milk carton he vanished in 1979. in 2001 declared legally dead, remains never found. tonight, though, just blocks away from his home in manhattan's soho district, police and fbi agents believe they're on to something. susan candiotti is there for us. what do you know? >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell me that they came here based on new and old information that led them to a man. a man who is now in his mid-70s. but at the satime he was a car carpenter and and befriended the boy and given him a dollar. we don't know the circumstances how this came about, in fact this informatiled authorize int basement picking up a human scent, bringing in a team of investigators certaining the ba searching the basement all day long. >> basically tearing the basement apart, i imagine? >> reporter: they are. in fact, they also don't have this man in custody, but they know who he is and where he sand are in contact with him. they're using jackhammers. set up in the grids a cement floor, taken out part of the back wall and plan on being here five straight days. any evidence they collect including the dirt on the floor, all that forensic evidence is being sent to the fbi lab in quantico, virginia. >> explain how close this is to where etan lived and where he was going to the bus stop for the first time to take the bus by himself. where is this basement in proximity to all that? >> reporter: a very important point, because he and his parents lived just a half a block down the street in this direction, and it's also about a half a block in the other direction, the bus stop where he disappeared. so this red brick building that you see over my shoulder is right smack in the biddlmiddle. >> did authorities search that basement 33 years ago when he disappeared? i remember. i grew up in new york city, was a little kid. this changed everything for so many little kids growing up. did they not search that basement back then? >> reporter: boy, that's a great question. i've been trying to get the answer to that. all i'm told is that it did figure in to the investigation. now, this is san area in that basement where i'm told there were a lot of sexual liaisons that would go on. very popular with artists at time. nothing like it is now. upscale area of soho, with designer shops and restaurants. it wasn't anything like that back then, but so -- they're not telling us exactly whether they looked down in the basement. only that they were aware of the building and looked at it. >> any statement from etan's parents? >> we've reached out to them, anderson, but they're saying they don't want to talk about things right now. however, we did speak with an author of a book, lisa cohen, had written extensively on subject and talked to the parent today. she said they told her they're just watching and waiting. they've been through this for more than 30 years, and are just waiting to see what's going to happen next. and you know, anderson, we also pulled up this original wanted poster that shows the little boy way back when. and you know what, when you look at him now, you have to stop and remember that if he had lived, he would have been close to 40 years old today. >> yeah. it's just remarkable. let's hope his parents get the privacy they want until the results come in. susan, appreciate it. if etan patz' remains are recovered or any human remains are recovered, no one is pretending it won't be a horrible ending to the worst story that any parent can ever imagine. at least, though, after so many years the patzes will know exactly what became of their child, and police may soon have new evidence. in a moment you'll hear from two parents whose children were abducted, ed smart and erin runnion. first tom foreman with how he got here. >> reporter: the baffling disappearance of the 6-year-old boy electrified the whole country in 1979. etan was walking aloan to his bus stop for the first time that day. he was eager for school. the distance was only two blocks, and suddenly he was gone. with few clues or witnesses to shed light on what had happened. his face was one of the first of a missing child to ever appear on a milk carton, a national manhunt ensued, and yet even as the leads led nowhere, public awareness grew about the whole problem of missing kids. five years later, president reagan signed legislation which led to the creation of the national center for missing and exploited children. >> etan was the face of the movement. in many ways he was the first missing child. he was america's missing child. >> reporter: ernie allen is president and ceo and followed the patz case for years. >> does it make things better or worse for missing children? >> it's bad in that it created in many ways too many fear. i think it was good in that it awakened the nation, and it made parents think that we couldn't anymore engage in benign neglect and assume that the world was a better place. >> reporter: etan was officially declared dead back in 2001 as part of a civil lawsuit filed by his family against a drifter, jose ramos, who was long suspected in the boy's disappearance. a judge found ramos responsible for the death and ordered him to pay the family $2 million. >> this man stole etan's future and he should pay. >> reporter: the parents made it clear their lawsuit was never about the money, but justice. >> not at all. that's why we're standing here. >> reporter: still ramos has never paid the money or been criminally charged in the patz case. he is currently finishing up a 20-year sentence for molesting another boy and is set to be released later this year. whether the family will know anything more about etan's disappearance by then depends, as it has for 30 years, on the slow, steady work of investigators following a long, cold trail. tom foreman, cnn, washington. >> it bears repeating, whatever happens next won't bring any good news. won't even bring what some call closure, although there is really never such a thing, not even in the best of cases when a child comes home as in the abduction of elizabeth smart. a parent never forgets the anguish, the anger, the waiting, the weeks that turn into months and years of waiting. i talked with ed smart tonight and also aaron runyan whose daughter samantha was kidnapped and killed two years ago. ed, i grew up in new york city and i well remember when etan patz disappeared 33 years ago. do you think this was really the first major case that kind of really aweek the pub -- awoke the public to the danger of kids being taken and abducted? >> you know, i think it probably completely changed the culture. you know, in the past it seemed like children were never brought up as being important enough to really highly publicize and make aware. and i'm sure it had a huge impact, especially being the first one to have his face out there on the milk cartons. and really what has progressed to now the amber alert. they realized that the public really is the greatest asset in finding children, the greatest resource, and i'm sure his life has had a huge impact on so many other children. >> aaron, etan was walking to the bus stops first time when he was abductouducabducted. your daughter was kidnapped when playing in your front yard. in terms of to be taken so close to home, for you, for etan's parents, it must just add to the horror of it to know that it happened right in your home, right nearby. >> well, i think that's what's so terrifying to parents everywhere and that's why it's so important that we empower children with safety skills to recognize an avoid and if necessary escape from those scenarios. yeah. i don't know if you can increase the trauma, however, what the scenario was of a child being abducted. for me personally, i know that i cannot fathom not knowing for 30 years where my baby was. >> ed, your daughter, elizabeth, was found only 18 miles from your home. i feel like in case after case of kids who have been taken, they're found really close by to where they were originally taken from. are you surprised to hear that police are searching in this neighborhood where etan disappeared? >> i'm not surprised at all. i think that so often it's really within a five-mile parameter. you know, in elizabeth's case, here she was within three miles of our house for several months and we couldn't find her. i think this happens time and time again. i'm anxious to hear what brought the police to check out this lead and to do the work that they're doing, but i just -- i pray and hope that they find the remains of this young man because the not knowing is worse than anything. it's so painful. you know, we just pray that the family has some understanding or some knowledge of what has happened to their son and they are able to, you know, properly bury him and bring some kind of an end to the not knowing. >> erin, what's your advice for parents out there, that they can do to protect their kids? we feel like we know all the answers already, but this keeps happening and clearly the information hasn't gotten out to as many people as it should. >> well, i think the answer is that it's not enough to just tell your children what to do. you actually have to teach them how to do it. so, you know, practice drills, practice what you preach, if you will, and do role-playing exercises. check out rad kids and see if there's a program near you. if not, bring one to your community. nothing short of training children with real options is enough. i think every child deserves to be given realistic options to be safe. >> ed, do you agree with that? >> absolutely. erin and i have been working to bring the rad kids program across the country. it's an 8 to 10-hour curriculum that really teaches a child. you don't get any type of professional out there without them being trained and understanding. talking is a starting point. but it's not enough. and when kids are trained and they know what their choices and their options are, they can formulate their own plan. you know, previously we've had people say, well, that's a lot of responsibility to put on a child. and, no, it's not. it's a matter of giving them opportunity, knowing and empowering them, because those first few minutes when a child is facing crisis is when they need to know without question what they can move forward on. and once they're trained, they can instinctively respond to what they feel is going to help them the most and that can make all the difference in their lives. >> ed smart, appreciate you being with us. erin runnion as well. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. let us know what you think about this on facebook, google plus, follow me on twitter. @andersoncooper. i'm tweeting tonight already about this. a lot more happening tonight. overshadowing president obama's trip to colombia is next. 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[ male announcer ] take action. take advil®. and if pain keeps you up, sleep better with advil pm. breaking news tonight. george zimmerman requested a private meeting with trayvon martin's family. that request was denied. family attorney joins us live on the phone. what can you tell us about how george zimmerman reached out to trayvon's family? he requested a meeting? >> yes, his attorney called and requested a private meeting. anderson, it was a situation that we feel it may happen but not right now and that's because sybrina is a christian woman and they're good people, however, we think zimmerman's request at this time is very self-serving. it's 50 days later, with him having a bond hearing tomorrow, it seems to be very self-serving at this time. he never apologized in 50 days. he could have did it on his web. he said a lot but didn't say i'm sorry. he never said it in the voice messages he left with his friends. none of the three police or four police interviews did he ever say i was sorry. so at this time we just -- we question his motives. >> so you're saying it's self-serving. you think, what, he has an ulterior motive to somehow influence the court case? >> exactly. he's going up for bond tomorrow and we think that the timing of this is very questionable. >> would -- if sybrina and trayvon -- the rest of -- trayvon's father, the rest of the family, agreed to meet with him, do you think that would have any influence on the court case itself? on their desire -- on trayvon's family's desire to see this through in the court system? >> well, i think right now the family is certainly focused on letting the wheels of justice turn, anderson, and it's a situation where he comes now 50 days after killing their child and wants to say i'm sorry. he had so many opportunities to do that, but they are praying about it and it's one of those things that if it happens, it will be because sybrina and tracy are good people. they really think it's self-serving at this time. that is their belief, especially with him trying to get out of jail tomorrow. >> i think i know the answer to this next question, but as you said the bond hearing is tomorrow. do you -- do trayvon's family think that george zimmerman should be released on bond? >> no, they don't, to answer it simply. it's america. he has a right to a bond hearing. the judge after listening to both sides will make a decision. this is a nonbondable offense. however, the judge has discretion. but it's a serious charge, anderson. it's a situation where on moral grounds, public safety grounds and legal grounds we think it is best that he be kept without bond until these matters have concluded. with that being said, the family respects the rule of law, whatever decision the judge makes. they also know very clearly, anderson, that, you know, if it was reversed, would zimmerman's family want to see trayvon get out on bail while the criminal proceedings proceeded? >> there was a -- will trayvon y martin's parents be in the courtroom tomorrow? >> yes, they will, anderson. special prosecutor angela corey and her staff have requested and it is customary in these type matters when you have these serious charges to have the victims present in the courtroom. and because they requested it, sybrina fulton and tracy martin, trayvon's parents, will be present in the courtroom. >> has the prosecutor -- has the state's attorney, have they shared with you, have they shared with trayvon martin's family the evidence that they have gathered thus far, the forensic evidence, you know, information about ballistics report, the trajectory of where the gun was, where trayvon was, where george zimmerman was, things that have been learned from the autopsy, things that ultimately they're going to give to the defense through discovery? >> well, what they did say, anderson, is miss corey and bernie both said that if they didn't think they could prove second-degree murder, they would not have charged him with second-degree murder. and so i've talked to them about different technical legal matters, but on the most part they told them they feel very confident in their case that, they would be able to show that george zimmerman is guilty of second-degree murder, of killing trayvon benjamin martin. >> benjamin crump, i appreciate you talking to us this evening. thank you very much. >> thank you. people think george zimmerman should get out on bond tomorrow, and even some who don't have concerns about the second-degree murder charge against him. so far, and it's important to say so far, we have yet to see the evidence. the public has yet to see the evidence that angela corey believes will support a second-degree murder conviction. the allegation against her -- the complaints against her is that maybe she's overcharging in this case. there's some people who believe that. as gary tuchman found out, it's not the first time she's faced such criticism. >> reporter: this 12-year-old in the oversized inmate uniform is not a boy in the eyes of state attorney angela corey. she declared christian fernandez should be tried as an adult on a first-degree murder charge which carries the mandatory penalty of upon conviction of life in prison without parole. he sits with adult inmates in court, is addressed as an adult by the judge. >> mr. fernandez, you have discussed with your attorneys your right to a speedy trial? >> reporter: and for the first few weeks of his imprisonment, he sat in this adult jail in solitary confinement. the youngest person in florida to be charged as an adult for murder. a judge did ultimately rule he could be held in a juvenile facility while still being tried as an adult. this is what angela corey said last year when he was arrested. >> it will be a very dramatic, to say the least, sight to see a 12-year-old who looks like a 12-year-old up here in adult court. but we want the public to understand at this point we have no choice. >> reporter: no choice? many people vehemently disagree. such as the man who had the state attorney job before her and decided not to run for re-election. harry shorestein was angela corey's boss. >> no. i clearly think the decision was a travesty. >> reporter: and this man, the former president of the american par association, the former president of the florida state university. and a current professor in the university's law school. >> this is off the charts in terms of overcharging in my judgment. >> reporter: christian fernandez is accused of killing his 2-year-old brother, david, by pushing him twice into a bookshelf. he also broke his leg one time before. but all acknowledge that christian had been abused for much of his life, particularly by his stepfather, who ended up committing suicide when he found out he was going to be arrested for that abuse. then there's the story of christian's mother. she gave birth to christian when she too was 12 years old. she was away when christian assaulted his brother. when she came home and saw her 2-year-old was seriously hurt, she waited eight hours before getting medical attention. for doing that, she too is implicated in this case. she pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, but her 12-year-old son got the far more serious charge. listen to what angela corey said last year about why she charged the 12-year-old with no previous arrest record as an