Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Missing Woman Mystery
Aired January 06, 2003 - 14:15 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: Police in California still have no significant leads in the case of a missing pregnant woman. Police spent the weekend searching new ground for Laci Peterson, last seen Christmas Eve.
CNN's Ed Lavandera keeping watch on the investigation. He joins us live from Modesto -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, search teams will be dispatched once again, or already have been dispatched to search not only the area surrounding Modesto, but perhaps either today or in the coming days return to the Berkeley Marina. I was told by police official that they still haven't decided whether or not they are completely through searching that Berkeley Marina.
I was told by an officer here that the cadaver dogs that were sent out that are trained to detect smells in water did detect some sort of scent on a piece of tarp in that water. The significance of this isn't exactly clear at this point. They are bringing that tarp, in the process of bringing that back to the Modesto area so it can be analyzed. And depending on what they find out depends on what they might do next in terms of the search.
But the search is focusing on the area surrounding Modesto. Cadaver dogs being sent out in the areas surrounding Modesto as well. They've had more than 1,600 phone tips that have been called in to authorities here. They're taking each one very seriously. Some have been helpful, some have not.
The way authorities describe this investigation right now is that they have several different theories, several different possibilities that they're all looking at. Each time a tip comes in officers are being dispatched to track down those clues and see if anything comes of that. So that's kind of to give you an idea of what's going on behind the scenes here, they say at this point they're working every possible lead, every possible idea that you might have. They're exhausting every possible lead on all of those ideas.
So it's an investigation that usually happens this way, authorities say, when they don't have much concrete evidence to go on, what they have to do is work backwards and start weeding things out and knocking things down before they can move forward on other fronts, and that's why Scott Peterson, Laci's husband, has been getting so much attention, and why authorities are so busy trying to be able to dismiss him as a witness and corroborate the story he has told authorities with evidence and clues that are coming in from the public as well.
PHILLIPS: You mentioned Laci's husband, he's hired an attorney, is that correct? And has he said why?
LAVANDERA: He hasn't said why. In fact, he's trying to remain out of the spotlight at this point. He spends part of the morning at the volunteer center helping people there. And when he's there, cameras aren't allowed in the volunteer center. So he's wanting to remain out of the spotlight. His family has kind of picked up that slack, if you will, for him. His family members, his mother and father and in-laws are the ones that have been out before the cameras and the news media answering questions and trying to keep Laci Peterson's picture out in the public eye, in the hopes that she will be found safely.
PHILLIPS: Ed Lavandera, live from Modesto, thanks.
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 January 6, 2003 - 14:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Police in California still have no significant leads in the case of a missing pregnant woman. Police spent the weekend searching new ground for Laci Peterson, last seen Christmas Eve.
CNN's Ed Lavandera keeping watch on the investigation. He joins us live from Modesto -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, search teams will be dispatched once again, or already have been dispatched to search not only the area surrounding Modesto, but perhaps either today or in the coming days return to the Berkeley Marina. I was told by police official that they still haven't decided whether or not they are completely through searching that Berkeley Marina.
I was told by an officer here that the cadaver dogs that were sent out that are trained to detect smells in water did detect some sort of scent on a piece of tarp in that water. The significance of this isn't exactly clear at this point. They are bringing that tarp, in the process of bringing that back to the Modesto area so it can be analyzed. And depending on what they find out depends on what they might do next in terms of the search.
But the search is focusing on the area surrounding Modesto. Cadaver dogs being sent out in the areas surrounding Modesto as well. They've had more than 1,600 phone tips that have been called in to authorities here. They're taking each one very seriously. Some have been helpful, some have not.
The way authorities describe this investigation right now is that they have several different theories, several different possibilities that they're all looking at. Each time a tip comes in officers are being dispatched to track down those clues and see if anything comes of that. So that's kind of to give you an idea of what's going on behind the scenes here, they say at this point they're working every possible lead, every possible idea that you might have. They're exhausting every possible lead on all of those ideas.
So it's an investigation that usually happens this way, authorities say, when they don't have much concrete evidence to go on, what they have to do is work backwards and start weeding things out and knocking things down before they can move forward on other fronts, and that's why Scott Peterson, Laci's husband, has been getting so much attention, and why authorities are so busy trying to be able to dismiss him as a witness and corroborate the story he has told authorities with evidence and clues that are coming in from the public as well.
PHILLIPS: You mentioned Laci's husband, he's hired an attorney, is that correct? And has he said why?
LAVANDERA: He hasn't said why. In fact, he's trying to remain out of the spotlight at this point. He spends part of the morning at the volunteer center helping people there. And when he's there, cameras aren't allowed in the volunteer center. So he's wanting to remain out of the spotlight. His family has kind of picked up that slack, if you will, for him. His family members, his mother and father and in-laws are the ones that have been out before the cameras and the news media answering questions and trying to keep Laci Peterson's picture out in the public eye, in the hopes that she will be found safely.
PHILLIPS: Ed Lavandera, live from Modesto, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
