This is a rush transcript from "On the Record ," August 18, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: This is a "FOX News Alert." Republican sources are telling FOX News Channel that John McCain will announce his vice presidential running mate on August 29 in Dayton, Ohio. Now, that is the day after Senator Barack Obama will officially accept his party's nomination at the Democratic convention in Denver. We are expecting Senator Obama to announce his vice presidential running mate this week. Reports say Senator Obama could announce his pick as early as Wednesday. Stay tuned. FOX News will have all the news as it unfolds.
And tonight, the countdown. It's on. Could jailed mother Casey Anthony be just hours away from walking out of a Florida jail? Casey is being held in jail on $500,000 bond, the only person of interest in her toddler daughter Caylee's disappearance. Now a bail bondsmen and bounty hunter have arrived in Florida to post Casey's bond.
The bounty hunter will go "On the Record" in moments, but first, joining us live is Joe Baez, Casey Anthony's lawyer. Welcome back to the show, Jose.
JOSE BAEZ, CASEY ANTHONY'S ATTORNEY: Thank you, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: First of all, how's your client doing?
BAEZ: She's hanging in there. She's doing the best she can under the circumstances. And she's certainly excited of the possibility of getting out.
VAN SUSTEREN: Now, you say the possibility of getting out. Is there any risk that the prosecutor's going to add a few more charges, raising the bond, so that posting $500,000 bond isn't going to do it?
BAEZ: Well, if they're going to add the charges or increase them, our way of looking at it is -- you know, what we want to do is -- what could be a positive outcome of this is if they decide to file, obviously, more serious charges, we'd be forcing them to do something that they are not exactly ready to do yet. And any time you can get them to do something they don't want to do, it's certainly a wise move, and we're looking at that as a positive aspect of this.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Obviously, you're hinting around that they would seek the most serious charges, some form of murder charges or something. But short of that, one of the charges she's charged with is lying to investigators. And I take it that there was more than one investigator present when she allegedly lied so they could trump it up that way. They could simply add another count of lying to investigators.
BAEZ: Well, they could. I think they would look rather silly in doing so. But I would certainly be ready to argue that that's part in parcel of the same offense and it is a continuing transaction of the original offense. Therefore, I would strongly be arguing against that. And that's certainly something we're prepared to do.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, Jose, the million-dollar question. Your client says she has information about where her daughter is. Why isn't she helping the police?
BAEZ: That's a little incorrect, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK.
BAEZ: She has stated on numerous times she does not know where her daughter is. And if she did, I'm certain she would have come forward. She would have told me about it. She would have told law enforcement or her family.
I think her getting out can only be a positive thing because I think it would allow, A, me to have certainly more access to her and open access to her, where I can actually speak to her frankly and we don't have to worry about third parties listening in, and she can actually partake in part of the investigation and help finding Caylee. I really only think that that -- that can only be a positive.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. I know from talking to, you're a good lawyer. You're not going to betray your client's confidences and tell me any attorney-client relationship information. I'm confident of that, so I'm not going to ask it. However, let me ask you this...
BAEZ: Thank you.
VAN SUSTEREN: Has she given you information to suggest -- or has she given you information that satisfies you why she didn't go to the police when the child first vanished?
BAEZ: She has. And I think when the facts come out, you're going to hear a very compelling reason as to why she acted in the way she did and why she made some of these statements that she made. And unfortunately, I have to save that for my opening statement. What everyone wants to know, it's not going to be in the court of public opinion, it's going to be in a court of law.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Now, supposedly her -- the mother, the grandmother of the child on the 15th of July was told by your client that the child would be coming home the next day. Was that a lie?
BAEZ: You know, I wasn't part of that conversation and I haven't spoken to Ms. Cindy Anthony about that, so I really can't comment on it. I'm not aware of that statement made by her.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you have an expectation as to when the money will be posted and the paperwork completed and she will likely walk out the door, assuming that everything goes as planned?
BAEZ: Well, I would expect that to take place possibly within the next 24 hours. There are some -- there is quite a bit of red tape because of this case's unique situation and some of the orders that were put in place. But we're ready to get through them and we're ready to cut through that red tape and finally get her out, so maybe we can just get a little bit closer to finding Caylee. And that we're very excited about.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, Jose. I know that tomorrow's going to be pretty chaotic. And if she gets out tomorrow, will you come back tomorrow night?
BAEZ: I can't make any promises, but I'll certainly do my best. I think your show is a very informative one and it's an objective one, and it's certainly one that we like appearing on.
VAN SUSTEREN: Jose, thank you, and you know, with luck on our side, we'll see you tomorrow night. Thank you, Jose.
BAEZ: Thank you, Greta. Have a good night.
VAN SUSTEREN: Joining us live is bounty hunter Leonard Padilla. Welcome, Leonard.
LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Good evening, Greta. How are you?
VAN SUSTEREN: And Leonard, just to satisfy all the viewers that are mad at me, you pronounce your last name Padilla, right, not "Pad-iya."
PADILLA: In English, it's Padilla. And if you were speaking in Spanish, I'd say "Pad-iya."
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Well, OK.
PADILLA: But for this show, it's Padilla.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. Great. All right. Are you ready to bail Casey out of jail?
PADILLA: In speaking to my nephew about an hour ago, it seems as though in the meeting with the attorney this afternoon, a lot of the details were worked out. As the attorney said and stated, it's a situation where there's a lot of red tape involved and you have to take it a step at a time. And obviously, here we are, and he...
VAN SUSTEREN: Give me an idea...
PADILLA: He's ready if...
VAN SUSTEREN: Give me an idea what this red tape is because, typically, what you do is you just show up and you give the bond and you sign the papers and it's a done deal. What's the red tape?
PADILLA: Well, there has to be notification -- I don't know what the rules are, but what I understand, there has to be notification to the court clerk who notifies the investigating agency. There has to be a home monitoring device in place, which I believe will be in place tomorrow. And I think there's -- there's one thing on there -- if you go on the computer, and it says something about a hold that they haven't described, in other words. So somebody obviously has to find out what that hold is. It doesn't explain it when you look on the booking in the computer.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Have you had a chance to meet with Casey's parents?
PADILLA: I met with them yesterday.
VAN SUSTEREN: What's your thoughts?
PADILLA: (INAUDIBLE) After the vigil.
VAN SUSTEREN: What's your impression?
PADILLA: A hundred percent better than, you know, what I thought it would be. They're a very, very distraught family. They're just totally gut-wrenched. They have a lot of distrust for what's going on. My own personal opinion is that I think something that hasn't been emphasized enough, there's a $250,000 reward out there for the safe return of the little girl. I've said it this morning, and I'm going to say it again here on your show. It's a situation where I'm not interested in the reward. If somebody turns her loose at a grocery store, we're not interested in prosecuting or anything. That's law enforcement.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, let me interrupt you for one second...
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: When you were here on Friday night -- when you were here on Friday night, you conveyed to me, at least if I have it right, that you believe that the child is alive and can be found.
PADILLA: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: At least -- OK. What -- I mean, a lot of people don't have that view. What is the basis or the support for that view? How do you arrive at that?
PADILLA: I arrive at it because there's no proof that the child is deceased. None whatsoever. If there was, believe me, law enforcement would have charged her mother or somebody with a homicide, manslaughter, something to that effect. But also, I look at her as a young lady that tells half-truths at times, and I believe that there's somebody out there that has that child that she allowed to baby-sit it, and then the child was not brought back for whatever reason. That's the way I'm looking at it.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. But basically...
PADILLA: I sincerely believe...
VAN SUSTEREN: Basically, you buy her version of the events, but what you agree is that she tells half-truths, which some people, frankly, might call lies.
PADILLA: That's correct.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK.
PADILLA: In the bounty hunting business, we call them half-truths because sometimes mixed into a thousand lies or falsehoods, there's just one grain of truth. And you have to use that as a lead, as a jumping-off place to start your investigation, to lead to something else.
VAN SUSTEREN: Got it. All right. Got it. So I hope you'll come back, as well, tomorrow night, Leonard. I just checked to see if Jose would come back, Jose Baez. I hope you'll come back, as well. Thank you, Leonard.
PADILLA: You're welcome. You're very welcome.
VAN SUSTEREN: Now for your "On the Record" live vote this evening. Go to Gretawire.com and answer this simple question. If Casey Anthony makes bond, do you think she will try to flee, yes or no? We'll read your results at the end of the hour.
And coming up: You just heard from the bounty hunter. Now you will see what happened when the bounty hunter met with Casey Anthony's brother, Lee, for the first time. Lee responds to the news that his sister, Casey, could be walking out of jail. You will hear from Casey's brother next.
And later: "On the Record" is on the ground in Orlando, digging for answers in this disappearance. Will the jailed mother's cell phone records lead police to a crime scene? We're going to show you where pings from Casey's cell phone may have been picked up shortly after her daughter vanished.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Our "On the Record" team is on the ground in Orlando, investigating the disappearance of little Caylee Anthony. Caylee Anthony's grandfather says he last saw the toddler on June 16. And according to reports, the very next day, Caylee's jailed mother's cell phone records show that someone was in a densely wooded area with the mother's phone. "On the Record" producer Justin Wells went to the area of Orlando Casey may have gone that day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUSTIN WELLS, FOX NEWS PRODUCER: Here we are. We are just a little bit off of state road -- it's a toll road, 417. Now, 417 is a main road in central Florida. Right there, you see a car pull by, but it's one of the first that we've seen in a little while out here. "On the Record" has checked out many different areas southeast of the airport where we feel these cell phone calls came from. We've talked to many sources, and they say on the 17th, Casey did make phone calls from a wooded area southeast of the airport.
There are many cell phone towers around here, and then as you can see, just less than a mile away from state road, the toll road over there, 417, we pull off. That's our car there "On the Record," and within just a few seconds, you cross that little fence there. It's easy to get through, and you're in the middle of some thick brush and definitely plenty of water around.
Watch the 'On the Record' report
Now, here we are near the airport. There's a plane taking off right there. So you can tell we are in very close proximity to where the airport is. This is a bridge that is just a little ways away, and it goes over a body of water right here. Now, once you cross this body of water, you really get into a thick brush, a wooded area. And that wooded area is just full of all kinds of canals, all kinds of waterways.
And most of it, when you go along the airport area, is gated. You see throughout these big fences and you see the "No trespassing" signs everywhere. But it is not an electric fence. It's actually not going to be that difficult to get through to the area. As you can see, you just walk down an area like this, which is for drainage off the bridge. And when you walk down, there are many areas of the fence that are just completely collapsed and have fallen down. So it would be very easy to park a car, like we did just up there, up the road, walk down at any point, and you can make your way into the brush.
When people think of Orlando, they think of Disney World, they think of, you know, big hotels and family fun. What they don't realize is there's a lot of wooded areas, a lot of different types of canals and waterways in the area, and that's because in central Florida, you are right in the middle of the Everglades. You are right in the middle of a lot of nature and a lot of really isolated areas.
And we're talking here only a few miles away from the airport. As you can see, there's nobody here. It's the middle of the afternoon, and there's nobody in this area. All you hear is nature and some of the planes that are above.
Now, as we've walked just a little further from the road now, you can see that there's more water. There's more areas that are really a little ways away from this road right here. That road you see there, we only see a car come down -- I would say one or two cars every five minutes or so. So you can imagine late at night or once it's dark, it would be hard to see anyone once they're this far out in the middle of everything. There's just brush everywhere, flies, gnats, of course, as you'd expect. And then when you look out here, you see waterway after waterway.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: "On the Record" producer Justin Wells joins us live from Orlando. Justin, looking at the video that you guys shot, it's massive, the area that at least looks, you know, like, I don't know, just barren or full of nature. Have there been extensive searches in this area?
WELLS: You know, there have been many searches. And you know, some of them are done by police, but now the new thing that's happened since they talked about this pinging of the cell phone towers in the area, we're seeing other people go out and search. Internet bloggers are now going out and searching in various areas. We've got other little groups of people that are going out and they're searching the woods, they're trying to find something. One group even found a pair of sandals. They found some other clothing this past weekend.
So one thing we're seeing is, it's law enforcement that's searching, and in many cases, we've got just individual citizens who are out there searching, trying to find something, as well.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. The pinging that we understand, at least we've been told by some sources is in that area, is from her cell phone -- her being Casey, the mother who is in jail. Now, it's possible somebody else had the phone. Is there anyone who puts that phone in her hand on the 17th? Or I guess another way to say it, did she herself use the phone in the days after? Do we have any sort of corroboration at all?
WELLS: That's the problem we have right now. There's no corroboration right now that she even used that phone. There's been talk of other phones. There was a Samsung Black Jack that disappeared. The phone situation has been just completely -- you don't know what's going to happen next because one second, you've got her with this cell phone, the other cell phone. You know, the baby-sitter may have had a cell phone with this area code.
As far as, you know, a typical person that has a phone and they have everybody in their phone book, well, this girl's all over the place with her phones, and you know, the people she's calling, too. It's been very, very difficult to track all of the cell phone records in this. All we've gotten so far is them pinging that cell phone to that wooded area.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. We've got 20 seconds left. Do you have any update on when it's likely that she's going to be bailed out, assuming it all goes through?
WELLS: You know, we're hearing right now from our sources on the ground at "On the Record" that it could happen first thing in the morning. There are many things that have to happen for that to take place. There's a second protocol, after they take care of the money. That could involve some kind of evaluation, we're hearing right now, some evaluation of her state of mind, perhaps. Once that's done, that is when they will probably move on to the next process, which is getting that lock on her and putting her in home confinement.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Justin Wells on the ground for us in Orlando. Thank you, Justin.
Content and Programming Copyright 2008 FOX News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2008 ASC LLC (www.ascllc.net), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, LLC'S and ASC LLC's copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox