'Person of Interest' in Hunt for Brianna Denison

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record ," January 22, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: A college sleepover turns into a nightmare — 19-year-old college co-ed Brianna Denison falls asleep on her friend's couch in Reno, Nevada.

And then — that's the really odd part. She disappears.

Police now believe Brianna was kidnapped. A stain believed to possibly be blood was found on Brianna's pillow.

And here's what we do know: Saturday night Brianna went to a casino with girlfriends. A few hours later, Sunday at 4:00 a.m., Brianna went to her friend K.T.'s house.

Her friend gave her a pillow and blanket and Brianna went to sleep on the couch. But when her friend woke up, Brianna was not there. Brianna vanished from her friend K.T. Hunter's house. K.T. joins us live in Nevada.

Welcome K.T..

K.T. HUNTER, HOSTED BRIANNA AT HER HOUSE: Hi, thank you.

VAN SUSTEREN: K.T., I imagine this is very distressing for you. And I want to ask you some questions to try to help get the word out about your friend so they'll look.

Tell me, when you said goodnight to your friend, was there anything unusual going on in her life?

HUNTER: No, not really. She was happy when she went to bed. It was an average night, by all means.

VAN SUSTEREN: When you woke up the next day, and sometime after you decided to find out where she was, there was a pillow with a stain on it, is that right?

HUNTER: Yes. Actually, the cops have asked us that we not talk about the evidence for their purposes, but I did find a pillow with a stain on it that appeared to be blood.

VAN SUSTEREN: Can you tell us how big it was, and then I won't ask anymore about it?

HUNTER: No, they do not want us to — sorry.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was there any sign of forced entry into the apartment?

HUNTER: No, the place she was sleeping was a very common area. And I have three roommates, and we live all our separate lives. So, usually, we sometimes lock it, but that area, since it is a common area and people are always going in and out, we keep it unlocked and just lock our own personal doors. So the door was probably left unlocked.

VAN SUSTEREN: One of you has a dog, is that right?

HUNTER: Yes, a Chihuahua. And she barks at me, at all my roommates, at everything. Either she didn't bark that night, or I didn't hear her bark. I usually wake up to her barking, so whoever did it, I'm under the belief was extremely quiet.

VAN SUSTEREN: But the door you think was unlocked wasn't opened when you woke up, right?

HUNTER: No.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was there any sign of struggle in the home at all?

HUNTER: No, nothing.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was there anything weird going on in her life where she might just want to hit the road?

HUNTER: No, Brianna was not like that by any manner. She was very close to her family and very close to all her friends. She would never just pick up and leave.

And she went to bed in a light tank top, and all her shoes, all my shoes are accounted for, our jackets are accounted for. There was no way she would just pick up and leave in 30-degree weather in a tank top and sweats.

VAN SUSTEREN: And she had no transportation?

HUNTER: No, her car was in the shop, and my friend's car was there who took her to my house.

VAN SUSTEREN: K.T., thank you, and good luck. We hope we can help you.

HUNTER: Thank you.

VAN SUSTEREN: Another friend is Jessica Deal. She was also with Brianna that night. Jessica joins us live in Nevada as well.

Hello Jessica.

JESSICA DEAL, BRIANNA DENISON'S FRIEND: Hello.

VAN SUSTEREN: Jessica, do you remember the last time you saw Brianna?

DEAL: I do. As a matter of fact we were at the Sands Casino. We were all together. I decided to call it the night, and they decided to stay behind for probably another hour to an hour-and-half. She found a ride home with one of our friends.

VAN SUSTEREN: How did you get home?

DEAL: I actually — K.T. lived within close proximity to the Sands. So there was a lapse of judgment.

VAN SUSTEREN: So you got a ride home with some man. I think the police have actually spoken to that man, is that right?

DEAL: As far as I understand, in the midst of all the publicity, he has come forward and cooperated with police. And, also, as I understand, he is no longer a person of interest. That is not to say that they are not going to investigate him further. But, at this point, he is in full cooperation.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did you notice anything odd about the guy? Was he inappropriate with you at all?

DEAL: Absolutely not, no.

VAN SUSTEREN: So you, at least, don't have any suspicion of him, at least not right now, that he came back?

DEAL: Right. And I feel like I have a good judgment of character, and he did not appear to be a shady person, by all means. Maybe I am na<ve and too trusting of people, but he appeared to be a normal individual.

VAN SUSTEREN: How about the neighborhood where the home is? Is there anything odd about the neighborhood?

DEAL: There have actually been two assaults on campus recently in the past two months. It was the end of last year. They never found the person who was attempting these assaults on campus. We were always told never to walk home from school, always call campus escort, take a cab, don't walk by yourself through the neighborhood.

And it was actually in the same area, same timeframe as K.T.'s house.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, Jessica, good luck. I hope you find your friend. Thank you.

DEAL: Thank you.

VAN SUSTEREN: Just as Jessica just noted, there are coeds on alert in the area because there have been early morning assaults on Reno women. And, of course, the question is, is Brianna Denison the most recent victim of a serial attacker?

We're going to have an interview with the Reno police about these assaults.

(NEWSBREAK)

VAN SUSTEREN: College coeds in the Reno area are on alert tonight. Two college coed have been assaulted in the Reno area in the early morning hours in November, December, and now in January. And now Brianna is gone.

Brianna disappeared in the early morning hours between 4:00 and 9:00 a.m. Commander Ron Holladay joins live in Nevada.

Welcome, Commander.

RON HOLLADAY, RENO POLICE DEPT. COMMANDER: Thank you.

VAN SUSTEREN: Commander, are there any updates in the search for Brianna tonight?

HOLLADAY: The only update is, and I believe you already have that information, is that the person driving the suburban has in fact come down to the police station and spoken with us voluntarily.

We have eliminated him as a suspect at this time, and we are not looking for a suburban any longer.

VAN SUSTEREN: There was a little bit of an audio glitch: that was the one who Jessica Deal got the ride home from at about 1:00 a.m., three hours before Brianna went home.

Commander, we are now hearing that there were two other assaults in the area of Brianna's disappearance. What are the similarities between those two assaults and Brianna's, if any?

HOLLADAY: Right now we don't see any direct similarities between the three cases. However, we are examining each for their commonalities to see if there are.

One was a kidnapping and a sexual assault. Another one was an attempted sexual assault in the same general area. Certainly we are hoping to solve those; those are still under investigation as well. And if there are any commonalities, we are hoping to link the three of them up. If they are the same suspect, we would like to catch him, obviously.

VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know if you could see from the street unobstructed, or at least with some effort, where Brianna was staying on the couch inside that home?

HOLLADAY: If I understood your question, was she restrained somehow, is that what you're asking?

VAN SUSTEREN: No. If I were on the street and Brianna went to bed on the couch, was the couch so positioned that I would have been able to see it from the street?

HOLLADAY: I see. It is my understanding that you would have a clear view of the area where she was sleeping, at least from this sidewalk.

VAN SUSTEREN: Now, just in an effort to explore, not because I'm suggesting there is a serial assaulter there, but these other two assaults, were they done in the middle of the night?

HOLLADAY: One was between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. and the other was, I believe, around the same time frame. So as far as similarities go, the general timeframe would be about the same.

VAN SUSTEREN: How about the distance from where Brianna was spending the night? How far away were these two assaults?

HOLLADAY: I would have to go up there and pace it off, but it is within about two or three blocks, each of the locations.

VAN SUSTEREN: Commander, thank you, and good luck, sir.

HOLLADAY: Thank you very much.

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