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CNN Live At Daybreak

Publicity Led to FBI Capture of Longo

Aired January 15, 2002 - 05:07   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A fugitive accused of murdering four members of his own family is now in custody, just a month after he disappeared.

CNN's Susan Candiotti tells us what led to his arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Publicity, it apparently did in Christian Longo, just like it has so many others -- captured in Mexico Sunday night without a fight, then voluntarily flown to Houston. A tip late Friday came on the very same day Longo was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. The tactic worked.

CHARLES MATHEWS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: It obviously took the publicity that we generated through the Top Ten and through other processes to help us focus in on him.

CANDIOTTI: A woman in Montreal just back from a youth hostel near Cancun called the FBI after recognizing Longo. After that tip, authorities tracked him to a beach camp in Tulum. Longo stands accused of murdering his wife and three children, ages two, three and four, their bodies recovered from some bays in Oregon last month.

Earlier this month, a stolen car allegedly left behind by Longo was found at the San Francisco Airport. An airline ticket to Cancun, bought with a stolen credit card, suggested his escape route.

MATHEWS: The additional publicity in the Cancun and the Tulum area finally focused on exactly where he was.

CANDIOTTI: Besides generating publicity from the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, Longo was profiled on the TV show ``America's Most Wanted'' Saturday night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Christian Longo was charged with four counts of murder, but he could not be arrested. He had disappeared.

CANDIOTTI: Since the FBI's Most Wanted List was launched in 1950, 469 fugitives appeared on it. Nearly all, 440, were found, 142 located thanks to direct help from citizens, the list an invaluable tool.

CHRIS GREGKORSKI, FBI VIOLENT CRIMES UNIT: It is a buzz phrase that catches the public attention immediately that this is a serious fugitive.

CANDIOTTI: What are the criteria needed to get on the Ten Most Wanted List? The FBI's urgent need for the public's help. The way to get off the list? Dropping the charges or getting caught.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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