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American Morning

Police Without Clues in Search for Chandra Levy

Aired July 20, 2001 - 10:19   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: The police chief in charge of the investigation concedes that really don't have any meaningful answers or clues as the whereabouts of Chandra Levy. CNN has also learned of a new question: Why did Congressman Gary Condit reportedly dump a watch case just hours before the police searched his apartment?

For the latest, and perhaps an answer to that, let's bring in our national correspondent Bob Franken.

Bob, what's the deal with the watch case?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, first of all, Congressman Gary Condit has just left his apartment. He is followed every chance the news cameras get. He's the focus of much coverage because of his relationship with Chandra Levy, who disappeared 81 days ago. You heard him say good morning there; that's about all he says to news reporters as he walks past their cameras.

But police sources tell us that about 10 days ago, when his apartment was about to be searched -- four hours before it was searched -- Condit was spotted by somebody who recognized him on television, in Alexandria, Virginia, a Washington suburb, dropping something into a garbage can -- four hours before the scenes you see right here. Somebody spotted him. The police were called. They retrieved it. It was a watch case, and they ultimately determined that it belonged to a woman who lives in California who had given it to him as a gift. It had nothing to do directly with Chandra Levy.

Police repeatedly say that even with that incident, they have no reason to believe that he had any connection to the disappearance of Chandra Levy. They've been interested in him, of course, because of the relationship that he had with Chandra Levy.

Meanwhile, the search for the missing Washington former intern goes on. For the fifth day, police officers continue to look in woodlands around Washington, particularly Rock Creek Park. You see the recruits from the police academy getting out of their buses and assembling as they march to look through the woods, in the underbrush, looking for anything that might lead to Chandra Levy.

Once again, this morning, there was another sighting of a bone. Of course, there are any number of animal bones out there, and any number of times, they have spotted. The evidence teams move in, even though they realize they probably are the animal bones. They pick them up and analyze them. Thus far, there has been nothing which has lead to any information about Chandra Levy.

As a matter of fact, as the police chief says, there's really nothing which has given them any information that will lead to the whereabouts of Chanda Levy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: We still don't have a hard lead. We still don't have anything that causes to focus our investigation on one of the main possibilities that are still open to us. So right now, we're still wondering what happened to Chandra Levy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: The police are trying everything they can. It could be today or Monday when they release more of the information about Chandra Levy's activities on her laptop computer in her apartment, the last time she's accounted for.

And one other note, Daryn. It has to do with the House Ethics Committee. Representative Bob Barr, Atlanta congressman, had asked that the ethics committee take up an investigation into Congressman Condit. That committee, as it usually does, says no, not as long as police investigation is under way -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Bob, you reported yesterday that the FBI was transferring this case to a different division, more of a long-range division. You have to wonder how long before Washington, D.C. Metro Police do the same.

FRANKEN: The Washington police say that, for the moment, they are going to continue, but the chief is beginning to say it could end up that this is one of those missing person cases that is never solved.

KAGAN: Could be.

Bob Franken, in Washington, thank you so much.

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