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Nancy Grace

Possible Body of Missing 12-Year-Old Missouri Girl Found

Aired August 21, 2013 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) baby to be (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a picture of the 6th-grader taken the day she disappeared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) she`s safe at home and not lost and cold!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adriaunna`s sister says a man drove up to the girls in this park.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was playing with her sisters and two friends, and a guy pulled up and coaxed my daughter over to the vehicle and abducted her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She says the man wanted help to find his daughters, girls usually Adriaunna played with.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s just a sick individual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Searching by helicopter, ATV, with horses, using K9s and on foot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to stay at this as long as it takes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as she`s gone, I know how it`s going to turn out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tell her I love her with all my heart and I want her home!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.

Breaking news tonight, live, Golden City, Missouri. First day of school, 12-year-old Adriaunna goes to the playground after school with her two little sisters. It`s just 100 feet from their home. Only minutes after, the children spot a blue Ford Expedition cruise by, and then Adriaunna gone.

Bombshell tonight. In just one hour -- just 60 minutes, one hour -- this family is turned upside down. Their lives are now shattered forever. Police have just discovered a shallow grave. It`s just a few miles from that playground. In it, a tiny body.

As we go to air tonight, we are waiting for confirmation that the tiny body is 12-year-old Adriaunna. In one hour, she`s out of school at the playground. In one hour, she is snatched, dead and buried. In one hour!

We are live and taking your calls. First out to Darrin Wright, news director, KZRG. Darrin, I`m having a hard time taking this in. The playground where they were is only 100 feet away from where the dad lives, where they all live together.

DARRIN WRIGHT, KZRG RADIO (via telephone): Yes, Nancy. It`s a very small community, Golden City in Barton County, about a population of 765. So it`s practically one of those towns where everybody knows everybody else.

Adriaunna was just playing with some friends when, apparently, a vehicle pulled up and she was asked inside to help someone look for his daughter. And well, you seem to know the rest of the story here.

GRACE: Well...

WRIGHT: Police not confirming anything else yet.

GRACE: Michael Christian joining us tonight, investigative reporter. Michael, is it true that the same car had approached several girls there at the playground, asking -- it`s a male in the car -- asking them to help him find his daughter?

MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (via telephone): Yes, that`s been reported, Nancy. Apparently, he went past this playground. It`s called Hazel Park. He drove past two or three, probably three times, and finally stopped on the third time, asked Adriaunna for help in finding his daughters. She knew them. And then that`s when things took off.

GRACE: Out to Matt Zarrell, also on the story. Who was the adult with them at the playground?

MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, Nancy, what we know is that the grandfather and grandmother were at the home about 100 feet away. But as far as I can tell, Nancy, there us no adult physically next to Adriaunna at the park.

GRACE: So the parents let her go to the park without any adult supervision.

Out to Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. It`s only 100 feet away. I`m sure that they assumed it was safe. I mean, the population in town is low, very low crime rate. It`s 100 feet from home, Marc.

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: And it should be safe, and the girls were doing absolutely everything right. They asked for permission to go to the park. They received it. And they were together.

This is an important situation. Parents need to have a conversation with their children, and two things need to be emphasized, Nancy. Number one, you need to emphasize the fact that nobody will ever come between you and your children. So if a child feels that something is uncomfortable, they need to tell the parent so the parent can take action.

And number two, a child should never, ever go with an adult without their parents` permission. Obviously, that could have made a difference if that conversation had been ongoing in Adriaunna`s home.

And I think every parent needs to learn from this and every parent needs to engage their child with this lesson starting right now.

GRACE: To Darrin Wright, KZRG. There are reports coming in right now, and we`re waiting to take you live to a police presser. They are about to make an announcement in the case. There are reports coming in that a body has been found. What do you know about that, Darrin?

WRIGHT: Well, so far, we know that the search parties in Barton County have been called off. They`ve been told to await further details. But a body was found, apparently near some railroad tracks, as you said, Nancy, close to the park. And it seems that the body may be of Adriaunna. In fact, her father has confirmed to at least a couple of local agencies, local media agencies, that it is his daughter, but police are not yet making that confirmation.

GRACE: In just one hour, all of this goes down. We are waiting to hear from police, what they know about Adriaunna. This little girl, she`s just 12 years old. She has the first day of 6th grade. She and her little sisters ask if they can go to the playground. It`s literally less than 100 feet from their home.

The dad says OK. He`s at the house working. They go. They`re there with friends. She`s got her two little sisters with her. There`s a group of children. For all of you that think they`re safe if they`re in a group, this case tells you they are not safe. They`re not safe!

There has never been an incident like this at the Hazel playground, never.

Right now, police are about to make an announcement about a body found just about 17 miles away from the playground.

Out to the lines. Kathy in Missouri. Hi, Kathy. What`s your question? I think I`ve got Kathy with me. Kathy, are you there?

I`ll go out to try Paula in Texas. Hi, Paula. Are you there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, Nancy. I just want to say how much I respect you and love your show and love what you stand for.

GRACE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I just wanted to say my heart goes out to the family of that poor little 12-year-old girl. But also, I want to say I believe America needs to get tough on these predators. These monsters are out there lurking around every corner for every opportunity to snatch our children.

America`s a soft country. We make excuses for these people. Well, they`re mentally ill. (INAUDIBLE) there is no excuse. I`m a 53-year-old woman with a 6-year-old, and I pack a pistol everywhere I go with my boy. If he`s playing in the yard, I sit there with a pistol (INAUDIBLE) And I dare anybody to try to get him!

I think America -- we really have to get -- start getting tough on these people and realize they`re everywhere. Our children are not safe anymore!

GRACE: You know, Paula, they`re not safe right next to their own home. I mean, this was less than -- I`ve been saying 100 feet. It`s less than 100 feet from their home. And the grandparents were there. The dad is there. He has just bought and is redoing a new home for the family to live in. He was working on it. They`ve been living with the grandparents while he`s trying to fix this home for his children to move into, his three little girls. They`re all right there.

The children tell them where they`re going. They ask permission. Marc Klaas, she`s right. And I guarantee you when this guy is fully uncovered that did this, he`s going to have a rap sheet because somebody let him out. I guarantee you, Marc Klaas!

KLAAS: You`re absolutely correct. And another thing I think that is worth mentioning is the fact that this man was not a stranger. Just like in the Hannah Anderson case, this is somebody that was well known to the family. It`s never about -- it`s not often about the strangers. The vast majority of children that are victimized are victimized by somebody known to the family.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Tracy in Florida. Hi, Tracy. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I want to know how anybody could be so cold-hearted to hurt such a beautiful little girl. And my heart goes out to this family. And this is something that`s going the haunt them for the rest of their lives. Our police need to buckle down and put a stop to this!

GRACE: I`m just sick over it, Tracy. Those two little girls, the little sisters were with her there at the playground. For the rest of their lives, they`re going to remember the moment their sister was abducted and murdered.

We are awaiting a police presser right now. You know, a lot of people are coming down on the parents at this hour, on the father. But I disagree. I disagree because, you know, Michael Christian, investigative producer, they were less than 100 feet -- not 100 yards like a football field, 100 feet away from where the dad was.

CHRISTIAN: You know, I think back on my upbringing Nancy. I grew up in a little town in Illinois, right next door, which was roughly the same size as Golden City. And we just never would have ever thought of anything like this. You don`t think about this in little Midwestern towns. We should. Marc Klaas is right, we should. But traditionally, people don`t.

And you would absolutely think that close to home, with other people, somebody would be fine. And sadly, this shows that that is not true.

GRACE: Everyone, the -- hey, Michael, hold on. I`m hearing that we`re going to the police presser right now. Let`s go live, Justin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. MIKE WATSON, MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL: At approximately 1:50 PM this afternoon, in a rural area outside Golden City, Missouri a body was located by law enforcement. Currently, the identity is unknown, and the process of identification may take up to 24 hours.

The investigation continues to be ongoing and we are encouraging the public to report any tips, as little as they may seem, to the Barton County Sheriff`s Department at 417-682-5541.

That is all I have.

I`m not going to talk about the location. Again, it is still -- they`re still working at the scene. And again, I can`t discuss anything as far as the investigative process.

QUESTION: Is she buried under rocks?

WATSON: Again, I`m not going to discuss anything about the scene or the investigative process. I can`t do that.

QUESTION: Can you give us a sense of (INAUDIBLE)

WATSON: I can`t talk about -- I know we`ve had -- they`ve had a great number of leads, and based on investigative process -- and I won`t go through exactly how that was all located, but I will -- I will just tell you it`s through the investigative process.

QUESTION: Was there anything found with the body, clothes belonging (INAUDIBLE)

WATSON: Again I`m not going to discuss anything at scene. Like I said, they`re still processing.

QUESTION: Has the family had a chance to identify the body?

WATSON: I know that the family has been visited with by law enforcement. As far as the details of that conversation, I do not know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But now it`s happened to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her friends ran home and told adults that someone took Adriaunna, and now there`s a frantic search to find the 12- year-old alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more eyes, the better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Horton family is asking that no stone be left unturned when it comes to locating their daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any help, any volunteers, anybody wants to help, I`m reaching out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Several law enforcement agencies and hundreds of volunteers are covering a wooded area around Muddy Creek.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But still no Adriaunna.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Everybody, as you are hearing, just like we are, a body has been found. We don`t know yet whether it`s 12-year-old Adriaunna. All this happened in just one hour, about 100 feet from her home.

Let`s go live to that police presser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Law enforcement located, yes.

QUESTION: What are the items the police are processing (INAUDIBLE)

WATSON: Again -- and that`s -- a lot of that is going to be up to the investigators based on what they find, but more than likely, DNA.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

WATSON: We are going to -- we are going to right now probably suspend searches unless -- and we continue to get leads. If those leads dictate that we need to do a search or a search needs to be conducted, then we will call in those resources that we`re able to bring people in and do the searches.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Is this the body of 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton, just a 6th- grade, 12 years old Golden City, Missouri, there at the southwest tip of Missouri -- straight out to Dr. Vincent DiMaio. I`m going to take you right back into that presser.

Dr. DiMaio, chief medical examiner, Bexar County -- Doctor, can`t they do a dental comparison? They don`t have to wait for DNA.

DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER (via telephone): Most likely, it will be just -- well, they`ll do a visual identification. And then later on, they might do a DNA just to cross their T`s and dot their I`s. But they should do a visual.

GRACE: When you say a visual identification, you mean somebody in the family has got to go to the morgue and they`ve got to look at her dead body?

DIMAIO: No. What we used to do was we used to take photographs and show the photographs to the family, you know, because you can, you know, arrange the body and clean it up so it doesn`t look that bad. You know, with digital cameras now, it`s easy to do.

GRACE: You know, Dr. DiMaio, no offense but you are absolutely making me sick. You are -- just what you just said about how you can clean up the body. And for every mother out there that is thinking about getting a call from police -- you think your child is playing, and suddenly, within one hour, you`re at the morgue and they`re going to show you a digital photo so you don`t have to go in the next room and see the body laying there.

DIMAIO: You know, the family has been torn apart as it is. You`re just trying to make it just a little easier, even though you`re not doing that much. It`s just a bad situation to begin with because of bad people.

GRACE: You know what, DiMaio? I used to think I had it bad as a prosecutor, having to have victims` families go relive the crime getting ready for trial. But you know what? I`ll take that over your job any day.

I`m hearing from the control room the presser is back on. Let`s go live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Again, and that`s -- a lot of that is going to be up to the investigators based on what they find, but more than likely, DNA.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

WATSON: We -- we are going to -- we are going to right now probably suspend searches unless -- and we continue to get leads. If those leads dictate that we need to do a search or a search needs to be conducted, then we will call in those resources that we`re able to bring people in and do the searches.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) can you talk about the possibility of additional charges?

WATSON: Any -- - anything further, I couldn`t speculate on. Like I said, anything related to charges is going to have to be through the Barton County prosecuting attorney`s office.

QUESTION: What kind of tips are you (INAUDIBLE)

WATSON: What`s that?

QUESTION: What kind of tips...

WATSON: Well, and I think -- we`ve -- we`ve talked about this -- and I think you just got in, but we talked about in the past that if you remember anything, if you think you saw something, you think you heard something, someone said something, it -- it -- no matter how small it is, that we`re asking that maybe you just go ahead and call it in, and that may help investigators continue to put everything together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re looking for you. Don`t worry. We will find you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adriaunna Horton`s family desperately waits for any news of the missing girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody`s pulling together, and hopefully, they`ll find her and she`ll be OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s all I can do. If you lose hope, you lose everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. Everyone, the search for 12-year-old Adriaunna -- what we know, the search has just been called off. Let`s go straight to the police presser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: ... and that`s...

QUESTION: Do you know how many leads have come in so far?

WATSON: I don`t. I can sure check and see if they`ll let me release that. I will check.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

WATSON: Well, I don`t -- far be it from me. I can`t speak for everybody, but you know, it`s -- and I -- we`ve talked about this over the last few days that it is a very close community, very tight-knit community. And not just the town, but you look at the county and where it is surrounding (ph) the other counties. So you`ve got support from all over southwest Missouri, and calls and assistance from even further out from that.

So you know, obviously, each person is a little bit different, but this was -- you know, I`m not saying one thing or another, but you know, identification has to be made. But there was a lot of, you know, hopeful people.

All right. Thank you. We will -- we will get something out. As soon as identification is made, we will -- we will get something out. If you all do need to give us a call, that`s fine. If we don`t have any updates, we don`t have any updates.

QUESTION: Is the family with...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Twelve-year-old Adriaunna Horton, a 6th-grader, first day of school, goes to play at a playground just 100 feet from her home. Within one hour, she is snatched, dead and buried, we believe, in a shallow grave. We are awaiting confirmation that that is Adriaunna.

Out to the lines. Kelly in Arkansas. Hi, Kelly. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Great talking to you again.

GRACE: Likewise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) in a little town called (INAUDIBLE) you know, they`re pretty close. And from what I understand, she was playing in a park (INAUDIBLE) My question, is there any type of security footage or anything like that that might have picked her up? Because I understand they actually have a suspect and -- that they`ve put in connection with it, and I`m just wondering if there`s any type of security footage or anything that may be picked up, like the local park (INAUDIBLE)

GRACE: I think that they have a suspect, Kelly in Arkansas. Michael, what can you tell us, Michael Christian?

CHRISTIAN: Yes, they do have a suspect, Nancy. Now, I don`t know the answer to the security question. My guess is probably not. I haven`t read anything about that in any coverage of this case. But they do have a defendant -- or excuse me, a suspect. His name is Bobby Bourne, Jr. He`s 34 years old. He was identified by some of the kids that Adriaunna was playing with in Hazel Park. So police -- once this was reported, police were looking for him right away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Worried to tears and fearing for the worst. Where is 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re looking everywhere, every (INAUDIBLE), every pond.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 12-year-old taken from a park.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adriaunna Horton`s family desperately waits for any news of the missing girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m numb.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adriaunna`s sister clutches her picture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please come help find my sister, Adriaunna Horton.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her family says it`s out of character for her to get into a car with someone without permission.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She don`t get in a vehicle and go anywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the worst feeling I`ve ever had in my life, a missing child. I don`t know whether she`s safe, if she`s OK, or if she`s here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We`re awaiting word right now whether the body of Adriaunna Horton has been found. This 12-year-old girl goes to her first day of school there in a very rural area. It`s Golden City, Missouri, there at the southwest tip of Missouri. She comes home from school, takes her two little sisters after asking permission first, to a playground 100 feet, less than 100 feet from home. She gets permission. Suddenly the two sisters notice a blue car coming by, cruising by. Suddenly Adriaunna is gone.

A shallow grave has been found at an intersection about 17 miles away. Near it was some jewelry. We are waiting to find out was Adriaunna in that shallow grave. We are taking your calls. Chelsea in Florida, hi, what`s your question?

CALLER: My question is how can we teach our kids about stranger danger and schools, and as parents and ourselves, instead of our kids kind of being not oblivious to it but just not knowing?

GRACE: To Caryn Stark, New York psychologist joining me. You know, Caryn, I don`t want to scare my children, they`re only five and a half, but I`m trying to talk about stranger danger to them, but I don`t want them to have bad dreams. What do you do?

CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: You have to talk to them about not just strangers, Nancy, but the fact that it could be someone you know, and you have to say it in a way that creates safety. So that you`re emphasizing that. You`re mommy, there`s daddy. They have to go talk to mommy and daddy before they go with anybody. You don`t need to go into detail, but you really have to emphasize that it is not OK, never OK to go off with anybody, even if you know them, without asking mommy and daddy first.

GRACE: You know what`s interesting? Caryn, they`ve conducted all of these experiments where you tell children, tell them, tell them, tell them, and then you watch them with cameras, and they go off with somebody. Their minds don`t comprehend what you`re trying to tell them.

Back out to you, Darrin Wright, KZRG. There is a suspect. What do we know about 34-year-old Bob Bourne, Jr. (ph), a handyman? Before we go any further, give me that list of handymen, please. There is a long list that I compiled of handymen later convicted or suspected of kidnap and murder. In the Elizabeth Smart case, there was Brian David Mitchell. Remember him and his wife, Wanda Barzee? He was a handyman that the mom had met and brought home to try to help him get back on his feet to do work in the home.

Then there`s Freddie Grant. Remember Gabrielle Swainson, Gabby? Freddie Grant did housework for the mom. Then there is Ryan Brunn. Remember Jorelys Rivera, that cute little girl? Ryan Brunn did handiwork in the apartment complex where Jorelys lived. Donald Smith, victim Charish Perrywinkle. Juan Carlos Chavez, victim Jimmy Ryce. All of these are handymen. Carey Stayner, will you ever forget the Yosemite murders? Victims Carole Sund, Juli Sund, Silvina Pelosso, Joie Ruth Armstrong, do you remember them? Some of their parents went on to fund the Carole Sund Carrington Foundation for victims. And then just recently, remember there was a plot to kidnap the son of David Letterman? Painter, handyman Kelly Frank. What can you tell me? I was right in the middle of a question. Darrin, sorry about that. KZRG. What can you tell me about Bourne, Jr., age 34?

DARRIN WRIGHT, KZRG: Well, as you said, he is a handyman. He did some handyman for James, Adriaunna`s father, and his kids know Adriaunna and her siblings. They play together. But we also know that he has an extensive criminal history dating back all the way to 2003, domestic assault, 2004 domestic assault. Third degree domestic assault in October of 2011. Two counts of third degree domestic assault last year, last October, numerous assault charges. Assault on a law enforcement officer in 2011. So he`s obviously got a bit of a rap sheet, and it seems a bit of a violent streak.

GRACE: And some of those assaults were on two of his little stepdaughters. I don`t know what woman would have this man in the house after he assaults the stepchildren, her natural children.

Unleash the lawyers. New Jersey lawyer joining me out of New York, Jason Oshins. Michael Gottlieb, defense attorney joining me out of Miami. My first question to you, Oshins, is do they have the death penalty in Missouri?

JASON OSHINS, ATTORNEY: They do. They do.

GRACE: Good to know.

OSHINS: It`s a death penalty eligible state, Nancy.

GRACE: Good to know. What is it? Needle?

OSHINS: Nancy, I`m not familiar with their exact method.

GRACE: New York, please tell me, is it the needle or does he have the choice of the electric chair?

OSHINS: Let`s not have a rush to judgment, Nancy.

GRACE: You know what? I`ve been counting the seconds for you to blurt that out.

OSHINS: Come on, yes.

GRACE: Jason, let`s see a picture of the car, Justin. If this is his car, which they`ve already impounded. OK.

OSHINS: I see it.

GRACE: Now what were you saying about rush to judgment? When he happens to give her a ride and then she`s dead, but somebody else jumped in the car and killed her?

OSHINS: Listen, Nancy, as horrific as this is, we`re not going to try this case right now. Without at least acknowledging due process. This defendant for the moment, whatever he ultimately might be charged with, is entitled to due process, and we`re entitled to go through all of the evidence before we do anything else.

GRACE: Mike Gottlieb, I don`t recall anyone saying that he shouldn`t have a trial.

MICHAEL GOTTLIEB, ATTORNEY: Well, I agree, but what I think my counterpart is saying is there`s no evidence that the young lady was in the car. There is no DNA from the car.

GRACE: She`s not a young lady, No. 1. She`s a little girl.

GOTTLIEB: 12-year-old girl, correct.

GRACE: What about the eyewitnesses at the park?

GOTTLIEB: There`s young kids that said they saw the girl approach a blue truck. I mean, we need to find out how accurate their information is. It needs to be substantiated. You don`t have a license tag. You don`t have an identification of an individual as far as now know. If she was in his vehicle and they have his vehicle, is there evidence of her DNA being in his vehicle. I think those are important questions that need to be asked and answered before anybody points a finger and says he`s guilty of murder.

GRACE: OK. I agree. Whoa, stand down for a minute. Michael Christian, why is this guy a suspect?

CHRISTIAN: The description of his vehicle and the description of this man -- and remember by all accounts, this was somebody that knew the family so they knew each other. All the other kids who were in the park described his car, his vehicle and him. So they were looking for him pretty much from the outset, from the time she was reported missing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her friends ran home and told adults that someone took Adriaunna.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were scared to death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a picture of the sixth grader taken the day she disappeared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s unreal. I mean, I feel for people when this happens, because I`ve always been fortunate that it didn`t happen to me. But now it`s happened to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`d tell her I love her with all my heart. If you lose hope, you lose everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Michael Christian, you were telling me why this guy is a suspect. Darrin Wright, KZRG, what can you add to that? Why is he a suspect?

WRIGHT: Well, as Michael said, the vehicle matched the description that eyewitnesses gave.

GRACE: There`s got to be more than that. A million people have a blue SUV. OK?

WRIGHT: Well, Bobby Bourne also seems to match the description of the person that the kids say they saw Adriaunna speaking with. He was pulled over about an hour and a half after the first missing report was issued and arrested soon thereafter. So obviously, police believe they`ve got something on him.

GRACE: Well, another thing, you know, I`ve got to point out is this all happened within an hour. She was kidnapped, snatched, dead and buried in a shallow grave in less than an hour. How did they find that shallow grave? Did he lead them to the body? I mean, Mark Harrold, former APD, author of "Observations of White Noise," you have certain defendants, certain suspects that will lead you to the crime scene.

MICHAEL HARROLD, AUTHOR: Yes, absolutely. That could be the case here. All of this happened so quickly, that might be how they centered in on that crime scene. You have a very short duration, about 17 miles. Certainly possible to get that far. As far as how they focused in on this suspect, in a community this size, the police know everybody or at least know everybody who`s had problems with the law. He has a long criminal history. My guess is he came to mind pretty quickly to small-town cops.

GRACE: Jason Oshins, Mike Gottlieb, unleash the lawyers. The mode of DP, death penalty there is he`s going to have a choice if this goes to trial, if he`s convicted, the needle or the gas chamber. Do you think it`s possible that he was told they would not seek the death penalty if he led them to the body? How could they have found this tiny body that quickly?

OSHINS: Nancy, that`s entirely possible. There are elements in a death penalty eligible state where you negotiate that by counsel, or if he`s not invoked his right, he`s just given it up in a suggestion by interrogation. Anything is possible at this moment, Nancy.

GRACE: Well, another interesting thing, Mike Gottlieb, is police, with all the power they have, they cannot negotiate what prosecutors are going to do. So if that was said to him, prosecutors are not bound by that in any way.

GOTTLIEB: That`s correct. But that may lead to some type of suppression issue. If the police use trickery or deceit in order to gain evidence, that evidence might be protected by the Fourth or Fifth Amendment and it`s evidence that might be suppressed.

GRACE: Excuse me, trickery and deceit is absolutely constitutional. You can trick a defendant.

GOTTLIEB: Not when--

GRACE: Yes, it is.

GOTTLIEB: No, you cannot trick a defendant as to his constitutional rights. You can trick a defendant, you can use ploys, you can use tactics, but when you delude a defendant as to his constitutional rights and you tell him that he`s not going to get the death penalty and you make a quid pro quo, a promise for something, that`s in all likelihood going to lead to suppression, that`s not correct.

GRACE: Do you believe that he led them to the body?

GOTTLIEB: No, I don`t think so.

GRACE: You know, I don`t think so either. I think he gave it up. I think that he gave it up. I want to go back to Darrin Wright, KZRG. The suspect, the prime suspect at this hour. And again, we are waiting for police to confirm that this is Adriaunna`s body. Bobby Bourne, Jr., Bob Bourne, Jr., do we have any further idea about how he became a suspect and how the shallow grave was discovered?

WRIGHT: Unfortunately as for the suspect issue, a judge in Barton County has ordered records sealed to the public. So they`re not going to talk about the details that led to the arrest. And the charge of kidnapping, and the judge hasn`t said when or if those files will become unsealed.

GRACE: According to Adriaunna`s father, and this is what the two little girls told him, he said the driver was asking children at the park for help, and whining he couldn`t find his daughter, who was missing. And he had asked other girls in the park to help him. So if this is the perpetrator, these other little girls are going to be able to identify him. Not only that, if this is the right guy, he does have some stepdaughters that we know of, because he`s been convicted of assaulting them.

Out to the lines, Lynn in Indiana. Hi, Lynn, what`s your question, dear?

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I`ve been listening and I was just wondering if the little girl might have known him or was he a friend of the family`s or what? Excuse me, but by the way it sounds, she didn`t know who he was, you know. That`s what I was just wondering.

GRACE: Out to Marc Klass, president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation. We do know the answer to that. Go ahead, Marc.

KLAAS: We do know the answer to that. In fact, Adriaunna had played with his stepdaughters, so she knew who he was, the other little girls knew who he was.

I become really offended, Nancy, when I hear defense attorneys, No. 1, be dismissive of the eyewitness testimony of her sisters and her friends. And secondly when they try to flip this and make this perpetrator into the victim in this situation.

Here`s what we know. He took this little girl, he drove her 17 miles, he somehow did whatever he did to her, buried her in a shallow grave, came back into town, and was arrested by the police within a very short amount of time. It`s absolutely mind-boggling, the pain and the injury that this character has inflicted upon not only the town, but certainly the family.

GRACE: Marc, why do you think he targeted this girl, not the other two? Why do you think he took her alone? What`s your thinking, Marc?

KLAAS: I think he was stalking her. I absolutely think he was stalking her. He knew who she was, he drove by several times before he stopped, and did everything he could and successfully lured this child into his vehicle, and then took off. It`s just like so many of the cases that we cover, Nancy. These guys have these unnatural feelings for these children, and they become frenzied and are unable to control themselves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A guy pulled up and coaxed my daughter over to the vehicle and abducted her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The time frame here very, very narrow from the time that she disappears to when the man is arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She don`t get in a vehicle and go anywhere. What upsets me the most is she knew this fellow. She played with this guy`s kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: Played with his children. Out to Matt Zarrell, our producer on the story. Matt, what more can you tell us?

ZARRELL: Nancy, while the body was found 17 miles from the park where Adriaunna was abducted, the suspect was actually arrested three-tenths of a mile just north of the park. In fact, Nancy, Adriaunna`s sister, Lydia, gave cops a specific description of the vehicle right down to the LHF on the back of the window of the car. That stands for Lockwood High School, which is a local high school.

GRACE: That`s some description, Matt Zarrell. Unleash the lawyers. Jason Oshins, Mike Gottlieb, so, he is back at the playground three-tenths of a mile from where Adriaunna was abducted? Lydia, the little sister, I.D.s the car to a t, right down to a bumper sticker? Jason?

OSHINS: Nancy, we`re not, again, I stated before, we`re not going to try this case right now and convict him. We are going to analyze all the evidence and --

GRACE: Well, you might not, but I am.

OSHINS: I understand, Nancy.

GRACE: You know what? Oshins, you`re saying that, like we don`t have a jury, we`re not in a court of law.

OSHINS: I understand that.

GRACE: We`re not bound by the rules of evidence. We can talk common sense to each other, all right? You`re not in front of a jury. You can tell the truth tonight. Come on, the little girl I.D.s the car right down to the bumper sticker. She knew the man.

OSHINS: These are anecdotal reports at the moment. We need to analyze all the evidence before we convict him.

GRACE: Actually, Mike Gottlieb, that is according to the family. It is not an anecdotal story. The family has said she identified the car, she identified the man. They know him. They know him. They play with his children, Gottlieb.

GOTTLIEB: That might be true, but that`s a lot of distance to travel. He would have had to have taken her, gotten her in the car, brought her 17 miles out of town, killed her, buried her, brought her -- come back into town another 17 miles, all without anybody noticing any of his activity, any of the speeding. Again, there`s no evidence in the car. I haven`t heard any evidence that he was covered in dirt, that his clothes were disheveled, that he was sweating, hot or anything like that. In fact, I think his story might be consistent with going back to the park looking for a missing child. They said he had circled around the park several times.

So, I do think there is being a rush to judgment here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Everyone, Labor Day coming up. We celebrate a very special group of workers, working moms. Are you a working mom? Do you know one who deserves recognition for hard work at home and at work? I want to hear from you. Send us a video explaining why you or your loved one is the best working mom in America. Five videos with the most votes win my signature handcuff necklace, earrings, t-shirts, the works. Details? Go to nancygrace.com. After you go to the website, send in those videos.

We remember American hero, Army Specialist Jesse Snow, 25, Fairburn (ph), Ohio. Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, parents Jan and John, served the Air Force, sister Megan, brothers John Jr., Daniel, Robert, Alex serving the Army, Navy and Air Force. Jesse Snow, American hero.

And now, back to the search for 12-year-old sixth grader Adriaunna. Matt Zarrell, is it true the little girl, the sister, Lydia, identified the perp by name?

ZARRELL: Yes, she did, Nancy. What the grandparents say is that Lydia came running over and told her grandfather that her sissy was gone, and they went and got the father, and the father asked what happened, and Lydia said that the guy`s name was Bobby.

GRACE: Everyone, tonight, we are awaiting a confirmation. I don`t know whether to hope for it or hope that it`s not true, of the identity of a body found in a shallow grave just 17 miles from Hazel Park there in Golden City, Missouri. We are looking Adriaunna Horton. Tip line, 417- 682-5541. Our prayers with Adriaunna`s little sisters and her family.

Everybody, as we go to break, a happy birthday to Georgia friend Jo. Isn`t she beautiful? The search goes on for Adriaunna. We are signing off. Dr. Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END