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Divers Seek Remains of Missing 9-year-old
Aired October 01, 2002 - 14:16 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators in North Carolina looking in an area where a small skull was found last week say they have found more bones and they are awaiting DNA testing to tell them if the remains are those Of Jennifer Short. She's the 9-year-old Virginia girl who went missing nearly two months ago.
CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman joins us now from Rockingham County, North Carolina -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.
Authorities here in Rockingham County have just told us they expect final DNA test results sometime tomorrow afternoon. But they also tell us they would be surprised if it wasn't Jennifer Short. The main reason, initial DNA test results of teeth that were found show they are teeth from a 9-year-old white female. There are no other children in that age range missing from this area. And Jennifer Short only lived 35 miles away from here.
Behind me right now you can see dive teams in the water looking for more bone fragments. It's very unusual that we get this close of a look at scuba teams as they're doing the job. But there have been up to 14 scuba members from Virginia and North Carolina -- Virginia because the little girl lived in Henry County, Virginia, North Carolina because we're just over the state line here, in Rockingham County.
A short time ago, they did find some more bones. We're just been told, though, they are animal bones. What they have found over the last week is a skull, leg bones, teeth and hair. Initially, they told us microscopic testing last week showed the hair was not from Jennifer Short, but for whatever reason, that turned out to be wrong, and now they fear it's the little girl that lost her parents -- both her parents were shot both once in the head. Jennifer Short has been missing since August 15. And according to the medical examiner's office in North Carolina, the skull they have found here also has a bullet wound in it.
With us right now, Joe Deich. He's the coordinator of dive operations for Rockingham County, North Carolina.
Joe, it looks very dangerous. It's some very murky water. It had to be tested before they went in. Are they afraid that they could get cut up while they're going through this, diving through these murky waters?
JOE DEICH, DIVE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR: Yes, we are. Sometimes they'll throw barbed wire and any other refuse into these ponds, and the diver can be entrapped in that substance.
TUCHMAN: Hope do they hope to find in this type of water small bone fragments?
DEICH: What they're doing is they're going along a line on both sides and they're feeling with their hands, going very slowly and every time they feel anything, even a stick, they'll identify it or bring it to the surface or further investigation, and then continue.
TUCHMAN: How much longer will you continue the search?
DEICH: It will probably continue about three hours, and we should be done with this pond.
TUCHMAN: Joe, thank you very much for talking with us.
DEICH: You're welcome.
TUCHMAN: Another interesting thing we want to tell you, there's a small dog who lives in the house behind us. It was the dog who initially found part of the remains. We are told that authorities are going to put a global positioning satellite collar on this dog tonight to track the dog's movements, to see if the little dog goes to where the remains are.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Gary, how many days will these divers be out there?
TUCHMAN: Well, it looks like they'll be finished by the end of the day today. They certainly have enough remains right now to determine if it is this little girl, but they want to find as much as they can.
PHILLIPS: I can imagine so.
National correspondent Gary Tuchman, pretty fascinating access there.
Thanks, Gary.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 1, 2002 - 14:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators in North Carolina looking in an area where a small skull was found last week say they have found more bones and they are awaiting DNA testing to tell them if the remains are those Of Jennifer Short. She's the 9-year-old Virginia girl who went missing nearly two months ago.
CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman joins us now from Rockingham County, North Carolina -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.
Authorities here in Rockingham County have just told us they expect final DNA test results sometime tomorrow afternoon. But they also tell us they would be surprised if it wasn't Jennifer Short. The main reason, initial DNA test results of teeth that were found show they are teeth from a 9-year-old white female. There are no other children in that age range missing from this area. And Jennifer Short only lived 35 miles away from here.
Behind me right now you can see dive teams in the water looking for more bone fragments. It's very unusual that we get this close of a look at scuba teams as they're doing the job. But there have been up to 14 scuba members from Virginia and North Carolina -- Virginia because the little girl lived in Henry County, Virginia, North Carolina because we're just over the state line here, in Rockingham County.
A short time ago, they did find some more bones. We're just been told, though, they are animal bones. What they have found over the last week is a skull, leg bones, teeth and hair. Initially, they told us microscopic testing last week showed the hair was not from Jennifer Short, but for whatever reason, that turned out to be wrong, and now they fear it's the little girl that lost her parents -- both her parents were shot both once in the head. Jennifer Short has been missing since August 15. And according to the medical examiner's office in North Carolina, the skull they have found here also has a bullet wound in it.
With us right now, Joe Deich. He's the coordinator of dive operations for Rockingham County, North Carolina.
Joe, it looks very dangerous. It's some very murky water. It had to be tested before they went in. Are they afraid that they could get cut up while they're going through this, diving through these murky waters?
JOE DEICH, DIVE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR: Yes, we are. Sometimes they'll throw barbed wire and any other refuse into these ponds, and the diver can be entrapped in that substance.
TUCHMAN: Hope do they hope to find in this type of water small bone fragments?
DEICH: What they're doing is they're going along a line on both sides and they're feeling with their hands, going very slowly and every time they feel anything, even a stick, they'll identify it or bring it to the surface or further investigation, and then continue.
TUCHMAN: How much longer will you continue the search?
DEICH: It will probably continue about three hours, and we should be done with this pond.
TUCHMAN: Joe, thank you very much for talking with us.
DEICH: You're welcome.
TUCHMAN: Another interesting thing we want to tell you, there's a small dog who lives in the house behind us. It was the dog who initially found part of the remains. We are told that authorities are going to put a global positioning satellite collar on this dog tonight to track the dog's movements, to see if the little dog goes to where the remains are.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Gary, how many days will these divers be out there?
TUCHMAN: Well, it looks like they'll be finished by the end of the day today. They certainly have enough remains right now to determine if it is this little girl, but they want to find as much as they can.
PHILLIPS: I can imagine so.
National correspondent Gary Tuchman, pretty fascinating access there.
Thanks, Gary.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
