This is a rush transcript from "On the Record ," December 18, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Tonight: Ready for weird? News just broke in Florida in the Caylee Anthony investigation that is mind-twisting, news about the utility worker who found a toddler's skull with duct tape in a bag near the house of Caylee Anthony's grandparents. It turns out this man has called in tips to the Orange County sheriff's office before in this case, in this area, three times before.
Captain Angelo Nieves of the Orange County sheriff's office joins us by phone. Captain, tell me, what was the news that you broke? Explain this utility worker and why you had the -- why the press conference today.
CAPT. ANGELO NIEVES, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Well, we wanted to provide the information. One of the things that we've done is provide up front information regarding anything that is broken in this case, and this is significant information that we became aware of. We started to work to this last night and into this afternoon. And we are -- go ahead.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, now, December 11 is when the utility worker said that he found the bag with the skull in it. And he said that -- and apparently, last night, you found out that in three times in August, he called in tips and sent you to this very area?
NIEVES: That's correct. In talking to him and continuing to process the scene and doing follow-up with the tipster, with the meter reader employee, he advised that he had also called back on August 11, 12 and 13. We went back and looked at that information and trying to decipher what occurred, what was the response by our responding deputies and our criminal investigations division, as well as the response actually on the 13th, when he actually stayed around and met with one of the workers -- one of our deputies.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did he say he saw something in particular in August on those three calls?
NIEVES: Yes, one of things was, was a gray bag that he called in along the road or along a fence. And we then went out there, conducted our follow-up, but he was not there. It was probably, as we handle hundreds of these calls, where someone calls in, he makes a complaint or gives us a tip, and they're not necessarily there to meet a deputy, and that is what occurred on the first instance.
On the second, he called our Crimeline tip line, reported the information, and that information was then turned over to our Criminal Investigations Division for follow-up. At that time, we were still looking into the circumstances of what occurred. That tip was closed out with the information that some of the area had been already searched. But this is a large area, a long streets, also, with a lot of wooded area. We had done follow-up at the end of that cul-de-sac, as well, because we had received previous reports.
VAN SUSTEREN: So do you not find it really bizarre that on December 11, he's the one who makes the discovery?
NIEVES: Well, again, we have a situation where we're following up on that. He's credible. The information that we have is -- we have a lot of attention on this case that's gone on locally and nationally, as you know. So he is someone that remained determined.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is he a suspect or a person of interest, or -- I mean, are you -- or have you cleared him?
NIEVES: Yes. Absolutely not. I mean, he provided this information as we were interviewing him, obtaining additional information. He provided the information that he had called previously. So we followed up on that, and that's where we are currently, trying to conduct an administrative review of the situation, and especially what happened out on those three days that he called, and on August 13, when he met with the deputy. We're trying to determine the thoroughness of the deputy. Where was he? Where did he look? And what area was pointed out?
VAN SUSTEREN: Are you confident this meter reader does not know Casey Anthony?
NIEVES: All of the information we've received from our investigators is we're confident that, again, this is a credible employee, provided us the information at the time of the discovery, and we're continuing to do a follow-up.
VAN SUSTEREN: Does that mean that you're -- I mean, you're not saying emphatically or with certainty that he doesn't know Casey Anthony. You just don't have anything right now to tie them together.
NIEVES: Yes. We -- everything that has been presented to me regarding our investigation so far is that, yes, he has nothing to do with Casey or the investigation, except for the fact that he was persistent. He was a concerned citizen, as we have received many calls from individuals who have called repeatedly regarding something that they see or something that's suspicious, and that was the case in this instance.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, now, on December 11, when the bag was found, was that a gray bag? Because that was the description that apparently he gave in August. Was that the same color?
NIEVES: At this point, we're not discussing the color or the items that have been discovered out at the scene. The only thing that we've gone into is the fact that -- obviously, the skull that was found there of a small child, and as of recently, as of today, the skeletal remains, additional skeletal remains that have been found. Evidence has been located there at the scene, as we've discussed, but I will not go into, unfortunately, about any specifics of that evidence.
VAN SUSTEREN: Any estimate of when you'll get the final report on the identity of the skull?
NIEVES: We continue to work with ME's office. They're providing us regular updates. And as soon as they have -- it's a day-to-day process, and as soon as we have something from the medical examiner's office, we'll go ahead and notify the media and/or provide that information at a press conference.
VAN SUSTEREN: Captain, thank you, sir.
NIEVES: Thank you.
VAN SUSTEREN: FOX's Phil Keating is live at the scene in Florida. Phil, this is a very strange coincidence, that this man -- the meter reader who found the skull on December 11 also saw a bag in August. If it's the same color bag, it's less weird to me, I guess. But what can you tell me about this?
PHIL KEATING, FOX CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of bags that were in those woods at the time when Caylee Anthony was reported missing. We even sent our own photographer in those woods, roughly 30 to 40 feet away from the present crime scene. You could see in that videotape there was a lot of litter, bags, trash, debris. This is an area which is known in the neighborhood as a place for teenagers to go get away from adults. An din fact, back in July, we spoke with one of Casey's friends who told us when she was a kid, she would go back there.
So this gentleman, the county water meter reader, is one of so many in the Orlando area that are absolutely consumed with everything about this story about a missing child named Caylee Anthony. It has been on the news day in and day out here, not just the first month, but basically, until last Thursday. And it continues to be in the paper and broadcast nightly on the news. This is one of those many people who's following every inch of the investigation. He looks at maps at home, I presume, sees this wooded area right near the house and suggests in three phone calls in August, You should go check this out. Next day, You should go check it out. Next day, You should go check it out.
According to the sheriff's department, four months go by. No one's ever found Caylee Anthony's remains. The guy happens to be reading meters in the Anthony neighborhood. According to the investigators, last Thursday, gets to the corner, sees the woods down the street and decides, You know what? I'm going to go ahead and take a little break and take a walk through those woods and just whatever became of my tip, was there anything actually back there. And then in what has got to be the most shocking coincidence of the year, he actually discovers the remains he suggested police may find or deputies may find.
Of course, everything here is pertinent, whether or not these remains have been here five or six months and whether they ultimately will be identified as Caylee's. If both of those come true, then there's going to be serious questions raised (INAUDIBLE) Orange County sheriff's department as to why it wasn't until August 13...
VAN SUSTEREN: But that...
KEATING: ... Following the third tip from this guy, that they finally went thoroughly into those woods and not so thoroughly at all.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Well, that's a whole different issue. That's whether the police have done their job effectively, the way they're supposed to according to procedure. The more bizarre thing to me is why this guy in August is the one who gives the tip, and he's the one who actually finds it in December. And quite reasonably, I'm curious about that because the whole idea of the defense is whether or not somebody's moved it, move it, if, indeed, that is Caylee, and whether or not somebody else did something. So I mean, it's, like -- it's more than just whether the police have followed up on a tip. There's a lot more to this.
KEATING: Yes. This afternoon, Captain Nieves came out three times. The first time, he really says, Look, we're going to be here an additional day. We may be here until Saturday because significant skeletal remains were just discovered today on the periphery of the previous search zone. So now that's been expanded. These are even more bones that they believe are connected with the child.
So he makes that statement, and then the very end, he reveals, Oh, by the way, the person who discovered last week also is the same person who called in three tips back in August. Immediately, everyone's thinking that is just beyond too coincidental. This is somebody who perhaps knew too much and then discovered these remains. That's when they came out two more times to clarify anything. He is not a suspect in the disappearance of Caylee Anthony, nor is he a suspect in her presumed murder. But the coincidence that the same guy who tipped police that maybe that's a good spot to check is actually the person who discovers the skull is really, truly amazing.
VAN SUSTEREN: Indeed, it is. Phil, thank you.
Larry Kobilinsky, a forensic consultant for Casey Anthony's defense team, joins us. Larry, before we go into the forensics, I was just sort of curious, since you're on the defense team, any sort of thought about this coincidence that the guy -- the guy who makes three calls in August is the one who in December finds the skull?
LARRY KOBILINSKY, FORENSIC CONSULTANT FOR THE DEFENSE: It certainly is very strange. And you know, in forensics, timing is everything. After a person dies, as time goes on, as time elapses, you lose information. Had the body been found earlier, critical information could have been retrieved. And so now that so much time has elapsed and decomposition has taken place -- it's advanced -- you lose information.
So it's just an interesting situation. And as the police have said, the meter reader is credible and we'll just have to see how this investigation plays out.
VAN SUSTEREN: Larry, what clues are you -- as a defense expert, are you looking for in terms of at the scene? I know the defense wants to be more involved in the collection. That's not going to happen. But what are you interested in?
KOBILINSKY: Well, I think that this is a complex case and the crime scene has information there. We know about a plastic bag. We know about duct tape. We hear about clothing of some sort in the bag. There's trace evidence. There's botanical information. There's insect or entomological information. There's a lot of information to retrieve.
What they're doing is they're treating the scene in a way that archeologists would. They're looking at this are horizontally and vertically. They're collecting each and every piece of evidence. And of course, the hope is that the scene is pristine enough so that when the defense goes in there, they can look at this thing and come up with an independent evaluation.
VAN SUSTEREN: Larry, we only have about 20 seconds left. You haven't met Casey yet, have you?
KOBILINSKY: I have not. Might role is to counsel the attorney about the science and not get involved with personalities, so I have not, no.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, Larry, thank you.
KOBILINSKY: Thank you.
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