she s the little girl who won the heart of a big city. they called you the miracle baby. why did they call you that? yay shot in the head at point blank range there was a pillow and it had blood on it. as she fought to live, this detective vowed to catch whoever left treated today. soon, he turned up a promising lead. in the hospital she battled back. to know that she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. not just her body but her mind. they come in the daycare and erica said don t let them heard me. investigators found what could be a vital clue but could it be enough to crack the case? hello, welcome to dateline. i m craig melvin. it all started with a crime that not even police could believe. a little girl. just a toddler. shot in the head, deliberately. left for dead by a killer who, then, disappeared. but a detective vowed to crack this case, no matter how long it took. one of the biggest attractions at the louisville zoo was a floppy you
motionless. when i first seen her, i thought she was she was dead. was she saying anything or doing anything? no. and, eventually, i touched her and she pushed my hand and said leave me alone. tell me about the emotion you felt at that moment. she was alive. but barely. the officers could see that the little girl had been shot in the head. dried blood was everywhere. they could tell that she had been left there for a long time. she had very labored breathing. very labored breathing. did you ever see anyone who was breathing like that who had made it? no. no, i had not. there was no time to wait for an ambulance. a sergeant at the scene barked the order for a police car to take her to the hospital. but first the officers had to get first the officers had to get her to the car. i ve got to tell you, from the house to the car it seems like a long way. what did it seem like when you were sprinting? it felt like we were running to the hospital. you re holding her
guys are sprinting? forever. you were holding her head, and you were holding her legs. we guys like this? yes, just like this, pretty much just like this. when they finally reached the cart, they handed her to two ems firefighters in the backseat. now retired officer, stephen, jump behind the wheel. in my car i said, go as fast as you can go. just go. kelsey gunned it for the three mile trip to the hospital in downtown louisville. i was thinking about my own kids. it could ve been any of my children. we re all fathers. the nbc station, wave tv, captured the dramatic final moments of the high-speed motorcade, as it made the left turn towards a hospital. with traffic, officer kelsey said, the ride can take up to 15 minutes. how long did it take you? two or three. across town, another part of the story, unfolding inside of this house. all day long, harold harper, and his wife, judith, were wondering why they could not
long way. what did it seem like? forever. you are holding her head and you are holding her legs. were you like this? yeah, just like this. when they finally reached the car, they handed her to two ems firefighters in the back seat and now retired officer steve kelsey jumped behind the wheel. go as fast as you can go. just go. kelsey gunned it for the three-mile trip to the hospital in downtown louisville. i kept driving, thinking about my own kids. the nbc station captured the final moments of the high speed motorcade as it made the left turn towards the hospital. the ride can take up to 15 minutes. how long did it take you? about two or three minutes. another part of the story was unfolding in this house. harold harper and his wife were
remember? like this? like this, pretty much. reporter: when they finally reached the car, they handed her toer two ems firefighters in th back seat and now retired officer steve kelsey jumped behind the wheel. in my car seat going as fast as you can go i beguned it. reporter: kelsey headed to a three-mile trip to a hospital in downtown louisville. it could have been any of my children. we are all m fathers. reporter: the nbc station waive tv captured the final moments of theap high-speed motorcadeh- as it made a left tn toward traffic. . with traffic, the officer said it could up to 15 minutes. how long did it take you? about two or three minutes. reporter: across town another part of the story was unfoldi inside this house. all day long, harold harper and his wife judith were wondering why they couldn t reach their daughter erin and their 2-year-old granddaughter erika.