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American Morning
Two Cases of Young Girls Attacked at Separate Department Stores
Aired July 16, 2003 - 08:24 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In other news, there are now two cases of young girls who say they were attacked at separate department stores. Surveillance cameras at a busy West Virginia Target store recorded a man who is suspected of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl on Saturday. Police are looking for a link to a similar incident a day earlier and about an hour's drive away at a Wal-Mart store in Kentucky.
So, is it a case of a serial stalker?
Sergeant Robert Yeager is with the South Charleston, West Virginia Police Department and joins us this morning.
Sergeant, thanks for joining us and good morning.
SGT. ROBERT YEAGER, SOUTH CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thank you for having me.
O'BRIEN: I've read that you've gotten over 100 tips. Have any of them panned out or do they seem like they're useful to you?
YEAGER: We're still following up on them. The more we get, the better the chance of finding this subject. So we're still looking into all of them.
O'BRIEN: As we mentioned, you're now looking at links to a second incident at a Wal-Mart store in Kentucky that took place a day earlier, about an hour's drive away from the Target store.
What evidence do you have that makes you think they're linked?
YEAGER: Mainly the way in which the subject approached the young girls and also the physical description given by both the victims. They're very similar.
O'BRIEN: Is there physical evidence in the case in Kentucky?
YEAGER: I don't know that. I don't have that information.
O'BRIEN: Both girls are fairly young. Have they been able to be helpful in the investigation? Are they providing a good description of the suspect?
YEAGER: I can't comment on the Ashland case, but I can tell you our victim is very cooperative and was able to provide an excellent description of the subject. O'BRIEN: NASA has now been called in to make the pictures that we're seeing now, this sort of grainy videotape, make it look a little more clear, maybe enlarge it, as well, so you can get a better look at the suspect. How long to you expect it will be before there's a better picture?
YEAGER: We hope to have something later in the day.
O'BRIEN: In addition, you're looking at videotape from cameras that were on the outside of the store. My understanding is that the Target store did not have a functioning camera outside, but there were some other stores around that may have.
Have you been able to get any good information from the stores surrounding the Target store? I would imagine you're looking for, you know, a shot of the suspect running out of the store.
YEAGER: We haven't been able to locate anything yet, but there are still more tapes to go through. There was a huge amount of tape to view.
O'BRIEN: Do you think, in your mind, that the store dropped the ball, that an attack that could happen with lots of shoppers in the area in one of the departments of the store was sort of the fault of the security or the management within that Target store?
YEAGER: No, I can't blame the store for what happened. I really can't comment on their policies. I don't know what their policies are. I can tell you that as far as their surveillance goes, that store's surveillance system is top notch.
O'BRIEN: Are you working closely with the folks in Kentucky to see if you can solve maybe these cases simultaneously?
YEAGER: Yes, we are. We're working very closely. We're in contact with them almost constantly.
O'BRIEN: All right, well, good luck to you in cracking this case and thanks for your time this morning.
Sergeant Robert Yeager joining us from the South Charleston, West Virginia Police Department.
YEAGER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Stores>
Aired July 16, 2003 - 08:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In other news, there are now two cases of young girls who say they were attacked at separate department stores. Surveillance cameras at a busy West Virginia Target store recorded a man who is suspected of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl on Saturday. Police are looking for a link to a similar incident a day earlier and about an hour's drive away at a Wal-Mart store in Kentucky.
So, is it a case of a serial stalker?
Sergeant Robert Yeager is with the South Charleston, West Virginia Police Department and joins us this morning.
Sergeant, thanks for joining us and good morning.
SGT. ROBERT YEAGER, SOUTH CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thank you for having me.
O'BRIEN: I've read that you've gotten over 100 tips. Have any of them panned out or do they seem like they're useful to you?
YEAGER: We're still following up on them. The more we get, the better the chance of finding this subject. So we're still looking into all of them.
O'BRIEN: As we mentioned, you're now looking at links to a second incident at a Wal-Mart store in Kentucky that took place a day earlier, about an hour's drive away from the Target store.
What evidence do you have that makes you think they're linked?
YEAGER: Mainly the way in which the subject approached the young girls and also the physical description given by both the victims. They're very similar.
O'BRIEN: Is there physical evidence in the case in Kentucky?
YEAGER: I don't know that. I don't have that information.
O'BRIEN: Both girls are fairly young. Have they been able to be helpful in the investigation? Are they providing a good description of the suspect?
YEAGER: I can't comment on the Ashland case, but I can tell you our victim is very cooperative and was able to provide an excellent description of the subject. O'BRIEN: NASA has now been called in to make the pictures that we're seeing now, this sort of grainy videotape, make it look a little more clear, maybe enlarge it, as well, so you can get a better look at the suspect. How long to you expect it will be before there's a better picture?
YEAGER: We hope to have something later in the day.
O'BRIEN: In addition, you're looking at videotape from cameras that were on the outside of the store. My understanding is that the Target store did not have a functioning camera outside, but there were some other stores around that may have.
Have you been able to get any good information from the stores surrounding the Target store? I would imagine you're looking for, you know, a shot of the suspect running out of the store.
YEAGER: We haven't been able to locate anything yet, but there are still more tapes to go through. There was a huge amount of tape to view.
O'BRIEN: Do you think, in your mind, that the store dropped the ball, that an attack that could happen with lots of shoppers in the area in one of the departments of the store was sort of the fault of the security or the management within that Target store?
YEAGER: No, I can't blame the store for what happened. I really can't comment on their policies. I don't know what their policies are. I can tell you that as far as their surveillance goes, that store's surveillance system is top notch.
O'BRIEN: Are you working closely with the folks in Kentucky to see if you can solve maybe these cases simultaneously?
YEAGER: Yes, we are. We're working very closely. We're in contact with them almost constantly.
O'BRIEN: All right, well, good luck to you in cracking this case and thanks for your time this morning.
Sergeant Robert Yeager joining us from the South Charleston, West Virginia Police Department.
YEAGER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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