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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Teen Goes Missing After Joy Ride; Robbery Suspect Throws Money Out Car Window

Aired September 12, 2012 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, folks. "JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL" starts right now.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: A frantic search for a beautiful teen missing from West Virginia. Skylar Neese vanished two long months ago after sneaking out of her bedroom window and going out on a joy ride with friends. Those girls say they dropped Skylar off back near her home. She has not been seen since. What happened to this beautiful 16-year-old? I`m going to talk live to her desperate parents next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Beautiful teen missing more than two months. Riddled with mystery, surveillance video shows 16-year-old Skylar Neese sneaking out her bedroom window and getting into a friend`s car. That female friend says she brought Skylar back home an hour later. But the trail ends there. Could Skylar`s cryptic tweets in the days leading up to her disappearance be a big clue? I`ll talk to Skylar`s frantic parents live tonight.

And did an accused bank robber turn into Robin Hood in the streets of L.A.? A wild car chase creates chaos when the alleged getaway driver throws wads of cash out the window. We`ll show you the dramatic video.

Then, a new break in the case of two missing cousins in Iowa. Cops believe they could have the surveillance video showing the girls as they`re being kidnapped. But they need our help. Do cops still think the two girls are alive? And if so, where on earth are they? We`ll investigate and talk to their aunt.

Plus, one of the contestants on the hit show "America`s Next Top Model" in the fight of her life. Is the once striking beauty battling a severe meth addiction? Now she`s getting an intervention from Dr. Phil. But will she face her demons? Or will she run?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cry all the time. We miss her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where is beautiful Skylar? Police say she climbed out her bedroom window. Where did she end up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Supposedly they just drove around. That`s about all I do know. They just dropped her off and told her to call when she got home. And she wasn`t home.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s been two long months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s bubbly. Very funny. All her friends say they make her laugh. She`s very intelligent. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Everyone that knows her loves her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do Skylar`s last tweets hold the key? Who was she talking to?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love her so much. If someone has her, just get her back to us. We just need her back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live tonight.

A teen mysteriously vanishes just steps from her West Virginia home. Sixteen-year-old Skylar Neese has been missing since July 7. That`s two long months ago.

Her parents, frantic, say she came home from her job at a local Wendy`s, hugged them, told them she loved them and then went to bed. But surveillance video shows the girl sneaking out of her bedroom window later that night and getting into a nearby car.

A friend claims she picked Skyler up, and they went on a ride but brought her back to the house an hour later. And that Skylar wanted to be dropped off away from her parents` apartment complex so she wouldn`t wake up her mom and dad. That`s where the trail ends cold.

What happened to this beautiful young lady? Did the teen take off? Or did she stumble upon danger? We`re taking your calls and theories on this. Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to Kylar`s [SIC] devoted parents. We`re going to start with her father, Dave Neese. Thank you, sir, for being here. Our hearts go out to you.

We know these past two months must have been horrific. Tell us about what your daughter did right before she disappeared. How did she get out of your home? And what did she do, according to you, with her friends?

DAVE NEESE, SKYLAR`S FATHER (via phone): Well, she came home from work, like you said, that evening. You know, she got home and walked in the door. She went over to her mother and hugged and kissed her mother. Excuse me. Came over to me and kissed me -- excuse me. Went to her bedroom. And that`s the last we`ve seen of her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And then I understand that she crawled out of her bedroom window. That was spotted on surveillance. That`s a ground-floor bedroom window. Is that correct, Mr. Neese?

D. NEESE: That is correct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And then she went out with some friends. Now, I understand there may have been up to three girls. And they brought her back. What did those girls say about what they were doing, who they might have been hanging out with, and what your daughter`s mood was?

D. NEESE: The only thing they told us was that they just went riding around the local town here and that Skylar was in a pretty good mood, they said. And she insisted to be dropped off at the end of the road. And they dropped her off at the end of the road. And they -- that`s -- that`s the last anybody`s seen of her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sir, I know this is difficult. We have put your daughter`s face up. This is so crucial, because anybody who has any information, we`re urging them to call. If you`ve seen this young lady anywhere.

By the way, there have been 172 sightings. And law enforcement told us just a couple minutes ago that none of them have panned out thus far. So we understand your panic and your heartache.

There are cryptic tweets on Skylar`s Twitter page before she disappeared that may offer clues as to what happened. In one she writes, "Stress will be the death of me." She tweeted on July 4. Now 16-year-olds can be dramatic at times. It could be the stress over a fight with a friend, a relationship.

Dave, do you have any idea why your daughter was stressed out? I was speaking to your wife earlier, and she said that she was kind of upset that all her friends had gone off for the Fourth of July holiday and that she was stuck because she had to work and do her job at the fast-food joint.

D. NEESE: That`s the only stress I can think she might have been under. She wasn`t under any stress at home that we knew of for any reason. And she did put that on her Twitter page. And I still to this day have no clue what she meant by that. I think it was the fact that she had to work over the Fourth of July holiday. And that she kind of got stuck at home, and all her friends were out camping and doing whatever else.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: In another tweet, Skylar says, "You doing bleep like that is why I will never completely trust you." She tweeted that on July 5.

Now, it sounds like she was in some kind of confrontation with somebody. We don`t know who she was talking to. And, Mr. Neese, if I could ask you to stand by for one second, please don`t hang up.

D. NEESE: I won`t.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We have some experts in the field here to help you.

Tom Shamshak, former police chief, private investigator, the problem with tweets, of course, it`s not like an e-mail. You don`t know who she`s tweeting to, because it goes out to a lot of people.

But she climbs out the bedroom window. She goes around with her friends. But then it appears she`s going back to the house when she disappears. But in the days leading up to that, she had been sending out tweets talking about she didn`t trust her friends, she`s got stress. What do you make of it?

TOM SHAMSHAK, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Jane, good evening. Thank you for having me back on.

My heart goes out to the parents here. You know, the first thing we have to establish here is the pool of people that she was communicating with. And I`m sure law enforcement has done that. I`m not sure if they have taken the hard drive from the family computer or her own laptop, if she had one. But they need to resurrect the profile of individuals she was speaking to.

Now, young people that run away, they do become involved with older individuals. Now, is this somebody that she`s referring to that she might have met at her place of employment? They should perhaps go back there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me just say this. Here`s what doesn`t add up to me. And I`ll go to Levi Page, crime blogger. She had a 4.0 GPA. This is not the kind of girl who would generally run off in the sense that she had a 4.0 GPA.

LEVI PAGE, CRIME BLOGGER: I absolutely agree with you, Jane. This is someone who took her school and academics very seriously. This does not seem to be someone that would run away.

So I`m a little bit worried why they have classified this as an endangered runaway, since we know that she`s not accessed any of her social media networks since she vanished. We know that her bank account has not been accessed since she vanished. And she`s not made any telephone calls that we know of since she vanished. So why is this a runaway?

This is -- this is a girl that was very good in school, had a job. And it would be interesting to see who she was talking about in those tweets. Was she angry at her friends and started hanging out with another group of individuals, older individuals, and maybe something happened to her?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. These are all good questions.

Now, in yet another mysterious tweet on July 4, Skylar says she is tired of being at home. Quote, "Sick of being at bleeping home. Thanks, friends. Love hanging out with you all, too," end quote.

Stacey Honowitz, Florida prosecutor, again, the parents say, well, she had to stay home for Fourth of July holiday to work, and she was upset about that. Here`s what I don`t get. If she`s climbing out the bedroom window, wouldn`t that be highly coincidental for her to have engaged in that behavior and then somehow have been, God forbid, abducted trying to get back in her parents` home?

STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA PROSECUTOR: Well, it is hard to reconcile the two. And the one thing that I don`t agree with is just because somebody has a 4.0 average and does well in school doesn`t mean that there`s not an outside life. And I`m not saying that I know anything about her, but it doesn`t coincide with somebody who wants to sneak away from her parents, either.

So the bottom line is, on Twitter, you can find your followers, who you`re following and who you`re speaking to. The police are doing that. That`s what -- that`s part of conducting an investigation. Was she involved with other people that we don`t know about? Certainly I`m sure all the friends have been interviewed.

But the only thing you can do at this point is probably classify it as a runaway, because there`s no evidence that there was anything worse than that. And especially with the sneaking out and going with the friends.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know what, though...

HONOWITZ: It is a mystery at this point.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: She took no clothes with her, none. None. And she wanted to be dropped back at her house. That`s what doesn`t make sense.

On the other side of the break, we`ve got a caller. And we`re also going to continue to analyze. More details to bring you to solve this mystery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY NEESE, MOTHER OF SKYLAR (via phone): She was working, as I said. And everyone left over the Fourth of July to go places. And she had to work. And I know she was upset. She kind of felt she was left behind. Other than that, that`s all I do know. As far as a boyfriend, we weren`t aware of one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that`s Mary Neese, the mother of missing Skylar, a beautiful young lady with a 4.0 grade average. A good daughter, working a job, doing everything right. And suddenly she vanished two months ago. We`re trying to help her parents find out what happened to her. They`re obviously devastated.

Now, here`s a Twitter comment that appeared on her page that we`re going to mention, not in any way to embarrass, or -- but because we`ve got to get to the bottom of this, and we can`t leave any stone unturned.

And what she tweeted was, it appeared to be a photo of a bong with a caption, "Even though it`s little and I already broke the slide, I`m excited." And that comment was followed by a smiley face.

So I`m going to go back to Dave Neese, the father of missing Skylar. Dave, so many kids this age don`t even know what they`re getting into if they`re hanging out with an older crowd that might be a bad influence. Did you have any sense, whether it was from the fast-food joint or anywhere, that she might have been hanging out with an older or maybe a different crowd?

D. NEESE: Right. No, we don`t. We`ve actually -- the police have checked every avenue. They went to her work. They went to her school. They went to all her friends. They went to all the people she works with. And it`s turning up empty everywhere. I mean, totally empty.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did they -- did they give the girl that said that she dropped her off near the house, the last person to see her, a lie detector?

D. NEESE: I`m not sure about that, no. I don`t know.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, maybe that`d be a good idea.

Let`s go to the phone lines. Beverly, Florida. Your question, thought or theory. Beverly, Florida, thanks for calling.

CALLER: Yes, hi, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi.

CALLER: Thanks for all you do for the animals. We love you out here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.

CALLER: My question is, the girl that she got into the car with, did she come forward before or after the surveillance tape? Did she come forward before this surveillance tape and say, "Hey, I was driving around with Skylar?" Or did the cops have to go to her and say, "Hey, we saw you on the surveillance tape picking up Skylar"?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, excellent question. Mr. Neese, again, how did this come about? Your daughter doesn`t come home that night. Did this young lady who supposedly drove her around for an hour and claims she dropped her off right there near your house, even though she was never seen again after that, did she come forward and offer this story?

NEESE: Yes, she did. She came forward. As a matter of fact, it was -- like I said, I got home from work that day, noticed she wasn`t in her room. Walked out on the back deck and saw the stool that she used to climb out the window. And immediately, I called her mother.

And her mother said, well don`t worry too much. She might have just went shopping with her friends. Just calm down. So I did.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now...

D. NEESE: Then I -- the place she works at called and said she wasn`t there. Then we started to worry. So we called her friend again. And she said, well, yes that they had been out joyriding and that she dropped her off.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And did she mention anything about her maybe taking something that would have made her vulnerable or less sharp?

D. NEESE: No. There was nothing mentioned about that at all.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tom Shamshak, my understanding is there`s some video of her leaving the house. Wouldn`t that then show she never came back to the house in that same timeframe? Is there anything else that can be learned from that surveillance?

SHAMSHAK: Well, it establishes a timeline of when she`s last seen at the house. And then if you can -- we can corroborate that with the time from the friend who drives her back. I would be interested in seeing where the -- the tweets come in immediately after she departs the home. I think that would tighten up there.

And as Stacey Honowitz correctly said earlier, yes, the police will be able to identify all of the people that have followed her. And that will be a lot of leg work because young people, as you know, have a lot of friends -- Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, yes. And hopefully somebody who was following her on Twitter knows what happened.

Anybody, please, these parents are frantic. If you know anything about this young lady, we`re going to give Connie from Kentucky a chance to weigh-in. Maybe you have a theory or no something. Connie from Kentucky.

CALLER: Hello, Jane. It`s great to speak with you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You too.

CALLER: My question is, what did the girls do for the hour? Did they meet with someone? Was there someone that she could have talked to in that hour, made an arrangement for them to pick her up for some reason that her friend didn`t know about?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Excellent, excellent. Fantastic. Mr. Neese, what did they do?

D. NEESE: I was told they just drove around and listened to music. And although, you know, I have to believe what I`m told, because I like to think nobody would lie to me about this. Such a critical case. Such a beautiful child. I want to be -- you know, I want to be told the truth.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I would talk to that young lady again.

D. NEESE: Oh, trust me, we have.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And just get a timeline, minute-by-minute of exactly where they drove. Maybe they stopped at a 7-Eleven and she went in to get a soft drink and met somebody there.

Sir, we`re going to stay on top of your case. Keep your daughter`s face out there. Our hearts are with you.

D. NEESE: Thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side of the break, a crazy -- and I mean crazy -- car chase.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This armed robbery suspect, and we`re seeing what we believe is two people throwing money out of the car. This becomes a challenge here to maintain order, right? Because these guys throwing money out were like Robin Hood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my gosh. Armed robbers led police on a wild, crazy chase through southern California unlike any high-speed chase I`ve ever seen. Cops say it started with an armed bank robbery in the L.A. suburb of Santa Clarita. Ended up in L.A.

But it gets really crazy when the suspects start throwing cash out the windows as they lead police on the chase. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are armed robbery suspects. How desperate do you think they are that they`re throwing money out the window? I mean, surely they know the chopper`s over them, they know the cops are behind them, they know that they see them do it.

Oh, here we go. Wait a minute. They`ve got to cross the median to get over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We`re delighted to have Derek Bell, helicopter reporter for my alma mater, KCAL. You were overhead. Tell us about this free money and what kind of chaos it created on the ground.

DEREK BELL, REPORTER, KCAL (via phone): Well, the chaos was high. That was for sure. This was a pursuit like nothing we`d ever seen before in Los Angeles. Los Angeles, we`re really the capital of police chases.

Now, what this guy was doing was throwing handfuls of cash out the window of the vehicle as he was going through the south Los Angeles area. But he didn`t throw just one or two. He threw about ten or 12. That got people out on the street running in the street, trying to catch some of that free money that was being thrown out.

But of course, the chase came to an end as it always does. And the two people inside were taken into custody. Two others jumped out well before they got to the downtown area. One of them was taken into custody. And we understand the -- the search for the third or the last suspect has now been called off.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, thank you. Great explanation.

Captain Mike Parker of the Los Angeles County sheriff`s department, I understand that this Robin Hood ended up sort of being defeated by his own game plan, because so many people surged onto the street. Didn`t they kind of block his car in the end?

CAPTAIN MIKE PARKER, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF`S DEPARTMENT: Yes. In the end, if that indeed was their tactic, is that all it did was serve to have more people with more cars get in the way and basically block them from getting away.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And we`re going to show you. There`s the shot. Take a look at this. Derek, this was a mob scene. It looks like people are fighting each other to get money off the street. And this guy ends up stuck in it. What do you know?

PARKER: Well, that`s true. And they had been doing that for about half an hour prior to the car coming to a stop. He was going around in circles in the same area. And people were coming out of their houses and notifying other people about what was going on. Pandemonium really ensued.

When it came to an end, and people realized they weren`t going to get any of that free cash, some people standing by that vehicle hoping that they might be able to reach in and get some.

However the L.A. County sheriff`s deputies had none of that. They made sure that that car was secured and that people would try to be -- they tried to rally those people out of the street. It took them about another half an hour to do so, but indeed they did.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, Captain Parker, if people have good a wad of cash, what are they supposed to do with that money?

PARKER: Well, you need to contact L.A. County sheriffs or any local law enforcement to turn that money in. Only the honest people should do that. People that are not honest, obviously are going to do what they`re going to do.

One thing I point out about these suspects during this chase is that, you know, people giving back to the community wouldn`t do it by sticking a gun in somebody`s face and then going in a lengthy pursuit, endangering hundreds of lives and so on. So there`s nothing -- there`s nothing generous about people using -- throwing cash or anything else out a window to try to distract law enforcement. In this case, it appears to be their undoing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely, Captain. Couldn`t agree with you more. I was certainly referring to him as Robin Hood sarcastically.

PARKER: Of course.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Derek Bell, helicopter pilot, KCAL/KCBS, great talking to you, as well as Captain Parker. Job well-done.

My gosh, that`s patience not to just like bump that car when you`re right there. But they have a method for doing it safely. And no one is hurt.

Nancy Grace has a "Toddlers & Tiaras" shocker in just a couple of minutes. Nancy, what have you got?

NANCY GRACE, HLN ANCHOR: Jane, on the radar tracking crime and justice is the "Toddler & Tiara" gravy train set to hit the skids after multiple claims of child abuse.

And now toddler Destiny shocks viewers when she swaggers onto the stage. A wild nest of teased hair, a puffy bright leather jacket and a cigarette apparently jammed between the toddler`s lips, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That is disgusting. I will be watching Nancy tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on HLN. Check it out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A frantic search continues for missing cousins from Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook were last seen leaving for a bike ride.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re worried. We`re stressed out. We`re lack of sleep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two missing girls. And we have no idea why.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pink ribbons as a reminder of two little girls still missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today the process has begun to drain Myers Lake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lake slowly recedes draining into the Cedar River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those girls are just beautiful, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This corner down here is where the girls` bicycles were found and the purse of one of the girls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody is willing to do a polygraph test, you know. We just want our girls home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just trying to hold onto whatever hope you have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, could new surveillance video unlock the mystery of two missing Iowa cousins? Police believe that the girls, ages 9 and 10, were abducted and that the kidnapper`s vehicle was caught on surveillance tape. But what vehicle and what location should they hone in on?

In a moment I will talk to the girls` grandmother, the last one to see them before they vanished. Investigators pouring over hours and hours of footage from around the time Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook disappeared two months ago. They need your help. They`re desperate for that crucial tip to help them know what to look for.

One of the lead investigators made this chilling comment. Quite, "Whoever did this walks among us and lives among us." The cousins vanished the afternoon of Friday July 13th; their grandma, the last one to see them as they left for a bike ride in Evansdale, Iowa. They did this all the time, biking.

Police say this grainy surveillance footage shows Lyric and Elizabeth on that fateful bike ride. About four hours later their bikes and Elizabeth`s purse were found on the banks of a nearby lake. But the trail then goes cold.

Lyric`s parents have been under intense scrutiny because of their criminal past. They`ve each taken polygraph tests and insist they have nothing to do with the girls` disappearance. Still, the dad you`re looking at there, Daniel Morrissey has said that he feels he has been treated like a suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL MORRISSEY, FATHER: When you`re telling the truth and then they say you`re holding something back and you`re not. What more do you have to talk about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did it make you feel like you were a suspect?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It made me feel like, yes, they were looking at me like a suspect. As far as what I know, I`m not -- I know the truth. I mean, I know I`m telling the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I know you`ve been following this case. Call me with your theories: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

We are very delighted to have with us tonight Wylma Cook, the girls` grandmother, the last one to see these two girls before they vanished as they road off on their bikes. Wylma, tomorrow will be two months since Elizabeth and Lyric, your granddaughters, vanished. My heart goes out to you. This has got to be a nightmare. How are you and the parents of these two girls holding up? What is it like?

WYLMA COOK, GRANDMOTHER OF THE COUSINS (via telephone): It`s really hard. It gets harder every day. But we keep praying. We have faith in the Lord that they`re going to be coming home.

And as for that new surveillance that they`re talking about, there isn`t any. We talked to Kent Smock, the chief of police from Evansdale. I don`t know who started that story. But it`s not true.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, here`s the thing, Wylma. It`s not like they found surveillance of the girls. What we`ve heard is that police have hours and hours of surveillance. We`re talking about from the area. There are stores with surveillance cameras, gas stations, parking lots, but they don`t know where to start looking or what to look for.

If let`s say there was a van involved, they don`t know what van, what color van or even if there was a van. So they`re asking everybody. Please report anything suspicious that could point to a potential suspect or vehicle that was suspicious.

Tom Shamshak, you`re a former police chief, you`re a private investigator; police say if somebody changes their hair color or facial hair, is acting differently or suspiciously, repainted their car to make it look different or moved out of the neighborhood abruptly. Aren`t those some of the things to look for? What else, Tom?

TOM SHAMSHAK, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Jane, you`re correct -- looking for immediate flight after this occurrence. Although, you know, we really have to begin looking at the scene where these bikes were found. Was it staged? Could they have been abducted elsewhere and the bikes placed there?

Law enforcement would be looking at footwear impressions in the area. Was there any evidence of a struggle in that area? Looking for tire marks that might have indicated that a vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. But you`re right, that`s what has to be done. Looking at automobile plates from the highway, if it`s a toll road, capturing that information and going out there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to --

SHAMSHAK: People that might have been in the neighborhood working.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re looking at this lake, and I want to ask Wylma, the girls` were -- their bikes were found near that lake. What do you think happened? What`s your theory, Wylma?

COOK: I feel that they never made it to the lake. I feel they were caught before they even got to the lake. And a lot of us feel that way. Some of us don`t.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you think that the scene, with the bikes, was staged?

COOK: That`s the way I feel.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And who would have done this? Who had the motive to take these girls?

COOK: I have no idea because it`s no family member. It`s none of people we know. Nobody had no vendetta against us.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wylma, I say this not to embarrass you or anyone but only and only because it could be crucial to the case. It`s been publicly reported many times missing Lyric`s mom and father have lengthy criminal records. That`s just a fact. Her mom, Misty, was released from a halfway house just a few months ago. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute meth as well as illegal drug use. Her estranged husband, Dan Morrissey has been convicted of burglary, theft and was arrested last year on conspiracy to manufacture meth and possession of meth with intent to deliver. He`s also facing domestic assault.

Now, Howard Samuels, founder and CEO of The Hills Treatment Center, addiction specialist and a person in recovery, when you`ve heard Wylma say, well, there was nobody with a vendetta, but if you bring in alleged conspiracy to distribute meth, what doors does that open?

HOWARD SAMUELS, CEO, THE HILLS TREATMENT CENTER: Well, Jane, where there`s smoke there`s fire. I mean let`s be real about this. They associated with a criminal element especially because they were manufacturing meth with a lot of other criminals. And so where there`s these type of individuals -- and I`m not accusing the parents, but I`m certainly accusing the environment and the other people that had access to the kids. Not a healthy environment. So how could there not be a connection between those two things?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stacey Honowitz, if the dad you`re looking at there is about to go to trial, could somebody have taken these children to try to silence him so that he wouldn`t testify against them?

STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA PROSECUTOR: Well, absolutely. I mean, you really have to get past the big elephant in the room like what Howard was saying. When you`re in a criminal element especially if you`re getting ready to go to trial and if you`re dealing with meth, you`re dealing with a very dangerous element and anything is a possibility. So the police are honing in on the criminal activity of the parents.

The father`s upset that he`s looked at like a suspect. I can understand that. But he has to go further out and peel back the layers of people that he`s been associated with to make a determination as to whether or not there was any kind of involvement.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s go to a quick phone call, George in Washington State. Quick question, George.

GEORGE, WASHINGTON STATE (via telephone): She`s so cute.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: George. All right. I think George is saying that these -- young ladies are beautiful young ladies. And they are. Wylma, what we`re doing is showing the pictures --

(CROSSTALK)

COOK: Yes, but I feel --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.

COOK: -- you know, that was many years ago that all that happened. And everybody that they knew as of the last few years, everybody has been checked out thoroughly. And I don`t feel he had anything to do with --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. But it was really in December of 2011 that Daniel was arrested for possession of meth. That`s not that long ago. That`s less than a year ago. So I understand your point. But we`re just looking at possibilities.

Again, it may be something completely unrelated. We just have to look at all the possibilities.

And, Wylma, I hope you come back soon with some good news. But we`re going to stay on top of this case and continue to get your granddaughters` pictures out there. Thank you.

Now, we`ll bring you the latest on the search. We want to bring these beautiful young girls home, obviously.

Now, why in the world is this woman taking to the sidewalk on a residential street with kids around? We`re going to show you in our "Shocking Video of the Day".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Farmers markets are so much fun. I come here with my reusable bags -- makes it even more fun. And I learn so much about vegetables. These are turnips, these are collared greens. We know celery right. But look at these scallions. Have you ever seen anything like that? And then the cabbage.

Now I learned something new today -- purslane. This is purslane. I didn`t even know purslane existed. You can have it as a salad or you can cook it.

And guess what? The prices are terrific. Take a look. Don`t believe me. Look. Look. You can eat for a week on $20. And it`s healthy. Greens, we need them America.

Healthy mind, healthy body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And your viral video of the day. Look at this. A -- well, Alaskan kiss, you might say. That is wonderful to see different species playing together.

Again, we always like to turn different species into enemies. And it doesn`t have to be that way. They are having fun. And they are playing with each other. And guess what? Fish have personalities. And this proves it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is Bravo`s "America`s Next Top Model" contestant Jael Strauss before.

DR. PHIL MCGRAW, TELEVISION PERSONALITY: She is here today. So Jael come on out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is her now -- allegedly addicted to meth. And her worried family is hoping Dr. Phil can help. Watch this clip from CBS.

MCGRAW: Isn`t the truth that just even a little bit inside you wanted them to make you?

JAEL STRAUSS, MODEL: Yes, ok.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s a startling image of just how addictive meth can be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Unbelievable. Jael Strauss was on top of the world after being a finalist on "America`s Next Top Model" on the CW Network five years ago. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXCERPT FROM "AMERICA`S NEXT TOP MODEL")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s Jael dancing the night away on the show created by model Tyra Banks. Jael had everything going for her. She landed top modeling jobs. She was raking in the cash and she was beautiful.

But now she looks like this: her skin dull and scarred, her teeth rotting, she`s homeless. And her family says it`s all because she`s addicted to crystal meth. Her mom and brother hunted her down on the streets of Los Angeles where she`s homeless to bring her to Dr. Phil to try to get her some help.

But watch what happens in this clip from CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCGRAW: She is here today. So, Jael, come on out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go to Jennifer Gimenez; you`re a recovering addict. You`re also an actress and a model and you are (inaudible) facilitator. How dangerous, how devastating is crystal meth?

JENNIFER GIMENEZ, RECOVERING ADDICT: Hi, Jane. You know, crystal meth is such a strong force over you when you take crystal meth. And plus this girl has a gene and she has a disease of drug addiction. So, you know, I mean this disease has such a tight grip on her that it`s telling her that she should just go die, you know. It`s such a tragic, tragic story.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Howard Samuels, addiction specialist, I never really understood the difference between meth and crystal meth. What`s the difference? Which is worse?

SAMUELS: Crystal meth is. You have to understand. Crystal meth is made with battery acid, Jane, brake cleaner, rubbing alcohol, things that will destroy you. I mean, look at her. Look what she became. And it`s all because of those ingredients.

If you look at her face, it is totally marked up. And that`s because you become delusional and you start thinking there are insects on your face. And you pick your face until it`s raw.

And what Dr. Phil was doing -- interventions are very unpredictable. Addicts like this are like vampires. You have to hunt them down. You have to corral them. And you have to get them into rehab in order to help them rehabilitate themselves.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I`m glad that he`s trying to do something. And maybe the next stop is rehab. More on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: My favorite moment: "Pets of the Day". Moose, you are -- Sadie, you are so sexy, Sadie. What a beauty. Lulu, what a name. Look at her with her toys. And Hershey is the innocent, innocent, innocent boy. Dolly, she`s rocking it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You are looking at the infamous before and afters of the faces of meth. By the way, if you want to vote on our Facebook poll and our other polls go to hlntv.com/Jane and weigh in. We want to get your feedback.

I have to tell you Dr. Phil had to chase after Jael right into the back parking lot of Paramount Studios in Hollywood to just talk to her.

Here`s a clip from CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCGRAW: Isn`t the truth that just a little bit inside you wanted them to make you.

STRAUSS: Yes, ok.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jennifer, what is the appeal of crystal meth?

GIMENEZ: You know, I think for her in this case, you know, somewhat that is put in the limelight and someone who is a model like the pressures of modeling is so beyond my understand. Well, it`s beyond my understanding but I experienced it. And meth, it keeps you going. It keeps you active. It keeps you awake, you know. And then all of a sudden you`re hooked and you know there`s so many chemicals inside. And what you`re seeing with her skin and her hair and her face, her appearance is she`s dying from the inside out. Not only seriously and mentally but physically, you know. I`m sure if her body haven`t shut down, it will start shutting down her organs.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well put. More on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Howard, how hard will it be for this "America`s Next Top Model" contestant from 2007 to kick crystal meth?

SAMUELS: It`s going to be very difficult for her, you know. But the most important thing is if she has the willingness to do whatever it takes, she`s going to make. But she has to make that decision -- her and her only.

Just like I`m 28 years sober and I put the line on the sand every day not to do drugs again.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, yes. And her well-meaning brother and mother are trying to helping. But if she refuses to help herself, it won`t work.

SAMUELS: Exactly.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Nancy`s next.

END