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Police Hunt for Armed Survivalist; Scotland Rejects Independence; Headcam Shoots Robbery

Aired September 19, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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


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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The hunt for an accused cop killer intensifies putting small towns in rural Pennsylvania on high alert. The FBI has now added suspect Eric Frein to its "Ten Most Wanted" list. They're offering a $100,000 reward for his capture. Frein is suspected of gunning down Pennsylvania state trooper and wounding another before disappearing into the woods.

Let's bring in Jason Carroll in Blooming Grove, Pennsylvania with more. Good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, too Carol. Last might the focus of the search seemed to focus on Canadensis, Pennsylvania. That's the very small town where Eric Frein grew up. Basically, the reason for that is because investigators received a credible tip yesterday that Frein was in the area. And so what they did, they responded with a heavy police presence, armored cars, helicopters were in the area as well. In fact, at one point we were driving around, we saw the search actually taking place.

At one point they blocked off the neighborhood where Frein lived with his parents, not allowing residents to return for several hours. The reason, Carol, they're basically responding this way to credible tips, for two reasons: first, given Frein's violent and deadly history; and two because they have strong reason to believe that he is not far away.

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GEORGE BIVENS, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF OPERATIONS: At this point, we have additional reason to believe that the subject still remains in the area. We're fairly confident of that information. So while we continue to follow up on any other tips or leads that we get regardless of where those are, we have really focused our search efforts over a fairly broad geographic area.

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CARROLL: Another point to all this, Carol, is that investigators have a very strong case that they're building up here. They have a lot of information, they say, some of this information they are holding back simply because they believe that Frein may have access to news reports and may be listening in -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I understand, I just wonder how dense are those woods behind you?

CARROLL: Very dense and vast, as you heard one of the investigators there explaining -- covering a large, large area. And, as you know, Carol, this is a man who is a self-described survivalist. He knows these woods, he knows the backwoods very well, knows how to survive out there. Having said that, what investigators do is basically working on a grid pattern. Basically sort of systematically crossing off areas that they've checked -- abandoned cabins, campsites, things like that hoping that will in some way help them narrow their search. But once again they are receiving a number of credible tips that leads them to believe he's somewhere nearby.

COSTELLO: Jason Carroll, many thanks to you.

Let's talk more about Frein and the so-called military simulation group he hung out with -- he did. Tom Fuentes is a CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director. Welcome, Tom.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So this survivalist group Frein belonged to, we don't know the name of it, but we do know participants pretended they were eastern European soldiers during the Cold War. They didn't use real guns. What do you make of this?

FUENTES: Well, strictly speaking, they may not be what you would call a survivalist group. Survivalist groups are usually anti-federal government, they're planning for Armageddon or the takeover of the government and the ability to survive in the woods or in a shelter for a long period of time without electricity, without additional food or water. That would all be stockpiled or live off the land if they're capable. So that's a little bit different than these reenactment groups, typically.

And here in the Washington, D.C. area we have Civil War reenactment groups that reenact the battles of Bull Run One and Two, and of course, at Gettysburg they have those battles. Thousands participate. In those reenactments they're carrying black powder weapons obviously with blanks from Civil War technology.

In these modern groups, they're carrying -- you see the pictures of him with an AK-47, which was the weapon of choice, the Kalashnikov made in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Later, the weapon of choice of terrorists everywhere, so it's a commonly seen weapon. You see ISIS walking around with AK-47s strapped around their neck.

COSTELLO: It's just strange because at some point Frein must have crossed the line from fantasy into reality because Frein claims he fought with Serbian fighters in Africa. Authorities found information regarding foreign embassies in his abandoned vehicle along with camouflage face paint and military gear. I mean clearly he's delusional, right?

FUENTES: Right now we don't know the extent of his mental health condition and how his mental health has progressed over from childhood learning how to operate weapons. What we do know is he's proficient with a sniper rifle, which is what he used to kill the police officer, and he used a .308 caliber rifle which is a weapon of choice by military and law enforcement snipers all over and big game hunters, unfortunately.

And that's an enormous bullet. The speed of sound is 1,100 feet per second. The bullet travels at 2,800 feet. So the person would be shot and dead before the sound even hits their location.

COSTELLO: So this search for Frein is dangerous, obviously, but once police pinpoint his location, how do they go about capturing him?

FUENTES: Well, they're going try to isolate him if they can, if they can contain him, if he becomes essentially a barricaded subject that will make life a little bit easier, hopefully he won't have a hostage. We don't know if maybe he's conducted a home invasion, you know, seeking shelter, water, food, and electricity to keep his electronic gear powered if that's important to him. So we just don't know what the condition is.

He could have buried himself in a hole and shot and killed himself which would be next to impossible to find and even the infrared lenses of the helicopters flying over, if his body is dead and grows colder and colder, it won't show up on infrared imagery. So this is a very difficult search.

And if he's still alive and still has the weapons and ammunitions, he's got the advantage. He can shoot police officers from 500 yards away -- they'll never know what happened.

COSTELLO: Tom Fuentes, thanks so much for your insight, I appreciate it.

FUENTES: Thank you.

COSTELLO: All right, we have breaking news about missing UVA student Hannah Graham. According to officials, police in Charlottesville are executing search warrants. Now, it's unclear where those search warrants are taking place, but a CNN team on the ground in Virginia is at a local apartment complex where there is heavy police activity. Police are putting up crime scene tape.

As soon as we have more information, of course, we'll pass it along to you.

Still to come on the NEWSROOM, the United Kingdom stays united after an historic referendum vote. After weeks of campaigning, the majority of Scots reject independence. Nic Robertson has more. Hi, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. Well, Scotland decides to remain part of the United Kingdom but even so, big political changes ahead. More on that after the break.

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COSTELLO: The votes are in. Scotland has rejected independence in an historic referendum vote. Despite weeks of hard campaigning by Scots who wanted to separate from the UK, 55 percent of voters said no to the measure. The undecideds clearly breaking open a vote that had been too close to call. Outside of 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister David Cameron praised the results.

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DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER OF U.K.: We hear you. We now have a chance, a great opportunity to change the way the British people are governed and change it for the better.

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COSTELLO: To talk more about this, let's bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He's in Scotland this morning. We're also joined by CNN's Phil Black in London. So were the polls wrong, Nic because we all thought it was too close to call.

ROBERTSON: You know what happened when it became too close to call? Then David Cameron and other senior politicians came to Scotland, they made a vow, a promise to change the powers in the Scottish government, give them more power over taxation, more power over their health care system and a few other things as well. Those promises now David Cameron needs to make good on. That's the expectation here.

But that is and it does seem to be what turned that vote around. It was close and then all those people who were undecided appeared to listen to that message. The message that if you vote no, you can get some of what you want and they decided to go for that over the uncertainty of not knowing what would happen to the economy and other issues that were troubling people, Carol.

COSTELLO: So Phil, will Cameron follow through?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he has to, Carol, really. He has to deliver these new powers to the people of Scotland which he's promised and he has said today he will do that and do it quickly. What he's also done is opened up a much bigger political debate in this country about returning political powers to the other nations that make up the United Kingdom -- England, Wales, Northern Ireland. These nations are also demanding greater direct political expressions because of the promises that had been made to Scotland.

This will not be simple. What we're talking about here is major constitutional change. It could get very messy in the months ahead -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Nic Robertson, Phil Black thanks to both of you. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a mugging at gun point all caught on camera but in the end the only thing shot is a crystal clear image of the suspect. That dramatic video next.

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COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 50 minutes past. Some harrowing moments aboard a JetBlue flight. Just moments after taking off from long beach, the plane's cabin filled with thick black smoke. Oxygen masks did not automatically deploy so flight attendants had to manually release them. Several passengers told CNN affiliates KCAL they thought they were doomed.

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DEAN DELBAUGH, PASSENGER: But then once we started coming in, once we turned around and got over land it was very jarring all over the place and then people started to get really worried. Everyone's crying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you think you were going to die?

DELBAUGH: Initially, yes, I did. I thought this was it. My wife was right next to me, we were going on vacation and I was like she held me, she was crying and I was like, well, here we go.

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COSTELLO: The pilot turned the flight around landing it safely on the tarmac. Passengers erupted in applause.

Protesters in Savannah, Georgia, want answers after a deadly officer- involved shooting. Police say the suspect was trying to escape from the back of a patrol car while still handcuffed. He reportedly had a gun. That's when an officer shot and killed him. That officer now on administrative leave.

Joan Rivers' personal doctor issues two flat out denials. Dr. Gwynn Corbin said she did not make an unauthorized procedure before the comedian suffered cardiac arrest. She also denies snapping a selfie while Rivers was under anesthesia at the Manhattan clinic. That's contrary to what a source close to the investigation told CNN, however.

Home Depot now says 56 million customers got hacked during a recent cyber attack. That's even bigger than Target's security breach. Credit and debit card information were stolen. Home Depot says it has fixed the problem and is now apologizing to customers.

In money news, long lines formed overnight in front of Apple stores across the country, all for the chance to get one of those new iPhones that went on sale this morning. There's been record demand for the iPhone 6 and the 6 plus. Here's the catch -- Apple says the supply of new iPhones is limited -- they're going so fast they can't keep them in stock, as they say.

A Canadian biking across the globe is lucky to be alive but he has some unbelievable video to show when he's nearly robbed at gunpoint. It's all captured on his helmet cam. Jeanne Moos has more for you.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Meet a would-be robber with a gun who doesn't realize he's on camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I completely forgot that I was -- that I had a Go Pro on my head.

MOOS: Canadians Alex Hennesy and Mike Graziano are trying to travel to 195 countries but on a bike tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina watch out for the motorbike.

Alex thought the guy was just a bad driver until seconds later the robber cut him off again.

Demanding mochila, backpack, and pulling a gun.

ALEX HENNESY, BIKER: Whatever you say, man.

MOOS: Alex played dumb, pretending it was the bike the mugger wanted?

HENNESY: You want the bike?

MOOS: And resorting to one of the few words of Spanish he knows.

HENNESY: Amigo. I've got to give it to him.

MOOS: But he resisted giving his backpack, containing $4,000 worth of camera gear to this "friend".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, amigo, yes, yes. I think we should put in amigo count on the bottom of the video.

MOOS: We counted about 21.

Alex's real friend Mike and others came to the rescue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I'm running I hear a girl say "Oh, my God, he's got a gun."

MOOS: Too many witnesses apparently scared off the mugger and as Alex ran he felt something on his forehead.

HENNESY: It dawned on me, I was like holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I've got a Go Pro and I'm recording.

MOOS: He grabbed another bike, they flagged down a policeman.

HENNESY: I've got the entire thing on my Go Pro right now.

MOOS: Now police have the video but they tell CNN the mugger has not yet been identified or arrested. Were you scared?

HENNESY: Yes, of course.

MOOS: That deserved a "dumb question" counter. And get this -- this is the second time in a month that Alex was robbed at gunpoint. A few weeks earlier in Ecuador a guy pointed a gun at Alex and took his iPhone.

MIKE GRAZIANO, BIKER: It became a running joke about Alex getting robbed at gunpoint everywhere we go. He's no longer fazed by a gun anymore. HENNESY: I need them to show me bullets now.

MOOS: Just watch out for your friends. All right amigos.

HENNESY: Amigo, amigo, amigo.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

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COSTELLO: They have great senses of humor, right?

In Hawaii, scientists are keeping a wary eye on the slow-moving lava flowing from the continuously erupting Kilauea volcano. The lava threatens to isolate more than 8,000 people as it creeps toward a main highway on the Big Island. So far geologists cannot predict when that lava will stop.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"@ THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" after a break.

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