leotard. but someone else s dna was there too. a man. a mystery man. we entered it into our codis system, and there was no hit. it s a database of dna. correct. the crime lab assured us that it was it was a pretty good sample, the unknown male dna. and they said, it s just a matter of time. and sooner or later, we think we ll we ll get a match on it. they checked, of course, the dna of erik kassab, who found the costume and harlan byrd. and both men were cleared. when we got that information from the dna. it was almost like our investigation kind of shifted gears. we were in the recovered dna mode. we were trying to collect dna from anybody and everybody we could. did you go back to the people at the party? we did. we did. we did. the people we talked to on the
found. you said you don t know chelsea. i don t know her. okay. i gotta ask you yeah, i know did you have anything to do with her disappearing no. at all? no. erik swore he was at home with his daughter that weekend and had nothing to do with chelsea s disappearance. he agreed to give his dna and fingerprints. all right. open your mouth i m going to swab the inside here. but there was something else about the discovery of the poison ivy costume. and it had to do with harlin bird. remember him? the guy who d tried to sound like a hero, who told detectives he helped chelsea at the party, then admitted his story was a lie? this abandoned building, where the costume and wig were found, was literally 100 yards, 200 yards tops from harlin bird s house. you could pretty much see harlin bird s residence from where the costume was found. back in the interrogation room. and the discovery. has she finally been found? when dateline continues.
oh, and immediately you thought? hey, that looks just like what i found. so, should he report it? well, he probably should, he knew but, after all, he touched that costume. couldn t that make him look kind of suspicious? i ve seen enough television shows to know what dna is. yep. and i was around the same age as the girl. there were just so many circumstances that could make me look like a suspect. i contemplated it. i didn t want to turn it in. i just wanted to leave it alone and pretend like it didn t exist, but i couldn t get it outta my head. erik joined his sister for easter brunch and told his sister about the costume and his dilemma. she knew right away what erik had to do. had to. she was tellin me that like i had to report it. and she basically gave me the ultimatum. she calls the police or i call the police. so he made the call. i was actually sitting down for easter dinner. and then the phone rings. and our sergeant called and he said, i m needin
a mystery man. we entered it into our codis system, and there was no hit. it s a database of dna. correct. the crime lab assured us that it was it was a pretty good sample, the unknown male dna. and they said, it s just a matter of time. and sooner or later, we think we ll we ll get a match on it. they checked, of course, the dna of erik kassab, who found the costume and harlan byrd. and both men were cleared. when we got that information from the dna. it was almost like our investigation kind of shifted gears. we were in the recovered dna mode. we were trying to collect dna from anybody and everybody we could. did you go back to the people at the party? we did. we did. we did. the people we talked to on the first day of the investigation. we now were going back and asking for their dna because, before, we didn t know there was going to be dna.
this is what we ve been lookin for for a long time. the costume had been ripped at the straps and the crotch. important? maybe. they sent it to the state lab for tests. and officers picked through the discarded junk on foot, by air, all day, and into the evening. and, right away, that easter sunday, the detectives brought erik kassab to the station for a talk. it s suspicious that he just happens to find this costume. he waited a week to call us. so, there s a lot of things that are looking kind of suspicious. just as erik had feared. did you go to that party by chance? no. tons of people went to this so we re trying to talk to everybody who went to the party no, i ve never gone to a party. so you re saying you didn t go to the party on post road in newport at all? or no. however, at that time my baby s mother lived in newport. in fact, his ex-girlfriend lived on war road, the same road where chelsea s shoe was found. you said you don t know chelsea. i don