Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Did Pokemon GO Player Spot 10-year-old Lily Peters Just Before Murder?

Episode Date: April 27, 2022

An arrest in the death of 10-year-old Illiana “Lily” Peters. Police announcing a teen, known to Peters is in custody and is scheduled for his first court hearing today. Peters disappeared after visiting with her aunt, who lives near the little girl. Her body was found in a wooded area along a walking trail between Peters home and the aunt's. The girl's father contacted police at around 9 p.m. Sunday and reported that no one could find her.    Joining Nancy Grace Today: Wendy Patrick - California prosecutor, author “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com 'Today with Dr. Wendy' on KCBQ in San Diego, Twitter: @WendyPatrickPHD Dr. Teresa Gil, Ph.D. - Professor of Psychology, Psychotherapist, 25 years Working with Child Abuse & Trauma Victims, TeresaGilPHD.com, Author: "Women Who Were Sexually Abused as Children: Mothering, Resilience, and Protecting the Next Generation", Bobby Chacon - 27 years former FBI Agent, BobbyChacon.com, Instagram/Twitter: @BobbyChaconFBI, Writer and Co-producer: Audible Original Series, "After the Fall"  Dr. Tim Gallagher - Medical Examiner State of Florida www.pathcaremed.com, Lecturer: University of Florida Medical School Forensic Medicine, Founder/Host: International Forensic Medicine Death Investigation Conference Amie Winters - "Hello Wisconsin" News Anchor, WEAU 13 News, WEAU.com, Twitter: @amiewinters, Laura Ingle - Senior Correspondent, Fox News Channel, Twitter: @lauraingle, Instagram: @lauraingletv   Trace Sargent – Search, Rescue & Recovery Expert, Podcast: "The Seeker’s Quest", Facebook: The Seeker’s Quest  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A beautiful 10-year-old little girl, Lily, goes missing not far from her own home. And then, a twist. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Take a listen to our friends at WEAU. Chippewa Falls police are asking for your help in finding a missing child. Authorities are looking for 10-year-old Ileana Lily Peters. She is a fourth grader at Parkview Elementary in Chippewa. Investigators say at 9 p.m., Lily's father called police to say she had not returned home from her aunt's house.

Officers then found a bike that's believed to belong to Lily in the woods near a walking trail by Line and Kugel's Brewery. The Chippewa County Sheriff's Department, K-9 team, and Lake Halley Police Department all joined the search and went door-to-door last night, but Lily has not been found. The specter of finding Lily's bicycle, but no Lily, brings up so many other cases where children's bikes were found, but the child was not. So many implications and all out search ensues. Take a listen now to our friend Judy Clark. Chippewa Falls Police Department is currently holding a news conference on the missing girl. We go to that now live. This is an update on the missing person case that was first reported last night at about nine o'clock last night the Chippewa Falls Police Department received information that Ileana Lily M Peters

aged 10 was missing from the city Chippewa Falls Lily's father reported that she had not returned home from a visit from her aunt's house at 400 in the 400 block of North Grove Street officers later located a bicycle in the woods near the walking trail between the end of North Grove Street. Officers later located a bicycle in the woods near the walking trail between the end of North Grove Street and the line of Google's Brewery parking lot. Numerous agencies and resources were called to assist with the search for Lily. You were just hearing the voice of the department chief there at police station and then a sudden twist in the search for Lily.

Listen to more from Chippewa Falls PD Chief. At about 9.15 this morning, a body was located in the wooded area near the walking trail. The Chippewa County Coroner's Office has now confirmed that this is the body of Lily Peters. At this point, we are considering this a homicide investigation. We do not have anyone in custody at this time. And we are continuing to follow up on multiple leads. The Chippewa Falls Police Department has numerous assisting agencies and we'd be willing and we will be working diligently and tirelessly on this case. We encourage anyone with information to please contact the Chippewa Falls Police Department and to maintain a state of vigilance as there may be

a danger to the public. To maintain the integrity of this very active and ongoing investigation, I am unable to provide any further details at this time. I do anticipate an additional press conference around five o'clock tonight. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Lily Peters during this tragic time. And there you hear the chief of police actually breaking down as he is having a presser announcing the discovery of the body of this beautiful little girl, Lily. And what is so odd is that it ended so quickly. The search had barely gotten going before her body is found more questions than answers right now

as the case is developing even as we speak with me an all-star panel to make sense of what we know i want to first go out to special guest amy winters joining us from hello wisconsin you thinker there w e a u 13 her body was found how far from her bicycle, Amy? They have not confirmed that yet. In fact, they won't tell us where exactly her bike was found. We've not been able to confirm with law enforcement the distance there. But we do know the bike was found in the wooded area and then her body was found in a similar space. It can be assumed that it is nearby. I understand. To you, Laura Engel,

joining me, senior correspondent at Fox News, I understand that Lily's body, this 10-year-old little girl, that her body was found in a woodland area close to a walking trail in Chippewa Falls, northeast of Eau Claire, early, early in the morning. Now, if the bike is also found in a wooded area near a walking trail in Chippewa Falls, how far apart can they be, Laura Engel? Right. I mean, that is something that we obviously have been asking law enforcement about as well. And I even called the brewery talking to, there's a brewery near there. If they had any surveillance cameras, we've been told that there was this canvassing going on of going door to door once that frantic phone call came in from the dad reporting that she was missing and nothing right away. But you're right. I mean, it was done very quickly. Word of the body being found. Straight out to Bobby

Jacone joining us. 27 years FBI agent. You can find him at bobbyjacone.com. He's also writer and producer of After the Thall on Audible. Bobby, thank you for being with us. I know that you already know where I'm headed

on this, that her body is found close to her bicycle. Yeah, Nancy. And yet they ruled out it being an accident, right? So I think that her body was, although it was near, the bike was found the night before. The body wasn't found until a time later. So I think that it wasn't found in proximity enough to figure it was an accident because they deemed it a homicide right away, which means there was either mechanisms of the injury on the body when they found it,

they clearly indicated a homicide, or there was maybe an attempt to cover up the body or something. So I would assume that since they found the body, I mean, they found the bicycle, they would have done a real heavy search surrounding the bike right then. And the fact that they didn't find the body until much later the next morning indicates to me that it was probably some distance. Again, we don't know exact distance, but it was not in the immediate area of that bicycle or they would have found it the night that night when they found the bike.

Straight out to California prosecutor, Wendy Patrick, author of red flags. You can find her hosting today with Dr. Wendy Casey BQ San Diego. Wendy, thank author of Red Flags. You can find her hosting today with Dr. Wendy KCBQ San Diego. Wendy, thank you for being with us. Everything Bobby Chacon just said, I agree with, but I'm going in a totally different direction with my questioning. Let's all think for one moment about the Robert Blake case, as much as I don't want to bring it up.

Robert Blake murdered his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley. Now, a jury acquitted him. I still think he murdered her. Listen to this. They were out at an Italian restaurant, Vitello's. They leave. They eat. They leave.

She goes to the car, which for the first time ever, he didn't park in the parking lot. He parked in an alley behind the restaurant. This is one of their favorite hangouts. So he and his wife go to the car. He gets her in the car, according to him, and says, oh, I left my gun in our booth. Well, the waiter, then the busboy, nobody found a gun there. He goes back in, instead sits down and has a glass of water. Then he goes to the car and says,

oh, my stars, my wife has been shot. Here's my point. The gun, an antique gun, is found in a dumpster a block or so away from the restaurant. Why? Because the killer could not leave the area. The killer is Robert Blake.

He can't just leave, discard the gun, and come back. Think about this. The body is found, in this case, of this 10-year-old little girl, defenseless, unarmed, tenderest thing in the world, a little girl. Her body is found not far from the bike. Why? Because the perp did not have the means to carry her body away, did not want to carry her body away. That's what I'm getting at. Now we have to analyze why is that? Nancy, I think that's exactly right. You know, you have this tight-knit, seemingly safe community where people know their neighbors a short distance between the bike and the body. And it's very similar to the Robert Blake case in the context of what did the perpetrator do after he or she killed this beautiful little girl. So it's not surprising, especially in a less populated community, that you would see this pattern. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Let me go back to our special guest joining us, Amy Winters from Hello Wisconsin, WEAU 13, as well as Laura Ingalls, senior correspondent with Fox News. Amy, I want to talk for a moment about Eau Claire. How big is it? Is it suburban? Is it urban? Is it rural? What is it?

And where was this walking path? I mean, I think of a big nature path where I take the children, my twins, 14, walking slash hiking. It, as this appears to me, is on the edge of businesses. I'm hearing a brewery. And also regarding that brewery, were there video surveillance cameras at the brewery? And this trail, did it abut? Was it adjacent to a parking lot? Yeah. So in Chippewa Falls, it's actually, it's a community of about 14,000 people, 15,000,

and a small town, and then rural areas on the outside of it. But this walking trail is a very, it's a tiny walking trail that follows along a creek and then yes there's a part of the trail that that can go right up into the parking lot of the lining kugel brewery and there are businesses and what we have been told is that lining kugel does have video camera surveillance that they are cooperating with law enforcement in terms of, you know, going through that and looking for evidence. Law enforcement has not confirmed to us what, if anything, has been seen via those surveillance cameras. Amy Winters joining me from Hello, Wisconsin at WEAU 13. Amy, Chippewa Falls is of

course located on the Chippewa River. The population is around 14,000. Are you saying it's more accurate to say Lily went missing and was found in Chippewa Falls or Eau Claire? Chippewa Falls. Eau Claire is a different city a few miles away. Okay, back to Chippewa Falls. Eau Claire is a different city a few miles away. Okay. Back to Chippewa Falls. 14,000 people. 14,000 people. You know, Bobby Chacon, FBI, 27 years as an agent. I grew up in an area even smaller than that. It wasn't even a town.

It wasn't a village. It was a community. All right. I said this many times. You had to drive 25 minutes to even get to a McDonald's. So we didn't eat out a village. It was a community, right? And I've said this many times, you had to drive 25 minutes to even get to a McDonald's. So we didn't eat out a lot. What I'm getting at that really narrows your list of potential suspects, does it not? Oh, sure. Absolutely. Particularly if it's not a transit point where there are no major highways going by or it's not on a trucking route or

things like that. So that if it's not an area where people are no major highways going by or it's not on a trucking route or things like that, so that if it's not an area where people are generally traveling through from other places on a regular basis, sure, you're starting to look at the local population, particularly in a town that small and intimate. Guys, take a listen to Hour Cut 6. This is David Shulman, CBS News. Police say Lily's body was found Monday morning near this trail that runs between her home and her aunt's home, which is where she was reportedly visiting before going missing. Officers say evidence at the scene indicated it was a murder. I know that my kids loved her. They went sledding with her all the time.

Anytime she was over, they were outside hanging out with her. She always seemed really happy. It's just sad. Three of Shelby and Jeremy Macknick's children went to school with Lily. They regularly use the same trail, a popular one for walking and biking. We're going to have some talks and just preach a little self-awareness, something to kind of put in their heads that they don't think about all the time. No one's in custody for this suspected murder, and Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matt Kelm is also urging vigilance for anything suspicious. An event like this threatens our

sense of security. However, I believe we will come together as a community to overcome this fear. You know, to Dr. Teresa Gill, PhD, joining us, professor of psychology, psychotherapist, author of Women Who Were Sex Abused as Children. Dr. Gill, thank you for being with us. I'm just trying to bear it out in my own mind. I identify why someone would attack a 10-year-old girl who was apparently walking along a nature trail. Here's an example, Dr. Gill.

This is what I'm thinking. For instance, in Central Park, where I have taken the children many, many times walking through Central Park in New York, we see a squirrel run across the path. My instinct may be to want to pet the squirrel or the rabbit. My instinct is not to chase it down, hold it up to my mouth, and rip its throat out with my teeth. That's not my instinct.

So what is different about a killer of a 10-year-old little girl? I'm thinking of my little girl when she was 10 years old, completely defenseless. The mind of a predator, it's a different mindset. It has to be. Well, I think the words that you use in terms of my little girl, completely defenseless, I think that's who perpetrators go after. They go after those people who are defenseless, that they can take power over and hurt. And what I know about people called personality disorders or as an adult antisocial personality or as a child conduct disorder, what happens is usually they have a history of family problems and problems with friends and in school. And they suppress their anger and rage, and they become cold. So they take their rage out on others, and they feel no empathy for their victims. In fact,

the victim's fear and powerlessness actually increases their sense of power and control. Okay, Dr. Gill, the way you said that so calmly is very eerie. No offense to you. It's not you. It's your words. The more the victim is afraid and panicky and defenseless, the more the perp likes it. I think it's what you just said.

Yes. The more power and control they feel. You just gave me chills all up and down my body. Guys, right now, the autopsy of this little girl is ongoing. I'm going to go to Dr. Tim Gallagher, the medical examiner for the state of Florida. But first, I want to go to Tracy Sargent joining us, search, rescue, and recovery expert. You can find her on a podcast, The Seeker's Quest. She's also on Facebook, The Seeker's Quest. Thank you so much for being with us. I know that dogs were called

in immediately when the bike was found. Explain to me what kind of dogs, how many dogs, and what were they supposed to do? Do you think they may have led to her body? So I think it's important for listeners to know that dogs don't find bodies, bombs, or drugs, or even in this case, a bicycle. They find scent. So the fact that that bicycle, we assume, was confirmed to be Lily's, that's a good what we call starting point. It's an initial point of starting the dog and what we call a tracking dog, live scent dog. A live scent dog. I want to enunciate that clearly. A live scent dog, you are equating with a...

A tracking dog. A tracking dog. Yeah, I see what you're saying as opposed to a non-live scent dog, a cadaver dog. All right, go ahead. Sorry. Yes, ma'am. So in that case, we are going to assume, meaning dog handlers and investigators, are going to assume someone is alive until we know otherwise. So they take a dog, a tracking dog that is trained to find live scent,

start him at a starting point, in this case, the bike. The dog scents that person's scent because each of us have a starting point, in this case the bike, the dog scents that person's scent because each of us have a unique scent and from there follow that person's scent in the direction that they go. Also another possibility is what we call area search dogs. These are also live search dogs. They don't necessarily follow a track of where somebody has walked, but where a human scent is in the area. And when I looked at the map last night, you look at the area between her aunt's house, her home, and where she was actually found, there's a large wooded area. That is certainly a high probable area and a good area to put canine resources in. They can work the area much more quickly and efficiently and effectively,. They can work the area much more quickly and efficiently

and effectively, and they can cover the area much more quickly. They tell us two things. They tell us where something is and where something isn't. So let's say for discussion purposes, Lily wasn't found in that wooded area. The dogs can cover that much more quickly and say process of elimination. We don't know where she is, but she's not in this area and then those limited resources can search in other areas where she might be found let me ask you a question um with me is tracy sergeant search rescue and recovery expert she created the podcast the seekers quest so you've told me about live scent tracking dogs you've told me about live scent tracking dogs. You've told me about area search dogs where dogs are let loose in an area and they look for a scent as opposed to a scent tracker. You start at, let's just say, the bike and you follow the trail.

Here's an example. Dogs follow Lacey Peterson's trail from her home on Covina there in Modesto all the way to San Francisco Bay. That would, I guess, be a live scent tracker dog. The area dog, you just let them loose in the area, like you're saying, in this nature area to just try to find Lily. And then you've got cadaver dogs. Here's my question. For a dog to do its job, do you have to give them, for instance, an item of the victim's clothing? Or do they just pick up a scent, say, on the bicycle and run with it? Well, they can be trained in both ways. And my dogs are.

They are trained to go in what we call a direction of travel without a scent article and with a scent article. Because sometimes we don't have that option. And let's say, for example, somebody has reported seeing a girl matching her description go in that direction, but we don't have a scent article. We can start the dog there and then work that track. Whereas in this case, we know where she was last seen, which was at her aunt's house, we should have a good, what we call uncontaminated scent article from her own home, like a pillowcase or something like that, that can be used for the dog to scent. And they can distinguish and say, all right, there's been several people walking down this

trail, but we've asked the dog to find this particular person's scent, they can smell through, so to speak, these other people's scent in the area and focus on only Lily's scent. So they have various capabilities and they can be trained in different ways. You know, I'm very curious. Amy Winters joining me from Hello Wisconsin News Anchor WEAU13. Amy, there's a lot of finger pointing going on around here. She had been at her aunt's home. And then what happened? When did she leave her aunt's home and where was she going? And at what time?

They have not, law enforcement has not confirmed to us what time she left her aunt's home. But what we do know is that she was supposed to be headed home and her father decided to call police when she did not come home by 9 p.m. So he called law enforcement at 9 p.m. saying she's not come home from her aunt's house. Her aunt's house is only a block or two away from home. And that's when law enforcement got involved. You're giving me a flashback. And guys, this occurred on April 24 on a Sunday evening. Now, unless they would get out for spring break the next day, the next day would have been a school day. So at nine o'clock, when she's not back home from her aunt's house, the parents are like, whoa, what's going on?

They probably called the aunt and said, where is she? And the aunt probably said, well, she's left a couple of hours ago to go home. I mean, it's only, did you say, Amy Winters, as the crow flies, a block or two away? Right. They're in almost the exact same neighborhood. So it would not take a matter of minutes for her to be able to get home from her aunt's house. I'm having two comparisons in my mind. Anybody jump in because many of you covered these with me. One is Carly Brucha, a young girl out of Florida who had been in a spend the night, was walking home and it's caught on surveillance video.

She had, I don't know, three blocks to walk as far as the crow flies. It was diagonal. Not following the street. She goes missing. Her body is found out behind a big, big Baptist megachurch.

She had been murdered and raped. Carly was about 11 years old. This girl is 10. You think one block, two blocks, no big deal. Right, Bobby Chacon? Oh, absolutely, Nancy. Especially in a community like this,

we've already described it as a very small town, very close-knit community. People all know each other. To let your child go from an aunt's house to your house a couple of blocks away, maybe she has to traverse this small little park, but she's probably done it before. This is probably a very routine route for her to take. It's just mind-boggling that evil happens to strike, you know, at a time like this. And I want to be clear, Chacon, I'm not blaming the aunt. I'm not blaming her or the parents. No, absolutely not. And like I said, she's probably done this trip before and with absolutely no problem. One or two blocks, for Pete's sakes. Bobby, Laura Engel, is it one, two?

How far is it? One, two blocks? Yeah, I agree with Amy from what I've been hearing here in New York is that it's four blocks in terms of just city blocks, but just a couple of blocks. Barely a football field. That's not even a football field. Four New York

blocks? That's not even a football field for Pete's sake. Right, and they're probably even smaller. But, you know, just that idea of what you're talking about, it being so close and standing at the front door and maybe watching your child or your niece go off and say, OK, you know, see you tomorrow. Quick trip. And then it turns into this. It's just devastating for everybody. To Dr. Tim Gallagher, the medical examiner for the entire state of Florida, you can find it at pathcaremed.com. Wow. Professor, University of Florida Medical School, founder and host of the International Forensic Medicine Death Investigation Conference. Dr. Gallagher, the autopsy is happening right now. Right now. Give me your impressions. Her body had been out in the elements. Not sure where the temp would be. Jack,

could you look up the temp in Chippewa Falls on April 24? But she was out at, Amy Winter, she was at least out in the elements overnight, correct? It is. I mean, it is believed that she, you know, was missing at 9 p.m. at night and was not found until 12 hours later. So. Gotcha. Okay, Dr. Gallagher, with that said, do you have the temp yet, Jack? 34. 34 degrees now. Did you look for April 24?

Nope, not yet. Well, plug in April 24. It's Google, G-O-O-G-L-E. You say, what was the temperature? April 24, Chippewa Falls. But let's just go with 34, Dr. Gallagher. What are your thoughts? Because they're not releasing COD.

So, where? Yeah. Right. So, there's a few things. This is, number one, a very high-profile case. So, it could be handled slightly differently than a routine case that would come in through the office. But because the body was found in relatively quick. So one murder is routine and another murder is not routine.

Well, I say that from the perspective of the medical examiner. Every case is autopsy the same exact way. This case, for example, the external portion of the body would be examined first very carefully, looking for signs of injury or possibly signs of disease. And we have to remember, even though the police do classify this as a homicide, that the medical examiner's investigation is a parallel but separate investigation from that of law enforcement. So we have to rule out scientifically that this was not a- What do you mean by that? What do you mean by that? But we have to rule out- You said your investigation is different from the police investigation.

Exactly. We get information from the police, but we have to prove what they say in a very scientific manner. For instance, if a case came in and the police said this was a suspected suicide, we did our investigation and the autopsy findings led us to believe that this was a natural death or a homicide, then we would have to use our findings to give our legal cause of death. So we get our information from different sources, but we have to compile our information and come up with our own opinion as to what the cause of death was, you know, and in this case, yes, it is being advertised or not advertised, but it is being suspected that this is a homicide. But until the autopsy is done, until everything else is ruled out and ruling out natural disease as well, ruling out accident, ruling out suicide. That would leave us homicide, and then that, in the eyes of the medical examiner, would

be the cause of death, not information that we received from other agencies. Okay, I hear you, doctor. I hear you, but I think it's highly unlikely that a 10-year-old girl just drops dead from natural causes or took her life on the way home from her aunt. I was going to say, one of the things that struck me about this case is she was only missing for a short period of time, yet immediately the police chief comes out and classifies it as a homicide, no doubt knowing the other categories that were available. So although you

don't know exactly what happened yet, we still have a pretty good idea that whatever they saw, whatever they gathered, and whatever condition the body was in, they saw enough to be able to determine this was a homicide. Exactly. That's my next question to Gallagher was they announced pretty quickly upon the discovery of her body that it was a homicide. So obviously something they saw immediately told them this was a murderer. Guys, take a listen to our cut 11. This is Rob Olson, Fox 9. I asked the chief, you know, what was it that turned this from a missing person into a homicide investigation? And he wouldn't elaborate except to say, obviously, evidence at the scene was a pretty clear indication that that is what they were dealing with.

Spoke to several neighbors around here. None of them wanted to go on camera because they're pretty shaken up by this, but said that, yeah, this is a shocking development in a community like this to hear something like this happening. One man out walking his dogs said he was out last night walking his dogs to around nine o'clock and heard a short sharp scream doesn't know that that was uh you know related to this or not but now he can't help but think it potentially was and it's really got him shaken as well i'm just wondering what that scream was now we're honing in listen our cut 16 from the police chief in chippewa Falls. I'm Matthew Kelm. I'm the police chief for the Chippewa Falls Police Department and I'm providing an update on the

homicide investigation. First and most importantly, earlier this evening we arrested a juvenile suspect in this case. The suspect was not a stranger. The suspect was known to the victim. We do not believe there is any danger to the community at this time. While nothing will bring Lily Peters back or change what happened, we are very grateful to be able to deliver this news for the family and for the community. And also our Cut 20, our friends at Fox 9. This news of the arrest really has sent shockwaves through this tight-knit community of Chippewa Falls. The fact that a child has been arrested in connection with the death and the murder of

another child really is unbelievable to people here tonight. Now tonight, Chippewa Falls police did announce that a juvenile is in custody in connection with the murder of 10-year-old Lily Peters. We are told that this person is someone that Lily knew and that there is no danger to the public tonight. Now this shocking crime really has rocked this small community. Purple ribbons are now covering lampposts and street signs to honor Lily. Driving through town and through our communities, we can see the purple ribbons, and honestly, I would expect nothing less from the Chippewa Falls community,

Chippewa Valley, and their surrounds. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace amy winters joining us from weau 13 amy what can you tell us i mean it was it was shocking to hear you know the police chief say that it was a juvenile suspect. We tried to ask as many questions, of course, as possible at that news conference. But we, he would not, the police chief would not give us much more than it was a juvenile and that it was somebody that knew Lily and that Lily knew. And that, you know, the public wasn't in danger anymore. I mean, the entire community was on edge walking instead of, you know, letting their kids walk to school the next day. They were told by the school district to drive their kids to school and pick them up from school.

Straight out to Laura Engel joining us here, your correspondent Fox News Channel. Laura, what can you tell me about social media having something to do with Lily's death? Well, there is a possibility that there was some kind of action here on social media. It's not confirmed. I can't confirm it. And when you go back and you look at the school district's release to parents and the community uh asking people saying look you know do not get on social media and spread rumors so i'm not spreading rumors but i am going to share a thread that we are following about these users with reddit um talking within each other's uh sphere about some guy or some person i I should say, who claimed they were in the park playing that popular mobile game Pokemon Go

when they claim that they saw a girl in a pink and purple hoodie on her bike with another kid on their way, when this kid was coming out of the park, saying maybe there was a kid that was involved in this. And then everybody in this social media thread jumped on this user and said, you need to call law enforcement right away. Please call the tip line if you haven't already. So every, you know, this kid or person did call law enforcement.

People did also share the screenshot of this communication with police. A detective with the Chippewa Falls Police Department reportedly called this Reddit user to ask what they had seen. So there is a possibility that somebody in the woods playing Pokemon Go, that virtual game on your mobile app, saw something, said something, and it could have played a part in getting information to investigators. To Bobby Chacon joining us, former FBI agent at BobbyChacon.com, you and I discussed many times the case of Gabby Petito and her fiance killer, Brian Laundrie. Remember when the search was on for Gabby Petito and Laundrie's parents were doing nothing to help Gabby's parents find her? It was actually, I believe the name of the

social media person was Red, White, and Bethane. That was out camping and dispersed camping themselves. And they saw a white van that they believed looked very much like Gabby's. And they took a picture of it, sent it in, a citizen sleuth. And in fact, it was Gabby's van. And her body was found very nearby. And I am not knocking authorities. This was out in dispersed camping, which means you're not at a porta potty or an electrical hookup.

You're out in the Tetons in nature. There's no cell phone activity. There's nothing. And if it had not been for that citizen sleuth, she may never have been found or it would at least have been many more weeks, if not longer before she was found. So here from what Laura Engel is telling me from Fox News,

we have the same scenario. Hey, Laura, what did they say again? The person's out playing pokemon go in this foresty area and they say they see what they claim that they saw a little girl wearing a pink and purple hoodie matching the description with another kid and this person was playing pokemon go they claim in the woods and saw, you know, the person that matched the description. And when that person posted on Reddit, everybody jumped on this user and said, you need to call law enforcement right now. And that person apparently did. And that led to some

kind of communication, according to these reports. What about it, Chical? Well, look, I think that it's never enough on law enforcement, I would say, because I think the police have always said, like, you know, you always hear it, we need the community's help with these kind of things. And I think, as you described with technology, with cell phones, I mean, the public has become a force multiplier for investigators. And as an investigator, I always would prefer more information than less, even if I was drinking out of a fire hose, meaning there's so much information coming in, I have to sift through leads that aren't valid or whatever. I would always prefer to have that situation than too little information coming in. So I think that this is a great time that we're in with technology where people are using it for good here to assist

law enforcement because law enforcement can't be everywhere. And the community oftentimes has to step up and help in these investigations and this is the perfect example i think even in in one of the press conferences i heard the chief in this case credit a call or a tip that came in um being significant in this case so i think that this isn't exactly the way the law enforcement wants it we want people out there to to call in to tell us to to send us whatever information they have, because it's a boon to law enforcement. Now, sometimes that makes the job more laborious. But but again, I'd rather have too much information coming in to me as an investigator than too little.

To Tracy Sargent joining us, expert canine handler, could a belonging of the suspect, the juvenile, we think may even be her age. We know the juvenile is under 18, so 17 and under. Could belongings of the suspect be taken to the area and see if the dog hits placing the suspect there? It certainly could, especially since it's a somewhat isolated area. I know it's well-traveled versus, let's say, the dog checking inside the home or around the yard. That's a lot more complicated than, let's say, starting the dog in a wooded area where there's less contamination, less scent that the dog has to work through, and to see if the dog would actually pick up that juvenile, in this case, scent in that area. So it is very possible, yes. To Dr. Tim Gallagher, the medical examiner for the state of Florida at PathCareMed.com,

Dr. Gallagher, now that we know police have arrested a juvenile in the murder, in the homicide of 10-year-old Lily Peters, what would you expect to be the COD cause of death? First of all, I don't think it's going to be a gun because I don't think a child that age is going to be going around with a gun. Now, if you'll remember the Slenderman case where two or three little girls attacked their best friend and tried to stab her dead so they could go live with Slenderman in his mansion. That was done with a knife. I could see a rock, a knife, or asphyxiation.

What do you think? Well, it's been mentioned that the suspect is known to the victim. And typically, you know, we find stabbings in those situations to be most common. You know, the person allows the suspect to come close to them, and a knife is typically what we find in use. Asphyxiation, probably not so much because it takes a really long time to asphyxiate somebody with a ligature around their neck, three, four, sometimes even five minutes, you know. So that would, in an area such as that, that may draw attention to him and he would probably be exposed a lot sooner than what he was. So my guess would be you're right. It would be a sharp force

instrument or a knife. To Laura Engel joining us. Oh, yeah, we got the temp. 41 low, 57 high. Thank you, Jackie. Laura Engel, I know that the juvenile suspect is headed to court. What do we know? Well, we've just learned that we've just been on the phone with the district attorney in that county, and we know the judge's name, Judge Lane, presiding over the hearing. Cameras will be allowed inside of this bond hearing. However, this is a small courtroom. We've been told the juvenile suspect will not be inside the courtroom in person. He will be on a video feed. And the rule being set forth by the judge

is that the cameras are not allowed to film the juvenile suspect. They're asking the media to refer to the suspect by initials only, not the full name since it's a juvenile. And then that judge will decide if this is a monetary bond or not. And I heard you say he, so it's a boy? You know, and that happened with the press conference last night with law enforcement they never you know gave us an age or a gender but the law enforcement did refer to the suspect as him so that and that is also what has happened with our information that we're getting today as well i would have expected a him because statistically it's more probable that the perp is a him even as as a juvenile. But like in the case with Slenderman, you can always be proven wrong. There's always an aberration. We wait as justice unfolds

at this hour. Our prayers with the family of 10-year-old Ileana Lilly Peters. Goodbye.