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Suspect Not Cooperating in Florida Girl's Disappearance
Aired February 05, 2004 - 15:05 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: A Florida man with a criminal history is being questioned in the disappearance of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia. But police say that he's not cooperating. And there's still no sign of that girl, whose apparent abduction was captured on videotape.
Our John Zarrella is following the investigation. He brings us more -- hi, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
That's exactly right. He's certainly not cooperating. And police here are terribly frustrated by all of that; 37-year-old Joseph Smith has been in their custody since Tuesday afternoon. They are firmly convinced that Joseph Smith is the man, with a long criminal history here in Southwest Florida since 1993, who is responsible for the abduction of Carlie Brucia.
What happened was, the videotape surveillance from this very car wash behind me had led to a bunch of tips coming in. One of the tips that they got actually came from the house where Joseph Smith was staying, a person there calling police and said, hey, I think that's the guy who's staying here at this house where we are. So police went over there. That ultimately led to Smith's arrest.
Now, Carlie Brucia's mother has not been out in public or made any public appearances in the last day and a half or so. Possibly, within the next hour, during a press conference scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, someone from the family may be here. Carlie's mother did greet some well-wishers and sympathizers and supporters outside of her home this morning, people who had come, of course, to express their hope and prayers for Carlie's safe return.
But, again, police terribly frustrated, because the man they believe is responsible is refusing to talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL BALKWILL, SARASOTA COUNTY SHERIFF: Joseph Smith has representation from the public defender's office and is not cooperating with us at this time. He's not answering any of our questions that we've asked. We have made it very clear to Joseph and his counsel that we want to know where Carlie is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, police have also impounded and searched a 1992 Buick, and they say that they can place Carlie in that 1992 Buick. That is a very important piece of information that came out at a press conference earlier today.
They also searched that house last night, the house where Smith was arrested, the house that gave them the tip on his whereabouts. And forensic teams did take some things out of the house, not clear at this point what evidence, if any, they gleaned from that search. But, meanwhile, Carlie Brucia has been missing since Sunday at 6:21 p.m. And, with each passing hour, the situation grows more desperate and more grave, as police frantically search, without the help of the man they believe is responsible for her kidnapping -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: John Zarrella, live from Sarasota, thank you.
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 February 5, 2004 - 15:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A Florida man with a criminal history is being questioned in the disappearance of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia. But police say that he's not cooperating. And there's still no sign of that girl, whose apparent abduction was captured on videotape.
Our John Zarrella is following the investigation. He brings us more -- hi, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
That's exactly right. He's certainly not cooperating. And police here are terribly frustrated by all of that; 37-year-old Joseph Smith has been in their custody since Tuesday afternoon. They are firmly convinced that Joseph Smith is the man, with a long criminal history here in Southwest Florida since 1993, who is responsible for the abduction of Carlie Brucia.
What happened was, the videotape surveillance from this very car wash behind me had led to a bunch of tips coming in. One of the tips that they got actually came from the house where Joseph Smith was staying, a person there calling police and said, hey, I think that's the guy who's staying here at this house where we are. So police went over there. That ultimately led to Smith's arrest.
Now, Carlie Brucia's mother has not been out in public or made any public appearances in the last day and a half or so. Possibly, within the next hour, during a press conference scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, someone from the family may be here. Carlie's mother did greet some well-wishers and sympathizers and supporters outside of her home this morning, people who had come, of course, to express their hope and prayers for Carlie's safe return.
But, again, police terribly frustrated, because the man they believe is responsible is refusing to talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL BALKWILL, SARASOTA COUNTY SHERIFF: Joseph Smith has representation from the public defender's office and is not cooperating with us at this time. He's not answering any of our questions that we've asked. We have made it very clear to Joseph and his counsel that we want to know where Carlie is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, police have also impounded and searched a 1992 Buick, and they say that they can place Carlie in that 1992 Buick. That is a very important piece of information that came out at a press conference earlier today.
They also searched that house last night, the house where Smith was arrested, the house that gave them the tip on his whereabouts. And forensic teams did take some things out of the house, not clear at this point what evidence, if any, they gleaned from that search. But, meanwhile, Carlie Brucia has been missing since Sunday at 6:21 p.m. And, with each passing hour, the situation grows more desperate and more grave, as police frantically search, without the help of the man they believe is responsible for her kidnapping -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: John Zarrella, live from Sarasota, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
