Intern's Parents Press Condit to Meet with Police
NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, June 22, 2001
WASHINGTON -- The attorney for the parents of missing intern Chandra Levy on Friday asked Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., to meet with police investigating the disappearance, after a meeting between the lawmaker and the 24-year-old's mother.
"The congressman assured Mrs. Levy that he would cooperate fully with the D.C. police and meet again with their investigators. Because time is of the essence, we would ask that the congressman meet immediately with the D.C. police today for as long as necessary to answer any and all questions related to this investigation," attorney Billy Martin said in statement.
Chandra Levy has been missing since April 30, when she canceled a health club membership in Washington as she prepared to return home to Modesto, Calif., in early May. She sent an e-mail to her parents on May 1 detailing her plans to return in the next few days. Almost a week later, police discovered her wallet, luggage and mobile phone by her apartment door and no sign of the woman. Over the next six weeks, police have made repeated canvasses of her Dupont Circle neighborhood, searched the Anacostia and Potomac rivers with dogs and boats, and searched nearby Rock Creek Park without success.
Condit also released a statement that expressed his willingness to meet with police about the missing girl, whom he has called a "friend" in previous statements. About a second meeting with the police - he met with them shortly after Levy went missing - he said, "I called them today to schedule an interview." The Metropolitan Police Department requested a second interview several days ago, according to a police source. Condit did not respond until Friday.
Condit also announced that he had retained Washington attorney Abbe Lowell "for advice on this matter." The MPD insists that Condit is not a suspect in any criminal investigation, but because Levy's situation is considered a missing persons case and not criminal, no one is a suspect, according to police sources.
At a Thursday news conference, Chandra Levy's parents and their new attorney Martin also announced that Martin would coordinate a private investigation with former Washington homicide investigators. The Friday statement requested that Condit also meet with these investigators, but he did not address this request. Calls to Mike Lynch, Condit's chief of staff, went unreturned.
Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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