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American Morning

Philadelphia Girl Escapes Captors

Aired July 24, 2002 - 07:02   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: "Up Front" this morning, another young girl is grabbed from outside her home, but this time, the girl somehow manages a heroic escape, and is now safe at home less than 24 hours later.

Jason Carroll is standing by in Philadelphia. He has the story.

Good morning -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you (AUDIO GAP).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Erica Pratt had been missing for almost 24 hours. It felt like an eternity to her family, who late Tuesday night, finally got the news they had been praying for. Erica had been found, alive.

SERINA GILLIS, ERICA'S MOTHER: She is safe. That's all we're worrying about. She's home!

INSP. WILLIAM COLARULO, PHILADELPHIA POLICE INSPECTOR: She has a -- maybe a little bit of a bloodshot eye, and she has duct tape wrapped around her head.

CARROLL: Erica was abducted Monday night when she was walking home with her friend. Erica is 7, her friend just 5.

Police say two men pulled up in a white car with tinted windows. One of them jumped out and grabbed Erica. Twenty minutes later, her family received a call for $150,000 ransom. Police put the word out, and based on information they received from Erica's neighborhood, they released the pictures of two men who they want to question: Edward Johnson and James Burns.

Less than two hours after their names were released, a 911 call from north Philadelphia, several boys heard a young girl screaming in the basement of an abandoned building. Inside, they found Erica.

INSP. ROBERT DAVIS, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: She kicked the panel of the door and was able to get it open and get out of the basement. She then worked her way across the first floor to the front of the building, and was able to break the front window and yell for some help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Everyone here in Erica's neighborhood, Paula, talking about how brave this little girl is, talking about how committed she was to escaping, because when she was kept in that abandoned home in the north side of Philadelphia, she was actually bound by duct tape. Police saying that she actually gnawed her way through some of that duct tape, so she could escape.

An incredibly brave little girl, who is finally back home where she belongs -- Paula.

ZAHN: A smart little girl, too. Wow! Thanks, Jason.

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