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American Morning

Police Investigating Disappearance of Patrick Dennehy

Aired July 01, 2003 - 08:06   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Police investigating the disappearance of Patrick Dennehy are now looking at the possibility that he was killed by one of his teammates. The teammate is from Hurloch, Maryland.
Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, is there this morning -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

And the teammate's name is Carlton Dotson. He has not been heard from, in public at least, for several days. This is his hometown and the information is contained in a request for a search warrant in Waco, Texas, where, of course, Baylor University is, and -- which is the last place that Patrick Dennehy was seen. He, of course, was a center on the Baylor team. It would have been the upcoming team.

In any case, Carlton Dotson was a teammate and a friend and this gets a bit convoluted, so we have to point out that Carlton Dotson has not been charged, has not been named as a suspect.

However, in this request for a search warrant, the officer in Waco cites a policemen in Sieberg, Delaware, which is not far from here. That policeman in Delaware quotes an informant who says he talked to a person who talked to Carlton Dotson's cousin. Carlton Dotson's cousin, according to this chain of information, is supposed to have heard from Dotson that he shot Dennehy while they were out shooting in a friendly get together that turned into an argument.

According to the search warrant request, the man, Patrick Dennehy, who has not been seen, turned his weapon on Dotson and Dotson fired his, hitting him in the head.

Again, this is the version that comes through a variety of filters to police.

Nevertheless, it was enough information for the police in McClendon County, Texas, Waco -- which, by the way, is about 1,500 miles from here -- to request a search warrant. They wanted to look at Dennehy's computer. It is not clear why.

One other thing, Dennehy's car, a 1996 SUV, was found in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Meanwhile, Dotson was reported to have driven up here and, again, according to this group of informants, was to have discarded the weapons along the way. No comment from Dotson. CNN has made several requests to talk to him. No comment whatsoever. The police say they're not even sure that he is in town. Dotson grew up here. He played basketball here on a state championship team then went to a Paris, Texas junior college and transferred to Baylor last year.

He played for the team, but was not expected to return. This is a case that is really shrouded in mystery, but the authorities in Waco have said they're looking at the possibility that teammates were involved in the disappearance of Dennehy, who, by the way, has not been found -- Heidi.

COLLINS: This is an extremely complicated story, at least at this point, Bob.

I'm just wondering, what do police think of the relationship between Carlton Dotson and this cousin? I mean how much stock do they put in that -- in the credibility of that person?

FRANKEN: About the only thing that we've been able to discern from the police reports is that the policeman in Delaware has a high degree of trust in the informant. But remember now, this informant is hearing information from somebody who heard information from somebody. But it is the kind of thing when you're investigating a situation like this, particularly one of some prominence, every lead, no matter how thin it might be, needs to be followed.

COLLINS: This is certainly true.

Bob Franken, thanks so much, from Maryland this morning.

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 July 1, 2003 - 08:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Police investigating the disappearance of Patrick Dennehy are now looking at the possibility that he was killed by one of his teammates. The teammate is from Hurloch, Maryland.
Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, is there this morning -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

And the teammate's name is Carlton Dotson. He has not been heard from, in public at least, for several days. This is his hometown and the information is contained in a request for a search warrant in Waco, Texas, where, of course, Baylor University is, and -- which is the last place that Patrick Dennehy was seen. He, of course, was a center on the Baylor team. It would have been the upcoming team.

In any case, Carlton Dotson was a teammate and a friend and this gets a bit convoluted, so we have to point out that Carlton Dotson has not been charged, has not been named as a suspect.

However, in this request for a search warrant, the officer in Waco cites a policemen in Sieberg, Delaware, which is not far from here. That policeman in Delaware quotes an informant who says he talked to a person who talked to Carlton Dotson's cousin. Carlton Dotson's cousin, according to this chain of information, is supposed to have heard from Dotson that he shot Dennehy while they were out shooting in a friendly get together that turned into an argument.

According to the search warrant request, the man, Patrick Dennehy, who has not been seen, turned his weapon on Dotson and Dotson fired his, hitting him in the head.

Again, this is the version that comes through a variety of filters to police.

Nevertheless, it was enough information for the police in McClendon County, Texas, Waco -- which, by the way, is about 1,500 miles from here -- to request a search warrant. They wanted to look at Dennehy's computer. It is not clear why.

One other thing, Dennehy's car, a 1996 SUV, was found in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Meanwhile, Dotson was reported to have driven up here and, again, according to this group of informants, was to have discarded the weapons along the way. No comment from Dotson. CNN has made several requests to talk to him. No comment whatsoever. The police say they're not even sure that he is in town. Dotson grew up here. He played basketball here on a state championship team then went to a Paris, Texas junior college and transferred to Baylor last year.

He played for the team, but was not expected to return. This is a case that is really shrouded in mystery, but the authorities in Waco have said they're looking at the possibility that teammates were involved in the disappearance of Dennehy, who, by the way, has not been found -- Heidi.

COLLINS: This is an extremely complicated story, at least at this point, Bob.

I'm just wondering, what do police think of the relationship between Carlton Dotson and this cousin? I mean how much stock do they put in that -- in the credibility of that person?

FRANKEN: About the only thing that we've been able to discern from the police reports is that the policeman in Delaware has a high degree of trust in the informant. But remember now, this informant is hearing information from somebody who heard information from somebody. But it is the kind of thing when you're investigating a situation like this, particularly one of some prominence, every lead, no matter how thin it might be, needs to be followed.

COLLINS: This is certainly true.

Bob Franken, thanks so much, from Maryland this morning.

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