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Nancy Grace

Purse of Missing California Cheerleader Found

Aired March 23, 2012 - 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. Upscale San Jose area, a 15-year-old cheerleader, loves music, loves to dance, all-American girl, set to leave for the school bus that morning. Mommy sees her 6:00 AM before going to work. Sierra never seen again, vanishing without a trace.

Tonight, confirmed, Sierra never makes it to the bus or to school, cell phone found thrown in a nearby field less than a mile from her own home. What does the cell phone reveal?

Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, search teams circle back to the missing cheerleader`s home as bloodhounds trace her only as far as the end of her mom`s driveway. At this hour, new evidence just surfacing. Tonight, everybody a suspect, nobody a suspect. Where is 15-year-old Sierra?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A teen cheerleader is missing, vanishing on her way to school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Said good-bye and gave her a hug and I told her I loved her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When was the last time that you saw her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At 6:00 o`clock that morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sierra usually walks to a school bus before dawn, but the bus driver saw no sign of her, and neither did her friends all day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope she knows that we are looking for her!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Working off her scent, the dogs have traced Sierra`s walk, but the trail goes cold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the field are where the cell phone of the missing teen was found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say the girl`s cell phone, along with her laptop...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have brought few clues about where the petite sophomore could be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing that has helped out in the case so far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel guilty!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators are also checking up on registered sex offenders in the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone wants to see...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m not going to give up until she comes home!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s happened to Sierra?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.

Bombshell tonight. Live, upscale San Jose area, a 15-year-old cheerleader, loves music, loves to dance, literally the all-American girl. Set to leave for the school bus, she`s never seen again, vanishing without a trace.

In the last hours, search teams circle back to the cheerleader`s home, bloodhounds tracing her only as far as the end of her own driveway. At this hour, we are learning some of her, quote, "personal items" have just been found as we go to air, as police say secreted away, personal items secreted away. That means hidden, obviously. What is it? Backpack?

I want to know where are her school books? What happened to them? Did she take an iPad or computer to school? What about her homework? Where`s her -- where`s her pocketbook? Are those the items that have been found secreted away? Are they hidden under a rock? Where are they? Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE CARDOZA, SPOKESMAN, SANTA CLARA SHERIFF`S OFFICE: But there was a bag, specifically a Juicy purse, a Juicy bag belonging to Sierra LaMar that was found Sunday about 1:00 PM. Members of the sheriff`s office search and rescue team found this Juicy bag belonging to Sierra.

Inside the bag was some of Sierra`s clothing, a pair of pants and a T- shirt neatly folded, neatly put inside this bag. This bag was located on Santa Teresa (ph) Boulevard in Laguna, which is within a couple of miles of Sierra`s mother`s house.

The reason the information wasn`t immediately made available to the public was because we had to confirm that the clothes did belong to Sierra, and we had to do some further investigative follow-up on that. Through confirmation from Sierra`s family and through some of the investigative efforts, we have now confirmed that those clothes and the bag did belong to Sierra.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Very confusing evidence. We are taking your calls. Let`s go straight out to Henry K. Lee. He`s a reporter with "The San Francisco Chronicle."

Henry K. Lee, what do you make of this latest development going down literally in the minutes before we go to air? What do you know?

HENRY K. LEE, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE": Well, a very ominous development, indeed, Nancy, the fact that Sierra`s Juicy purse with her clothes neatly folded inside found off the side of the road a couple miles from her house. This all takes us back to, Where is Sierra? Where did she go to?

GRACE: Wait, wait, wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wait! Henry! Henry! Henry! Let`s do a quick little rapidfire Q&A here. So they find her pocketbook that she had with her that day, her Juicy pocketbook, and her clothes neatly folded in it.

Here`s my next question, Henry K. Lee. Are they clothes that she was going to wear to school that day? Were the clothes taken off of her, folded up neatly and put in that bag? Or are these clothes that she had packed to abscond? What clothes?

LEE: These are all good questions, Nancy. The sheriff`s office does not know if these were the clothes she was wearing on the day she disappeared, or if these were extra clothes that she may have taken, A, to abscond, as you suggest, or possibly, B, if she didn`t plan to, perhaps for an after school program or some kind of other activity.

GRACE: Exactly!

LEE: We just don`t know.

GRACE: You know, I was a cheerleader in high school, and I often took extra clothes to change into after cheerleading practice, if I had to then go to something else. Very possible here.

We know Sierra was a cheerleader, literally the all-American girl, loves music, loves to dance, had never run away, very big into physical sport of cheerleading, extremely wholesome. Look at her there with the little braces on her teeth. Her hair is all pulled back, and her little cheerleading outfit -- literally every mom`s dream of having her or someone like her as their daughter.

And joining me right now is a special guest. This is the mother of Sierra LaMar. Marlene LaMar is with us tonight in a primetime exclusive.

Ms. LaMar, thank you for being with us.

MARLENE LAMAR, SIERRA`S MOTHER (via telephone): Hello?

GRACE: I`m here, Ms. LaMar. Thank you for being with us.

LAMAR: Thank you for having me so we can get the word out and try to find my baby.

GRACE: Ms. LaMar, my mom would leave every morning before we went to school. We would wake up, she would have breakfast all laid out, and she expected us to eat and go to school. Everything was laid out for us.

You got up and you went to work that morning around 6:00 AM, is that correct?

LAMAR: That`s correct. And I heard something...

GRACE: What...

LAMAR: I was listening to stuff in the background about her walking at the bus stop before dawn. But actually, she started for the bus stop at 7:15, and it was bright out. I mean, it`s well lit, so I want to make sure...

GRACE: Good to know.

LAMAR: ... that`s (INAUDIBLE) clear.

GRACE: Good to know. You know what? That actually changes things, Ms. LaMar. The fact that it was broad daylight when she was outside changes the scenario of what may have happened.

Here`s my big question right there. Ms. LaMar, do you know what she was wearing that morning? Can you recall what she had on?

LAMAR: No, because she was still wearing her pajamas, you know, before I left for work.

GRACE: OK. Have police told you what the clothes were in her pocketbook?

LAMAR: No. No.

GRACE: OK. I`m just wondering if they were the clothes that she had on when she left that morning? Were they clothes she was going to change into after school?

LAMAR: I did not see what she was wearing before she left for school that morning.

GRACE: Yes. Did she have an after-school activity or did she have cheerleading practice that day?

LAMAR: No. No.

GRACE: That morning, what, if anything, was she talking about? What was she saying? Or did you even get to talk to her in the rush to get to work?

LAMAR: It was just a routine day. She was going to -- you know, she was, you know, getting ready for school. But the previous evening, on Thursday evening, she was excited about doing an English paper for her classroom and doing the research on it. And so, you know, she was -- the last long conversation as far as academically, she was talking about that last night. I mean, not last night...

GRACE: I`m just looking at pictures...

LAMAR: ... but the Thursday evening...

GRACE: ... of her, and she`s just...

LAMAR: ... the previous night.

GRACE: ... absolutely precious. Tell me about her. What are her interests? What does she like to do?

LAMAR: She was passionate -- you know, most of her early years, she did dance, competitive dancing. And she also enjoyed cheerleading because of the school spirit thing and connecting with the school and the -- you know, the athletes as far as being supportive. She was into that, you know, cheering on the school.

And she was driven. You know, she set the bar kind of high for herself as far as, you know, trying her best. And she was hard on herself if she felt like she saw her performance, and you know, could have improved on this and that because she set the bar pretty high.

And I would always tell her, you know, Honey, as long as you try your best, that`s what really matters, you know? You know, don`t be disappointed in yourself as long as you -- you know, you know you put the best effort out there.

GRACE: Everybody, we are talking to Sierra`s mom. And believe you me, you`re seeing all these clips of her at dance competitions and at cheerleading events. All of that takes time and money -- not on the part of the child, but on the part of the patient. It takes a dedicated parent to have that child at every practice, at every dance practice.

She probably went over that little dance routine right there a hundred times in front of her mother before she performed it on stage. And you know who was in the front row? Sierra`s mother cheering her on.

And tonight we need you to help us bring Sierra home. With me is her mother, Marlene LaMar.

Now, Ms. LaMar, everyone is focusing in on your boyfriend and the ex- husband. So let`s just clear all that up right now. The ex-husband lives in Fremont. It`s what, about 45 miles away. And he has been completely cooperative with police, correct?

LAMAR: That is totally correct. And I don`t want to stick too much on that subject. I really want to stick with searching for my daughter, you know, because that`s where the urgency is.

GRACE: I understand. I understand. So I`m going to take this to Ellie Jostad. Ellie, it`s my understanding that the mom`s boyfriend and the father, the bio dad, who lives about 45 minutes away, have been completely and totally cooperative.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, that`s correct, Nancy. And the sheriff`s department tells us that they have confirmed the whereabouts of everybody that morning. It all checks out. There`s nothing suspicious there.

GRACE: Everybody, we are taking your calls. Joining me right now, Marc Klaas, president and founder, Klaas Kids Foundation.

Marc, you`ve been on this case from the beginning. What do you make of the recent update we are learning in the minutes before we go to air, her pocketbook was found hidden, or as police say, secreted away, with personal items in it, her clothing neatly folded up inside the pocketbook?

Was the purse thrown away? Was it hidden? It doesn`t sound to me like she would have gotten rid of her own little pocketbook. She loved this little pocketbook. It was one of her favorites.

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: And you`re exactly right, Nancy is. There are ominous tones to this. But it`s also encouraging to know that the sheriff`s department is absolutely investigating this and they`re coming up with new evidence all the time. Every piece of evidence brings us closer to Sierra.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were the clothes that were folded the ones that she was wearing when she left the house?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot confirm that, that she was wearing that when she was last seen. Because nobody saw Sierra leave the house, we don`t know for a fact if those are the clothes she was wearing, or for whatever reason, those are extra clothes she had inside her bag at the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said it was -- you made a point to say neatly folded. Does that mean to imply she was going someplace, possibly running away? Does that mean anything to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s information that the detectives still cannot determine as to why these clothes were neatly folded inside the bag. But that is specifically how the clothes were found, neatly folded inside the bag.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: OK. It`s completely inconsistent. And now I`m getting an update. What we had heard, that the Juicy bag, one of her favorite little pocketbooks, had been, quote, "secreted away," which is a common police phrase meaning hidden or hiding, like under a tree, behind a tree, under a rock -- now we`re learning or getting information that this Juicy couture pocketbook was thrown to the side of the road.

To Vivian Ho, reporter with "The San Francisco Chronicle." Vivian, thanks for being with us. What can you tell me? Can you elaborate at all on her little pocketbook?

VIVIAN HO, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE" (via telephone): Well, you know, the pocketbook is the only thing that anyone knows was definitely with Sierra when she wept missing. You know, her mother has said before she never -- she didn`t see what she was wearing before she left for school. She didn`t know what she -- you know, what she had. And the pocketbook is the only thing they know that she had.

And the sheriff`s office isn`t sure right now if it was thrown, or you know, if it was placed there. But you know, they do know it was found a couple -- you know, a short distance away from where her phone was found.

GRACE: OK. To Sierra`s mom. Marlene LaMar, is with us right now. Marlene, again, thank you for being with us.

Everyone, tip line 408-299-2311. This is an upscale area just outside San Jose suburbs.

What can you tell us about this little Juicy couture pocketbook? Was it one of her favorites, as we`ve been told?

LAMAR: Yes. She frequently brought it to school. She had her pens and pencils in it. She -- you know -- you know, instead of a backpack, she would carry that to carry her school supplies.

GRACE: You know, I was wondering where her books and papers and homework was. Would it have been in this bag?

LAMAR: I would see her carrying some things when, you know -- you know, when she would return from school, I would see her carrying the bag and I would see her carrying the notebook and her school books separately. But then she also put things in her bag, as well, that would fit in there.

GRACE: So she used it kind of like a backpack sometimes?

LAMAR: She would just put it on her shoulder because it was a good -- medium-sized purse.

GRACE: Did she also carry a backpack for her school books?

LAMAR: No. No. No.

GRACE: OK. What do you make of the clothes being neatly folded into that Juicy couture pocketbook?

LAMAR: You know, I have -- I have no idea as far as the contents or anything like that. And so I`m not going to guess, you know, but I...

GRACE: Got it.

LAMAR: Truthfully, I have no idea. And I don`t want to jeopardize the investigation...

GRACE: Yes. I agree.

LAMAR: ... you know, because I don`t...

GRACE: I agree.

LAMAR: But I`m telling you that I`m hearing a lot of different things, and there`s confusion, and you know, just like the confusion about her leaving at 7:15, you know, for the bus. And then I`ve been hearing other times that were inaccurate. So I don`t want to jeopardize the investigation because, you know, just things are just getting tossed out there. I know people are trying to help, but it`s important to, you know, get their information from the police department.

GRACE: The Santa County (sic) sheriff`s office now discloses they have found a bag, T-shirt and pants belonging to Sierra LaMar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE CARDOZA, SPOKESMAN, SANTA CLARA SHERIFF`S OFFICE: But there was a bag, specifically a Juicy purse, a Juicy bag belonging to Sierra LaMar that was found Sunday about 1:00 PM. Members of the sheriff`s office search and rescue team found this Juicy bag belonging to Sierra.

Inside the bag was some of Sierra`s clothing, a pair of pants and a T- shirt neatly folded, neatly put inside this bag. This bag was located on Santa Teresa (ph) Boulevard in Laguna, which is within a couple of miles of Sierra`s mother`s house.

The reason the information wasn`t immediately made available to the public was because we had to confirm that the clothes did belong to Sierra, and we had to do some further investigative follow-up on that. Through confirmation from Sierra`s family and through some of the investigative efforts, we have now confirmed that those clothes and the bag did belong to Sierra.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are hearing this update in the search for literally an all- American girl. Take a look at Sierra LaMar, disappearing on her way to school in broad daylight. Where is this girl? We want her home with her mother!

Her mother joining us now and taking your calls. To Marlene LaMar. This is Sierra`s mom. She loved this purse. I don`t think she would ever have just ditched it on the side of the road, Ms. LaMar.

LAMAR: No, no. She did like that purse a lot and...

GRACE: OK, I want to go out...

LAMAR: ... she had it with her frequently.

GRACE: I want to go back out to Henry K. Lee, reporter, "San Francisco Chronicle." We were talking about the purse being hidden, secreted away, as was first reported. That`s not true. It was discarded, is what we are learning right now as we`re on the air.

What I want to find out, Henry K. Lee, the cell phone, her little cell phone, which she adored -- she would send out 20, 30 tweets a day -- was found about three fourths of a mile away from her own home. Where was the pocketbook found, do you know?

LEE: Well, this Juicy purse was found maybe a couple blocks away from the phone, within a two-mile radius of the home. So keep in mind we`ve the cell phone found in the opposite direction of the bus stop. The sheriffs say they are not sure if the purse is in the same direction or not. But suffice it to say, two things belonging to Sierra found discarded, a very ominous sign indeed.

GRACE: And in fact, scent dogs, bloodhounds did not go to this area, which means she was not the one who walked out into this field and discarded her items. Her favorite Juicy couture purse, her beloved little cell phone, found discarded. This 15-year-old girl on her way to school, to the school bus in broad daylight! Tonight, where is Sierra LaMar? We want her home!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s only 15 years old, but Sierra LaMar is missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re searching for leads in the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just, you know, baffling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police in California are going door-to-door searching for leads in the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A teen cheerleader is missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When was the last time you saw her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At 6:00 that morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something may have happened during the short distance from the home to the bus stop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After 6:30 when we know she`s on her computer we have nothing else after that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn`t imagine her to be running away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sierra`s disappearance is totally out of character.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just baffling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her whereabouts are a complete mystery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know there are no suspects at this hour. No one is named.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole community feels like we`ve lost a child.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She walks in the room, she would light up the room. Everyone loved her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless you to all those people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: We are taking your calls tonight. This girl, scrubbed in sunshine, all-American girl Sierra Lamar, just 15 years old, cheerleader in school, good grades, all excited about her English paper project.

Mom sees her that morning. Mom rushes off to work as usual. Sierra getting ready for school, never seen again. Bloodhounds, scent dogs trace her only as far as the end of her driveway and in the moments before we go to air we learn her favorite little pocketbook, a juicy couture pocketbook, found thrown in to a field, inside neatly folded her clothes.

We are taking your calls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I find it ominous. I don`t like the idea that things of this girl seem to be getting tossed off the road one after another after another but, again, it means we`re getting more information. They`re getting more clues. And each one of these clues is going to bring us closer to Sierra. Hopefully she will be brought home much sooner than later.

GRACE: We are also told that the biological father has come out on his own and publicly addressed the fact that he is, in fact, a registered sex offender.

Unleash the lawyers. Peter Odom, Alan Ripka. Also with us, Becka Crumren (ph), family law attorney.

OK, first of all, Peter Odom, I don`t know if that took focus off the search for the girl and focus on him but I can tell you this much for him to co-operate with police and go, yes, this happened, I did, what, 200 days, 100-x days behind bars. I was on five years` probation, he came out. He publicly addressed it. He`s been cooperating with the police. I think that`s an a-plus for him.

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. None of the things you might -- none of the evasiveness or minimization took place here. He put it right up front. He admitted what he had done, talked about his sin is tense and said let`s move on. Absolutely the right thing to do.

GRACE: An, you know to you, Bekka (ph) (INAUDIBLE), joining us from Atlanta. I`m not saying I`m happy that he`s a registered sex offender, I`m not happy. But I don`t care about that. I don`t care what anybody did before. I care about this girl and are they cooperating with the investigation. Right now that`s all that matters. Agree or disagree?

BEKKA (ph), DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. He`s cooperating with everybody and he`s keeping the investigation on the right track.

GRACE: You know, Alan Ripka, of course it sends up a red flag in my mind that he`s a registered sex offender. Of course it does. But if police are saying they have alibi him for the time he goes missing, you know what, that`s all that matters right now at this hour.

ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. It doesn`t make a difference what his background is if they have no evidence to implicate him in the crime, what the difference what his past is is, and he`s helping and cooperating and he`s her dad.

GRACE: OK. Do you, Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "deal breakers." Bethany, weigh in on the whole scenario.

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR, DEAL BREAKERS: Well, I think sex predators sometimes do form online communities, so I would be very interested in who the father was talking to and was he giving information about the daughter. I think something went terribly wrong as this young girl left to go to school, and I would be looking at her computer and I would be trying to determine was there a sex predator who was luring her online, maybe told her he was going to meet her for breakfast or she was going to skip school and that`s why she had that extra clothing is that she thought she was going on a date.

But as soon as he picked her up, the offending began and whoever did this, Nancy, was in a sexual frenzy because the offending pattern happened right away, the purse, the cell phone were discarded immediately, so the offending pattern is going to be a very important clue when the police look at sex predators in that community or vicinity.

Is there a sex predator who just got out of jail because sex predators who have just gotten out of prison notoriously offend more quickly and more viciously? Is there somebody who has committed domestic homicide or somebody whose offending pattern is with girls in this particular age range?

The research shows often it will be a white married male in his 30s with children driving a family type vehicle. So I would in particular look at those types of men.

GRACE: Bethany, what are you talking about sex predators have online community and if you would also address the offending starts immediately. Explain.

MARSHALL: In terms of the online community, sometimes they congregate together so that they can share photographs, pictures. I mean, often they get caught but, you know, there`s online blogs. They know that they can get access to child victims through other sex predators.

So, this father may have been unknowingly or unwittingly giving information about his daughter to another predator. In terms of the offending pattern, the research shows that some of these sex predators work themselves into a frenzy before they meet the victim so that the rape/homicide can start right away.

GRACE: I`m getting a little more information right now.

Out to you Vivian Ho, "San Francisco Chronicle." I`m getting an exact address of where the purse was found. Sergeant Jose Cardoza says the juicy couture bag found at the intersection of Santa Teresa boulevard in Laguna avenue. Is that a highly traveled intersection?

VIVIAN HO, REPORTER, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (via telephone): Like the cell phone, it was found not near the intersection but of the roadway at the side. And, you know, it`s not really traveled but, you know, it is -- it was within a couple miles of her house.

GRACE: So what about it, Henry K. Lee, I know both the cell phone and the bag were thrown out into the weeds and fields, but that intersection, what can you tell me about that location, the intersection of Laguna Ave and Santa Teresa boulevard.

HENRY K. LEE, REPORTER, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Well, that location, Santa Teresa boulevard, is the main issue we`re dealing with. These things were discarded like trash off the side of the road. It`s not an urban area, not rural, probably - you know, it`s a traveled road but, keep in mind, when Marlene was passing out fliers, there were a lot of cars coming through. We don`t know if someone may have decided this is a crime of opportunity. If she was indeed at the bus stop. So, there are a the lot of cars and school buses travel on this road. And it`s very, very distressing to know these items were thrown out like that.

GRACE: OK, to Steve Moore, former FBI agent, violent crime investigator, joining us out of L.A. Steve, the feds aren`t in on this. What can you tell me about the dogs, the bloodhounds, only tracking her as far as the end of her own driveway?

STEVE MOORE, FORMER FBI AGENT, VIOLENT CRIME INVESTIGATION: Well, if the dogs are accurate, what that means is that she likely got into a vehicle of somebody she knew. Nobody would be that audacious to pick somebody up in an argument or in some kind of conflict in front of the house where they live. I believe she may have is known the person, been familiar with the person, or at least felt safe with the person, and then the person immediately, by the location of the phone and the purse, changed the situation on her and tossed the stuff out of the car.

GRACE: Back to sierra`s mother, Marlene Lamar, with us tonight. Miss Lamar, are other children walking to the school bus at that time?

MARLENE LAMAR, SIERRA LAMAR`S MOTHER (via telephone): No, no. Well, I`m pretty sure that there wasn`t. I know that she was the only one at the bus stop that would catch the bus there.

GRACE: And that was the public school bus, correct?

LAMAR: It`s a school bus, a district bus.

GRACE: And when did you first learn, Miss Lamar, that she was actually missing and how did you learn?

LAMAR: Well, I usually text her before leaving my work, and it was about 3:45 that I leave. And I didn`t get a response. I tried again. I didn`t get a response. And then I drove home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told her I loved her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her 15-year-old daughter, Sierra, didn`t make it to school Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would never want us to go through all this pain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Search crews have is been searching creeks and fields near the Lamar home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators are also checking up on 276 registered sex offenders in the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of information has come in. A lot of unconfirmed sightings of Sierra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: Help us find sierra. Her mother with us tonight at a vigil breaking down in tears, holding on to her daughter`s dirty sock, so she can hold it, pray her daughter will come home. She comes home from work, finds the daughter gone. Races to the school. Starts trying to talk to students, teachers, trying to find her daughter.

A 15-year-old girl literally scrubbed in sunshine goes missing on her way to school, broad daylight. This is in upscale just beyond the suburbs outside of San Jose.

We are taking your calls. Let`s go out to Norma, Tennessee. Hi Norma, what`s your question, dear?

NORMA, CALLER, TENNESSEE: Will you kindly answered it, for it was about his dad. But could there be maybe somebody, the dad is associated with that knew the little girl?

GRACE: Good question. To Larry Fishelson, telecommunication expert, co-founder of dial and communications, joining us out in New York.

To Larry Fishelson, had she been carrying on probably phone calls or texting, probably unbeknownst to her who she is even talking to, that`s a possibility. Will we be able to determine that from her cell phone which has been recovered?

LARRY FISHELSON, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT: Yes, Nancy, we will be able to recover this. This cell phone, and she has a Samsung galaxy android, is going to be the blueprint of this case. You`re going to be able to see calls, texts, pictures, memos that were in that phone. But what they`re going to be looking for here are patterns, patterns if she went on social media sites, plus, with this phone they will be able to track every 45 minutes where that phone has been. So, they`re going to go back between the last week and the last month and look at patterns where she was, she was on social media sites, if there were calls, there were texts, if she was being lured in.

And then they will look at the sex offenders that are in the area, and they can get subpoenas on their phones as well and try to cross reference everything. This is in-depth now telecom forensics which holds many clues and hopefully will be able to lead to finding this young girl.

GRACE: With us Larry Fishelson out of New York.

To Dr. Bill Lloyd, what if anything, forensically can we get from the cell phone and from the clothing neatly folded in that juicy couture purse?

DOCTOR BILL LLOYD, M.D., BOARD CERTIFIED SURGEON, PATHOLOGIST: Good evening, Nancy. Many questions about that juicy couture bag. The police tell us that they have confirmed that the contents of the bag belonged to Sierra. But the mother says she hasn`t seen the contents. So how did they confirm it?

Nonetheless, even though they were folded, the garments could be soiled, there could be blood. There could be other forms of trace evidence there, hair, for example, seminal fluid, et cetera, that can be vital in tracking down a perpetrator.

GRACE: Dr. Bill Lloyd, stay with me. Right now we`re quickly moving to a story regarding a shooting of a young 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin. I`m going straight out to Stacey Newman.

Stacey, what happened? I understand -- hold on. I understand that this young man, look at him, he looks like a little boy to me, was gunned down by a neighborhood watchman. The boy was unarmed. What happened?

CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Yes, Nancy. He had a bag of skittles and some Arizona iced tea. Trayvon Martin is shot and killed around sunset while returning from a nearby convenience store to his father`s fiancee`s house this gated community in Sanford, Florida. Martin was not armed and carrying a small amount of cash, and that candy and iced tea. George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch, captain called 911 to report a suspicious person there in the neighborhood. He was instructed on the call not to get out of his SUV or approach the person.

GRACE: Got it. Are you telling me he followed the boy? The boy was walking away from him?

GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy. According to reports.

GRACE: OK.

GOLDBAND: He did follow the boy, yes.

GRACE: All right. Let me go to Frank Taaffe. He is a neighbor, a friend of George Zimmerman, the shooter in this case, a guy who was working neighborhood watch.

Mr. Taaffe, a friend of George Zimmerman`s, the shooter, apparently Zimmerman goes out but everything went wrong. What is George Zimmerman saying, Mr. Taaffe?

FRANK TAAFFE, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN`S NEIGHBOR (via telephone): George was set up like the rest of the residents in our community, we had eight burglaries, Nancy, in the last 15 months. George is a caring person. He cares for the safety of all the residents in our community whether it be renter or homeowner. He stepped up to the plate when someone need to step up to the plate but, quite frankly, was essentially set up. It was a perfect storm, Nancy. A perfect storm.

GRACE: What is he saying that he observed because, I mean, under the law, Mr. Taaffe, I know that everybody that watches this show or has ever seen "law & order" knows you can shoot in self-defense if someone`s got a gun pointed at you. You can`t just pull a gun because somebody has a bag of skittles, all right? Now did he believe the boy had a gun? Is that what happened?

TAAFFE: Nancy, he couldn`t see inside that hoodie. They`re making a big deal of the skittles and Arizona tea. He acted suspiciously. Of the eight burglaries that had been perpetrate d in the last eight months, all were young, black males.

GRACE: And now CNN heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Tonight we gather to honor the best of humanity has to offer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you join us, we`ll be unstoppable.

COOPER: CNN heroes is looking for everyday people who are changing the world. How do we find these extraordinary people? Well, with your help. You can nominate someone right now at CNNheroes.com. Maybe your hero is defending the planet by protecting the environment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are people who care and I`m one of them.

COOPER: Or helping people overcome obstacles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be no man left behind as long as we are in this nation.

COOPER: We`re finding a unique approach to solving a problem.

Whatever their cause, nominating a CNN Hero is easy. First, go to CNNheroes.com, then click nominate. We ask for some basic information about you and your click nominate. Then tell us what makes your hero extraordinary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who like the pasta?

COOPER: How are they changing lives for the better?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re doing a great job.

COOPER: It`s really important to write from your heart. Because it`s your words that will make your hero story stand out.

A couple of tips. Please don`t nominate yourself, it`s against the rule. It`s not necessary to nominate someone over and over. We read each and every nomination, really, we do and be selective. Those honored to CNN Heroes are truly dedicating their lives to serving others.

After you told us about your hero, click submit. It`s that simple and that worthwhile. To nominate someone deserving today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much for this incredible honor. This has been the greatest night of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sanford police chief, Bill Lee, has announced he`s temporarily stepping aside.

BILL LEE, SANFORD POLICE CHIEF: I have come to the decision that I must temporarily remove myself from the position as police chief for the city of Sanford.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Bekka (ph), Peter Odom, Alan Ripka. Also with us, Dr. Bill Lloyd.

All right. Alan Ripka, the law on self-defense is very, very clear. You can absolutely defend yourself by shooting, if you are met with that degree of force. Let me break it down. If I come and slap you, Ripka, you can slap me back, but you cannot under the law, pull an Uzi and gun me down. All right, it doesn`t work that way Ripka, right?

RIPKA: That`s correct. You have to believe reasonably that you are in danger and you can use the same force to repel that danger or of somebody else is in danger. So, this will be as matter of fact. What did this person believe, this neighborhood watch and believe when he shot this young man? What were the circumstances of it?

GRACE: What about it, Odom?

ODOM: Just -- even if he thought this young man was going to commit a burglary, that would not justify shooting him. As Alan says, he would have to perceive some deadly threat to himself. That`s what this person has not come up with yet, any explanation that justifies the shooting.

BEKKA (ph): It has to be an overt act for him to be able to, your honor the statute.

GRACE: You are all three right. You are all three right. And I understand what Frank Taaffe is saying about Zimmerman`s intentions, I get it. This is headed to a grand jury, people. That`s where this is going.

With me now, Benjamin Crump, Trayvon`s parents lawyer. Mr. Crump, thank you for being with us. Let`s hear how are the parents doing tonight?

BENJAMIN CRUMP, MARTIN FAMILY`S LAWYER (via telephone): They don`t have an opportunity to grieve, because they have to fight for simple justice for their son and keep doing interviews to put pressure just have an arrest made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CALLER: It sounds like a male.

911 DISPATCHER: And you don`t know why.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CALLER: I don`t know why, I think they are yelling help, but I don`t know. Send someone quick, please, I can`t see him.

911 DISPATCHER: Does he look hurt?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CALLER: I can`t see him. I don`t want to go out there, I don`t know what`s going on. They are sending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Let`s remember marine corporal Joseph McCarthy, 21, Arizona. Killed Iraq. Second tour, purple heart, combat action, and sea service deployment. National defense service dreamed of a family of his own.

Remember for his homemade lasagna. Nicknamed Willy Wonka for handing out chocolate to Iraqi children. Favorite sports star, Michael Jordan.

Leaves behind parents, Cris and Ronda, sisters Jane and Stephanie, widowed, high school sweetheart Amanda. Joseph McCarthy, American hero.

Thanks to our guests, especially you for being with us. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night.

END