`t give me any answers.

GRACE: That`s what I want know because, Jon, I want to know if possibly the four are out there, maybe with a life vest on.

BRANAM: I understand. As do I. But again, I think the Coast Guard and FBI are working very hard. They`re just trying to build a case right now, and they`re being very tight-lipped.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Day four in the boat to Bimini mystery, and the men who were brought in cuffed and blanketed Tuesday are today facing a judge, Kirby Archer and Guillermo Zarabozo in deep trouble, Archer to face charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after allegedly stealing $95,000 from this Arkansas Wal-Mart, and Hialeah`s Guillermo Zarabozo for giving a false statement to a federal agent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Something is not right with these stories of the two survivors. And hanging in the balance, the lives of four people that they, the survivors claim, were shot point blank by modern-day pirates just off the Florida coast. Do we believe them?

Out to the lines. Cheryl in Alabama. Hi, Cheryl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Nancy. How`re you doing?

GRACE: I`m hanging in there, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we`re doing good here. My question is, how were the two men -- did they ever state how they managed to get away from these supposed pirates without getting hurt, when everybody else was killed?

GRACE: When everybody else shot point blank. Susan Candiotti, what, did the hijackers just take mercy on them suddenly and decide they were really nice guys and let them live and take their suitcases with them?

CANDIOTTI: Nancy, that`s a good question we`d all like to get the answer to. If they got into those specifics with the FBI and with the task force that`s involved in this investigation, they`re not leaking that information. They`re not sharing that information with us at this time. But of course, that`s a question everybody wants to know. So how were they spared?

GRACE: How were they spared? Joining us right now, another special guest. In addition to the relative of the missing people, also joining us, Chris O`Neil, lieutenant commander of the 7th Coast Guard district. He is involved in the search. Sir, thank you for being with us. Tell me about the search. You`re searching even in heavy rain.

CHRIS O`NEIL, LT. COMMANDER, 7TH COAST GUARD DISTRICT: We`ve experienced a number of squall-like conditions throughout the day. It actually grounded many of our aircraft for the majority of the day. We caught a break in the weather this evening, launched an HU-25 Falcon jet, and it`s currently searching. We have three cutters responding to the search area, one of which was in the search area earlier today, came in to refuel and is going back out. The search so far has covered more than 6,700 square miles and more than 96 hours of on-scene searching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said they were meeting up with their girlfriend over there, and the girlfriend packed his passport and they were going to meet up and go into Customs. So you know, it raised some red flags. But again, it`s not out of the norm to deal with cash in Miami and have people going to the Bahamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: It may not be unusual, but the survivors` story has certainly begun to stink. In fact, one of them is being held on lying to an officer, the other held on a warrant out of Arkansas for an alleged theft of $90,000-plus from a local Wal-Mart.

Out to the lines. Roxie in Oregon. Hi, Roxie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: What`s your question, love?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First I want to say I love your show, and congratulations on the twins.

GRACE: Thank you, dear. They`re alive and kicking. I can swear to that under oath right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe it. OK. My question is, these two yahoos...

GRACE: I thought I was the only one that said that. Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... killed the four crew members. Why didn`t they just take off in the boat instead of floating around in a life raft?

GRACE: Now, that`s a question that I have, as well. And of course, they have not been named suspects in this case. But Susan Candiotti, why the life raft?

CANDIOTTI: Well, I don`t know, but there were two on the boat. The other life raft still attached to the boat. Why did they get into the life raft? Who knows, Nancy? I mean, it`s just one more question that we have here that`s a good one that your viewer pointed out.

GRACE: You know, another question is, Susan Candiotti, another statement is, very often, how do you figure out and make something logical out of something illogical?

Everybody, when we come back, this story, modern-day pirates or not? Plus the latest on the baby Maddy McCann mystery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Day four in the boat to Bimini mystery, and the men who were brought in cuffed and blanketed Tuesday are today facing a judge. Kirby Archer and Guillermo Zarabozo in deep trouble. Archer to face charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after allegedly stealing $95,000 from this Arkansas Wal-Mart. And Hialeah`s Guillermo Zarabozo for giving a false statement to a federal agent.

Family members of four missing boaters, who Archer and Zarabozo paid to charter the Joe Cool wonder if the two men found floating on a life boat had something to do with the vanishing of Jake and Kelly Branam, Scott Campbell and Sammy Cary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened? We found you two guys on the inflatable raft that was off the Joe Cool, and just explain to me why you two were found and the rest of my family and friends are gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Hanging in the balance tonight in this alleged murder mystery on the high seas, four lives, plus two toddlers waiting on Mommy and Daddy to come home. Out to the lines, Jeff in Texas. Hi, Jeff.

CALLER: How are you doing, Nancy?

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

CALLER: Yeah, I just wanted to know if the boat had gas in it when they found it.

GRACE: Ooh, good question. What do we know, Ed Miller?

ED MILLER, REPORTER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": You know, the Coast Guard is saying they`re not sure whether the boat ran out of fuel or these guys simply didn`t know how to run it. At least that`s -- the family is also saying that, too, because you want to know why they wouldn`t stay with a rather sizable boat, even if it wasn`t running. Why get into the life raft in the first place?

We should also point out very quickly that Kirby Archer told police that he knew that he couldn`t get on a plane, that the only way he could get out of the country was on boat. So if he was trying to escape with or without this money, that was the only way he could get out of the country.

GRACE: Does he have an honorable or dishonorable discharge from the Army?

MILLER: Dishonorable.

GRACE: To Chris O`Neil, lieutenant commander with the 7th Coast Guard District involved with the search, Chris, was there gas left in the boat?

CHRIS O`NEIL, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER, COAST GUARD: I don`t know that information. What I do know is that there are four lives at stake. We want to be there to try and rescue them. That`s why we`re continuing our search. That`s why we have so many assets involved in the search.

GRACE: And you`ve got to hand it to the Coast Guard, everybody. They`ve been out in near hailing conditions. It`s been horrible. They`ve called the search off, gone back. They`re combing every inch of the water to try to find these survivors as we speak.

Back to the lines, John in Texas. Hi, John.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you, dear, and thank you for calling in. What`s your question, dear?

CALLER: It just doesn`t make any sense. I can`t imagine why somebody would pay $4,000 for a trip to Bimini, which is only about 53 miles due east of Ft. Lauderdale, when anybody can charter a full day of fishing and a trip up and back to Bimini for $1,000 to $1,200.

GRACE: I did not know that. Plus, I know they keep saying it`s normal in south Florida, but I don`t know that many people that just peel off $4,000, John in Texas, to go fishing, for Pete`s sake, to go fishing, $4,000 bucks. Hey, I want to know what they`ve got going on in Bimini.

Out to Jeff Gardere, Dr. Jeff Gardere, psychologist and author, when I first heard this story, I was stunned that there were two survivors. But then when I heard about Archer`s warrant for stealing from a Wal-Mart, $90,000 bucks, then I heard he had allegedly blown through $90,000 since January, does that cast doubt on his credibility in your mind, Jeff Gardere?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Absolutely. And Ed Miller said it right from the beginning when he described Archer. He called him a fugitive. So that already does not bode well for this situation.

And one last thing, Nancy. What is this relationship between Archer, who`s a 35-year-old, and Zarabozo, who`s 19 years old? So that coupling in itself makes me really wonder what is going on with this particular situation. It reminds you a little bit of the Beltway Shooter, that much older individual with that younger person, and then Zarabozo, when they say, were you on this boat? He says, no, I wasn`t. So I almost wonder whether there was a very interesting, almost Rasputin kind of relationship between these two. Very odd.

GRACE: Interesting. Interesting, And especially about the comparison to the D.C. snipers.

To Dr. Daniel Spitz, an expert in his field, forensic pathologist, Dr. Spitz, what kind of physical evidence would you expect to find, would investigators be looking for, if they find these bodies?

DANIEL SPITZ, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, first of all, back to the boat, the stories that we`re hearing regarding what happened on that boat are just not adding up. There is really no way, based on the evidence that I`ve read, that four individuals were shot on that boat and actually collapsed on the boat and then were asked -- other people were asked to throw the bodies into the water. If that happened, there would be abundant blood evidence on the boat. There would be evidence of the shooting taking place, whether they be bullets or bullet casings. This is not adding up with the story that we`re hearing.

GRACE: Yeah, even though they didn`t find bullets, as I`d asked Susan earlier, and, of course, the authorities have not released that to her, there would be the casings.

SPITZ: Right. If this is a handgun, other than a revolver, then you would find some bullet casings or evidence that a bullet struck some object on the boat. What we`re talking about with this, the stories that we`re hearing, it`s just not adding up.

GRACE: Forensics, forensics, forensics. That`s going to be the key to answering this case.

Susan Candiotti, what`s next?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What`s next for these two people would be a detention hearing coming up on Friday. Remember, the government won its case that they should not be granted bond at this early stage because they`re a flight risk, and the judge readily agreed.

GRACE: Well, I have an idea, Susan Candiotti, since nobody asked me. That idea is to try to cut a deal on that Arkansas theft of a Wal-Mart for information. You know what? Forget it. Four deaths. If that`s possible, there`s not going to be a deal. Forget it. No deal. This leaves it up to the Coast Guard. It`s on the Coast Guard now.

Very quickly, everybody, I want to switch gears. There may be a development in the baby Maddy case, the missing 3-year-old little girl. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this baby girl Madeleine McCann or just another false alarm?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We saw this group of people. We took some photos. But as soon as we took them, we saw a blonde, blonde girl who caught our eyes. We both looked at each other. We thought of Madeleine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A case of mistaken identity raises the hopes of a nation. But just as quickly as the photo surfaces, hope may be fleeting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve been here before. And sadly, in each case, no matter how well-intentioned, they`ve amounted to nothing. And you can imagine the emotional ups and downs that can cause.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frustrated with the lack of progress, the McCanns hire their own team of private investigators. Portuguese law enforcement calling the move nothing more than "diversion tactics." This as prosecutors admit their case may solely rest on finding Maddy`s body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Is this picture baby Maddy? And not only that, is the police case against Maddy`s parents crumbling? The Portuguese police now backing off, back paddling. I want to go out to Jerry Lawton, chief reporter with the "Daily Star." Tell me about this photo, Jerry.

JERRY LAWTON, REPORTER: It`s quite dramatic, to be honest, Nancy. What happened, we`ve got a Spanish holiday maker, a tourist in Morocco. She`s taking some pictures on an isolated remote mountain trail in the north of the region, and when she looks at the photos, she sees a blonde, fair-skinned girl being carried on the back of an Arab woman among a group of Arab-looking family. She`s suspicious because she instantly looks at the girl and thinks that could be Madeleine McCann.

GRACE: We`re taking a look at it right now, Jerry. With us, Jerry Lawton from the "Daily Star." What have we learned so far?

LAWTON: Well, what we`ve learned so far, the development has been quite dramatic. Immediately, investigators dash to a remote mountain region called Zinat in the north of Morocco, very isolated, olive trees, very few TVs, radio, a remote region of transients, largely. Astonishingly, this family is tracked down, and the heartbreaking news for Madeleine McCann`s parents is that the daughter is, in fact, the daughter of an olive farmer. She`s a 5-year-old girl, and she does not bear the distinctive trait of a flaw in her right eye that Madeleine bears.

GRACE: What flaw is that?

LAWTON: She has a flaw in her right eye, which basically is a -- what is commonly known as a leaking iris or a cat eye syndrome. It`s quite distinctive, and it`s formed the basis, really, of the entire hunt for Madeleine McCann. They`ve built an entire poster network around it, on the basis that many, many girls of that age who are blonde can look the same, but this flaw is quite rare and is a distinctive flaw that you would notice when you looked directly into Madeleine`s eyes. And it`s on that basis that the identity has been proved.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live on the baby Maddy mystery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It appeared to offer the first glimmer of hope in months. A photograph of a small blonde girl being carried through Morocco on the back of a North African woman. Looking paler and blonder than those she was with, the Spanish tourist who took the photo suspected it could have been missing Madeleine. Yet tonight the family has been traced; the child is their own; and now the line of investigation is over for the McCanns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live on the baby Maddy case. Out to a special guest joining us, Clarence Mitchell. This is the McCann family spokesperson.

Mr. Mitchell, thank you for being with us. What was the family reaction when they just -- when they first heard about this photo that looks startlingly similar to baby Maddy?

CLARENCE MITCHELL, MCCANN FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: Nancy, it`s good to be with you. Yes, unfortunately, we`ve been down this road several times before. There have been other sightings of Madeleine in Morocco and, indeed, in other countries.

Every time, Kate and Gerry are obviously extremely interested to get to the bottom of each sighting. They want to know more than anybody else in the world if it`s their daughter. But each time, hopes have been dashed. And, you know, they just have to pick themselves up and get on with it again and refocus their efforts into finding Madeleine and urging everybody around the world who`s aware of their case to keep their eyes open and report it to the authorities. Any sighting could be valuable. And they keep going through all of these emotional ups and downs that they suffer every time there`s a setback like this.

GRACE: I can`t even imagine what it would be like to think you`ve finally found your child only to learn that the photo may not be legit. With me, Clarence Mitchell, McCann family spokesperson. And also, Mr. Mitchell, we are hearing now the complete opposite of what we were told a couple of weeks ago. Now we`re hearing the police bore down on Mrs. McCann to try to get a confession because they`re basically out of ideas.

MITCHELL: Well, I can`t actually comment on the details of the investigation. It`s still an active case in Portugal. And Gerry and Kate are not allowed to speak out, and by extension nor am I. But essentially, yes, the investigation took that turn, and both parents were declared suspects, or arguido, as the Portuguese call it, which means they haven`t been charged, they`re not formally accused of a crime yet, but it means the police are suspicious of them.

But Kate and Gerry can wholly explain anything the police may have found, any evidence the police may have found in their apartment or their vehicle, and there are wholly innocent reasons, and they will defend themselves in court if it comes to charges. But I`m hopeful that it won`t.

GRACE: Mr. Mitchell, I pray that you are right. I pray that you are right, because when I look at Maddy`s parents, I do not want to believe they had anything to do with this.

That evidence sounded -- to Emily Chang, CNN correspondent, sounded so overwhelming. But you had to keep in mind it was the Portuguese police who have bungled from day one. Emily, weigh in on this photo. It does look a lot of comparisons to baby Maddy.

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does look a lot like Madeleine. It has the same hairstyle, the same round face, the same big eyes, and certainly everyone got excited about it. There were so many forensic experts on top of it right away. But, you know, by the end of the day, we found out that it wasn`t her. But it just goes to show the level of interest in this case. The second it surfaced, worldwide media attention focused back on Madeleine. Everyone wants to know what happened to her.

GRACE: And, you know, it`s very interesting about the Moroccan connection, because the parents have always been suspicious of Morocco. You can get there so quickly from where this luxury resort was. Everybody, you recall baby Maddy asleep at a luxury condo there at the resort. Parents a full football length away having dinner, children alone, no baby- sitter, when baby Maddy goes missing. That is their story.

Out to Luanne in Texas, hi, Luanne.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I really enjoy your show.

GRACE: Luanne, thank you for watching, and thank you for calling in.

CALLER: You bet. I want to know if, since one of the theories is that Maddy was accidentally overdosed with sleeping medication, as were the twins, were the twins ever hair follicles tested or blood tested to see if they had that type drug in their system?

GRACE: Jerry Lawton with "The Daily Star," what do know about that?

LAWTON: What we know is that we don`t know, in a way, Nancy. And that the Portuguese, the secrecy surrounding the investigation carried out by the Portuguese police has revealed very little so far. What we do know is that they are awaiting toxicology test results, according to Portuguese police sources. Those toxicology tests are said to be related to sedatives. But that has not been confirmed. That is purely based on leaked information from the Portuguese police. Those tests are due within days.

GRACE: Out to Dr. Daniel Spitz, medical examiner, forensic pathologist. Back to Luann`s question, Luann in Texas, what can you tell from the hair regarding drugs?

SPITZ: Well, you can look at the hair and do testing to determine whether somebody has used certain drugs. Usually, hair is used to kind of do testing to see if there`s been a pattern of use or use over a period of time. It`s not a great way to determine a level of drug, only that certain drugs may have been taken in the past.

GRACE: To Lawrence in New Hampshire. Hi, Lawrence.

CALLER: Hi. I`d just like to know, all these sightings that we`ve seen or heard about...

GRACE: I don`t think you`re from New Hampshire.

CALLER: No, I know. I`m from England originally. Sorry. I love your show, by the way. I watch it all the time.

GRACE: Thank you.

CALLER: But hey, I just want to know, who`s investigating it? Like when you see a sighting, it`s like the USA now, if there`s a sighting of a young girl, does an alarm warning go out? There`s like a billion people...

GRACE: Great question. Out to you, Emily Chang. Who is in charge of the investigation?

CHANG: Well, there are several agencies involved in the investigation. I should point out there have been over 400 sightings of Madeleine since she disappeared, and it seems that the investigating agencies in the countries where those sightings occur seem to come in charge of following up on those sightings, and we`re told every lead has been followed to the fullest extent. And Clarence Mitchell has said none these leads, none of these sightings have amounted to anything, and Madeleine has still not turned up.

GRACE: Back to the lawyers, Susan Moss, Renee Rockwell, Darryl Cohen, Renee, I believe you were actually trying a case right behind me when I was trying a bank robbery, and we had photos, and they were so grainy I could not for the life of me say the defendant was the person in the photos. That doesn`t mean he was or he wasn`t. Of course, there was a conviction in that case, but photos don`t always reveal the answer.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, Nancy. And just because you have a photo doesn`t mean you have the child. It just maybe will give you a place to start looking. But there is a very interesting connection in Morocco, because that`s where Europeans are usually trafficked to buy in the trafficked goods of Moroccan countries.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: A grainy photo emerges compared to baby Maddy McCann, the missing 3-year-old. Out to the lines, Julie in Pennsylvania. Hi, Julie.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I just wanted to say we love you.

GRACE: Thank you for watching and for that encouragement. What is your question, dear?

CALLER: My question is, I didn`t quite understand why the authorities thought the parents had something to do with it. Don`t they have other children, as well?

GRACE: To Ed Miller, weigh in. Why did they claim they suspected the McCanns?

MILLER: Well, very good question, especially since it happened so very late after the investigation. You know this. In any investigation, you always look at the people who are closest first. So why would they look at them way after the fact? The only matter -- the only question that you can say is Portuguese police blew it from the very beginning and were just looking for someone to blame.

GRACE: Yes, parents have dig in. They`re always the first suspects. Very quickly, Jeff Gardere. What do you make -- your analysis of the parents` public pleas for help?

GARDERE: Well, I think that the parents are very genuine in what they`re doing, and this is the way that they have to keep their lives going, keep the hope going, by keeping everyone else involved, and keeping this child`s memory alive, even if something serious has happened to her that we may not know exactly what it is.

GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant Joel Murray, 26, Kansas City, Missouri, killed Iraq. On a second tour, receiving a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, loyal, funny, courageous. Leaves behind parents Kenneth and Ann, widow, Maricel, and 2-year-old son Jerry. Joel Murray, American hero.

Thank you to our guests, but most of all to you for being with us. And tonight, a special happy anniversary to Medea and Ricky, celebrating two wonderful years of marriage. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END