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CNN legal expert visits Team Trenton base

By JOHN FRANK
Published November 17, 2006

Joshua Duckett, left, CNN's Nancy Grace, right, and Clark Goldband, a staffer for Grace's TV show, prepare for taping. Duckett's 2-year-old son, Trenton, has been missing from his Leesburg home since August.
	[AP photo]

LEESBURG - The doors were roped off. The schedule was secret. Security guards stood at her side.

Thursday's controversial visit by talk show host Nancy Grace to the Team Trenton headquarters, less than a mile from where Leesburg toddler Trenton Duckett disappeared Aug. 27, seemed nearly presidential.

But producers with the CNN's Headline News show said the precautions were necessary after critics planned a protest outside the remote studio where Grace is broadcasting for two days.

For Grace, a former prosecutor and crime victim herself, the investigation is a personal crusade. She became a major player in the case after a confrontational interview with 2-year-old Trenton's mother, Melinda Duckett, who told police he was abducted from his bed while she was in another room watching a movie.

The interview was taped Sept. 7, the day before Duckett committed suicide, and eerily aired just hours after police announced the news of the 21-year-old's death.

Immediately Grace drew criticism for her tough interview style with some saying she pushed too hard. During the interview, she pounded on her desk and demanded from Duckett, "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?"

Trenton's father, Joshua Duckett, has appeared on the show numerous times and stood by Grace.

"I think she's helped a lot," he said. "It turned into a major high-profile case."

Grace's visit Thursday and today has attracted threats on Internet blogs that supporters of the mother might picket the talk show host.

In an interview, Grace said the purpose of the trip is to help "generate more tips."

An Orlando Sentinel columnist saw it differently, ridiculing an exaggerated e-mail about Grace's visit sent by her New York publicist.

"So what is Grace doing here?" the column asked. "She's pursuing the same goal as always: ratings."

Grace fired back Thursday.

"I wish my critics would spend their energy and ink on helping to find Trenton Duckett," she said. "If anyone pays attention to their critics, I truly believe nothing would ever be achieved."

Still, her show has boosted its ratings when featuring the Duckett case.

Thursday's show featured Joshua Duckett and a private investigator who appeared live from a cramped wood-paneled room at the makeshift headquarters established by the father in October. Mark Lunsford, father of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Homosassa, participated in the broadcast. Volunteers sat nearby to take tips from callers. And no protesters materialized.

During the show, Grace also revealed a number of unsubstantiated tips received through a hotline set up by Joshua Duckett. And she talked about a pornographic video featuring Melinda Duckett uncovered by a private detective hired by her estranged husband. The discovery contained little of evidentiary value, but it added a salacious element that has fueled the media storm surrounding this case.

Grace's trip to central Florida came a day after authorities in Marion County launched a parallel investigation based on a new witness who came forward recently.

The unidentified Wendy's restaurant drive-through cashier is one of the only people to see Trenton the day he disappeared, investigators said.

Thursday, authorities were tracking down more than 70 leads from across Florida and the nation.

A Texas woman called into the Team Trenton hotline saying she saw Trenton at a McDonald's playground. It proved credible enough for investigators to send FBI officials to check it out, said Major Chris Blair, the chief investigator in Marion.

Other unsubstantiated tips put Trenton in Wyoming or at Disney theme parks. One tipster even claimed he was sold off.

Marion Sheriff Capt. James Pogue said the release of information and the timing of the talk show host's visit were not planned.

"We are not drafting our investigation around Nancy Grace," he said. "That's absurd."

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 352 860-7312.

[Last modified November 16, 2006, 23:45:19]