and the population in blairsville is only about 720 people. it's a small community, a tight-knit community. so if there's a car that doesn't belong or a person that doesn't belong, they'd be able to recognize it. >> joining me now is a very special guest. everyone, we are taking your calls live. help us. we are involved in the search for this young woman. no idea. no real lead right now. where is kristi cornwell? >>> out to richard cornwell. her brother. he is joining us from blairsville, georgia. richard, thank you for joining us tonight. what are cops telling you tonight? >> they briefed us on their continued search today, using helicopters, atvs, ground searches, horseback, and they've got canine teams, and they've got divers that are searching lake not ley, prior marly aroun bridges, and so they are continuing their -- continuing to throw all of their assets at the search. >> richard kronwell is joining us. this is her brother joining us from blairsville, georgia. you mentioned canine dogs. richard. did the dogs pick up her scent along the

about 12 miles from the city of blairsville. it's a rirl area, halfway between blue ridge, georgia, and blairsville, georgia. >> this is just where the mountains are starting on the appalachian trail. >> caller: you're the best thing that happened to tv besides color. >> i'm going to get a recording of tonight's show. and when the twins are fussing at mommy, i'm going to play it for them. >> caller: has the boyfriend been ruled out as a suspect? i saw her mother this morning, she is the one that called 911. that doesn't add up to me. >> natisha, explain that. how did that unfold? >> the boyfriend called the mother first. he told her what happened. he was horrified. the mother called 911, and he called them after that. >> we'll be joined when we come back by marc klaas and joshua perper. we'll unleash the lawyers. >>> a mother of a 15-year-old son, disappears out on a walk in a rural area. disappears, the last known kkt is with a boyfriend in atlanta. he hears what sounds like a struggle, he reports hearing her saying, don't take

number one, do we know that her cell phone was, in fact, in blairsville at the time of the phone call? and, two, who saw her last? who can tell me that they saw her go out for a walk? how do i know she wasn't dead already at the time that phone call was made to that cell phone? who can tell me where she was just before that phone call? visually. >> your first part of the question first, we do know that from cell towers i believe, we've been able to locate. this is what authorities have told us. the boyfriend was in the atlanta area -- >> got it. not my question. >> okay. >> my question is who saw her last? >> it probably would have been perhaps her mother. but she was staying with her mother at the time. we don't know that she was actually at home and saw her -- >> wait. put him back up. eric, you're telling me, we don't know who saw her last? we don't have a visual i.d. of her being on that rural route -- >> they didn't know she was going to be missing in the next few minutes. how many times have you perhaps been at home and said, hey, i'm going out for an exercise walk or run? there

he was in atlanta, she was in blairsville, about two hours away at the time this happened. now, tell me, natisha, who can place her, visually place her out walking that evening around 9:00 p.m.? i mean, a lot of viewers were wondering, how do we know she wasn't already dead or abducted at the time that call was made to her cell phone? >> that's right, nancy. well, according to investigators, who i spoke to today, kristi cornwell was seen by an employee who was leaving a church not too far away from her parents' home. it's about 0.2 miles away, and around 9:00, once again, when she had just left her home, a very short distance, this employee did see kristi cornwell as she was on her walk. they were able to tell them which direction she was going, and richard cornwell, when he did come back into this area, he was able to talk to this person and get some more information from them. >> so we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, natisha, that she was in fact walking along that country road not far from her parents' home at the time she was abducted? we know that? >> that's correct.

joining us from blairsville, georgia. what are cops telling you tonight? on their continued search today using helicopters, atvs, ground searches, horseback. they've got canine teams. they've got divers that are searching and primarily around bridges. so, they are continuing their, continuing to throw all their assets they can at the search. >> her brother says cornwell also took firearms classes and taught self-defense. she has a 15-year-old son. don't miss nancy grace tonight, breaking news in the ongoing search for kristi cornwell. what happened to her? will the searchers spread out across georgia and find her? >>> sunday schoolteacher turned suspected killer melissa huckabee has been indicted on kidnapping, rain and murder charges. huckabee broke down in court yesterday as the judge read the indictment handed down by a grand jury. huckabee has pleaded not guilty to murdering 8-year-old sandra cantu. huckaby pleaded not guilty to charges of drugging a 7-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man who police believe she dated at one point. no trial date has been

. >> detectives are searching about 200 miles away from blairsville, georgia, in an area in the kings mountain area of north carolina. authorities say an anonymous caller was vague but gave them an address where cornwell can allegedly be found. >> i think they're being very pro-active by telling people not just to look at the picture and say i haven't seen her but to go out there and do something about it. anybody in that community should go to unoccupied houses, apartments, outbuildings, etc., to assist in the investigation. >> they are just telling us that they've not found her yet. they're searching. they're expanding their search. now they're going to be searching -- when they get a lead, they'll search those places. she's out there somewhere. >> good evening. i'm nancy grace. thank you for being with us. a reality tv star wanted for the murder of swimsuit model jasmine fiore found dead in a hotel room. bombshell tonight. we confirm the reality tv star wanted for murder traveled with an alleged accomplice. a mystery blonde driving a silver pt cruiser. tonight, do secret text messa

nbc's michelle kosinski has the latest from blairsville, georgia. >> reporter: this is the kristi her family holds dear -- happy as a new mom of a little boy. he's now a teenager. devastated that his mother is somehow missing. this home video, photos, the website that her family has created, are all the more important to keep her case alive as investigators must call off the ground search through these endless mountains, in the searing heat and pouring rain, all leading nowhere. >> we're still searching for any information that anybody in the community might have or anywhere for that matter that might shed some light on this disappearance. >> reporter: investigators now with the help of the fbi have searched into three states interviewing some 200 sex offenders. the only clue these hills have given up is kristi cornwell's cell phone, found in a yard about three miles from where she was apparently abducted. kristi had been out for an evening walk along the same country road where she stayed with her parents, talking on that phone to her boyfriend in atlanta. he told police she said a c

this in blairsville, georgia. cornwell was on her cell phone talking to her boyfriend. he hears a struggle and these terrifying words, don't take me. that was a week ago today. police now scouring neighborhoods and questioning hundreds of sex offenders in the area. we'll take your calls, your questions, your theories on this, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. we welcome back john bankhead with the georgia bureau of investigation. john, welcome back. first off, give us the latest. any new leads in the search for kristi? >> we are still canvassing the neighborhoods around where the abduction occurred talking to people at home that might have some new information for us. we are collecting those leads and putting them into our database, and then assigning them to agents to follow up on. the fbi is now involved. they had agents up here today. so we are getting help with their resources because the issue of crossing state lines. it is a kidnapping and so their resources are now safetying us in this investigation. >> let's paint the picture here. when we say three states in, the b

we just had a closeness that i prayed for moving to blairsville.hankful to have her as a friend. >> now that they've called off the search, is there a part of you that's preparing for the worst? >> no. no. i'll never give up hope. >> douglas? you're clinging to this, the bible. you seem to be praying as melissa's talking. you're hopeful too? >> absolutely. she's a giver, and she reached out to me days after her abduction with this beautiful book from "my utmost for his highest" from oswald chambers. i get to know every day when i read my devotion in this book, i know that she first read it. she wanted it to help me with my ministry and my life. it's a blessing to know that someone that you meet was more concerned about you than they were herself. kristi is the type of woman that cares about herself more than anybody, and she'll be right now worried more about melissa and about me than she would herself. that's who kristi is. >> melissa, let me give you the last word. what would you like to say to the people who are with kristi right now? >> just be

this is in rural blairsville, georgia. it happened last week. her parents' house where she was walking. well, now cops say it's becoming more likely she was kidnapped by a total stranger. yesterday the ground saep for kristi ended, but police, state authorities, and the fbi still chasing leads here. kristi was talking to her boyfriend, we remember, on the cell phone when she was taken. the last thing she last thing he heard, she was screaming "dose don't take me." says she's a fi. let's also hear from her father. he spoke to abc's "good morning america," and he gave this warning. let's listen. >> i'd like to caution all young people and adults to use extreme caution when using the internet or any other media to meet people. it's not certain yet who may be connected with her disappearance. of one hour sleep per night to try to bring kristi home. >> my heart goes out to that father, that family, a mom, a son, and a brother who joins us now. also joining us is michelle sigona from "america's most wanted." richard, i want to start with you. i want t

at first the only trace of christi corn well was some belongsings left on a country road in blairsville, georgia. her cell phone was found more than three miles from where she was abducted. she was abducted last tuesday night. she was walking for exercise near her parents' home talking to her boyfriend on the cell phone. last thing he hears, she's mother talked to abc's "good morning america." she still cling to hope. let's listen. >> i want them to know that we love her very much and we need her back. her son needs his mother. back. and i need my baby back, we all need her back. and we believe we're going to get her back. >> our thoughts and prayers are with the family, grieving mom, no doubt a grieving 15-year-old son in the midst of this. we'll take your calls, the number 1-877-tell-hln. let's get the latest from jank bankhead, director of public affairs with the georgia bureau of investigation. john, good to have you back. let's talk about the cell phone, john. where was it found? >> it was a property owner who was mowing his grass right near the road and spotted the cell phone. one

. >>> a frightening story in blairsville, georgia, north georgia. christie cornwell walking across a remote area tuesday. near her parents' home. 38-year-old, talking to her boyfriend on the phone. he hears the concern in her voice as she sees a car approach. the last thing he hears, she is screaming and says, don't take me. the line goes dead. she hasn't been seen since. joining me now to talk about this, michelle with "america's most wanted." and criminologist, jack lef in. jonk bankhead is with us with the georgia bureau of investigation. and richard cornwell, cristi's brother. richard, do you have any idea what could have happened to your sister here? >> well, from the evidence that's been collected thus far remote road here that your sister had walked? sounded like walked many times. >> yes. there's only a handful of houses on this road. it's a very rural area. and she did -- she liked to walk down this particular road, leaving her parents' house. and she walked for exercise. tuesday night was when the abduction occurred on the country road. >>

crews have been searching the area where they believe cornwell was taken near blairsville, georgia. hoping to find her, but as one said, is the enemy. what is the latest on this investigation? >> as we speak, investigators are still going strong. they are doing everything they can to try to find kristi cornwell. we are about to see video of how hard they are working. they are pulling over cars, randomly, talking to people to see if they could jog their memory about what happened on tuesday when kristi disappeared. they found her cell phone off of the state roads, and they believe that whoever took her went towards north carolina or georgia. -- off of the state road. aç person who found it handled sp@t. so did the son, so there are other prints on it. there are looking for anything else that might have been discarded in that field. they also say that her bank accounts have not had any activity, but they are hopefully and hoping for somebody to see your picture. -- to see her picture. shepard: thank you. new information our administration is keeping. plus, the county fair. this is no

it happened in the town of blairsville in the state of georgia, about 100 miles north of atlanta. investigators said, they found some of her things along that road and there are signs of a struggle. they're looking for a white suv. her family offered this plea. >> i'd just want to ask them to have mercy on her and let her go print comeback to us. she has a 15-year-old son who desperately needs his mother. let her go. shepard: they say that she has a background in law enforcement, self-defense, and weapons training. she also is on her third husband. with me is the director of the georgia bureau of investigation. thank you for talking with us. when you see something like this where the abductee is on the phone, that red flag immediately goes up. why would the abductor not wait until this is over? >> we believe this is an abduction that is a very serious matter. she was walking down the road at night. this is a very isolated area. shepard: what is that about? >> that is how she got her exercise. there are no street lights. it is say agricultural area. if she was not on the phone, we

last seen walking herekristi cornwell of blairsville.nvestigators say she was on her cell phone talking to her boyfriend in atlanta. >> while they were conversing on the phone, he overheard her tell him that i've got to step off the road there's a vehicle approaching. then he appears what he believes to be a struggled, and loses contact with her at that time. >> reporter: now a detailed search of the entire area. particularly the spot where investigators found some of kristi's personal items. they won't give specifics but say some of the things she found indicate there was a struggle. here's what we know about kristi cornwell. she was once a probation officer for the state. she's now back in school studying medical lab technology. she has a 15-year-old son. >> you wouldn't have seen her, would you? >> no. >> reporter: authorities are stopping all cars on and sh around jones creek road asking drivers if they saw anything tuesday night. detectives are tracking down and interviewing registered sex offenders across four counties as they wait

this is awful. >> joining us now from blairsville, georgia, are christie cornwell's mother jo ann andhard, along with john bankhead of the georgia bureau of investigation. good morning to you all. >> good morning. >> mr. bankhead, let me begin with you. what is the latest in the search for christie? >> right now there's nothing been turned up to indicate where she might be. we searched an area 3 1/2 miles out from where abduction occurred. those searches will continue today. the latest find was the cell phone that was found by a property owner, but other than that and other than the personal items that were discovered the night of the abduction, we have no indication of where she might be. >> what can you tell us about the last phone conversation that christie had with her boyfriend, douglas davis? >> she was walking along jones creek road and was talking on the cell phone with her boyfriend in atlanta. she indicated to the boyfriend that a car was approaching. the boyfriend heard from her indications that -- of a struggle. the phone went dead. the boyfriend in turn called her mother,

police suspect she was abducted along a grover road near blairsville, georgia. her boyfriend said he was on the phone with her at the time when he heard signs of a struggle. cornwell has family is offering a $50,000 reward for her safe return for any information at all leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. to make a helicopter pilot contents are landing straight out of the movies, this was no stunt. this was the real deal. how he put his life on the line to save another. you have got to see this. >> clocking out, how the cash for clunkers program is leaving >> julie: a small plane falls out of the sky in ohio minutes after takeoff landing next to a high school where a crowd of parents and students were watching a football scrimmage. the airplane narrowly missed the players and the crowd but both the pilot and his girlfriend died. several witnesses saw the plane struggling in the air before going into a nosedive. the ntsb is investigating the crash spinnaker took a daring landing to rescue a stranded hiker in southern utah. look at this dramatic video

so it's going to be in the town of blairsville, between 6 and 9:30 p.m if you have any information, and if you were in the area and you did see kristy around that time or any other suspicious activity, you can call us at 1-800-crime tv. gregg, tonight we will air this case on america's most wanted. we're hoping to get into more homes. >> there is a picture of kristy. take a very close look, anybody, especially in that region in georgia. she worked formerly, as i understand it, as a probation officer. is there some kind of connection there? i'm looking for a motivation to kidnap. >> this is very possible. this is something that investigators are looking into. she was a former probation officer. she does have police training. she did work as a drug counselor as well. she was very active in the law enforcement community for a while, until her career change. she's currently a full time college student. she's going to school to learn more the lab tech side of things and to do a career change for her son to be able to spend more time with him. so exercising in the evening was something, accor

probation officer disappeared while on an evening walk along a country road near her parents' home in blairsvillel phone talking to her boyfriend, and she told him that a car was following her. her boyfriend, douglas davis, a speaking publicly in his first cable television interview. we're so sorry you're going through this. >> thank you. >> let me ask you, how is the family doing? she has a 15-year-old son. >> yes, and he is with his dad and with his grandfather and they're great guys. i know they're looking out after him well. it is hard for him, no doubt. i mean, the anxiety he's going through is tremendous. but he's got a great support network around him. he's well-loved in his high school where he's an "a" student, and they're looking out after him. >> douglas, what can you tell me? i know you can't speak too specifically, but what can you tell me about this phone call? you were on the phone talking to christi essentially when this happened. >> well, we were discussing just life, plans. we were talking about a date on thursday evening, a dinner and just doing what you do when you talk on the

police suspect she was abducted along a grover road near blairsville, georgia. her boyfriend said he was on the phone with her at the time when he heard signs of a struggle. cornwell has family is offering a $50,000 reward for her safe return for any information at all leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. to make a helicopter pilot contents are landing straight out of the movies, this was no stunt. this was the real deal. how he put his life on the line to save another. you have got to see this. >> clocking out, how the cash for clunkers program is leaving some would-be buyers in the dust. that's next.in for wherever you hurt. icy to dull pain, hot to relax it away. the new icy hot medicated roll. with the roll, pain's under control. i had a heart attack at 57. my doctor told me i should've been... doing more for my high cholesterol. what was i thinking? but now i trust my heart to lipitor. when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. unlike some other cholesterol lowering medications, lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk...

she was talking to her boyfriend while walking along the road in blairsville, tuesday evening. says he heard a scream and then what sounded like a struggle. police say finding the phone will help in the investigation. >> the scene out here verifies that the cell phone belongs to the victim. >> joining me live from washington, d.c., clint, the and you tore of facing down evil. good morning. >> alex, you always make saturday morning tv worthwhile. good to see you. it. >> thanks. i'm glad you're here. i want to talk about the discovery of the cell phone. how hopeful can this be and n. locating her? it's not with her. >> quau, it's not with her. and you and i have followed enough of these story rngs we know that what police and fbi are looking for are the pings off the cell phone. you want them to retain it at least for a while so we can tell which direction she may have been taken. but the down side is, as much as this has been publicized either in stories like we're talking about right now or just made for tv movies, bad guys know one of the first things they have to do is get ri

what authorities are calling a credible tip, detectives are searching about 200 miles away from blairsville, georgia in aan area in the kings mountain area of north carolina. authorities say the anonymous caller was vague but gave them an address where cornwell can allegedly be found. kristie cornwell's family is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to her safe return or the arrest of the person responsible for her disappearance. so clearly, we are going to follow this, mike. you've got some more to talk about with this. >> we do. and we've talked to him in the past. keith hogstead, christie's cousin. and also don clark with us to help or the it out. keith, what are authorities telling you about that tip in north carolina? >> what we heard is what you guys reported, that it dumb through that show on saturday night, the "america's most wanted" show, that it was in their estimation one of many tips that they've gotten from a variety of sources. and our understanding was that they weren't that -- didn't have any more confidence or less confidence in that particular tip than they d

but first, let's go to steve osunsami, who is in blairsville, georgia. he's been following this.e latest. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning, chris. after searching this mountainside community for eight days, state and federal authority says they can only search so much. state police, who had been searching the woods and the lakes, say they've been und intense budget pressures and had to end the ground search for kristi cornwell. >> reporter: cornwell's brother and the st of the family are worry nad as time passes, they will forget. they are asking people to go to this website. this video is from 1994, the year cornwell became a mother. she's holding her son, brody, who is now 15. the family is putting together a reward, for information that brings their daughter home. >> we're hoping for is there's some friend or family member, who is a terrible predator. we're hoping to get him to talk. >> reporter: cornwell disappeared on the night of august 11th. she was on her cell phone, talking to her boyfriend, who lives two hours away. she told him she was being followed. he

cornwell, a 38-year-old that disappeared from players will, ga., after talking to her boyfriend -- blairsviller talking to her boyfriend a police have not been able to get anywhere. >> state investigators say that they are scaling back their ground search, although yesterday evening they did an intense search of the field where her cell phone was found about half a mile from where i am standing. one of the things that they think is that possibly whoever took her could have just wound up on this state road. they are really trying to find any piece of evidence that they can. bill: i know that you spoke to the family a few moments ago, do they have any sense of what happened? >> i just spoke to the grandmother, the ex-mother and law. she said that when she was a probation officer, she was involved in different ways, drugs, which resulted in their way of going back to prison. she said that even still, her training and self-defense training, they are hoping it will lead to their safe return. bill: indeed. eight days on that story so far. thank you. in a moment, police used a taser on a mother in fr

investigators from more than 15 law enforcement agencies scoured the wooded area near blairsville, georgiaarched the nearly lake for clues. >> this blue circle represents everything inside that circle that has been searched so far within a three-mile radius of the abduction site. >> police are investigating whether cornwell's abduction was targeted or random. one possible link, she was a probation officer as late as 2002. cornwell on her cell phone with her boyfriend when she disappeared told him she believed a car was following her. soon after he heard her struggling. monday, cornwell's mother spoke with "the early show." >> well, it's the worst nightmare of our lives. not knowing where your child is, if they're safe or not. >> joining us now from dedham, massachusetts, is criminologist jack levin of northeastern university. good morning, sir. >> good morning. >> police believe kristi cornwell was abducted while using her cell phone. what does it tell you about who took her? >> you know, the cell phone, i think, tells us a lot. most of these abductions are committed by people who know the

. >>> kristi cornwell's brother richard joins us live from blairsville, georgia and former fbi profiler joins us from washington, d.c., good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> i want to begin with you, and i know you can't get too detailed with certain answers, but at this point in time, given what you've been told by police and what you understand of the situation, do you believe that this was a random act of violence, or do you think that someone might have been after your sister? >> well, we really, really don't know at this time. the gbi has briefed us last night and at that time, they said that they were not sure if it was targeted or if it was a random act of violence. >> and richard, can you tell us a little bit about this road that kristi was walking on? it was a country road, not well traveled. did she walk on this road often times? do you know why she would have been there when she was there? >> she was staying with her parents who lives on this two-lane county country road, and she does walk on that road for exercise in the evenings on a regular basis, so she -- on t