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JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Manhunt Underway for Man Who Assaulted Children

Aired May 1, 2012 - 19:00   ET

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


JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live from New York City.

Major developments in little Isabel Celis` disappearance in Tucson, Arizona. Just ten miles away from where she vanished, three little girls report a man broke into their home yesterday and molested at least one of them. We now have a description of that attacker; the manhunt is on. Did that same man take Isabel? We are on the ground in Tucson with the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, a desperate manhunt in Arizona as cops chase a mystery man they say broke into a bedroom with three little girls inside and committed sexual assault. All of this just a few miles from where little Isabel Celis disappeared.

We`re on the ground in the neighborhood, where some families say they`re terrified, and we`re investigating. Is one man responsible for both crimes? I`ll have the very latest, and I`m taking your calls.

Plus, more trouble in reality TV paradise for the Kardashian clan. With rumors flying that Khloe and Lamar`s TV show may be canned and Kim`s 72-day marriage finally headed to divorce court, is Kardashian fever over?

And don`t you mess with this granny. We`ll tell you what exactly she wants to run out of town.

We are just learning minutes ago about a possible sexual assault ten miles away from where Isabel disappeared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police are being looking for a man who may have molested three girls just miles from where Isabel Celis disappeared. A man came into their room and sexually assaulted them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police wouldn`t elaborate on whether or not they think there are connections to the two cases, but that is a possibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve had a young 6-year-old girl abducted from her home. This really rings near and dear and close to our hearts, and it troubles all of us here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were people in tears while they were praying. They looked very, very sad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This morning Father Miguel Marione (ph) tried to comfort the parents and two older brothers of 6-year-old Isabel Celis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will do anything for her. We are looking -- we`re looking for you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, fast-breaking news in the disappearance of little Isabel Celis, a manhunt under way as we speak for a mystery predator who cops say broke into the bedroom of three young girls yesterday and sexually attacked at least one of them.

Could this be the very same man who took Isabel? We broke this story for you yesterday on the show. Cops investigating the mysterious disappearance of little Isabel Celis from her home are now looking into a possible link with this second child crime just ten miles away from where Isabel was taken on the east side of Tucson, Arizona.

The dragnet is on for the suspect, a man in his 20s. Cops say he broke into the home at about 2 in the morning yesterday where three young girls, ages 6, 8 and 10, were sleeping and then sexually assaulted at least one of them.

A local station reports that the oldest sister, a 10-year-old, was heroic. She talked to the suspect and challenged him, possibly one of the reasons why he left.

After he left, the child told her mother there was a man in the house, a man they did not know. We are learning that the girls and their mom were visiting their grandmother from Hawaii after this horrific experience with this suspect. They are now on their way back home to Hawaii. Understandable, but the big question tonight: is there a connection to Isabel`s disappearance?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve got some of our detectives working with the county sheriff`s deputies that are investigating that particular case. We want to make sure that, if there are similarities or anything that interests us in following up this investigation, as well, that we look into that and is something that we feel is important for us to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: If there are similarities, I`ll tell you, in my mind there are similarities. At this time cops say they`re scouring the neighborhood and surrounding desert areas and questioning sex offenders in the area.

We`re taking your calls. What do you think? 1-877-JVM-SAYS. Is there a connection? 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to our senior producer, Selin Darkalstanian, on the ground near the home where this sexual assault on one of three girls sleeping in that room occurred, at least one. Selin, what is the very latest?

SELIN DARKALSTANIAN, SENIOR PRODUCER: Jane, just moments ago before our show started, the grandfather of the victims pulled out of his driveway. And we actually approached him. And we asked him how he is doing, how his granddaughters are doing. And he said that they`re doing fine and that they`re holding up. And he -- he drove away and didn`t want to have any more of a conversation.

But that`s the first time we`ve seen him or any sign of any activity in this house. We`ve heard that the kids have left the house, but that`s the first time that we`ve seen the grandfather, actually, coming out of the house, and he said he was on his way to a meeting.

So that is the latest. I mean, the actual feeling of this town is everyone`s scared. They`re very worried. There are two incidents that happened very close to each other. I was talking to a lot of moms in the area today, and they were saying how their kids are asking them to lock the windows before they go to bed. And one mom told her 10-year-old asked if the dog could sleep in her room that night, because they`re scared. They`re hearing it on the news. There is this feeling of everyone is really tense. There`s a feeling of they`re worried; they`re scared, and it`s very tense.

Now, this neighborhood, this street actually only has about 15 houses on it. It`s kind of an out, far out, not in the downtown area and kind of very far out. I imagine it`s a very desolate area. There`s a ranch behind there.

But other than this street with about 15 homes, there isn`t much more here. There aren`t streetlights. There are no surveillance cameras. So this street is actually very dark at night. And anyone could come and go, but it`s almost a little bit difficult to find, because there`s nothing around it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. As a matter of fact, you took some photographs and why don`t we show? This is the area where this man broke into this bedroom where three young girls were sleeping.

And you just heard from our producer. She took these photos. Take a look at it. Tucson sits in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. The roads are quiet. Most of them do not have streetlights, as you just heard her say. Many houses sit on large lots.

And then take a look behind the homes. It`s desert. So somebody trying to gain access to this area would probably have to drive. That would be an assist in identifying. They wouldn`t have much shelter to hide if they were outdoors, but by the same token, it`s dark. It`s easy to gain access.

I want to go to Amy Smith. Now, you used to live on the very street where this predator broke into this house yesterday and these three girls were sleeping. And the older girl, the 10-year-old, heroically confronts this man. Who knows what could have happened, had she not done that?

But the guy is now being sought. We have a description. You left the neighborhood, you say, because something very creepy happened. Tell us about that.

AMY SMITH, FORMER NEIGHBOR: I live two houses down from where this incident happened about two years ago, the house I wanted to live and die in. And one night, my husband walked into the bedroom while I was lying in bed and said, "Pick up your phone. There`s a man watching you through your window."

We had a tall block wall, and he was in our backyard between a bush and our window. And so we called the police, had them come out, and they were not able to find the suspect.

About three weeks later, it happened to another girl in the neighborhood. And she was told that it hadn`t happened to anybody else. And we had both been knocking on doors and found each other and found out the same thing had happened to both of us. And as we continue to question this happening to a lot of women in these two little blocks, and it just became uncomfortable.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did you ever find the peeping tom, this predator?

SMITH: The long story, but we had a car that we saw leave that night, a neighbor had seen. And since it`s a small little cul-de-sac, we notice every car that comes in and out of here. And it was missing a taillight. And about three weeks later I was running down the street here, and a car drove by, and the taillight was out. And it matched the description. So I immediately noticed the man and went and followed him, went to the house where that car was at and reported it, the license plate number and the description of him to the police.

And we never heard anything again, although that police detective had told me that this man had worked with other men before, watching women in their homes, and had been caught before. But we never heard anything after that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So wait. Let me just ask you, because we have limited time. This person was never arrested and charged with the peeping tom incident on you or the other neighbor?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: He is not the same man. The man that was driving the car is not the same man that was in my window that night. But when the detective told us they work in teams, it was clear to us the man in our window was speaking to somebody else when -- when he was watching us.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my God. Because in the Celis case, there was a woman who said -- she is the neighbor of Isabel Celis, who heard men`s voices that woke her up and got her dogs barking. Do you think there is a predator and/or teams of predators in this neighborhood?

SMITH: I`m -- I`m afraid that there is, because as this is coming out, other women in the neighborhood are saying they`ve had stools under their bathroom window or not seen a man in their bathroom window.

Or so I feel -- at the time I felt that maybe it had stopped because we scared him off, because he knew we were aware. We had put surveillance cameras on our house, and apparently, it hasn`t stopped.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Unbelievable. I want -- is the anonymous Tucson neighbor who is an immediate neighbor of the home where these three brave young girls confronted this -- the oldest child, the 10-year-old girl confronted this predator who broke into their bedroom. This is ten miles away from where Isabel disappeared.

Ma`am, I understand you have four kids and you were telling me that...

CALLER: Yes, I do.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... your kids are, you told our producer, sleeping with bats?

CALLER: Yes. They have their baseball bats near their beds, because they`re, you know, a little nervous. But our dogs wander the house throughout the night, making sure that everything is OK. And we have security motion detecting lights out. And we have light around our house.

So as far as we know, nothing -- no one has ever been in our backyard or anything, but I`m sure they`re pretty scared of our dogs. But I don`t know for sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is no way to live.

CALLER: No.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I mean, this is outrageous, and what was -- what was your reaction when you found out that this predator, who they`re hunting for right now, broke into your neighbor`s home and attacked at least one -- we don`t have all of the details -- of these three little girls, 6, 8 and 10, sleeping?

CALLER: When the sheriff told me that I was about to throw up. It just made me sick to my stomach.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s beyond comprehension that you have to live with your children having bats next to their beds. I mean, this is America. It`s America. It shouldn`t be happening like this. This is out of control.

We have other people who live in the area that are going to talk to us and tell us other bizarre stories. A stranger danger alert two weeks ago, a man trying to lure kids into a silver van, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re looking for you, Isa. We love you, and we miss you so much, and we will never give up. We will never give up looking for you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don`t want the focus to be taken off Isabel by us being in front of the cameras or by the media. We are here today to play -- to plea for a safe return of our baby girl, Isabel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Those are the parents of Isabel Celis. She disappeared about ten days ago, but ten miles away, just yesterday, a man the cops are hunting for right now broke into a home where three little girls were sleeping. And cops say he sexually assaulted at least one of them.

He appears to have short, dark hair. And we`re going to show you in a second a composite sketch. He was wearing dark shorts, glasses, a sleeveless shirt, dark-colored glasses, as a matter of fact. So these are distinguishing marks. Look, he has a receding hair line, clean cut, clean- shaven. Unbelievable.

Let`s go out to Dawn Parkman, who is the public information officer for the Pima County Sheriff`s Department. Tell us about the manhunt for this individual right now, Dawn.

DAWN PARKMAN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF`S DEPARTMENT: Well, right now we`re continuing the investigation. Detectives are taking all the leads that we`re getting, all the tips that we`re getting through 88-CRIME. And we`re following all those leads to determine if any of those will pan out for us in finding the suspect.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, what about the obvious similarities between this case and what happened to little Isabel Celis? I mean, it`s ten miles away. Both of them happened in the middle of the night inside the family homes. In Isabel`s case, the neighbor said she heard men`s voices right outside Isabel`s bedroom window at about 6:30 in the morning. Listen to this briefly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My bedroom is directly across from hers. It`s going to be right over this wall right here. Isabel`s room.

My dog, she woke me up. She`s very skeptical of people, and when she heard voices, she started barking. And that woke me up. And that`s when I noticed the male voices, multiple male voices. And I noticed that the Celis` dogs were going crazy. And they bark a lot, but this was a different type of barking. This was a very, very frantic barking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. So in both cases it`s a bedroom. Ten miles away. Both involving little girls. Isabel is 6 years old. The youngest girl in the incident yesterday, 6 years old.

But cops seem to say that they don`t necessarily believe these are connected. Why? How can you jump to a conclusion like that at this early stage?

PARKMAN: I don`t think they`d jump to any conclusions. What we`ve said is it`s unlikely that they`re related. However, we aren`t ruling anywhere out. And detectives from Tucson police, as well as detectives from the Pima County Sheriff`s Department are working diligently at this time and comparing notes and sharing information to determine if there are any similarities. So...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. I`m just curious. Can you elaborate why you think it`s unlikely that they`re connected?

PARKMAN: That`s the information I`ve been given. I`m not always given information about the specific details of a case, but what I`ve been told is it`s unlikely, but they`re not ruling it out and detectives are working together with -- each agency is working together.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And have you heard about these peeping tom cases? Have you heard about these peeping tom cases in the same block?

PARKMAN: I have not. I have not had an opportunity to look at those cases or talk to the detectives in those cases.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you might want to take a look back, because we had a lady on who said that there was a peeping tom that was checking her house, checking another woman`s house, and they sometimes operated in groups. Scary stuff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: More from Tucson in a moment, but first, here`s your "Viral Video of the Day."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(ANIMAL SOUNDS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don`t want the focus to be taken off Isabel by us being in front of the cameras or by the media. We are here today to play -- to plea for a safe return of our baby girl, Isabel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was the only time the parents of the missing Baby Isabel spoke out. Cops say, hey, they want the family to do interviews, to keep this case alive, and they never told them not to talk. We have repeatedly asked them to come on our show. A whole bunch of news organizations have, so I`m trying to understand why they are not speaking publicly, aside from that one statement.

Let`s go out to one of my heroes, Erin Runnion, whose daughter, Samantha, beautiful daughter, Samantha, was taken from her front yard and tragically murdered, and a woman who has turned her grief into action by establishing the Joyful Child Foundation, JoyfulChild.org. Get involved, because it`s a great group.

Erin, can you understand why they`ve decided not to speak, aside from that news conference?

ERIN RUNNION, FOUNDER, JOYFUL CHILD FOUNDATION: Well, you know, my heart goes out to them. It`s terrifying; it really is. If our public information officer hadn`t been right by my side and told me that he would step in if anybody asked me anything that I drew a blank on or didn`t know what to say, I`m not sure I could have put myself out there the way that I did. It took -- it took his careful guidance to put me out there.

So I think, you know, I don`t want to jump to conclusions on why they wouldn`t want to be out there. It`s hard for people. There -- this is the worst possible time in their life.

And what I do hope that they understand is that, by speaking out, they actually bring the attention back to Isabel. And so it is really the best thing that they can do for their daughter, unfortunately, at this point, is to make -- be visible and vocal and keep all of the folks in the Tucson area and beyond aware that Isabel was still out there and missing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I agree 100 percent.

Let`s go out to our phone lines. Jim, North Carolina. Your question or thought, Jim. Thanks for your patience.

CALLER: Hi, Jane. How helpful are the Mexican police officials expected to be in these situations? And do the marshals expect Baba Booey to be involved?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, boy. Well, listen, it`s a very serious story, but Jon Lieberman, in that joke there was a good nugget of question in the sense that authorities are also looking -- and I think we`ve got some video of Nogales, Mexico, which is a border crossing area as well as Sonora, which is about a five-mile drive from Tucson.

So they are not just focusing on the immediate Tucson area where they`re hunting for this suspect involved in the latest case, but they are also looking at the possibility that this child may have been taken across the border, Jon.

JON LIEBERMAN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Absolutely. I know the manhunt turns from the U.S. Marshals, who are down on the Mexican side of the border. And essentially they`re operating under one theory, which is - - and again, I stress, it`s just one theory -- that Isabel was abducted, could be taken south over the border to be sold into the sex trade, because sex trafficking is prevalent down there. So that`s why the U.S. Marshals are now involved, as well.

And I wanted to point out one other thing, Jane, and that is one reason why it appears that police are saying these two cases are likely not related is because the FBI has done a behavioral profile on a, quote, "suspect" in the Isabel case. And if they believe that that profile doesn`t fit in the other case, that`s why they`re saying it`s unlikely they`re related.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but how do we really know? I don`t know. That`s...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looking for a man who may have molested three girls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a family here visiting from Hawaii and they were visiting their grandparents.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Three young girls, ages 6, 8 and 10 told deputies a man, a strange man they didn`t know entered their bedroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe he is a stranger to the family.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is there a connection?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re going to turn every stone and we`re going to go at it full throttle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are here today to plea for a safe return of our baby girl Isabel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, parents in Tucson frightened because a 6- year-old girl was missing and now police are looking for a man who broke into a house, 10 miles from that disappearance and allegedly assaulted one of three young sisters. It`s almost too much to even think about.

Could the same man be involved in both cases? Cops say right now they have not found a connection and they don`t think the two cases are related, but a lot of people are questioning that. The missing 6-year-old, Isabel Celis played little league baseball.

Just a little while ago, police asked parents who might have shot any video at those games, please turnover those home videos in case a stranger was observed watching from the perimeter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. FABIAN PACHECO, TUCSON POLICE: We are working with the Little League coach because he has a list of all the people and their parents and sending that out in case anyone, any parents may have some video. We are still putting that out. We`re exploring that and if anyone has that, we want them to please share that video with us so we can look at it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go straight out to Amy Smith who is live on the ground in Tucson right near the home where this latest incident, this man who broke into this house where three little girls, 6, 8 and 10 were sleeping. They are looking for this man right now.

I just talked to the public information officer from the Pima County Sheriff`s Department, and I asked her, you had told us earlier on in the show that you moved out of the area because of this peeping tom or peeping toms who kept basically making you live in fear. I asked her, are you investigating those peeping tom cases and she said she knew nothing about it. Your response, Amy?

AMY SMITH, MOVED FROM NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE GIRLS WERE ALLEGEDLY ATTACKED: That makes me angry because that is the response I have gotten over and over and over again. And it`s not just me. It hasn`t just happened to me so I don`t understand how that is not playing into this.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, when you hear that same public information officer for the local sheriff say well, we don`t think these two cases are related, the case of baby Isabel ten miles away and this guy who broke into this home yesterday and sexually assaulted at least one of these three girls, they`re saying well, we don`t think there`s a connection there. We`re not sure, but we don`t think so. What`s your reaction to that, Amy?

SMITH: I don`t have a lot of faith in the system right now, but you know, I think the cases could be very dissimilar in the fact that these girls were not abducted. So I trust their judgment in this case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but remember, the 10-year-old girl confronted the guy. Now she says that she --

SMITH: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. That`s -- that`s a hero. A 10-year-old girl who sees a strange man in her bedroom assaulting her sister and confronts him and this guy leaves. Who knows what would have happened had she not confronted him.

And I want to bring in James Copenhaver. You`re a retired major case investigator. This is not a science. It`s not something that you could say with absolute certainty one way or another. They`re saying we don`t think there is a connection, but boy, psychological profile -- there are so many variables here.

JAMES COPENHAVER, RETIRED MAJOR CASE INVESTIGATOR: Scary business, Jane. I mean these cases like this are going to be solved by the citizens and neighbors and let`s just pray to god that the sheriff`s office and the police departments out there form some type of task force where they`re proactively going out responding to these peeping tom calls to try to either connect it to Isabel or discredit this peeping tom.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, it doesn`t end there. We`ve got another problem in the same neighborhood that could be or could not be connected. Parents in the area got an e-mail just a couple of weeks ago about a man approaching little kids, students.

The note was about a man driving a beat up silver truck who approached two elementary school-aged boys who were walking home. The man gestured for them to get in his truck. The boys ran off. The man in the truck drove away. The school advised students to travel in groups and never get in a car with a stranger to report any suspicious activity.

I`ve got to go to Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney. You`ve seen a lot. You operate out of Miami, but this seems like an area that is just riddled.

You`ve got peeping toms. You`ve got this guy that broke into the house and molested at least one of these girls. You`ve got another guy trying -- and I say another, but who knows if they`re all the same person or not?

JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it`s likely that actually in one of the two cases that they are holding back information or that they do have suspicions or a suspect in mind and just have not been able to get enough evidence yet. That`s number one.

Number two is the obvious difference Jane in the two cases is that one is an abduction and the other one, he stopped and sexually molested one of the children there. He didn`t stop and sexually molest Isabel before he took her.

And the fact that the dogs didn`t bark, the fact that I heard the neighbor on your show talking about 6:30 in the morning that the dogs were going beyond normal barking; but do you really think that somebody was going to abduct somebody at 6:30 in the morning at the time when kids are getting up for school? It sounds to me more of an animal prey at that point and it sounds to me as if something happened in the middle of the night when the abductions usually take place and it does not sound similar to me.

And ten miles is a long way. Maybe it`s because I`m in Miami and I do see a lot of these cases, but ten miles is a long way. It`s a different jurisdiction. I don`t see the similarity, either.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here are some similarities that I see. Both involve young girls, 6 years old. Both happened in the dead of night. Both involved going -- somebody going into bedrooms. And again, yes, in one case the guy molested and left. In the other case this child is missing. But who knows what would have happened if he had thought there was one girl in there and it turns out, oh, there`s three and there`s a feisty 10-year- old who confronts him? Honestly, there`s got to be something else.

Now I want to point out that cops released a surveillance tape that showed five people apparently leaving a nightclub and walking toward the Celis family home. Now, they interviewed three of the five people. They released this video Friday, late Friday and they said well, this was taken right around the time that Isabel was reported missing.

Guess what, Jon Leiberman; they found out that oh, guess what? We made a mistake. It`s 24 hours after Isabel disappeared. Listen to what they said about this just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PACHECO: The value of that video was simply to identify those people that we considered to be witnesses, potential witnesses. We wanted to know what they saw. So that`s it. If it was the incorrect date, so be it, at least we covered that part of it. But I don`t consider it to be a huge setback, and I hope this certainly doesn`t impact the community`s perception that we`re not doing everything that we possibly could.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I mean it took them an entire weekend to determine that that was the day after and nothing to see here, oops, never mind. Jon Leiberman, your thoughts?

JON LEIBERMAN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Look, it`s more of a PR blunder than it is an actual investigative setback. They did spend some time on this video -- that was wasted time.

One other thing I want to point out to you, Jane, which is very important. In Isabel`s neighborhood, within a three square mile radius, we found there are 17 registered sex offenders --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh my God.

LEIBERMAN: Just in that three-mile square radius. That is a large number of registered sex offenders in the same area.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And we have to point out that cadaver dogs hit on something in or around the Celis home. And I think we have to consider that as a factor of when we think about all of this.

And I want to go back to James Copenhaver, retired major case investigator, is that possibly the main reason why they`re saying they don`t think these are connected? If a dog hits in the area, what is the significance? What does that say?

COPENHAVER: Well, certainly, it could be related or not related. I mean the police --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But what does it say? What does it says?

COPENHAVER: Well, if a cadaver dog actually hit on or alerted on something or a scent, they`re obviously looking -- using an item of Isabel`s to search and you would think that that item was related to Isabel.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I guess what I`m saying and I don`t want to be morbid here. I want to find little Isabel safe and sound, but my thought is that perhaps they`re looking at the possibility that she`s deceased.

COPENHAVER: Absolutely, but, you know, one would also suggest that you would see some type of activity in that area such as digging or searching or some type of organized search in that area digging up the ground or whatever the dog alerted on.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re thinking it`s a hopeful sign that they`re not doing excavations in the area?

COPENHAVER: I think with the amount of activity that we have, with the media and the neighbors I think we would have heard about some excavation and I don`t think it`s happened. We`ve not heard that. But you still can`t discount that alert of the dog.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Interesting. I think that`s a very good point. The fact that f they`re not digging up where the dog alerted, but let`s face it. That`s -- that`s the question. Where would somebody go with the child? How could you get away with the child?

Selin Darkalstanian, you`re our producer on the ground, are people talking about this and trying to figure out this mystery?

SELIN DARKALSTANIAN, HLN PRODUCER: People are really -- Isabel is getting a lot of attention. I mean if you`re walking in the grocery stores, anywhere you go, you see her face up. You see posters of her missing.

This incident that happened just yesterday or the day before yesterday it`s kind of -- people are just learning about it. It doesn`t have as much publicity as Isabel and, you know, Isabel`s been abducted and these girls luckily are doing fine according to her grandpa. But they haven`t been taken away and they haven`t been abducted. So the Isabel case is definitely at the forefront of everyone`s minds.

Well, Erin Runnion, again with the Joyful Child Foundation, get involved. The great news out of this is that there was a 10-year-old girl who learned the lessons you try to teach and that is don`t be a victim. Stand up. She may have saved her siblings` lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has the show Khloe and Lamar been cancelled? It`s on hold? What`s the deal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a lot of people in society who say, wait, what skill do these people have that they`re making millions of dollars?

KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY STAR: We were so excited. So I think beyond the show and beyond everything else I really -- we started off in fashion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a Kardashian freak-out. Wait until you see this.

KRIS JENNER, MOTHER OF THE KARDASHIAN SISTERS: It`s amazing. All these people like waited since yesterday to see the girls.

K. KARDASHIAN: I think for me, I like to feel confident about myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Uh-oh, is more trouble brewing for that Kardashian clan with Kim`s 72-day marriage headed for divorce? The one-time sweethearts of the reality TV biz have hit a bumpy patch and now rumors are flying that Khloe and Lamar`s TV show is possibly being canned. And momager -- yes, that`s mom and manager put together -- momager Kris Jenner isn`t happy.

Khloe firing back and she says her reality show with her basketball hubby isn`t exactly canceled. Listen to this from "Entertainment Tonight".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHLOE KARDASHIAN, REALITY STAR: Our show is not canceled. Lamar and I have chosen just to take a break this summer. We`ve been -- I feel like on a whirlwind and doing back-to-back shows and we just want to take a little time off for Lamar to be with family time, kids, basketball.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, the old spend more time with family. Now reports that Khloe may be looking to star in her own TV show and leave Lamar out of the picture. Is Lamar just getting tired of being the butt of jokes like his famous in-laws are. Even at the White House Correspondent` Dinner, the Kardashians couldn`t escape the jokes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, TALK SHOW HOST: If you`re looking to the biggest threat to America, right now, she`s right there. Her name is Kim Kardashian. She was captured by Greta Van Susteren and brought right to your doorstep.

You know, when you took office the Kardashians had one reality show. Now they have four. This is not a good trend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to "Naughty but Nice", Rob from Huff Po, Rob Shuter. By the way, we reached out to momager Kris Jenner. We haven`t gotten a response. Please, momager, come on our show. We have questions to ask you.

Here`s the thing. I mean, ok, so Khloe might continue a reality show without her hubby Lamar who needs to practice basketball because it`s not going so well. So what is that? She just has to do whatever she can to keep momager/mom, manager getting her 10 percent cut?

ROB SHUTER, "NAUGHTY BUT NICE" COLUMNIST: I don`t know if that is exactly true. Let me just cut to the chase here and tell you what`s going on.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.

SHUTER: This show is very, very popular. The numbers are fantastic. However, Lamar has a very or had a huge career as a basketball player. It is going terribly. He has not been winning and because of this he is almost now without a team. So what I think is happening here is that Lamar is sending a message to any potential new boss, basketball boss that this is going to be my focus.

So I think this is almost like a little stop so that he can reposition himself and tell anybody out there that wants to hire him that his number one priority will be playing fantastic basketball for your team and not being on a reality show.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Here`s -- are you sitting down, people? Because if Khloe and Lamar`s show isn`t on TV that means that gems like this will not be captured for posterity -- watch this from E.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAMAR ODOM, NBA PLAYER: I think you should let me handle this one.

KHLOE KARDASHIAN: Ok. Handle it. That`s why you should have been here at the last meeting. Since this is all handled and you`ve got this and you want me to let you handle it, you know, you go and do that. So Max` picking you up because I have other (EXPLETIVE DELETED) to do that I can handle, because I got that. So you guys have fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Whatever. Rob, come on. You know, you can`t commoditize your marriage. It`s going to backfire. Ten seconds.

SHUTER: They made a lot of money on this show. They are very happy together and I think this TV show has actually made them closer as a couple than has dragged them apart. I`m sorry, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh please. You are a hopeless romantic, not, not, not, not. Guys --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: After that segment with Kardashians, you deserve a laugh break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGH BREAK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I am randomly going up to a garbage can in Central Park right next to a recycling bin. Let`s see what we find. One, two -- got to give up there. There`s a lot of ugly stuff there.

But, I mean, how difficult is it? This is right next to it. That`s a problem. America, we`ve got to do something about these plastic bottles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We sure do. That was me earlier today checking out the really sorry state of recycling and garbage and all that in this country.

But now I have an ally, a grandma who made it her mission to get rid of these plastic bottles in her hometown. Concord, Massachusetts has just become the first city in the country to ban plastic water bottles.

Here is a sculpture erected to show how much garbage is created by these plastic bottles. Look at that.

A heated debate broke out just before the vote. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, this reminds me of a communist country where dictators dictate to the masses what they`re allowed to buy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a small sacrifice. We`re not going to solve all the problems of the world. This is our one chance to make a really huge statement to the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to my special guest, my hero, Jean Hill. Thank you for leading the crusade against plastic bottles. What do you want to say to America because I mean most of these are not recycled? Everybody asks, oh, yes, I recycle, but most of them aren`t. There`s a giant mound of garbage bigger than Texas and the Pacific Ocean, Jean.

JEAN HILL, ACTIVIST AGAINST BOTTLED WATER: That`s right. I`m aware of that. My grandson Mack got me started. He found the garbage patch on the Internet. And about three years ago and I`ve been trying for three years to get plastic water bottles banned in the town of Concord and I finally won.

And the one thing I want to say is that the media should take this very seriously. They`ve been a little shallow in their reporting, because it`s a big deal. It`s the first town in the country to have such a ban, and we have already -- we`re already getting input from other towns who are taking measures to do the same thing. And that was my hope that we would start something that other towns would follow.

Because bottled water is a scam. It`s often -- it`s draining our aquifers. It`s making people suspicious -- they`re propaganda. It makes people suspicious of their own municipal water. It costs a lot of money. It uses fuel in its manufacture and shipping.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, take a look at this. You said your grandson told you about what was going on in the ocean between California and Hawaii -- it`s something called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Just beneath the surface, there are thousands and thousands of miles of garbage poisoning the water, poisoning us. We are swimming in it. The plastic breaks down. It seeps into our food supply, kills I don`t know how many animals.

There`s six times as much plastic in the ocean today as there is plankton. 80 percent of all ocean trash is plastic. Ok. Every year a million birds -- 100,000 marine animals die from eating plastic.

It`s quite simple. Look at this. Look at this. Look at this. Look at this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go through a garbage can like this, I have to tell you, and find tons, and I mean tons of bottles in here that -- I`ve got one right here -- can be recycled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: 2007, San Francisco became the first city to ban these -- and I don`t use these either -- plastic bags. It`s spreading all over the country. We can do the same with plastic water bottles.

Jean Hill, my hero, tell us.

HILL: Well, it started three years ago when I was very naive and I didn`t have the mechanism to enforce the ban. Although it was passed, it wasn`t working. The second year it lost by seven votes because the vote didn`t come up until after 11:00 at night. And --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We have to leave it there.

"NANCY GRACE" with more on the search for Isabel. Use this.

END