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Nancy Grace
Paris Hilton Plane Crash Prank. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired June 29, 2015 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, caught on video, screaming, weeping, celebutante Paris Hilton on a private jet as the pilot sends the
plane plummeting to the ground, some passengers even evacuated -- i.e., pushed out the door. The video from YouTube and MBC Group. But was Paris
Hilton pranked just for TV ratings?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Screaming and crying as her plane starts to go down. The engine seems to stop, and the plane starts to make a dive.
PARIS HILTON, SOCIALITE: Why can`t we land? Oh, my God!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That video YouTube and MBC Group.
And tonight, we go live with the hunt for a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, the girl just 17 years old with a 25-year-old man who go on a multi-
state rampage, a crime spree, much of it caught on video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This Bonnie and Clyde-like couple are believed to be armed and dangerous. The couple are suspected of being behind three
armed robberies in three different states, Idaho, Oregon and California, armed with guns and a knife.
GRACE: And Tennessee, fears mounting for a school girl who goes missing with a convicted child molester.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tennessee police are desperately searching for a missing 14-year-old believed to be with a convicted child molester.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I`ll just ask you to be man enough to bring her home safe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Haven`t seen their daughter in days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight, caught on video, screaming, weeping, celebutante Paris Hilton on a private jet as the pilot sends the plane plummeting to
the ground, some passengers even evacuated -- i.e., pushed out the door. The video from YouTube and MBC Group.
Let`s see the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it`s time to swim, time to do more activities like that.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey, hey!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s happening?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this normal? It always happens?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: On this private jet, Paris Hilton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! No! No!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are we going to land or not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to go back. (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why can`t we land? Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No! No!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No! No!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s in the water!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:40]GRACE: That video from YouTube and MBC Group.
To Chris Spargo, Dailymail.com, what exactly happened here?
CHRIS SPARGO, DAILYMAIL.COM: So Paris is in Dubai and was convinced to take what she thought was an aerial tour of the city. So unbeknownst to
her, she was getting on a stunt plane with a stunt pilot and stunt men and actors around her.
And once plane got in the air, the pilot cut the engine and started sounding the alarm and made the plane plummet down. At that point, they
said there was a weight problem and actually started dragging people off the back of the plane who, unbeknownst to her again, had parachutes on and
safely made it to the ground. And then they told her they were going to crash the plane.
GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing video from MBC Group and YouTube.
Alexis Tereszcuk joining me. Take a look at this video, Alexis.
For those of you just joining us, Paris Hilton on a private jet when the plane begins to plummet to the ground, and it`s all caught on video.
And this is what is so disturbing. This video, everyone, was played at the height of the ratings sweep in that area.
Justin Freiman, what can you tell me about the time period in which this was actually aired?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Nancy, this was aired during Ramadan, which actually is a time where they get the highest
television ratings. So stunts like this go on air to bring the eyes.
GRACE: I don`t understand what you`re saying. Why is there sweeps during Ramadan? I don`t understand that. Isn`t that a time of fasting and
worship?
FREIMAN: Yes, they do fast each day, but it`s also common for people to be watching television before and after the fast I guess because they`re
all together and looking to do something.
GRACE: OK, so they`re all at home fasting. OK, I understand it, which naturally leads to when everyone`s congregated in the home, they turn
on the TV.
Alexis Tereszcuk, how did this happen? I don`t understand how Paris Hilton was videoed and used in this manner to up TV ratings.
ALEXIS TERESZCUK, RADARONLINE.COM: This is, like, the greatest prank that has ever been played on Paris Hilton. But this instead (ph) they
tricked her. They told her she was going on a flight. They probably paid her thousands and thousands, tens of dollars to just sit there and look
pretty. You know, and she had her sunglasses on in the beginning.
You know, she even took them off. She was finally acting like a real person with real emotions. And they terrified her. They didn`t just, you
know, move her car and act like her car was stolen. They threatened her life. She really thought she was going to die, crash into the ocean right
there.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Sue Moss, Danny Cevallos and Dan Horowitz. You know, first I want to go out to you, Dan Horowitz.
Everyone, the video you`re seeing is from YouTube and MBC Group.
Dan Horowitz, I just heard Alexis Tereszcuk very coldly state that this was the greatest prank ever on Paris Hilton. And you know what? I`ve
never done it before, but I`m on Hilton`s side on this one because I think this is entirely, entirely inappropriate. And I think that it opens up the
gateway to a lawsuit. I really do.
I mean, how you would like it, Horowitz? You with your family, your brand-new family, or at least, you know, in my mind, it all just happened,
the children, the marriage, the happiness -- and somebody`s videoing you and doing this where the pilot plummets to the ground in your jet?
DAN HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, if it was done to me, I think that pilot would be plummeting alone in the jet somehow. I would not
let him get away with it. But Paris Hilton is a brand...
GRACE: Oh, you know what? Let me rephrase it. Let me rephrase it for you. You know, yes, she`s a brand. That`s true. But she`s also a
person. What about this? What if it were your wife, Daniel Horowitz, that this was done to? What about that?
HOROWITZ: Right. I`d get revenge because I`m a normal person. But what Paris Hilton has done I`m sure has gotten a big hunk of money for
allowing this to be released. It`s now promoting her brand.
GRACE: Mary Schiavo is us with, CNN aviation analyst and aviation attorney, extremely well respected. Mary, the reality is, would this have
been allowed in the U.S.?
This video from YouTube and MBC Group.
Go ahead, Mary.
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST (via telephone): Well, absolutely not, Nancy. You hit the nail right on the head. This is so illegal in the
United States.
[20:10:01]This is aerobatic maneuvers. To do aerobatic maneuvers, which are things which are more than a 60-degree bank or a 30-degree pitch
and abnormal acceleration or deceleration, you have to be specially licensed. Everybody on the plane, not just the people they allegedly threw
out the back -- everybody`s got to have parachutes. Everybody has to consent.
This is absolutely illegal in the United States, and the pilot would have lost his or her license.
GRACE: I tell you what. If I were Paris Hilton, I would take these people to the cleaners. Mary Schiavo is with us, CNN aviation analyst and
aviation lawyer, highly respected in the aviation field.
Mary, this would not be allowed in the U.S. And the reality is, even with professional stunt shows, like we`ve all heard of the Blue Angels, and
there are so many flying stunt shows -- but sometimes, they go wrong and people die.
SCHIAVO: Absolutely. And that`s why there are so many regs that cover it. (INAUDIBLE) years and years ago, I used to work air shows and to
go up with the Blue Angels or the Canadian Snow Birds or the Thunderbirds, not only do you have to have chutes and -- parachutes and a pre-flight
briefing, you have to consent and sign all sorts of waivers.
And the rules are there, the regulations are there because when you -- for example, when they opened that door on the plane, other people could
have accidentally gone out. It could have caused the plane to have an upset in its flight maneuvers. That was so incredibly dangerous.
Apparently, the pilot had done this before to other people. But simply not allowed because it is dangerous in the United States.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Sue Moss, Danny Cevallos, Dan Horowitz. All right, Sue Moss, weigh in.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: To embarrass Paris, this is just garish! I mean, it`s just not funny. And you can imagine the damages that
she suffered. I mean, she must have a heightened, heightened sense of anxiety of ever getting on a plane again. I can imagine that she`s not
going to be sleeping for weeks. She`s probably going to have to have problems eating.
I mean, this type of -- going through this type of torture of not knowing whether you`re going to live or die has got to do something to her
psyche. And that is actionable.
GRACE: You know, what`s disturbing, Danny Cevallos, is Alexis Tereszcuk said best prank ever on Paris Hilton, and Horowitz goes, She`s a
brand. You know what? I get where they`re coming from. And I could not disagree more.
To do this to anybody, regardless of who it is, whether you like them or not, whether they`re a brand -- it doesn`t matter. I mean, all of us
can recount the worst flight we`ve ever had, where we`re praying and we`re, you know, clutching our Bibles and crossing ourselves and doing the rosary,
I guess, or about to vomit or turn green. We`ve all had that moment. And hers was videoed?
And like Mary just said, when you open up a window or a plane -- a window or a door of an airplane, that makes it very possible that other
people can fly out.
DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, white knuckles, vomiting -- you`re describing just about what I do every single time I fly. So I am
sympathetic.
But that being said, I was just in Dubai, and Dubai has even stricter laws about photographing or filming people without their permission. So I
have to surmise, even though I`m not a UAE lawyer, that if we`re seeing images of Paris Hilton, that somewhere along the line, she probably
consented to this prank in writing.
GRACE: You know what`s interesting? Danny, I want to point out something. I don`t know if you caught it or not, but at the beginning of
this clip, they take off and they go out on international waters, OK? They`re not flying over Dubai anymore. So it`s anybody`s guess whether
Dubai law applies here. They`re out over the water.
I want to go back to Mary Schiavo, CNN aviation analyst and aviation lawyer. Mary, what could have gone wrong? As you`re looking at this video
from YouTube and MBC Group, what could have gone wrong, especially when they opened that back door, like a bunch of maniacs!
SCHIAVO: Well, exactly, Nancy. And that`s why the laws in the United States -- and the UAE`s laws should match ours because we`re all supposed
to be following the international civil aviation organization recommendation.
But what has happened in the past -- you don`t even have to guess -- is sometimes, when you do this, there have been other -- and usually, it`s
in the context of parachute diving, but other people have accidentally gone out. Pilots have lost control of the flight when doors are opened, or
there`s an upset in the way that the plane is flying and maneuvering. And there are just so many things that can go wrong, which is why there are so
many regulation that`s cover this.
And by the way, even though they`re over international waters, they have to be out beyond the territorial waters for treaty laws to kick in.
So I wouldn`t be so sure just because they`re over the water, Dubai law doesn`t apply. But then there`s laws that cover over the ocean, as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:19:20]HILTON: Oh, my God!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paris Hilton terrified, screaming and crying as her plane starts to go down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That video from YouTube and MSNBC.
For those of you just joining us, take a look at this video from MBC Group and YouTube because this shows Paris Hilton -- and they`re isolating
it on her -- as the pilot takes this plane plummeting toward the earth, Hilton ripping off her sunglasses, screaming, having drinks fall on her.
[20:20:02]And ultimately, somebody opens up the back door and throws two of the passengers out of the plane, her fear mounting and mounting as
she appears to be praying and screaming alternately during this. And there you see Paris Hilton as the pilot takes this plane, plummeting straight
down to the ground.
Unleash the lawyers, Sue Moss, Danny Cevallos and Dan Horowitz. Also with us, Chris Spargo and Alexis Tereszcuk.
The video you`re seeing right now from YouTube and MBC Group.
Now, I want to tell everyone no lawsuit has been filed as of right now. And Sue Moss, let me go to you on this. Why do you think she hasn`t
already sued?
MOSS: I`m wondering if they`re trying to figure out what are the damages yet. I mean, this is the type of thing that could be so
horrifically traumatic that she may not experience the full range of symptoms for weeks and months. And since she probably has time to file,
she`s probably waiting to see the full extent of how bad it is.
GRACE: With me out of Miami, Dr. Daniel Bober, forensic psychiatrist. Dr. Bober, as you`re looking at this -- she has said on other occasions
that her big fear is to go down on a plane, to die in a plane crash. All of us have a fear about -- a death fear, or whatever the thing is that we
fear the most, all right? Mine is being torn away from my two children. Hers is dying in a plane crash.
So what effect could this potentially have on her?
DR. DANIEL BOBER, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: Nancy, you know, there may be people out there who like to poke fun at Paris Hilton, but this is
totally over the top. I mean, it`s at best exploitative and probably closer to sadistic. I mean, it would be no different than if I held an
unloaded gun at you and told you that I was going to take your life. It`s still the threat of death. And it`s horrifying, and she could suffer
severe mental illness because of it.
GRACE: You know, I know this, Dr. Bober, that we all fear one thing in particular, maybe not physical harm, maybe not death, but something.
And her fear, as she has said in the past, is going down in a plane crash.
Now, Mary Schiavo, CNN aviation analyst, isn`t it true that we`re much more likely to die from a car crash or even from being struck by lightning
than dying in a plane crash? I mean, I know that in my head. But why is everyone so afraid of dying in a plane crash, Mary?
SCHIAVO: Well, because that -- the statistics that you just cited are true for commercial scheduled aircraft. But when you talk about small
private planes, which is what she`s on, that`s actually not true. Your risk is much greater and even greater than in a car crash.
So people often fear small planes even though they`ll willingly get on very large, you know, scheduled aircraft because that`s the kind of service
that has the great safety record.
GRACE: Yes, you know what, Mary? You`re right.
Dr. Bober, why is it? Why do so many people fear flying like Paris Hilton?
BOBER: You know what it is, Nancy? It`s about control. When we`re driving a car, we feel some sense of control, even though the control is
just an illusion. But when you get on a plane, whether it`s a commercial flight or a private plane, someone else is driving, if you will, and it`s
that loss of control that people have such an irrational fear about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:27:41]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hilton was on a short flight to do a little sightseeing when the plane seemed to lose power and take a dive.
HILTON: Is this normal? (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That video from YouTube and MBC Group.
OK, for those of you just joining us, a camera trained on Paris Hilton as the pilot plummets toward the earth. She`s screaming hysterically after
removing her sunglasses, getting doused in everybody`s drinks. At one point, someone opens up the back of the plane and drags passengers out.
Is there any chance, Alexis Tereszcuk -- you and Chris Spargo have been talking about this. I don`t think that Hilton was part of this. I do
not think that she was. What about it, Tereszcuk?
TERESZCUK: I think that you are giving Paris Hilton a lot of credit that she might not deserve. I think that she definitely could have been
part of this. Look at how she`s constantly moving her hair and trying to make sure that, you know, she still looks really pretty during the entire
video. And she`s clutching her phone. I would be, I don`t know, flailing about, terrified. I mean, she looks very, very pretty for somebody who is
having the shock of her life.
GRACE: OK, so what you just said doesn`t make any sense. She looks very pretty for someone having the shock of their life, like pretty people
can`t be shocked?
TERESZCUK: Yes, she does. She`s doing her hair. She`s sort of posing. And she`s making sure that she`s sort of looking around the whole
time. I just -- to me, this is a Paris Hilton act. I could be wrong. And if I am, I will take the blame, but I really think that...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... a tiny bit of personal jealousy, OK? What about it, Spargo?
SPARGO: I think that she was not in on this at all. She just looks terrified the entire time. And then when you see her when she gets off the
plane, it`s even worse. When they`re trying to tell her it`s a joke, she can`t even comprehend it at first because she`s just still so terrified of
what just happened to her.
GRACE: You know, I think we have an inborn fear of being up and a plane. God did not give us wings, people, and that`s why we fear flying.
That`s what I think.
So after all of this, after this is done to Paris Hilton, according to Tereszcuk, she was in on it. Look at this. Let`s see what we can learn.
[20:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARIS HILTON: I said I didn`t want to go on that plane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know.
HILTON: Is that guy okay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HILTON: What do you mean? You pushed him out of the plane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m so sorry. I`m (inaudible), I`m Egyptian actor (inaudible). Paris Hilton. I swear. This is a show. You do good.
Everything is good, I swear.
HILTON: Dude, that is taking it to another level. I`ve seen "Punk`d." You guys put me in a plane and almost killed me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you prefer this more than "Punk`d."
HILTON: This is definitely crazier than anything they`ve ever done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes! Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That video from Youtube and NBC Group. Okay. What did we learn from that? I don`t know. To you, Sue Moss, do you think she was in
on it?
MOSS: I don`t think she was in on it. And when we see the lawsuits coming down in a few weeks, then we`ll know the truth.
GRACE: Okay. Cevallos, final word. In on it or no?
CEVALLOS: It doesn`t matter. Ultimately if she agrees after the fact, she`s in a way in on it. Given Dubai`s and UAE`s very strict laws,
one has to wonder would a company really have risked drawing the ire of law enforcement in the United Arab Emirates.
GRACE: Are you serious? Are you saying people are afraid they`ll get in trouble? Or that we would never have a crime if that were true. Dan
Horowicz, was she in on it or not?
(CROSSTALK)
HOROWICZ: She`s not in on it. But she had could have had it taken down from Youtube any time she wants. She`s letting it ride because she`s
making money from it now. She`s a good business woman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:36:10]
GRACE: We go live. The manhunt for a modern day Bonnie and Clide. The girl just 17 years old with a 25-year-old man, who go on a multistate
rampage, a crime spree. Much of it caught on video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anthony Parsons and Frankie Collins are suspected of being behind a string of armed robberies across three states. First, a
gas station was hit in the pair`s home state of Idaho. Then another gas station convenience store in Oregon, followed by a minimart in California.
The suspects are seen on surveillance video escaping in a 2001 maroon Dodge pickup with a camper shell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Noam Laden, WABC anchor. Noam, how did it all start?
LADEN: Well, it started with this couple together. Obviously from what we`re being told, they have a passion for drugs in common. They need
the money to fuel that drug habit. Started not too far away from where the Frankie and Tony live in Idaho, where they strong-armed this Maverick gas
station, stealing cash in that case. Tony went in with two revolvers. He stole a rifle. He stole -- he used--
GRACE: What is it saying that he is wearing? I know this little jacket I got for my son. It`s a hoodie, but you actually zip it up all the
way up, and the person inside can see out but you can`t see the faces. Is that what he`s wearing?
LADEN: It is. He could be wearing that or he could just be wearing a hoodie backwards. But it is the rage, that hoodie where you can zip up
over your face and you can see out and they can`t see in. It works real well when you`re trying to hold up a supermarket and don`t want to be seen.
GRACE: So the first thing starts with what, is it like a 7/11?
LADEN: Yes, it is, it`s one of these minimarts connected to a gas station. He went in there. Held the place up. There was a guy inside.
Walked out. We don`t know with how much cash. But again, we`re thinking the cash was all to fuel the drug habit between Tony and Frankie. That
one, he went in alone. We`re assuming but we don`t know for sure that Frankie, his girlfriend or, you know, partner in crime, was driving this
stolen truck that they`ve been driving around.
GRACE: Okay. So you`re saying a couple. Let me remind everybody, she is a teen girl. All right? He`s a grown man. He`s pushing 30. He`s
with this teen girl. I don`t know how the two of these ever got connected to start with. Do we know that, Noam Laden?
LADEN: We don`t. But we can guess. We can assume that it`s heroin here. In so many of these other robbery cases, especially with 20
somethings and teenagers, it`s heroin, it`s smack in the suburbs where people are bored or doing smack together, and realize they have that in
common.
GRACE: Everybody, you`re seeing photos and videos, some of these strong armed robberies are caught on video. We`re looking at video of a
modern day Bonnie and Clyde. She is a teen girl. He is a 25-year-old man who have gone on a multistate crime spree. Out you to, Justin Freiman,
what more do you know?
FREIMAN: I know that they actually, as you said, multistate. This happens in not just their home state of Idaho, this goes on to Oregon.
This goes on to California. They`re armed and believed dangerous. At the last place in California, the girl is actually walked in with a knife.
GRACE: Walked in with a knife. Everyone, you`re looking at this stolen truck that they -- do we know who the original truck victim is, Noam
Laden?
LADEN: Don`t know if we know who the original truck is. We know it`s stolen. We know it`s a 2001 maroon Dodge and we know cops really badly
want to find these two. They say they`re armed and very dangerous.
GRACE: Everybody, take a look at this vehicle.
[20:40:00]
We`re talking about a teen girl and a 25-year-old man. Were all of these gas stations and minimarts, Justin?
FREIMAN: Yes, they were, Nancy. They were in minimarts, which I guess that helps law enforcement. That`s why there are so many videos
available of these people walking in and out and escaping in the stolen vehicle.
GRACE: To Gerard McCann, former senior inspector with the U.S. Marshal Service, how did they manage to evade police for so long?
MCCANN: Nancy, that`s a big open rural area up there. And, you know, the police manpower obviously, they`re going to do all the normal stuff
they do every day. And they really just can`t put a police officer on every corner. That`s why it`s so critical to get these pictures out to the
media, get the pictures of the people out. And get all these thousands of eyes looking for them. That`s a big help.
GRACE: Everybody, we`re talking about Anthony "Tony" Parsons, 25, and a schoolgirl he`s got with him, Frankie Hoon (ph) Collins. As we go to air
tonight, we learn that the manhunt has come to an end. And now police are wondering, was she coerced? But look at this. To me, it doesn`t look like
he`s making her do anything, Sue Moss. She`s going along right with him.
MOSS: Oh, absolutely. She looks just as part of this as he does. I mean, who would want to be Bonnie and Clyde? They died. Which says to me
that this probably is a drug fueled series of all of these thefts. And if this is fueled by drugs, these two are going to become more and more
desperate. So thank God they were caught.
GRACE: You know, too, look at this. Danny Cevallos, Dan Horowicz, we all remember when Patty Hurst was part of the Simbionese Liberation Army,
and she, if you can see, is robbing a bank. She later had a successful argument that she was being forced to do this and was brainwashed. As
you`re looking at this, Dan Horowicz, weigh in. I don`t think this young girl was robbing 7-Elevens and wielding weapons by force. I think she
wanted to do it.
HOROWICZ: I agree with you, Nancy. I met with some members of the Simbionese Liberation Army, and what Patty Hurst went through was a
breaking down process and then she adopted a philosophy. In this case, these were two young people who went crazy, took drugs that obviously
numbed their emotional moral system. I hope they are given a second chance in life.
GRACE: To Daniel Bober, Dr. Bober, forensic psychiatrist. This girl was not forced to do this. Look at her. She`s right in the middle of it.
BOBER: Well, you know, it seems that way. I wouldn`t rule that out just yet. It might be an oversimplification. I mean, we see this in
abusive relationships. We see this in hostage situations. It may appear that she is going along willingly, but we don`t know if she`s been abused
or exploited or subject to influence in some way. So I think it`s too early to tell, in my opinion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:47:20]
GRACE: Live, Tennessee, fears mounting for a schoolgirl who goes missing with a convicted child molester.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An Amber alert has been issued for 14-year-old Hayleigh Wilson after the teen was spotted with 41-year-old Benjamin Shook.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let her out and go your own way. But bring my little girl home. She don`t deserve to be like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wanted for failing to register as a sex offender. Surveillance video captured the teen at a nearby Walmart with Shook shortly
after her disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re worried sick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I want you to look at the girl, the little schoolgirl who is missing. There is Hayleigh. And now I want you to look at this registered
sex offender, Benjamin Shook. Let`s see the other photo, please. Okay. Benjamin Shook. You get a better sense of his facial features in the
second picture. Because for all I know, he has shaved the beard. This is Benjamin Shook, a 41-year-old man, 6`3, 175 pounds, blue eyes, with brown
hair. Multiple tattoos. At one point he had a beard. I imagine by now he has changed his features. Maybe died his hair, maybe cut his hair, maybe
got rid of this beard. To Mike Howard, morning show host, tell me what we know, mike.
HOWARD: Right now, they were -- she was last seen in Goinsville (ph) in east Tennessee about 10:00 p.m. Monday June 22nd. They say she was
coerced by Shook to steal her stepfather`s truck and meet him in a campsite in Morristown, Tennessee. They were then spotted about 100 miles southeast
in Marriott, North Carolina, about 3:30 the next morning at a Walmart parking lot. They attempted to buy some camping gear with the credit card
she found inside her stepfather`s truck. It was denied. They left. They were seen later that day about 115 miles northeast over in Sugar Grove,
Virginia. And, again, they`re traveling in kind of this zig-zag pattern, staying right along the Virginia/Tennessee/North Carolina border. And the
last time they were seen, was some time that Tuesday. So tomorrow will be a week since they`ve last been seen. The police, the TBI did report late
Thursday last week that they found the maroon 2004 Ford Explorer sport track with Tennessee tags on it. They have recovered it, it was found near
Troutdale, about seven miles south of Sugar Grove. They think they`re still somewhere in that area, in Virginia, southwest Virginia, in the
Jefferson national forest, along the Appalachian trail somewhere.
[20:50:00]
GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing photos of Hayleigh Wilson, a little schoolgirl. Look at her. Let`s see the photos of this child. She doesn`t
even wear makeup. Look at her! She`s a schoolgirl. She just turned 14. This child is a straight-A student. Straight A`s. Quiet, a little bit
shy, I`ve been told. She spent a lot of time online, researching, writing her book reports, doing her homework, to keep those straight A`s. And that
is where she meets online -- parents did not know -- she meets this registered sex offender. Look at him! Benjamin Shook, 41. And they talk
and they talk. She`s not really understanding who she`s talking to. And he convinces her to take her dad -- her stepfather`s car and meet him. And
then once she`s met him, it`s all done. It`s over with. They`re gone.
And joining me right now in addition to Mike Howard, with Knox Talk Radio, Eddy Wilson is joining us, Hayleigh`s father. Eddy, thank you for
being with us. When did you learn your little girl was gone?
EDDY WILSON, FATHER: Her mother called me about 10:00 on Tuesday morning, and, you know, she first started telling me that Hayleigh`s gone,
Hayleigh`s gone. I thought she was lying to me. I said, no, it can`t be, Hayleigh`s not gone, she`s just outside somewhere. She said, no, Hayleigh
is missing, you know? And until she started crying, I didn`t trust her, I just couldn`t believe it -- not that I didn`t trust her, but I couldn`t
believe it, you know. And she told me that she`s gone and she stole Jeremy`s truck, which is her stepdad. And I said, no, Hayleigh`s couldn`t
do that. And she said, well, Eddie, she`s gone.
GRACE: Mr. Wilson, joining us. This is Hayleigh`s father. And Eddie, again, thank you for being us. Everyone, there is a $5,000 reward
that is climbing. 800-TBI-find. 800-Tennessee bureau of investigation- find. Take a look at this girl. And nobody even knew she was talking to this guy online. And the reason Mr. Wilson probably couldn`t take it in,
it`s totally out of character. Again, this girl has stayed on the honor roll all the way through school. Loves to read, loves to study, loves
school. Never been a problem. Eddie Wilson, what are police telling you tonight?
WILSON: Well, all I know is the last thing is they think, not that they know, but they think that they have them tracked down into like a 12-
square-mile area. The place they`re looking is just the whole side of the Appalachian mountain, that they`re in that county. And the terrain is real
rough, you know, hills straight up. And they have cabins, I`ve been told that there`s cabins in this campground, and some of them is like 10 miles
apart. And they`ve got a horse stable, that you rent horses to get to these cabins, you know. And I`m hoping and praying that maybe they`re in
one of these cabins that`s been left -- that have been abandoned, where they can stay out of the weather, you know, because there`s been lightning
strikes covering the whole town over the last few days.
GRACE: Mr. Wilson, I cannot imagine going home tonight after work and finding one of my twins gone. I just -- I can`t even imagine that bed
being empty. So, tell me, what is your greatest fear and your greatest hope tonight.
WILSON: Well, you know, my worst fear is the unimaginable. That, you know, them finding her somewhere cut up, deposited somewhere. But I`m
hoping, you know, that she`s got something to eat, that she`s warm, that she`s not hungry, and, I`m hoping and praying for all that stuff. You
know, if this guy was going to take her, I hope he`s man enough to take care of her. I mean -- I`m hoping for the best on that. You know, but,
it`s terrifying to know that she`s with a pedophile. But, you know, I can`t -- I just can`t think, I just feel numb all over and I have so many
thoughts in my head.
[20:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:59:10]
GRACE: Let`s remember American hero, California police officer, David Nelson. Just 26, killed in the line of duty. Served Bakersfield police,
two years, Burbank police three years. Gave the ultimate sacrifice for his community. An econ and political science grad, loved working out. Leaves
behind grieving parents, two brothers, David Nelson, American hero. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp, Eastern. And until then, good night,
friend.
END
