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Nancy Grace

Tucson Police Search for Missing 6-Year-Old

Aired April 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, Tucson, Arizona. A parent`s worst nightmare. Mom and Dad say they tucked their 6-year-old girl into bed, settle into bed themselves just a few feet away. Next morning, bedroom screen torn from the window, 6-year-old Isabel gone.

Bombshell tonight. New evidence just uncovered. At this hour, the family is kicked out of their own home, while 6-year-old Isabel`s room, along with the rest of the home, searched by K9s. Tonight, where is 6- year-old Isabel? We investigate the clues left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six-year-old Isabel Celis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The child was last seen as she went to bed at 11:00 o`clock Friday night. And then at 8:00 o`clock Saturday morning...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her father went in to wake her up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six-year-old Isabel Mercedes Celis was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) my own kids. They`re supposed to be sleeping in their room.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was an open window in her room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this what indicates an abduction?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) wake up and they should be there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a window that was open and the screen removed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officers are conducting a grid search. We have bloodhounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will be processing the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, they`re kind of keeping the whole family away from the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We confirmed with the FBI K9 handlers about what their dogs alerted on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parents have been cooperating with us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we`re not ruling out anything in this investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The clock continues to tick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This has been a race against the clock from minute one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The search for 6-year-old Isabel Celis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve got to find her! That`s all there is!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Mom and Dad say they tucked their 6-year-old girl into bed. Next morning, bedroom screen torn away from her window, 6- year-old Isabel gone. At this hour, the entire family booted out of the family home as K9s take over the home, searching for evidence. Take a look at 6-year-old 1st grader Isabel.

We are live in Tucson and taking your calls. Straight out to Paul Birmingham, news director KNST. Paul, what do you know?

PAUL BIRMINGHAM, KNST (via telephone): Right now, we can report as Chief Villasenor said in the open there, Nancy, this all started Friday night as Isabel`s parents put her down to bed about 11:00 o`clock. Fast- forward to the next morning...

GRACE: Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh!

BIRMINGHAM: ... about 8:00...

GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Paul Birmingham, stop right there! What do you mean her parents -- her parents together put her down? They both go in there and what, sing and tell a bed-time story or give her juice? What? They both are in there? Who specifically put her down?

BIRMINGHAM: That`s a great question right now, Nancy. And there are a number of things that Tucson police are not saying as far as this investigation goes. Basically, what they are saying is, in fact, that her parents put her down to bed at about 11:00 o`clock.

As far as what transpired during that time, that remains unclear at this point as they continue with this investigation. They`re saying they don`t want to do anything to possibly jeopardize the investigation as it stands now. So that`s what we`re hearing, that the family put her to bed and it was the parents who then went to check on her the next morning.

GRACE: I`m telling you Paul, I don`t see how it`s going to jeopardize the investigation to tell me who put her down. Now, if it`s typically the way it is at my house, my husband will act like he`s coming to help me put the twins down, but then somehow, he fades away. So I doubt it takes both of them to put a 6-year-old to sleep.

But hey, you know what? Maybe they did both go in there. Maybe they were doing it together, and one went to go do the laundry while one put her to sleep.

But I want to know exactly what happened. And out to you, Paul Birmingham. Also, you`re saying the parents discover she`s missing the next morning. That`s not the way I`m hearing it. I`m hearing that the mom had already gone to her job as a pediatric nurse early, early in the morning and that Dad discovered she was gone around 8:00 o`clock. Is that not correct, Paul?

BIRMINGHAM: You got that part exactly right, Nancy. That is what we`re hearing from the police, that it was essentially the father that went in about 8:00 o`clock the next morning, and that is when he discovered that Isabel was missing. As you mentioned...

GRACE: You know, a lot of people -- I`m sorry, Paul. A lot of people would say, Hey, 8:00 o`clock, that`s not very early if you got to get up to go to school or wherever. But if the mom and dad are like me, if my children can sleep a little bit longer, I figure they need to sleep. So I let them sleep and don`t disturb them. That makes absolute sense to me.

Paul Birmingham, what were you saying?

BIRMINGHAM: And it was a Saturday morning, so that would mean that there was no school for Isabel. But again, it was the father who made that awful discovery the following morning at 8:00 o`clock. There was a search there that took place inside the home. 911 was called about 15 minutes later. So that`s what we`re hearing at...

GRACE: So there was not a big lag time.

Joining me right now, Beth Karas, legal correspondent, "In Session," who is there on the scene in Arizona. Beth, tell me how that timeline unfolded that morning. Give it to me in a nutshell, Beth.

BETH KARAS, "IN SESSION": Well, as you just heard, she`s last soon by her parents at about 11:00 PM, next noticed missing at 8:00 AM. Father calls 911 at 8:14.

What the police are not commenting on, according to the most recent press conference that just ended a little while ago, is whether or not Mom looked in on Isabel just before going to work. If she did, then the timeline would be much narrower than 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM where somebody could have abducted her.

The police, by the way, are calling it a possible abduction. They are not ruling anything out, including homicide.

GRACE: OK, OK, hold on right there, Beth Karas. Beth Karas is joining me live there on the scene in Arizona. Beth, you`re saying -- what now did you say? They`re not ruling out what?

KARAS: They`re not ruling out homicide -- that she`s simply missing, that there was an abduction or a homicide. The FBI dogs, one trained for scents, an individual scent, and another trained to detect cadaver, decomposition of a body -- one of them`s alerted, at least one. And they are not saying which one.

But there`s an alert in the house that is causing them to refocus on the house. They`ve done a search as far as a three-mile radius, but they don`t expect at this point that they`re going to expand it beyond the three miles. They`re back at the house.

GRACE: With me, along with Paul Birmingham, KNST, and Beth Karas, right now special guest joining us, the PIO, the public information officer out of Tucson PD, Sergeant Maria Hawke.

Sergeant, thank you for being with us.

SGT. MARIA HAWKE, TUCSON POLICE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): You`re welcome.

GRACE: Sergeant, I`m understanding that in the last hours, a K9 -- there are K9s that have gone into the family home and one of them has hit, is that correct, Sergeant?

HAWKE: That is accurate.

GRACE: Here`s the question. Is it a cadaver dog?

HAWKE: Well, we have two different dogs with very different specialties. The most appropriate entity to speak to what their specialties are and what their capabilities are would be the Federal Bureau of Investigation because they`re the ones that actually sent (ph) us (ph) the dogs and are assisting us with that particular resource.

GRACE: Sergeant Hawke, do you know whether it was a cadaver dog that made the hit in the home?

HAWKE: I actually don`t know at this point. There are two different dogs with different specialties. I know both dogs did go into the house. (INAUDIBLE) as a result of those (INAUDIBLE) entering the house are refocusing (INAUDIBLE) at the house.

We have asked the family if they would be willing to leave so that we can, you know, avoid any potential evidence contamination that could happen, you know, even by accident (INAUDIBLE) moving items (INAUDIBLE) home. They have agreed to do so. And as such, we are continuing our investigation of the house itself.

GRACE: With me is Sergeant Maria Hawke, the PIO of the Tucson PD. The desperate search for this 6-year-old little Isabel is ongoing. At this hour, the family out of the home as police and law enforcement bring in K9s to search.

The reality is -- let me go to Jeff Schettler, retired police K9 handler. Jeff, thank you for being with us. The reality is that a simple scent dog in the home would mean nothing because, of course, you`re going to get little Isabel`s scent all over the home. She lives there.

But would what matter is if a K9 cadaver dog picks up a hit or if they take the scent dog and it leads them to a certain location from the home. What do you think, Jeff Schettler?

JEFF SCHETTLER, RETIRED POLICE K9 HANDLER: Well, I think you`ve hit the nail on the head. If there`s two types of dogs, it sounds like they have a scent-discriminating trailing tracking dog, and also, as you said, a cadaver dog.

The trailing scent discrimination dog is specifically used to look for one particular odor, and hopefully, follow it to a given location. The cadaver dog is used to look for human remains, if there could be any in a particular location. What the dog finds could be questionable. It`s very subjective.

GRACE: Well, you`re right about that, Jeff, because a cadaver dog can hit on other human byproducts, like a torn fingernail, just anything that has human blood on it, a dog could conceivably hit on it. It`s remotely possible, is it not, Jeff?

SCHETTLER: That`s the double-edged sword. Exactly. You can have a hit on anything that happens to do with the human body...

GRACE: Right.

SCHETTLER: ... any decomposing human matter, the dog can alert on.

GRACE: To Sergeant Maria Hawke, PIO from Tucson. Sergeant, again, thank you for being with us. The father says he goes in, the child is gone -- that`s 8:00 AM -- immediately searches all through the home, all around the home.

Let`s see shots of the home, Liz, quickly, please. You see that there is a fence in the front. It`s a wall, actually, a solid wall. There you see another view. Take a look at the home. We are hearing -- there you see this boarded fence along the other perimeter.

We are hearing, Sergeant Hawke, that the screen to Isabel`s window was torn away. Was it lacerated in any way? Was it sliced, or just torn away?

HAWKE: No, and I`m (INAUDIBLE) utilize the description of "torn away." There was a screen that was removed from a window to the residence (INAUDIBLE) we do not know for certain if that was a potential entry point to the house. It`s a possibility that would, again, as we`ve mentioned (INAUDIBLE) a potential suspicious circumstances surrounding a possible entry point to the house. We can`t confirm whether or not that was, in fact, an entry point. There was a screen removed from the window, and that`s the information that we have at this point.

GRACE: Sergeant Hawke, was the screen -- were there screens on all the other windows?

HAWKE: I don`t know, actually. There -- presumably, at least some of the windows have other screens. I haven`t actually been to the house (INAUDIBLE)

GRACE: Let`s see the shots, Liz. And when you say it was not torn away, was the screen found? Was it found there on the ground or still attached to the window?

HAWKE: No, the screen was present, it just was off the window.

GRACE: So what is incorrect about "torn away"?

HAWKE: Well, the description (INAUDIBLE) using the specific word "torn" implies that there was force used to remove it. We simply don`t have any concrete evidence to point to that.

GRACE: So you`re saying that there`s a chance that this screen, as opposed to all the other screens in the home that evening, fell off and the window was open?

HAWKE: No, I said that the screen was -- had been removed from the window.

GRACE: Right. Right. Right.

Back to Beth Karas. Beth, what do we know regarding the screen? And also the window was open. Was it wide open? Was it partially open? Was it open only an inch to get, you know, a breeze in the room?

KARAS: My understanding is that it was open more than an inch. So wide open, is my understanding, based on reports. But the police are not ruling out the door being a possible mode of entry, not necessarily the window.

And I think what the sergeant is saying regarding the removal of the screen is if it was removed and placed outside the house -- it simply wasn`t pulled off -- somebody probably used tools to do it, doesn`t mean they had permission to do it, but it -- so it was still perhaps...

GRACE: So I guess the correct word...

KARAS: ... improperly removed.

GRACE: ... would be screen "removed."

OK, Ellie Jostad, what am I hearing? You`re right, Beth. What am I hearing, Ellie Jostad, about the door? Was the front door not looked?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, we haven`t heard whether the door was locked or unlocked. But we do know that police are checking any point at which someone could have entered that house.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. Little Isabel missing, Isabel Celis, just 6 years old, missing from her bed in Tucson, Arizona. Special guest also taking your calls, Sergeant Maria Hawke, the PIO of the Tucson PD.

Sergeant Hawke, thank you for being with us. Sergeant, who exactly put Isabel to sleep that night, the mom or the dad?

HAWKE: (INAUDIBLE) that`s being kept as part of the investigation at this point, and not because we`re trying to remain secretive, but that these are pertinent pieces of information that help us to get a clear picture of exactly what happened and get our minds wrapped around exactly, you know, the chain of events (INAUDIBLE)

GRACE: OK, so was it the mom or the dad?

HAWKE: Again, that information is something that we are keeping (INAUDIBLE) at this point until we can truly wrap our minds around the sequence of events, the timeline.

GRACE: OK.

HAWKE: Once we (INAUDIBLE) that information (INAUDIBLE)

GRACE: Sergeant Hawke, what time -- what time did the mom go to work that morning?

HAWKE: It`s my understanding that she left for work at approximately 7:30 in the morning.

GRACE: So 7:30 AM. Did she check on the child, peek in before she left?

HAWKE: (INAUDIBLE) very similar to who put the child to bed. That is information that (INAUDIBLE) integral part of the investigation, so it will not be released at this point.

GRACE: Are there two other children in the home, both male siblings, correct?

HAWKE: That is correct.

GRACE: What time did they wake up?

HAWKE: It`s my understanding that they were woken approximately the same time as the father was...

GRACE: OK.

HAWKE: ... attempting to wake Isabel, so about 8:00 o`clock AM.

GRACE: With me right now, special guest, a neighbor of the Celis family. Cynthia Mort is joining us from Tucson. Ms. Mort, thank you for being with us.

CYNTHIA MORT, NEIGHBOR (via telephone): Thank you.

GRACE: I know the neighborhood has been turned upside down about this. What can you tell me? What are police saying? What are you hearing there in the neighborhood?

MORT: Well, I know that they`ve done a door-to-door search. They have searched inside and outside every home in the neighborhood because I live next door to the Celises -- to Mr. Celis`s parents. And they live on -- and then Mr. and Mrs. Celis with Isabel lived further down the street.

And everybody is just totally distraught. It`s, like, we`re afraid to let our children out. I have grandchildren that are frequently there, and it`s, like, I`m not going to let them out the front door anymore. We`re terrorized.

GRACE: Ms. Mort, what is your understanding of the facts? Who put the baby down, the 6-year-old little girl to sleep? And did Mom check on her before she left for work that morning?

MORT: Those are both questions that I really can`t answer because I don`t know an answer to, so anything that I would say would be just something I would be (INAUDIBLE)

GRACE: Right. Right. It seems like an ordinary, typical, all- American family. There is no hint of any trouble, Isabel seemingly a very vibrant and happy little girl.

Take a look at Isabel Celis, just 6 years old, 44 pounds, light brown hair in two long braids, hazel eyes, missing two teeth, one upper, one lower. Where is 6-year-old Isabel?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators are looking into a possible entry point into Isabel`s bedroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re still trying to determine where Isabel is. That`s the primary concern and focus, to try and find her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What used to be a quiet shopping center in midtown is now ground zero in the search for 6-year-old Isabel Celis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was checked on about 8:00 o`clock when her father went in to wake her up so that they could start their day, found that she was not in her room at that point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything goes through your mind. You`re angry. You`re upset. You`re frustrated. You`re confused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Where is 6-year-old Isabel? Mom and Dad put her down the night before, 8:00 AM, Daddy finds out she is gone, the window open, the window screen gone from the window, the girl gone, too, just 6 years old.

We are taking your calls. I want to go back to neighbor Cynthia Mort from Tucson joining us. She lives right there in the neighborhood with the Celis family. This home seems to be very much fortified. It looks to be a fence on all perimeters, Ms. Mort. Am I seeing the photos correctly?

MORT: Yes, there is. There`s a fence all the way around. In fact, it`s a patio wall. So there`s a wall all the way around that house.

GRACE: Yes, I`m seeing a large, it looks like stucco wall. It looks to be from here over five feet tall. And then on one side, I would say the back left side, there is a wooden wall about the same height. It`s solid. You can`t see through it. And I don`t see a gate. So whoever did this would have to scale this wall and get into the home.

Question. Is this near a busy thoroughfare, Ms. Mort?

MORT: Yes, it is. Broadway and Craycroft are -- Broadway is probably one of the busiest streets in Tucson, that runs east and west. And we -- our houses are just one street south of it.

GRACE: I`m sorry, I can`t hear it. The house is where?

MORT: One street south of Broadway. And Broadway is one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city.

GRACE: How would you describe it? Is it commercial? Is it mostly residential? What is around the home?

MORT: It`s a residential area, but there are businesses all along Craycroft and all along Broadway. So we`re bordered by businesses on two sides.

GRACE: What, if anything, do you know about the family, Ms. Mort?

MORT: I have lived next door to Mr. Celis`s parents for the past 25 years. And as far as I know, this family is just the salt of the earth. They are wonderful, caring people. (INAUDIBLE) had a stroke (ph) not so long -- a couple years ago (INAUDIBLE) always helping. You always see them together. They are very, very loving. I can`t imagine anybody in this family doing anything to anyone. They`re wonderful people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Friends and family and co-workers have all come together to pass out fliers to hotels, supermarkets, gas stations, just any local businesses, and getting word of mouth out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It`s a parent`s worst nightmare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were in tears.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The search for 6-year-old Isabel Celis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When her father went in to wake her up --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything goes through your mind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We found out she was not in her room at that point.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Six-year-old Isabel Mercedes Celis was gone. Missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We try to get to the bottom of where this girl may be.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Scouring in the neighborhood, by air and by ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Canvassing the neighborhood. Canvassing the businesses.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Still no sign of Isabel. And the clock continues to tick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re angry, you`re upset, you`re frustrated, you`re confused.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve used just about every resource that we can find to try and help locate Isabel.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The investigation has reached a roadblock. Wait and hope little Isabel is found safe and sound.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Family, friends and --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. Joining me from Tucson, Paul Birmingham, Beth Karas, Jeff Schettler, retired K-9 handler, everyone efforting in the search for 6-year-old Isabel Celis. Apparently kidnapped from her own bed. Her dad finds 8:00 a.m., her window open, the screen torn from the window.

Unleash, the lawyers. Joining me Jim Elliot, city attorney, town of Warner Robins, Hugo Rodriguez, defense attorney, former fed with the FBI, Randy Kessler, defense attorney, the Atlanta jurisdiction. Also with me, Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "Only the Truth."

First of all, Pat Brown, weigh in.

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "ONLY THE TRUTH" (via phone): Well, I`m really happy with this police department. We -- they`re just doing a great job. Looking at the two tracks, one is that this could be an abduction, one is that it may not be an abduction. And they`re making sure that they cross their T`s and dot their I`s or separate --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Pat, Pat. Pat, I appreciate you. Patty, the police on the -- Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat.

Pat, I don`t know if you can hear me or not, but I really appreciate you patting the police on the back. But frankly we don`t have time for that, all right? So let`s just break it down, Pat. Do what your specialty is, you`re a profiler, profile.

BROWN: Well, this is my -- as a profiler, I would do exactly what they are doing, because at this point we have some signs that there could be an abduction, with the window being open. The location that they`re in, there`s a lot of traffic in that area, it`s good to find out who`s been there in the house before, if there`s any workman that`s been -- that have been there recently, or any unusual people, or even in friends who have come into the home. Would they know where that girl`s bedroom, they know how they could sneak around into that house somehow.

But they`re doing the right things, they`re checking everything. You want to do that so the parents --

GRACE: Right.

BROWN: You know, not have them say later, oh, we forgot to look at that.

GRACE: Jim Elliott, Hugo Rodriguez, Randy Kessler, first of all to you, Rodriguez, weigh in.

HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FMR. FBI AGENT: It`s a difficult situation, I just hope best for the child. I don`t know which angle this is going to go. We have seen this happen before with abductions or alleged abductions from homes. Let`s hope it`s not someone close to the family, but many times it is. Or a friend of --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: OK. Jim Elliott, city attorney, (INAUDIBLE) Georgia, I don`t think that there`s anyone on our program this evening that doesn`t want Isabella safe right now and returned from wherever she is. So let`s -- don`t waste valuable time that we could be analyzing the facts, taking calls, possibly getting tips, patting the cops and ourselves on the back about everybody else smart and great they are, let`s get down to it.

There`s possibilities, Jim Elliott, all right? You`re not only a renowned attorney, you`re the city attorney in a highly populated area, you`re a father. Right now police are saying, quote, "Everyone is a person of interest," end of quote, in the search for Isabel. And what they are saying is, that they are looking at family members. They`re clearly not releasing key facts to us tonight. Such as who exactly put her to sleep? Did the mother check on her that morning at 7:30 when she went to her job?

They`re not telling us that. That says to me that they`re looking at somebody in the family. But I don`t think that`s all they`re looking at.

Jim, I think that they are looking at sex predators in the area.

Let`s see the sex predator map, Liz.

I mean, they have gone -- look at that. Look, look at all the sex predators right there in a 10-mile radius. They`re doing that. You heard the neighbors say, Jim, they`ve gone door to door looking at people`s homes. But nobody is ruled out right now. Interpret that for me, Jim Elliott.

JIM ELLIOTT, CITY ATTORNEY, TOWN OF WARNER ROBINS: Well, I think any time in this situation, the zone of emphasis is going to be closest to the family. I thought it was interesting that neighbor said that it`s very highly developed area, surrounding, it was a busy street that`s in the nearby vicinity. That certainly makes it I think possible for a predator that did not necessarily live in that area, the immediate area, to have access, to have the ability to see this girl coming and going. And then maybe to take some -- to do something.

GRACE: And Randy Kessler, the fact that Jim and I are saying, you look closest to the child, first, you look at the father. I don`t think there`s any use at looking at the brothers, I remember, fratricide, extremely rare. I remember when JonBenet Ramsey went missing, everybody was screaming, oh, it could be the brother Burk. No, it`s very, very rarely a brother or a sister. All right? So let`s just statistically put that off the table.

But of course you`ve got to look at the father, you`ve got to look at the mother. You`ve got to look at grandparents, cousins, nephews, neighbors. And then you move outwards. We can`t forget Elizabeth Smart. We can`t forget Shasta Groene, who were kidnapped from the home by complete strangers, Randy.

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. There`s no question that the cops have something, because otherwise they`d telling us all the details. They`d say which dog was the one that had the hit. They`d be telling us the details about which parent did mom see the little boy or little girl. You know right now the cops knows something. I`m expecting an announcement very soon. They know a lot or they`d be saying, public help us.

GRACE: Well, Randy. You know --

KESSLER: And the parents better get lawyers. The parents need lawyers.

GRACE: Let`s just be honest with the viewers, all right? The fact that they`re not telling us whether it was a cadaver dog or a canine, that hit, it`s obviously cadaver dog. Now I`ll tell you why. Because canine should hit -- this is where the child lives. That would be completely ordinary. SOP for a canine, a scent dog to hit within the home. The fact that they got twisted around about it, and it led them to kick the family out of the home and bring in -- continue the search of the home is it had to be a cadaver.

Also the fact they`re not telling us which parent put the child to sleep. That says to me that they are looking specifically at one parent. That doesn`t mean the parent is guilty. That means that they`re looking at a parent as they should.

KESSLER: Right. And if you hear that a cadaver dog hit and one of the parents says, well, the child`s body might be found, oops, if there was no mention that a cadaver dog hit and somebody talked about a body, then that person has knowledge of a crime. So they`re not releasing it. If anybody says we know something about a body, it`s independent. It`s not -- because they saw it on Nancy Grace, they saw that the cadaver dog hit. So right now there`s no information out there about a death, anybody that talks about a death or a body, must have seen something or most know something. And that will be a problem.

GRACE: Because they`re not releasing it. Well put, Kessler.

Out to Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner and joining us tonight out of Philly.

Dr. Manion, the reality is this, a lot of people say, oh, my child would wake up instantly if somebody pick them up. I used to believe that until I had children of my own, I can pick them up, walks around with them. I got in there, they`re upside down in the bed, I pick them up and turn them straight. You know, they could -- a child can easily be taken away without it every waking up.

DR. BILL MANION, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER, BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ: Absolutely. Absolutely. You can lift them up gently, if they don`t struggle, they don`t holler, that`s fine. Even if they begin to holler a little bit, an adult could put his hand over a 6-year-old and muffle any sounds and very quickly be out that window and down the street before anything -- anybody knew what happened.

GRACE: I mean Dr. Manion --

MANION: So it`s very easy to overpower a little girl. Absolutely.

GRACE: There have been time one of my twins has thrown up in the night, gotten sick and thrown up when they were ill, they don`t remember me changing their pajamas, changing the sheets, the whole thing. They don`t remember any of it. The next morning they have no recollection of it. They sleep through it. It`s incredible. So the fact that the family didn`t hear anything, that says nothing to me either.

MANION: That`s correct. It says nothing to me either, I agree with you. I would also be looking at that school, though. Oftentimes someone is attracted to this girl that has seen her repeatedly. And I`d be -- if she went to that school every day, I`d be looking at the school workers also.

GRACE: To Beth Karas, legal correspondent, "In Session," joining me right now from Phoenix.

Beth, what about the door? Where does the front and/or the backdoor fit into this scenario and do they have an enclosed garage?

BETH KARAS, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, IN SESSION: I don`t know the answer about the garage and they are not saying whether or not the doors were points of entry. Every possible place a person could have entered is at issue right now, even though it`s very suspicious that the window is open in her bedroom and the screen is removed.

I just want to say regarding the discussion you just had, a sleeping child carried out of her home by a stranger is precisely what happened to Danielle van Dam in San Diego in February 2002 and it was the next-door neighbor. And the police were on him because they canvassed the neighborhood and he wasn`t around that weekend because he was dumping her body in the desert. She wasn`t found for three weeks.

So I`d like to know, and I don`t know if we do know yet, the results of the canvas. Is anyone not around in the neighborhood they`ve been trying to talk to?

GRACE: Yes. And you remember -- you remember the Santa Ana winds came in during the disappearance of Danielle van Dam, you were out there and you were reporting it and they identified her remains by one Mickey Mouse earring that was still on her remains.

Excellent point, Beth Karas.

Everybody, we are live doing our part in the search for 6-year-old Isabel. Take a look at this little girl. We are putting up the tip line for you. Isabel taken out of her home, missing in the night, tip line, 520-822-7463.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A 6-year-old who vanished from her bedroom in Tucson, Arizona.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: By air and by ground, checking each and every car that went in and out of this eastside neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When her father went in to wake her up so that they could --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: An upscale Tucson neighborhood turned on its ear. Apparently this little girl, 6-year-old Isabel, put to sleep by her parents the night before, they go to sleep themselves just a few feet away from her in their bedroom. Mom gets up the next morning and goes to her job as a pediatric nurse. Dad goes in to wake up the little girl, she`s gone. Window opened, screened removed. The two boys that live in the home, asleep. Safe.

Here`s a shot of the home. You see a big fence, thick fence all the way around the home. You see an enclosed garage, you see various points of entry. Notable, no other screen torn from the window, no other windows open.

Where is 6-year-old Isabel? At this hour, we learned the family has been booted out of the home so canines and police, law enforcement can search the home. What does that mean? Or is it SOP, standard operating procedure.

Lisa Lockwood, former police detective, author, "Undercover Angel," what do you make of it?

LISA LOCKWOOD, FORMER POLICE DETECTIVE, AUTHOR, "UNDERCOVER ANGEL": Well, looking at the information regarding the window, it`s easy to determine, just what you said earlier, if all the windows in the home were shut. We`re looking at 90-degree heat in that house. Is the air conditioning running? Would the window be open commonly?

So once we`ve determined if they have made entry to the front door and/or the window, we could easily look at the fact that there are sex predators in the area. We need to target those people who have the propensity to go after somebody --

GRACE: But how --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Lisa Lockwood, for an unknown --

LOCKWOOD: Yes.

GRACE: -- sex predator to come and traipse through the front door and take the child and then go out the window? And how hard is it -- let me see those windows again, Liz.

How hard is it to get a child out the window? No other windows were raised.

LOCKWOOD: Yes, exactly.

GRACE: So that means they did have on the air conditioning in the home. So why was the window raised?

LOCKWOOD: Exactly. So that could have been the entry point. That absolutely could have been the entry point and the decision was made to go and traipse through the front door exactly like you said, and exit the house.

Here`s the situation that I`d be looking at. Dogs, were there dogs in the area? Did somebody hear anything in the middle of the night? Did neighbors hear dogs barking? Investigate and find out so that we can at least get a timeline on the disappearance.

GRACE: So Leslie Seppinni, clinical psychologist and author.

Leslie, a large vigil, about 400 people, held. We have seen very often that perps will actually go to the vigil. Weigh in.

LESLIE SEPPINNI, PSY.D., CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Oh, yes. Absolutely. And you know to answer the question about a profile for this perp, we`re looking at somebody who`s probably in their 20s. The same ethnic identity, somebody who may have had a previous history of violence towards children. So the police are also going to scan for those pedophiles to find out how many of them, because 61 percent generally have already a history of violence towards children.

GRACE: Speaking of background, Ellie Jostad, I take a look at the mom, she`s just had a couple of tickets which were all dismissed. She`s Lilly White. She has not even a single blemish. The dad has something back in the `90s, but nothing that would be an indicator in this case.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes, that`s right, Nancy. There`s nothing on the record for either parent that shows anything other than minor traffic things like that. The dad had a drug paraphernalia possession arrest almost 20 years ago. Nothing that would indicate there`s anything violent related to children --

GRACE: And you know, Ellie, for all I know that`s a roach clip. That could be anything.

JOSTAD: Exactly.

GRACE: I don`t know what it is.

JOSTAD: Exactly. Exactly.

GRACE: And I`m wondering, what do we know, Paul Birmingham, KNST, has everybody taken a polygraph or agreed to take the polygraph?

PAUL BIRMINGHAM, NEWS DIRECTOR, KNST, 790AM/97.1 FM (via phone): At this point the police have not revealed whether or not that has in fact happened or going to happen. So again they are keeping a number of things as your guests have mentioned --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Paul. Paul. Why won`t they tell us who put the baby to bed and why won`t they tell us if the mom checked in the baby before she left. Why?

BIRMINGHAM: These are all excellent questions. Again they feel that this would somehow in whatever manner jeopardize their investigation. And that`s the last thing they want to do. So that`s not been reported whether or not those polygraphs will be taken or have been taken.

GRACE: OK. Back to you, Beth Karas, who is helping in the search? There`s been searches by air, by land, volunteers, what do you know?

KARAS: All I know is that over 100 investigators are dedicated to this, this is their third day, there are multiple agencies involved. It is a task force, local state and federal and they, you know, are going to let us know every few hours they`re having press conferences when they feel like trickling the information out.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Elliott, Rodriguez, Kessler.

Elliott, do you advise the whole family to go ahead, insists they be given a polygraphs so cops could get off them, as they did in the Marc Klaas case and look for the real perp?

ELLIOTT: You`re asking me, Nancy?

GRACE: Yes.

ELLIOTT: My first recommendation would be to get legal counsel and make a decision whether that makes sense for them or not.

GRACE: Well, I`m asking you, I`m not asking you for them to ask a lawyer. Of course they need a lawyer because that`s the first place cops look, is that the family.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: I mean, come on.

ELLIOTT: Those parents will want to do that right off the bat. I mean --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: I mean, wouldn`t you?

ELLIOTT: Absolutely.

GRACE: I mean, Jim -- let me see Elliott.

You`re a father, not just a lawyer, you`re a father. Wouldn`t you be screaming polygraph me, take my DNA, do whatever you got to do?

ELLIOTT: That would be the first I would -- that`s be the first thing I would do, Nancy. Absolutely. I agree with you.

GRACE: What about it, Rodriguez?

RODRIGUEZ: As a father, that`s a first thing you`d want to do if you have nothing to hide. But you`ve got to lawyer up first and make that decision in your best interest.

GRACE: I say BS, Kessler. I would be demanding a polygraph. I would be lying on the courthouse steps going, here, take my DNA, take my polygraph, do whatever you`ve got to do, I`ve got to go look for my kid.

KESSLER: Right. And your lawyer would be down your throat saying take my advice, don`t take it, don`t take a polygraph. As a father I`d be --

GRACE: You know what?

KESSLER: As a father I`d be doing it, too.

GRACE: I would put the lawyer where the sun don`t shine.

Take a look at this little girl. Six-year-old Isabel Celis is missing and right now she needs you to call this tip line if you have any information. 520-882-7463.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Friends and family and co-workers have all come together to pass out flyers and getting word of mouth out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a window that was open and a screen removed. We`re labeling it as suspicious circumstances.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Arizona FBI trained dogs are searching the home where a 6-year-old girl vanished over the weekend.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But over 140 law enforcement officers with multiple agencies are on the lookout along with --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: According to ABC News, Tucson Police chief Roberto Villasenor says we have information we obtained from the dogs that has necessitated more follow-up investigation.

All right. Let`s break that down. Bring me back to the lawyers. Elliot, Rodriguez, Kessler. Translation, Elliot, the dog hit, the dog hit somewhere that was unusual. Because you expect a canine to hit in the home. A scent dog. What do you think?

ELLIOTT: Well, I think you have to go back to your expert earlier, Jeff has said there could be some other things that would cause the cadaver dog to make a hit. But that sounds very suspicious.

GRACE: Rodriguez?

RODRIGUEZ: I think each of the family members have to be concerned because now the focus is going to be closer to home, something that`s going on in that home or something that happened in that home.

GRACE: Kessler?

KESSLER: I think the police think they have their man or woman because otherwise they`d be issuing bulletins there`s a predator on the loose --

GRACE: Boy, are you jumping the gun, huh?

KESSLER: Well, you know, they`re not out there saying protect the neighborhood. They`re saying we`ve got some information, we`re not sharing it. They must have somebody in mind. Right?

GRACE: Tip line --

RODRIGUEZ: There`s no Amber alert.

GRACE: I know, gentlemen. 520-882-7463.

Let`s stop and remember Army Staff Sergeant Travis Hunsberger, 24, Goshen, Indiana, killed Afghanistan. An elite Green Beret, second tour. Two Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation. Left studies at Ball State to enlist. Raised in a rural farming community. Loved the outdoors. Camping, riding bikes. Reading, soccer. Leaves behind parents, Steve and Rhonda, brother, Kyle, sister, Kelsey. Widow, Hannah.

Travis Hunsberger. American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us.

Happy birthday to a beautiful lady, Milton, Florida, Ruth Brown. Isn`t she gorgeous?

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.

END