Missing in America

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," January 29, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Two Rachels and one big mystery tonight. They're teenagers from Maryland: Rachel Smith is 16, Rachel Crites 18. They're good friends and they're gone. The girls vanished over a week ago, they said they were going to the movies and they, well we just don't know. No one does. Was there an accident? Did they run away together? Was there a crime? Police and family is looking for answers tonight.

Joining us are Rachel Crites' parents — Troy Crites and Kathy Cornelius.

Welcome to both of you.

TROY CRITES, FATHER OF RACHEL CRITES: Thank you.

KATHY CORNELIUS, MOTHER OF RACHEL CRITES: Thank you.

VAN SUSTEREN: We're going to do everything we can to get information out. First of all, when did the children leave?

A week ago Friday. They had called — to call in about arrangements for dinner and said that they were going to a movie in Georgetown and at 11:00 p.m. when they didn't show up on scheduled time we began to get worried, by 1:00 a.m. the police were called.

VAN SUSTEREN: What — were they driving at all? Is that right, Troy?

CRITES: Yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: What kind of automobile? Because people listen to this and by radio and I want to make sure we get the description out there.

CRITES: It's a 1997 blue Subaru Outback and it's got a very distinguishing feature, it's go a very large gray plastic luggage rack on the top. License plate — it's Maryland license plate MBJ-485.

VAN SUSTEREN: Kathy, there apparently was one cell phone tower hit; is that right?

CORNELIUS: Apparently, when they called on Friday, the cell phone tower nearest to them was in Charlestown, West Virginia.

VAN SUSTEREN: And since then, there's been no use of the cell phone as far as we know.

CORNELIUS: Apparently not.

VAN SUSTEREN: Now, these kids are probably pretty smart. They probably know that — I mean, you think — you believe they're sort of, I guess, runaway is sort of a rough term to use, your daughter's 18, but the other one's 16. You think that she's smart enough to know not to use the cell phone because she'll get located.

CORNELIUS: That's right.

VAN SUSTEREN: Do you think that too, Troy?

CRITES: Absolutely.

VAN SUSTEREN: Why are these kids doing this? Is this — these are just, I don't know — bad judgment, should I say? Is that.

CORNELIUS: At least bad judgment, yes. I've — part of it.

CRITES: If there was a good explanation — they didn't go back a pack a bunch of things. They left — there had been a sleepover the night before, Rachel Smith slept over at our house. They left the overnight bag, like they were just going down to go to the movies. So, there's some aspect of spontaneity. There is a journal left that's not spontaneous, so there's so many contradictions and it's very disturbing.

VAN SUSTEREN: What's the journal say?

CORNELIUS: Well, the journal, it was really sort of a page inserted into the journal and but it wasn't lying open. It was on the desk, so again, there is contradictions. It was a goodbye note, a kind of upsetting goodbye note...

VAN SUSTEREN: Any problem — any of these kids have any problems?

CORNELIUS: Yeah.

CRITES: Yes. Our do daughter a bought of depression in the March timeframe of last year, she was recovering from that and Rachel Smith had actually been, you know, his guardian angel for all of that time and very close friends. Became, you know, young girls, two peas in a pod, you saw one, you saw the other.

VAN SUSTEREN: What about money? Did they leave with any money?

CORNELIUS: It's kind of hard to know exactly how much money they might have. Over Christmas they were staying with my extended family and me up in Pennsylvania. They had withdrawn a significant amount, well, significant, a couple hundred dollars, you know. We don't see expenses that they would have spent it on, but we're speculating about how much cash they could have with them.

VAN SUSTEREN: Extremely painful — I mean, is there a way to describe it?

CRITES: The uncertainty. My only coping mechanism is to constantly work to get the word out about her to all sorts of places. Because any time you stop and just dwell on it, it is crushing.

CORNELIUS: Yeah.

VAN SUSTEREN: And we want — if they're watching or anyone who sees it, is that all parents want — both sets of parents want these two children to call home or at least call police to say they're OK, so that the worrying can stop and we put that out there. If anyone sees them call police and these parents need to stop worrying and the other set of parents as well. Kathy and Troy, thank you very much.

CORNELIUS: Thank you.

CRITES: Thank you.

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