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Nancy Grace
Nebraska 3rd Grader Disappears at School Door
Aired September 22, 2011 - 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, live, Nebraska -- 8:00 AM, an 8-year-old little girl dropped off at the doors of her own elementary school, gone. Eight-year-old Kerra goes missing without a trace, never even making it to her 3rd grade class.
Bombshell tonight. Was the missing 3rd grader ever even on school grounds that day? The principal says no, that Kerra was marked absent around 8:15 AM. In the last hours, witnesses confirm the 8-year-old spotted across the street from school at a picnic table before walking back towards the school. It`s then, there, the trail goes cold, 8-year-old Kerra never seen again.
As we go to air, investigators combing grainy school surveillance video. The first critical 48-hour mark looming tonight. The search by land, by air for 8-year-old Kerra.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A frantic search is on for this little 8-year-old girl, Kerra Wilson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eight-year-old Kerra was reportedly let out of the car by her stepfather at a drop-off point right outside of Mitchell elementary school around 8:00 AM.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Kerra never shows up for class.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police asking the public to come forward with any information regarding what happened to 3rd grader Kerra Wilson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Despite the fact she was reportedly dropped off close to school, the school reports Kerra absent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has she been abducted?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elementary school principal reportedly says Kerra never stopped inside the school or was even on school grounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And adds cameras outside of the school never showed Kerra.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police spring into action, kicking the search into high gear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities even using aircraft.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to 8-year-old school girl Kerra Wilson?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, we go live, Cleveland suburbs. A teenage girl vanishes without a trace. Tonight, where is teen mom Vivian Buildt and her baby girl, Hailey?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement needs your help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cops say a missing teen mom and her baby girl are in danger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you seen 16-year-old Vivian and 1-and-a-half- year-old baby girl Hailey?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vivian last seen in Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police try and track down leads of the teen mom and baby but come up empty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say her hair is died red and may have been cut short. Baby Hailey has brown hair and brown eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities work the case but say they`ve exhausted all possible leads and now asking the public for any and all information you may have on this teen mother and daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ohio police asking anyone with information to call 216-623-5262.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight, live, Nebraska -- 8:00 AM, 8:00 o`clock in the morning, an 8-year-old little girl dropped off at the doors of her own elementary school, gone. But was the missing 3rd grader ever even on school grounds that morning? The principal says no, that she was marked absent early that morning, at 8:15 AM. Tonight, the search by land, by air for 8-year-old Kerra.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a parent`s worse nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imagine dropping your 8-year-old off for school, but they never make it to class.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This nightmare now being lived by 8-year-old Kerra Wilson`s family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Third-grader Kerra Wilson, the little girl reportedly dropped off for school at 8:00 AM.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But reported absent and never attended class.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerra just 4-foot-2 with brown shoulder-length hair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Weighs 78 pounds, last seen wearing blue shorts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And could be carrying a blue backpack with the phrase "kids fitness and nutrition day."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Witnesses reportedly say they saw the 8-year-old actually walk across the street and sit at a picnic table near a Subway sandwich store.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A frantic search is on for this little 8-year-old girl, Kerra Wilson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The 8-year-old little girl dropped off at the school, right there at the front doors of the elementary school, but yet she was marked absent at 8:15 AM.
We are taking your calls live. Let`s go out to Kevin Mooney, news director, KNEB, joining us there in Scotts Bluff. Kevin, thanks for being with us? What more do you know? Oh, everybody, we are waiting to go live to a presser. As soon as it starts, I`ll tell you what`s happening.
Go ahead, Kevin. What do we know tonight?
KEVIN MOONEY, KNEB RADIO (via telephone): Well, thank you very much, Nancy. And right now, the search is still continuing for 8-year-old Kerra Wilson, who, as you mentioned, got dropped off, the latest we have is in the actual parking lot of the Mitchell elementary school, according to the Nebraska state patrol. And since then, really no sign of her. She did -- according to the school officials, there were witnesses that said she did go across the street for a time at a picnic -- sat at a picnic table at the Subway shop across the street, and then left from there, was heading back to school, back to the parking lot. And that`s the last time anybody has ever seen her.
GRACE: So who dropped her off, Kevin Mooney? Was it the mother or the father that dropped her off at school?
MOONEY: Actually, it was the stepfather that dropped her off at the school. And they have interviewed the stepfather. They`ve interviewed the biological parents. And they say they`ve been very cooperative, although they do say they are still persons of interest simply because they were the last people to see Kerra right now.
GRACE: OK, with me is Kevin Mooney, joining us from Scotts Bluff (ph), Kevin the news director, KNEB. Kevin, let me ask you a couple of quick yes, no questions. PS, everybody, we`re taking your calls tonight. An 8-year-old girl dropped off we are told at the doors of her elementary school, but yet within just 15 minutes of that time, 8:00 AM, she`s marked absent at 8:15 AM.
Now, a couple of quick questions, Kevin Mooney. The stepfather drops her off. Has he taken a polygraph? Yes, no.
MOONEY: I don`t know. No indication at all...
GRACE: OK, what about the mother?
MOONEY: ... from the authorities whether he has or not.
GRACE: Did the mother take a polygraph, yes, no? Kevin! Kevin! Did the mother take a polygraph, yes, no?
MOONEY: Again, don`t know.
GRACE: Don`t know. OK, what about the natural father, the bio father? Where he is in the mix?
MOONEY: We just know they interviewed him. Again, they say he`s cooperative, a person of interest. Other than that, we don`t know a whole lot about him.
GRACE: Got it. Let`s go to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer on the story. Ellie, couple of more quick questions to you. Try to give me a yes, no. So the stepfather says he drops her off 8:00 AM at the front doors of the school, yes, no?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes. It`s actually...
GRACE: Ellie...
JOSTAD: ... south of the school.
GRACE: Thank you. South of the school.
JOSTAD: Sorry, it`s a drop-off area a little south of the school.
GRACE: Ah. OK. So that is consistent with at the doors and in the parking lot. It`s a drop-off area where people -- they get out of the car and then they walk in. OK. That makes sense. Now both of that rings true.
Now, it`s my understanding, even though the stepfather dropped her off -- and he is a person of interest tonight because he was the last one to see her -- other witnesses saw her not with the stepfather but across the street at a Subway sandwich shop picnic area, right?
JOSTAD: Yes. Yes.
GRACE: OK. So then, Ellie...
JOSTAD: That`s right.
GRACE: ... she`s last seen by witnesses not with the stepfather, but by witnesses going back across to the school parking lot, is that correct, Ellie?
JOSTAD: Correct. Correct.
GRACE: And where I`m going with this, Ellie, is we`re saying the stepfather`s a person of interest, but after he drops her off, other people see the little girl sitting in these picnic tables across the street from the school, so he`s out of the mix at that point. OK.
Ellie, take it from the top. Tell me what you know.
JOSTAD: Right. Well, state police, or state patrol, rather, is telling us that they are confident she was dropped off by family. But they are also confident that she never made it inside the school.
The school principal tells us that they do have cameras that are trained inside and outside the school. They do not see her on the school property. They do not see her in the area where she would typically enter the school.
So we know she went to the Subway restaurant. We know she was seen outside. The Subway manager tells us nobody in the store -- and it had opened about an hour earlier -- nobody saw this little girl. But she was seen outside, last seen walking back towards the school.
What happened after that is the mystery here. And the state patrol is telling us the family very cooperative, very concerned, very upset, doing everything they can to help find Kerra right now.
GRACE: I want to go to Paul Penzone, former sergeant, Phoenix PD, child advocate. This is my fear, Paul. All right, predators, sex predators, child molesters -- where do they go? They go to schools. Which schools? Elementary schools, where children are too young and too naive to understand what`s going on.
What`s the best time to nab a kid? Going in or out at 8:00 o`clock in the morning or 3:00 to 3:30 in the afternoon, where there`s a big mix. There`s a lot of hustle and bustle going on. Nobody notices what`s happening.
We`ve got the little girl -- she`s only 8 years old -- across the street. She walks back over, apparently never seen again. Paul, weigh in.
PAUL PENZONE, FMR. SGT., PHOENIX PD: The most challenging cases to solve because you don`t always have a relationship from that predator to that victim. But you`re right, that is the time when they are most vulnerable. Whoever saw this young girl going from the school to the Subway is a critical witness because they may have seen other things, whether it be cars or people, in that area. That`s really where this needs to begin.
But those are the hardest to solve. If it`s someone close to the victim, there`s often a tie. But those predators can just be unknown factors and very difficult to track down.
GRACE: Liz -- Liz, when you can pull it up, pull me up my map of the sex predators surrounding that area.
Out to the lines. Heather in South Carolina. Hi, Heather. What`s your question?
Oh, wait! Look. Orange locaters represent sex offenders. That`s within just a 10-mile radius of the elementary school where Kerra was walking toward the parking lot.
Back to you, Heather in South Carolina. Hi, Heather. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I love you. I`ve watched you since the Misty Croslin case started. I watch you every night. My question is, is how come the dad or the stepdad or whatever he was, didn`t walk her into school? I mean, she`s in 3rd grade. Is there any -- like, any remarks to his reaction and stuff like that? Because when I even drop my kids off, I make sure they are in the door. I walk them to the door.
GRACE: Well, you know, Heather in South Carolina, it`s a mixed bag because when I take my twins, who are just 3, to play school, I get out of the car and I walk them into their class. But I`ve noticed a lot of other moms do the drop-off. But even with that drop-off, a teacher comes out and gets them and brings them in.
We`re going to answer your question when we get back. Tip line, 308- 632-1211. An 8-year-old girl, Kerra, missing from her own elementary school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerra just 4-foot-2 with brown shoulder-length hair, weighs 78 pounds. She was last seen wearing blue shorts and could be carrying a blue backpack with the phrase "kids fitness and nutrition day."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to 8-year-old school girl Kerra Wilson?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mysteriously absent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was reportedly dropped off close to school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But was reported absent and never attended class.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eight-year-old Kerra was reportedly let out of the car by her stepfather.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At a drop-off point right outside of Mitchell elementary school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Around 8:00 AM. How does an 8-year-old just disappear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elementary school principal reportedly says Kerra never stepped inside the school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has she been abducted?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police spring into action.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement asking the public to come forward with any information. What happened to 8-year-old Kerra Wilson?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. We are live in Nebraska and taking your calls. We are hearing from police as we are on air right now. Out to Ellie Jostad. Ellie, what are we learning from police as we`re on air right now? Give me the latest.
JOSTAD: Right. They gave some more details about how she was dropped off. She was apparently dropped off actually in the parking lot by her stepfather, as Kevin Mooney said before. State patrol confirmed that now. They also said that the parents have both been interviewed. The said the biological father apparently is not at all involved in Kerra`s life. In fact, the father may not even know that he is Kerra`s father. So he is not in the picture.
They also gave a little bit better description. They said her hair, which we previously heard was shoulder-length brown hair, may have some red streaks in the hair. And Nancy, we should also point out she was wearing very distinctive tennis shoes. They`re called "twinkle toes" tennis shows. They have rhinestones on the toes. They light up. That`s something else people can be looking for. There you can see video of it right there.
GRACE: Rhinestones -- light up. This is what we`re learning right now as we`re live on air. Apparently, the mother, the mom, never told the biological father that he had had a child. So what does that mean to me? That means he`s out of the picture in this disappearance.
We are learning she has absolutely no history of ever leaving home, saying she was going to run away, nothing. That`s never happened. We`re also learning from police -- right now, I`m reading my notes -- that the school cameras reveal she never actually entered the building. She is listed as an endangered child.
All right, let`s go out to Nicole Partin, investigative reporter joining us on the story tonight. What do you make of it, Nicole?
NICOLE PARTIN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Good evening, Nancy. A family is devastated and the entire community is on guard, this as the elementary school says, You know what? Our cameras show nothing, no sign of her not only inside the school, but no sign of her on school grounds, all of this while the stepfather says, I dropped her off in the parking lot.
GRACE: OK. Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Back it up. Kevin Mooney, KNEB, I thought that we have witnesses of the stepfather bringing her up to the drop-off point.
MOONEY: We don`t. We just know that the stepfather said that`s what he did. We don`t know whether we have -- I don`t think they`ve ever said they had witnesses...
GRACE: OK...
MOONEY: ... to see him do it.
GRACE: All right, then...
MOONEY: He said that`s what he did.
GRACE: OK. Got it. Ellie Jostad, then, who are my witnesses? Who are my impartial witnesses that are placing her walking across the street to the picnic area and then coming back toward the school parking lot? Who are they?
JOSTAD: Yes, that is what is not clear here, Nancy. State patrol told us they are confident, though, that the stepfather did drop her off at school. They also say that they have interviewed children who were there at school -- and remember, this is the typical time that kids are dropped off by their parents. So we don`t know if it`s other parents, kids, teachers.
The school tells us that there is school staff that is both outside the school, inside the school, in the playgrounds, monitoring children as they arrive. So we`re not sure who can place them there or who says they saw her walk across the street.
GRACE: But the cops believe it. Cops believe she was dropped off, that she did walk across the street...
JOSTAD: Correct.
GRACE: ... and then she walked back toward the parking lot.
We are taking your calls. Heather in South Carolina`s question was, why didn`t the dad take her in? You know, I don`t know. Why didn`t he, Kevin Mooney? What`s the story? Why didn`t he take her in the building? Or is that the general way that children are dropped off there, they get out of the car and they walk in?
MOONEY: Well, they actually have two drop-off points, I was told by the school officials, one where he did drop her off at 13th Avenue, another place on 12th Avenue. So I don`t think it`s all that unusual for the kids to be dropped off.
GRACE: OK.
MOONEY: But this is a rural community. It`s only a town of a couple thousand people.
GRACE: Couple of thousand?
MOONEY: Most people don`t expect a child to have problems getting into school.
GRACE: And one of those couple of thousand people took this 8-year- old girl, 8:00 AM at her elementary school? Take a look, Kerra Wilson, 3rd grader, gone. The critical 48-hour mark is looming. Tip line 308-632- 1211.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imagine dropping your 8-year-old off for school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This little 8-year-old girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Third-grader Kerra Wilson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elementary school principal reportedly says Kerra never even on school grounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The school reports Kerra absent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never shows up for class.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A frantic search.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities even using aircraft.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Witnesses reportedly say they saw the 8-year-old at a picnic table near a Subway sandwich store.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elementary school principal reportedly says cameras outside the school never show Kerra.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: How many of us take our children to school, to play school, for me with my 3-year-olds, to elementary school like this little girl, Kerra, to middle school, to high school? You take them right there to the door. You think everything`s OK. Well, it wasn`t OK in this case.
Her stepfather says he drops Kerra off, 8 years old, a 3rd grader, right there at the door, just like all the other parents do. The children get out of the car and they walk in. She has never been seen again. At this hour, the critical 48-hour mark is looming. After that, the statistics skyrocket as to harm befalling this child. Let me give you the tip line, 308-632-1211.
We are taking your calls. Out to Katie in Illinois. Hi, Katie. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thank you so much for taking my call. My question is, if the school says there was a staff member at the drop-off zone where she was allegedly dropped off, then why haven`t the authorities spoken directly with them?
GRACE: Excellent question. To Kevin Mooney, KNEB. What about it? Wasn`t there a teacher or someone out there to grab the child as they get out of the car?
MOONEY: Well, there are staff members and administrators and so forth in the parking lot and on the playground. I think most of their attention is focused on the playground, not necessarily on the areas where the kids are dropped off. And so I don`t think anybody saw anything suspicious when -- in that drop-off area when it occurred.
GRACE: Well, for a child to leave the school -- a 3rd grader, 8 years old, to get out of Dad`s car, and instead of going in the building, wander across the street to a Subway sandwich shop, an open picnic area -- from the shot that I`ve got of the Subway shop, the employees can`t even look out on that picnic table. Anybody could have nabbed her right there. You think your child is safe when you drop them off in the parking lot of the elementary school. Well, that`s not true in Nebraska tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nightmare now being lived by 8-year-old Kerra Wilson`s family. Despite the fact she was reportedly dropped off close to school, the school reports Kerra absent. Has she been abducted?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A frantic search is on for this little 8-year- old girl Kerra Wilson.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Eight-year-old Kerra was reportedly let out of the car by her stepfather at a drop-off point right outside of Mitchell Elementary School around 8:00 a.m.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But Kerra never shows up for class.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police asking the public to come forward with any information regarding what happened to third grader Kerra Wilson.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Despite the fact she was reportedly dropped off close to school, the school reports Kerra absent.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has she been abducted?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The elementary school principal reportedly says Kerra never stepped inside the school or was even on school grounds.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And adds cameras outside of the school never show Kerra.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police spring into action kicking the search into high gear.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Authorities even using aircraft.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What happened to 8-year-old school girl Kerra Wilson?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Are you like every other parent in America that takes their child to school, lets them out of the car, watch them walk toward the door? You think everything is OK?
I take mine inside, into their classroom. Not into the hall. Into their classroom and deliver them to the playschool teacher. But this was the mode of drop-off there in Nebraska. You drive your child, this one 8 years old, you let them out and they walk in the door.
That did not happen with 8-year-old Kerra Wilson. She is missing. Her stepdad takes her right up to the school. She gets out. But she didn`t go in. School surveillance video inside and outside is telling us tonight the child never went in.
Impartial witnesses state they saw her across the street sitting at a picnic area, get up and walk back toward the school parking lot to go into the school. She never made it. In 15 minutes, she`s gone. 8:15 a.m., the elementary school marks her absent.
Here`s the kicker. Seven hours passed before she is reported missing.
What happened, Ellie?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Right, Nancy. Well, apparently the school thought this was a typical absent child. You know I suppose they`re imagining she`s sick. She can`t come to school today. So they marked her absent but they were waiting from a call -- for a call from the parents saying she is sick today, won`t be in school.
When they hadn`t heard from her mother by noon, they called her, parents got to the school, parents were both at work that day, we`re told. Parents got to the school, met with the principal, and that is when police got involved. By the time all that happened -- it was 2:00, almost 3:00 by the time police knew she was missing.
GRACE: 8:00 to 3:00. Seven hours.
Paul Laska joining us from Palm City, Florida. Expert searching with Paul Laska Forensic Consulting.
OK, Paul. How much is that seven hours costing us tonight?
PAUL LASKA, EXPERT SEARCHER, PAUL R. LASKA FORENSIC CONSULTING, INC.: A great deal. Those first few minutes, you know, give everybody an opportunity whether it`s a criminal act or whether the child wandered away, it`s an awful big difference in seven hours of what you`re looking for and where you`re going to look, what your -- all of the stones you`re looking under.
GRACE: Weigh in, Paul Penzone. That seven hours is critical and tonight looming is the cutoff, the 48-hour mark. You know what that means.
PAUL PENZONE, DIRECT OF PREVENTION PROGRAMS, CHILDHELP.ORG, FMR. SERGEANT, PHOENIX PD: Absolutely. And I`m surprised that we don`t mandate in the schools especially for below junior high level that if a child is missing at that first hour, that the school takes the initiative and makes that phone call to avoid circumstances like these. Not to point blame but just to eliminate that problem.
I`m really concerned more so that I feel like there`s some things that just aren`t validated yet. There`s a lot of discussion or belief or assumption. They have to back up -- there`s a sense of urgency at the same you have to be methodical. Everyone you spoke to who may have seen something, validate it, and then make sure that it`s factual.
And I don`t trust anyone when it comes to children. I will go over everyone two to three times to ensure that I`m getting accurate information.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. We are live in Nebraska.
Out to Angel in New York. Hi, Angel, what`s your question?
ANGEL, CALLER FROM NEW YORK: Hi, Nancy. I just wanted to tell you the clip they show of "Dancing with the Stars" that dress, you are working it, OK? But --
GRACE: Let me tell you something. Both the dresses, I thought I looked absolutely horrible. I thought I looked like a barn covered in glitter, in sequins. You know? But --
ANGEL: You look gorgeous.
GRACE: All I could think about was trying to plow through that dance and I`m just going to try to make a comeback on Monday night with a quick step. OK.
ANGEL: You look gorgeous. But --
GRACE: What -- do you have children, Angel in New York? Do you have children?
ANGEL: Yes, I do.
GRACE: You do? Well, do you -- how do you drop them off?
ANGEL: Well, they get picked up by the school bus but the first day of school I always go in and I check. I follow the bus. And I see who`s outside and I watch how they bring the kids in school.
I do that every year the first day. Because if I don`t like the way it looks -- because I have to go to work. So if I don`t like the way it looks, I`m going to have to take them. I`m going to have to go on work late every day or something.
But what I don`t understand is if the stepfather said he dropped her off then -- and they have no record of it, why don`t they questioning him further? That`s the first thing. And the second thing, does anybody know how long he`s been her stepfather and what kind of relationship they`ve had?
GRACE: OK. Don`t let Angel in New York go. Number one, Angel, I am so happy you follow that school bus the first day to find out what`s going on. I don`t know if I mentioned this on air, but I recently in the last three years broke my foot spying on a babysitter that had the twins.
I was looking down in a window. I broke my foot. All right? I was on crutches in a boot for months. But you know, when you don`t know, you have to spy just like you trailing the school bus.
Let`s get down to that stepfather. Number one, Ellie Jostad, is it true they`ve been married two years?
JOSTAD: That`s correct.
GRACE: OK. Do we know anything about the relationship?
JOSTAD: No. We don`t. Although police say that there are no problems in the home that they know of. Typical parent/child disagreements but no problems that they are aware of at this point.
GRACE: And to answer Angel`s question, it`s my understanding that independent witnesses have placed her across the street at this picnic area at a Subway sandwich shop without the stepfather, which corroborates his story, Angel in New York, that he did drop her off. He left. He goes to work. Mom goes to work. And that`s the last he saw her.
I don`t think he ever said he saw her go inside the school.
Did he, Kevin Mooney, say he saw her go in the school?
KEVIN MOONEY, NEW DIRECTOR, KNEB RADIO: No, he never said he saw her go in the school.
GRACE: OK.
MOONEY: He said he just dropped her off.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Out of Washington, D.C. tonight, Eleanor Odom, with the National District Attorney`s Association. She is death penalty qualified. Renee Rockwell, defense attorney, Atlanta. Peter Odom, defense attorney, Atlanta.
Weigh in, Eleanor.
ELEANOR ODOM, FELONY PROSECUTOR, DEATH PENALTY QUALIFIED: Well, you know, Nancy, of course, they`re going to look at the family, the closest people to the child. And also the closes sex predators.
And I can tell you this, Nancy, I was training those state patrol officers in Scottsbluff, Nebraska this summer. So they`ve had the latest training on child investigation techniques. So I`m really glad that they`re there doing that job.
GRACE: OK. What were you training them about, Eleanor?
E. ODOM: We were training on child homicide, unfortunately, investigation and prosecution and child abuse and neglect. So all of those things come in when you are looking at child abduction and what could happen in those types of cases. So they`ve had the latest training.
I know the lieutenant who is doing this investigation right now, Nancy. They are very dedicated professionals.
GRACE: OK. To Peter Odom and Renee Rockwell.
First to you, Renee, cops are likely to question the area`s sex offenders about where they were at the time and other issues as it relates to this investigation. What, if any, rights do they have?
RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, different states have different requirements. One thing you will know about sex offenders, they at least have to go in and report. They can still just agree not to say anything or not to submit to any testing but, Nancy, let me bring you back to the day that you had a local sheriff from a rural area on your show, and do you remember his complaints?
Based on all the sex registry laws that we have in the big cities, a lot of sex predators are moving out to the country.
GRACE: OK. That`s reassuring.
Weigh in, Peter Odom. What rights do they have when cops come knocking at the door?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, if any of these sex offenders happens to still be on probation which some of them might be, then it will be a requirement of their probation that they cooperate with any investigation. That might bear fruit.
All the others, if they`re just -- if they`re done with probation, they can just tell the police they don`t want to talk to them and don`t have to.
GRACE: Take a look at 8-year-old third grader Kerra Wilson. Her stepdad drops her off at the back of her elementary school to walk in. School video shows she never made it in.
Tip line, 308-632-1222. Tonight where is Kerra?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A frantic search is on for this little 8-year- old girl Kerra Wilson. Eight-year-old Kerra was reportedly let out of the car by her stepfather at a drop-off point right outside Mitchell Elementary School around 8:00 a.m. but Kerra never shows up for class.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It`s a parents` worst nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Imagine dropping your 8-year-old off for school but they never make it to class.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: This nightmare now being lived by 8-year-old Kerra Wilson`s family.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Third grader Kerra Wilson. The little girl reportedly dropped off her school at 8:00.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But reported absent and never attended class.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Kerra, just 4`2", with brown shoulder length hair.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Weight 78 pounds, last seen wearing blue shorts.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And could be carrying a blue backpack with the phrase "Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day."
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Witnesses reportedly say they saw the 8-year- old actually walk across the street and sit at a picnic table near a Subway sandwich store.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A frantic search is on for this little 8-year- old girl Kerra Wilson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: We are live in rural Nebraska tonight where this 8-year-old little girl is missing.
Like millions of Americans across the country including me, you take your children to school. Some of us walk them in. Some have car drop-off. That`s what happened here. The stepdad drops her off. Thinking she`s walking in. According to school surveillance she did not.
The search is on for an 8-year-old third grader. Look at her. Her little chubby cheeks. You just want to hold her like this.
Kerra Wilson missing. And we are approaching a critical 48-hour mark.
To Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers," weigh in, Bethany.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": We have got to stop placing the burden of self-protection on our children. Right? Telling your children not to leave the school, not to take candy from strangers, to fight off a predator, that`s helpful but it`s inappropriate for an 8-year-old.
An 8-year-old cannot protect herself. It is very bad parenting to let the child out of the car and not guarantee that that child went through the front door of the school. When I think about her sitting on the picnic table, you know, maybe she saw her mom the day before at a Subway eating lunch and she wanted to be just like mommy, so she walked across the street to sit at the picnic table and see what it was like to be an adult.
Kids get crazy ideas sometimes. And that`s why we cannot expect them to make it from the parking lot into the school.
GRACE: To Dr. Stanton Kessler, consulting medical examiner and forensic pathologist, also associate professor, University of South Carolina Department of Pathology.
Dr. Kessler, as always, thank you for being with us. You know it seems extremely unlikely to me, Doctor, that she would have wandered away because this was her surroundings. This was her school. But if she had wandered away, if she is lost right now, how long can this child survive without food or water?
DR. STANTON KESSLER, CONSULTING MEDICAL EXAMINER AND FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY: She could probably go for several days without food. Water she`s going to get dehydrated. Depends on the temperature. She`s not in heavy clothes. She probably may be able to survive for a day or two or even three if she found water.
I don`t like the fact that she`s at this Subway which now serves breakfast. Maybe there was a treat on that table. Maybe there were cookies out there. What do they sell in the morning? Who was in there in the morning? Why is she there out of all places?
Sure she could have wandered there but I think she was lured there. Something brought her there. And I would -- I would evaluate that before letting it go.
GRACE: You know what, Dr. Kessler?
KESSLER: May not be able to do much.
GRACE: You`re right. I`m just wondering now whether Subway -- that Subway sandwich shop has video surveillance.
Let me see that picture again, Liz. Or if the structure beside the Subway -- you see that white structure jetting out? It`s obviously a business. It`s got a sign on it. There you go.
Thanks, Liz.
I wonder if any of those businesses have video surveillance because what you`re saying, Dr. Kessler, is that someone may have lured her there. The employees inside the Subway didn`t see her.
Put the picture up again, please, Liz.
And I think that`s because the picnic table -- I can`t see it right now. It`s on the other side. So the people working inside couldn`t see it. It might be right under the Subway sign and notice the windows don`t look around that corner that jets out.
I`m wondering, Kevin Mooney, KNEB, does the Subway sandwich or those surrounding businesses have surveillance video?
MOONEY: I would seriously doubt that they do. I just don`t believe they do.
GRACE: Subway does not, I`m hearing in my ear right now.
MOONEY: Pardon?
GRACE: OK. Yes, and I`m hearing in my ear we have called to Subway, we`ve talked to people there. They don`t have it.
You`re right, Kevin Mooney, nor do the businesses right around there. That`s not going to help me.
What Kessler is saying is making a lot of sense.
You know, Dr. Kessler, I don`t really want to let my mind go here, but that`s what we`re trained to do. She`s 78 pounds. Could she fight back against an attacker?
KESSLER: I wouldn`t think so. Not easily. Somebody that`s an adult I would say no. But maybe they have a sales receipt or something that was sold to an adult that morning that was milk and cookies or something like that. They can -- maybe it was paid with a credit card.
It`s a lead you`ve got to follow up. Maybe it doesn`t mean anything. But there`s a reason she was out there as opposed to anywhere else. Something got her out of the school ground to come across the street to that picnic table. We may not see that person but she did.
GRACE: You know what, Dr. Kessler, you`re right. Something made her -- this day of all days -- walk across the street to that Subway sandwich shop.
We are taking your calls. To Denise in Illinois. Hi, Denise. What`s your question, dear?
DENISE, CALLER FROM ILLINOIS: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: Hi, love. What`s your question.
DENISE: OK. It was going to be about the security surveillance around there you just spoke about, and I`m wondering, is there any description of what she was last seen in or is there an Amber alert, anything? The parents cooperating?
GRACE: Good question. Good question.
To Nicole Partin, what again did she have on and is there an Amber alert?
NICOLE PARTIN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: She was wearing blue shorts and a blue shirt, and again those Twinkle Toe tennis shoes that light up and sparkle, and at this time there is still no Amber alert, Nancy, as authorities are saying, you know what? We don`t have enough evidence to prove that she was actually taken.
GRACE: Out to Katie in North Carolina. Hi, Katie. What`s your question?
KATIE, CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA: Hi, Nancy. I love your show. Thanks for all you do for the missing children and adults.
GRACE: Thank you.
KATIE: I was just wanting to know if the surveillance camera was there on the school grounds. I know I used to work at an elementary school for 31 years. We had a drop-off for the car riders and also for the bus riders, and we had two adults at the car rider entrance and at the bus entrance to make sure the children got in.
Couldn`t they check this surveillance camera and see the cars that went in that morning? And check --
GRACE: That`s a good question.
Kevin Mooney, what do we know?
MOONEY: We know that (INAUDIBLE) have over a dozen surveillance cameras between inside and outside the school. Now there`s as many cameras inside the school, there`s a lot of cameras that are focused on the playground area. I don`t know how many cameras are actually focused on the parking lot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now being lived by 8-year-old Kerra Wilson`s family. Despite the fact she was reportedly dropped off close to school. The school reports Kerra absent. Has she been abducted?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Cops say a missing teen mom and her baby are in danger.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A one-and-a-half-year-old infant.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Baby girl Haleigh --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In danger.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sixteen-year-old Vivian Built --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In danger.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Law enforcement turning to the public for help.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Teen mom and baby --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Missing.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you seen 16-year-old Vivian and one-and- a-half-year-old baby girl Haleigh?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. We are taking your calls. A teen mom and the baby missing.
Joe Gomez, KTRH. What happened?
JOE GOMEZ, REPORTER, KTRH RADIO: Nancy, right now police are on a frantic search for this beautiful 16-year-old Vivian Built and her one- year-old baby Haleigh after they apparently disappeared when Vivian left home to go to a nearby gas station.
Right now time is of the essence. Police believe these two may be in jeopardy. They`ve issued an endangered child advisory, Nancy. So there`s a one-year-old baby girl involved here, we`ve got to find them.
GRACE: Clark Goldband, what more do we know?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, Nancy, what`s concerning the law enforcement is the fact that she only took a day bag from the home. Also, she doesn`t -- this teen mom, she doesn`t own a cell phone, there`s been no cell activity in that case, and also no credit card transactions at all.
Nancy, one more disturbing fact, there`s over 1,500 registered sex offenders in a five-mile radius.
GRACE: Joe Gomez, KTRH, Clark Goldband, thank you. Tip line. 216- 621-1234.
Let`s stop and remember Army Captain Hayes Clayton, 29, Marietta, Georgia, killed Iraq. Awarded Bronze Star, Purple Heart, lost his life just three weeks after the birth of his only son. Left a video for his baby boy to remember him.
A star football player, political science major, dreamed of running for office one day. Leaves behind parents, Pastor Hayes Senior and Marlena, sister La Toya, brothers Eric and Michael, serving Navy. Widow, Monica, also served the Army. Son Hayes the Third.
Hayes Clayton, American hero.
Thanks to our guest but especially to you for being with us and a special happy birthday to my Cajun friend Nicholas from Baton Rouge. Loves LSU Tigers, "Wheel of Fortune", spaghetti and meatballs, "The Birthday Song." But most of all, he loves the sound of his mother Tony`s voice. His family celebrating right now while watching our show.
Happy birthday, Nicholas.
And hello to all my Cajun friends.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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