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American Morning

Missing Mom-to-Be

Aired December 31, 2002 - 09:16   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: Well, Christmas Eve, Laci Peterson left her home to go out and walk her dog. The dog came home, and Laci did not, and police are following up some 500 tips. So far, though, no strong lead to the disappearance of the California woman who was eight months pregnant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DET. DOUG RIDENOUR, MODESTO, CA. POLICE: We're trying to do an extensive search of not just Stanislaw (ph) County, but any other possible areas that we may see something disturbed or whatever. We want to check those aqueducts. We want to check the waterflows to the wetlands, and that's what we started two days ago, and we're trying to finish that up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Ron Grantski is Laci Peterson's stepfather. He joins us now from Modesto to talk some more about this case.

Good morning, sir. Thank you very much for talking with us today about this very difficult case and difficult situation your family finds itself in.

Let me start, first of all, by asking you about what the authorities are telling you this morning. Are they running out of places to look right now?

RON GRANTSKI, LACI PETERSON'S STEPFATHER: Actually, no. One think about the Modesto area, there's all kinds of places around the city to look. There's orchards, and vineyards, and streams and rivers all around, along with, you know, farms, and barns and sheds. So, no,. they're looking everywhere.

HARRIS: With that many different places to look, then, how does that -- what does that make your family think about and go through at an hour like this?

GRANTSKI: Well, it's hard to sleep. We're constantly on edge, but it also gives us something to do, because our family are band together, and we split up parts of the town and city and counties, and we go search, along with all of the friends in the area, and strangers who have driven in, I can't believe it, from other towns and cities.

HARRIS: That's got to be comforting to see strangers come in and pitch in. What exactly are you -- I don't know how to ask you this, because I've got to wonder, what the family must be talking about once the doors are closed and everyone does go away, at this particular point, have you gotten to a point where the optimism level has started to decrease, or are you holding steady, hanging in there or what?

GRANTSKI: I mean, we're, you know -- we understand that eventually we have to make some kind of a decision. Believe me, we've thought of all that. And we just don't feel that this is the time to get to that stage.

However, we know that the worst could have happened. We don't want to think about that, but we're not naive. We know what could have happened. And we're just hoping that if the worst has happened, that at least we'll get some kind of closure, that if this person's out there, that he would have a little bit of compassion. I know he hasn't shown it yet, but hopefully, he will.

HARRIS: At this point, do you believe it was just a total stranger who did this, perhaps, or do you think was someone who actually knew her?

GRANTSKI: You know, that's the hard part. I mean, anybody that knows Laci loves her, and I just can't -- so that's -- I mean, I can't understand that. We're thinking -- we're trying to think if there was, I don't know, somebody stalking her, I don't know. I really don't know. We're going to regroup, do a couple of things, the family. This town, as I said, it bands together. We get calls from friends, and their friends and their friends' friends. We're going to find out something.

HARRIS: Further evidence of your town banding together. I understand someone has come in and stepped up and raised the reward money, chipped in another $375,000, raising the reward now up to half a million dollars. That's going to, no doubt, going give someone at least an idea, or at left an incentive to start looking more closely at things happening around them.

But I want to ask about this report I've seen about a search warrant for the warehouse used by Scott, Laci's husband. Do you know anything more about a search of that warehouse, and whether or not this is in indication that police may be looking at him? What do you know about that?

GRANTSKI: No, you know, this is all pretty much standard procedure. Here again, we have to be realistic. That that sort of thing, I believe, happens to anybody, in any kind of a crime. You always check the husband out. They talked to me and Sharon, and it goes on down the line. It's just trying to see if there's anything we overlooked or missed. That's -- to be honest with you, Scott and all of us are glad they're doing it.

HARRIS: That's good to hear, then.

Mr. Grantski, finally this morning, do you have a memory of Laci you would like to share this morning? I hear she was pregnant for the first time and the family had been waiting for that for a long time?

GRANTSKI: Yes. There's too many memories, and every time I think of one -- no, I can't talk about it right now.

HARRIS: I understand. I understand. Ron Grantski, thank you very much for the time. We appreciate the difficulty your family is going through. We wish you the very best. And somehow, some way, please, find a way to have a happy New Year.

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 December 31, 2002 - 09:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Christmas Eve, Laci Peterson left her home to go out and walk her dog. The dog came home, and Laci did not, and police are following up some 500 tips. So far, though, no strong lead to the disappearance of the California woman who was eight months pregnant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DET. DOUG RIDENOUR, MODESTO, CA. POLICE: We're trying to do an extensive search of not just Stanislaw (ph) County, but any other possible areas that we may see something disturbed or whatever. We want to check those aqueducts. We want to check the waterflows to the wetlands, and that's what we started two days ago, and we're trying to finish that up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Ron Grantski is Laci Peterson's stepfather. He joins us now from Modesto to talk some more about this case.

Good morning, sir. Thank you very much for talking with us today about this very difficult case and difficult situation your family finds itself in.

Let me start, first of all, by asking you about what the authorities are telling you this morning. Are they running out of places to look right now?

RON GRANTSKI, LACI PETERSON'S STEPFATHER: Actually, no. One think about the Modesto area, there's all kinds of places around the city to look. There's orchards, and vineyards, and streams and rivers all around, along with, you know, farms, and barns and sheds. So, no,. they're looking everywhere.

HARRIS: With that many different places to look, then, how does that -- what does that make your family think about and go through at an hour like this?

GRANTSKI: Well, it's hard to sleep. We're constantly on edge, but it also gives us something to do, because our family are band together, and we split up parts of the town and city and counties, and we go search, along with all of the friends in the area, and strangers who have driven in, I can't believe it, from other towns and cities.

HARRIS: That's got to be comforting to see strangers come in and pitch in. What exactly are you -- I don't know how to ask you this, because I've got to wonder, what the family must be talking about once the doors are closed and everyone does go away, at this particular point, have you gotten to a point where the optimism level has started to decrease, or are you holding steady, hanging in there or what?

GRANTSKI: I mean, we're, you know -- we understand that eventually we have to make some kind of a decision. Believe me, we've thought of all that. And we just don't feel that this is the time to get to that stage.

However, we know that the worst could have happened. We don't want to think about that, but we're not naive. We know what could have happened. And we're just hoping that if the worst has happened, that at least we'll get some kind of closure, that if this person's out there, that he would have a little bit of compassion. I know he hasn't shown it yet, but hopefully, he will.

HARRIS: At this point, do you believe it was just a total stranger who did this, perhaps, or do you think was someone who actually knew her?

GRANTSKI: You know, that's the hard part. I mean, anybody that knows Laci loves her, and I just can't -- so that's -- I mean, I can't understand that. We're thinking -- we're trying to think if there was, I don't know, somebody stalking her, I don't know. I really don't know. We're going to regroup, do a couple of things, the family. This town, as I said, it bands together. We get calls from friends, and their friends and their friends' friends. We're going to find out something.

HARRIS: Further evidence of your town banding together. I understand someone has come in and stepped up and raised the reward money, chipped in another $375,000, raising the reward now up to half a million dollars. That's going to, no doubt, going give someone at least an idea, or at left an incentive to start looking more closely at things happening around them.

But I want to ask about this report I've seen about a search warrant for the warehouse used by Scott, Laci's husband. Do you know anything more about a search of that warehouse, and whether or not this is in indication that police may be looking at him? What do you know about that?

GRANTSKI: No, you know, this is all pretty much standard procedure. Here again, we have to be realistic. That that sort of thing, I believe, happens to anybody, in any kind of a crime. You always check the husband out. They talked to me and Sharon, and it goes on down the line. It's just trying to see if there's anything we overlooked or missed. That's -- to be honest with you, Scott and all of us are glad they're doing it.

HARRIS: That's good to hear, then.

Mr. Grantski, finally this morning, do you have a memory of Laci you would like to share this morning? I hear she was pregnant for the first time and the family had been waiting for that for a long time?

GRANTSKI: Yes. There's too many memories, and every time I think of one -- no, I can't talk about it right now.

HARRIS: I understand. I understand. Ron Grantski, thank you very much for the time. We appreciate the difficulty your family is going through. We wish you the very best. And somehow, some way, please, find a way to have a happy New Year.

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