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Nancy Grace

Child`s Body Found Near a Michigan River

Aired June 04, 2009 - 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. As we go to air, authorities in the search for 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan clear the airspace. They order the press two miles away from a local river. Has the body of little 5-year-old Nevaeh been found?

Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. We are live at the River Raisin, Monroe, Michigan. Evidence experts called in. As we go to air at this moment, press banned for two miles, the airways closed down.

Let`s go live straight out to Rob Davidek, news director, WWJ Newsradio 950. Rob, what`s happening there at River Raisin?

ROB DAVIDEK, WWJ NEWSRADIO 950 (via telephone): Well, you have evidence experts there. You have the sheriff there, you have Michigan state police, the FBI, all acting on a tip this afternoon. They had the helicopter from the law enforcement over the river. They came up, they found a child`s body. No one is confirming anything yet. They`re saying they want to make sure it is her, if, in fact, it is Nevaeh Buchanan.

But right now, they`re searching. They found a body. They`re trying to -- they`ll be examining it, as you well know, and looking for other clues in the area where they found that body. But again, nobody`s confirming anything. They`re trying to get all their ducks in a row, if you will.

GRACE: Rob Davidek with WWJ Newsradio 950, our sources are telling us the body that you are seeing now being pulled from the River Raisin, Monroe County, was wearing similar clothes to those little Nevaeh was wearing when she went missing, riding her scooter. Is that true?

DAVIDEK: Yes, that`s right. That`s exactly what we`re hearing, too, and everything is pointing to it as this 5-year-old girl. But again, right now, they`re just trying to figure out if -- you know, they want to make sure it is before they talk with the family. We understand that the father, who you`ve had on a couple of nights here in a row now -- that the father is with the police. We understand that Nevaeh`s uncle has been in contact with police, as well.

GRACE: Everyone, we are live at the River Raisin, Monroe County, there in Michigan. You are seeing it as we are seeing it. Evidence experts called to the side of the river. Apparently, a child`s body has just been discovered. Is it that of 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan? The search has been on for days now, the little girl last seen by a playmate outside, unsupervised by adults, riding her scooter. We know that she allegedly vanished, the scooter the only clue left behind.

You are seeing it as we are seeing it, as best we can see it. The airspace has been cleared by local police and the FBI. We are just barely getting these shots as it happens. You are seeing evidence experts on the scene dressed in their laboratory white, a tent set up to preserve evidence as it is being pulled from the river. Right now, we don`t know the condition of the body. We don`t know if it`s a man, woman, girl or boy. Sources are telling us it is the body of a little child.

Straight back out to Rob Davidek, news director WWJ Newsradio 950, on the story from the very beginning. Rob, just yesterday evening, the reward money went up, and then a tip comes in today. Do we know, Rob, is it a tip from someone that saw the body or someone that knew information about the missing girl`s whereabouts?

DAVIDEK: Nancy, right now, we`re not sure. We haven`t been able to talk with police. Obviously, they`re busy. But we don`t know if it came in as a result of that tip, or if it was somebody who saw something along the river. I can tell you that there are two roads that parallel -- you`re probably seeing them -- that parallel the river in that area about two or three miles west of where this girl lived. So we don`t know right now if it was a tip from that -- you know, from the reward that was posted for 20 grand or if it was somebody who actually saw something.

GRACE: You are seeing the highway along the river -- it looks to be a fairly secluded area -- flanked by FBI, local police and crime scene investigators, high-tech investigators on the scene right now, a body being pulled from the River Raisin there in Monroe, Michigan. Is it 5-year-old Nevaeh?

Back to Rob Davidek, with WWJ 950. Where are the parents tonight? Where`s Daddy and where`s Mommy? Is she snugged up with her sex offender boyfriend?

DAVIDEK: Well, he`s still in jail, from what we understand, and he gave an interview to "The Toledo Blade" newspaper saying he had nothing to do with it. But he`s still in jail, number one. I tried to make contact with the mother and the friend of the mother that we`ve been in contact with, and they didn`t answer their cell phone. We understand that Shane Hinojosa, the father, who`s been up for the last 12 days, you know, in the apartment complex and hanging out there and searching for Nevaeh Buchanan - - that he`s with police right now.

GRACE: Rob, if he has been cleared as a person of interest or a suspect, why is he still behind bars?

DAVIDEK: Well, if you remember, right -- George Kennedy we`re talking about. He was -- you know, he was out on jail. He was on parole, and thus when they picked him up, he had violated his parole because he was near children. That was part of his parole -- conditions of his parole was he`s not supposed to be around any children at all, and that`s -- you know, that`s why they picked him back up, because he was hanging around the -- you know, Jennifer Buchanan. And Jennifer Buchanan has said, which you`ve had on, that -- you know, that he was kind of a father figure, and obviously, he had some contact with Nevaeh.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Let`s unleash the lawyers, Richard Herman out of New York, Randy Kessler out of Atlanta and Barry Brumer with Justicecalls.org, attorney and jury consultant.

Richard Herman, a parole violation? Please! Also with me, child advocate Sue Moss. A parole violation? Uh-uh! This brings to mind when the killer in -- the alleged killer in the Jennifer Hudson family murders was picked up on a parole violation and he was held until they finally charged him. Look, on a parole violation, they don`t use up the cot space for you. Let`s save that for the brand-new rapists and killers and child molesters. They don`t have room for somebody that`s just on a parole violation. That`s the truth, Richard.

RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, all eyes are on this George Kennedy. There`s a reason sexual offenders are not permitted to be around young kids. So unless he can show and itemize every step of the way since this girl`s been missing, he`s going to be number one. They`re going to be looking at him up, down and around.

GRACE: Sue Moss, weigh in.

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: This mother is dating a sex offender? Are you kidding me? With friends like that, who needs enemies? I mean, the fact that she put her child in this type of risk, regardless of whether he did it or not, that`s a problem.

GRACE: To Barry Bremer. Upon careful review of the facts, they actually met at the parole office. That`s a big dating don`t. Don`t get involved with somebody you meet at the parole office. But all that aside, this guy comes out declaring his innocence, but why is he still behind bars?

BARRY BREMER, ATTORNEY AND JURY CONSULTANT: Nancy, I`m a little suspicious about that. I think they`re holding him on a charge because he is a party of interest. You know, unfortunately, the studies show that convicted sex offenders many times become more violent. They don`t want to go back to jail. The way to do it, in their minds, is to dispose of the evidence, unfortunately, maybe killing the victim. Hopefully, this isn`t the case here, but it sure looks bad.

GRACE: Randy Kessler, you are a defense attorney there in the Atlanta jurisdiction. Just take off your defense hat for one moment and give it to me straight. Just be honest with the viewers, all right? Have you ever known a sex offender, a child molester that has been cured?

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t think you can cure it. It`s just like a lot of the other illnesses. You know, Alcoholics don`t call themselves cured. They say they`re recovering alcoholics.

GRACE: Put Kessler up. Put Kessler up! Kessler, are you comparing a child molester to someone who suffers an illness? Did I just hear that?

KESSLER: No, but a lot of people...

GRACE: This body is being pulled out of the Raisin River as we go to air!

KESSLER: But if people...

GRACE: And you`re calling it an illness?

KESSLER: No. People say you can`t cure alcoholism. Well, you certainly can`t cure being a child molester or a sexual offender. Look, they reason they probably still have him in jail is so he doesn`t collude with the mother. If they had any similar knowledge, they don`t want them talking. And you were asking...

GRACE: Agreed.

KESSLER: ... why he`s still in jail. That`s a good reason to keep him in jail.

GRACE: To Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. Marc Klaas, what do you make of it?

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION (via telephone): Well, first of all, never in the history of the world has a pedophile or psychopath ever been cured, so let`s be very clear of this.

Now, if this turns out to be Nevaeh, this completely changes the nature of the investigation from a missing child to a homicide. This -- this is the worst possible scenario, if, in fact, this is confirmed, because what that means then is that she was one of those children, one of those rare children who was kidnapped for perverted sexual gratification and then disposed of afterwards.

So I think that whoever it is who said just a couple of minutes ago that -- that the escalating nature of crimes of these types of criminals ultimately results in a scenario that ends up like Polly or ends up like -- hopefully not, but ends up like potentially Nevaeh, these are exactly the kinds of people that once they`re identified, they should never be allowed back out onto the street again. And if, in fact, it is Kennedy, that sucker should never see the light of day again.

GRACE: He shouldn`t have seen the light of day the first time, Marc Klaas.

KLAAS: Yes.

GRACE: But after about two years on a 15-year sentence, he was out on the streets.

Everyone, you are seeing aerial video. A body has been found in the River Raisin. It is about 40 miles south of Detroit. We are taking your calls live. If this is Nevaeh, it means that her body -- a 5-year-old child set to go to kindergarten in the fall -- has been in this river for 11 days now. Sources telling us that the child`s body is clothed in clothing similar to that Nevaeh was wearing at the time she was last seen on her scooter, the only clue left behind.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JENNIFER BUCHANAN, MOTHER: I just would like to say that whoever is listening, I appreciate everything that they are doing in concerning my daughter, and thank you is beyond not enough. And Nevaeh, if you`re out there, Mom loves you, and we`re going to find you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even if George Kennedy never turns out to have had anything to do with this, you know, do you wish you had done things differently when you look back on this, as far as having a relationship with him?

BUCHANAN: I never really had a relationship with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well...

BUCHANAN: It was just a friendship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, even a friendship.

BUCHANAN: In 85 percent of the time, my daughter wouldn`t even be around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought, though -- weren`t you quoted as saying that George Kennedy was -- served as a father figure.

BUCHANAN: Yes. Yes. But there`s also a lot of times that I knew that he wasn`t allowed to be around her. I wouldn`t have her around. But there`s a few times that he has seen her and interacted with her, but I was there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he was never alone with her that you know.

BUCHANAN: No. Never alone.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

GRACE: You are seeing aerial video of what is going down right now at the River Raisin, about 40 miles south of Detroit, Monroe, Michigan. A child`s body allegedly has been found in those river currents, our sources telling us the child apparently wearing clothes similar to those described as Nevaeh wearing when she was last seen.

We are taking your calls live. Kathy in Virginia. Hi, Kathy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Love you. You`re wonderful.

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nevaeh`s mother seems to be more concerned about defending her child molester friends than an emotion for her child. Do you think that she knows more than she is telling?

GRACE: To Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers." Bethany, what about it?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: This mother values her sex predator boyfriend more than she values her own child. And the sad fact is that mothers who form alliances with predators, and especially sex predators, notoriously defend the predators against their own children. This is why with the FLDS cult, all those kids had to be moved off the compound because there was no guarantee that the mothers would protect their own children.

Child protective services will tell you that they will call in a family, tell the mother to remove the sex predator, and if they`re walking out the front door the mother, the grandmother, the family is moving the sex predator right in the back door. This happens again and again.

And as to what Marc Klaas was saying, sex predators escalate in their offenses over time. They`re not like run-of-the-mill thieves who just get tired of jumping over fences, robbing houses, hitting old ladies over the head and taking their purses. This is a perversion that escalates in the nature of its compulsion over time.

I pray and hope this isn`t true, but I wouldn`t be surprised if little Nevaeh was already being molested or harm was being done to her before this crime, and that`s why child protective services went to the home and asked for this child to be removed. And their pleas were ignored.

GRACE: Dr. Bethany, nobody believes it unless they`re familiar with the justice system, but out of all the child molestation cases I ever handled, I cannot recall a single one where the mom knew the sex offender and did not stand by the boyfriend, lover, father, ex. It never failed. They always stood by the guy, just as you were saying. People that aren`t familiar with the system wouldn`t believe it, but it is absolutely true.

I want to go straight back out to Matt Zarrell, our producer on the story. Matt, what more can you tell me? What is happening right now?

MATTHEW ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, we`re getting information as we speak. There are CSI technicians that are out there searching for more evidence. They`ve got the tent set up. They`ve cordoned off the media. They`re not letting anyone around. We`re still trying to find out more details about the body, what condition it was in.

GRACE: When did the tip come in, Matt?

ZARRELL: The tip came in sometime this afternoon, and investigators immediately swarmed into the area and started searching for clues.

GRACE: Matt, I know that the reward was upped just yesterday evening. Do we know if this is a tip from someone that observed the body or someone that knew where the body was?

ZARRELL: As of right now, investigators aren`t saying. They`re so focused on the river that they`re not coming out and addressing the media. We`re hoping that they`ll do that any moment.

GRACE: To Sergeant Scott Haines, sheriff`s officer, Santa Rosa County, Florida. Sergeant, what clues, what evidence can be gained from the body?

SGT. SCOTT HAINES, SHERIFF`S OFFICER, SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FL: First of all, they`re wearing these outfits to make sure they don`t contaminate the scene. They can always bring things in. They need to make sure that they get all the forensic evidence to make sure if they find any injuries or any trace evidence that would possibly link a suspect to this body. That stuff could still be present, and also evidence to show how long the child was actually in the water.

GRACE: Joining me right now, Dr. Zhongxue Hua, Union County, New Jersey, medical examiner. Dr. Hua, how can you tell how long the body has been in the water?

DR. ZHONGXUE HUA, UNION COUNTY, NEW JERSEY, MEDICAL EXAMINER: It`s unlikely to be exact. (INAUDIBLE) maybe many days to a week. That`s probably the best you can get.

GRACE: Dr. Hua, just because the girl is wearing the same clothes she had on when she went missing does not mean she went into the water that day.

HUA: Yes. Right.

GRACE: What else can you glean from the body?

HUA: A couple of things. I mean, obviously, you have to handle the body very methodically, collect any evidence for potential prosecution later on. Second thing, for any cases like these kind of cases, you have to worry about the sexual assault aspect, a picture (ph), looking for the cause of death and looking for the manner of death.

GRACE: You are seeing live aerial video. Evidence experts called in to the River Raisin 40 miles south of Detroit. Has the body of little Nevaeh been found?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wake up and I think about her. I go to bed, I think about her. I`m constantly making sure that -- if she`s out there -- I don`t know if she is, but it bothers me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: What can you tell me about your daughter being exposed by her mother to a registered sex offender? In fact, more than one.

SHANE HINOJOSA, NEVAEH`S FATHER (via telephone): Oh, I`m furious. You know, I had a talk with her, and the only -- I asked, you know, Why are you, you know, letting her hang around those guys, George Kennedy? And the only response she had is she looked down and shrugged her shoulders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You are seeing aerial video of the search. Allegedly, a body has just been found there in the River Raisin. It`s about 40 miles south of Detroit. Is it little Nevaeh? Volunteers claim to have found a clump of long brown hair, according to the Reverend Dale Hayford (ph), senior pastor of Crosswalk (ph) Community Church.

As we go to air right now, we have discovered the medical examiner`s truck has just arrived at the scene. That belies the major`s statement that no body has been recovered there in the Raisin River search. The medical examiner unit has just arrived at the scene. A mobile command unit that signifies police activity has been there for several hours. It`s there in the Raisinville township, police acting on a tip that the body of little Nevaeh could be buried there.

We have also learned that Nevaeh`s mother, Jennifer Buchanan, states that she has not had any information -- this is as we go to air -- that her daughter`s body has been found. This after police pledged to her they will tell her first. A search under way as we speak, following up on a tip the 5-year-old could be found in the area.

To you, Marc Klaas. What do you make of it?

KLAAS: Well, I think it`s incumbent upon law enforcement to contact the family when developments like this occur, regardless of, you know, what the mother might be fudging or not. The last thing that any parent needs in a situation like this is to hear this information over the airwaves. It`s just -- it`s excruciating for us, Nancy. You can only imagine what it must be like for her family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HINOJOSA: They ain`t really telling me anything. They`re trying to keep it on the down low, just so it don`t leak out to the media and because they said it messes up their investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER BUCHANAN, MOTHER: She came in the house, changed her clothes. She told me that she was going back upstairs to her friend`s house, and that`s the last time I saw her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the friend whose house she was going to, this is all in the same apartment complex, I`m assuming?

BUCHANAN: Same apartment building. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

BUCHANAN: So technically, she wouldn`t go outside at all, she was supposed to be upstairs at the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you realize then, I mean, what time was that and when did you realize that she was missing?

BUCHANAN: It was like, within 20 minutes and another little girl came in who had stayed the night with me and she said that Nevaeh was riding her bike, her scooter in the road, and I assumed it was the parking lot. So I got up, went to go outside to look for her, haven`t seen her since.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all you found was that scooter?

BUCHANAN: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have evidence experts there. You have the sheriff there. You have Michigan State Police, the FBI all acting on a tip this afternoon. They had the helicopter from the law enforcement over the river. They came up, they found a child`s body, and no one is confirming anything yet. They`re saying they want to make sure it is her, if in fact, it is Nevaeh Buchanan, but right now they`re searching.

They found a body and they`re trying to, and they`ll be examining it as you well know and looking for other clues in the area where they found that body but again nobody`s confirming anything. They`re trying to get all their ducks in a row, if you will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: For those of you just joining us, breaking news as we go to air, authorities in the search for 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan clearing the airspace and ordering the press to stay two miles away from the local river raisin. Has the body of little Nevaeh been found? Matt Zarrell, what are we seeing?

MATT ZARRELL, CNNHN CORRESPONDENT: Right now sources are telling us that there was clothing found with the body that was similar to the ones that Nevaeh was last seen with. We`ve also learned that the medical examiner truck has arrived on scene and they`re taking evidence as we speak. A clump of long brown hair was taken from the site. Nevaeh has long brown hair.

GRACE: And we now learned that one of the searchers claims that this brown hair was found at the scene, but not in the water specifically. We`re taking your calls to Karen in Florida. Hi, Karen.

KAREN, CALLER: Hi, Nancy. First of all, I have to tell you how absolutely amazing you are.

GRACE: I`m not, but thank you.

KAREN: Yes, you are. Not only with your passion with your children, it is so nice to see a mother that`s majorly dedicated, but you seem a million times sadder than the actual mother. I think that mother is despicable. You need to put your children first. She doesn`t give a crap. The mother, I wouldn`t let her watch my gerbil, I had a comment and I also had a question and we all know that pedophiles and sexual offenders cannot be cured, why are they not a bracelet slapped on them from the time they leave jail to the time they go to the grave because this is what happens if you do not take care of these people and watch them constantly.

But my question is have they checked into the fact that I`m assuming that all these pedophiles that are together in jail, they migrate toward each other, if there`s an after care, there might be in after care together, if that`s not these ones that you discussed could it possibly be somebody that they`re connected to?

GRACE: You know, what`s interesting, Karen in Florida, I was just thinking over about what we know and I was listening to what the mom said on one of her many radio appearances and she said the little girl came in and says Nevaeh`s on her scooter in the road. The mom goes out and she`s gone. Did she get straight into the car with somebody she knew?

Susan Moss, you heard the questions, answer.

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: Firstly, in effect this mother is guilty of child neglect. The fact that she knew, she knew that her sex offender boyfriend was not supposed to be with her 5-year-old daughter and yet she brought them together anyway is despicable. And when she says that the boyfriend was only there 15 percent of the time, you only need 1 percent of the time for this girl to go missing. So it`s absolutely despicable. It`s absolutely crazy and absolutely this kid could have gone in with someone she knows like, oh, say sex offender boyfriend and unfortunately now we see what`s going on.

GRACE: Back to the Union County Medical Examiner, isn`t it true, Dr. Wah, that if this child has been abused sexually over a long period of time they will be able to tell that in the autopsy, for instance, possibly chronic inflammation, many, many ways to determine whether the hymen is completely gone. There are many ways to determine whether a child has been repeatedly abused over a long period of time.

DR. WAH, UNION COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Yeah. Absolutely right.

GRACE: Everyone, we are taking your calls live. You are seeing aerial footage of the river raisin there in Monroe, Michigan. 40 miles south of Detroit. A search under way as we go to air in Raisinville Township. Police following up on a tip, the missing 5-year-old could be in the area. As of 8:00 p.m. tonight the mom says she has not been contacted about the discovery of the little girl. There`s a mobile command unit there. The road has been barricaded. You are seeing vehicles of local police, the FBI and others, crime scene particular, the medical examiner van has just arrived. You see a tent has been set up to preserve evidence. We are taking your calls live out to Sheeba in Illinois. Hi Sheeba.

SHEEBA, CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I knew deep in my heart that this was how they`re going to find this little girl, but until it was announced on your show I had such great hopes that maybe they would find this baby alive. My question is will they be able to find out what killed her? And how? Because we know its homicide and would you go home tonight and give your babies a big kiss from somebody that loves their mother dearly for everything that she does?

GRACE: You know, Sheeba, when I go home after reporting on these cases I naturally go straight to their room and look in their crib to make sure they`re asleep and they`re safe, and I don`t want to wake them up, but I just put my hand on them to make sure that they are breathing and that that they`re OK. I don`t want to wake them up, but the thought that this child`s body has very likely been in this river waterlogged for now 11 days.

I just really don`t know how the crime scene techs and the police and the FBI that are there on the scene can handle this type of discovery. Let`s unleash the lawyers. Susan Moss, Barry Brumer, Richard Herman, Randy Kessler. Richard Herman, you know your way around the courtroom. You and I have handled plenty of homicide cases. They very likely and I can say pretty confidently, will be able to determine cause of death.

RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yeah, I`d agree with you, Nancy. I`d also agree with what Susan Moss said before about the mother`s culpability here, but the fact that she was in the water for 11 days is going to have some adverse impact on the ability to perform a lot of the DNA, and if they don`t come up with DNA there`s a good chance that they`re not going to find the person that`s involved in this homicide.

GRACE: Hold on just a moment. Put him back up. It depends on where the DNA is.

HERMAN: Yes.

GRACE: If there is DNA, say for instance, in a body cavity, the water will have no effect on it unless the body has been totally degenerated which it would not have been in just 11 days. When I say totally degenerated I am referring to a body such as that as Lacy Peterson and her unborn child Connor, she was just a skeleton when she was finally found. He was intact like a baby doll. He had been protected by his mother`s uterus.

So it is very likely that they can still get DNA from her body, Richard Herman, depending on whether she was molested. Randy Kessler, back to a question from Karen in Florida, why can`t. I want to see Kessler, why can`t sex offenders and child molesters have to wear an anklet the rest of their lives? You know, Kessler, I don`t know how often you get your nose out of the courtroom, but we have sent a spaceship to mars, but we can`t put an anklet on a sex predator? Explain.

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We can. They`re not foolproof. You can get out of them.

GRACE: Why aren`t they there?

KESSLER: I know.

GRACE: Why? Not my question.

KESSLER: It costs a lot of money.

GRACE: Give it a crack, Barry Brumer.

BARRY BRUMER, ATTORNEY & JURY CONSULTANT, JUSTICECALLS.ORG: Well, it`s certainly something that should be done. As was mentioned before these are not people that are ill, these are people who are choosing to go back and do this over and over again? The more I hear about this case the more I`m thinking that this is a plot by a sex offender to seduce or pay the mother money or get in her good graces and then watch for that 15 percent that she mentioned and he would be with the kid.

GRACE: We had no indication that the mother is involved in any way in this child`s death other than not supervising her at the time she went missing. You are seeing aerial footage of the search of the river raisin there in Monroe, Michigan. Has the body of little Nevaeh been found?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): It`s rough. It`s rough for all of us. Still on a positive note, hoping for the best for all of us. That`s all we are wanting to think about at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`ve said or the family has said that Nevaeh was a pretty cautious girl, kind of a shy girl and that this is probably not any chance that she would have gone with any stranger without putting up any kind of fuss or whatever. Are you still feeling that eight days in?

BUCHANAN: Yes. She`s not the type to just go with any kind of stranger whatsoever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So then you still feel that she was probably with somebody, whoever it is that she knew of from the neighborhood or something?

BUCHANAN: Probably someone from around here. Not exactly, technically, my apartment complex, but it has to be someone from Monroe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is pointing to it is this 5-year-old girl, but again, right now they`re just trying to figure out -- they want to make sure it is before they talk with the family. We understand that the father who you`ve had on a couple of nights here in a row now that the father is with the police. We understand that Nevaeh`s uncle has been in contact with police as well.

ROB DAVIDEK, NEWS DIRECTOR WWJ NEWSRADIO 950: We don`t know if it came in as a result of that tip or if it was somebody who saw something along the river. I can tell you that there are two roads that parallel, you`re probably seeing them that parallel in the river in that area, it`s two or three miles west of where this girl lived. We don`t know right now if it was a tip from the reward that was posted for 20 grand or if it was somebody who actually saw something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight to Matt Zarrell, you have news, what?

ZARRELL: We`ve learned about more about who found the body and details on the body. It was a father and son who was out fishing. The teenager said the body was encased in a cement block and they could smell it. His father chipped a piece of the cement away and saw skin and when he saw skin, that`s when he called cops.

GRACE: Medical examiner truck there at the river raisin. We are just getting information as to the tipster. Was this child encased in cement block? Joining me right now special guest Sean Henady, he is a searcher for missing children and adults. He is the founder of 3 View Search Services. Sean, thank you for being with us. Sean, how do you approach a scene like this?

SEAN HENADY, FOUNDER, 3 VIEW SEARCH SERVICES: Law enforcement will come right in and secure the entire scene, Nancy and all of the public and all of the media and make sure they have everything secure to find all of the evidence possible.

GRACE: In fact, Sean Henady, they actually banned the press from the airspace on the ground two miles away. The road`s barricaded to everyone except local police, sheriff and the FBI.

HENADY: Yes, ma`am. They`ll keep everything tight until they can find as much evidence as possible and try to highlight who is taking care of this case, who is responsible for the case and collect any and all evidence possible.

GRACE: Sean Henady, I see a tent has been set up, why?

HENADY: For several different reasons, Nancy. They`ll try to collect everything underneath the tent and block all view from spectators, block all view from any helicopters flying in other than law enforcement and try to contain the scene entirely.

GRACE: What about divers? Will divers be necessary?

HENADY: If there is evidence in the water, if there`s information that says there are articles in the water, yes, they`ll put divers in the water, they`ll put side scan sonar in the water and they`ll use every resource possible to check evidence in this case.

GRACE: Sean Henady, founder of 3 View Search Services, we are seeing the searchers right now. Why are they all wearing white jump suits, long sleeves, long pants zipped up all of the way to the neck why?

HENADY: To protect every bit of evidence to make sure they do not overlook a single clue. They want to make sure they have every bit of evidence to find out who is responsible for this case.

GRACE: Sean, is it also so that none of the evidence will end up transferred to their clothing and no fibers or hair off their civilian clothing will get on to the crime scene evidence?

HENADY: Exactly, Nancy. They want zero contamination. They want to preserve the crime scene exactly as it is and collected the evidence so they have exactly what they need to find to move forward with this case.

GRACE: We are getting news in right now that the mother, Jennifer Buchanan is with friends at her apartment. She has not been informed that this is the body of her 5-year-old little girl. According to one of the mother`s friends, now it seems to me, Marc Klaas that she would be, and the father, trying to go there to the scene. What about it?

MARC KLAAS, PRES. & FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, they would be trying to do everything they could to find out exactly what`s going on. There are three quick points I`d like to address. The first point is that our mutual friend Mark Lunsford has been trying for years to get mandatory anklets on registered sex offenders and he`s had resistance around the country. People should know that. The Internet provides a lot of good cover for pedophiles and other miscreants who want to communicate with each other, so they`re able to network in pretty tremendous ways and I forget what my third point was.

GRACE: Well looking at this aerial video, Marc, I don`t blame you. All I can speak about is has this child`s body which we now learn may have been encased in cement, been there in the water for 11 days now, clearly, the killer hoping the cement would go down to the bottom of the river raisin and never come up again. That didn`t happen. You are seeing video right now out of Michigan.

This is the discovery of little 5-year-old Nevaeh and whoever did this to her better run and hide because hell hath no fury after the death of a child in this manner. We are waiting to hear whether there`s a positive result as to whether this child is 5-year-old Nevaeh. Cheryl in Pennsylvania. Hi, Cheryl.

CHERYL, CALLER: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

CHERYL: My question is this story really breaks my heart. I have a 6- year-old daughter myself and ironically her name is Nevaeh and I wouldn`t think to leave her in the yard if I wasn`t out there. My question is I feel the mother, Jennifer should be held responsible. Is there some legal charges that could be brought against her for not supervising her child and for allowing her to be around these types of men?

GRACE: Susan Moss, Barry Bremer, Richard Herman, Kessler, what about it, Herman?

HERMAN: Well it is not going to happen, I mean child neglect, potentially for allowing her to be around a convicted sexual predator, but I mean -- we don`t know the history of kids that are being picked up in the neighborhood, the crime rate in that neighborhood.

GRACE: Susan Moss, what about it?

MOSS: I don`t even believe the mother`s story so I`ll say yes.

GRACE: Kessler.

KESSLER: If she had some knowledge of wrongdoing, yes.

GRACE: Bremer.

BREMER: I would think so, too, sure.

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GRACE: Why was the mom dating a registered sex offender and allowing him around the child?

MICHAEL BUCHANAN, MATERNAL UNCLE OF NEVAEH BUCHANAN (via telephone): She said, basically, you know she`s watching everything. She felt like she didn`t want to be judgmental.

GRACE: You are seeing aerial video of the possible discovery of 5- year-old Nevaeh. We are learning the body was discovered around 11:00 a.m. this morning, a teen and his father fishing there claim that they found cement, was the body encased in cement? Out to Ann in New Jersey, hi, Ann.

ANN, CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I love your show, god bless you for all you do.

GRACE: Thank you.

AMY: I was wondering how many children in this area are missing that would be this weight, this size? What`s the chance?

GRACE: Exactly. If it is not Nevaeh, who is it?

Is anyone else missing?

ZARRELL: No, not that we know of. The report seems to match with the clump of hair and the clothes are similar.

GRACE: What`s your question?

SANDRA, CALLER: Nancy, I`m probably the only person that probably doesn`t know this. What is the difference between a sex offender and a sex predator? It`s the same thing.

GRACE: Predator is being used when there are repeat offenses and when they are referring to offenders whose targets are children. It`s the same thing. Everyone, you`re seeing video of the possible discovery of little 5- year-old Nevaeh.

Let`s stop and remember Army Corporal Matthew Grimm, 21, Wisconsin. Killed, Iraq. Awarded two bronze stars, two purple hearts and national defense service medal, loved sports and working with high-performance stock cars and exchanging letters with soldiers` angels. An organization supporting the troops, dreamed of being a physical therapist in a fitness center.

Country superstar Tim McGraw paid tribute to the fall know hero with a hit "If You`re Reading This, Leaves behind Mother Jeanne, and Brother who also served in Iraq." Matthew Grimm, American hero.

Happy birthday to Dover, Tennessee issue friend of the show Merrill Page. You are beautiful. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

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