Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

The Search for Chandra: Still No Clues

Aired July 18, 2001 - 11:18   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Gary Condit is on public display once again today as the House Agriculture Committee debates a farm bill, but if you're expecting Condit to talk about anything other than Green Acres issues, you will be sorely disappointed.

Let's bring in our national correspondent Bob Franken once again in Washington -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But of course, every movement right now of Congressman Gary Condit has been something of high public interest ever since the Chandra Levy case got public attention about 11 weeks ago. Condit of course in his relationship with 24-year-old Chandra Levy has been really what's fueled the story.

So there we are, watching the congressman as he goes about his business as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, debating the farm bill as you pointed out. Now the police say that there's some loose ends they are dealing with the congressman.

Number one, they're waiting to see what the analysis of the lie detector test that the polygraph expert, he paid for, did. Police are disappointed because they didn't get to do the one they wanted to do.

Secondly, they're waiting for the results of apartment search to find out what the FBI analysis is of the few pieces of evidence that they took. And they're waiting to see if they possibly, and I underline, possibly, will want to talk to the congressman for a fourth time.

But they emphasize repeatedly, this is very important, Congressman Condit is not a suspect in the disappearance of Chandra Levy, but certainly it's fair to say he is certainly the focus, Leon, of an awful lot of public interest.

HARRIS: All right, Bob Franken reporting once again for us in Washington. Thank you very much. Kyra?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to stick around in Washington and go our Eileen O'Connor. She's got the latest on the search efforts to find Chandra Levy -- hi, Eileen.

EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Kyra.

And there is a complication in the search effort this morning, and it's called rain. It's delayed the search by a couple of hour, but we are being told, now if you can see the rain is slightly let up, that the -- about two groups of 12 police recruits will becoming in here. And they'll be searching along both sides of this road.

What they're doing is basically going along here. As you could see, this is a pedestrian path, a jogging path. And they say one of the reasons they're searching along here, is that it is about two miles north of Chandra Levy's apartment.

They've already searched an area that she had brought up on her computer screen near Klingle mansion in Rock Creek Park. And now what they are going to do is they are going to be searching all the way along towards the apartment building. And the police said, though, what they their concern is in the delay by the rain is it becomes very dangerous for the recruits to search, very difficult to walk here.

PHILLIPS: All right, Eileen O'Connor, thank you so much. We'll check in if anything develops.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com