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CNN Live Sunday

Police Say Smart's Kidnapper Wore Tan Golf Cap

Aired June 16, 2002 - 17:22   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A new lead in the search for a missing Utah girl may come in the form of a tan cap. Investigators say the suspect who abducted 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was wearing one. CNN's Michael Okwu joins us from Salt Lake City with the very latest on that investigation. Hi there, Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, hello to you. We've known for quite some time now that the person who abducted Elizabeth Smart was wearing some sort of light-colored cap, but this is the best description that we've had of what specifically that cap was like. Authorities tell us that it is a tan-colored golf cap.

Now they got this information from Elizabeth's 9-year-old sister Mary Katherine. She has been interviewed over the course of the past week and a half or so with help from experts from the Children's Crisis Center.

Now, these people are specialists. They find out basically about children who had crimes committed against them, and they specialize in interviewing those children as well.

But beyond this, a law enforcement official close to the investigation tells CNN that they are no closer to identifying who did this. They say that they're not looking at a specific select group of people, and they're also tell us that right now this is about good, old-fashioned detective work.

Of course, they're still looking for Bret Michael Edmunds, the drifter who was seen along the neighborhood at Elizabeth's home just about 48 hours before she was discovered to be missing. And they say they do not know what license plate he may be using on his green Saturn. They insist, even today, that he's not a suspect. They say they have nothing that connects him to this particular crime. They call him "a doper," (ph) someone who is more interested in getting his hands on cash than in getting his hands on a child -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much, Michael Okwu, from Salt Lake City. I appreciate it.

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