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American Morning

Another Bloody Day in Iraq; Convicted Sexual Predator on the Run in Florida

Aired May 06, 2005 - 07:00   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: Good morning. It's another day, another bloody day in Iraq. A suicide bomber striking a bus filled with Iraqi police officers, and the violence does not end there. This hour, President Bush getting ready for a five-day, four country trip to Europe that could have him walking a diplomatic tightrope with Russia.
And a convicted sexual predator on the run in Florida. The ankle bracelet they used to track him has been removed. Police fear he could strike again, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome everybody.

Also ahead this morning, the very latest on the investigation into those two small explosions here in New York City on Thursday. Today, they're trying to enhance surveillance videotapes in their search for clues and also their search of course for possible suspects.

HEMMER: Also, the amazing story of a pilot landing his plane safely after he was shot in the head. There he is live. We'll talk to him in a moment about how he got back down, and also about this police chase that originally he set out to help.

O'BRIEN: It's a bizarre story with, fortunately, a happy ending.

Mr. Cafferty.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- this a group that arguably has way too many brain cells -- is hosting the first ever Time Travelers Convention on campus this weekend. And since it's Friday, we thought we'd ride along.

HEMMER: I like it. Thank you, Jack.

O'BRIEN: They have a good sense of humor at times, too.

CAFFERTY: Oh yes, and so bright that they're way beyond where most of us are, certainly where I am.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. Let's to Iraq, starting off this morning.

Insurgents there targeting again Iraqi police, this time in Tikrit. Also a gruesome find in the Iraqi capital.

To Baghdad now, and Ryan Chilcote starts our coverage from there.

Ryan, hello. What happened?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, we start with the attack on Iraqi security forces. As you said, it did take place in the northern city of Tikrit. A car bomber rammed his car, a suicide car bomber, rammed his car into a bus full of Iraqi policemen on their way to work, killing seven of them, wounding three others.

And in a separate incident here in the Iraqi capital, the bodies of 14 Iraqi men were found, all of them appear to have been shot execution style. All of this happening as the pressure mounts on the prime minister to complete the formation of the government here and name a defense minister. An aide to the prime minister says we should expect that to happen tomorrow. But, Bill, we've heard that before.

Back to you.

HEMMER: It is an active day again.

Ryan Chilcote, thanks in Baghdad.

Also the Army has demoted the only general to be punished in the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal. President Bush Thursday approved the demotion of Army Reserve General Janis Karpinski to the rank of colonel. The Pentagon investigation concluded that Karpinski guilty of dereliction of duty, but said her inaction did not contribute to the abuse of detainees. The investigation also clearing four other senior officers -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: This morning, President Bush is off on a whirlwind trip to Europe that's intended to highlight democracy and mark the end of World War II, but it could stir up new tensions with Russia. The president's five-day, four-country trip begins in Latvia, then to the Netherlands. On Sunday, he's going to head to Moscow, where he's going to meet with President Vladimir Putin. And then to Georgia, where Mr. Bush is going to discuss that country's tense relationship with the Putin government.

CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is with us this morning.

Hey, Suzanne, good morning to you.

How big a test is this, diplomatic test for the president?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Of course it's a very big diplomatic test for the president. It's a hectic trip. We're talking about four countries in five days, but a diplomatic dance the president has to do. He's visiting two former soviet Republics, as you know, Latvia and Georgia, to recognize their fledgling democracies. At the same time, of course he is also going to be recognizing the sacrifice of Russians from World War II.

Now, the highlight of the trip, of course, is going to be his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is very important for both leaders. The relationship has become strained in recent days, recent weeks, because of Russia's support for its aspiring nuclear powers, namely Iran, also its weapon sales to Syria, what is seen as some backsliding of democratic reforms from Russia as well. And also, the tense relationship Russia has with its neighbors, those new blossoming democracies. The pictures that we have seen just within the last year or so of those thousands and thousands of people taking to get streets in Latvia, Estonia and Georgia.

This really is going to be a very carefully orchestrated trip, Soledad. Expect to hear the president very vocally talking about the victory over Nazism. But at the same time, the painful history of those Baltic states, when they were swept up by the Soviet Union, the beginning of the Cold War, and of course those democracies that we've seen in the region that have blossomed over the last year or so. He will say it reflects his own vision of spreading democracy around the world -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Of scours we're going to continue to cover the president's trip this morning.

Suzanne, thanks.

President Bush's closest overseas partner in the war on terror, Tony Blair, easily won re-election. The British prime minister and his ruling Labor Party on Thursday won an historic third term in office. The party has never done that before. But Blair's majority in parliament will be reduced by more than half, as voters appeared to punish him about the war in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: I know, too, that Iraq has been a divisive issue in this country. But I hope now that we can unite again and look to the future, there and here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Prime Minister Blair said that despite his party's reduced majority, he still has a mandate to govern.

HEMMER: Just about six minutes past the hour now. Police in Palm Beach County, Florida now searching for a convicted sexual predator who cut off an electronic monitoring device tracking his movements. Both investigators and neighbors concerned today the fugitive from justice could strike again there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't seen anybody that looks like him or anything suspicious about anybody, but it does worry me that he's, you know, close by.

HEMMER (voice-over): Police believe convicted sex offender Patrick Wayne Bell removed his GPS ankle bracelet earlier this week and fled. Bell had served five years in prison for child molestation and was given an early release just last month. After his release, Bell was not allowed to live at his mother's home in Rivera Beach, Florida, because her home was too close to a day care center. The 39- year-old Bell was later kicked out of a motel when the owner learned that Bell was a sexual predator.

ELENA GISSENTANNER, PATRICK BELL'S MOTHER: Patrick was wrong for what he did. The state was wrong for what they did.

HEMMER: Bell's mother claims her fugitive son is also a victim. She says the state failed to secure proper permanent housing, and that faced with the prospect of going back to jail because of it, he ran.

GISSENTANNER: His stipulations was when he get out of prison, he must have a place to go. It was their job to find him somewhere to go. They didn't do that. They didn't do that. They led him to a brick wall.

HEMMER: Worried parents in Florida's Palm Beach County say they're keeping a close eye on their children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a problem where you cut that ankle bracelet off. That's a real big problem. That mean that you're not cooperating with the law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just never know what you're facing when you're one on one with a person like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Larry Woods, a detective with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, is my guest now in Florida.

Detective, good morning to you.

DET. LARRY WOODS, PALM BEACH CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Good morning.

HEMMER: Any leads on where this man is?

WOODS: We've had several leads come in throughout the last few days, looking for this individual. It has led us from here in Palm Beach County all the way up to inside Georgia right now.

HEMMER: Are you any closer to finding him?

WOODS: We're many steps closer to finding him. We're finally having the mother of this predator coming forth and giving us vital information. She finally admitted that she bought a bus ticket for this individual to Tallahassee the day he cut his strap off. We're investigating leads into the area of possibly Georgia, where he has many family and when he was actually committed his sex crime back in '96, he actually fled to Georgia and was eventually extradited back to the state of Florida.

HEMMER: Is it fair to characterize this as you're closing in?

WOODS: I characterize -- yes, I mean, we are closing in on him. He has no money. He has no job. He has family right now that is basically protecting him. The mother told me yesterday that she'd rather see him in jail -- or I'm sorry, out in the public than eating bologna sandwiches again.

HEMMER: His mother is also saying it's the state's job to find him a place to live, that he's been kicked out of so many places, he has nowhere to go. How do you respond to that when his mother says that?

WOODS: Well, its the department of corrections responsibility. They have to find a place for him to stay. He does have conditions of probation he has to follow. He cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school, day care or park. That's one of the main conditions he has.

And when he first went to Rivera Beach, his mother's house was within 1,000 feet of a park -- I'm sorry a day care center, and so they had to move him around to different hotels. And it is tough.

HEMMER: So, detective, does his mother have a point, then?

WOODS: She has point to a point. But she still -- they still have to cooperate with the department of corrections in order for this to be successful. He was released from prison. He has to make sure he's listen to what his conditions are of probation and listen to the department of correction.

HEMMER: Do you how he got this monitoring bracelet off? Did he cut it off? Or do you know?

WOODS: It appears that he cut it off. I don't know exactly what he cut it off with, but he did cut it off.

HEMMER: And how long did it take for you to be notified?

WOODS: It's a matter of a couple minutes, maybe as much time to get a page. When the strap is cut, the Department of Corrections is notified, and they immediately notified me, and the system worked very good.

HEMMER: It's that fast, huh?

WOODS: Yes, it is.

HEMMER: One of your colleagues says he's a threat to society. Do you see him the same way?

WOODS: Well, he's a desperate individual. He's been convicted of crimes in the past that were violent. Like I said, he knows he's going to back to prison if he's caught. Who knows what he is capable of doing right now.

HEMMER: Detective Larry Woods, with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, thank you for your time. We'll follow this throughout the day. Thank you, sir.

WOODS: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, meet a pilot who has was shot in the head while helping police track down a suspect. He's alive. Somehow he managed to land that plane behind him, and he will share his incredible story, too, in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: Also, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks explains her reasons for running away. Her pastor tells us what the future holds for the would-be-bride and would-be groom.

HEMMER: Also a CNN Security Watch today, the latest on those explosions yesterday in New York City. Are there already some promising leads in the case? We'll tell you what police are looking into in a moment, as we continue after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Police asked pilot Mike Spicer to give them a hand last week as they chased an armed fugitive in Clay Center, in Kansas. So he got up into his small plane, took it in the air, but almost didn't come down alive. Mike Spicer joins us with his story this morning.

Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.

MIKE SPICER, PILOT SHOT IN HEAD: It's a pleasure to be here.

O'BRIEN: I bet it is, on many, many levels. You're looking great, and so we know that the story has a very happy ending.

But let's begin at the very beginning. You were brought in by the sheriff. There was a traffic stop, the suspect makes a run for it and the sheriff calls you in. How exactly did you get involved? What did he want you to do?

SPICER: I got a call from the dispatcher. I actually had left the airport, and was at our home, and the sheriff dispatcher called and asked if I could get an aircraft in the air for a manhunt for a suspect that had eluded the sheriff, or run from the sheriff. I drove to the airport to get the airplane out and take off.

When I arrived at the airport and was about to get in the aircraft, a friend of mine who is a first responder and a reserve deputy, Arnie Kinipson (ph), called and said he was available and would be right there to go with me as an observer.

O'BRIEN: And that was a lucky thing, that he was next to you, because in the rest of the story he ends up helping you out. You get in the air and you actually spot the guy. What did you see? What did it look like to you that this guy was doing?

SPICER: Well, we spotted his vehicle first in a ravine that the police couldn't see from the road. We started a grid surveillance to look for the suspect, and I saw what I thought was a feed sack in a wheat field. Arnie was looking at a tree (ph) where as I was flying the aircraft. Came back around and I saw it again, and it looked like it might be a person. I was told the suspect would be wearing a white T-shirt. However, this looked kind of like a yellow feed sack. And we came back during the third time and Arnie verified it was a person face down in a wheat field with his shirt off.

O'BRIEN: And then you got shot. Did you realize the guy had a gun? And how high above you -- how high were you above the suspect?

SPICER: We were several hundred feet, and I thought he probably was hurt because he was face down and not moving. And no, we didn't realize he had a weapon. The sheriff and a couple deputies were at his vehicle. It was about 150 yards away. We advised them where his location was. They could not see him because they were in a low ravine. So they were running up to him as we flew overhead again and turned over his location, and that's what it happened. I heard a loud crack and the bullet entered the right side of the aircraft, through the window, exited right here. That's the hole if you can see it right there, the exit. And my head was, as you can see, was too close.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we can see. But, you know what, turns out you were very lucky, because you were quarter of an inch from being killed by the shot. How did you bring the plane down?

SPICER: Well, I heard the crack. I didn't feel the wound. In an instant, there was massive blood on my head. And I told Arnie, I said, Arnie, I've been hit. Arnie helped grabbed the controls, stabilized the aircraft, while I tried to tend to myself and take care of the blood, and I threw my glasses on the floor so I could see. And I grabbed the corner of my coat and held it up over my head to try to stem the blood flow.

And between Arnie and myself, we were able to get the aircraft turned back around. We were headed directly away from the airport. We were about five miles southeast of where we're standing right now, so we were very close to the airport.

O'BRIEN: We should mention that Arnie not a pilot at all, really just a passenger in this regard. I read that you'd be willing to help the sheriff out again if he called and asked you to get up in the air, look for a suspect. And my question is, now why would you want to do that?

SPICER: We're a small town. That;s part of our community service. That's what we do.

O'BRIEN: How do you feel about your brush with death? And I don't think I'm overstating it there. SPICER: Well, that's true. This is not a life-changing experience for me.

O'BRIEN: It's not?

SPICER: It wasn't my time, and I realize that.

O'BRIEN: Mike Spicer, well, we're glad to see you standing up and talking to us and look being great this morning. Thanks for being with us. We appreciate your story -- Bill.

SPICER: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: He's got to buy a lottery ticket, huh. It is his time now.

Did doctors get duped? Congress is looking into this strategy that Merck used to sell Vioxx. Andy's "Minding Your Business." He has that right after this, on a Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Question about Merck right now. Did it represent the whole truth about the safety of Vioxx? Good question for Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

Good morning, Drew.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Bill.

Congressional hearings over the safety of Merck's Vioxx painkiller giving us an extraordinary look into the business of drug marketing. The Merck sales force operating under projects with the names such as Project Offense and Project Acceleration, these are documents revealed yesterday at congressional hearings. If doctors asked salespeople about the heart risks of -- associated with Vioxx -- this is after 2000, when some of these heart risks were already known -- they were instructed to give these doctors what was called a cardiovascular card that told them that Vioxx was safe; again, even after studies were starting to show it was less safe.

And then in something that I think is, gets sort of absurd, there are more instructions to the sales force about how to behave and how to present themselves to doctors that left lawmakers shaking their head.

When meeting a doctor, for instance, Merck salespeople are instructed to shake the doctor's hand for exactly three seconds one, two -- you get the idea. Also, when dining with a doctor, Merck salespeople were instructed to eat bread, quote, "one small bite size at a time," end quote.

CAFFERTY: And pick up the check.

SERWER: Yes, and pick up the check. That's even more important. Yesterday, Ray Gilmartin, CEO, was pushed aside. And Richard Clark is the new CEO. A lot to chew on.

O'BRIEN: If they prove all this stuff, right, what is the penalty for Merck?

SERWER: Well, that is completely unknown. That is completely unknown. I mean, this is -- I think this really gives fodder to people suing Merck other Vioxx more than anything else.

HEMMER: OK. Shake my hand.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: That's a long time. I thought one second was good.

CAFFERTY: There is a perfect example of wasted time that could have been given to "90-Second Pop," that stuff you're doing with the shaking hands.

O'BRIEN: Will you stop. OK, "90-Second Pop" took time out of your segment.

CAFFERTY: Make it 93-second pop, because it ain't long enough.

O'BRIEN: If you cut back on the complaining, you would save yourself hours every day.

CAFFERTY: That's why I'm here is to complain.

Tomorrow marks the first and only Time Traveler Convention at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These kids are way too smart. Student organizers argue that technically, you only need one Time Travelers Convention since time travelers from the future can travel to it at anytime they want. Think about that over your banana wackies for a minute.

"The New York Times" reports that organizers are asking that these people from the future bring something to prove they're actually ahead of their time, a cure for AIDS or cancer, a solution for global poverty or a cold-fusion reactor. A roped-off area on MIT's campus will be used as a landing pad for time-travel machines so they don't crash into the trees or dormitories.

Here's the question -- can you tell it's Friday?.

SERWER: Oh, yes.

CAFFERTY: If you could travel through time, where would you go?

O'BRIEN: Good question.

SERWER: The Middle Ages.

O'BRIEN: I like that. Intriguing. Thank you very much, Jack. You know what, that was worth the extra time.

HEMMER: Yes. Do you have an answer by the way, Jack, or do we have to wait until 9:59.

CAFFERTY: Maybe the day they liberated Paris. A lot of G.I.s had a lot of fun that day.

HEMMER: Oh, yes.

SERWER: I knew where he was going with that.

O'BRIEN: I knew where he was going with that, too. Thanks, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Well, there is much more AMERICAN MORNING coming right up.

Ahead on "90-Second Pop," it's been a long time coming, we told you Thursday Bruce Springsteen's new album is too hot for Starbucks. Well now the poppers weigh in on the controversy.

Plus, the hottest 25 celebrities under 25. We got a peek at the new list from "Teen People." That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired May 6, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's another day, another bloody day in Iraq. A suicide bomber striking a bus filled with Iraqi police officers, and the violence does not end there. This hour, President Bush getting ready for a five-day, four country trip to Europe that could have him walking a diplomatic tightrope with Russia.
And a convicted sexual predator on the run in Florida. The ankle bracelet they used to track him has been removed. Police fear he could strike again, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome everybody.

Also ahead this morning, the very latest on the investigation into those two small explosions here in New York City on Thursday. Today, they're trying to enhance surveillance videotapes in their search for clues and also their search of course for possible suspects.

HEMMER: Also, the amazing story of a pilot landing his plane safely after he was shot in the head. There he is live. We'll talk to him in a moment about how he got back down, and also about this police chase that originally he set out to help.

O'BRIEN: It's a bizarre story with, fortunately, a happy ending.

Mr. Cafferty.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- this a group that arguably has way too many brain cells -- is hosting the first ever Time Travelers Convention on campus this weekend. And since it's Friday, we thought we'd ride along.

HEMMER: I like it. Thank you, Jack.

O'BRIEN: They have a good sense of humor at times, too.

CAFFERTY: Oh yes, and so bright that they're way beyond where most of us are, certainly where I am.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. Let's to Iraq, starting off this morning.

Insurgents there targeting again Iraqi police, this time in Tikrit. Also a gruesome find in the Iraqi capital.

To Baghdad now, and Ryan Chilcote starts our coverage from there.

Ryan, hello. What happened?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, we start with the attack on Iraqi security forces. As you said, it did take place in the northern city of Tikrit. A car bomber rammed his car, a suicide car bomber, rammed his car into a bus full of Iraqi policemen on their way to work, killing seven of them, wounding three others.

And in a separate incident here in the Iraqi capital, the bodies of 14 Iraqi men were found, all of them appear to have been shot execution style. All of this happening as the pressure mounts on the prime minister to complete the formation of the government here and name a defense minister. An aide to the prime minister says we should expect that to happen tomorrow. But, Bill, we've heard that before.

Back to you.

HEMMER: It is an active day again.

Ryan Chilcote, thanks in Baghdad.

Also the Army has demoted the only general to be punished in the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal. President Bush Thursday approved the demotion of Army Reserve General Janis Karpinski to the rank of colonel. The Pentagon investigation concluded that Karpinski guilty of dereliction of duty, but said her inaction did not contribute to the abuse of detainees. The investigation also clearing four other senior officers -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: This morning, President Bush is off on a whirlwind trip to Europe that's intended to highlight democracy and mark the end of World War II, but it could stir up new tensions with Russia. The president's five-day, four-country trip begins in Latvia, then to the Netherlands. On Sunday, he's going to head to Moscow, where he's going to meet with President Vladimir Putin. And then to Georgia, where Mr. Bush is going to discuss that country's tense relationship with the Putin government.

CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is with us this morning.

Hey, Suzanne, good morning to you.

How big a test is this, diplomatic test for the president?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Of course it's a very big diplomatic test for the president. It's a hectic trip. We're talking about four countries in five days, but a diplomatic dance the president has to do. He's visiting two former soviet Republics, as you know, Latvia and Georgia, to recognize their fledgling democracies. At the same time, of course he is also going to be recognizing the sacrifice of Russians from World War II.

Now, the highlight of the trip, of course, is going to be his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is very important for both leaders. The relationship has become strained in recent days, recent weeks, because of Russia's support for its aspiring nuclear powers, namely Iran, also its weapon sales to Syria, what is seen as some backsliding of democratic reforms from Russia as well. And also, the tense relationship Russia has with its neighbors, those new blossoming democracies. The pictures that we have seen just within the last year or so of those thousands and thousands of people taking to get streets in Latvia, Estonia and Georgia.

This really is going to be a very carefully orchestrated trip, Soledad. Expect to hear the president very vocally talking about the victory over Nazism. But at the same time, the painful history of those Baltic states, when they were swept up by the Soviet Union, the beginning of the Cold War, and of course those democracies that we've seen in the region that have blossomed over the last year or so. He will say it reflects his own vision of spreading democracy around the world -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Of scours we're going to continue to cover the president's trip this morning.

Suzanne, thanks.

President Bush's closest overseas partner in the war on terror, Tony Blair, easily won re-election. The British prime minister and his ruling Labor Party on Thursday won an historic third term in office. The party has never done that before. But Blair's majority in parliament will be reduced by more than half, as voters appeared to punish him about the war in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: I know, too, that Iraq has been a divisive issue in this country. But I hope now that we can unite again and look to the future, there and here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Prime Minister Blair said that despite his party's reduced majority, he still has a mandate to govern.

HEMMER: Just about six minutes past the hour now. Police in Palm Beach County, Florida now searching for a convicted sexual predator who cut off an electronic monitoring device tracking his movements. Both investigators and neighbors concerned today the fugitive from justice could strike again there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't seen anybody that looks like him or anything suspicious about anybody, but it does worry me that he's, you know, close by.

HEMMER (voice-over): Police believe convicted sex offender Patrick Wayne Bell removed his GPS ankle bracelet earlier this week and fled. Bell had served five years in prison for child molestation and was given an early release just last month. After his release, Bell was not allowed to live at his mother's home in Rivera Beach, Florida, because her home was too close to a day care center. The 39- year-old Bell was later kicked out of a motel when the owner learned that Bell was a sexual predator.

ELENA GISSENTANNER, PATRICK BELL'S MOTHER: Patrick was wrong for what he did. The state was wrong for what they did.

HEMMER: Bell's mother claims her fugitive son is also a victim. She says the state failed to secure proper permanent housing, and that faced with the prospect of going back to jail because of it, he ran.

GISSENTANNER: His stipulations was when he get out of prison, he must have a place to go. It was their job to find him somewhere to go. They didn't do that. They didn't do that. They led him to a brick wall.

HEMMER: Worried parents in Florida's Palm Beach County say they're keeping a close eye on their children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a problem where you cut that ankle bracelet off. That's a real big problem. That mean that you're not cooperating with the law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just never know what you're facing when you're one on one with a person like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Larry Woods, a detective with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, is my guest now in Florida.

Detective, good morning to you.

DET. LARRY WOODS, PALM BEACH CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Good morning.

HEMMER: Any leads on where this man is?

WOODS: We've had several leads come in throughout the last few days, looking for this individual. It has led us from here in Palm Beach County all the way up to inside Georgia right now.

HEMMER: Are you any closer to finding him?

WOODS: We're many steps closer to finding him. We're finally having the mother of this predator coming forth and giving us vital information. She finally admitted that she bought a bus ticket for this individual to Tallahassee the day he cut his strap off. We're investigating leads into the area of possibly Georgia, where he has many family and when he was actually committed his sex crime back in '96, he actually fled to Georgia and was eventually extradited back to the state of Florida.

HEMMER: Is it fair to characterize this as you're closing in?

WOODS: I characterize -- yes, I mean, we are closing in on him. He has no money. He has no job. He has family right now that is basically protecting him. The mother told me yesterday that she'd rather see him in jail -- or I'm sorry, out in the public than eating bologna sandwiches again.

HEMMER: His mother is also saying it's the state's job to find him a place to live, that he's been kicked out of so many places, he has nowhere to go. How do you respond to that when his mother says that?

WOODS: Well, its the department of corrections responsibility. They have to find a place for him to stay. He does have conditions of probation he has to follow. He cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school, day care or park. That's one of the main conditions he has.

And when he first went to Rivera Beach, his mother's house was within 1,000 feet of a park -- I'm sorry a day care center, and so they had to move him around to different hotels. And it is tough.

HEMMER: So, detective, does his mother have a point, then?

WOODS: She has point to a point. But she still -- they still have to cooperate with the department of corrections in order for this to be successful. He was released from prison. He has to make sure he's listen to what his conditions are of probation and listen to the department of correction.

HEMMER: Do you how he got this monitoring bracelet off? Did he cut it off? Or do you know?

WOODS: It appears that he cut it off. I don't know exactly what he cut it off with, but he did cut it off.

HEMMER: And how long did it take for you to be notified?

WOODS: It's a matter of a couple minutes, maybe as much time to get a page. When the strap is cut, the Department of Corrections is notified, and they immediately notified me, and the system worked very good.

HEMMER: It's that fast, huh?

WOODS: Yes, it is.

HEMMER: One of your colleagues says he's a threat to society. Do you see him the same way?

WOODS: Well, he's a desperate individual. He's been convicted of crimes in the past that were violent. Like I said, he knows he's going to back to prison if he's caught. Who knows what he is capable of doing right now.

HEMMER: Detective Larry Woods, with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, thank you for your time. We'll follow this throughout the day. Thank you, sir.

WOODS: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, meet a pilot who has was shot in the head while helping police track down a suspect. He's alive. Somehow he managed to land that plane behind him, and he will share his incredible story, too, in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: Also, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks explains her reasons for running away. Her pastor tells us what the future holds for the would-be-bride and would-be groom.

HEMMER: Also a CNN Security Watch today, the latest on those explosions yesterday in New York City. Are there already some promising leads in the case? We'll tell you what police are looking into in a moment, as we continue after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Police asked pilot Mike Spicer to give them a hand last week as they chased an armed fugitive in Clay Center, in Kansas. So he got up into his small plane, took it in the air, but almost didn't come down alive. Mike Spicer joins us with his story this morning.

Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.

MIKE SPICER, PILOT SHOT IN HEAD: It's a pleasure to be here.

O'BRIEN: I bet it is, on many, many levels. You're looking great, and so we know that the story has a very happy ending.

But let's begin at the very beginning. You were brought in by the sheriff. There was a traffic stop, the suspect makes a run for it and the sheriff calls you in. How exactly did you get involved? What did he want you to do?

SPICER: I got a call from the dispatcher. I actually had left the airport, and was at our home, and the sheriff dispatcher called and asked if I could get an aircraft in the air for a manhunt for a suspect that had eluded the sheriff, or run from the sheriff. I drove to the airport to get the airplane out and take off.

When I arrived at the airport and was about to get in the aircraft, a friend of mine who is a first responder and a reserve deputy, Arnie Kinipson (ph), called and said he was available and would be right there to go with me as an observer.

O'BRIEN: And that was a lucky thing, that he was next to you, because in the rest of the story he ends up helping you out. You get in the air and you actually spot the guy. What did you see? What did it look like to you that this guy was doing?

SPICER: Well, we spotted his vehicle first in a ravine that the police couldn't see from the road. We started a grid surveillance to look for the suspect, and I saw what I thought was a feed sack in a wheat field. Arnie was looking at a tree (ph) where as I was flying the aircraft. Came back around and I saw it again, and it looked like it might be a person. I was told the suspect would be wearing a white T-shirt. However, this looked kind of like a yellow feed sack. And we came back during the third time and Arnie verified it was a person face down in a wheat field with his shirt off.

O'BRIEN: And then you got shot. Did you realize the guy had a gun? And how high above you -- how high were you above the suspect?

SPICER: We were several hundred feet, and I thought he probably was hurt because he was face down and not moving. And no, we didn't realize he had a weapon. The sheriff and a couple deputies were at his vehicle. It was about 150 yards away. We advised them where his location was. They could not see him because they were in a low ravine. So they were running up to him as we flew overhead again and turned over his location, and that's what it happened. I heard a loud crack and the bullet entered the right side of the aircraft, through the window, exited right here. That's the hole if you can see it right there, the exit. And my head was, as you can see, was too close.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we can see. But, you know what, turns out you were very lucky, because you were quarter of an inch from being killed by the shot. How did you bring the plane down?

SPICER: Well, I heard the crack. I didn't feel the wound. In an instant, there was massive blood on my head. And I told Arnie, I said, Arnie, I've been hit. Arnie helped grabbed the controls, stabilized the aircraft, while I tried to tend to myself and take care of the blood, and I threw my glasses on the floor so I could see. And I grabbed the corner of my coat and held it up over my head to try to stem the blood flow.

And between Arnie and myself, we were able to get the aircraft turned back around. We were headed directly away from the airport. We were about five miles southeast of where we're standing right now, so we were very close to the airport.

O'BRIEN: We should mention that Arnie not a pilot at all, really just a passenger in this regard. I read that you'd be willing to help the sheriff out again if he called and asked you to get up in the air, look for a suspect. And my question is, now why would you want to do that?

SPICER: We're a small town. That;s part of our community service. That's what we do.

O'BRIEN: How do you feel about your brush with death? And I don't think I'm overstating it there. SPICER: Well, that's true. This is not a life-changing experience for me.

O'BRIEN: It's not?

SPICER: It wasn't my time, and I realize that.

O'BRIEN: Mike Spicer, well, we're glad to see you standing up and talking to us and look being great this morning. Thanks for being with us. We appreciate your story -- Bill.

SPICER: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: He's got to buy a lottery ticket, huh. It is his time now.

Did doctors get duped? Congress is looking into this strategy that Merck used to sell Vioxx. Andy's "Minding Your Business." He has that right after this, on a Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Question about Merck right now. Did it represent the whole truth about the safety of Vioxx? Good question for Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

Good morning, Drew.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Bill.

Congressional hearings over the safety of Merck's Vioxx painkiller giving us an extraordinary look into the business of drug marketing. The Merck sales force operating under projects with the names such as Project Offense and Project Acceleration, these are documents revealed yesterday at congressional hearings. If doctors asked salespeople about the heart risks of -- associated with Vioxx -- this is after 2000, when some of these heart risks were already known -- they were instructed to give these doctors what was called a cardiovascular card that told them that Vioxx was safe; again, even after studies were starting to show it was less safe.

And then in something that I think is, gets sort of absurd, there are more instructions to the sales force about how to behave and how to present themselves to doctors that left lawmakers shaking their head.

When meeting a doctor, for instance, Merck salespeople are instructed to shake the doctor's hand for exactly three seconds one, two -- you get the idea. Also, when dining with a doctor, Merck salespeople were instructed to eat bread, quote, "one small bite size at a time," end quote.

CAFFERTY: And pick up the check.

SERWER: Yes, and pick up the check. That's even more important. Yesterday, Ray Gilmartin, CEO, was pushed aside. And Richard Clark is the new CEO. A lot to chew on.

O'BRIEN: If they prove all this stuff, right, what is the penalty for Merck?

SERWER: Well, that is completely unknown. That is completely unknown. I mean, this is -- I think this really gives fodder to people suing Merck other Vioxx more than anything else.

HEMMER: OK. Shake my hand.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: That's a long time. I thought one second was good.

CAFFERTY: There is a perfect example of wasted time that could have been given to "90-Second Pop," that stuff you're doing with the shaking hands.

O'BRIEN: Will you stop. OK, "90-Second Pop" took time out of your segment.

CAFFERTY: Make it 93-second pop, because it ain't long enough.

O'BRIEN: If you cut back on the complaining, you would save yourself hours every day.

CAFFERTY: That's why I'm here is to complain.

Tomorrow marks the first and only Time Traveler Convention at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These kids are way too smart. Student organizers argue that technically, you only need one Time Travelers Convention since time travelers from the future can travel to it at anytime they want. Think about that over your banana wackies for a minute.

"The New York Times" reports that organizers are asking that these people from the future bring something to prove they're actually ahead of their time, a cure for AIDS or cancer, a solution for global poverty or a cold-fusion reactor. A roped-off area on MIT's campus will be used as a landing pad for time-travel machines so they don't crash into the trees or dormitories.

Here's the question -- can you tell it's Friday?.

SERWER: Oh, yes.

CAFFERTY: If you could travel through time, where would you go?

O'BRIEN: Good question.

SERWER: The Middle Ages.

O'BRIEN: I like that. Intriguing. Thank you very much, Jack. You know what, that was worth the extra time.

HEMMER: Yes. Do you have an answer by the way, Jack, or do we have to wait until 9:59.

CAFFERTY: Maybe the day they liberated Paris. A lot of G.I.s had a lot of fun that day.

HEMMER: Oh, yes.

SERWER: I knew where he was going with that.

O'BRIEN: I knew where he was going with that, too. Thanks, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Well, there is much more AMERICAN MORNING coming right up.

Ahead on "90-Second Pop," it's been a long time coming, we told you Thursday Bruce Springsteen's new album is too hot for Starbucks. Well now the poppers weigh in on the controversy.

Plus, the hottest 25 celebrities under 25. We got a peek at the new list from "Teen People." That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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