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Piers Morgan Live
Three Young Women Missing for Years Found Alive
Aired May 06, 2013 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: This is PIERS MORGAN LIVE. We begin with extraordinary breaking news out of Cleveland. It is a remarkable and hard-to-fathom story, but it's true. Three young women who'd been missing for a decade and lived blocks from each other have been found alive tonight. An unbelievable turn of events that's unfolding by the minute.
All three were located together in the same house, close by from where they were last seen. A crowd is now gathering at the home where the three were found.
Amanda Berry was just 16, nearly 17 when she vanished in 2003. Georgina de Jesus was 14 when she disappeared in 2004. And Michelle Knight was 20 when she went missing in 2002.
It's a stunning outcome and one that has people in the streets of Cleveland in shock and jubilation. Reports tonight that a 52-year-old man is under arrest. We're also awaiting a news conference within the hour.
In a statement tonight, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said, "I am thankful that Amanda Berry, Gina de Jesus and Michelle Knight have all been found alive. We have many unanswered questions regarding this case and the investigation will be ongoing. Again, I'm thankful that these three young ladies are found and alive."
Joining me now on the phone is Angie Garcia, a neighbor who saw the girls screaming for help.
Angie, can you hear me?
ANGIE GARCIA, SUSPECT'S NEIGHBOR: Yes. I'm here.
MORGAN: This is a truly remarkable story. Tell me exactly what you witnessed today.
GARCIA: Well, to be honest, I wasn't here. I was here yesterday when this guy, I think his name is Ariel Castro. He was coming inside his driveway and he waved hi. That was it. Today, this happened, I wasn't here. I'm translating for my aunt that she was here. She's telling me that this girl came to her house to make a call.
MORGAN: And was it all three girls or was it one of the girls? We think it may have been Amanda Berry. But do you know which one it was?
GARCIA: Well, (speaking in foreign language). Berry, I think with a little girl, a 3-year-old little girl.
MORGAN: So it was Amanda Berry, one of the three missing women, and you believe that she had a 3-year-old girl with her. Do you know if that was her daughter? Did she say that?
GARCIA: Yes. And she was wearing a wig. She had a wig.
MORGAN: And do you know if there were any other children in the house that these women were being kept?
GARCIA: Well, no, because we never -- well, I never saw these girls. Never, never. We're always outside. The only one that we seen was the guy.
MORGAN: And the man that's being held, Ariel Castro.
GARCIA: Yes.
MORGAN: He's 52. We believe -- we believe he may have been a bus driver at Cleveland School.
GARCIA: Yes.
MORGAN: Did you know what he did for a living?
GARCIA: Yes. He was a bus driver but for some reason he wasn't working there anymore.
MORGAN: We believe that he was arrested today near the local McDonald's. What is extraordinary about this story, Angie, is that these girls were all taken nearly a decade ago from not very far away from this house.
GARCIA: Yes. Like a few blocks.
MORGAN: It's quite extraordinary, isn't it, that they appear to have been kept captive in this house with absolutely nobody in the whole area having any idea that these women were in the property.
GARCIA: Never, sir, never. Because I've been coming to this house, this house right here, five years, and we're always outside, always. We only seen this guy riding a bike or a convertible car.
MORGAN: How would you describe this man? What kind of man was he?
GARCIA: He's like a 50-year-old man. Yes. He looks like a 50-year- old man.
MORGAN: Did you know him? Did you speak to him?
GARCIA: No. No, no. Just wave hi. That's it. I didn't know him or nothing, because he didn't really talk to nobody. He was just in and out -- MORGAN: But as far --
GARCIA: -- the house without talking to anybody.
MORGAN: When Amanda Berry ran into your aunt's house, did she say anything?
GARCIA: She just say the phone. That she wanted to use the phone and that she called 911. She was saying, my mom --
MORGAN: And she --
GARCIA: -- is Amanda Berry, the one that disappeared years ago, please help me, please help me.
MORGAN: And then she used the phone herself to call the police, is that right?
GARCIA: Yes. Mm-hmm. Yes.
MORGAN: And how long did it take the police to get to your house?
GARCIA: Well, that was quick. Not even --
MORGAN: So a few minutes?
GARCIA: I don't think not even -- a minute, I think.
MORGAN: And what happened then?
GARCIA: Well, the thing is that they didn't believe at first. They -- when -- I guess when she said that she was alive, they didn't believe. They thought it was somebody playing around, you know how people play around on the phone. But then they figured it out, you know, that it was true. OK.
MORGAN: So the police then realized that this was Amanda Berry or they thought it was, and did they then find the other women? Did your aunt see the other women being brought out of the house?
GARCIA: Yes. Mm-hmm. They all came to the house. And she even told them come inside, come inside, you know, and got them inside the house.
MORGAN: And what kind of condition was Amanda Berry in, did your aunt say?
GARCIA: Really bad. She's still crying. She's still crying.
MORGAN: Your aunt is crying or Amanda Berry was crying?
GARCIA: No, my aunt is crying because she said she couldn't believe so many years living here and never notice nothing suspicious.
MORGAN: And everybody in the area remembered the story of Amanda Berry going missing. GARCIA: Yes.
MORGAN: And the -- and also Gina de Jesus. But we didn't know much about Michelle Knight but the other two girls had been the subject of many vigils by their families, is that right?
GARCIA: Yes.
MORGAN: So they were -- it was an extremely well-known story in the area.
GARCIA: Yes.
MORGAN: Which must make it all the more astonishing for your aunt.
GARCIA: Yes.
MORGAN: This whole time --
GARCIA: She's still -- she's still in shock.
MORGAN: Living opposite. And did your aunt see the other women coming out of the property after the police arrived?
GARCIA: Well, she said the last one that came out of the house, it was a girl, she might have been like 10 years old.
MORGAN: A 10-year-old girl. So as far as you're concerned, we may have three of the missing women, plus a 3-year-old girl, plus a 10- year-old girl. Is that your understanding?
GARCIA: Yes.
MORGAN: So a total of five females may have been held in the house at different ages.
GARCIA: Yes.
MORGAN: And has your aunt now given a statement to the police?
GARCIA: Yes. She is -- she is right now outside.
MORGAN: OK. Listen, Angie Garcia, thank you so much indeed for joining me. It's obviously a dramatic day for your family and I hope that your aunt's OK. Thank you very much.
GARCIA: Yes. Bye-bye.
MORGAN: Quite remarkable. Joining me now is Marc Klaas, whose 12- year-old daughter Polly was abducted from her bedroom in 1993.
Mr. Klaas, thank you so much for joining me. This is a really extraordinary story, isn't it?
MARC KLAAS, FATHER OF POLLY KLAAS: It really is. It's reminiscent of a couple of other stories in the modern era as well. First, it's reminiscent a little of the Elizabeth Smart story. You know, she was found nine months after she disappeared. But then I think even more so would be the Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Hornby story. They -- Shawn went missing in 2002 and was recovered alive with Ben in 2007, and then of course there's Jaycee Dugard who was missing for 18 years.
And Piers, every time one of these cases occurs and these children are recovered after decades, I believe it gives hope to the family of every missing person in America.
MORGAN: How does it make you feel, having been through something like this as a parent, when you hear about something like this?
KLAAS: I'm overjoyed. Because much of my work is looking for missing children, and we come up short time and time and time again. Either we find the remains of a poor child that's been gone for a long time or we find absolutely nothing. So when something like this happens, it truly does bring joy to my heart and it raises my spirit, it makes me feel, you know, so well for the families of these girls and certainly for the hope that's ingested in all of the other missing person families around the country.
MORGAN: And given all your experience in these kind of cases, what would be the most pressing and urgent things that these young women as they are now will have to go through in terms of readapting back to normal life?
KLAAS: Well, I don't have a lot of experience in the reunification process, but I can assure you they'll need to be tested medically, they will need to undergo I would imagine some intense psychological counseling for a very long period of time, because they will have a lot of different conflicting thoughts going through their minds.
They will be, you know, very glad that they were found safe but they will also feel guilt over the fact that people have felt bad looking for them and that they were unable to effect their own escape sooner than this. Just an awful lot of things going on.
MORGAN: Marc Klaas, thank you very much indeed for joining me.
KLAAS: Sure.
MORGAN: Joining me now is John Walsh, the former host of "America's Most Wanted."
John, this is really quite extraordinary, isn't it?
JOHN WALSH, FORMER HOST, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": Piers, it's incredible. As Marc Klaas was talking about, Jaycee Dugard, who is going to be here in Washington tomorrow night at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Hope Awards, and I'm going to give her the award as a hero.
She was kept in a backyard for 18 years, raped repeatedly and bore two children by her seriously demented and multiple-time convicted molester and rapist, and she got back alive. And tomorrow night, she'll be here. She's been in counseling as was mentioned by Marc. She has been in counseling for all this time and our recommendation at the National Centers is that they don't do any media, that they get that counseling, especially if one of these women has a child by this guy.
It's a terrible challenge to say, I was raped, I was kept as a hostage, and I fathered a child by my rapist. So -- but this is just as Marc said, this is incredible. We did these two cases, not the older lady but we did both the girls' cases on "America's Most Wanted" multiple times, and Amanda Berry's mother I do believe died of a broken heart.
The not knowing is the worst, Piers. It's the worst. But DeJesus' mother has never given up looking for that girl and not knowing --
MORGAN: Right.
WALSH: -- is what kills parents. It kills them.
MORGAN: And I had this extraordinary interview with a woman called Angie Garcia. Her aunt lives opposite this house and we believe that Amanda Berry, from the description she gave, ran into the house crying help me, help me, I'm Amanda Berry, the missing girl, and she then made a call to the police and the police were there within a matter of a few minutes.
What she said, from what her aunt has told her, is that she saw a total of five different females of different ages. One, Amanda Berry who ran to the house, who was 16, about to turn 17 when she went missing. The other one, Gina DeJesus, who was 14 when she disappeared in 2004. A third one about which we don't know so much, Michelle Knight, who apparently disappeared in 2000 and was 20 at the time.
WALSH: Right.
MORGAN: But what was so fascinating about this interview I had with Angie Garcia was she said that there were two children, one, a girl of about 3, she thought, who came in with Amanda Berry who she assumed to be Amanda Berry's possible daughter, but secondly, when the other women came out of the house, a girl who looked about 10 years old, so you may have a situation where there are two different children that have been borne in this house of horror as it appears to have been.
WALSH: Absolutely. I mean, let's reflect back on Jaycee Dugard. There were multiple tips from neighbors that Philip Garrido, her rapist who is now convicted of that case, that he had children in the backyard and he actually violated his parole, was taken out by authorities and served a month in jail, while his deranged wife kept Jaycee Dugard and those two little girls in the backyard.
So this is not unusual that these lowlifes, these creeps, think that they not only have kidnapped this child but this child and this person or this woman, in this case a 20-year-old woman, and two adolescents, 17 and 14, that they are their sex slaves and that they control their lives and terrify them and scare them and function as normal people. They function as your normal next-door neighbor. And several police sources have told me on the way here to sit in this chair that this guy functioned in society and he seemed like a normal guy and was a school bus driver. But I've said it to you many times before, Piers. It is very difficult to find the pedophile living next door. They look like anybody and they keep these people inside their house and keep them out of society and God forbid, I hope he didn't father children by these missing girls.
MORGAN: Well, we're going to hopefully find out more a little later in the show. There's going to be a live press conference from Cleveland with the police giving more information. And we'll have to wait and see what facts they give us then.
John, please stay with me. And Marc Klaas, also stay with me, please. We'll be right back with this extraordinary story.
Three young women who've been missing for a decade in Cleveland, all found alive, all found together. As a police news conference coming up, as I said, we'll bring it all to you live after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: More now on an extraordinary breaking story. Three girls missing for a decade found alive in a neighborhood in Cleveland, near the location where they disappeared. Amanda Berry vanished a day before her 17th birthday in 2003. Gina de Jesus was 14 when she disappeared in 2004. And Michelle Knight was 20 when she went missing, reportedly in 2002. All three are said to be in good condition.
This is the scene outside the home earlier, where all three women were found. Police say the one man is in custody.
Back with me is John Walsh. John, obviously we will find out more from this police press conference coming up very shortly, but this is a classic example of what you were saying before the break of what appears to be an appalling sexual predator living in utter normality in a very normal neighborhood a few blocks away, it seems, from where these girls were all taken.
JOHN WALSH: Well, you know, we've dealt with cases before. If you look back a few years, there was a boy named Steven Stayner. And he was taken by a guy, kept in his house, and was brainwashed and abused, et cetera. Then when the guy got sick of him, he went out looking for a younger boy. When he brought this boy back, Steven Stayner decided he said I've got to save this little boy's life, and I'm going to try to get loose.
And then there were two boys in Ohio, a case that you did here on CNN, that we did on America's Most Wanted, a boy who was kept by a pedophile for almost six years. He got sick of that boy when he hit puberty, and went out and kidnapped a younger boy. He was a bus surfer. He went behind buses and looked for kids that had a long way from the bus stop to their home in rural areas.
And they lived as normal people; the boys never came out of the houses. And as those predators got sick, as the kids got older and they got sick of the kids, they went out and got younger prey. And they lived amongst people and they functioned amongst people while they had these children.
It is just a phenomenal, wonderful evening that Amanda Berry got loose and that she has probably saved the lives of these other two women and if there were children fathered by this guy. And people will go why didn't they try to escape sooner, why didn't they try to get away? You know, to Elizabeth Smart, the girl that was helped to be recovered by America's Most Wanted. And people ask this question, why didn't you try to get away? Well, that creep that kidnapped Elizabeth Smart that's now doing life said exactly this. If you run, if you tell anybody, I will come back and kill your family. I got in your house that night.
So these women were probably terrified and have been kept as prisoners in broad daylight -- I mean, right in plain sight for years. But it's wonderful that they are out of that house of horrors tonight.
MORGAN: Yeah, I think you made all the horror -- clearly the details that come out are utterly horrific. Very important to remember this is a really joyous end to a terrible story. These three young women have all been found alive. They are receiving medical treatment in hospital but apparently are okay. They're not in terrible condition.
Let me go back to you, Marc Klaas, if you're there. Obviously for viewers who don't know this, your daughter, Polly, was 12 years old when she was kidnapped and murdered in 1993. That is why you care so passionately. You set up the Klaas Kids Foundation to stop crimes against children. We don't know all the facts here yet, but clearly, quite extraordinary that this should all be happening in a very relatively normal, quiet neighborhood. What do you make of that?
MARC KLASS, FATHER OF KIDNAPPING VICTIM: Well, John said it many times. These guys live amongst us. They live hiding in plain sight.
I think one of the things that makes this case absolutely extraordinary is that these girls, these young women, I should say, did take it upon themselves to effect their own escape, much as Steven Stayner did back in the day.
But then again, Steven Stayner is an object lesson. We say that this is a happy ending but really, Piers, this is a transition. Steven Stayner had horrible psychological problems throughout his life and unfortunately, died at a very young age as the result of a motorcycle accident. I have another friend, a young lady who effected her own escape and she's had a very, very difficult life from the time that she was kidnapped as a little girl until she reached about 20 years old. And now she's finally understanding and being able to reconcile the things that happened to her and put her life together.
So we really have to hope that these girls, as John said, avoid the media and get the kind of psychological counseling that they require to be able to become productive and good citizens again.
MORGAN: Absolutely. Very wise words. With me now is Peter Krauss, reporter for "The Cleveland Plain Dealer." He joins me by phone. This is a quite remarkable twist to a story that I'm sure you've covered for quite some time, Peter. What can you tell me about the latest on it?
PETER KRAUSS, REPORTER, CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER: Well, what I can tell you is that it's almost like a carnival atmosphere on the street. There seems to be so much joy, so much happiness that these women have finally been rescued. Nobody saw this coming. Nobody on the street saw this coming. Everybody says it's a complete surprise.
Mr. Castro, who I understand is in custody, was a bus driver, he was very quiet. He kept to himself. He would always enter his house from the back door. His shades and windows were shuttered or had shades on them so that you couldn't see. But nobody ever suspected anything like this.
And from what I understand, I was talking to one of the women on the street. This is a very Hispanic neighborhood, a lot of them don't really speak English very well, and she was talking to me through her daughter. And she was the one who saw this arm jut from the house across the street that turned out to be Amanda Berry's arm. She was waving from the door, she was saying help me, help me. Then she said I'm Amanda Berry. And the woman said to her you can't be Amanda Berry, Amanda Berry's dead. Next thing you know, she was coming across the street with a child behind her. She went to a neighbor's house and made a phone call -- this being Amanda Berry -- and then everything started happening after that.
MORGAN: Absolutely extraordinary. What is the general belief amongst journalists in Cleveland who followed these stories involving predominantly Amanda and Gina DeJesus, because they were the ones who got so much attention. Not so much Michele Knight for reasons I'm sure will emerge later. But was the general feeling that they must be dead, that it had been so long with no real leads, that was the only conclusion people could reach?
KRAUSS: Well, I think so. I think that is the conclusion that we always reach, whether it's in Cleveland or any city that has a child or a young person or anybody missing for so long. You just don't believe it. It's like the young Smart girl out there in Utah. I mean, who would ever imagine that these girls would resurface? And yet they have, and I think it's just an incredible story. People around here are just saying how astonished they are. You hear cheering. Like I say, it's just like a carnival atmosphere almost, that people seem to be so overjoyed that this has happened. Because nobody, I'm sure nobody expected this would ever happen.
MORGAN: It's a fantastic end to a gruesome story.
Peter, stay with me. Taking another break. John, you stay with me too, and also Marc. I'll be back after this break with more on this really quite astonishing breaking story. We're awaiting a live police press conference. We'll also talk to reporters on the scene and many others. That and much, much more after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: Back now with our breaking news out of Cleveland. A really unbelievable story. Three young women missing for a decade found alive and together in the same house just blocks from where they vanished. A 52-year-old man is in custody.
We're awaiting a police press conference. We have John Walsh, Marc Klaas and others standing by. But first, a remarkable tape of a neighbor identified only as Charles who knew something was wrong and took action. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charles, let me talk to you. I'm talking with Charles Ramsey, he's a neighbor. Walk me through again what happened this afternoon. You heard screaming?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard screaming. I'm eating my McDonald's. I come outside, I see this girl going nuts, trying to get out of her house. So I go on the porch -- I go on the porch and she says help me get out, I've been here a long time. I figured it's a domestic violence dispute, so I open the door and we can't get in that way because how the door is, it's so much that a body can't fit through, only your hand.
So we kicked the bottom and she comes out with a little girl and she says call 911, my name is Amanda Berry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know who that was when she said that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When she told me, it didn't register until I got the call of 911. And I said I'm calling 911 for Amanda Berry, I thought this girl was dead. You know what I mean? And she got on the phone and she said yes, this is me, and the detective right here -- Detective Gregory Cook says Charles, do you know who you rescued? I said --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you see Gina?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About -- about five minutes after the police got here. See, the girl Amanda told the police I ain't just the only one, it's some more girls up in that house. So they were going up there, 30, 40 deep. And when they came out, it was just astonishing, because I thought they would come up with nothing. I figured, whoever she was -- like I say, my neighbor, you got some big testicles to pull this off, bro, because we see this dude every day. I mean, every day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long have they lived here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been here a year. I barbecue with this dude. We eat ribs and what not and listen to salsa music. You see where I'm coming from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had no indication --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bro, not a clue that that girl was in that house, or anybody else was in there against their will. Because how he is, he just comes out to his backyard, plays with the dogs, tinkers with his cars and motorcycles, goes back in the house. So he's someone you look and look away, because he's not doing nothing but the average stuff. You see what I'm saying? Nothing exciting about him. Well, until today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the reaction on the girls' faces? I can't imagine to see the sunlight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Quite extraordinary interview there with a neighbor called only Charles. That's all we know him by the moment, who was right there when these extraordinary scenes happened today in Cleveland. Three young missing women being found after a decade. We now have the 911 call of one of those women, Amanda Berry. She went missing 10 years ago when she was about to turn 17. This is her call to Cleveland police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA BERRY, RESCUED AFTER 10 YEARS: Help me, I'm Amanda Berry!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need police, fire or ambulance?
BERRY: I need police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. What's going on there?
BERRY: I've been kidnapped and I've been with him for ten years and I'm here, I'm free now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. What's your address?
BERRY: I can't hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like you're calling me from --
BERRY: I'm using the phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay there with those neighbors. Talk to the police when they get there.
BERRY: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, talk to the police when they get there.
BERRY: OK. Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Talk to the police when they get there.
BERRY: OK. Are they on their way right now? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as we get a car open.
BERRY: I need them now, before he gets back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're sending them, OK? Who's the guy you're -- who's the guy who went out?
BERRY: His name is --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. How old is he?
BERRY: He's like 52.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
BERRY: I'm Amanda Berry. I've been on the news for the last 10 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. I got that. You said what was his name again?
Is he white, black or Hispanic?
BERRY: He's Hispanic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's he wearing?
BERRY: I don't know, because he's not here right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he left, what was he wearing?
BERRY: Who knows?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police are on the way. Talk to them when they get there, OK?
BERRY: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you they're on the way. Talk to them when they get there.
BERRY: All right. OK. Bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Incredibly emotional voice there of Amanda Berry, who went missing in Cleveland 10 years ago, has now been found along with two other missing women, held in a house together for the last decade. No wonder she sounds so emotional. I'm going to go now to Stephanie Ramirez, a reporter for WESS. Stephanie, this is just almost unbelievable, isn't it?
We lost Stephanie. We'll try and get her back. Technical issue. Let's go back to John Walsh. John, what a remarkable 911 call and also a remarkable interview there with this neighbor, who we know only as Charles. WALSH: You've got to be moved by the 911 call. When you hear Amanda Berry, the fear and terror in her voice, you've got to save me, you've got to come back and get me and the other girls before he comes back. And every surviving child that I have ever talked to has been terrified, brainwashed, scared to death to make a move because it may cost them their lives.
If you remember the case I was talking about in Missouri, Sean Hornback was the teenager and the guy got sick of him and then he kidnapped Ben Owenby because he was younger. Everybody said to Sean Hornback why didn't you try to get away. He said when I was kidnapped, I was a little boy. I had been here for years. I had been sodomized and tortured and I am terrified to tell anybody.
To hear that little girl -- to Amanda say, this is who I am, I need help, I'm scared, you've got to get here and get these other women and children out of here before this pervert comes back, it's -- people have got to realize what these people go through, what these kids go through.
MORGAN: Yeah. Absolutely unimaginable horror that they have been through. I'm sure we'll find out more from the police press conference. We're waiting any minute for that. Marc Klaas, you never got good news about your daughter. She was tragically taken, kidnapped and killed. Obviously the families of these girls have had much happier news, but there is a tragedy even there, that Amanda Berry's mother died I think in 2006 of a heart attack, and all her friends and family believed it was literally that she died of a broken heart.
KLAAS: Yeah. I'll tell you, the last ones that give up hope, Piers, are going to be the parents. I've known parents whose children have been missing for decades and they still have a little bit of hope that their children will be alive. It starts out when your child goes missing, as almost a boulevard of hope. But after a period of time, and sometimes not even that much time, it's only a thread of hope.
And quite frankly, if the parents give up hope, then all hope is gone. Then you can really never expect to see these kids again. So sure, the one girl's mother thought that she had been sold into human trafficking. Sometimes that's the best case scenario. And just think of a condition in your life where the best case scenario is that somebody that you love has been sold into human trafficking. Again, tonight is an absolutely extraordinary night for America.
MORGAN: It certainly is. Also worth remembering again, it's a joyous night for these girls and their families. We don't know all the circumstances yet. We believe there was maybe as many as two children who have been born in this house of horrors to this monster that appears to have kidnapped and kept these women. We don't know if any of this is fact yet. It's simply reporting from various people who live in that neighborhood.
John Walsh, it really is -- actually, if I can keep you there for a moment, we've got I think two cousins of Gina de Jesus. Sylvia and Sheila, is that right? Can you hear me? SHEILA FIGARO, COUSIN OF GINA DE JESUS: Yes.
SYLVIA COLON, COUSIN OF GINA DE JESUS: Yes.
MORGAN: Sheila and Sylvia, I believe you're cousins of Gina de Jesus. Tell me how you heard the news.
FIGARO: This is Sheila speaking. I was sitting at dinner and I received a phone call from my nephew, who asked had I heard the news. And I said no. He proceeded to tell me that Gina and Amanda were found in a home just down the street from where their aunt lives, one block away. And I turned my head to watch the TV and it was breaking news. So -- and it is, in fact, true. They have been found.
MORGAN: Astonishing. And Sylvia?
COLON: I was in a business meeting and I got a 911 text call, my cousin. And that's how I got the news.
MORGAN: Just to remind viewers about Gina's disappearance, it was on April 2nd, 2004. She was just 14 years old, walking home from Wilbur Wright Middle School. Nancy, Gina's mother, always believed her daughter had been kidnapped and sold into the sex trade. She must feel vindicated at least that her daughter was alive, as she always thought.
FIGARO: That is true. We -- Nancy stepped out of the hospital room for a short time and assured the family that Gina is doing well. And she had asked for other members. But Nancy never gave up faith knowing that her daughter would one day be found.
MORGAN: Do you know, Sheila, the reaction of Gina's mother when she heard the news?
FIGARO: I do not. I was not present. But I'm sure she was overjoyed.
MORGAN: Sylvia, did the family ever give up hope that one day Gina would be found alive?
COLON: They never did. Her mother and father truly never, ever gave up hope. Nancy was always very stoic, is very stoic, very strong woman. And she has always said that she just could feel it. It's a link a mom can feel, but she always believed Gina was alive and well. She always believed that. I, you know, just want to say what a phenomenal Mother's Day gift she gets this Mother's Day.
MORGAN: Absolutely. Couldn't imagine a better one. Just to remind viewers, I'm talking to two cousins, Sheila Figaro and Sylvia Colon, both cousins of Gina de Jesus who has been found after 10 years alive with two other missing women.
Let me talk to you again, Sheila, about this fact that she wasn't found alone. She was found with Amanda Berry and a third woman, Michelle Knight. It really is truly remarkable, isn't it? FIGARO: It is amazing.
MORGAN: There seems to be some suggestion that Amanda may have had a baby daughter and that there's also another child that came out of the house. What do you think of that?
FIGARO: It's a confirmation that, in fact, Amanda Berry has a child. It's a three-year-old. I believe it's a 3-year-old girl. I heard speculation that there was another child, but that has yet to be confirmed. Being sexual predators, I'm not at all surprised that these girls now had to mother children.
MORGAN: Well, it's just terrific news that Gina is back now in safety, back with her family, back in hospital getting the treatment she needs. Thank you both for joining me so much. I really appreciate it.
FIGARO: Thank you.
COLON: Have a great evening.
MORGAN: Just going to replay the really remarkable 911 call. This is from Amanda Berry, who, to remind you, had disappeared 10 years ago, was feared dead. Her family never gave up hope. And today, she made this call to Cleveland police and solved a huge mystery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERRY: Help me, I'm Amanda Berry!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need police, fire or ambulance?
BERRY: I need police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. What's going on there?
BERRY: I've been kidnapped and I've been with him for ten years and I'm here, I'm free now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. What's your address?
BERRY: I can't hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like you're calling me from --
BERRY: I'm using the phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay there with those neighbors. Talk to the police when they get there.
BERRY: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, talk to the police when they get there.
BERRY: OK. Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Talk to the police when they get there.
BERRY: OK. Are they on their way right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as we get a car open.
BERRY: I need them now, before he gets back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're sending them, OK? Who's the guy you're -- who's the guy who went out?
BERRY: His name is --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. How old is he?
BERRY: He's like 52.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
BERRY: I'm Amanda Berry. I've been on the news for the last 10 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. I got that. You said what was his name again?
Is he white, black or Hispanic?
BERRY: He's Hispanic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's he wearing?
BERRY: I don't know, because he's not here right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he left, what was he wearing?
BERRY: Who knows?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police are on the way. Talk to them when they get there, OK?
BERRY: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you they're on the way. Talk to them when they get there.
BERRY: All right. OK. Bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: That was the 911 call from Amanda Berry, one of the three missing girls in Cleveland who have been found alive after a decade today. Back now with Stephanie Ramirez, reporter for WESS. Stephanie, just as I talk to you, I am going to show a picture onscreen. This is actually from hospital. It's of Amanda Berry and we believe her sister, Beth, and what we believe to be Amanda's child, the child she may have had in captivity. That all has to be completely verified, but we believe that to be the case. We're not sure, looking at this picture, which one is Amanda Berry, but it's one of the two older ladies, obviously. That is a picture taken today in hospital following her release. We'll try and find out more about this picture. But really quite extraordinary.
Stephanie, this completes not just one mystery in Cleveland involving a missing girl. It completes three, and possibly more. We don't know the full extent of what has happened here. I was checking earlier into Amanda and Gina's disappearance. And there was at least one other girl that went missing at the time whose name we're not going to mention yet. But you just don't know how far this will go.
STEPHANIE RAMIREZ, WESS CLEVELAND: I cannot begin to describe the range of emotions that are being said, felt and shown here. As one of the first reporters on the scene, with our station, it was amazing, it was incredible once we found those family members and friends who knew what was going on, just the tears that came out of their faces. Just like you've been reporting, you have to understand that for a decade and longer, these girls have been missing. And it's been torturous not just for the family, for the parents, but for this entire community.
Every year on the anniversary, the mothers, one mother at least, de Jesus, Gina de Jesus' mother, would march looking for her daughter. She refused to give up. She would throw first pitches at baseball games, hoping that people would see their name, see their face, and recognize that this girl could still be out there. And just to show you, even more of these families were put through even more torture, last summer in Cleveland, there was almost a break in Amanda Berry's case that really turned out to be an inmate hoax. An inmate had told authorities that Amanda Berry's body was buried in a vacant lot in Cleveland and police spent hours scouring that vacant lot looking for any hope.
We spoke with Amanda Berry's sister, you know, them hoping that there was any kind of information and nothing, nothing turned up. It turned out to be a hoax. And again, these families are left wondering if they will ever see their family members again. But Gina de Jesus' mother, I spoke with her several times, Nancy, and she just wouldn't give up hope. And to see that come alive today here in the streets of Cleveland, you have people who probably don't believe in anything and they're out here screaming, happy, but there's also a range of emotions of anger.
How is it that these girls were in this home for so long and nobody knew what was going on? How is it that this suspect involved possibly has a job working with other people, children, and nobody knows about this person's background? How has this all happened and went under everyone's radar, everyone -- going under their nose. So many people are shocked, upset, angry, happy. It's just a range of emotions. It's just unbelievable to witness.
My own -- one of our station's own reporters had to take a moment because he's been with the station so long, he's been covering this every single year, it's depressing to look into their eyes and give them some kind of hope covering this story. But at the end, there's no result. So it's incredible what's going on in the streets of Cleveland. A lot of questions, though.
We are waiting for police, I'm sure as you know, to confirm some of those questions. But that's what is going on here on the scene in the streets of Cleveland.
MORGAN: Right. It is a hugely emotional day. I think maybe we should show the picture again just quickly before we go to the break of the hospital scene tonight. Actually, we'll do that after the break. We'll come back after the break with more on the breaking news out of Cleveland. Three women missing for years all found together and alive. We're awaiting a police press conference. We'll of course bring you that live on CNN. Come back for more after the break, including the picture of Amanda Berry alive and well in hospital tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: Back now with the breaking news from Cleveland. Three young women missing for a decade, they're all found live tonight. Amanda Berry was 16 when she vanished in 2003. Gina de Jesus was 14 when she disappeared in 2004. And Michelle Knight was just 20 when she went missing, reportedly in 2002. They were all found in the same house just blocks from where they vanished. A 52-year-old man is under arrest tonight. We're awaiting a police conference any minute now which we will, of course, air live on CNN.
Back with me now is John Walsh. John, it really is a quite staggering situation that's going on in Cleveland. Tell me this, is there likely to be criticism of the police and the other investigators, that all of these girls have been found 10 years later, literally right under the noses of the investigators, a few blocks from where they disappeared?
WALSH: Well, absolutely. That comes with the turf. But before -- I want to comment on that before I do. You know, Piers, I wish I could meet that guy Charles in person and give him a hug. When he said, it was really unusual to see a white girl yelling out of a window, he went to help her. The public is so crucial in saving these people's lives. I know it from doing "America's Most Wanted," 1,200 bad guys off the street, 60 missing children, because the public makes such a difference.
And that man is a hero, that guy that you had on earlier on that tape. He's a real, real hero because he didn't turn away. He didn't walk down the street and say this is domestic, this is a problem. And he did. He did something. He is a real hero.
But before Amanda Berry's mother died, I had talked to her and she said, do you know Amanda was listed as a run away. And they didn't take it serious for a couple days. That is the real plight with teenage girls. This girl was 17 years old. And she's been kept by this guy for 10 years. I'm sure people were looking for Michelle Knight. Nobody looks for adult missing women. And I've learned that in the 31 years since my son was murdered. So Amanda Berry, she is brave. She's courageous. She saved those other women. But police will be criticized. We've been trying to change that for years. I'm the number one supporter of law enforcement. But who makes that decision that well, maybe Amanda, because she was 17, ran away, in the first four hours, when most people -- most kids that are under 18 are either murdered or something happens to them like this and they're spirited away.
So the criticism will be flying in the next couple days. But I will say cops never stopped looking for these two girls. And Gina de Jesus' mother has never forgotten about this girl. And what a bonus that those two girls are alive tonight. It's too bad Amanda's mom didn't live to see it. But those families have their daughters back.
MORGAN: John, I'm going to cut you off. We're going to go live now to the press conference in Cleveland.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have Dr. Gerald Maloney. He is with our emergency department here at Metro Health Medical Center.
DR. GERALD MALONEY, METRO HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER: Good evening. Just to give you a brief update. Currently, they're safe. We're in the process of evaluating their medical needs. They appear to be in fair condition at the moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any indication they were restrained where they were held?
MALONEY: I can't go into any further specific details.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were there any young children with them? Babies? Can you comment on that?
MALONEY: I can't go into any further specific details.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you, Amanda!
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Amanda talked to you, did she say her condition? Did she feel any pain anywhere?
MALONEY: Again, I'm sorry, I can't go into any further specific details.
(INAUDIBLE)
MALONEY: This is really good because this isn't the ending we usually hear to these stories. So we're very happy. We're very happy for them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you talk about their mental state?
MALONEY: Again, I can't really go into any further specific details. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they able to speak? Are they able to communicate with medical staff
MALONEY: They are able to speak with us. Beyond that, I can't really go into any further details.
(INAUDIBLE)
MALONEY: We're in the process of evaluating that right now. Again, we're in the process of evaluating that right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are family members with them?
MALONEY: Again, I can't go into any further specific details at the moment.
(INAUDIBLE)
MALONEY: Their needs are -- we're assessing their needs and the appropriate specialists are evaluating them, as well.
(INAUDIBLE)
MALONEY: Gerald Maloney -- M-A-L-O-N-E-Y, emergency department physician, yes.
All right, thanks. Again, I can't go into any further specific details. Thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Again, Cleveland police did tell us they did send out a statement. So you'll be able to see that. Also, they plan on holding a briefing tomorrow morning around 9:30. And you will get more information about the exact location and whereabouts of that. Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
MORGAN: Press conference there in Cleveland from the hospital where three missing girls, now young women, have been found 10 years after they disappeared. A really remarkable story. And confirmation there that they all appear to be reasonably in good health and not suffering any serious injuries. We'll keep going with this story all tonight, obviously, on CNN.
We're waiting still for a police press conference, which should provide some of the information that we're still seeking, who this person was, the 52-year-old man who has been arrested tonight, that may have kept them captive for the last 10 years. Why he did this, why the police didn't pick up on any of this before? There have been, literally, found a few blocks from where they all disappeared. All three women taken at separate times, completely unconnected. And it appears all kept together in the same house, possibly for the last decade.
That is the house there, the one with the American flag, a white house. It really is a remarkable story, a gruesome story for so long, but an absolutely joyful story tonight for the families and the friends of these three young women, Amanda Berry, Gina De Jesus and Michelle Knight. We believe there may be two children maybe with the women who have been born in that time period. We'll get more of that from the police later.
Stay with CNN for more on this breaking news obviously. My thanks to John Walsh and my thanks to Marc Klaas and to all of my contributors tonight. We'll be back with more later. But for know, we're going to go to Anderson Cooper, who will have all the latest on this. And hopefully, we'll have the police press conference any moment, too. Anderson, over to you.
