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American Morning

Two Small Children Pulled From Pond in Orlando Area Yesterday

Aired September 15, 2003 - 07:34   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: Now to a disturbing mystery. Police are investigating it in Florida this morning. Two small children were pulled from a pond in the Orlando area yesterday. A little girl about one to two years old was pronounced dead at the scene. The other, a little boy believed to be about five years old, is now in critical condition. So far no one has reported these children missing.
Joining us from the Maitland Police Department in Florida, Deputy Chief Gary Calhoun.

Chief Calhoun, good morning.

Nice to have you.

Thanks for joining us.

DEP. CHIEF GARY CALHOUN, MAITLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good morning.

Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about the children. This little boy, I know when he was pulled out, was able to say "Randall" when asked his name. Are you any more clear on whether Randall is his first name, his last name? And have you gotten any more information about this little boy?

CALHOUN: No, really not for sure at this point. We've had a couple of different leads overnight, where we had some individuals named Randall. We had some kids that matched the description very, very closely. We thought we had some good solid leads on who the family was, but then actually those kids turned out to be safe.

O'BRIEN: So then let's talk a little bit about the investigation. I know you're talking to witnesses, eyewitnesses. Have they been able to tell you anything? This is such a bizarre case because no one has reported these kids missing.

CALHOUN: Right. That's what's been a real quandary for the investigators is not having that solid lead to follow up on, not even knowing who these children are or if they're from our area or from anywhere else in the country.

O'BRIEN: So eyewitnesses, there were some in the area. What have they been able to tell you? And there were some reports of an adult swimming in the water. Any sense that maybe he's linked to the kids?

CALHOUN: Well, we don't really know. There was a report that an adult may have been seen swimming in the water shortly before the sirens came for the rescue crew. That's what the divers -- that's one of the things the divers are looking for now, is to see if they can find -- if there is another victim out there or not.

O'BRIEN: So what's the theory that you're operating under at this point? The little girl's death has been called suspicious. Are you ready to go forward and say it's a homicide?

CALHOUN: No, we're really not at this point. We don't have any conclusive evidence that says that it's a homicide. It's suspicious because of the circumstances and because of the fact that, of course, we haven't had anybody reported missing yet, which makes it awfully odd, as well.

O'BRIEN: And, of course, when you say the circumstances, I mean we're looking at pictures of what looks to be a very large and pretty lake. But it's in an office park. So was there an expectation that some children, maybe the children walked over from the residences nearby? How close are residences to this pond?

CALHOUN: The immediate area is all commercial. There is, a little bit north of us, probably less than a quarter of a mile, there are several apartment complexes. We spent most of the day yesterday canvassing those complexes, seeing if anyone up there was missing any children, as well as showing the picture of the little boy. And that's where some of our leads came from. But, as I said, those have all turned out to be negative so far.

O'BRIEN: When do you think -- and I know this little boy is in critical condition at this point -- but when do you think he'll be in good enough shape, or will he be ever in good enough shape that he'll be able to be interviewed by authorities and maybe provide a little more information?

CALHOUN: Yes, we're really hoping that it's going to be soon. Right now, I just talked to the folks down at the hospital and they said he's still in critical condition. He's still somewhat in a coma state. But that could go either way. He could get worse or he could get much better and come out of it any time now.

O'BRIEN: Gosh, well, we certainly are crossing our fingers and praying that he's OK.

And thanks for joining us, Chief.

We really appreciate your time.

What a bizarre, bizarre case this morning.

Thanks.

CALHOUN: Yes, thank you.

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Yesterday>


Aired September 15, 2003 - 07:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a disturbing mystery. Police are investigating it in Florida this morning. Two small children were pulled from a pond in the Orlando area yesterday. A little girl about one to two years old was pronounced dead at the scene. The other, a little boy believed to be about five years old, is now in critical condition. So far no one has reported these children missing.
Joining us from the Maitland Police Department in Florida, Deputy Chief Gary Calhoun.

Chief Calhoun, good morning.

Nice to have you.

Thanks for joining us.

DEP. CHIEF GARY CALHOUN, MAITLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good morning.

Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about the children. This little boy, I know when he was pulled out, was able to say "Randall" when asked his name. Are you any more clear on whether Randall is his first name, his last name? And have you gotten any more information about this little boy?

CALHOUN: No, really not for sure at this point. We've had a couple of different leads overnight, where we had some individuals named Randall. We had some kids that matched the description very, very closely. We thought we had some good solid leads on who the family was, but then actually those kids turned out to be safe.

O'BRIEN: So then let's talk a little bit about the investigation. I know you're talking to witnesses, eyewitnesses. Have they been able to tell you anything? This is such a bizarre case because no one has reported these kids missing.

CALHOUN: Right. That's what's been a real quandary for the investigators is not having that solid lead to follow up on, not even knowing who these children are or if they're from our area or from anywhere else in the country.

O'BRIEN: So eyewitnesses, there were some in the area. What have they been able to tell you? And there were some reports of an adult swimming in the water. Any sense that maybe he's linked to the kids?

CALHOUN: Well, we don't really know. There was a report that an adult may have been seen swimming in the water shortly before the sirens came for the rescue crew. That's what the divers -- that's one of the things the divers are looking for now, is to see if they can find -- if there is another victim out there or not.

O'BRIEN: So what's the theory that you're operating under at this point? The little girl's death has been called suspicious. Are you ready to go forward and say it's a homicide?

CALHOUN: No, we're really not at this point. We don't have any conclusive evidence that says that it's a homicide. It's suspicious because of the circumstances and because of the fact that, of course, we haven't had anybody reported missing yet, which makes it awfully odd, as well.

O'BRIEN: And, of course, when you say the circumstances, I mean we're looking at pictures of what looks to be a very large and pretty lake. But it's in an office park. So was there an expectation that some children, maybe the children walked over from the residences nearby? How close are residences to this pond?

CALHOUN: The immediate area is all commercial. There is, a little bit north of us, probably less than a quarter of a mile, there are several apartment complexes. We spent most of the day yesterday canvassing those complexes, seeing if anyone up there was missing any children, as well as showing the picture of the little boy. And that's where some of our leads came from. But, as I said, those have all turned out to be negative so far.

O'BRIEN: When do you think -- and I know this little boy is in critical condition at this point -- but when do you think he'll be in good enough shape, or will he be ever in good enough shape that he'll be able to be interviewed by authorities and maybe provide a little more information?

CALHOUN: Yes, we're really hoping that it's going to be soon. Right now, I just talked to the folks down at the hospital and they said he's still in critical condition. He's still somewhat in a coma state. But that could go either way. He could get worse or he could get much better and come out of it any time now.

O'BRIEN: Gosh, well, we certainly are crossing our fingers and praying that he's OK.

And thanks for joining us, Chief.

We really appreciate your time.

What a bizarre, bizarre case this morning.

Thanks.

CALHOUN: Yes, 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




sa

Yesterday>