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CNN Live Today
Searching for Answers
Aired March 14, 2003 - 11:32 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A community party is planned tonight in Salt Lake City. They will be celebrating the safe return of Elizabeth Smart. Relatives and friends will be rejoicing, but police are still trying to piece together what exactly happened during those nine months that the teenager was held captive.
Our Rusty Dornin is with us live from Salt Lake City with the latest.
Rusty, good morning once again.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, the thing that's so amazing, too, is that she was held captive really in plain sight. There are so many accounts coming out of people that ran into them at the park or at a party or walking down the street, Elizabeth with her two captors, and never knew who she was. Mainly because she was attired in these robes and her face was covered. Now, a photographer took the photograph in a San Diego park of the three. Many people took pictures of them just because they thought they were so strangely dressed.
Now, her family says that she really probably went into a survivor mode, which is why she never told anyone she was in some way very psychologically affected by her captors.
Now, even when the Sandy Police confronted them on the street, they recognized her even though she had a wig and robes on, and she kept denying that she was Elizabeth Smart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH QUEZADA, SANDY, UTAH POLICE: I had a flyer brought to the scene. We compared it right with her face. Even though she had the glasses on, the wig on, the T-shirt tied around her head and scarf fashion. We put it up to her. We all looked at each other, myself and Officer Raspus (ph), and we gave the thumbs up of positive identification. It's over. It's you. We know it's you. She again made those statements, you guys think I'm Elizabeth Smart, I'm not. Just kept denying who she was, right to the very end.
I thought, we'll give it one more shot. We're putting everybody in police cars and custody. Asked her one last time, just for your own heart, your family's heart, it's over with. Just tell us who you are. Are you Elizabeth Smart? She then uttered the words, thou sayeth. I never heard that phrase before, so I asked her what? Thou sayeth. I said we'll take that as a yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DORNIN: Now, the thing that's so amazing is right after that apparently she appeared very upset. When you look at the pictures the following day with her family, she looks so incredibly happy. And all the family members that I have talked to saying the thing that strikes them is she seems to be always smiling. She doesn't talk about it. They're not probing her about what happened to her, but she really has this incredible smile on her face.
Now, this afternoon they will be holding a huge party in the community at the same park where they held a lot of candlelight vigils. It's a place called Liberty Park. The family is throwing that as a celebration, a homecoming for Elizabeth. Meantime, the suspects are expected to face official charges today and the police department will be holding another press conference this afternoon -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And so, Rusty, with this party, it's a celebration of Elizabeth, but as I understand, the family making a choice that she won't be there.
DORNIN: No, they are keeping her very close to the heart. You won't even see her mother. They've been staying home, and they say don't expect to talk to Elizabeth any time soon. She is healing, and we want her to readjust on her own.
KAGAN: It's such a balance that the media and both the public are trying to play here, wanting to respect the rights of this 15- year-old and yet so much curiosity about what she's been through, and a lot of people wishing her well.
DORNIN: Right. Daryn, the thing that's interesting is that the police said they are not planning on interviewing her again either very soon, that they got enough from her that first day, that she was so articulate, that they just want to leave her alone.
KAGAN: Well, she certainly has been through enough.
Rusty Dornin, thank you very much. We'll look forward to that celebration.
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 March 14, 2003 - 11:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A community party is planned tonight in Salt Lake City. They will be celebrating the safe return of Elizabeth Smart. Relatives and friends will be rejoicing, but police are still trying to piece together what exactly happened during those nine months that the teenager was held captive.
Our Rusty Dornin is with us live from Salt Lake City with the latest.
Rusty, good morning once again.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, the thing that's so amazing, too, is that she was held captive really in plain sight. There are so many accounts coming out of people that ran into them at the park or at a party or walking down the street, Elizabeth with her two captors, and never knew who she was. Mainly because she was attired in these robes and her face was covered. Now, a photographer took the photograph in a San Diego park of the three. Many people took pictures of them just because they thought they were so strangely dressed.
Now, her family says that she really probably went into a survivor mode, which is why she never told anyone she was in some way very psychologically affected by her captors.
Now, even when the Sandy Police confronted them on the street, they recognized her even though she had a wig and robes on, and she kept denying that she was Elizabeth Smart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH QUEZADA, SANDY, UTAH POLICE: I had a flyer brought to the scene. We compared it right with her face. Even though she had the glasses on, the wig on, the T-shirt tied around her head and scarf fashion. We put it up to her. We all looked at each other, myself and Officer Raspus (ph), and we gave the thumbs up of positive identification. It's over. It's you. We know it's you. She again made those statements, you guys think I'm Elizabeth Smart, I'm not. Just kept denying who she was, right to the very end.
I thought, we'll give it one more shot. We're putting everybody in police cars and custody. Asked her one last time, just for your own heart, your family's heart, it's over with. Just tell us who you are. Are you Elizabeth Smart? She then uttered the words, thou sayeth. I never heard that phrase before, so I asked her what? Thou sayeth. I said we'll take that as a yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DORNIN: Now, the thing that's so amazing is right after that apparently she appeared very upset. When you look at the pictures the following day with her family, she looks so incredibly happy. And all the family members that I have talked to saying the thing that strikes them is she seems to be always smiling. She doesn't talk about it. They're not probing her about what happened to her, but she really has this incredible smile on her face.
Now, this afternoon they will be holding a huge party in the community at the same park where they held a lot of candlelight vigils. It's a place called Liberty Park. The family is throwing that as a celebration, a homecoming for Elizabeth. Meantime, the suspects are expected to face official charges today and the police department will be holding another press conference this afternoon -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And so, Rusty, with this party, it's a celebration of Elizabeth, but as I understand, the family making a choice that she won't be there.
DORNIN: No, they are keeping her very close to the heart. You won't even see her mother. They've been staying home, and they say don't expect to talk to Elizabeth any time soon. She is healing, and we want her to readjust on her own.
KAGAN: It's such a balance that the media and both the public are trying to play here, wanting to respect the rights of this 15- year-old and yet so much curiosity about what she's been through, and a lot of people wishing her well.
DORNIN: Right. Daryn, the thing that's interesting is that the police said they are not planning on interviewing her again either very soon, that they got enough from her that first day, that she was so articulate, that they just want to leave her alone.
KAGAN: Well, she certainly has been through enough.
Rusty Dornin, thank you very much. We'll look forward to that celebration.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
