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American Morning

Missing Boy Mystery

Aired April 30, 2003 - 08:35   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Last night, the FBI questioned a man who abandoned a little boy in a Chicago-area hospital, and this morning, there is new hope that that boy is the same one who disappeared from his North Carolina home about two years ago. Tristen "Buddy" Myers was 4 years old when he was last seen in October of 2000. The boy in Illinois, said to resemble Buddy, and the family now waiting for results of DNA testing to try to determine if he is the boy they have been searching for.
Buddy's great aunt, Donna Myers, is with us today in Roseboro, North Carolina.

Really appreciate your time, Donna. Good morning to you.

DONNA MYERS, BUDDY'S GREAT AUNT: Good morning.

HEMMER: Why do you believe right now this boy in Illinois is Buddy?

MYERS: Well the child looks like him the eyes are the same and his ears, and we understand he has a scar on the side of his neck, his mouth -- everything seems to be pointing it's him.

HEMMER: You say his speech is similar too. What was distinctive about his speech?

MYERS: Well, he was a slow learner in his speech.

HEMMER: And are you hearing the same from this boy that was located in Illinois?

MYERS: I haven't heard him speak.

HEMMER: Tell me about the day Buddy disappeared. What do you remember?

MYERS: It was a nightmare. It started out to be a great day. I had taken him to the doctor, and we come home, had a little lunch. And we were watching Barney tapes and singing along with him, and I had bought him a couple of little wrestling men that day, and so he was laying on the floor playing with them. And he fell asleep on the floor, so I laid down on the coach in the same room where he was in and fell asleep. I was awakened by the phone, and when I opened my eyes up, he was gone.

So I immediately went outside and started calling for him and seeing that he wasn't there. So there were some horses down the road, and I knew how much he loved those horses, because he had rode them before, so I figured maybe that's where he had gone so I immediately went down there looking to see if that was where he was at. And did not find him no place. And I thought maybe he had cut through the woods to get to there. So we went through the woods a little bit, and then I came right straight back and called 911.

HEMMER: Donna, what has about this week been like for you so far, hanging on to hope and optimism?

MYERS: Very hard. Very hard, but I'm just praying this is him.

HEMMER: We understand the DNA testing could take several weeks. What are you hearing on that right now?

MYERS: They're telling me it's going to take four to six weeks.

HEMMER: We were talking with a reporter from a local newspaper last hour here on AMERICAN MORNING. He described to us a three-legged dog who had returned home hours after Buddy had disappeared. Why is that considered so significant, Donna?

MYERS: Well, it wasn't hours after. It was five days after he disappeared. And when he came back, had he no ticks or fleas on him, and his paws did not look like he had been in the woods or anything. It's like somebody was holding the dog. And the dog -- I wish that the little boy could see a picture of the dog, because it might make him remember something, because how does a 4-year-old child forget a 3-legged dog?

HEMMER: Well, listen, we want to thank you for talking with us today. I know it's been a week, as you described, that has been very difficult and very hard, and just want to let you know hang in there, OK? We're pulling for you, and in the next couple of months, or weeks even, as you mention, four to six weeks from now, perhaps you will have an answer definitively on this boy in Illinois.

Donna, thanks. Donna Myers there in Roseboro, North Carolina.

MYERS: Thank you.

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 April 30, 2003 - 08:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Last night, the FBI questioned a man who abandoned a little boy in a Chicago-area hospital, and this morning, there is new hope that that boy is the same one who disappeared from his North Carolina home about two years ago. Tristen "Buddy" Myers was 4 years old when he was last seen in October of 2000. The boy in Illinois, said to resemble Buddy, and the family now waiting for results of DNA testing to try to determine if he is the boy they have been searching for.
Buddy's great aunt, Donna Myers, is with us today in Roseboro, North Carolina.

Really appreciate your time, Donna. Good morning to you.

DONNA MYERS, BUDDY'S GREAT AUNT: Good morning.

HEMMER: Why do you believe right now this boy in Illinois is Buddy?

MYERS: Well the child looks like him the eyes are the same and his ears, and we understand he has a scar on the side of his neck, his mouth -- everything seems to be pointing it's him.

HEMMER: You say his speech is similar too. What was distinctive about his speech?

MYERS: Well, he was a slow learner in his speech.

HEMMER: And are you hearing the same from this boy that was located in Illinois?

MYERS: I haven't heard him speak.

HEMMER: Tell me about the day Buddy disappeared. What do you remember?

MYERS: It was a nightmare. It started out to be a great day. I had taken him to the doctor, and we come home, had a little lunch. And we were watching Barney tapes and singing along with him, and I had bought him a couple of little wrestling men that day, and so he was laying on the floor playing with them. And he fell asleep on the floor, so I laid down on the coach in the same room where he was in and fell asleep. I was awakened by the phone, and when I opened my eyes up, he was gone.

So I immediately went outside and started calling for him and seeing that he wasn't there. So there were some horses down the road, and I knew how much he loved those horses, because he had rode them before, so I figured maybe that's where he had gone so I immediately went down there looking to see if that was where he was at. And did not find him no place. And I thought maybe he had cut through the woods to get to there. So we went through the woods a little bit, and then I came right straight back and called 911.

HEMMER: Donna, what has about this week been like for you so far, hanging on to hope and optimism?

MYERS: Very hard. Very hard, but I'm just praying this is him.

HEMMER: We understand the DNA testing could take several weeks. What are you hearing on that right now?

MYERS: They're telling me it's going to take four to six weeks.

HEMMER: We were talking with a reporter from a local newspaper last hour here on AMERICAN MORNING. He described to us a three-legged dog who had returned home hours after Buddy had disappeared. Why is that considered so significant, Donna?

MYERS: Well, it wasn't hours after. It was five days after he disappeared. And when he came back, had he no ticks or fleas on him, and his paws did not look like he had been in the woods or anything. It's like somebody was holding the dog. And the dog -- I wish that the little boy could see a picture of the dog, because it might make him remember something, because how does a 4-year-old child forget a 3-legged dog?

HEMMER: Well, listen, we want to thank you for talking with us today. I know it's been a week, as you described, that has been very difficult and very hard, and just want to let you know hang in there, OK? We're pulling for you, and in the next couple of months, or weeks even, as you mention, four to six weeks from now, perhaps you will have an answer definitively on this boy in Illinois.

Donna, thanks. Donna Myers there in Roseboro, North Carolina.

MYERS: Thank you.

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