JANUARY 9TH

KAREN RIOJAS, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: We don`t have any major leads, only that we know that Michelle was abducted and that she has not been heard of since the abduction late Sunday evening, early Monday morning. I did talk to Michelle Sunday afternoon and did see her Sunday around 5:00 p.m. And her cell phone was working, because I did reach her.
We love her. We miss her. And we want her back in our arms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Can you help us help police find Michelle Bullard? Minding her own business, sitting on a sofa watching TV, home invasion, boom, she`s gone. Straight out to Julia Oliver, reporter with the "Fayetteville Observer."
Julia, welcome. Bring us up-to-date, friend.
JULIA OLIVER, "FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER": Hi, thank you. Well, authorities are still searching an area about two miles away from the trailer where the abduction happened. They say they haven`t ruled anybody out, but I discovered this afternoon that the man who committed suicide in Harnett County was apparently convicted of second-degree murder in 1975. And that didn`t show up on our initial record check. But he was convicted of shooting a tavern owner in Fayetteville.
GRACE: Very quickly to Karen Riojas. This is Michelle`s mother. Welcome back, Karen. Thank you for being with us.
Everyone, the tip line, 919-718-4577. A confidential tip line to the Lee County Sheriff.
Karen, I understand there are reports Michelle and David Wilson, this guy that committed suicide when cops approached him, may have crossed paths in a convenience store earlier that evening. True or false?
RIOJAS: True, Nancy. What we have learned is, between 10:00, 10:30 p.m. on the 1st of January, Michelle and this 49-year-old plumber were spotted on a surveillance camera in a store at the same time.
GRACE: Right.
RIOJAS: Not together, but at the same time.
GRACE: And then, Karen -- that`s a good distinction to make -- and then, when police approached him later, he committed suicide rather than talk to police.
Here in the studio with me, as you may have heard at the open tonight, the search now being led by specialty dogs. Here in the set with me, I`m going to introduce you a very special guest, possibly the best guest I`ve ever had. This is Osa, a dog trained to find people like Michelle.
And with me here, Eric Martin and Laura Lopresti, Osa, their dog. To you, Eric, explain to me what a dog like Osa can do in the search for Michelle?
ERIC MARTIN, SEARCH AND RESCUE SPECIALIST WITH OSA: Well, a dog like Osa -- and there are many dogs out there that are trained by dog handlers - - can basically provide a sensor, which can pick up dead skin cells that have fallen off of all of us. And it`s very, very vital. They can cover a large area in short a period of time.
GRACE: It`s that different from a cadaver dog?
MARTIN: Yes. And what we have done is we`ve actually started to evolve with being politically correct and sensitive to the family to actually call them a human remains detection dog. It`s significantly different. A lot of times, the human remains detection dog will actually start to pick up the scent of the body decomposing. So a cadaver dog may not really be useful if the person is still alive and not buried in a shallow grave.
GRACE: Laura, how is a dog like Osa trained?
LAURA LOPRESTI, SEARCH AND RESCUE SPECIALIST WITH OSA: Basically, you start them finding their owner, something that they`re very comfortable with.
GRACE: Do you give her a treat reward or a ball reward?
LOPRESTI: She likes the ball. That`s her favorite. So she`ll work all...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: What we`re talking about is a game. If the dog hits successfully, you play a game with it. You throw it the ball. And I remember the first time I brought a drug dog on in front of a jury. I thought I would get to give it a treat. I threw it a ball. And that was the best witness I ever put on the stand, bar none.
So back to you, Eric. How do you take a dog like Osa into this situation to try to find Michelle?
MARTIN: Well, it`s a much bigger picture than just using one single resource. Osa is a canine. There are night-vision goggles. There are helicopters. There are human searchers.
You need to make sure that -- and North Carolina has one of the -- along with Virginia, has some of the best-trained search teams out in the country. You need to focus on search management. And they need to work alongside of the investigators on the law enforcement side.
They need to maintain a crime scene, securing the evidence as they find it. But more importantly, they need to really establish the scenario analysis. There are a number of different probabilities they`re going on.
But, like we always say, without having proper search managers to determine where they`re going to send the dog and what segment of the search with the highest probability, well, that`s like going to a football game without a coach or a quarterback. You know, you`re not going to play if you don`t know where you should send that single resource.
GRACE: Karen Riojas is with us, Michelle Bullard`s mother. What can you tell us about the search tonight, Karen?
RIOJAS: Well, Nancy, they have been working around the clock and the two counties as to where -- this was very close to two county lines.
GRACE: Right. What are they doing tonight to try to find Michelle?
RIOJAS: Well, they have worked around the clock with these dogs, with the scents, to find a common place as to where maybe this crime occurred.
GRACE: Everyone, with us, Karen Riojas, Michelle`s mother, now largely relying on the instincts and the training of search dogs to find her girl.
Very quickly, to tonight`s "All-Points Bulletin." Law enforcement across the country looking for Stanley Blair Hill in connection with the Tennessee murder of 32-year-old Vickie Hill. Stanley Blair is six feet, 175 pounds, brown hair, hazel eyes.
If you have info, call the TBI, TBI-FIND. Local news next for some of you but we`ll all be right back. And remember, live coverage Court TV of the Alito hearings.
Stay with us as we remember Army Private Robbie Mariano, 21, an American hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: ... very much to help in our way solve unsolved homicides, find missing people. Take a look at 12-year-old Amber Harris, Omaha, Nebraska, since November 29, 2005. If you have info on Amber, please call Omaha police, 402-444-5600, or go online to BeyondMissing.com.
Here in the studio with me, one of the best guests I`ve ever had. No offense, people.
To Eric, how long does it take to train a dog like Osa?
MARTIN: Approximately two years.
GRACE: And to you, Laura, does Osa live at home with you?
LOPRESTI: Yes, she does.
GRACE: Like a baby?
LOPRESTI: Yes.
GRACE: To Karen Riojas, Michelle`s mother, Michelle Bullard. Everyone, there is a $10,000 reward for information leading to finding Michelle. Phone number, 919-718-4577.
Karen, what do you believe has happened to Michelle?
RIOJAS: Nancy, if I knew, I would go to her now and I would get her.
GRACE: What you said last week about her leaving the house without her shoes on stuck in my mind.
RIOJAS: She does not have shoes on her feet. And it sticks in my mind.
GRACE: Is the boyfriend helping?
RIOJAS: I have not spoke very much to him, Nancy. My life has been turned completely upside-down. I want to find my daughter. I don`t care who, when and why. I just want my daughter back. That is our goal.
And in solving this, you know, I went through a million different scenarios as to what could have happened to Michelle. But I do know Michelle is a fighter. And she is a survivor. And I do know Michelle is smart. And if she can get out of this situation, she will, Nancy. And...
GRACE: Karen, Karen...
RIOJAS: Yes?
GRACE: ... we`re not letting go of this.
RIOJAS: No, I`m not.
GRACE: Everyone, please take a look at Michelle Bullard. Please help Karen bring her daughter home.
RIOJAS: Somebody knows something, Nancy.
GRACE: They certainly do. Everybody, $10,000 reward. Karen, thank you.
But thank you to all of our guests tonight, especially to our special guest here on the set, Osa. Our biggest thank you is to you for being with us, inviting us into your homes.
Tomorrow night, a special guest, Sharon Rocha, Laci Peterson`s mom, here in the studio, talking about Laci, Scott Peterson, the trial, her life, her book.
(DOG BARKS)
Oops. Coming up, headlines from all around the world. I`m Nancy Grace signing off for tonight. See you right here tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp. Until then, good night, friend.
END

 

JANUARY 5TH

KAREN ROJAS, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: We love her. We miss her. And we want her back in our arms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight back out to Pat Lalama. Bring us up-to-date, Pat.
LALAMA: Oh, man, this story is heartbreaking. The young woman is sitting in a trailer with her boyfriend of one month with another couple. They`re watching a movie. Nothing`s happening. They`re all having a good time, seemingly.
Someone busts into the house. The door`s not locked. He`s got a ski mask on. According to the three witnesses, each of them were tied up separately, brought to different rooms. They were held at gunpoint. The masked man allegedly drags one of the women out, decides he doesn`t want her, takes her back to the house, and brings the other woman, the missing woman, with him.
The only thing they`ve got to go on -- and there`s not even a connection -- there`s no evidence in this case -- is that a couple days later, a 49-year-old plumber who lives about six miles down the road is in his pickup truck. He`s missing, and he shoots himself in the head.
GRACE: To Raleigh, North Carolina, joining us tonight from the "Sanford Herald," the editor, Dan Fields. Dan, what can you tell us about this case and about this 23-year-old missing girl?
DAN FIELDS, EDITOR, "SANFORD HERALD": Well, what we`re trying to figure out -- and I know what authorities are trying to figure out -- is exactly just getting to the bottom of where Ms. Bullard is at. And, you know, there`s a lot of questions, I know, that are going on right now...
GRACE: What do we know happened, Dan?
FIELDS: Well, what we do know right now is that she was -- what the authorities have told us is that she was abducted. She was taken. There was a person, yes, that did go in and take her. The person did, yes, have a ski mask on.
But again, there are just a lot of unanswered questions out there, also, with this person who committed suicide earlier that you just brought up.
GRACE: But is there any connection that we know of, Dan, between the suicide? It`s my understanding police were pulling a vehicle over. When they approached the vehicle, the driver committed suicide. Is there any reason to believe there`s a connection to her disappearance?
FIELDS: There could very well be, Nancy. But that`s the problem, and that`s the frustration.
GRACE: Well, I`m asking you if there`s a reason.
FIELDS: That`s a good question. Unfortunately, I wish I could give you an answer on...
GRACE: So we don`t know of a reason to connect the two tonight?
FIELDS: We`re trying to find that out from the law enforcement authorities...
GRACE: OK.
FIELDS: ... but we just haven`t got a straight answer from them.
GRACE: Dan, question: What time of the morning, noon or night did this take place?
FIELDS: This incident took place around 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning.
GRACE: OK. What were the victims doing?
FIELDS: From what we understand, the victims were in the mobile home. They were watching some sort of -- doing some sort of activity together when this person came in.
GRACE: I understand they were watching TV.
FIELDS: OK.
GRACE: So what happened?
FIELDS: All we know right now, Nancy, is that there was a person that came in on an unlocked door, tied up the four people that were inside of the mobile home, and then took one of the people. In this case, it was Ms. Bullard.
GRACE: Now, did they first, Pat Lalama, take the other girl, then bring her back inside and grab Michelle Bullard?
LALAMA: Well, now, that`s according to the other girl. And the interesting thing is, is that authorities have said that witness statements have been inconsistent.
I`ve got to tell you just one more important thing. You know, they say they were all there, what was it, 1:30 in the morning, but another friend who wasn`t there that night says that she had been trying to get a hold of this young woman all day Sunday, all night Sunday night, all day Monday, all Monday night. So that`s just a little odd.
I mean, this is someone who`s lively, has a job. People like her. And this one friend had been trying to get in touch with her. They were supposed to go to -- she knew that she was supposed to go to some New Year`s Eve party. Why didn`t she -- why wasn`t she able to find them? I mean, I find that really, really important to the case.
GRACE: Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RENEE HALL, FRIEND: The unknown is what kills anything, the unknown, I mean, whether she`s alive or, God forbid, is she be dead, but just not knowing.
KAREN RIOJAS, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: We love her. We miss her. And we want her back in our arms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Lisa Wayne, veteran defense attorney. It sounds as if many of the witnesses, the three remaining people in the home, are giving inconsistent statements. That`s not good.
LISA WAYNE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s what it sounds like, Nancy, but you have to understand, first of all, when you are under a situation, the stress, and the excitement, and the starling nature of the events, you`re going to have different and varying accounts from witnesses, all in the same place, many times.
So that goes to the reliability of not only eyewitness identification but just what`s going on with the people and what`s going on in their minds. We don`t know if these people had been drinking, if anybody`s on drugs. We just don`t know.
GRACE: Right. Now joining me is a special guest, Michelle Bullard`s mother, Karen Riojas. Ms. Riojas, thank you for being with us. What can you tell us tonight? What are police saying?
RIOJAS: Well, right now, we don`t have any major leads, only that we know that Michelle was abducted and that she has not been heard of since the abduction, late Sunday evening, early Monday morning. I can tell you that the 911 call was placed at 1:12, so we actually think the abduction was earlier than the 1:30 that was stated earlier.
GRACE: Had her cell phone been used since she went missing?
RIOJAS: I have called it four dozen and a half times. And I only get the voice mail. But I did talk to Michelle Sunday afternoon and did see her Sunday around 5:00 p.m. And her cell phone was working, because I did reach her.
But we thank, Nancy. We want Michelle back. We want her back safely. We are frantic to find her. And we want her to know that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN RIOJAS, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: We love her. We miss her. And we want her back in our arms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Can you imagine sitting on your own sofa, watching TV late one night, home invasion, your three friends are bound, taken to another room, and you are kidnapped? That is exactly what police say happened to a 23- year-old girl, Michelle Bullard, near Raleigh.
Let me go straight out to Michelle`s mother. She is joining us tonight, Karen Riojas. What is your understanding of what happened that night? And, Ms. Riojas, why are the other people`s stories different?
RIOJAS: Well, I feel as though they were separated in the home and in different areas. And I actually feel as though, probably, they were -- I know that one was asleep and was woken, you know, to the event of someone coming in and invading.
GRACE: Right. Right.
RIOJAS: And I also think that they just saw it in a different light.
GRACE: So that doesn`t disturb you, that their stories are a little different, right?
RIOJAS: It disturbs me because my daughter is missing. And, you know, our goal is to find Michelle and have her safe return back to us.
GRACE: Right. And the more correct facts we know will help find her.
But, you know, Karen Riojas, when a lot of different witnesses see the same thing, very often their stories will be a little different, just as you said.
RIOJAS: Correct.
GRACE: One is woken up from a sound sleep. One`s watching TV. One`s in the kitchen. They see things from a different vantage point. It all happens differently for them.
Does she always carry her cell phone with her? Have they recovered her phone? Or do you think the abductor took it?
RIOJAS: She has the phone on her person, yes.
GRACE: She has the phone on her person.
RIOJAS: Her pocketbook was not found in the home. Robbery was a motive in this, in that money was taken. I do not know the amount of money.
GRACE: Karen, what have the others told you about what happened?
RIOJAS: Well, out of the three, I`ve only spoken to two...
GRACE: Right.
RIOJAS: ... about specifics of, you know, the actual event of the intrusion. And one was asleep, that is one that I spoke to. And the other is the female that was there.
GRACE: What did they tell you about the incident?
RIOJAS: Well, I got the most information from the female, because her and Michelle were basically put together while the men were stripped and taped and bound together.
GRACE: How could one guy do all this? He must have had a gun, obviously.
RIOJAS: This is something that has went through my mind 1,023 times. I don`t know, Nancy. It is bizarre to me that one person could...
GRACE: Overcome four people.
RIOJAS: ... overcome so many people.
GRACE: Well, if he has a gun and the others are told what to do, for all we know, he said, you know, "I`m going to duct tape you and rob the place and leave," and maybe they went along with it. What are cops telling you, Karen?
RIOJAS: Basically, there has not been a break in the case. And we, as Michelle`s family, are pleading for the help of the people to look for Michelle, anything.
GRACE: And we are, too.
Elizabeth, let me see that shot again of Michelle Bullard. Everyone, Michelle Bullard in her own home on her own business watching TV, home invasion. The other three left behind. She is taken.
Here`s the tip line: 919-718-4577. The last time her mom spoke to her, Sunday afternoon.
Very quickly to attorney Rahul Manchanda. You know, Rahul, we know that this local plumber was pulled over by cops and he committed suicide. If there is not a description of him in and around that home that night, what do you make of trying to connect him to this?
RAHUL MANCHANDA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, that`s the problem right now. There`s very few clues right now. And what law enforcement is trying to do is look at every single possibility to extrapolate and to figure out if there is any connection.
You`ve got to remember, this is a very small town, a very low crime rate. So anything and everything that comes up on the radar needs to be looked at. I think there were -- authorities are talking about how this is the worst thing that`s ever happened in their history. It`s just very good police work to look at every single possible scenario.
GRACE: Well, you know what? You`ve got a good point, Rahul.
Back to Dan Fields. You know, Dan Field, everyone, editor with the "Sanford Herald." You may be right that there`s no real connection between this guy that committed suicide when cops pulled him over and the abduction of Michelle Bullard. But the two of them happening so closely, seemingly unexplained, the police have got to look for a nexus. Dan, how small is the area?
FIELDS: Sanford is about 25,000 in population. The incident that occurred, it occurred pretty much with a bordering county. Sanford is in Lee County. That`s in Curran Park County (ph).
GRACE: Right.
FIELDS: So it`s right nearby. So it`s not exactly in an area where it`s sparsely populated. That`s not true at all. But Sanford is big enough...
GRACE: You said about 25,000, right?
FIELDS: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: OK.
To Pat Brown, criminal profiler, you know, we all said this with the Shasta and Dylan Groene case, that it was such a small area, it had to be someone they knew. Well, in fact, it was someone that had been watching them. What do you make? I think it`s significant that this is such a small town.
BROWN: Well, Nancy, Joseph Duncan, this was an unusual case with him. And we probably wouldn`t have guessed that someone would have come in and done that kind of crime. But he was a desperate man on the run and didn`t care.
My question would be: Was this trailer positioned near a major highway, where somebody coming off a highway, desperate to grab something and keep going, a felon of some sort on the run...
GRACE: That`s a good question. Dan, was it? Was it near a big highway?
FIELDS: It was not.
BROWN: OK.
FIELDS: And the thing is here, we don`t know if there`s a connection with this or not. And, at least on the news media`s part, that`s what we`re trying to figure out, because the biggest thing is that we want to get information out, so ultimately Ms. Bullard can return home safely.
GRACE: Very quickly, everyone, we`ll all be right back with Michelle`s mother. Let`s go to tonight`s "All-Points Bulletin." Law enforcement on the lookout for Cyril Byrd, wanted in connection with the `98 Cincinnati murder of 50-year-old Jerry Gilbert (ph).
Byrd is 32, 5`10", 185 pounds -- take a look -- black hair, brown eyes. If you have info, call the FBI, 513-421-4310.
Local news next for some of you, but we`ll all be right back. And remember, live coverage of a Massachusetts trial regarding the death of a child, 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern, Court TV.
Everyone, please stay with us as we remember Private Joshua M. Morberg, just 20 years old, just out of high school, an American hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: We at NANCY GRACE want very much to help solve unsolved homicides, find missing people. Take a look at 64-year-old Nita Mayo, last seen August 8, 2005. Her car found Pinecrest, California. If you have info on Nita Mayo, please call the Carol Sund Carrington Foundation, toll- free, 888-813-8389. Please help us.
In our final moment, I want to go back to Michelle Bullard`s mother, Karen Riojas. What can you tell us tonight about your girl? What can we do to help you?
RIOJAS: Nancy, I fully believe that Michelle is out there and she is alive. And we are just frantically waiting her return.
My daughter left with no shoes on her feet, Nancy. Her shoes were left. Michelle did not like to wear shoes in the house and was, you know, watching a movie. And I lay in my bed at night, trying to sleep, wondering if my daughter`s feet are cold.
And Michelle has the most beautiful smile, the most bubbly personality. And we just are asking anyone who has any information about the whereabouts of Michelle, look for her. You`ve seen the photos. We`ve tried to get them out, especially locally. And the reason that we chose to go nationally is because we want to broaden our search for Michelle.
And, Nancy, any information that you or anyone can get for us, we, as her family, her father, Julian, and me, and the whole Michelle Bullard family would appreciate.
GRACE: Karen, let me put that number up again, 919-718-4577. This is a confidential number. We know that someone out there knows what has become of Michelle Bullard. Thank you to Michelle`s mother.
RIOJAS: Thank you, Nancy.
GRACE: Yes, ma`am.
But thank you to all of our guests tonight. And thank you for being with us. Until tomorrow night, good night, friend.
END