The Kidnapper's Wife

63. During

Transcript of Live Broadcast

ABC Local and National Segments

January 23, 2017

3:00pm

Anchor: And we have received news that we have a developing story taking place in Frederick, Maryland, or rather, the events are taking place in Pennsylvania...well Melanie has your story.

[cut to blonde reporter in red coat with ABC logo]

Melanie: Thanks Trisha, I'm here outside the Frederick County Sheriff's Department, and isn't that a sentence we've heard a lot lately. For such a small town, there have been quite an abundance of events here in the past few months, starting, of course, with the disappearance of Anna Harris and her teacher, Connor Carter, back in October. Today, we hope this story will reach a resolution, as we have received news that Connor Carter has been spotted in a small town in Pennsylvania. 

Anchor: Spotted? So has he been taken into custody or?

Melanie: At this time, the apprehension of Connor Carter is apparently in progress, and thus we have been asked by the Sheriff's Department here not to report the name of the area in which the apprehension is occurring. However, our helicopter is on it's way to the scene, and we will stream the feed from that chopper as soon as we can. 

Anchor: Thanks Melanie, and we're working on getting that footage to you right now, we know our viewers have been following this case diligently for the past few months, and we here at ABC hope that today will bring this case to a closure with justice for all of the victims involved. 

Melanie: Yes, and I do have a few details that the Sheriff's department was able to share with us a few moments ago, and actually I believe we have video of that press conference.

[cuts to a room with fluorescent lighting, on camera is a woman standing behind a podium]

Melanie: And here is police spokeswoman Andrea Cuthbert.

Andrea Cuthbert: Unfortunately I can not reveal all details, as you all know, for fear of destroying the integrity of the case against our suspect, but we can confirm that Mr. Carter's whereabouts are known, and he is currently being apprehended.

Reporter: How did they find him?

Andrea Cuthbert: The FCSD has been monitoring doctors offices in the areas we suspected Mr. Carter might take Ms. Harris, as we had knowledge that Ms. Harris would need replacement medication within a certain time period. We received information that Mr. Carter had visited a doctor in a certain area a few days ago and have been increasing our policing efforts in pharmacies in that area.

Reporter: How was that not in violation of HIPPA guidelines?

Andrea Cuthbert: The doctor did not notify us that Mr. Carter was spotted, the doctor simply notified us, as many doctors had been, of the request for a certain prescription. We then examined security footage to determine that Mr. Carter had been in the vicinity. Thus no specific patient information was given out.

Reporter: And he went to a pharmacy today?

Andrea Cuthbert: Yes. Mr. Carter was spotted at a Walmart pharmacy about an hour and a half from the doctor he visited.

Reporter: How did you know he was there?

Andrea Cuthbert: After the doctor's visit, we showed Mr. Carter's picture to every pharmacy in the vicinity, in a wide area I might add, and someone at the pharmacy he went to made an identification. We also set up cameras and monitoring equipment at as many pharmacies as we could, and we increased undercover police presence at pharmacies as well. 

Reporter: But in the end it was a civilian tip off that caught him?

Andrea Cuthbert: That is correct?

Reporter: If you know where he is, then why is he not in custody?

Andrea Cuthbert: The FCSD was hoping that Mr. Carter would lead us to Ms. Harris if we did not alert him to our presence. Unfortunately, he became aware that he was being followed and a vehicle chase is currently playing out. We are confident that he will be in custody shortly, however, the situation must be handled with care as we don't know where Ms. Harris is and thus, it is imperative that Mr. Carter be taken into custody while alive. 

Andrea Cuthbert: And that is about as much information as I am authorized to give out at this time. We anticipate another press conference very shortly to announce that Mr. Carter is in custody and, if all goes well, we hope to locate Ms. Harris and announce that as well. Thank you all. I will not be taking questions at this time.

[general clamor and questions]

[camera cuts back to anchor]

Anchor: Wow, what a day for the Frederick County Sheriff's Department. And there has been no news since then Melanie?

Melanie: No, we are waiting to hear updates now, we hope they come soon. 

Anchor: And about how long has it been since the last one?

Melanie: That was about an hour ago Trisha, so of course we are all here wondering, was Connor Carter captured? Did he escape? Do they have Anna? Is she safe? 

Anchor: Well it sounds like we are going to have to wait for the answers this afternoon. 

Melanie: It looks that way.

Anchor: And I'm getting word that we have that helicopter footage now. This footage is not live, it will be played from when we first began recording, however it appears that the vehicle chase has in fact ended, although it is unclear the nature of the confrontation ongoing. We will of course show that at the end, what is happening now.

[camera cuts to an overhead view of a red car speeding down a wooded two lane road followed by the flashing lights of five police vehicles]

[camera pans out to show further police vehicles approaching from several directions, then pans back in to show the cars speeding along the two lane road]

[the police cars attempt to overtake the red car, one of them tries to cut off the red car, unsuccessfully]

[the red car almost collides with a black car during a swift turn around a corner, but manages to continue]

[car chase footage continues until a police car approaches the red car from the opposite direction and the red car is forced to swerve off the road. A cloud of dust billows, and the car appears to be disabled. The police vehicles surround the red car, however it is unclear what is happening on the ground]