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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Alabama Hostage Crisis Ends; Democratic Senator Under Fire

Aired February 04, 2013 - 22:00   ET

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

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: We have breaking news in the Alabama hostage rescue tonight.

We are waiting for a news conference and late new details now from Midland City, as we wait for authorities to step in front of the cameras there.

I want to bring you up to date on what went down today. The boy in question, 5-year-old Ethan, he is safe tonight. We just got this photo to the left of him entering the hospital safe and sound, and his armed captor, an alleged killer, is dead. Jimmy Lee Dykes grabbed the boy from a school bus six days ago. Police say he shot the driver dead.

After holding the boy in a bunker for nearly a week now, talking with authorities through a PVC pipe, things began breaking down. Then today authorities went in saving the boy and killing Jimmy lee Dykes. Again, we're waiting to hear from state, local and federal officials. We have just learned President Obama has spoken with FBI Director Mueller to congratulate him on how the operation ended, how things went down.

As we wait for that news conference, we are joined now by Marty Savidge, who is live in Midland City.

Martin, we spoke earlier today. What's the latest on how the little boy is doing? We know he did go to the hospital.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Susan. Yes, we have been getting some updates in fact on how he is.

We do know he's been taken now, as you showed there with a photograph. He's been taken now to what's a special wing or special area that's been set aside inside that hospital, where he is with his family, and at the same time, can be checked out by doctors and also they can assess how he's doing both physically and mentally. There are said to be counselors who are available for the family members as well.

And it's expected he will remain in the hospital at least overnight, and he is under very heavy security protection. That's what we know about his condition now. His uncle was also speaking at a candlelight vigil. They have had a number of these candlelight vigils since this ordeal began. It's the first time any family member has shown up. The reason for that was they were always concerned they couldn't speak because they're -- well, the young boy was still being held hostage.

The uncle has said this. He said Ethan was laughing, and he was smiling and he was coloring at the hospital. And emotionally and mentally he has a lot of healing to do, but he went on to say that he looks great. So there you have it, directly coming from a family member, the uncle of Ethan saying he's doing very well. And quite remarkable considering the horrible ordeal he's been through.

But as you point out, we're now waiting to hear sort of the breakdown. We got the initial read on how this all happened -- 3:00, 3:12 local time, when authorities moved in. There was an explosion, there was gunfire. The authorities said there had been a breakdown in the negotiating process they had been having with Mr. Dykes and that as a result of that they were concerned about this mental state. Then he was scene with a gun.

You're worried about that when you're dealing with a young hostage. Apparently the decision was made to move. They did. And an explosion was heard, the gunfire. Dykes was killed and the young boy was rescued. That's where it stood. But we have never had a breakdown of events, and that's what we hope to hear coming up in just a few minutes.

We know the authorities are making their way right behind me here. We anticipate, Susan, that this should be getting under way. It will be the Dale County sheriff as well as federal authorities. The sheriff, by the way, has not left here since this began nearly a week ago.

WALLY OLSON, DALE COUNTY SHERIFF: Almost a week ago, 5-year-old Ethan was kidnapped and an entire community was victimized.

Little did we know at that time the heroics of Mr. Charles Poland, a man who committed the ultimate sacrifice to protect his beloved children would bring a community together and test their strength. To Mr. Poland's family, we would like to express our condolences, also our appreciation to a hero who through his brave actions saved many lives.

While facts and evidence are still being collected, I would like to take this time, this opportunity to thank all law enforcement agencies and first-responder personnel and their tireless hours of dedication throughout this incident.

I would also like to offer a special word of appreciation to our community for its efforts and support and prayers during this ongoing investigation.

At this time, we will take a few questions. You need to speak loudly, please, at this time.

QUESTION: Did he have any interaction -- did Mr. Dykes and Mr. Poland have any interaction that morning, or even before that all happened?

OLSON: During the investigation, you're going to have to understand a lot of this stuff, there still is an ongoing investigation in this process. So some of those questions will probably be answered later.

Yes, sir. I can't hear you.

QUESTION: Was Mr. Dykes armed when law enforcement went into the bunker?

OLSON: Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: At this time, we really don't want to -- everything's being looked at and being reviewed. It's all still part of the investigation. And we can't answer a lot of questions like that.

QUESTION: Did the mother have contact with the child?

OLSON: Yes, ma'am, the mother is in contact with her child.

QUESTION: During the time that he was (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: She's in contact with the child and the child's doing good.

QUESTION: Were you able to get anything on what (OFF-MIKE) Mr. Dykes wanted to tell?

OLSON: Right now, we're still gathering facts in the investigation. We're going to keep that stuff.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: I would say there's still an ongoing investigation. We can only answer certain questions.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the circumstances under which Mr. Dykes was killed? (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: All that is still part of an ongoing investigation. We can't really...

QUESTION: Was the boy threatened at all when you guys entered?

OLSON: Yes, we had reason to believe -- that's why we went in to save the child.

QUESTION: How did you know that he had a weapon (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: Early on in the investigation, if you remember, he assaulted and shot at Mr. Poland when he kidnapped Ethan originally.

QUESTION: Did the boy witness what happened to...

(CROSSTALK)

OLSON: We had a whole busload of children who witnessed what happened.

QUESTION: No, in the bunker today?

OLSON: Right now, we're still collecting and gathering facts. We still have a scene to process. It's still an ongoing criminal investigation. A lot of things I can't release at this time.

QUESTION: Sheriff (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: I can't hear you.

QUESTION: What does the interior of the bunker look like?

OLSON: Like I said, right now, until we get everything done with our investigation, we're not going to release any of that information.

QUESTION: Sheriff, in the earlier press conference, you said he was seen holding a gun today. Can you describe how you guys were able to see (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: Using tactics and things of that nature, we can't release a lot of that information. You are going to have to just bear with us on stuff like that, OK?

OK. I'm sorry. I'm trying to answer over here.

QUESTION: Is it correct to say that Ethan over a period of less than a week has seen two men killed in front of him?

OLSON: Let me explain something to you about this little boy. He's a very special child. He's been through a lot. He's endured a lot. It's by the grace of God that he's OK. And that was the mission of every man and woman on this compound, every law enforcement officer, every first-responder, all of the community who prayed to bring him home safely. That's a lot.

QUESTION: Sheriff, your thoughts...

QUESTION: Can you describe the state of the child when he was brought out of the bunker?

OLSON: He's receiving medical treatment and everything's OK.

QUESTION: Sheriff, your thoughts when you realized Ethan was safe, was rescued?

OLSON: You know, I'm a father. A lot of these men and women who have been sacrificing tireless hours, they're parents as well. You know, it's -- it's a relief for us to be able to reunite a mother with her child.

QUESTION: Sheriff, you mentioned negotiations (OFF-MIKE) Can you talk to us about Mr. Dykes' demeanor up until today and how that changed (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: You want to answer that?

STEVE RICHARDSON, FBI: I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question, please?

QUESTION: Do you know what Mr. Dykes (OFF-MIKE) like prior to the day (OFF-MIKE) negotiations had deteriorated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't go into those details, but I can tell you that over the past 24 hours, our communications with the subject had deteriorated.

We were certainly concerned for the safety of the child. I can tell you that I have been to the hospital. I have visited with Ethan. He's doing fine. He's laughing, joking, playing, eating, the things that you would expect a normal 5- to 6-year-old young man to do. He's very brave, he's very lucky. And the success story is that he's out safe and doing great.

QUESTION: Can you tell us if there was plumbing, toiletries, things like that? How were they (OFF-MIKE)

RICHARDSON: I can't go into any of those details. I know you have a lot of questions to ask. Bear with us. We have a big crime scene behind us to process. That's going to take some time.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

RICHARDSON: Pardon me.

QUESTION: How dangerous is it back there right now?

QUESTION: We have the crime scene secured. We are going to do a complete and thorough investigation. That may take a number of days. But we're going to do it the correct way.

QUESTION: The folks that want to get back home, any idea when they will be able to get back? Could it be a while?

RICHARDSON: It could be a while, yes.

QUESTION: Sir, what was the purpose of the structure that was built behind this building? (OFF-MIKE)

RICHARDSON: We can't talk about specific sources or techniques, things of that nature. Unfortunately, we will have to deal with another one of these situations somewhere some day. And we want it to be just as successful as this one was today.

QUESTION: Mr. Richardson, can you confirm? We all heard a loud blast earlier today. Without going into too much detail, can you confirm it was some sort of device that you guys activated, as opposed to something Mr. Dykes activated himself? Was it some sort of diversionary device used in the process of doing this today?

RICHARDSON: Again, I can't talk about sources, techniques or methods that we used. However, I will tell you that the success story is Ethan is out safe with his mother right now. QUESTION: Can you tell us about the amount of supplies that Mr. Dykes had in the bunker?

RICHARDSON: I can't comment on that. What I can tell you is that there will be a thorough investigation of the crime scene. And the important thing is that we do it right. We have an independent review team coming in from Washington, D.C., who will do a thorough, independent and complete investigation of the entire operation.

QUESTION: Have you determined, did Mr. Dykes have the bunker rigged with explosives?

RICHARDSON: I can't comment on that.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the methodology of communication with Mr. Dykes?

RICHARDSON: We were speaking with the subject, I can tell you that. Other than that, I can't go into detail, sorry.

QUESTION: Sheriff, can I ask you, did you have any prior contact with this fellow before this incident? Did he have any kind of a record with your department?

OLSON: We had an incident with him where we arrested him on menacing charges on December 22. And to my knowledge, that's the only contact my office has had with him.

QUESTION: Who did that involve?

OLSON: At this time, I'm not at liberty to say that.

QUESTION: How were you getting toys and supplies down into the bunker?

OLSON: We had arranged to try to get him some of those toys and things of that nature.

QUESTION: When you guys say that negotiations started to break down today (OFF-MIKE)

OLSON: It just got really tough to negotiate with him and communicate with him.

I appreciate all your questions and everything, but we really still have a lot of work to do here. Your patience has been wonderful. Everything you have done for us, and the way you have treated us, we appreciate from the bottom of my heart, because ultimately every one of you were in this with us. It's all about bringing Ethan home safely.

And I appreciate the patience of the press and the willingness to work with us through this tragic time we're in. And, at this time, we have got a lot of work to do, like I said. Thank you all. Have a good night. SAVIDGE: There was a clearly a pretty exhausted sheriff who was just summarizing his appreciation, not a lot of new information coming out of that, other than authorities saying they have a major crime scene to deal with. That would be the area around the bunker, that they have explosion experts, demolition experts out there making sure there are no left-behind explosives and that their investigation will continue.

The best news they say, Ethan is well. You heard them say he is happy and laughing and coloring in the hospital. So that is the best result anybody can hope for. And then the sheriff himself saying, that is exactly what the authorities have been working and praying for. Ethan is safe. The gunman was dead. But at least in this community, it's all been brought to an end, even if there are still many questions to be answered -- Susan.

HENDRICKS: Yes, he's safe tonight with his mom and celebrating a birthday this Wednesday. We're so happy it ended the way it did. Martin Savidge, appreciate that. Thanks so much.

We have a lot more to cover tonight. Anderson, will be right back after this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

More now on our breaking news. Two days before his sixth birthday, the ordeal is over for a boy named Ethan who was kidnapped, held in a bunker in Alabama for nearly a week now. Law enforcement officials said he seemed to be OK when he was freed. He was taken to a hospital where he would be reunited with his mom and his grandmother. Even if he's fine physically, there are sure to be psychological issues that Ethan and his family will have to deal with after going through something like this and at such a young age.

Joining me now is Katie Beers. You may remember when she was a child she was kidnapped by a neighbor, a family friend, held in an underground cell for 17 days. She gives the harrowing details of her ordeal in a book, "Buried Memories: Katie Beers' Story."

Katie, thank you very much for being with us.

This has obviously got to bring back terrible memories for you. You were held captive, as I said, underground, went through your own unimaginable ordeal. We have some pictures from when you were kidnapped. What is going through your mind tonight as you see this coverage of the situation in Alabama and what this little boy must have been through?

KATIE BEERS, KIDNAPPING SURVIVOR: I am ecstatic that Ethan has been retrieved safe and sound, it seems, from the reports I have heard.

As for my ordeal, I just keep thinking about the effects of it being deprived sunlight, nutritious food and human contact, and how much I wanted to have a nutritious meal, see my family, have contact other than John Esposito.

COOPER: That was the man who took you. I mean, you were abused over the course of those days and I know basically fed kind of junk food the entire time. To this day, what lingering effects does that experience have?

BEERS: To this day, the effects that I have are some anxiety. The major issue that I have is control issues with my kids and finances.

I don't like my kids being out of my sight for more than two seconds. And I think that that might get worse as they get older. And I just -- I have to be in control of situations because for the first 10 years of my life, I had no control over anything.

COOPER: And, Katie, how do you -- as a child, how do you get through something like this, day after day, night after night underground?

BEERS: Underground, it was definitely -- it was difficult.

My only human contact was my captor. The only food that I had was junk food. The only light that I had was the light of a television. It was basically pure adrenaline that kept me going and the thought of knowing that the cops were still looking for me and that, hopefully one day soon I would be back with my family.

COOPER: We don't know what kind of access this little boy had or understanding he had of what was going on or access to information about what was happening outside of this bunker. You were actually able to watch television. Did you know that people were looking for you?

BEERS: I did know that the cops were looking for me. I could see the news footage every day and I typically at least, watched one news broadcast a day. But a lot of time I had news channel 12 on, which repeated the same story over and over again.

COOPER: And the man who took you, what sort of conversations would you have with him? It must have been just so terrifying to be there with him.

BEERS: The conversations that I had with John were trying to talk about my future, trying to talk about what I was going to do when I was older for school, for work, for family, kids, things like that. It was very difficult, having these conversations with John, my captor, because he would always tell me I wouldn't have to go to school. He would teach me. I wouldn't have to work. He had enough money for us. When it was time for me to get married and have kids, he would do that with me.

So he was thinking long term that he was going to keep me until I was apparently very old.

COOPER: Katie, please stay here.

I want to bring in also Dr. Louis Kraus, who is the chief of child analysis and psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center.

Dr. Kraus, the kind of trauma that Katie endured is really incomprehensible for anybody who hasn't been through it. We don't know what happened to 5-year-old Ethan in that bunker, what kind of condition he's in. Generally speaking, though, from what you know of 5-year-olds and apparently he has Asperger's, what kind of recovery are he and his family looking at?

DR. LOUIS KRAUS, RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: It will be hugely variable.

Think about the whole process. This poor child started with the trauma of seeing this bus driver shot and killed, then being kidnapped, pulled away from his regular routine. A typical 5-year-old child would find this frightening. A child with Asperger's, which is a form of autism, where kids often have a certain rigid quality to how they expect to do things, having difficulties with unfamiliar environments, unfamiliar people, and being put exactly into that type of placement, where they have already a routine level of anxiety when things don't go the way they want and put into a situation like he has, you know, it's very hard to tell how he's going to do.

On the one hand, he might get right back to his routine and do absolutely fine. But on the other hand, you know, the anxieties, the trauma, what we call an acute stress disorder, even post-traumatic stress symptoms, as we just described, can occur.

What's really important is, first, make sure he's safe, make sure he's healthy, make sure he has got nutrition, whatever medications were given to him or not given to him, simply to make sure that he's healthy initially and stable, and then to get him back to his normal routine, get him back home, get him with his family, and, most importantly, to make sure that he's looked at.

As much as love and care is going to be important, we have got to make sure that we get him back to his normal routines and that if the anxiety levels are overwhelming, to treat those, whether therapeutically, in regards to medications, but, regardless, then to get him back to school, get him back to his normal routine.

COOPER: Katie, when you finally were free, when you finally got out, how did you re-adapt? How did you -- Dr. Kraus talked about getting back on to a schedule. How long was it before you were able to do something like that?

BEERS: One thing to understand, my childhood was not that of a normal 9-year-old, 10-year-old. I really had no schedule.

So, getting me on to a schedule, I think, was a little difficult for my parents. They did a phenomenal job of it, though. The thing that helped me the most was being with a loving family who had a routine. We did dinner the same time every night, bedtime, homework, things like that. And they allowed me to maintain my privacy.

They didn't speak to any media outlets. They never have. This is the first that I have done it since writing "Buried Memories." This is the first I have spoken to the media. And I think that the privacy really helped me to recover, along with the therapy. I wasn't forced to talk about things until I was ready.

COOPER: Well, it's -- it's -- again, it's just such an extraordinary story.

And, Katie, I really appreciate you being with us and talking about this. I know it's difficult. And I find your book really fascinating. Thank you very much for that, and Dr. Kraus as well.

KRAUS: Pleasure.

COOPER: Really so much we still have to learn about what happened to this little boy and exactly what happened in that bunker.

We have got a lot more coming up. Senator Bob Menendez answers some tough questions about allegations of improper travel and parties with prostitutes. He's only talking to CNN's Dana Bash. We will have that ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That you were with prostitutes.

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: The smears that right-wing blogs have been pushing since the election and that is totally unsubstantiated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Also ahead tonight, what caused that Super Bowl blackout? Details on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: A 360 exclusive tonight, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez finally speaking out about allegations of improper travel, sex parties with prostitutes in the Dominican Republic and his relationship with a generous donor, an eye surgeon in Florida.

The allegations were raised just before election day, and Senator Menendez, the new chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been under growing pressure to address them. He is speaking out tonight exclusively to our congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. She joins me now.

Dana, you asked the senator some tough questions. What did he tell you?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he admitted and apologized to making some travel and not paying that back. A lot of money on that, but he vehemently denied anything that was untoward or tawdry, particularly with prostitutes. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BASH: Senator, if you can explain why it took so long to pay back almost $60,000 in flights that you took with your friend?

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ), CHAIR, SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Well, I was in a big travel schedule in 2010 as the chair of the DSCC, plus my own campaign, getting ready for a re-election cycle. And in the process of all of that, it unfortunately fell through the cracks, that our processes didn't catch moving forward and making sure that we paid.

When it came to my attention that payment had not taken place, I personally paid for them in order to meet my obligation.

BASH: Because that's a lot of money. And as chair of the DSCC, you did so much traveling. You know the rules. And that's a pretty big chunk of money not to pay back.

MENENDEZ: Well, it's certainly, you know, the responsibility of myself, when it came to my attention to do so. Now, you know, if it came to my attention -- had it come to my attention before, I would have, in fact, done it before. When it came to my attention, I did what was right, and I paid for it myself.

BASH: And you, of course, understand the perception that you say when it came to your attention that you didn't pay for it until you got caught.

MENENDEZ: Well, that's not the case. The bottom line is, when it came to my attention, I paid for it.

You know, there are a series of flights that were alleged. Several of them were, you know, shown not to be the case. But after the election, when I got to look at the allegations and I did my own self inspection, I ultimately came forward. As a matter of fact, one of those flights I self-reported. It wasn't even anybody raising it.

BASH: One last question. Can you just answer the allegation that has been out there that you...

MENENDEZ: The smears?

BASH: That you were with prostitutes, sir?

MENENDEZ: The smears that right-wing blogs have been pushing since the election and that is totally unsubstantiated. It's amazing to me that anonymous, nameless, faceless individuals on a Web site can drive that type of story into the mainstream. But that's what they've done successfully. Now nobody can find them. No one ever met them. No one ever talked to them. But that's where we're at.

So the bottom line is that all of those smears are absolutely false. And, you know, that's the bottom line.

BASH: Since we're getting this one, just one last question on contracts, sir. Did you do anything -- did you do anything to help your friend in an untoward way, use your influence to help him? MENENDEZ: I have always advocated for issues and I have advocated for policies, and that's what I have done across the board.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Dana, I don't quite get, why is he taking private jets down to the Dominican Republic? I mean, there are tons of flights down to the Dominican Republic from New York. He's from New Jersey. You know, JetBlue, I think, even flies down there pretty cheaply. Why is he taking private jets?

BASH: Well, as you heard, I didn't have a chance to ask him a lot of questions. And certainly that is a good one. It's possible that the Senate Ethics Committee will be investigating. Perhaps that's something that they will ask. But look, it is known now that he went down to the Dominican Republic with his wealthy friend, or donor, and he went on his plane. So that might be the answer to why he didn't take private travel.

But you know, I thought it was really interesting, Anderson, that after weeks of not talking to the press, of putting out statements through his staff, avoiding reporters who cover the Senate in the hallways, even though we often have access to -- to all the senators, he made a point through his staff, contacted me and a couple of reporters from New Jersey, saying that he does want to talk.

And that's why he not only came out and talked to some reporters first right off the Senate floor, but then I asked him if he would come down to where our camera was, which was not close, and he agreed to do so. This is something that I had talked about with his staff earlier. And he walked all the way across the second floor of the Capitol, down to the first floor all the way to our camera, and made a point of talking to us on camera because, according to his staff, he is angry about the fact that all of these...

COOPER: Why now?

BASH: That's exactly what I asked, why now after all this? And the answer is he's fed up with these, as you heard him say, unsubstantiated allegations about prostitutes and other things. He wanted to admit that he made a mistake with the travel, but the rest he wanted to vehemently deny, which is what he did.

COOPER: All right. Dana, thanks.

Just ahead, really sad story. Chris Kyle, reportedly one of the best snipers the U.S. military has ever seen, went to a remote shooting range with two other men this weekend. Only one of the three is now alive, and he's charged with double murder. The latest on the investigation ahead.

Also later, the Pakistani teenager shot in the head by a Taliban gunman. She is now talking about her future. Literally, she's talking up a storm. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains how this is even possible.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, the man charged with murdering a well-known Navy SEAL over the weekend is on suicide watch tonight. Eddie Ray Routh is being held on a $3 million bond. Texas authorities say he was tasered and restrained after he became aggressive with guards.

One of the two men Ralph is accused of gunning down is Chris Kyle, possibly the best U.S. military sniper ever. During five combat tours in Iraq, he had 160 confirmed kills. That's according to his best-selling book, "American Sniper."

Now, remarkably, he made one of those shots from 2,100 yards away. Here's how he described the moment. Quote, "Maybe the way I jerked the trigger to the right adjusted for the wind. Maybe gravity shifted and put that bullet right where it had to be."

Kyle was so feared by Iraqi insurgents they put a bounty on his head. He survived the war, left the Navy with a chest full of medals. Back home in Texas, he was known for helping combat veterans struggling with PTSD. And authorities think that is what he may have been doing on Saturday at that gun range where he died.

Ed Lavandera reports tonight.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, spent countless hours counseling fellow war veterans suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Syndrome. Chris felt passionate about the issue.

PAT KILBANE, FRIEND OF CHRIS KYLE: He was very concerned that service members felt discarded when they returned home. And he wanted to facilitate, to help facilitate their transition from war to productive civilian life.

LAVANDERA: The family of a former young Marine named Eddie Ray Routh may have reached out to Kyle, asking him to help Routh overcome his personal struggles, and Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were there to lend a hand. Which brings us to this weekend in the wide-open spaces of the Texas countryside.

(on camera): It was just after 3 p.m. in the afternoon on Saturday that Chris Kyle, Chad Littlefield, along with Eddie Ray Routh, arrived here at the Rough Creek Lodge, a sprawling 11,000-acre resort.

But it wasn't until about 5 p.m. that a hunting guide on the grounds discovered Kyle and Littlefield's bodies. But by then, Eddie Ray Routh was long gone.

(voice-over): They were found in a remote part of the resort, far from any witnesses. Near the bodies, several different types of weapons were found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now it appears that he used a semiautomatic handgun.

LAVANDERA: Police say after the shootings, Routh jumped into Chris Kyle's truck and drove almost 70 miles to the town of Midlothian to the home of his sister. Investigators say Routh confessed to her that he had just killed both men. According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by WFAA-TV, Routh told his sister that he had just traded his soul for a new truck.

(on camera): And after he left here, she called authorities and told them all about it.

(voice-over): When Eddie Ray Routh left his sister's house, authorities say he kept on driving east and ended up at his house in the town of Lancaster, another 24 miles away.

(on camera): Police arrived in the neighborhood, found Chris Kyle's truck here in the driveway.

(voice-over): But it didn't end there. Somehow, Ralph was able to drive away from his house and neighborhood in Chris Kyle's truck. He led authorities on a short chase for several miles. It took tire spikes dropped on the roadway by police to finally end the hunt for Eddie Ray Routh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: This is such a tragedy. You've got details about an incident with Routh and his parents a few months ago. What happened?

LAVANDERA: We've got our hands on a police report back in September from his hometown in Lancaster, Texas. And his parents called police. It was described as a major disturbance.

And according to that police report, his parents said that Eddie Ray Routh was threatening to kill them, because his father has told his son that he was going to sell his gun.

When police arrived, they found him walking through his neighborhood without shirt and shoes on and that he was telling them that he was, quote, "hurting" and that his parents didn't understand what he was going through, that he was a Marine veteran suffering from PTSD.

That police report also says that Routh was taken to a mental hospital and evaluated. But it's not clear what, if anything, was done after that.

COOPER: And what's going on with him in jail right now? Because I've heard these reports he's been hard to control.

LAVANDERA: Apparently, he has been. The sheriff's officials here are telling us that they tried to -- they gave him his meal. He didn't want to give back the utensils and the plate that the meal was served on. That he had to be tased to get control.

He's been shackled. In fact, we heard from his attorney, who met briefly with him today, who told us that, throughout that meeting he was shackled and restrained. And the sheriff says until he becomes cooperative -- cooperative and stops being aggressive that he will probably have to remain that way, as well -- Anderson.

COOPER: Ed, thanks for the update. I appreciate it.

Brandon Webb, a former Navy SEAL And author of the book "The Red Circle" trained Chris Kyle to be a sniper. They became close friends. He joins me now.

Brandon, thank you so much for being with us. I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend.

You say that Chris was a book you definitely didn't want to judge by its cover. What do you mean?

BRANDON WEBB, FRIEND OF CHRIS KYLE: Well, I think that that goes to most guys in the SEAL teams. You know, you look at these -- these individuals sometimes, and you just don't realize, you know, what they've been through and what they're capable of and just the amazing things that they've accomplished.

So you know, Chris was that guy. He was a larger -- larger-than- life Texan and one of the best students that we've had come through the program. And an American hero.

COOPER: When you first started training Chris to be a sniper, did you know that he was as talented as he was?

WEBB: Well, I think it's one thing Chris would want to acknowledge, the fact that we have one of the best sniper programs in the world. And there is -- to get to graduate that program, these guys are absolutely amazing marksmen.

So -- and there's plenty -- plenty of guys out there like Chris, but Chris often times didn't like to take the credit. He would shy away from it. But he just ended up being one of the most accomplished snipers on the battlefield.

COOPER: And, I mean, the horrible irony of this is it was important for him to help other vets and vets suffering from PTSD, and this guy who's now accused of shooting Chris and his friend told police he is suffering from PTSD. I mean, it's an issue that's close, obviously, to a lot of Americans' hearts, and to veterans' hearts as it was to Chris.

It's -- what's the value? Explain the value of having former service members like yourself, like Chris helping vets transition out of a war zone.

WEBB: Well, you know, the transition is something Chris and I talked about. And it's tough, you know, when you're at war for a decade and you try and transition back to civilian life, and oftentimes, these guys are getting maybe a one-week transition course.

And the thing about having veterans help veterans is that they understand -- these guys can relate to each other. And I had a lot of people ask me, you know, why a shooting range? Well, you know, it's a familiar environment. And they're used to it. They're military guys. It's like going to the basketball court and shooting hoops and talking about things and working things out.

So, you know, it was something very close to Chris's heart. He -- this is a guy that was usually successful outside of the SEAL community, could have done anything. Yet he chose to devote time away from his business and family to help these veterans that were suffering and kind of slipping through the cracks of the Department of Veteran Affairs.

COOPER: Well, it's -- it is just such a loss. And I appreciate, Brandon, you being on tonight to talk about your friend. Thank you very much. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss.

WEBB: Thank you.

COOPER: Brandon Webb.

We're going to have more coming up. A remarkable recovery for the teenage girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan. Malala Yousafzai. Just four months and two surgeries later. She says she's feeling pretty good. Details ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALALA YOUSAFZAI, SHOT BY THE TALIBAN: I'm feeling all right. And I'm happy that the operations, all the operations are successful. And you know, it was that kind of success now that they have removed everything from me and I can -- I can also walk a little bit. I can talk. And I'm feeling better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: A record-breaking 161 million people watched the Super Bowl last night. Chances are you were one of them, so you probably know it wasn't just the game that made for some pretty dramatic TV. It was also when the lights went off in the Superdome.

We've got some new video to show you what happened in the control room at the stadium when the Super Bowl power outage made history. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we took that out. Put it up there so that I could see it and everybody saw it. Uh-oh. All right. We lost lights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Imagine being in that control room. That power outage delayed the game for more than a half an hour. And today, the question is what happened.

Brian Todd joins me now live from New Orleans. Brian, what do we know so far?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, there are new questions being raised tonight about whether managers at the Superdome may have had any inkling that this could happen, any warning that this could happen.

Anecdotal reports we're getting about rehearsals that the pop star Beyonce was holding during the week where there may have been problems. One of the questions raised by Boomer Esiason. He's a CBS NFL analyst. He was doing some radio analysis during the game in the Superdome when the lights went out.

Today on his radio show -- it's called "Boomer & Carton" -- he raised the issue. He talked about what it was like when the power went out, but then he talked about what he had heard about Beyonce's rehearsals during the week. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOOMER ESIASON, CO-HOST, "BOOMER & CARTON": Now the interesting thing is, about five or six minutes prior to the -- I guess the breaker going, where our radio booth was, up on the seventh floor, we're almost at the ceiling of the dome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

ESIASON: And Kevin says to me, he goes, "Man, do you hear that buzzing?"

And I took my headset off, and there was like this electrical buzz sound coming from the ceiling. And this was after half time. It was after Beyonce -- and by the way, Beyonce blew the electric in the Superdome twice, I'm told.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, is that right?

ESIASON: During her rehearsals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now we tried to reach representatives for Beyonce for comment on those remarks and just anything that they might be able to say about the power outage. We have not heard back from them.

We also asked the managers of the Superdome, SMG, about Boomer Esiason's comments. We have not heard back from them on that as to whether those anecdotal reports are accurate or not.

But what SMG has said about Beyonce's actual performance is that it had nothing to do with the power outage. The actual live performance at half time, they say, had nothing to do with it, because she and her production team were on kind of a separate self-generated power source for that; they were not on the Superdome's grid. So they're saying that Beyonce's actual performance had nothing to do with it.

What they're saying now, Anderson, is that a machine that monitors power input to the Superdome detected an abnormality at some point. When it did that, the machine kind of triggered power breakers that triggered the power to go off. They said they basically tripped the power switch.

Now what SMG is saying is that those power breakers were operated by Entergy, the power company that supplies the Superdome. Entergy is only saying it's investigating, and any statements while they investigation is going on are pure speculation.

So on one hand you have SMG saying that the power breakers that tripped this were operated by Entergy, and Entergy not really commenting on that at this point, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. I guess there are a lot more questions to be answered. Brian Todd, appreciate the reporting. Thanks very much.

Let's check back in with Susan Hendricks, who has another "360 News & Business Bulletin" -- Susan.

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenage girl who was shot in the head by Taliban attackers in October, is vowing to continue her activism on behalf of education for girls. Listen to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOUSAFZAI: Today you can see that I'm alive. I can see -- I can see you. I can see everyone. And today I can -- I can speak. And I'm getting better day by day.

God has given me this new life, and this is a second life. This is a new life. And I want to serve. I want to serve the people. And I want every girl, every child to be educated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: Such a great message. Over the weekend doctors attached titanium plate to Malala's skull and implanted a device to restore some hearing to her left ear. They say she won't need any more surgeries and, incredibly, doesn't have any long-lasting brain injuries.

Turkish authorities investigating the death of an American tourist in Istanbul say they've questioned 21 people so far. Police found the body of a 33-year-old Sarai Sierra on Saturday. Her family had not heard from her since January 21. She traveled to Turkey alone from New York.

And now a "360 Follow." A team of archaeologists said today that DNA testing has confirmed that ancient remains found under a parking lot in England do, in fact, belong to King Richard III. Pretty interesting.

Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Susan, thanks very much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: OK. That does it for us. Thanks very much for watching. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.