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American Morning

The Search for Chandra: Police Focus on Washington Park

Aired July 16, 2001 - 11:06   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: To Washington, D.C., where police are focusing on a park in Washington today. It's part of their search for missing intern Chandra Levy and it is intensifying. Levy reportedly had looked up a map of the park on her laptop shortly before she vanished.

Our congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl is following the story for us -- Jonathan?

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Daryn.

And police are expanding their search throughout Washington, D.C., many of the park areas, but especially in Rock Creek Park, which is the largest park in Washington, D.C. I believe we have pictures from just a short while ago with the area around the Klingle Mansion, which is a mansion in Rock Creek Park. It's the mansion that, as you mentioned, when Chandra Levy was on her computer the morning of her disappearance, the morning of May 1, she went to the map site MapQuest, that's the Web site MapQuest, trying to get directions to this area. So it's one of the areas where police are looking, looking, going over ground that they've gone over before.

The police have known about that visit to MapQuest and the fact that she was looking for directions to this spot for some time and this is not the first time they have searched there, but they're going back with added personnel.

KAGAN: Jonathan, part of that added personnel, they're using police recruits, as I understand it.

KARL: That's right. There are about 50 or so police academy recruits that they are using to get added manpower as they go through combing various areas in Washington, D.C. This is not the first time the D.C. Police Department has used that. As a matter of fact, up there near that Klingle Mansion we mentioned, we have our CNN producer Brad Wright on the phone.

I believe he can give us the latest -- Brad, what are you seeing?

BRAD WRIGHT, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Jon.

You know, the police, the Metropolitan Police cadets came through here just a few minutes ago, really. They came from this direction. They led -- they were dropped off by a bus at a place called Pierce Mill, very close to the National Zoo. They came and they made their way south this way and made their way right through here. There was probably about 15 or 20 of them scattered throughout, looking for some kind of clue to the Chandra Levy disappearance. They didn't appear to find anything as they passed this area. They just kept on going and they have probably gone a half mile or so through.

KARL: This is a mix of police officers and the recruits, is that right?

WRIGHT: I didn't see too many police officers. It looked like recruits to me. They all had the blue uniforms on with the shoulder patches and I think that they, but they were doing a very careful search. They appeared to be combing through the area as carefully as they could.

KARL: Now, how far are you right now, we're seeing the pictures of the police officers going through this area, how far is this from Klingle Mansion?

WRIGHT: Jon, I couldn't quite hear you. Did you say how far are we from actual Klingle Mansion?

KARL: Yes.

WRIGHT: Yes, we're about, just 30 yards or so into the woods from there. There's a thick wooded area which we are in now between the mansion and Rock Creek Parkway and if you can see from this area, it's kind of thick. There's lots of moss on the ground. Anything that would, anything could have a difficult time, you could have a difficult time seeing just about anything in this. So it would be very tough. It's a very painstaking search to walk through this stuff and try and find anything, a belt buckle, a coin, whatever -- Jon?

KARL: Right, thanks a lot, Brad.

Yes, one thing the police have pointed out as they go through the search of various parklands, Rock Creek Park, and especially that area by the Klingle Mansion, is very popular with joggers, with bike riders, with hikers, but it's a huge park, 2,800 acres, and it's quite possible there are areas where something could be left and not found for some time, and those are the very areas we just saw Brad Wright and those police academy recruits searching.

KAGAN: Jon Karl, thank you very much for that latest from Washington.

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