Chat

Friday, October 3, 1997 Guest: Detective Terry Nelson Opening Remarks: Well, I'm sure you all are anxious to hear about the FBI's involvement with the case? Am I correct? We are joining forces with FBI agents Gary Stremcha and Donna Hillman. Special Agent Gary Stremcha is going to be helping us find the fugitive Ed Pierce. Special Agent Hillman will be acting as a liaison to the department for the FBI's Child Abduction Unit. She is primarily working on the Lamar case, but it really hasn't been determined as to whether this is an actual abduction so she's going to be helping us sort out any possible evidence that it might be. She's really only with us on a request basis at the moment. Because we have no definite proof of abduction or interstate transport of Lamar. Question & Answer session with Detective Nelson: Q: Any breaking news not yet posted? Any new developments - what about the injured Deputy? A: Introduction of the FBI Special Agents in full force is the most important element today. Deputy Phillips is still in a coma at Baptist Memorial Hospital. Q: Any search by the river, near Magnolias, anything found? A: We've been following up on any information we have, but there hasn't been anything found yet. Q: Perhaps that's descriptive of her grandparents' and aunt's farm? A: We are checking that, too. Q: Was there any evidence found in the autopsy of Anthony Phelps that connects him to Macy Lamar? A: Well, all that was determined was that he died from a torn aorta from the accident. However, we did find a library card in the hotel room that belonged to Macy. Q: What about witnesses around Herritage Inn seeing Vicky or Phelps? A: We've questioned some people around the area. So have the Tangipahoa County Sheriff's Department there in Louisiana. The hotel manager didn't seem to see anything unusual and he didn't see Phelps or Pierce though Ms. Symons did rent out the room. That we have a positive I.D. on. There was a man, Carl Walsh, who said that he saw Phelps in a McDonalds. Q: Has anyone seen Pierce since the escape? A: We have a woman, Tanya, who works for Proud Larry's claims to have seen Pierce talking with Ms. Symons after the accident, but no positive I.D. was made. Pierce has been eluding the police very well; he's a smart man. Q: The witness to the Pierce "sighting"...what did he/she have to say about this person's condition? A: The woman said that she saw Ms. Symons talking to 'that escaped guy.' She didn't see anything wrong with him, but said that she couldn't make a positive I.D. on him because she was too far away. We're not sure she's being totally honest, but that is all she'll say. Q: Have there been any charges to Caroline Blanchard's credit card? A: No, but we are tracing the accounts carefully in case we have a chance of finding the girl. Q: Any mysterious phone calls to mom or dad? A: No, nothing out of the ordinary, but we are trying to keep tabs on the phone lines in case Macy calls. Q: Are you absolutely sure there is no connection between Purity and Macy Lamar Detective? A: I am not totally sure, but in my opinion, I would say that these cases are totally different. But then again, it could be a possibility that they are linked. Nothing to suggest it now. Q: Last Friday you said you had a current list of Ego Shovel members... A: Yes. We have a list that we are compiling. It's getting hard to get a solid list because Ego Shovel is keeping things pretty tight ever since the Purity case. Q: Does the victim know this person who been accused? A: Well, we aren't really conclusive on whether it is an actual abduction or not. But, as far as we know, Macy did not know Phelps or Pierce, but anything is possible. Most of our sources have told us that they didn't think Macy knew either of the men. Q: Any stolen car tags been reported to you (the Dept) on the same day as accident and escape? A: Not the same day, but yes, we have quite a few stolen tags recently reported, but unfortunately no solid leads. Q: When will the Sheriff and his wife be asked to take a polygraph? A: We have been questioning both parents constantly...as to the polygraph, none are scheduled it yet. Although we are planning on giving one. Q: Any reports of more stolen cars in the path between Oxford and Amite, etc? A: Yes, there has been a found stolen car, but not the one we were looking for. There were stolen cars, but mostly misfits going for joy rides. There are APBs out and none of the cars that came back match the description of the original vehicle. Q: Has Macy's picture been televised and public asked for info or signings at mall or anywhere? A: Yes, we are trying to find her at all costs. Her pictures have been posted in the papers and the TV news every evening. We've got her picture on milk cartons in this area through the Center for Missing Children and there are posters in every mall within a 10 mile square radius. Q: Do you think they are still in the area? A: Personally, I don't think that they are, but we are still searching the area. Q: Why limited to 10 miles considering she may be out of state? Shouldn't this be national? A: We weren't in charge of the posters in the mall, her family put those up. We've just been doing some major searching in the area as of recently especially in Magnolia Apartments area. Q: Do you think that Macy was abducted or left on her own accord? A: We aren't really sure. We are treating this as fragile as we can because we have not received any actual proof she was abducted, but we are looking into the case as a possible abduction. Q: What would you say we do know for sure in this case? A: We do know that Macy is missing, that it is not likely according to different folks that we've asked, that Macy is NOT the type to just leave. We have to treat this case as fragile as we can because of the close ties to the department and the escape. We know that we have found the dead body of the man arrested as the Proud Larry's rapist and that we did find Macy's library card, but basically, that's all we know as of now. That is why we are bringing in Federal help on this case. It's too big for just our department alone, especially with one of the escapees being found dead in a different state. Q: Would there be a reason for Ed to take Macy if he had Victoria with him already? A: We theorize that Ed and Anthony may have recognized her as the Sheriff's daughter and possibly wanted to use her as a hostage if they were caught.

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