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Hunt Continues For Deadly Black Bear; Police Pay Visit to Duke Dorm; Life After Work

Aired April 14, 2006 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A police recording and a dorm visit, two new pieces to the agonizing puzzle of the Duke University rape investigation.
Carol Lin is following new developments on this case.

Carol, what do you have?

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it is a developing story, but this is what I can tell you, from our people on the scene, that, apparently, police entered the Eden dorm residence. CNN does not know yet whether lacrosse players actually live in that particular dorm.

But we did get a statement from the university -- the vice president in charge of security on campus. And this is what he says, that two Durham police detectives visited one of Duke University's residence halls last night. No search warrants were executed. The purpose of the visit was to conduct interviews.

But, Kyra, also, on the Associated Press, obviously, we want to know, well, did the police bypass defense attorneys and go straight to the lacrosse players in the dorm?

According to the Associated Press, attorney Kerry Sutton, who represents at least one of the lacrosse players, said that the -- the police did not have any warrants, that they approached players Thursday evening. She said the players immediately contacted their attorneys, who advised them not to speak.

And then a quote here by that attorney. She says: "I have no doubt that the Durham Police Department is fully aware that every one of these young men is represented. And I'm fairly shocked that they would run an end play around defense counsel, in an attempt to talk to them."

So, Kyra, obviously, the investigation is continuing. Duke University's president has told the newswire services that he was aware that police were on campus, but that he was looking into more details -- no word on any pending arrests, by the way...

PHILLIPS: All right.

LIN: ... not yet.

PHILLIPS: Carol Lin, thank as lot.

LIN: OK.

PHILLIPS: He says he doesn't want to be executed, but you have to wonder. Zacarias Moussaoui testified for a second and probably final time yesterday in the penalty phase of his 9/11 conspiracy trial.

At one point, he mocked victims' families and said he wished for more attacks on America. The courtroom sketch artist talked about the spectacle on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")

BILL HENNESSY, MOUSSAOUI COURTROOM ARTIST: That was probably some of the most disturbing stuff, is -- is the fact that he really seemed to take pleasure in some of the most disturbing parts that we watched, from the collapse of the World Trade Centers and the victims' testimony. It all just seemed to amuse him and satisfy him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, was there, too. She joins me now from Washington.

And, Kelli, I mean, talk about painful, and just bizarre, and hard to understand. You...

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You went through a number of emotions, just listening. It -- it was pretty strange, just to sit back and realize, I can't believe what he's saying.

ARENA: It's true.

I mean, you -- we all watched those -- those videos, like you heard Bill, the -- the courtroom artist say, that, you know, you saw people jumping out of the Trade Centers. You saw, you know, widows and -- and parents who had lost their children breaking down on the set -- you know, on -- on the stand.

And, you know, he just got up there. And they said: Do you have any regret whatsoever about what happened, about all those lives that -- that were taken?

And -- and he said: Absolutely none.

Basically, it was his line that that is exactly what was intended, that al Qaeda wanted to cause the pain that it caused. You -- you heard the quote yesterday. He said, I wish it had not only the 11th, but the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th.

It was interesting, because I got a chance to talk to some of the family members that were in court during his testimony. And -- and they said that they felt that it really was a shame that he got the satisfaction of sitting there and watching all of that grief and all of the pain that al Qaeda caused. They just felt that they wished that he wasn't in the courtroom.

Of course, that's the way our justice system works. But, according to them, they just felt that he didn't deserve to see that. He didn't deserve to see the pain that was caused -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I know there were a number of psychiatrists there in the courtroom, a lot of them just because I think they are looking for papers to write. But did you get a chance to talk any of them or even discuss that aspect of it? Because this could be someone that really -- I mean, he's not normal, obviously, and maybe just -- I mean, who knows what he's taking in and what he's not taking in.

ARENA: Well, the psychiatrists at least that I saw in the courtroom, I could not approach, because they are potential witnesses for the defense. They are there with a specific purpose. And that's to observe him, so that they can complete their observation before testimony. And it would be -- we would be sanctioned if we approached any of the witnesses before they testified.

And, so, I wasn't able to do that. But it's interesting, because Moussaoui said -- he goes: I know that you think I'm crazy. I know that you think -- you know, not exactly in these -- I'm paraphrasing, obviously.

But he said: You know, you might think that anybody who is willing to give his life and fly a plane into a building is crazy. He said: It -- I'm -- it -- this -- I'm not crazy. He said: You know, this is -- this is my religion. You know, we believe, as Muslims, that we should attack nonbelievers.

And -- and he -- I -- I will tell you, when you hear him on the stand, he is articulate. He is -- he's witty and sarcastic. He is very quick on his feet with the responses. He seems -- he to, you know, answer the questions in a -- in a reasoned way, maybe not the same reasoning you and I would use, Kyra, but -- but, certainly, for him.

The one -- one time, though, that he did -- he did sound somewhat delusional was when he was talking about how he believed that the president, you know, George Bush, was going to release him. And the -- the lawyer: Well, you don't really believe that, do you?

And he said: Yes, 100 percent.

And the lawyers said: Well, but he has -- but you haven't heard from the president, have you?

And he said: Oh, no, no, no. I had a dream about this. And, you know, and his term is not over. And it's by the end of his term. You will see, I'm going to walk out, you know, freely.

And we all sort of looked at each other, like, you know, what is this about? I mean, could he -- is -- is he for real? Is this an act? Is it not an act? You know, you -- you really can't tell what is going on in somebody's mind. You know, if he -- if he wants to be a martyr, if he doesn't, I mean, these are the questions that the jury is going to have to grapple with.

PHILLIPS: And he says, this is what Muslims want and what Muslims believe. I'll tell you what. There are millions and millions of Muslims that will say, he is a manipulating the Koran, for sure.

ARENA: Oh, yes. Uh-huh.

PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena, thanks -- pretty...

ARENA: You're welcome, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: ... pretty amazing couple of weeks.

ARENA: It -- I...

PHILLIPS: That's for sure.

ARENA: You know, I will tell you. And it's not over, you know?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Yes. I know we will be talking a lot more.

ARENA: It -- it took so much out of me, I don't even have a voice left, Kyra.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I noticed that. I'm glad we recognized that.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I know, Kelli. Thanks so much.

ARENA: OK.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.

ARENA: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Well, the other story that we have been talking a lot about today is this 10-year-old, this red-headed young gal with freckles, an all-American kid, who could be anywhere in America or beyond.

Her name is Jamie Rose Bolin. And she has been missing from her Oklahoma home for two days. Well, today, the police, the FBI and Jamie's family, they are all pretty frantic. And they are hoping that the public can bring Jamie home safely.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Purcell, Oklahoma, with what police know so far.

Ed, what is it?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Well, the -- the circumstances surrounding this case are -- are a little bit confusing. But, here, the bottom line is, is that Jamie Rose Bolin has not been seen by her family since Wednesday afternoon, around 4:00, when authorities here in Purcell, Oklahoma, say she was last seen at the library.

In fact, we spoke to the manager of the library, just a short distance away from the police station, where we are at here this afternoon, who says she had been in -- in the library. Everything fine -- everything seemed fine there. There was nothing remarkable, in -- in the manager's words, about her situation there.

But, once outside of the library, police say that they have several witnesses who say she was seen getting into a dark blue Chevy Tahoe. And, because of that, they have a description of a suspect that they want to get out as well -- the suspect described as someone in their early 20s, a white male, thin, very clean-cut, perhaps with an earring in his left ear.

Now, exactly what kind of relationship this suspect had with the 10-year-old girl is -- is still unclear at this point, but there is some suspicion that perhaps they might have developed some sort of relationship or contacted each other through the Internet.

In fact, FBI investigators are over at the library right now analyzing those computers. We could see them working while we were there, just a short while ago. Authorities here acknowledge that that is part of the investigation.

There was also one other issue that really slowed down the issue of the -- the -- the release of an Amber Alert here in Oklahoma, which wasn't done until 24 hours after Jamie Rose Bolin was discovered missing on Wednesday afternoon.

The Amber Alert wasn't sent off until yesterday afternoon. And the police chief here in Purcell, Oklahoma, said that they had some trouble getting some information from some of the young girl's friends, and to -- to describe exactly what had happened in those moments when she disappeared.

Authorities say that she -- they believe she had ridden her bicycle to the library, but they haven't found their bicycle, which leads them to believe that, perhaps, the bicycle is in this dark blue Chevy Tahoe, with the word "fox" written across on the back. And it's one of the things that they really want people to be on the lookout for, not only here in Oklahoma, but perhaps in Texas as well -- the dark blue Chevy Tahoe having Texas plates.

But an Amber Alert has not been issued in the state of Texas. State officials in Texas say that the situation surrounding this particular case does not meet their criteria to issue an Amber Alert at this point -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ed Lavandera, thanks.

Now the Iranian nuke flap and the fallout a world away -- the U.N. is center stage for almost every international dispute, but the fallout that we're looking at here affects a lone U.N. journalist, who now finds himself on a very short leash.

CNN's Richard Roth has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The work day begins like many in American homes. Morning coffee, some news of the day, the all-American sport, baseball. Every day, Maghsoud Amiriam commutes to work from his home in Tuckahoe, a small town outside New York City, just like thousands of other New Yorkers, with one large difference: His boss is the government of Iran -- last stop, Grand Central Station.

A towering reminder of Maghsoud's temporary home hangs over his path. It is the nation facing off with his over nuclear fears. He melts into the busy crowd.

Maghsoud writes for government of Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency. He says his government, his boss, does not edit his news.

MAGHSOUD AMIRIAM, JOURNALIST, IRNA (through translator): I work with the Iranian government, but there are a lot of people working for the government. I'm not some kind of diplomat. I'm actually trying to report what's happening here, like -- like you guys.

ROTH: Maghsoud wants to report from other U.S. cities like Washington, but, under his restricted U.S. visa, he can't travel more than 25 miles from the United Nations, the same limit the U.S. imposes on Iran's diplomats.

AMIRIAM (through translator): There are a lot of events happening in, actually, Washington, D.C. You know, for example, President Bush had some speech at this university, John Hopkins University. I saw that, and -- and I really wanted to be there.

ROTH: So, Maghsoud spends most of his time on international territory, the United Nations, where his own country is now the hot news.

It's also where you can find the only other Iranian state journalist working in the U.S. right now. Morteza Ghoroghy reports for the Iranian network IRIB. He's also frustrated by the visa limitations.

MORTEZA GHOROGHY, REPORTER, IRIB: I'm 25 years as a journalist. And they know I'm a journalist, but I don't know why they have restrict me. You must ask the U.S. government.

ROTH: The U.S. says journalists who work for government news agencies could be acting as intelligence agents, and the U.S. must know where they are.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: I'm -- I'm not aware of any move at this point to reexamine these restrictions -- any restrictions that may -- may be placed upon their movement. I -- I would assume that there are good reasons for those -- for those restrictions.

ROTH: Both men deny any links to intelligence agencies.

AMIRIAM (through translator): This kind of accusation is actually always following news reporter. That's not true. It you are some reporter, that doesn't mean, you know, you are working for the intelligence network in the country.

ROTH: The restriction can also mean missing your family. Maghsoud says they have not been granted visas.

AMIRIAM (through translator): This is the not the lifestyle I have had before. I was never lonely, like this. I have a wife, two beautiful children, haven't seen them for almost a year. And we feel -- we are a little bit depressed here.

ROTH: In 2005, the U.S. government issued only a handful of visas to Iranian journalists. Angered by what they call extraordinary restrictions, pro-government Iranian journalists have urged their leaders to retaliate by not issuing visas to American journalists.

U.S. news organizations, including CNN, say getting visas to report in Iran can be very difficult anyway, and, while reporters can travel, they have government minders.

And seeing America is something Maghsoud would like to do.

AMIRIAM: I feel like I am in prison.

ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, the United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A sudden attack, a devastating aftermath -- coming up on LIVE FROM, more on a family camping trip that ended in tragedy. I will speak with a wildlife expert who is involved in the hunt for that bear -- straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Encouraging news from the doctors who are treating the survivors of yesterday's horrifying bear attack in the Cherokee National Forest. A woman who wrestled with the black bear to rescue her son is doing well, despite wounds to her head, neck and elsewhere.

Her 2-year-old son had surgery for a puncture wound to his skull and today is acting, well, like a 2-year-old who really doesn't care for the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. GREG TALBOTT, ERLANGER MEDICAL CENTER: I'm really happy to report that the little boy who was injured in the bear attack yesterday is doing quite well today. He's in stable condition. When he arrived here, he had sustained numerous puncture wounds. And one of those puncture wounded had entered the skull. He went into surgery last night for repair of that wound, and, then, was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit in the early hours of this morning.

Today, he is irritable and a little bit uncooperative, like you might expect a 2-year-old to be. But he is just in wonderful condition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the bear killed the boy's 6-year-old sister. And efforts are still under way to trap it.

Every year, thousands of people go camping in the woods, and risks go with it. Black bears, though aren't high on the risk. In fact, fatal bee stings are much more common in the U.S., killing as many as 100 people a year, we are told. And fatal snake bites, though rare themselves, are still more common than deadly bear attacks, maybe one of which occurs in the U.S., on an average -- or in an average year. Even among bears, grizzlies are much more dangerous than black bears.

So, what went wrong?

Dan Hicks is with the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. He joins me now on the phone with more.

Dan, let's talk about what could have happened here. You know so much about the black bear. Is it because it could have some type of sickness or disease?

DAN HICKS, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, TENNESSEE WILDLIFE RESOURCES AGENCY: That's correct. That's one of the things we're going to be looking at.

Of course, the denning season had just finished up. We have had some bears that have been in a semi-hibernation state. Black bears don't actually hibernate. They will den up on water and leave their den for -- for the water or some food sources.

But, this time of year, they are hungry. They have been denned up all winter. That's a -- a factor. Of course, if we find this bear, he will be euthanized and then taken to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to the veterinary hospital there.

And we have been working with them over the past several years on other projects for, you might say, wildlife forensics. And they will be looking at brain tissue matter and testing that, to see if there's a tumor or some kind of virus, or -- or maybe even a parasite that had entered the brain cavity. This is highly unusual behavior for a black bear.

PHILLIPS: Could it be anything else? You mentioned a possible disease, like, possibly, a tumor in the brain, a sickness. You mentioned the hunger factor. Could it be anything else, like losing a -- a cub or -- or being -- you know, feeling like it has lost its sanctuary, its comfort zone?

HICKS: Well, of course, the male bears are highly territorial, the -- the adult male bears.

This time of year, the -- the young bears that were born two-and- a-half years ago are old enough where the -- the mothers will actually throw them out of the household. And they are on their own. And they traverse long days of travel, many miles, trying to find their own territory.

And, if they enter into a zone that has been marked by an adult bear, if the adult bear finds the cub, it will -- it will kill the cub and eat it, more than likely.

And one of the biologists theorizes that, with these children running up and down the trail there that day, when the attack occurred, the bear may have simply thought that -- you know, he's looking at a -- a threat to his territory. So...

PHILLIPS: All right.

HICKS: So, that's another possibility.

PHILLIPS: OK.

So, tell me how you're trying, then, to track this bear. I -- I was reading, you're actually using doughnuts and other types of sweets, honey, to try and -- and -- and bait the -- the bear?

HICKS: That's correct.

We -- we started out last night, after the initial attack, using typical bear-hunting methods, when you use dogs to get on the scent of the bear. The atmosphere changed here for us last night, when the humidity changed, and we had some wind speed that affected the ground levels. And the dogs never did find a trail.

And we kept them in the woods until about 2:00 in the morning, with about 50 officers and hunters out there. And we -- we called off that search about 2:30. We moved into a different mode. We are now in the trapping mode. We brought in a -- a number of what they call culvert traps, which it's basically made out of the same material as the culvert you have under a -- a large driveway.

And it's basically a live trap that we use the honey buns and doughnuts for and put things such as that, sardines. Of course, bears don't have the best eyesight in the world. And -- and their best sense is probably their smell. Their -- and that is how they locate most of their food, so anything that we can put in there to bait them up that will travel for the air for a long distance and draw them in.

Right now, it's really hot here, close to 80 degrees, sunny, no -- no clouds in the sky. The bear is probably under a log, resting now. They -- they usually don't get out and move around in the heat of the day. And we're in the process of trying to get as many traps set in the area as possible right now. And, hopefully, when it cools off this evening, we will have a better chance of catching that bear.

PHILLIPS: And, Dan, real quickly as you're setting those traps and even pointing out this -- this bear could be resting underneath a log, can you give me just an idea of the area where you don't want anybody to be roaming or camping or hanging out?

HICKS: Well, actually, it's -- there's a big mountain here called Chilhowee Mountain.

And there -- there's a campground associated with the mountain. And that's the area that we have evacuated immediately after the event last night. And we are -- we're still holding folks out, and -- and, you know, hoping that the bear is in this area. There's also a possibility the bear is 30 miles away by now.

But we are hoping that he has marked his territory and will circle back around, marking his territory, and may come back to the same location.

PHILLIPS: Dan Hicks with the Tennessee Wildlife Recovery Agency -- sure appreciate your time, Dan. Good luck.

HICKS: Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break -- more LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Straight to Carol Lin, working a developing story for us -- Carol.

LIN: Kyra, you remember the 49-year-old woman who died on one of those rides down at Disney World.

The autopsy was conducted today. And, according to the medical examiner, there was a diagnosis of hypertensive bleeding within the brain and evidence of severe longstanding high blood pressure. Now, that isn't completely conclusive, as to why she died on this particular ride, Mission: Space, but one of the concerns is, just last year, Kyra, a little boy, a 4-year-old boy died, last June, after going on the same ride at Disney World.

At that time, an autopsy found that he died because of a heart condition, but what a coincidence. Anyway, the -- the park, Walt Disney World, is opening -- has already reopened that ride, after it had been inspected, and Disney offering its condolences to the woman's family.

PHILLIPS: All right, Carol. We will continue to follow, of course, the investigation. And you're right. You pointed out that other story that took place there at Disneyland. We followed that for quite a long time. And we are working to talk with a doctor maybe about studying these rides more and finding out why indeed this is happening again.

Our other story that we're talking about now are those winds that continue to whip up across parts of New Mexico and West Texas. That's fanning wildfire worries, still, right now. This huge fire has already raced across nearly 13,000 acres in north New Mexico. Entire towns have been evacuated. Two state parks, at least one road are closed. A fire -- fire weather watch is in effect through tomorrow.

Straight ahead, imagine if you turned into "American Idol" and saw this guy as a contestant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It gives new meaning to the phrase "Hammer Time," doesn't it? You're watching the show that started the TV talent show craze. I'm going to talk with Pat Boone all about the original "Amateur Hour" -- just ahead on LIVE FROM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, we're going to check in now with CNN's Jennifer Westhoven. She has got our weekly series "Life After Work."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A former public relations account executive, Marika Stone now practices yoga on the beach. And, when she's not practicing yoga on the beach, she's teaching it in a classroom.

MARIKA STONE, 2YOUNG2RETIRE.COM: Great. Hi. How are you?

(LAUGHTER)

M. STONE: I'm teaching a class to people who have been working all day. And they come in, and their faces are just so tight, and their bodies, too. And by the end of the class, it's just sort of, "Ahh."

One of the things that surprised me was that I could learn something brand new, you know, in my 50s. And there's a nice balance between family life and -- and professional life, which, to be honest, I really didn't have before.

Thanks for being here today.

WESTHOVEN: Meet Marika's husband and business partner, Howard Stone.

HOWARD STONE, 2YOUNG2RETIRE.COM: I was in an airplane coming back from Hong Kong, and I was realizing how tired I felt, and I knew that we were going to have grandkids real soon. And I said, you know, am I going to be doing this for the rest of my life?

WESTHOVEN: Not one to retire or even use the word -- he calls these his bonus years -- Howard hung up a career in international ad sales and publishing and works as a life coach. He and Marika wrote a book and run a Web site, 2young2retire.com.

Here's their message.

H. STONE: The time of life that used to be thought of as decline and disappearance is the time of life to have the most growth, the most possibilities, and -- and take some chances and kick some butt, you know, rock the house, instead of the rocking chair. This is what it's about.

WESTHOVEN: Jennifer Westhoven, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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