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Published January 13, 2015
This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," May 10, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: A few hours ago, we were in Zion, Illinois, and spoke with Dan Florek. His daughter was friends with Laura Hobbs (search) and Krystal Tobias (search). We were at his home, one of the last places the girls were seen alive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Dan, how long have you lived in this area?
DAN FLOREK, FATHER OF MURDERED GIRLS' FRIEND: About four years.
VAN SUSTEREN: And have you ever known this area to be dangerous, here about problems at all?
FLOREK: No. Kids play here all the time. And you know, we keep an eye on them constantly, and we've really never seen anything — remotely anything — like this in the area at all.
VAN SUSTEREN: When you talk about kids — do you have kids? How old?
FLOREK: I have three, 15, 14 and 9.
VAN SUSTEREN: One of your daughters knows one of the victims, is that right?
FLOREK: Yes, my youngest daughter, Cristella.
VAN SUSTEREN: Knows which of the two children?
FLOREK: Krystal. They were real good friends. They were here playing all the time, playing at school and the garage, and they had a big drawing board and they had the little chairs that they set up and they used to play a lot. That's what I remember of Krystal, her smile, and they used to play school in the garage.
VAN SUSTEREN: When was the last time Krystal was over here?
FLOREK: I would think Friday, most likely. They used to walk to school every day. She'd come here in the morning about 7:00 AM and wait for Cristella to get ready, and they'd walk to school together.
VAN SUSTEREN: And where does Krystal live, vis-a-vis the school? How far away from the school?
FLOREK: Well, the school is right behind my house, and right on the other side of the school is where Krystal lives.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know Krystal's family?
FLOREK: A little bit. I know her brothers. My middle daughter is the same age as Krystal's brother, so we're pretty close. We don't talk to the parents too much because they're always working and we're always working.
VAN SUSTEREN: How about the other child? Any idea? Ever meet the other child?
FLOREK: She's been over here a few times with Krystal, and they were playing in the garage. But I don't know her as well as I did Krystal.
VAN SUSTEREN: What did you say, or how did you tell your child?
FLOREK: She heard small bits of it in school, and that's why we went in the school and took her out yesterday. And it was tough. It's still tough. So I mean, we just console her and you know, do the best we can, at this point.
VAN SUSTEREN: How did you hear about it?
FLOREK: The family came over to our house about 10:00 o'clock...
VAN SUSTEREN: Family meaning Krystal's — one of the victims?
FLOREK: Krystal's brother and a friend knocked on the door. And we were actually in bed already. We got up, and they said Krystal and Laura were missing and wondered if we knew anything. And right away, my wife responded, Let's go. You know, my oldest daughter, right away, they went out looking and asking questions to the neighbors. And at that point, everybody was out actually looking for them, the whole neighborhood just about, in groups, with flashlights.
VAN SUSTEREN: And do you know where the children were last seen?
FLOREK: From what we know, our next-door neighbor said they seen the kids on her hammock at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon.
VAN SUSTEREN: And that's the hammock over here, right?
FLOREK: Yes, they were here playing.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. So the kids — you didn't see them at 4:00 o'clock.
FLOREK: No, I wasn't home until 6:00.
VAN SUSTEREN: But apparently, Laura and Krystal were playing on this hammock at 4:00?
FLOREK: That's from my understanding. They were hear waiting for Cristella. They have a lot of friends in the neighborhood, and they go from house to house and, you know, play with friends. And they stopped here to see if Cristella was home, evidently, and well, we weren't. We were out. We didn't get home until 6:00.
VAN SUSTEREN: So Cristella was with you?
FLOREK: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: And so the neighbors saw the two children playing on this hammock. And then any idea what time they left the hammock?
FLOREK: It was about 4:00, and they said they seen them leaving the area, you know, leaving down the street, walking, and one was on a bike and one was walking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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