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Texas Family Reunites with Daughter Who Was Kidnapped 51 Years Ago; U.S. and Iran Face Off in Politically-Charged Match; New 911 Audio from Pilot in Maryland Plane Crash; Will Smith Opens Up About Infamous Slap at Oscars. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired November 29, 2022 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: A family in Texas found their daughter who was kidnapped as a baby more than five decades ago, thanks to a match on a DNA testing website.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in Dallas. Ed, tell us more about how this all happened.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a stunning and emotional story that has left an entire family completely overwhelmed. Back in August of 1971 Melissa Highsmith was picked up at her apartment complex where she lived with her mother at the time. She's 22 months old. The mom needed a babysitter because she had to work. The babysitter shows up and then disappears. They never get another call, they never hear another word about her.
This goes on for more than five decades, 51 years, until a few weeks ago the parents had submitted a DNA sampling and the family members submitted that as well, and it came back as a match with Melissa Highsmith, who is now 53 years old and has children of her own. The DNA came back matching one of her children, and so they were able to reconnect through that.
At first Melissa Highsmith said when the family reached out, she thought it was some sort of hoax, a prank, and then it all started unraveling. She questioned the woman she believed to be her mother and then the story started to unravel there, culminating this weekend, over the last few days, Melissa Highsmith has reunited with her biological parents and as well learned that she has three sisters and a brother. Incredibly emotional. You can hear a little bit from the parents and Melissa here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELISSA HIGHSMITH, KIDNAPPED AS A BABY: It is overwhelming, but at the same time it's just the most wonderful feeling in the world.
ALTA APANTENCO, MOTHER OF KIDNAPPED DAUGHTER: I just couldn't believe it. I thought I would never see her again.
JEFFRIE HIGHSMITH, FATHER OF KIDNAPPED DAUGHTER: And they said, dad, she's alive. And I started crying. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: And so, the question now becomes, you know, what happens to this woman who acted as Melissa Highsmith's mother for more than five decades. Fort Worth police say that they will investigate this. Fort Worth is the city where Melissa Highsmith was abducted back in 1971. But it's not exactly clear what can be done. The statute of limitations has passed. But they say they will continue to investigate, nonetheless.
CAMEROTA: I was surprised to hear there was a statute of limitations for child abduction. I mean, it seems like that one should be open lifelong. I mean, this is wonderful. It's wonderful that she found them but it's a tragedy. They lost, you know, 51 years. Ed, thank you very much for your reporting on this. Really fascinating story.
BLACKWELL: Thank you.
[15:35:00]
The U.S. men's soccer team is facing off against Iran at the World Cup after the Iranians tried but failed to get the Americans booted from the tournament. We've got details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Right now, the U.S. men's soccer team is up 1-0 against Iran. Last hour midfielder Christian Pulisic scored a goal in the high-stakes and politically charged match against Iran.
CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes is at an Irish pub in Atlanta and CNN's Nick Watt is live at a watch party in Woodland Hills, California. OK, Andy, how is it going there?
[15:40:00]
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It's going pretty great. As I told you last hour, everyone is really anxious waiting for a goal. Because we tied in our first two World Cup games. That was not going to cut it today. We have to beat Iran in order to move on to the round of 16 and this place just went bonkers in the 38th minute when Christian Pulisic scored the goal. Everyone was jumping up and down, high-fives everywhere, people were shooting off confetti. It was certainly quite the scene. They're shooting more confetti on me right now. This crowd is excited. They are hoping that they've got another 18 minutes or so in them and they can pull this out and come away with the win.
USA fan Chris and Regan, they're right here, they've been here all day watching them. Chris, what do you think of the game so far?
CHRIS: We've just got to close it out. Strong defense, a little bit offensive, close it out.
SCHOLES: And you two have a pretty cool World Cup story. Don't you?
CHRIS: Yes, so this is my daughter, she's 16. In 2006, eight days after she was born, I left her to go to see the World Cup and the U.S. and Germany, and here we are today.
SCHOLES: Well, here's hoping they give you a win and you can watch some more games together on Saturday.
CHRIS: Amen.
SCHOLES: Yes, here we go. So, Victor and Alisyn, as you can see, it's rowdy in here right now, but remember, an Iran goal and a tie and the USA is out. So, it's tense, but also everyone here is pretty optimistic about the outcome.
BLACKWELL: Isn't that a cool story, right after you were born, I went to the World Cup?
CAMEROTA: I like that she was shaking her head, like, oh, no, dad is telling this story again.
BLACKWELL: Not a cool story. Hey, Nick, let's go over to you right now. LA home to a large population of Iranian born immigrants. How is the watch party there going?
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, there's one thing that pretty much everyone here agrees on, they do not like the current Iranian regime. There are signs saying, "Ayatollah Out." There's the old Iranian flag from back in the days of the Shah. There are posters in support of Mahsa Amini, that young woman whose death a few months ago sparked the current wave of protests in the country.
And everybody agrees they're happy to talk to us, but without a camera. They are scared. They have friends and family back home in Iran and they don't want to be seen on film saying bad things about the regime. Now, it was very interesting when Christian Pulisic slammed in that goal to see who rose to cheer here and who didn't. More people got up cheering than I thought. There are pretty much wall-to-wall dual Iranian/American citizens here, and some people say they just can't support this team because the regime uses the team for propaganda.
Right over here there was one man who leapt up in support of the U.S., the ladies behind him, you know, slapped him in the back. She was joking. And I said to her, is that your husband? She said, no, if it was, we would be divorced. She says you've got to support this team no matter what.
In terms of the food on offer, I will say that they have moved on from the pastries and tea. The cooker action is still going on. We've had lamb, bread, omelet, everything for lunch. I'll tell you, I'm used to a deep fried sausage and half-filled pint. This is much, much better.
But, you know, on a more serious note, one chap did tell me, one man did tell me that the U.S., if you beat us, you are supporting us. If you beat us, the Iranian regime can no longer use this team for propaganda. We've got what, ten and a bit minutes left. Iran just needs one goal. They only need to draw, remember. The U.S. needs to win. So, it's getting a little bit tense around here -- guys.
BLACKWELL: All right, hookah action.
CAMEROTA: Hookah action.
BLACKWELL: Hookah.
CAMEROTA: Yes, that's what he said. But that sounds like the party to be at. That sounds delicious.
BLACKWELL: Yes, yes, yes. Nick Watt, Andy Scholes, thank you.
CAMEROTA: All right, this just in to CNN. The 911 calls from that pilot who crashed into the electrical lines and remained stuck there for hours on Sunday. You heard Victor do this interview yesterday. We have more on those calls just ahead.
[15:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: New 911 audio reveals the moments after a pilot crashed into a live power line on Sunday in Maryland. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PILOT: I've flown into a tower to the northwest of Gaithersburg airport it's one of the electrical towers and believe it or not the aircraft is pinned in the tower. And I don't know how long we're going to be able to stay here and I don't know --
DISPATCHER: Wait, you're the airplane pilot?
PILOT: Yeah, I'm the pilot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: How can people be so calm in this situation, Victor?
BLACKWELL: I can't believe there's no screaming. You don't hear any whimpering.
CAMEROTA: I mean, I'm screaming and whimpering when I just watch the video. Authorities say the plane was suspended nearly 100 feet above ground for almost seven hours until the rescue was complete. CNN's Pete Muntean joins us now. Pete, how can they be so calm?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: That's a great question, Alisyn. You know, this audio is just simply so amazing because we knew that the pilot onboard and his passenger were able to communicate with rescuers via cell phone for hours while they awaited getting rescued, trapped inside that single-engine Mooney airplane.
[15:50:00]
But now we're hearing from the first time, from the pilot. 65-year-old Patrick Merkel in these new 911 audio types. And in it he describes simply just how terrified they were being stuck in this airplane 100 feet up, in that Pepco transmission tower there.
Rescuers say that this plane first hit the transmission lines and then the tower. What is so interesting here is that this happened only about a mile away from the nearby Montgomery County Airport and Merkel says he was trying to come in and landed at the airport. He was apparently aligned with the southeast facing runway, but in the 911 audio tape, he simply explains that he could see the ground but could not see in front of him. I want you to listen now to how he describes this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PILOT: Totally a visibility issue. We are looking for the airport. I descended to the minimum altitude and then apparently, I got down a little bit lower than I should have. I thought I was closer to the airport than I was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: It took eight hours for Merkel and his passenger to be rescued from inside of that airplane. Rescuers used a special 178 foot tall insulated ladder truck. Mind you, this cut out power to about 120,000 Pepco power customers in Montgomery County and had to cancel school.
What's also so interesting in this audio tape is that Merkel describes how afraid he was that the plane was going to get blown by the wind out of this transmission tower. We know now that the NTSB and the FAA are investigating. This happened in the dark. This happened when the weather was poor, the visibility was bad. The clouds were low. The NTSB says the weather will be a big part of this investigation.
BLACKWELL: Remarkable. Remarkable that they were able to stay that calm. Pete Muntean.
CAMEROTA: I want that guy to be my pilot even though he had a crash. I still think --
BLACKWELL: Really?
CAMEROTA: Yes, I still think his calm and cool nature is what you want in a pilot.
BLACKWELL: All right, Pete, thank you.
Will Smith is on a media tour to promote his latest movie and is opening up about the slap that got him banned from the Oscars for the next decade. That's next.
[15:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Will Smith is opening up about that night at the Oscars -- you know the one. This is his first late night interview since he slapped Chris Rock. Now Smith said his actions do not reflect the man that he wants to be.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL SMITH, ACTOR: That was a horrific night, as you can imagine. I was going through something that night, you know. And not that that, you know, justifies my behavior at all. I would just say, you know, you're asking what did I learn, and it's that we just got to be nice to each other, man. You know, it's like it's hard. And I guess the thing that was most painful for me is I took my hard and made it hard for other people. You know, and it's like I understood the idea where they say hurt people, hurt people, I was gone, dude. I was gone. I was gone. You know, that was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: CNN's Chloe Melas joins us now. So, this at moments was an emotional interview for him. What else did he say.
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, I mean, look, that he also says that he's human, and that, you know, he has to realize that he too -- although he is a global icon, and he is Will Smith and that we have put him on this pedestal, his fans for such a long time -- that he makes mistakes just like the rest of us.
It's still unclear exactly why he stormed the stage. And you know, is this years of him and his marriage really being criticized and made fun of and that's something that Trevor touched on too. I mean, Will Smith and his wife have been by some accounts treated very unfairly in terms of like the scrutiny of their marriage. And you know, Will has been at the butt of many jokes for many years. So, was that a culmination of it? I would say that although this interview was lengthy, and it was his first late night interview, still so many questions left unanswered, still so much more to say. I do think though that he's ready to start talking, and he did another interview yesterday. We have a little bit of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: I completely understand that. If, you know, someone is not ready I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready. My deepest hope is that my actions don't penalize my team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MELAS: So that was with Kevin McCarthy, local Fox 5 interview out of D.C. -- or Fox out of D.C. -- and Chris Rock still has not commented. We have reached out from CNN to see if Chris has anything to say. And also, it's going to be interesting to see. Does this affect people going to see "Emancipation," it comes out week and it's this highly anticipated movie that's getting a lot of Oscar buzz.
But you know, the sad part about all of this is that Will Smith, even if he's nominated for an Oscar can't go, right, because of the ban, because of what happened. I think knowing Will Smith and having covered this and covered Will Smith, I think that an even bigger sit down is to come. I hoping it's Oprah. But you know --
[16:00:00]
BLACKWELL: You would imagine with so much to say that a local Fox interview of it, the junket for the movie, isn't enough --
MELAS: It's not.
BLACKWELL: This isn't enough to answer the questions.
MELAS: Because there's more to find out, right. And also, I mean, I want to hear from Chris Rock too because we still haven't heard much from him other than the tidbits in his stand up.
CAMEROTA: I mean, shouldn't he just do a red table talk.
MELAS: With Chris, yes, and his wife.
CAMEROTA: Yes, they should all do that. That's exactly right for the fans.
BLACKWELL: All right, thank you, Chloe.
"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
