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CNN Live At Daybreak

Investigators Still Searching for Nikolay Soltys

Aired August 23, 2001 - 07:45   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: And it is now 3 1/2 days since the man police think killed six members of his own family has been seen. We heard reports that Nikolay Soltys is driving another car. There are also reports that a trucker picked him up hitchhiking near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Well, joining us on the phone now to update the investigation is Captain John McGinness of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Good morning, Captain. Tell us what you know about this car.

JOHN MCGINNESS, CAPTAIN, SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Well, we developed information that the suspect was seen driving a green Ford Explorer Monday evening at around 8:00 Pacific time in the company of his 3-year-old son. And frankly, that information defied what many of us believed to be likely but the credibility of the witness who saw it was so great that we had to consider it as valuable information. Since that time, additional information has been developed to suggest that it's -- that it really is valid.

MCEDWARDS: And any suggestion yet of where he would have got that other vehicle?

MCGINNESS: Well, in this community where our suspect lives and has for some time, transaction -- cash transaction of vehicles is not at all uncommon, and frankly, the -- they're not terribly judicious in -- or timely in taking care of the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles transfer documents. So it's possible he's had this vehicle for some time and it's just not in the system as belonging to him.

MCEDWARDS: So it's your -- it's your belief he bought it, not stole it?

MCGINNESS: That's correct, although anything is possible.

MCEDWARDS: OK. OK, also the report about a trucker picking him up, that he was seen somewhere near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Tell us what more you know about that this morning.

MCGINNESS: Frankly, we don't believe that's likely going to be our suspect, although it, just as every other bit of information comes in, we need to analyze it objectively and not close our minds to options because much of the information that has come in throughout the course of this investigation has been somewhat surprising to us initially. Much of it -- for instance, the information regarding the green Explorer has proven to be very likely valid. So while we, frankly, still have some strong belief that he continues to remain in the Sacramento area, nothing is outside the realm of possibility.

MCEDWARDS: So at this point, Captain McGinness, have you had any promising sightings of him?

MCGINNESS: Not promising sightings. Of course, as you may anticipate, the green Ford Explorer is not an uncommon vehicle, certainly not in the state of California, so we're getting a lot of calls that really don't have any substance to them. But we are working on information developed through sources, not just limited to sightings, that suggest a strong likelihood, at least, that he still continues to remain in this area.

MCEDWARDS: All right, Captain John McGinness, thanks very much for your time this morning.

You just heard Captain McGinness say that police do believe that he is still in the Sacramento area at this point, but nonetheless, this is a nationwide manhunt for Nikolay Soltys.

And we want to look now at what goes into such a manhunt. Joining us now from New York to talk about this is Bill Daley. He's a former FBI investigator.

Good morning, Mr. Daley.

BILL DALEY, FORMER FBI INVESTIGATOR: Good morning, Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Based on what you know about this case, where would you be focusing the resources in terms of this manhunt?

DALEY: Well, actually the two-pronged approach. One would be there in the Sacramento area. Just like we heard from the Captain where they're devoting a tremendous amount of effort and manpower to the actual investigation. You know knowing some more about his background, knowing the people he has contact with, trying to find out how he's going to go about living, does he have any money with him, would he be going and taking that money from ATM machines, would he be making phone calls, trying to track his whereabouts through, you know, proven investigative techniques.

The other would be to put more of a broader spread on this and that is through the National Crime Information Center -- NCIC as it's known to law enforcement officers -- where if he is stopped in a green Ford Explorer and they run the plate, even if they haven't heard this broadcast or they're not familiar that he's in a green Explorer, it will pop up and say this could possibly be somebody who's wanted, proceed very carefully.

So there are several different approaches that people will take or that the government takes when conducting a manhunt.

MCEDWARDS: Well, so what kinds of resources does that take? DALEY: Well, on the ground, from what I understand, they have literally dozens of both patrol and detectives working on the investigative side. Even though it may cross country lines, they're still going to pursue them with the Sacramento police officers. And when we're talking about a nationwide effort, you know we're really talking about literally, you know, thousands of people who may be eyes and ears out there. That's not even counting the public who we really count upon in law enforcement to help us.

As the -- as the Captain said, they've had some sightings, they have to dismiss some others. But you know, we found that in the most recent past, even with the apprehension of the seven convicts who escaped from Texas, it was the public -- the public who identified them and called police. So the public is a very key component of this manhunt.

MCEDWARDS: That's right. And also I'm wondering what kind of cooperation they get in terms of watching the borders? There was a suggestion that this suspect has relatives in Oregon, perhaps even in New York, so presumably they're looking at the Canadian border, other areas, right?

DALEY: Right, Colleen. What they do is they spread out information out to Immigration Naturalization, Customs and even as far into the Customs officials in Canada and Mexico so if someone's trying to cross the border, they could be identified. So even though it may not be on, you know, the forefront of everyone's mind, there are systems in place, there are procedures in place to hopefully catch this person. And the end of the day nothing is foolproof, but you know, I think in this country I believe we have the best opportunity to be able to catch people like this and the best law enforcement system that has some connectivity between computers and disbursement of information.

MCEDWARDS: All right, Bill Daley, thanks very much, appreciate it.

DALEY: Thank you, Colleen.

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