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NANCY GRACE

Police Search Building for Remains of Boy Who Disappeared 33 Years Ago

Aired April 19, 2012 - 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 now. We are taking you live to a search. After years of speculation, dozens of theories, FBI and law enforcement swooping down, literally digging under the streets for a little lost boy, 6-year-old Etan Patz. Tonight, is there a break in the search for Etan?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re looking for human remains.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they are digging up, possibly finding the human remains of little Etan Patz.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May 25th, 1979, Etan Patz.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Etan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Etan`s mother let the 6-year-old walk two blocks to catch the school bus on his own.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But Etan vanished in those two blocks, and an intense search began. Things became etched in parents` minds after Etan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A judge declared Etan dead, as his parents had requested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It represents to the family very incomplete justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no justice for Etan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are breaking into the story we were scheduled to bring you tonight, in the search for a little lost 6-year-old boy, Etan Patz, last seen on the day that he begged his mom to let him just walk two blocks to the bus stop alone -- the very first day. He was never seen again. Right now, digging underneath the streets for remains of Etan Patz.

We are taking you live. Susan Candiotti, CNN correspondent, joining us on the scene. There you`re seeing aerial footage of where Susan is standing. The search for 6-year-old Etan Patz ongoing right now. Susan, can you hear me?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nancy, right now, there`s a ton of police activity out here. A helicopter has been flying overhead, but right now, all the action is at this particular location.

It is the red brick building that you see over my shoulder. And that is where the FBI, with an assist from the NYPD, is currently doing excavation work. I mean, they are digging up into the -- digging down into the basement, into the flooring. This could be original -- who knows how old the construction is, but certainly at least 33 years old -- digging there to see what they can find. They`re looking into the walls and into the basement.

What are they looking for specifically? They are looking for, they said, possibly finding the human remains of little Etan Patz, who was 6 years old at the time he disappeared.

They`re looking for human remains. They`re looking for clothing, any personal effects, anything that belonged -- he was wearing at the time or anything else he had with him, as well as any possible blood evidence that might remain after all these years.

It`s a very active scene. There are all kinds of crowds hanging around, looking at this, because this case was so big, so huge at the time. There are so many people who remember it very well who are still in this area.

And what`s the significance of this location? Well, we can tell you that it is literally about a half a block or so in either direction along the very same bus route that Etan was taking when he left his house that day to go to school and the bus stop where he was heading. Bus stop in this direction, his house over in this direction -- Nancy.

GRACE: Joining me live on the scene, Susan Candiotti, CNN correspondent. Tonight, is there a break in the search for 6-year-old Etan Patz? The little boy begs his mom that morning, Please, please, let me walk the two blocks alone to catch the bus to school. She relents. He is never seen again. Etan Patz, one of the first faces ever seen on milk cartons in the desperate search to find the little boy.

Right now to Jon Lieberman, investigative reporter, host of "Crimeline." Jon, give me the facts. I know them very well. And the fact that Susan is standing in front of this building as they are digging underneath the streets for the skeletal remains of Etan Patz brings it back as if it were yesterday.

What happened, Jon Lieberman?

JON LIEBERMAN, HOST, "CRIMELINE" (via telephone): Well, absolutely. And during my time at "America`s Most Wanted," tips would come in weekly on this case. And that`s what happened here.

Investigators since 2010 have been combing through new leads. One lead, which was a very good lead, according to bureau sources, led them to this basement, which we understand was abandoned at the time of the little boy`s disappearance. But it was a known place where people would rendezvous for sex.

So we understand also that this basement is linked to a carpenter who lived in that area and who also befriended this little boy all of those years ago, and his name has always surfaced in the investigation, and now they`re taking a strong look at him, as well.

But this is really the first public show of progress in this case in years, and it`s wonderful to see. And an FBI agent just e-mailed me and said, Look, we`re following up lots of leads, but we hope this is, quote, "the big one."

GRACE: You know, Jon Lieberman, I understand what you`re saying, that this is wonderful, that there may finally be an answer. But you know, it`s so much easier for me and many others to think about Etan Patz, that he hasn`t been found, maybe he`s still alive somewhere, instead of being forced to think that his skeletal remains are under this building.

Everyone just joining us right now, FBI and dozens of law enforcement, nearly 50, plus the FBI -- let`s see the aerial shot, Liz -- converging in a commercial area in the search for this 6-year-old little boy.

There have been many, many theories about what happened to Etan Patz over the years. But right now, are all those theories set aside as jackhammers and shovels are used to dig deep under the surface of the street for little Etan Patz?

And tonight, Jon Lieberman, we have to confront again what may have happened in this 6-year-old child`s last moments of life. What are the theories, Jon?

LIEBERMAN: Well, there are a million different theories, that he was abducted by a stranger, that he wandered off of the bus and was -- you know, and was abducted by -- perhaps somebody was supposed to pick him up when he got off the bus, somebody that he knew, that he went with.

There was this theory that a convicted pedophile, a guy name Jose Ramos, who`s in prison for an unrelated case -- he was always the prime suspect, but he was never charged with this little boy`s abduction. So you name it, there are theories for it.

But again, sure, you want to hold out hope that somehow this little boy, this beautiful little boy is going to come home. But we also have to be realistic, unfortunately. And in 2001, authorities did rule, you know, that they do, in fact, believe that Etan is dead.

But I`ll tell you, the thing that, to me at least, is heartening is that this never became a cold case. This was always on people`s minds, most of all in 2010, when the new DA reopened the case. But you can see this is anything but a cold case.

GRACE: Well, what is so significant right now -- joining me is special guest, in addition to Jon Lieberman, the president of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, my friend, our colleague, Ernie Allen, is with us.

And what is so significant to me right now, Ernie, is not only finding Etan, but also one man that has continued to surface over and over and over was later found guilty of multiple child molestations of young males similar to Etan Patz, is sitting in a Pennsylvania prison right now. And he is set to get out November 2012, all right, in just a couple of months.

And you know I`m talking about Ramos, Ernie.

ERNIE ALLEN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN (via telephone): Absolutely, Nancy. And there have been some very committed people who have battled for a long time, whenever Ramos comes up for parole, to keep him in that Pennsylvania prison cell.

And Etan`s parents, Stanley and Julie Patz, have fought for a lot of years to get answers. They put pressure on authorities to keep this case alive. These people deserve justice. They deserve some answers. Hopefully, this search will provide them.

GRACE: With me right now, in addition to the president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, investigative reporter Rupa Mikkilineni. Rupa, even though they have ruled that they believe this boy is dead, I have always held out hope that someone abducted him because they wanted a child of their own.

And when I have to look at pictures of Jose Ramos sitting, twiddling his thumbs in a penitentiary right now, waiting to get out in November, and I know about his connections to Etan Patz, and I think about this guy -- let me see his picture, Liz, Jose Ramos -- think about this guy alone in a room with your child. You want him out on the streets? Because I don`t!

At this hour, Susan Candiotti standing by, jackhammers, shovels, picks going beneath the surface of the street in the hopes that deep below a building basement, we will find the remains of a 6-year-old little boy who on the very first day he walks alone to the school stop, just two blocks, goes missing.

Rupa, what happened? And what is the theory as to what happened during Etan`s last moments?

RUPA MIKKILINENI, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (via telephone): Nancy, here`s what we know. Thirty-three years ago, just before Memorial Day weekend, we know that little Etan Patz was allowed for the first time to walk to the school bus, for the first time alone without his parents or baby sitter. And his parents agonized over this decision. Julie Patz, who I`ve spoken to, said that she agonized that day. She was worried. She had a feeling. But she allowed him to do it, Nancy.

And he never made it to school that day. At 3:30 PM that afternoon, they learned he never made it to school. And that is when a frantic search began with bloodhounds, dogs, police, 100 police officers searching the Soho area. And unfortunately, not even a hair on little Etan Patz`s head found. No evidence, no clues until years later, when we learned that this Jose Ramos and a couple of other men may have, in fact, been involved in his disappearance.

GRACE: With me, Rupa Mikkilineni, the president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Jon Lieberman, Glenn Schuck, Susan Candiotti, as we hope and wait. Is there a break in the search for 6-year-old Etan Patz tonight?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re looking for human remains, clothing or other personal effects of Etan Patz in trying to find out where he disappeared, why he disappeared and when (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I recall years ago, when parents would leave baby carriages outside a bakery or a candy store just to run in for a moment to get something. You don`t see that today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 1979, the last day of school before the Memorial Day weekend and a 6-year-old gets his wish, a wish that will result in his disappearance. The 1st grader wants to walk to the bus stop alone. It`s just a few blocks away, and all the other kids get to do it. Mom reluctantly agrees, kissing her son good-bye.

The little boy`s name is Etan Patz. And that was the last time anyone saw him. That afternoon, the school bus arrives without Etan. His mother learns her son never made it to class. Police are called and a nationwide search begins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I`m just hearing in my ear that the medical examiner`s van and employees have shown up on the scene. Everyone, for you just joining us, the long search for 6-year-old little boy Etan Patz may be coming to an end.

Right now, you`re seeing aerial footage of a desperate search for the little boy. That morning, he begged his mom to let him walk just two blocks to where he caught the bus to school, just two blocks on his own. She relented. He was never seen again.

And at this moment, nearly 50 law enforcement, FBI, there, converging at the basement of a building, jackhammering, picks, shovels, digging beneath the surface of the street in what they believe to be a search for the remains of the 6-year-old little boy.

We`re taking your calls. Jon Lieberman, it`s very, very probative that the medical examiner`s team has just arrived.

LIEBERMAN: Well, absolutely. I mean, they`re there for one reason, and that is to help determine whether -- if they find anything, whether the findings are, in fact, human remains. And this operation could go on for a couple of days at least because you have to remember there`s drywall in this basement that wasn`t there in 1979. So authorities have to remove it and then dig through the basement, dig through the brick walls.

But we know that investigators went to the DA. They said they wanted a search warrant based on new information that they have, and that, you know, ended up in what you`re seeing right now.

GRACE: With me, reporter from Metro Networks, Glenn Schuck, is with us. As Jon Lieberman just pointed out, new information after all this time. What do you believe, Glenn Schuck, led police, led the FBI to this particular location?

GLENN SCHUCK, METRO NETWORKS (via telephone): I still think, Nancy, it leads back to Jose Ramos, the information I`m getting. Now, he -- just so your audience is aware -- and Jon touched on it, as Susan did, as well - - this fellow Ramos, he was a friend of the baby sitter of Etan Patz`s family. And I think the prime suspect reason for that is, again, that he was possibly aware of the fact that young Etan Patz was going to be doing this first time on his own, possibly finding that out through the baby sitter that he was friends with, a longtime family baby sitter for the Patz family.

So I think the -- the focus is still certainly on Jose Ramos. You`ve talked about him. He`s in jail. But when they went to him initially, he admitted that he had seen Etan Patz the very day that he disappeared. This focus is still on him.

GRACE: The fact that Ramos says he saw Etan Patz the day he disappears -- Jose Ramos is a known and convicted child molester. And isn`t it true -- out to you, Rupa Mikkilineni -- didn`t he have connections to a former baby sitter of Etan`s?

MIKKILINENI: Yes, Nancy, that is absolutely correct. He was either dating or a very close friendship with a former baby sitter of Etan Patz. And not only that, Nancy, this man has been investigated and questioned even by the U.S. attorney who was heading up this case a number of years after Etan -- it was a very determined man, Stuart GraBois, who reopened the case in 1982.

And when Ramos was arrested for another crime against a child and sitting in jail, they had informants placed in that jail, and Ramos made some statements that would suggest that, in fact, he very much had something to do with the disappearance of Etan Patz that day.

GRACE: So cops put rats, informants, in the jail specifically to catch Ramos, to try to extricate from him in casual conversation and long, long discussions any tidbit about the missing boy, is that what you`re saying, Rupa?

MIKKILINENI: That is what I`m saying, Nancy.

GRACE: And isn`t it true, Ernie Allen, that this guy, Jose Ramos, when he was found under a bridge, that he had all of these photos -- let me ask you this, Rupa. He had all of these photos of little boys similar to Etan.

MIKKILINENI: Yes, he did. They didn`t find a picture of Etan, but they found pictures of little blond boys with a bowl cut haircut just like Etan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May 25th, 1979, Etan Patz.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Etan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Etan`s mother let the 6-year-old walk two blocks to catch the school bus on his own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I recall years ago, when parents would leave baby carriages outside a bakery or a candy store just to run in for a moment to get something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She watched from the fire escape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patz`s case represented the end of innocence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But Etan vanished in those two blocks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You had to be very careful around this neighborhood then after that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody. No admissions. No witnesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know, a lot of moms like me don`t even leave their children in the minivan for 45 seconds because of what happened to Etan Patz.

Imagine what this mother and father have been through. The mom lets the little boy walk to the bus stop for the very first time. He begs and begs. It`s just two blocks. She relents. He is never seen again.

At this hour, FBI, nearly 50 law enforcement, including the medical examiner`s van there on the scene converging, jackhammering, digging, shovels, picks in an effort to find, based on a new tip, the remains of the 6-year-old little boy, Etan Patz, one of the first faces we ever saw on a milk carton, begging for help.

We are taking your calls. Back to you, Rupa Mikkilineni, you have written about this. You have studied this story inside and out. Why did the mom relent that day? What happened?

MIKKILINENI: Nancy, he had -- Etan had been asking for some time. His other school friends were allowed to walk to the bus stop. It was only two blocks. And this had been in discussion for a while. So finally, she relented. We`ll never know why that particular day she said yes, but she did. And here we are now, 33 years later, this little boy vanished.

GRACE: And this was an upscale area, Kat McCullough, also on the story. It was, as I recall, the Friday before Memorial Day. Everyone was looking forward to a great long weekend. And it wasn`t until mom calls the school at 3:30 in the afternoon when Etan didn`t show up, she realized something was wrong, right, Kat?

KAT MCCULLOUGH, NANCY GRACE producer: That`s correct, Nancy. The mother didn`t realize he had not made it to the bus stop until he didn`t return home after school. This is a very safe, upscale area.

GRACE: Let me see the live shot aerial view. Everyone, there you see police, FBI, medical examiners converging as they jackhammer through the bottom of the basement floor beneath the street in a search for human remains of a 6-year-old boy, the mystery that has hung around the parents` necks ever since he disappeared that May morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It`s hard to fathom that such a joyful face could have inspired such a sad movement but the disappearance of Etan Patz is credited with starting the national missing children`s movement in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Patz`s case represented the end of innocence. Up until that time all of us felt that our children had free reign in the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That time was May 25th, 1979, the day Etan`s mother let the 6-year-old walk two blocks to catch the school bus on his home as she watched from the fire escape.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a lot of the people knew each other really well because there weren`t that many of them. And I think a lot of them felt apart from any other issues of crime so that a mother might feel especially down there at that time that it was OK to let your 6-year-old walk the two blocks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: At this hour, the FBI, police, law enforcement, the medical examiner`s office, following up on a lead, a lead that officials searching the basement of a building -- I`m reading from the wire right now. A building on Prince Street connected to a handyman who had contact with the 6-year-old boy just before he disappeared.

Authorities recently get an alert from a cadaver dog that they bring into the 13 by 62-foot basement, 200 feet from the apartment where Etan lived. There is a drywall there in the basement now that was not there in `79. Authorities now planning to tear it down through the basement and the brick walls. This is pursuant to a search warrant.

Is there finally a break in the case of a missing 6-year-old boy, Etan Patz? This is why the nanny cams, the double baby sitters, the constant phone calls, the burglar bars, the chips, the fingerprints, the milk cartons, because of this boy, Etan Patz.

He wanted to walk to the bus stop to catch the school bus by himself that morning. It was the Friday before Memorial Day. A beautiful May morning. He had begged his mother, begged and begged. She relented. Two blocks. It wasn`t until 3:30 that afternoon when he didn`t come home from school she discovers he never made it. And now, is the case set to be cracked wide open?

With me there on the scene as the digging proceeds, CNN correspondent Susan Candiotti.

Susan, what is happening now?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they`ve got jackhammers down there in the basement. And I`m -- I`ve got the room size now. It is unoccupied space at this time. There was some kind of business on the ground floor of that building years and years ago, three decades ago, but again now it`s vacant.

They are searching an area. That basement is about 13 by 62 feet. There`s got -- they`ve got a cement floor down there and some cinder block walls. So the FBI -- their evidence recovery team is downstairs in that basement.

And, Nancy, they are planning to be there for five straight days and work around the clock to see what they can find. Now I am told that this is part of going over the old evidence that they had. They tell me that they did initially look at that building. They will only say it figured into the investigation.

What they are telling me is that they do believe that the little boy`s remains based on the relook of this information, that his remains are either down there because he was disposed of or that he was killed down there. I`m told that they are looking for blood evidence. They are looking for any clothing or any other personal effects that he had on at the time. The backpack, little pilot`s hat that he was wearing, or to see whatever -- what other information they can find.

So they are hard at work down there. You`ve got the FBI, a team of about 40 people, and I`m told there was a search warrant obviously that they had to get before they went in there. And they did tell the parents ahead of time that they were going to be doing this. And they hope that this is what it will take to solve this case. Nancy?

GRACE: You know, Susan Candiotti, how close is the digging to where the parents lived with Etan?

CANDIOTTI: I`m sorry. We had a little technical problem here and I couldn`t quite make it out. One more time?

GRACE: Sure. Susan Candiotti, everybody is live on the scene with me. She`s in the middle of traffic. There`s jackhammering going on deep, deep below the surface there in the basement.

Susan, how close is this spot to where Etan lived with his parents?

CANDIOTTI: Good question. It`s very close. They lived maybe about a block, a half a block down in this direction. And it was about the same distance to the bus stop where he was heading that morning. As you`ve said, Nancy, this was the first time he had begged his parents, please let me walk by myself and he did. So they don`t know -- investigators are telling me -- whether someone grabbed him along the way. Possibly might have grabbed him and took him into this space.

Again, there was some kind of business there on the ground floor at the time. No one on scene here in authority is able to tell me exactly what it was. Right now there is a business on that ground floor there. A clothing store. So they think the theory is by looking at -- going over all the evidence they had at the time, that there may be a connection here.

They looked at the building at the time but they won`t tell us to what extent they did. So the FBI has said let`s look again and they are hard at work down there digging, digging, digging to see what -- whether they can find anything.

GRACE: Susan Candiotti, CNN correspondent, live on the scene. Don`t move a hair, Susan Candiotti.

Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author. Bethany, I never even had the fortitude to go back to the scene where my fiance was murdered. I hope I never see it as long as I live. I don`t even want to think about it. And when I think about Etan`s parents imagining that they have walked back and forth in front of his dead body, their 6-year-old baby boy, a million times.

What is this going to do to them, Bethany?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Nancy, this is going to re-traumatize them and not only that to know that their own babysitter was being groomed by a pedophile. Furthermore, they are now tortured by all the information that`s come out and what we know through research is that children are at the greatest risk for child homicide and abduction right outside their parents` front door.

One quarter of all children who are abducted are found within blocks of the family home, and we know that pedophiles gravitate towards bus stops. The last place you want your child to walk alone is to a bus stop. Almost every school bus stop in the United States likely has a pedophile lurking around it and this tortures the parents, too.

GRACE: To Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "Only the Truth," weigh in, Pat.

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "ONLY THE TRUTH": I think they`re all over Ramos. Absolutely. Because first of all he`s a convicted pedophile. Secondly, he was connected to the family. He`s a handyman, a popular job for pedophiles. And the fact is, they wouldn`t be tearing this place up if they didn`t have a good tip and believe they could get DNA linking to Ramos. They`ve got to have -- they think they`re going to have the DNA match.

GRACE: And can you imagine Jose Ramos sitting behind bars in the pen right now set to get out in November.

No way, Ramos.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. You are seeing the location where digging has commenced. Jackhammers, picks, shovels, in the search for the remains of a 6-year-old boy that changed the face of America when he goes missing.

We`re going straight back to Susan Candiotti on the scene. But first, unleash the lawyers, Eleanor Odom, Joey Jackson, Holly Hughes.

Eleanor Odom, it`s perfectly OK to put informants behind bars to catch someone like Ramos talking about Etan Patz`s death, yes, no?

ELEANOR ODOM, FELONY PROSECUTOR, DEATH PENALTY QUALIFIED: Yes, Nancy. And that`s a way to get some good information because there`s no privilege there. They can talk all they want to those confidential informants. A great idea on the prosecution and law enforcement`s part.

GRACE: On the other hand, Joey Jackson, joining us out of New York, the reality is that Ramos could shoot off his mouth about some BS about Etan Patz just to get a deal.

JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He really could and there`s a credibility question. And the reason he hasn`t been -- I mean there`s a civil finding against him and that was in 2004. The family was given $2 million. They never collected a thing. But the problem has been there`s been no physical evidence. There`s been no admissions that he`s made. And there`s been no eyewitnesses.

And so it`s been tough to connect him but every suspicion does lead to him, Nancy.

GRACE: And Holly Hughes, you`re a former prosecutor now a defense attorney, between me and you and Eleanor and Joey, we`ve handled plenty of rats. But now Ramos is set to walk in November. If he is connected to this case, he has nothing to -- he has nothing to gain by talking now.

HOLLY HUGHES, FORMER PROSECUTOR NOW DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely correct. And you know Joey Jackson nailed it. It`s a credibility issue. Not just Ramos` credibility but any informant, any rat that the police put in there if in fact charges are levied the state is going to have to call that guy as a witness and he`s going to be destroyed on his cross examination.

GRACE: Well, I`ve called plenty of rats when I had to. So just don`t say that he`s destroyed yet.

To Dr. Bill Lloyd, board certified surgeon and pathologist. Dr. Lloyd, if the remains are found, what do you expect we can learn from them and what condition will they be in?

DR. BILL LLOYD, BOARD CERTIFIED SURGEON AND PATHOLOGIST: It depends if the remains were placed in an open space, buried in soil or buried in concrete. Concrete is very chemically active substance and remains buried in concrete are often difficult to work with. But if in soil or left in an open space, they will be able to extract DNA, confirm identity.

You know a young child age 6 or 7 is gaining teeth and losing teeth so it`ll be an easy matter there also to confirm the presence of Etan Patz.

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Very quickly back to Susan Candiotti. Hold on. I`ve got C.W. Jensen, retired Portland Police captain, in my ear.

C.J., I want to hear your thoughts.

C.W. JENSEN, RETIRED PORTLAND POLICE CAPTAIN: Nancy, I think it might make your viewers more comfortable to know that if the police get a search warrant, that isn`t just a rubber stamp. They`ve got to go in with a document that lists over and over and over why they believe that they need to search this place for this child`s remains. And so if they`re probably there, then that means that maybe if they find the remains, that`s all they need then to get a complete case against Ramos.

GRACE: Back to Susan Candiotti, CNN correspondent, joining us there on the scene. She`s one of the first reporters there.

Susan, I`m hearing through other sources trying to confirm that there`s a drywall in the basement that was not there when Etan Patz went missing. Authorities planning to remove, blast through the drywall and start digging down, down, down.

Can you hear me now?

CANDIOTTI: Right. I missed the first part of your question. Now I can, yes.

GRACE: OK. Susan, I understand there`s --

CANDIOTTI: Would you mind repeating?

GRACE: Yes. I understand there`s a drywall there in that basement deep below the street surface that was not there when Etan went missing and they are bringing down the wall and digging. What are you hearing there on the ground?

CANDIOTTI: Well, we`re hearing that, yes, the place has been renovated over the years so they are figuring they`re probably going to have to go through layers. So yes, now there are cinder block walls there. The basement is concrete. They`ve got jackhammers down there. And if you look over my shoulder again, it`s this red, brick building. It`s the basement area that we`re talking about.

They`ve got to dig deep. And you see there`s a crime scene unit there, that white van. And I hope you can also make out the blue tent. They`ve got that covering the entrance to the building that leads down to the basement. The door leads down to the basement because when they start bringing things out, if they bring out any critical evidence, they don`t want anyone to see what they`re working on.

So they have that area protected until they can get it out of there. And yes, they have a search warrant. And yes, we`re trying to get our hands on it for more details. All we know is that the building had been looked at before. They`re going back again. Obviously they have some additional information they said they want to look at that leads them to believe that either he was killed there or that his remains may have been disposed of there, Nancy.

GRACE: I can`t tell you how many thousands of people, Susan Candiotti, are standing by to see if they bring up a future flight captain pilot hat, blue corduroy jacket, blue pants, blue sneakers with florescent stripes. A blue cloth bag with elephants imprinted on it. What little 6- year-old Etan was wearing the day he went missing just 3 feet, 50 pounds.

Let me see if I can get -- I think I`ve got Susan back.

Susan, you referred to that blue tent that will cover up anything that they bring out from the excavation.

Susan, what can you tell me about a cadaver dog hitting down there in that basement?

CANDIOTTI: Yes, Nancy, if they bring out anything, they`ll want to of course protect it, handle it well so that it is not contaminated in any way. And they want to keep that from public view so they`re going to -- when they bring out anything, they`ll first keep it under the cover of that blue tent. This is if they are lucky. If they are fortunate to find anything during that search.

So they`re keeping it from public view at this time. We can`t hear the jackhammers at this distance but I know that they`re using them right now to dig through that cement floor. We`re not sure whether that`s been worked over or renovated over the years but certainly we know that the basement is vacant and has been vacant for quite sometime.

But there was a business there many years ago we are told. No one seems to know who is on the scene right now connected to the case, what it was. Nancy?

GRACE: Rupa Mikkilineni, I`m hearing that a carpenter or a handyman who worked in that basement befriended Etan, hence why we are there.

RUPA MIKKILINENI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right, Nancy. And this is where it gets a bit confusing because Jose Ramos was also a handyman at some point and he had various jobs in the area and the neighborhood. And now, Nancy, that`s another detail.

GRACE: Everyone, quick break. I want to remind you of a big -- a big happening. Georgia, the first state to sign a law creating a lung cancer awareness license plate. It benefits the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer`s effort to support research on the world`s number one cancer killer.

In the past week my mom diagnosed with a malignant lung tumor. The blessing is we have just learned it is benign. To help research, go to lungcancerlicenseplate.org.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE GAETA, PRESIDENT, CEO OF JOAN GAETA LUNCH CANCER FUND: It is the first of its kind in the United States and it allows us to get the word out. Someone driving seeing that and realizing, hey, I lost a loved one. I lost a friend. Because of that stigma, a lot of people don`t step up and get involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: But we are involved.

Everyone, our family album back showcasing your photos from iReport. Here are Mississippi friends, the Grosjeans, love music, frisbee, Alabama football, Memphis Tigers. Dad Paul, mom Debbie love time with children Amber and Nick and their dog Robert.

Share your photos at iReport family album. Go to hlnTV.com/Nancy Grace and click on "Nancy`s Family Album."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Straight out to Metro Network`s reporter, Glen (INAUDIBLE). Federal sources are saying that the boy had been in that basement the night before he disappears and that recent -- very quickly after he goes missing, they suddenly resurfaced the basement floor. What are you hearing, Glen Chuck?

That`s exactly what we heard. And this is why the district attorney, Cy Vance, when he took office in 2010 said he wanted to take an immediate look at this case again. Again they got that information about the so- called sudden flooring that went in there. It`s a very thick concrete floor. No coincidence, certainly, Nancy, that that was done. And that`s a major reason why Cy Vance said, you know, we`ve got to get back in, we`ve got to take a look at this case and indeed they`re there big time, big numbers there today.

GRACE: Eleanor Odom, Joe y Jackson, Holly Hughes. Did they actually think justice was asleep, Eleanor Odom? That we would just give up on Etan Patz?

ODOM: No, Nancy. You know, what we might have now that we didn`t have 33 years ago and that is forensic evidence, that blood evidence, that DNA evidence, things that we can find out now.

GRACE: We will stay on this story. In the hope that the remains of Etan Patz will be discovered.

Let`s stop and remember Army Major Michael Green, 36, Gautier, Mississippi, killed Afghanistan. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, dreamed of being in the army since second grade. Volunteered to serve in place of a fellow officer expecting a first child. Loves traveling, Gulf Coast, Jimmy Bucket. Leaves behind parents, Hasey and Jane, brother, Scott, and Hasey Jr., twin sister, Michelle.

Michael Green, American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you. Thoughts and prayers to Alabama friend, Doris, recovering from surgery. Mother of our superstar Dean.

And happy birthday to Georgia friend, Leila Paddle. An inspiration. Turns 107, the oldest person in her county, and I may say the most beautiful.

And happy 1st birthday to tiny crime fighter, Briella. Daughter of our show regular, Richard Herman.

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END