it's real. the body cameras, thank goodness they had them, right? osborn's initial court appearance at thursday 8:00. these are arresting charges, neglect of a dependent or a child. the prosecutor can add more charges. they can opt not to prosecute in the. and i looked at the law. this is a felony that right now he's being arrested on. it's knowingly or intentionally putting that child in danger, knowingly, intentionally. he said he didn't know there was a gun. he also said that he has a cousin and his cousin will leave the gun at the apartment every now and then when he is feeling mentally unstable. >> oh, that's good. >> but he said the gun is always in his room. he said, i have never brought a gun in. knowingly, intentionally. did he know? >> thank goodness for those neighbors. if you see something, say something. >> the police were going to leave. because they did the cursory

search, they didn't find anything. >> appreciate it. coming up, we look at some of the issues house republicans plan to investigate when it comes to the first family, from hunter biden's business dealings, to claims about the presents brothers, that have also drawn scrutiny. what it means for the 46th commander-in-chief, ahead. ♪ (dog barks) ♪ silverado zr2, trail boss, and custom trail boss. because adventure is everywhere.

>> new reporting into cnn about

the biden documents infestation. what sources are telling us about who federal investigators are talking to. cnn senior justice correspondent evan perez joins us now. have you learned, evan? >> we know that the investigators are doing the initial review, talk to a number of people associate with president biden. one at them, it turns out, is patrick moore. he's a long time biden campaign a attorney election lawyer who was present when the first batch of documents were found back in november. he was among the people there who were trying to go through these boxes of documents, that were being removed from a private office that president biden used during the trump administration. this is at the penn biden center here in washington. we are told that he was one of the people essentially who was first on the scene there and was obviously an important

person for the fbi for the u. s. attorney in chicago to talk to, anderson. >> the attorney also turned over a set of nonclassified documents to the archives, right? >> that's right, so after they found the classified documents, and they turned over those documents to the national archives, they decided--according to the white house team, out of an abundance of caution, they decided that they wanted to turn over pretty much everything. there were a number of documents including some speeches, including some personal speeches and reference material that he had had shipped back to his office back in boston that were then turned over some national archives again, out of an abundance of caution, we talked to the white house and president biden's private attorneys, and they declined to comment for the story. anderson, it gives you a picture, right, at least from

the white house perspective and president biden's perspective that they view this as going overboard, trying to cooperate with this investigation in contrast with the one that is going on still in the mar-a-lago documents. >> evan perez, appreciate it. from that direct examination with people around him to the investigations that house republicans are ready to launch into business dealings by members of his family that includes allegations his son hunter traded on and profited from his familial connections. well to get more now from cnn chief investigator, pamela brown. >> he has built his political career on promises of honesty, hardwork and a pledge to a family name means something. >> i give my word as a biden. >> i gave you my word as a biden. >> but while joe biden swears by his name his politics, his son and two brothers spent years trying to benefit from the biden name. it's all now the focus of a republican-led congressional investigation. >> we want to know what the biden administration has tried to hide from the american people and why they're not being transparent.

>> republican congressman, james comer, now chairs the house oversight committee and has set his sights on joe biden 's son, hunter. a mysterious laptop now in the hands of the fbi and long held conspiracy theories about president joe biden and what he does or does not know. >> i have never discussed with my son or my brother, or anyone else, anything having to do with their businesses, period. >> despite his denials, a cnn review of the laptop data, as well as other public material, shows that joe biden did interact with some of his sons associates while serving as vice president. though it is unclear exactly what was discussed. one example, the republicans site, miguel alemã¡n magnani, a mexican businessman and son of the former president who hunter was trying to loom. in 2014, alemã¡n magnani and his dad were photographed at the white house with then vice president biden. in a later email, hunter biden reminds alemã¡n magnani of the

favorites he's done for him. we've been talking about business deals of partnerships for several years. i have brought every single person you've ever ask me to bring to the effing white house and the vice president's house, and the inauguration. hunter biden bluntly acknowledged the power of the biden name in a memoir, writing that the ukrainian in energy company, burisma, which put him on its board, considered my last name gold. >> i don't think that there's a lot of things that would've happened in my life that if my last name was not biden. >> joe biden's brothers have repeatedly referenced him in thei private dealings. frank biden, a developer of for profit charter schools, has invoked his brother in trying to convince local officials to approve his projects, like in sunrise, florida, where he told the city in 2015 to trust his venture. >> not because of frank, but because of the honor of being the brother of a guy i think we all know and love. >> in 2021, at a gathering of medical professionals, he made

this pledge: >> the bully pulpit that i have is a result of the privilege of being associated with my brother, joe. and i will do everything in my power to support you to get the job done, to get federal dollars to your research. >> frank biden told cnn, there has been zero interaction between his brothers public office and his private business. adding, "do i engage in any way in quid pro quo on any level? absolutely not." >> does the last name gave credibility. you know? initially. >> health care entrepreneur, michael fray, told cnn, joe burns other writing brother, james, broke financial promises he made while referencing the biden name. phrase company filed a lawsuit alleging fraud by james biden, who denied the claims. frey spoke to cnn before the lawsuit settled in 2020. >> everything was on the biden name and so, we took that to heart. >> james biden was also named in a lawsuit filed in july. he allegedly received about $600,000 in loans in 2018 from

a company he worked with. americore health, based upon representations that his last name,'biden', could open doors. and that he could obtain a large investment from the middle east based on his political connections. the suit states that the investment was never delivered. the lawsuit was settled, though james biden denied the allegations in court filings. he did not respond to a request for comment. kathleen clark, a government ethics expert, calls it all troubling. >> we have certainly examples of biden, family members, explicitly trading on his name. trying to convince business partners to do deals with them. uhm... that is outrageous. >> even so, government ethics experts say, the bidens'ethical challenges pale in comparison to donald trump. >> one of the differences is that trump, himself, personally was corrupt, and certainly did enrich himself through the use of government power. >> even the republican

congressman leading the biden investigation raises concerns about trump's dealings while president. >> do you believe there should've been more transparency with trump and his family members in the business ...? -- >> i do, i absolutely do. >> comer says, he wants introduced bipartisan legislation to tighten ethics laws. but the committee's first priority is the bidens. pamela brown joins us now, what is the white house saying about? >> they are not done anything illegal, but we did sent a white house the list of questions, including whether the president stands by statements that he never discusses his relatives business'with them. in response, the white house sent us the statement, saying, the president has pledged to restore ethics to the white house and establish the most rigorous at the guideline of any administration in history. no family member has or will serve in the administration or be involved in government decision-making, anderson? >> pamela brown, appreciate it, thanks.

more now on how the white house handles this, the documents issue as well. here to talk about it with two veterans in political crisis management, former top obama adviser, david axelrod and senior commentator, alyssa farah griffin, who served as the white house director of communication in the previous administration. david, how do you think the biden administration will deal with a huge microscope on his family by the republican-led house? >> i think that they had some time to think about it because republicans have been settled about the fact that this would be an area of inquiry. i think... look, i am old enough to remember other siblings, billy carter and roger clinton and others, who created an embarrassment for their presidential sibling, but if you can't prove a quid rpo quo... if influence peddling's only influence peddling if you have influence and will get, if there's no evidence of influence being wielded, it's embarrassing.

'some evidence that they're using his name for their own advantage but not necessarily getting much result in terms of what the government does. i think that's where the rubber hits the road. >> alyssa, how do you see this house investigation? >> i hope that comer's words are right, that he will look into just broadly any sort of impropriety that we may see in government. you can't talk about the very legitimate concerns about hunter biden and not talk about the former president, as well. i don't expect to see that with this committee. they've launched and been clear that the republican-led committee will be extremely partisan. i don't know if that gets us anywhere good. i would remind you, hunter biden's under investigation by the doj. if there will be accountability into any wrongdoing, anything regarding his taxes, or come from there, not from a congressional committee with subpoena power. >> david, when we last spoke last week, you thought the white house handling the classified documents issue was

sub optimal. is it worse than suboptimal now? >> look, i think what we have seen is the tension between lawyers and political communications people. i think alyssa would speak to the fact that, political folks, communication folks would say get it all out, quickly, in total. lawyers, now that it's become a legal matter, you have a special counsel are going to say, the circumstance, don't say anything until we know exactly what we're dealing with here, let's work through them, or for all questions to them. you can see, the president, there's all these leaks about how frustrated he is and so on. the source of that frustration is that tension--he was not answering questions today because his communications people told them, don't answer questions, his lawyers are saying, let's let the process run here, and that's probably the prudent advice, but it has

terrible short term political implications because we're here talking about it night after night. >> yeah, alyssa, if you are in the white house communications, how would you handle it? >> listen, it was not handle this past week or so. first and foremost, on expectations, i think it would be wise for the white house to say that there may be additional documents found, but our commitment is that we will be transparent and the american public aware as soon as those come forward. we're fully compliant with the doj. i also think it be very smart to kind of separate this, perhaps have a separate-- they have separate council--but also a spokes person so they can defer these questions. this is not something they should be talking about at the white house put him every day, dismiss it as an ongoing investigation and i have somebody who is really credible seen as nonpartisan that is answer questions on this. i hate to throw somebody on the bus with someone like admiral kirby, the nsc spokesperson, can generally answer questions that are in the public interest without bringing partisan politics into it. that seems like what they should be doing. >> david, what do you think?

>> yeha, well the thing is if you say we will come forward every time and your document is discovered, you're essentially setting yourself up for what we saw. i think this is what they were trying to avoid because i don't think they know, or i don't think they did know-- i don't know what they know now... but you don't want serial revelations, well, the more documents, for more documents. better to let the investigation run and, in fact, i think ian sams is, alyssa, now designated to answer these kinds of questions, so they're trying to do that, but if you think back to the clinton scandal, monica lewinsky back in the day, they were very, very assiduous about the president will not deal with this, we will not deal with this. you can talk to the lawyers, you can talk to the justice department, special counsel, we're not going to--we will do the business of government, you

do one or the other but don't do half and half. >> david axelrod, alyssa farah griffin, appreciate it. up next, the congresswoman who wants a brace the 9/11 conspiracy theory ended up on the homeland security committee. and later, all we learned about the disappearance of a missing mom ana walshe and her husband hours away from being charged. need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.

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>> congresswoman marjorie taylor greene on the homeland security committee. how she got their brand into

kevin mccarthy's inner circle is a store in itself. cnn's jeff zeleny has more. >> we have to elect kevin mccarthy. >> marjorie taylor greene is taking on a new role in congress, being a team player and so far this year, she's lining up squarely behind speaker kevin mccarthy. >> if we don't unify behind kevin mccarthy, we're opening up the door for the democrats to be able to recruit some of our republicans. >> the evolution of the georgia congresswoman has been remarkable to watch or transactional, in the eyes of some critics, and she took center stage in mccarthy's overtime race for speaker. [applause] she worked to win every last vote, even handing her phone with former president donald trump on the line the to the congressman matt rosendale of montana, who brushed back her arm twisting. a one-time proud republican rappel russell. >> i am not afraid of the civil war or gop, i lean into it. >> now, has a seat at the table on two key committees, a new role after her committee assignments were stripped for

repeatedly making incendiary comments when democrats control the house. cnn has learned that with mccarthy's blessing, she landed prime seats on the oversight committee that will -- to get the president and homeland security committee with jurisdiction over the border. the panel will lead the charge to probe or potentially impeach the hsr terry alejandro mayorkas. >> house republicans are committed, and we are all together going to do something about this problem to secure our border. >> she's beginning her second term in congress in a far different place than when she first arrived in washington after being elected in 2020 from georgia's deep red 14th district. a litany of previous statements unspooled like a soundtrack of controversy and conspiracy. >> there is an islamic invasion into our government offices right now. >> how do you get avid gun owners and people that support the second amendment to give up their guns? maybe you accomplish that by performing a mass shooting into a crowd. the so-called plane that crashed into the pentagon, it's odd that there is never any evidence shown for a plane in

the pentagon. >> she made clear in late 2021 that she had little interest in play nice leaders of her own party. >> respect is earned, it's earned, it's not given. >> do you respect the republican leadership right now? >> no, no, i don't respect them at all. >> but heading into the midterm elections last fall, republican leaders noticed a change. her criticism cooled, and she was on hand in pennsylvania, turn on mccarthy as he unveiled the gop agenda. >> we are go to re-appeal 87,000 irs agents. our job is to work for you, not go after you. our job is to make america stronger. >> her support never wavered during a bruising speaker's fight, this is seeing herself from mccarthy's outspoken critics, a crew to whom she once belonged. one republican ally tells cnn to her transformation, whether temporary or permanent, is a sign of strategic maturity. indeed, she told cnn's manu raju that republicans must show that they can govern. >> i really want us to come

together. there's an important race coming up in 2024, and republicans, we have to prove to the country that we can be trusted to lead. >> jeff zeleny joins us now along with cnn senior political correspondent and inside politics sunday anchor, abby philip. jeff, we heard your piece the comments margie taylor greene mid regarding 9/11, essentially questioning the attack on the pentagon. now, she will have a seat on the homeland security committee, which was founded in reaction to 9/11. what do we expect from her on that committee? >> anderson, she is first and foremost focused on the border. that's what many house republicans are focused on, and particularly, the policies of the biden administration and the dhs secretary, alejandro mayorkas. look forward to an investigation that could potentially lead to impeachment proceedings. we will see how that plays out but this is really a test for her because just today, she's put back on these committees. she's essentially been having a lot of free time on our hands the last couple of years because she served on no committees after being stripped of those. she will be serving on the

homeland security committee and the oversight committee. we'll see how she conducts herself. she won't be leading these committees, she will be a member, but the border seems--at least for now, her focus. >> abby, she supported the funding mccarthy throughout his speakership it. republicans control the house, green showing her unwavering that a kitchen, where this is placer within the republican party? >> i think that she set herself several months ago that if republicans took over the house of representatives, which they did, that she would be one of the most powerful members of the house. i think that she, probably like another members, given the small majority, is in a real position of power because i think that she lent kevin mccarthy quite a lot of credibility. that relationship, if it is transactional, it's simple directions. she needs her as much as she needs him for an opportunity to be on the committee, they have some kind of real power. so, i think that she's strategically has quite a lot

of power now. the question is, is she going to use it in a way that is good for her or good for the republican majority. i think those are not necessarily the same thing, and we'll see whether the strategic maturity that jeff is talking about holds once there is a lot of pressure on kevin mccarthy in the coming months from the right flank of which, she is still a part. >> jeff, she's cooler trying to distance herself from antisemitic comments, the qanon crazy stuff, has it impacted her support from her antiestablishment base? >> it hasn't yet. this is still fairly newly developing, and she is speaking to a couple of different channels at the same time. she's still not shying away from some of these sharp comments that she's made, but she is shying away from all the conspiracy theories that brought her in. she's changed her staff in some respects, and she seems like

she wants to be part of this new republican majority, she also wanted to be had her committee assignments back. we'll see how this plays out with a base, but she certainly has a lot of room here because her district is the parade, so supporting the republican agenda is something that most of her constituents would also support. >> she did promote qanon conspiracy theories. she told trump in the lead up to january 6th that qanon would attend his rally. according to transcripts released by the january six committee, just last week, she seemed to distance herself from qanon. i want to play and listen how she did that: >> like a lot of people today, i had easily got sucked into some things i had seen on the internet, but that was dealt with quickly early on. i never campaigned on those things. that was not something that i believed in, not what i ran for congress on. those are so far in the past. >> do you think or distancing himself from this will work and re-branding herself as a more mainstream republican?

abby? >> you know, we'll see... look, she said she did not run on this stuff, but i do think it was a key part of how she established her conservative bona fetus to a certain segment of the republican base. that's really important. she's in that seat now, it's ruby red--but actually, for that reason, she may need to prove that she is still one with the base. frankly, kevin mccarthy is the speaker, but he has a real tenuous relationship with the kind of fundamentalist core of the republican party, which is why i think only time will tell whether all of this holds. i'll also say, anderson, she--all of this stuff about qanon is one thing, but she's also spoken in front of nick fuentes's white nationalist convention as well. so she has a lot of things in her past, and while she is this thing herself from those things, has not actually denounced them. i think there is really a difference between those two things.

>> yeah, and they are not that far and the distance, especially the white nationalist stuff. abby philip, jefferey sunny as well, appreciate it. coming up, the husband of ana walshe is hours away from being charged a murder. the timeline of false claims and some disturbing clues. in its tracks within 2 hours... ...without worrying if it's too late or where you are. unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks a protein believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. migraine pain relief starts with u. learn how abbvie could help you save. ask about ubrelvy, the anytime, anywhere migraine medicine. ♪

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national correspondent and jason carroll looks at what led to this moment even with no trace of ana. >> i think the number one concern is finding ana and what happened. >> the timeline and mystery of what happened to ana walshe spans more than two weeks, starting on new year's day. that's when her husband, brian walshe claimed she left her home in a rideshare attack see-through flight to washington d. c. for work, but prosecutors say there is no evidence ana got a ride or went to the airport. brian walshe tells investigators that on this day, he ran errands for his mother in a nearby town, but they find no evidence those trips occurred. january 2nd, prosecutors say that walshe went to a home depot and spent about four $450 in cash on cleaning supplies like mops, buckets and tarps. january 4th, ana walshe's workplace, a d. c. real state firm, calls police to report her missing. a police log would later

confirm that the head of security in the firm was the first to report her missing to police, and that her husband has not filed a missing person report on female. her friends begin to fear the worst. >> i think something has gone horribly, horribly wrong when it comes to her. >> january six, police start a massive search in co--. well enforcement sources say her husband's internet records in the days following her disappearance shows searches for how to dismember a body and how to dispose of a 150-pound women's body. january 8th, walshe is charged with misleading investigators. >> early in the investigators and police develop probable cause to believe that her husband brian walshe, aged 47, had misled police investigators on material matters important to the search of ana walshe. >> walshe was taken into custody and not guilty plea was centered on his behalf the next day. january 9th, prosecutors say

investigators recover a bloody knife in the family basement, also finding a hacksaw and torn up pieces of cloth with apparent bloodstains at a trash facility, this according to law enforcement sources. january 17th, walshe is charged with his wife's murder. his arraignment set for wednesday with the district attorney says additional details about the case will be released. his attorneys declined to comment on the latest charge. those who knew ana walshe now left wondering why the mother of three young boys would have been killed. >> she was beautiful every day. when i saw her every day, she was decked out, and her smile, she smiled. i never saw her upset. i never saw him upset. it was just the strangest thing. >> jason carroll, cnn, cohasset, massachusetts. >> we'll be covering that story tomorrow night as brian walshe makes his first court appearance in the afternoon. up next, the commander who defected from the mercenary group helping vladimir putin

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>> in, ukraine another child is confirmed dead after this weekend's russian missile strike on apartment building. one of at least 6000 killed in the attack that claimed dozens of lines in dnipro. it is another reminder that continued or work faced by ukrainians in this war that

vladimir putin launched nearly a year ago. one of his most trusted allies in that mission is the head of the private military group known as the wagner group. yevgeny prigozhin has been seen on the, right recruiting in russian prisons, a group of foreign convicts who have said to have thought and ukraine that they are quote, criminal talents are no longer needed. he reminded them again quoting not to end up in the slammer again, implying they were now free to live their lives outside prison. yet, tonight, we are learning much more about the defection of a top russian mercenary once in the wagner group. new offers description of a stark description of those could end the war effort. cnn's secret robertson has more. [speaking non-english] >> translator: andrei medvedev it's lucky to be alive. the former wagner unit commander says he fled russia in a daring arctic escape, dodging bullets and dogs across a frozen river to norway. [speaking non-english] >> translator: i have been chased, i am afraid for my life.

[sound of artillery] >> afraid, he says, because he's witnessed the murder such a cities in ukraine, committed in the name of his ex boss, wagner oligarch, yevgeny prigozhin, aka putin's chef, and he wants to tell. russians killing russians, some of them former prisoners freed from russian jails to fight for wagner. [sound of gunfire] [speaking non-english] >> translator: i know cases where prisoners were demonstrably shot dead for refusing to fight over betrayal. they were showing fighters here, this is what will happen to you. >> he says he joined wagner in july last year, signed up for four months, fought near bakhmut in eastern ukraine, [sound of artillery] but when prigozhin began recruiting former prisoners to wagner's ranks, medvedev saw a deadly change, wanted out of

his contract ended but was not allowed to quit. [speaking non-english] >> translator: since the moment that the prisoners have come to serve us strange things in murders at their own of recruited prisoners by the wagner security service simpler orders to send us to die by cannon fier started to happen. >> he is the highest ranking wagner fighter to flee to the west. his eyewitness account of prigozhin's murderous practices in ukraine is we have military. >> he's a target for the russian special forces, for the security service at the wagner group. it's a very high risk of dying. >> human rights activists

vladimir osechkin can help medvedev escape. he's making sure his story gets out. >> it's very important to do the international investigation about this. this it's very important to open this information to the russian people. >> medvedev's biggest revelation will likely be the most damaging to putin and prigozhin's recruitment drives. last month, prigozhin recorded this callous video, purporting to pose in front of his debt fighters and body bags, claiming their contracts were complete, and they were on their way back home. but medvedev says he's seen the truth. many fighters never making it home because prigozhin is too cheap to pay out insurance on their death. [speaking non-english] >> translator: the majority of the prisoners were buried and then declared missing.

the insurance opens up money to the relatives of the deceased if the body is identified and handed over to the relatives, so they were just delcaring everyone as missing. >> right now, medvedev is in a secure location in norway, telling investigators every detail that he can remember. he says he did not commit a crime but wants those responsible for all the murders to be brought to justice. anderson? >> nic robertson, thanks. coming up, details on the disappearance of a 20-year-old who believe the rantings of a covid conspiracy theorists and is now missing at sea. randi kaye has the story next.

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advantage: me! can't wait 'til i turn 65! aarp medicare advantage plans, only from unitedhealthcare. take advantage now at uhc.com/medicare >> covid has killed more than 1 million people in the u.s. since the start of the pandemic. it's currently the third leading cause of death in the country, and yet, since the beginning, many have chosen to embrace misinformation about the virus and vaccine. randi kaye has the story of one 20-year-old was been missing for more than two years ever since he succumbed to the teachings of a conspiracy theorist and saught what he thought would be an island paradise. >> we were out of town. we came back from chicago. he was gone. >> abigail and john damian have not seen their son, isaac, since september 2020.

that's when they say he ran off to why to follow his so-called guru. >> i've known about the end times for many years. >> that guru, matthew mellow. he goes by the name mordecai -- including his youtube channel, where he offers sermons about what he says is satan's plan to destroy society and false claims about the dangers of the covid 19 vaccine, which he calls the mark of the beast. >> today, people don't even know what the market the piece this. those who do still don't. they think it's -- >> mellow had posted this recruitment video on line, encouraging meant to join him and sail to the south pacific. in, he suggested society was doomed. >> i'd like to extend an invitation. i am basically the coordinator of this trip. >> back home in grand rapids michigan, 20-year-old isaac damien signed up. his parents say his mental health had worsened since the pandemic began, and that he mistakenly come to believe that the vaccine was the

government's way of controlling the population, even the covid test scared him. he had been encouraging his parents to sell all their belongings and move to a bunker. at the time, they had no idea that they had been listening to the teachings of matthew mellow. labor day weekend 2020, isaac left home without warning. he left behind this note for his younger siblings, warning them, did not get the vaccine or you won't make it to heaven. author and journalist david -- investigated this case for the new york times. >> this'guru', clown who was based in hawaii at the time, convince them to fly to hawaii and join him on this journey across a huge portion of the pacific ocean to find some covid free place where they could start again and escape'satin's grand plan'. >> isaac called his parents on october 4th, 2020 from all high why they say that he'd be off the grid for about 30 days. he would not say who he was

with or where he was going. >> he said it was better if he didn't, but he always said i wish i could tell you. >> this is one of the last text messages that isaac sent to his mother. october 4th, 2020, a photo of a giant fish he caught, this may never heard from him again. it was learned later from sheriff investigators that he connected with matthew mellow, who had arranged for a couple of boat captains to sell him and his records the south pacific, where covid had not taken hold. isaac and another man from rochester new york would go in captain mike schmidt's boat, while mellow left days later in another. >> they actually had a really good time, these do, we caught a lot of fish. >> the trip took a dark turn one after almost two months at sea, captain schmidt approach the island of wallace, a french territory between hawaii and new zealand. schmidt says when he alerted

local authorities about their arrival, isaac and abdul panic having to take a covid test to enter. he says they did the unthinkable and suddenly jumped overboard. >> they were afraid of taking the covid test, as it being the mark of the beast. they had gotten involved with the guru, they were convinced that for sure the pcr test, that there are things inside, along with the vaccine, and the vaccine was not really out. >> schmidt says he called wallace allen authorities for help and flag down efficient put to search. he believes the man had a plan to slip into oblivion with mellow, giving up all ties to the united states. >> they had really been led astray by this instagram era wanna-be profit guru who for some strange reason just spoke

and just the right way and manner and with the right diction to draw these two young men in, and it was really this witches brew of covid conspiracy theory meets and times prophecy meets the eye diy christian fundamentalism meets a lot of stress and turmoil regarding the 2020 election. >> mellow did not respond to our repeated request for comment. according to this french police report, captain schmidt was interrogated, and authorities confiscated his nine millimeter pistol, laptop and garmin gps device from the boat. schmidt was eventually cleared in that investigation. >> i never did anything to harm these guys ever. >> the dive team searched the area for the men but found nothing. his parents filed this missing persons report with the kent county sheriff's department in michigan and have appealed to the state department and french authorities for help, but years later, they are no closer to finding their son. >> we do have hope that he is alive because there has not

been any evidence that proves otherwise. it's possible that he wanted to go off the grid, and he's in a manic state. it's possible that he was unwillingly kidnapped. it is possible that he drowned, but if somebody said to you that your child probably died, would you just accept that and move on? it's not something that we can do. >> i mean... randy, those poor parents, it's an impossible situation for them. any idea where this so-called 'guru'is? >> there are a lot of questions about where he is and questions about this investigation. isaac's parents got a letter from french authorities that say they closed the investigation. they basically concluded the isaac and the other man drowned. his parents are now asking and considering an appeal in a case, and maybe they would reopen that investigation. we also know from kent county sheriff's office in michigan that their missing person

investigation is still open, but as far as where matthew mellow, the so-called guru is, david woman of the new york times, he actually found him and spoke to him on an island in french polynesia. he says he is still there, peddling his nonsense and talking false claims about covid-19. he's riding his bike around, according to -- and handing out leaflets tongue prayers not to get their children vaccinated, talking about illuminati, talking about the mark of the beast. david -- also asked him about these men and their disappearance, and apparently, he told him that he referred to them as his brothers, and he said that they died in god's good graces. of course, anderson, we don't know if they're dead or alive because as you heard isaac mom say, no remains have been found. >> it's awful, randi kaye, i really appreciate it, thank you. the news continues, with cnn tonight with laura coats after the break. one bank for now. for later. for life. chase. make more of what's yours.

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