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Nancy Grace
Kidnapped Tennessee Girl Found Safe; Honoring Plymouth County Sheriff Deputy James Creed. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired May 12, 2016 - 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 MALE: I am very pleased and relieved tonight to announce that the Amber Alert issued from the Rogersville Police Department on May 5th
for Carlie Trent has been successfully resolved. Carlie is safe tonight because of an entire community pulling together.
Two conscientious Hawkins County residents did just that. Donnie Lawson, a Baptist minister, Roger Carpenter found Carlie Simpson (sic) -- found Gary
Simpson and Carlie Trent deep into their property, along trails only accessible by four-wheel drive. Mr. Carpenter held Gary Simpson at
gunpoint while Mr. Lawson called 911 and rescued Carlie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Carlie has been found! Carlie is alive. Carlie Trent, the little 9-year-old girl that we have all been
searching for now going into day eight -- Carlie Trent is alive. She has been found in a remote area, a remote area there in Tennessee. She has
been found, we understand, on highway 70 north, Gravely Valley Road, Surgoinsville. It is not a campground.
Joining me, Josh DeVine, the PIO from TBI, and also joining me, Tommy Campbell is with us, editor with "The Rogersville Review." Tommy, is it
true?
TOMMY CAMPBELL, "ROGERSVILLE REVIEW" (via telephone): Nancy, as far as we know, it is true. We`ve had confirmation from a couple of our sources,
sources that I would trust, who tell me that Carlie Trent is safe, has been found, has been rescued, and that her uncle by marriage, Gary Simpson, is
in custody.
GRACE: Breaking right now. We are going live to Tennessee. Carlie Trent, according to our sources, has been found alive. All of your prayers, all
of your tips, all of your well wishes have paid off.
Straight out now to Josh DeVine, the public information officer with the TBI. Josh, you just warned everyone and begged the public to go check
their outbuildings, their yards, their grounds, their fields.
What can you tell me about this area where Carlie has been found alive?
JOSH DEVINE, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Well, what I`m hearing from our folks, Nancy, is that this is an extremely rural area. And that
just speaks to all of east Tennessee, frankly. It`s very rural out there. So you`re right. Earlier today, we had urged people, Get out there, check
your barns, check your outbuildings, walk your property, see if you spotted something. And looks like it just broke this whole thing wide open.
GRACE: In the last moments, literally as we go to air, we learn Carlie Trent is alive. It is a miracle! Statistically, this never happens.
After dire warnings from the TBI that Carlie was in grave danger, actually mortal danger, tonight, it all turns around. It skids the other way.
Everything goes sideways. Carlie has been found.
Now, what can you tell me, Josh DeVine, about this area? Where is Surgoinsville? Where is highway 70? Has she been hiding in plain sight?
It was not a campground. Do you think they were squatting on someone`s land?
DEVINE: We honestly don`t know at this point, but it does appear that this is private land owned by a resident there in Hawkins County. It`s
relatively close to Rogersville, which is where Gary Simpson and Carlie Trent are from. But I would say it`s probably three, four miles away from
their home. So they`ve been there all along.
And this is certainly -- I mean, this is news, Nancy, that frankly just overjoys us. This is what we want to happen. We want someone to spot
something that can break this kind of case wide open.
And I have just got to tell you, we are overjoyed, and we are so thankful for this public, this community, everything that has gone on in the past
week to bring this to this type of resolution, Nancy. We -- I just -- I frankly am speechless, and you`ve heard me talk over the past few days.
It`s hard for me to be speechless about much.
GRACE: You know, the thing is this. There have been sightings. There have been tips all over the country, as far away as Idaho, Missouri, 11
different states. There have been 2,000 tips constantly pouring in since we begin covering this on our program. But tonight, it`s all paid off.
Carlie has been found alive.
[20:05:06]Now, just before she was found, her kidnapper, 57-year-old Gary Simpson`s, charges were upgraded to aggravated kidnapping. That`s a whole
`nother can of worms.
What we are learning tonight is that these two were not in a campground area. They weren`t paying to park anywhere. They didn`t pitch a tent. We
believe they`ve been living out of the uncle`s 2002 Dodge conversion Caravan van. The cargo space had been altered to be living space, with
dark tinted windows. No one could see the girl in there.
Without a license tag on the front, as it`s not required in Tennessee, this conversion van -- here`s the interior, where they -- we believe they have
been living, the uncle with this 9-year-old little girl, could back into an area and no one would be the wiser.
Let`s see the four-shot of the uncle we`ve all been looking for. Fifty- seven-year-old Gary Simpson has had no criminal history that has been ever reported. But one of the reasons Josh DeVine has been warning us about
mortal danger -- Josh DeVine, have you been able confirm reports from extended family that he had assaulted extended relatives, females?
DEVINE: Nancy, we can`t confirm that, but we certainly cannot deny that. And we are well aware of all the speculation that`s been swirling around
Gary Simpson because from the get-go, it has been our absolute goal to know everything we possibly can about who he is as an individual and what his
relationship exactly looks like with this little girl.
This had us motivated to do everything we possibly could to investigate every tip to its fullness to bring this girl home.
GRACE: So what you`re saying, Josh DeVine, if I may paraphrase or try to extrapolate and interpret is, you`re not denying these reports of prior
assaults on female relatives.
DEVINE: No, but I cannot confirm it. You`re an attorney. You know that we`ve got a criminal case that will eventually go forward.
GRACE: Absolutely. Also, we are hearing tonight -- let`s go to Tommy Campbell with "The Rogersville Review" -- that the van was not what tipped
off their whereabouts. It was them, the two of them, the uncle and the little girl. What do you know, Tommy?
CAMPBELL: Well, Nancy, at this point, we`re just getting real sketchy information. But you know, apparently, somebody did see the two of them.
And this is -- you know, you have to understand this is a very beautiful but very rugged part of northeastern Tennessee, and this location where
they were found was actually not far, as I understand it and from what I`m being told -- not far from the Hancock County-Hawkins County line, which is
off highway 70 north, on the very northwestern side of the county, Gravely Valley Road.
GRACE: When you say rugged -- what do you mean by rugged? Is it mountainous, what?
CAMPBELL: It`s mountainous, you know, deep valleys, I mean, mountainous, just very rugged. There`s abandoned farmhouses, barns, that just -- all
across that landscape, some of them 100-year-old farmhouses that are just abandoned. And there literally are places there where you could lose
yourself. And unless you wanted to see someone else, you wouldn`t see another living soul for months. I mean, it`s just that rugged in that
area.
GRACE: A miracle tonight in this rugged, rugged Tennessee terrain, 9-year- old Tennessee girl Carlie Trent has been found. We are getting confirmation from the U.S. Marshals that say she has been found in Hawkins
County, but we knew all along -- let`s see that video from the Save-a-Lot. We knew by analyzing exactly what they had purchased, Josh DeVine -- the
Save-a-Lot, at the grocery store. We knew from what they had purchased they were planning an extended trip.
Now, here you see -- that`s the patron before them. But if you take a look at what`s coming up, that`s their grocery, their provisions, multiple bags
of bread. This is what the uncle is buying. He is buying multiple cartons of snack cakes. Noticeably -- we`ve honed in -- he does not have on his
wedding band, which is a whole `nother can of worms. Multiple cans of store brand soda, multiple cases of Vienna sausages, which can be used for
fish bait. It goes on and on.
[20:10:04]The provisions he buys, including bikini underwear, a swimsuit, nail polish, PJs, other things that really are not appropriate for a 57-
year-old man to be buying for a little girl.
And if you look at Carlie there, she`s totally trusting him, Josh DeVine. She apparently thinks they`re just going on a camping trip, and it`s A-OK
with her dad.
DEVINE: Well, you know, we`ve been telling you from the get-go that this uncle once had custody. And it`s important to know he`s an uncle by
marriage. He`s not a biological uncle. He`s an uncle by marriage. And he previously had custody of this child. So you`re are right that. In that
surveillance that you see from the grocery store, there`s no indication that she has any idea what`s about to happen.
GRACE: Another thing, Josh. If you look, he`s buying multiple toilet papers, multiple paper towels, which tells me he`s not planning to stay in
a hotel. So all of your and our analysis has proven true tonight, Josh DeVine joining me from TBI. He was planning to take this girl, bunk up in
a remote location that he had probably scoped out where nobody would ever see him, and live off all of these provisions until I guess he could steal
or get some more, Josh.
DEVINE: Well, our belief from the get-go, Nancy, is that this guy really wanted to go off the grid and that he had perhaps planned this. I mean,
earlier in the day, he had gone to the bank to take out some money before he went to the Walmart, before he went to the school, before he went to the
grocery store. So it does look like he had an agenda, so to speak, of things he wanted to take care of before he disappeared with this girl.
GRACE: Everyone, there you see a shot of 57-year-old uncle Gary Simpson, no criminal history that has ever been reported. According to his wife, he
had over 30 years of marriage that was never tainted with an arrest, no domestic calls, nothing, when suddenly, he goes off the grid and kidnaps
little Carlie, going to her elementary school, lying that her father had been in a horrific crash, he was near death, and he had to take her. They
let him take her.
Unbeknownst to them, it was all a plan to kidnap this little girl. The area where she`s found, remote and rugged, Clinch Mountain. Look at this.
The headline tonight, Carlie is alive. Look at this video we just obtained.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLIE TRENT, 9 YEARS OLD: My name is Carlie. This is my dad`s phone. I know you never saw me before, but it`s just my dad`s phone. He`s going to
kill me when he gets back. He`s going to buy a Camaro, a car. He`s riding with this man in the Camaro. But my dad`s going to kill me because he
never lets me use his phone. He`s going to kill me! OK, `bye. I got to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:17:02]GRACE: Carlie Trent is alive. This little 9-year-old girl who was abducted by her 57-year-old uncle, tricked out of the schoolhouse, is
safe. Gary Simpson, 57 years old, is in custody. She has been found in a remote and mountainous area not far from home, the two living off the
provisions they bought just after the kidnap, this going into day eight. Today day eight, as doubt began to settle onto the TBI, they continued
urging people to look at their outhouses, to look at the property around them.
We learn her father, James Trent, rushing to the hospital, the Wellmont Hawkins County Memorial Hospital. Carlie is being rushed to the hospital,
as well, where the two meet.
Why, may I ask to you, to Dr. Chris Calendine, why -- you`re Carlie`s pediatrician. Why is she being rushed to the hospital, Dr. Calendine?
DR. CHRISTOPHER CALENDINE, CARLIE`S PEDIATRICIAN (via telephone): Yes, we -- I`m right across the street from the hospital. She`s not there yet that
I`ve been told. And I`ve already spoken with detectives. They said she looks great. And as soon as she gets to the emergency department, we`ll go
over and touch base with her.
GRACE: Why is she being rushed to the hospital, Dr. Calendine?
CALENDINE: As I far as I know -- I`ve heard from multiple sources that she was perfectly safe, so I`ve been told by -- so I suspect it`s just a
routine matter to make sure that everything is OK.
GRACE: Richard Bowie joining me, director of Deemi Search and Rescue. Richard, how difficult is it to find somebody in this mountainous and
rugged terrain?
RICHARD BOWIE, DEEMI SEARCH AND RESCUE (via telephone): It`s a very difficult area to search because you have a lot of winding rivers. You
have very deep woods, large mountains to cross. The difficult thing is trying to get someone into those areas to actually look. The use of
aircraft for imaging work, the dog teams to try to get the search area narrowed down would all be important in a case like this.
GRACE: Back to Josh DeVine, the public information officer with the TBI. Josh, what more are you learning? I mean, statistically, this never
happens.
And I want to personally thank all of our viewers, every one that sent in tips, that prayed, that sent e-mails in the search for Carlie Trent.
Tonight a miracle. This girl has just been found alive, rushed to the hospital where she is meeting her father.
So in the end -- to you, Josh -- how was it that she was spotted?
DEVINE: Oh, my gosh, Nancy. Well, this is what we talk about all the time. It really just comes down to good-natured people doing the right
thing. And in this case, the right thing is keeping your eyes peeled, spotting something that you know just doesn`t sit right in the pit of your
stomach.
[20:20:04]The preliminary information we have is that there was a gentleman who was just out checking his property, which we urged earlier in the day.
He gets out there, he walks around, he spots something suspicious. He notifies law enforcement. Lo and behold, it`s her.
And I cannot thank this public, this country, this globe really, enough. I mean, this is incredible.
GRACE: Josh, we are being joined right now by a special guest. This is Carlie`s aunt, Linda Simpson, who for 30-plus years has been married to
Gary Simpson -- no hint, no suggestion he would ever do anything like this.
Ms. Simpson, thank you for being with us.
LINDA SIMPSON, SUSPECT`S WIFE (via telephone): You`re welcome.
GRACE: I know your heart has been broken on so many levels. But first, your reaction to the fact Carlie has been found alive.
SIMPSON: I`m so thankful. Thank God. Thank God. I`m so relieved, so happy.
GRACE: As are we. Linda, did you ever have any clue Gary would do something like this?
SIMPSON: No, I didn`t have a clue. If I`d have had a clue, I would have stopped it.
GRACE: Let me ask you this. As he was preparing to take Carlie out of school, to go on the run with her, did you notice anything different? Did
he take anything from the house, groceries, pillows, blankets, anything?
SIMPSON: No, I`ve searched this house over. I can`t find one thing that he took, other than he`s had two jackets missing. And I`ve looked
everywhere.
GRACE: So no pillow, no blanket, no food, no canned goods, no paper goods, no sodas, nothing?
SIMPSON: Nothing.
GRACE: Wow. OK, let me ask you this. When did you first learn, A, Carlie was missing, and B, she was with your husband?
SIMPSON: I first learned she was missing when she didn`t come home on the bus. And when I learned that Gary had her was after my brother went to the
police, and they contacted the school, and the school had films of him picking her up. Of course, they knew that he had picked her up at that
time in the matter.
GRACE: Could you believe it? Could you believe it when you found out not only is she missing, she`s with Gary, your husband?
SIMPSON: No, I couldn`t believe it. I still -- I mean, I`m still shocked that he had her.
GRACE: Why do you believe he did this?
SIMPSON: I don`t know. That`s my question. Why? I don`t know why. I can`t figure it out why.
GRACE: Joining me now is Linda Simpson. This is Aunt Linda Simpson to little Carlie and the wife of Gary Simpson, a 57-year-old man who had never
exhibited any criminal behavior that was reported. They have been married over 30 years. There had been no suggestion whatsoever he would do
anything like this.
That morning, Linda, when he left the house, you now know to go take her out of school, what did he do? Did he act normal?
SIMPSON: He was normal. He got up, got his clothes on, ate his bowl of cereal, and then he was out the door, I mean, just like normal when he goes
anywhere.
GRACE: So he gets up that morning, eats his cereal, gets dressed and goes out the door, drives off in the van. And the next thing you know, Carlie
doesn`t come home on the bus.
SIMPSON: That`s correct.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:27:40]GRACE: Nine-year-old Carlie Trent found alive. And joining me right now is her aunt Linda, the wife of Gary Simpson, who took this child
out of school. She had no warning. She says he got up that morning, he acted completely normally, got dressed, ate his cereal, walked out the
door, hopped in the van. She knew nothing was wrong until Carlie did not show up that afternoon on the bus.
Ms. Simpson, thank you for being with us.
SIMPSON: You`re welcome.
GRACE: I assume that you tried to call him on his cellphone, right?
SIMPSON: Yes. I tried to call him right away. I tried to call him every day, just about, ever since she`s been gone. But he -- you know, no
response.
GRACE: Now, would you leave a message?
SIMPSON: Yes, I left messages. I left -- our son -- our son leave him messages, but still no response.
GRACE: Now, did you believe his cellphone was turned off, or he wasn`t answering the phone?
SIMPSON: Well, I really don`t know. I mean, I`m sure he wouldn`t have answered it if he had it on.
GRACE: So at any time did he try to get in touch with you, leave you a message, a text, anything?
SIMPSON: No, nothing.
GRACE: And you have no clue why he would do this?
SIMPSON: No.
GRACE: Had he and Carlie been close? Did they do things together? Did he enjoy being with her? Did he look at her like a daughter?
SIMPSON: Yes. Really, I would say he looked at her like a daughter. I mean, he loved her and her sister (INAUDIBLE) He seemed to me as he did. I
don`t -- that`s why I`m so shocked and don`t understand why.
GRACE: Straight to Josh DeVine, public information officer with the TBI. Reports now that Hawkins County individuals spot the girl. They detain the
girl. They get the girl away from the uncle. And they call authority. Is that your understanding?
DEVINE: I don`t have any of that type of information. I`m still waiting to hear from one of our agents on the ground. But you`re right, all of
this looks like it blew wide open when someone just saw something and said something.
GRACE: Wow, in this remote area. To the aunt, Linda Simpson. Are you familiar at all with the Clinch Mountain area? Did he have any connections
to that area?
[20:30:00] SIMPSON: Yes. We live close to Clinch Mountain.
GRACE: And what kind of area is it? Is there anybody there he knows that would let him park on their land?
SIMPSON: I wouldn`t know anybody would have let him park on their land.
GRACE: Do you believe that they were living out of the van, the Conversion Van?
SIMPSON: Well, they were found in the mountains apparently so.
GRACE: Ms. Simpson, when you saw the things that they had purchased at the Save-A-Lot and the Walmart, what did you think?
SIMPSON: It looked to me like they were going somewhere to stay in the van.
GRACE: With a swimsuit for a girl, a camping chair, all that food. Has he ever gone on trips in the van before?
SIMPSON: No.
GRACE: Joining me tonight is Linda Simpson, who is Carlie`s aunt and the wife of Gary Simpson, who is now charged with her kidnapping. Ms. Simpson,
are you planning to go immediately tonight to see him?
SIMPSON: No.
GRACE: Why?
SIMPSON: I don`t want to see him.
GRACE: Explain.
SIMPSON: I just don`t want to see his face. I mean, anybody that kidnap a kid and take it and hide it, I don`t want to see his face.
GRACE: You know, I know that you are heartbroken over the search for Carlie, but for Gary Simpson to do this after all these years of marriage,
no warning, nothing, just bam, he takes Carlie and leaves, what are your thoughts? Has it stuck in yet Linda?
SIMPSON: I don`t know. I`m not sure it has because it`s unbelievable. I mean, it`s been like a dream but all I -- all I`ve wanted is just CARLIE to
be home. That was my main thing. I was focused on with Carlie being home.
GRACE: You know, you`re right. You`re right. And it`s a miracle tonight, because Carlie is your blood relative.
That is your little niece. And you have been around her and helping to raise her for a long, long time, helping your brother raise this girl and
her sister.
You were saying that you have no plan to go see your husband behind bars. And why is that? Why don`t you want to see his face?
SIMPSON: Because of what he`s done. I don`t want to see his face.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Carlie Trent, the 9-year-old little girl abducted by her uncle, 57- year-old Gary Simpson, is alive. We can confirm that tonight through the TBI and the U.S. Marshals.
She has been found by citizens in a remote and rugged area off Clinch Mountain. Here`s the scene where she was reportedly found back amongst the
trees. It is full of ravines, tall mountains, heavily wooded, dense forest. She has been found.
And according to reports we`re getting in as we are reporting, we are learning that citizens detained one or both of them. The uncle and the girl
and held them until law enforcement could arrive.
They`re in Surgoinsville, Tennessee area, not far from home but it`s such a remote and wooded area, they would never have been found.
The TBI issuing alerts, begging people to search their curtilage, the buildings, the outhouses surrounding their homes, their garages, their
fields, their farms, it all paid off tonight.
Carlie is alive, rushed to the hospital, the Wellmont Hawkins County Hospital, we believe, her father rushing there as well to reunite with his
daughter. Joining me is a special guest, Tommy Campbell, editor with "The Rogersville Review", what can you tell us, Tommy?
TOMMY CAMPBELL, "THE ROGERSVILLE REVIEW" EDITOR: Nancy, just a lot of prayers have been answered. From what we are being told, they are en route
to Wellmont Hawkins County Memorial Hospital here in Rogersville with Carlie to be checked out.
From what we`re hearing, she appears to be fine, but they -- I guess, want to make sure that she is OK after being living out as they were living for
eight days now.
The van is being processed. We`re hearing -- we do have a reporter who is on Clinch Mountain at this time, but unfortunately, their self service
there ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So remote there you can`t hear a darn thing. Tommy Campbell with "The Rogersville Review".
To Josh Devine, with the TBI, the public information officer. Josh, it`s very significant that the D.A. is saying that she appears to be physically
OK on the outside, but clearly, they are going to do an exam to make sure this child has not been molested.
JOSH DEVINE, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION PIO: Absolutely, Nancy. They`re going to do a whole battery of tests to make sure that she is
physically OK.
I mean, you saw the groceries that they purchased. She has been living off not much food for the past week presumably so there are still a lot of
questions. First and foremost, they just want to make sure physically she`s going to be OK.
GRACE: Actually going into day nine, unleash the lawyers, Rene Sandler from Washington, D.C., Riah Greathouse, defense attorney out of Atlanta.
Rene, he`s already in enough trouble. His charge is upgraded from kidnapping to "especially aggravated kidnapping." When you kidnap a child
under the age of 13 in that jurisdiction, it ups the possible sentence to 60 years.
She is at the hospital now, rushed to the hospital. You know they`re going to do an exam to determine whether that child has been molested. And if she
has, this guy is looking at life behind bars.
[20:40:00] RENE SANDLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. It`s standard procedure and you know that, Nancy, to check out a victim who has been
under these circumstances, certainly, look at any forensics that they have.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Living in a van.
SANDLER: On the side of the mountain with your ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Yes.
SANDLER: ... good old uncle. Her emotional wellbeing is first and foremost and they`ll move into the forensics but it`s standard to take a child to
the hospital and they`ll do every investigation that they can to see what happened.
GRACE: Well, another issue. I agree with you, Rene, Rene Sandler.
Riah Greathouse, here`s the deal. The real deal. If he had turned her in instead of being detained, basically, a citizen`s arrest by brave
individuals on Clinch Mountain, they see the girl, they get either one or both of them and call law enforcement holding them, he could probably have
gotten a deal if he had brought her back unharmed.
He didn`t do that. Oh, no. He put her family through H-E-double L. People all over this country praying, e-mailing, on the lookout. He could have
saved about 15, 20 years of his sentence if he had handed her in safely.
RIAH GREATHOUSE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, one of the first things that needs to be done is he needs to have a mental evaluation. This is so
far out of his character as his wife reported earlier. This is something where he needs to have a full examination to see what his mental state is.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Is that what you`re saying he had?
GREATHOUSE: If you can even appreciate, you know ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Really?
GREATHOUSE: ... the act that he did.
GRACE: Because what I think she said is he was acting perfectly normally. There was no sign of a problem, of emotional instability. Nothing.
He managed to make it to the Save-A-Lot and make it to Walmart and buy camping gear. Good luck with the mental instability claim.
To Josh Devine with the TBI. Josh, based on all of the information that you have collected over these last, now going on, nine days, with Carlie gone,
are you surprised? Carlie had been hidden, secreted away in the Tennessee wilderness there at Clinch Mountain?
DEVINE: Well, to be honest with you, this is one of our suspicions from the get-go. As we`ve indicated, they didn`t have a lot of money, they didn`t
have a huge capacity to travel very far. They did not have a lot of food. They only had some limited things that really spoke to camping and being
off the grid.
So to say this is a surprise, not really. We sort of suspected that this was one of the key options out there.
GRACE: The surprise is Carlie is alive. Breaking now, Carlie Trent, the 9- year-old girl kidnapped out of her elementary school has been found alive. She is in the hospital tonight.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Breaking news right now, Carlie Trent is alive. For all of you that have been praying, sending in tips, e-mailing, calling, and following her
story, a miracle.
This child has just been located in a remote area of Tennessee mountains, Clinch Mountain. She is alive. Two citizens take her and/or Simpson, her
57-year-old uncle, into custody. They won`t let her go nor him until law enforcement arrived and we can report right now, he is entering the Hawkins
County Jail.
Joining me, Tommy Campbell, "The Rogersville Review", Josh Devine, TBI. Josh, why were his charges upgraded from kidnapping to especially
aggravated kidnapping?
DEVINE: Well, you know, as criminal investigations go on, we get more information, and so the charge increased because of the information that we
were able to develop and the district attorney believing that it met the requirement.
GRACE: As you can see, right there, that was a shot of 57-year-old Gary Simpson. Up until this point, no history whatsoever, three-plus years of
marriage. To Dr. Sanam Hafeez, a neuropsychologist joining me out of New York. Why? Now, you already heard a suggestion there was no instability.
That is absolutely not true.
You also heard his wife who joined us live tonight say he was perfectly normal that morning, put on his pants and his shoes like every other day,
had a bowl of cereal, left in the van, little did she know he went straight to stock up on provisions, camping provisions, kidnapped the girl from the
elementary school and then go get more provisions with the girl to go on the run. No sign whatsoever in this video of any mental instability at all.
SANAM HAFEEZ, NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST: I think that signs have been missed because this sounds like a very well planned and executed, you know, sort
of kidnapping.
I think there were signs. I think that people just weren`t paying attention. I think, you know, people who are either sociopaths or
pedophiles, you know, they earn the trust of the family before they make their moves.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Put her up.
HAFEEZ: It was very likely that he was, you know, sort of planning this for a while and no one just saw it coming. And this girl, obviously, this child
trusted him enough to leave with him. So ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Dr. Hafeez, are you suggesting that signs of a mental instability were missed or signs of his plotting and planning were missed?
HAFEEZ: I think that signs of the plotting and planning were missed. I think whatever he harbored for this little girl, I think he kept to himself
and, you know, like I said, he was close to the family. He earned their trust and the trust of this little girl for her to leave with him.
GRACE: Ben Levitan, a telecommunications expert, a 2002 conversion van is not going to have any GPS and you just heard Tommy Campbell with "The
Rogersville Review", they`ve got a guy up on top -- a reporter on top of that mountain right now and they can`t get a cell. Basically, there would
have been no way to track this guy where he was hiding out with Carlie.
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT: Yeah, Nancy, if he had any of his instruments on, if he had any of his devices on, we can go back
forensically and see where that device was.
[20:50:00] GRACE: Even if there is no -- even if there`s no cell reception there?
LEVITAN: No, no, absolutely not. He was totally off the grid, Nancy. He was totally off the grid. The last -- what we will be able to find out is where
he last was. Probably where he turned off his phone.
I`m expecting that this guy went off the grid, he turned off his phone. That will be the last digital footprint that he left anywhere, Nancy.
GRACE: Joining me now, Dr. Ken Redcross, Board-Certified Internal Medicine and Concierge Doctor. Dr. Redcross, Carlie is at the hospital right now.
What is she enduring?
KEN REDCROSS, BOARD-CERTIFIED INTERNAL MEDICINE: She has endured so much to be away from home. I can only imagine. She`s 9. I have twins at home that
are 10 and I know how they feel.
You know, one of the things I thought about with her especially with this guy that took her is that he has toilet paper he had soda but he has no
water. So that was the thing I was worried about for Carlie because you can live two to three weeks without food but you can only live three days
without water.
So I didn`t know how she was going to do there, so it was absolutely a blessing that she was found today, but just mentally dealing with a
relative who has actually taken her, I cannot imagine what she`s going through.
So, she`s going to really be there with the social workers and all the therapists really getting into what`s really going on with her mentally.
GRACE: Everyone, San Diego, wealthy city but less than an hour away the outskirts of Tijuana, families living in poverty. No running water,
electricity. That is where this week`s CNN Hero lends a helping hand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA CLAUSSEN, CNN HERO: It is important to remember that these families that we`re helping in Mexico are our neighbors. They`re just right across
the border. It is night and day. The difference.
We are helping the communities come together. And we are teaching them that there is love in the world. That other people do care about them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: See how Paula changes a family`s life in one day, cnnheroes.com and nominate who you deserve -- you think deserves to be a CNN hero.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: In the last hours, we learned that Carlie is alive. Carlie Trent, the little girl we`ve all been searching for, going into day nine, has been
found in a remote mountainous area in Tennessee. Clinch Mountain.
She was not found by super sleuthing, she was not found by her digital or electronic fingerprint left behind by her kidnapper, her 57-year-old uncle,
Gary Simpson. She was found by citizens who see the girl with her uncle and they effect a citizen`s arrest, grabbing the girl and/or both of them,
detaining them until law enforcement arrives in an area so remote, you don`t even have cell service there.
He was not spotted in his van that we`ve been publicizing. They saw the girl. They saw the TBI, the U.S. Marshals and all the publicity this child
has gotten, she has been found safe.
So to you, Tommy Campbell, editor of "The Rogersville Review" ...
CAMPBELL: Yes?
GRACE: Right now, the uncle, 57-year-old Gary Simpson, is being booked and fingerprinted. What is in store for him?
CAMPBELL: Well, he will be facing some pretty serious charges because when they upgraded that -- the charge from kidnapping to especially aggravated
kidnapping, that makes that a class A felony. So he is looking at some serious jail time.
GRACE: To Josh Devine, PIO, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, on it from the beginning. His charges have been upgraded. He made it all the way to
the 10 most wanted list because of kidnapping Carlie. What do you anticipate happening now? He is getting fingerprinted right now.
DEVINE: Booked into jail? Regular legal process. He will face these charges but you better believe, Nancy, we have got a lot of tough questions for
him.
GRACE: Based on what we have seen over the last eight days, we knew this man, Gary Simpson, had planned to take the girl away for an extended period
of time going "off the grid". Her father saying he was, "obsessed with her".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLIE TRENT, ABDUCTED GIRL NOW FOUND: It`s my dad`s phone. He is going on kill me when he gets back. He is going to buy a Camaro, a car.
He`s home with this man ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, Carlie Trent, alive.
We stop to honor American hero, Plymouth County Sheriff Deputy James Creed. Off duty, at dinner with his wife when he stopped a deadly stabbing spree
at a Massachusetts home and mall. Creed, gunning down the suspect, saving lives. James Creed, American hero.
And good luck to Danielle, our superstar off to a bright future. Walk slow and hurry back.
Happy diamond anniversary to Jersey friends Rose and Manny, 60 years. Came to the U.S. From Portugal. They fell in love. Now retired. Happy
anniversary, Rose and Manny.
"Forensic Files" up next. Thank you to our guests but especially to you for being with us. Nancy Grace, signing off. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8
o`clock sharp, Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
[21:00:00]
END
