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CNN Live At Daybreak

The Search for Chandra: Silence on the Street

Aired August 14, 2001 - 07:14   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.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: The most famous unsolved case in the national spotlight right now, of course, is the Chandra Levy case.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken joins us now from Washington. Here we are this morning with more on this.

Bob, investigators have been telling you that there is sort of a street silence on this. They are not hearing the kind of street talk they might normally expect to hear in this kind of a case.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they would normally hear it, they say, if this was some sort of random street crime, where the people on the streets who are considered a menace would talk to one another -- the kind of static that you oftentimes hear on the street.

There has been none of that, and that has led the investigators to conclude that perhaps Chandra Levy was either taken away by somebody she knows or went voluntarily -- that this was not the random kind of crime. That's the operating theory right now.

Of course, this has been an investigation that is now 15 weeks old. It has not produced any leads whatsoever in spite of the massive searches that have been conducted. We have been quite a witness to all of this. We have witnessed the searches of the woodlands around the area.

Because of all of the media coverage, police have been quite open in many of the things that they have done. They even let us witness, at least from a little bit of a distance, the search of Congressman Gary Condit's apartment.

Of course, Congressman Condit is the person that has generated all this publicity. Once he admitted to police after his third interview that he had had the romantic relationship with Chandra Levy that he had denied through staff people for so long. That according to the police sources, by the way.

The investigation really took on a new dimension, but it has not produced any results. As recently as last night, by the way, on the "WOLF BLITZER" program on CNN, one of Congressman Condit's staff pointed out that the police repeatedly had said he is not a suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE LYNCH, CONDIT CHIEF OF STAFF: The police have said from day one that Congressman Condit has no link to the disappearance of Chandra Levy. They have said from day one that he has been fully forthcoming of information related to the disappearance. You know, they have said all of that stuff. You have seen all of the quotes. You guys in the press, not you guys, but many of the people in the press just don't print it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And, of course, Colleen, one of the aspects of this case that is so unusual is the intense press coverage -- media coverage. Police say that's a mixed bag on the one hand. It has caused people to come forth and talk about this with them. On the other hand, it has oftentimes scared people away.

As I said, a mixed bag and no results -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: You know, Bob, that the FBI has transferred this to its long-term case unit. Given that, what's going on now in terms of the investigation? I mean, the public no longer sees the police searching parks, that kind of thing. What actually is going on now?

FRANKEN: Well, it's just a different way of approaching an investigation. At the beginning, there is this intensive effort to just overturn any kind of lead that can be possibly discovered in this intense effort.

Now, it's more methodical. The investigators are spending more time in their office. They are going through what has already been discovered. They are looking for new people to talk to. It's just much quieter, much more long range.

MCEDWARDS: And what kind of resources are police using? Are they sharing that -- the FBI, as you know, has a database on serial killers in the area, things to help police cross jurisdictional lines and actually find out what's happening in other areas? Are they using that kind of resource?

FRANKEN: Well, they are, and they are using it like other police departments us it. With the age of the computer, it has been much more easy to do that kind of thing. And you have just pointed out something that's very important. The FBI provides a national effort through its resources -- in fact, even international if necessary.

Also, in the District of Columbia, there is a unique situation. Washington, D.C. is a federal city. There is a unique relationship between the police department here and the FBI. It is a seamless relationship. There is no difficulty.

It's quite interesting -- the person we have used is the consultant, Mike Brooks. When he was with the Washington, D.C. Police Department, he spent much of his time working in the FBI with the FBI. It was hard to tell sometimes the difference between the two. And he really is sort of a metaphor for the relationship that exists here.

MCEDWARDS: CNN's Bob Franken, thanks very much.

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