GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US..
I'M FRANK MALLOY..
AND I'M LEAH JOHNSON..THIS IS EYEWITNESS NEWS AT 11.
OUR TOP STORY TONIGHT... THE SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT KIT COLBURN.
THE TEN-YEAR-OLD WALKED OUT OF SCHOOL YESTERDAY MORNING.
HE'S FOUR-FOOT-TEN AND WEIGHS 70 POUNDS... WITH SHORT BROWN HAIR AND BROWN EYES.
KIT WAS LAST SEEN WEARING A TAN OR OFF-WHITE SHIRT WITH A DESIGN AND DARK-COLORED SHORTS.
KATELYN HECK HAS BEEN IN WARNER ROBINS ALL EVENING MONITORING THE SEARCH.
SHE JOINS US NOW WITH THE LATEST... KATELYN?
katelyn updates the latest on the search and talks with Tabitha Pugh
AUSTIN LEWIS WENT TO KIT'S NEIGHBORHOOD...WHERE NEIGHBORS DESCRIBE HIM AS A SWEET BOY...WHO LOVES PLAYING WITH THE OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS.
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PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON THIS CUL-DE-SAC...SAY IT'S A PRETTY QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD.
Crystal Sloboda, Warner Robins: 01:05 I feel safe here, safe enough to let my little girl play outside with the other kids, you know, nothing bad has ever happened.
nats
BUT NOW...HELICOPTERS CIRCLE OVERHEAD...
nats...
AND POLICE CARS...GO UP AND DOWN THE STREET...LOOKING FOR NEIGHBORHOOD KID...KIT COLBURN.
THE TEN YEAR OLD DISAPPEARED TUESDAY...WHEN HE WALKED OUT OF RUSSELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
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LESIA JOHNSON SAYS KIT AND HER GRANDSONS WOULD HANG OUT ...ALL THE TIME.
Lesia Johnson, Warner Robins: He'll come and play with my grandboys everyday at the school, the weekends this is where he will be, right here playing and they'll play all day till just about dark.
CRYSTAL SLOBODA...LIVES RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM KIT...SHE SAYS HE'S A SWEET KID...WHO'S A GOOD FRIEND TO HER DAUGHTER.
Crystal Sloboda, Warner Robins: 01:47he came to her birthday party, he was the only boy, like I said he's just a good kid.
Crystal Sloboda, Warner Robins:02:02 He's playing little girl games with them, you know, he doesn't care, he's just a good kid.
SHE SAYS SHE'S HAVING A HARD EXPLAINING TO HER DAUGHTER WHY THERE'S SO MUCH ACTIVITY ON THEIR STREET.
Crystal Sloboda, Warner Robins:04:17 She kept askign, where hte, why is the helicopters, why are their cops outside and I said you know cuase Kit's missing and thtat's the first thing she asked me when she woke up is Kit home?
AND SHE CAN'T IMAGINE TELLING HER LITTLE GIRL IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO KIT.
Crystal Sloboda, Warner Robins: 06:44 I want him to come home and him to be okay because I don't how to explain that to her, you know something bad did happen, and you know I don't want to.
OTHER NEIGHBORS WE TALKED TO SAY THEY PRAY HE COMES HOME SOON.
AUSTIN LEWIS 13WMAZ EYEWTINESS NEWS.
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Katelyn adlibs about the search
THANK YOU KATELYN.... WE'LL CHECK IN WITH YOU FOR UPDATES LATER IN THE SHOW.
IF YOU SEE KIT COLBURN... YOU'RE ASKED TO DIAL 9-1-1.
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN THREE WEEKS... CAMPUS POLICE FOUND WEAPONS AT RUTLAND HIGH SCHOOL.
THIS MORNING THEY FOUND A GUN AND A KNIFE IN A STUDENT'S CAR.
THE STUDENT WAS CHARGED AND TAKEN TO THE BIBB COUNTY JAIL.
THIS MAKES AT LEAST THE TENTH TIME A WEAPON WAS FOUND AT BIBB COUNTY SCHOOLS THIS YEAR...
LAST MONTH... CAMPUS POLICE FOUND A GUN IN A CAR OF STUDENTS LEAVING THE RUTLAND HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS.
ON MARCH 13TH... CAMPUS POLICE FOUND AN UNLOADED GUN HIDDEN IN THE CEILING OF THE BOYS BATHROOM AT WESTSIDE HIGH...
JUST DAYS BEFORE... THEY FOUND A PELLET GUN AND BULLET AT HOWARD HIGH SCHOOL.
IN EACH OF THOSE CASES... DAVID GOWAN... THE DISTRICT'S DIRECTOR OF RISK MANAGEMENT TOLD US CAMPUS POLICE DISCOVERED THE WEAPONS AS PART OF STANDARD PROTOCOL.
HE SAYS IT SHOWS THE SAFETY POLICIES AT WORK.
"Because of the facts of the case our current safety plan did work because we discovered througout proactive measures. Our current plan is being evaluated by safe havens and coincidentally Rutland high school is one of the nine schools on that list where they're conducting a direct safety assessment."
SAFE HAVENS IS A JULLIET-BASED COMPANY THE DISTRICT HAS HIRED TO DETERMINE THE SAFETY OF BIBB COUNTY SCHOOLS.
GOWAN SAYS THEY'LL BE CONDUCTING A STUDY THROUGH NEXT MONTH.
MACON-BIBB FIRE INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING INTO TWO SEPARATE ARSON CASES THIS WEEK..
BOTH HOUSES IN QUESTION BURNED TWICE.
SERGEANT BEN GLEATON WITH FIRE INVESTIGATION SAYS.. THIS VACANT HOUSE ON PURSLEY AVENUE BURNED TWO SEPARATE TIMES EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.
GLEATON ALSO SAYS.. THIS ABANDONED HOUSE ON NEAL AVENUE BURNED TWO TIMES IN JUST FOUR DAYS.
THE FIRST TIME.. FRIDAY MAY 4TH AROUND 8 A-M.
THEN AGAIN YESTERDAY MORNING.. AROUND THE SAME TIME.
BOTH FIRES REMAIN UNDER INVESTIGATION.
FIRE INVESTIGATORS WILL NOW HAVE SOME EXTRA HELP OF THE FOUR-LEGGED VARIETY AS THEY LOOK INTO ARSON INVESTIGATIONS LIKE THE TWO IN BIBB COUNTY.
THIS IS AVA... THE NEWEST EMPLOYEE OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE.
THE TWO-YEAR-OLD BLACK LAB SPECIALIZES IN DETECTING SUBSTANCES USED TO START FIRES.
TODAY... HER HANDLER GAVE A DEMONSTRATION OF JUST WHAT AVA CAN DO.
Chief Marvin Riggins, Macon Fire Department: "If time will allow we will certainly ask the Commissioner if we can allow Ava to go in and actually look into this fire that we've had over in the Pleasant Hill area. We have had a few multiple fires and all of them have been of a suspicous nature."
Ralph Hudgens, Fire Safety and Insurance Commissioner: "This is something that the fire service can use to determine if you've got a fire with a suspicous origin... generally it's gonna be... somebody's gonna use an accelerant to start that fire. So the dog can find that source or that point of origin."
AVA LIVES WITH HER HANDLER.. TIM ROBERTS.. AN INVESTIGATOR WITH THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE.
BIBB COUNTY SCHOOL LEADERS APPARENTLY SENT THE WRONG ELECTION DISTRICT MAPS TO THE U-S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FOR APPROVAL.
BOARD MEMBER GARY BECHTEL SAYS SCHOOL LEADERS SENT THE MAPS APPROVED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD INSTEAD OF THE ONES APROVED BY THE GEORGIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY.. AND SIGNED BY GOVERNOR NATHAN DEAL.
BECHTEL SAYS THE GLITCH PROMPTED THE BOARD TO CALL A SPECIAL MEETING TO DISCUSS THE MATTER.
THAT MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR SIX P-M THURSDAY AT THE BOARD OFFICES ON MULBERRY STREET.
PRESIDENT OBAMA TODAY DECLARED HIS SUPPORT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.
THE DIVISIVE ISSUE IS LIKELY TO BE A FOCAL POINT FOR THIS YEAR'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
RANDALL PINKSTON HAS MORE ON THE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS.
PRESIDENT OBAMA PUT THE ISSUE OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE FRONT AND CENTER IN THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, AFTER AN INTERVIEW WITH 'GOOD MORNING AMERICA'S' ROBIN ROBERTS.
((SOT: ABC NEWS CLIP - NO EXCERPTING)) 6-21
"for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same sex couples should be able to get married."
HIS DECISION ON THE ISSUE WAS YEARS IN THE MAKING. IN 2004, THEN-SENATOR OBAMA SAID HE BELIEVED MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN... THEN, AS PRESIDENT, HE SAID HE WAS CONFLICTED.
(SOT OBAMA 12/22/10):
"My feelings about this are constantly evolving, I struggle with this (4).
STANDUP BRIDGE:
AIDES SAY THE PRESIDENT WAS NOT PLANNING ON ENDORSING MARRIAGE EQUALITY QUITE YET - BUT HIS HAND WAS FORCED AFTER VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN SAID SUNDAY THAT HE IS "ABSOLUTELY COMFORTABLE" WITH MEN MARRYING MEN AND WOMEN MARRYING WOMEN.
NOW THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS EXPRESSED HIS PERSONAL VIEW, HIS POLITICAL RIVAL - REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE MITT ROMNEY - IS DRAWING A SHARP CONTRAST...
SOT - Mitt
"My view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman and that's my own preference. I know other people have differing views. This is a very tender and sensitive topic as our many social issues but I have the same view that I've had since well since running for office."
(gfx)
41 STATES HAVE OUTLAWED SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, INCLUDING ALL OF THE SO-CALLED "SWING STATES." BUT NATIONWIDE POLLS SHOW 50 PERCENT OF AMERICANS FAVOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY... .
THE PRESIDENT'S RE-ELECTION WEBSITE IS ALREADY PROMOTING HIS NEW POINT OF VIEW... AND HE WILL HOLD FUNDRAISERS IN SEATTLE AND LOS ANGELES - CITIES WITH LARGE GAY POPULATIONS, AND WEALTHY CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS.
THE PRESIDENT SAYS THE FIRST LADY AND THEIR CHILDREN HELPED SHAPE HIS OPINION.
HE SAYS HE AND HIS WIFE BELIEVE IN THE GOLDEN RULE OF TREATING OTHERS HOW YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.
UPDATING TONIGHT'S TOP STORY... THE SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING WARNER ROBINS 10-YEAR-OLD KIT COLBURN.
LET'S GO RIGHT TO KATELYN HECK IN WARNER ROBINS WITH THE LATEST... KATELYN?
THANK YOU KATELLYN.
KIT COLBURN IS FOUR-FOOT-TEN AND WEIGHS 70 POUNDS... WITH SHORT BROWN HAIR AND BROWN EYES.
HE WAS LAST SEEN WEARING A TAN OR OFF-WHITE SHIRT WITH A DESIGN AND DARK-COLORED SHORTS.
IF YOU SEE HIM... YOU'RE ASKED TO CALL 9-1-1.
SOME OF YOU HAVE ASKED US WHY THE G-B-I DIDN'T ISSUE AN AMBER ALERT FOR KIT COLBURN.
GEORGIA'S EQUIVALENT TO THE AMBER ALERT... IS KNOWN AS "LEVI'S CALL."
IN ORDER FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT TO ACTIVATE THAT... THE CASE HAS TO MEET CERTAIN CRITERIA.
FIRST... ACCORDING TO THE G-B-I... OFFICIALS MUST HAVE A REASONABLE BELIEF THAT THE CHILD HAS BEEN ABDUCTED.
THEY MUST ALSO BELIEVE THE CHILD IS IN IMMINENT DANGER OF SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
NEXT... LAW ENFORCEMENT MUST HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION ABOUT BOTH THE CHILD AND THE ALLEGED KIDNAPPER.
THE CHILD MUST BE 17 YEARS OLD OR YOUNGER... AND HIS OR HER NAME AND INFORMATION MUST BE ENTERED INTO THE NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION CENTER.
THE G-B-I SAYS THEY DON'T ISSUE A LEVI'S CALL FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE BELIEVE TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY A NON-CUSTODIAL PARENT... IF THEY DON'T THINK THE CHILD IS IN DANGER.
THEY ALSO DON'T ISSUE LEVI'S CALLS FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE BELIEVED TO BE RUNAWAYS.
ACCORDING TO THE G-B-I'S WEBSITE... THAT'S BECAUSE OVERUSING THE PROGRAM... WOULD MAKE IT LESS EFFECTIVE.