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Breaking News

DNA Samples Do Not Match Rilya Wilson

Aired May 10, 2002 - 09:46   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We have more information on Rilya Wilson, who is that little girl that somehow was lost by the protective services in Florida.

Susan Candiotti has been following this story, and she has some new information on DNA that may give investigators a break here on this case.

Susan, what's the latest? Good morning.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in this case, apparently not much of a break. It's not a hopeful sign for investigators Miami-Dade County finding missing 3-year-old Rilya Wilson, because CNN has learned that there is no positive DNA match between the little girl known as "Precious Doe," that unidentified body of a murdered little girl found in Kansas City in April 2001, and Rilya Wilson. Again, no DNA match has been found. Those results are conclusive, according to source the familiar with the case.

Now, Kansas City police officials have no comment on our report. However, they are expected to formally announce the results during a news conference at 2:00 Eastern Time from the Kansas City police department, and we will be carrying that for you.

ZAHN: All right, Susan, before we let you go, though, for people who haven't been following the story very carefully, could you please quickly go through the timeline of how she was being cared for by what was considered a grandmother figure, and how the mother turned her over when folks claiming to be from the child Florida Protective Services were taking her for some tests. What happened then?

CANDIOTTI: This happened back in January of 2001, was the last time the child welfare agency had recorded a visit between the caseworker in this case and this family, a woman who says she is the grandmother who had been taking care of the little girl, within a few weeks of that January visit, claims that she turned over Rilya Wilson to a social worker who said she was going to be taking away the little girl for some tests, and that's the last time this caretaker the grandmother says that she has seen this little girl, and so now, authorities this little girl, as it turns out now, has been missing for 16 months, the last time they have any record of her.

They have been unable to confirm the grandmother's story, but have no reason to expect her at this time. And they are now back at practically ground zero in trying to find out where this little girl is, since there is no DNA match, according to this source, between that missing little girl in Kansas City and Rilya Wilson.

ZAHN: We should also mention that certainly caused a firestorm in court when one of the judges involved overseeing some of these cases went ballistic when she found out how little she was kept abreast of developments in a number of these cases.

Susan Candiotti, thanks for the update, and we will be staying with you throughout the day as more information becomes available.

We'll see you later.

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