Pike's Interview On Jane's Show - 5/25/12
So I want to go out to David Pike. We have an exclusive interview with Isabel`s neighbor, David Pike.
David, I understand that your boys played with Isabel`s brothers. Is that true, sir?
DAVID PIKE, NEIGHBOR (via phone): Yes, ma`am. We...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So -- go ahead.
PIKE: Yes, they -- early on a couple years ago they -- after they had moved in, they -- their younger boys and Serge Jr. were into BMX bicycles. So they came over and visited with my boys who were also into BMXs. And my older son, who`s now 18, talked to them about bicycles and went down to their house and visited with Serge Sr. and -- because he also rides bicycles.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Speaking of Serge Sr., what do you make of him? There`s a lot of -- obviously the police focus on who`s there first. They focus on the family first. What would you like to say about the father of missing Isabel Celis?
PIKE: In passing and seeing him walking back and forth to his mother and father`s house, which would be Grandma and Grandpa, who we`ve known for 16 years. And everything seemed -- and apparently, you know, the kids seemed like they were doing well prior to this incident taking place. Seeing them walking up and down the street with Isabel to Grandma and Grandpa`s house, riding on dad`s shoulders, typical, you know...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, David, did he seem like a good dad? Did he seem in any way, shape or form creepy or just like a good dad who was nothing to see here?
PIKE: No, not to us. We`re about five -- we`re five houses down from them on the same side of the street, and we`ve been here for 16 years.
And they moved in about four years ago.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me jump in and ask you. I just want to get a sense, because I`m not sure what you`re saying. Would you trust your kids with Isabel`s dad?
PIKE: I have trusted them down there.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So how would you like to characterize him? What would you say if you were asked about him?
PIKE: He seemed like a nice person to me. Whenever I stopped by and visited him going in and out of the neighborhood, when he was out there with the boys or doing, you know, things in his garage, working on bicycles or whatever it was he was doing. I didn`t see a whole lot of Mom, because she worked all the time.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s interesting, and I think it`s really important to get a balanced perspective on this. The Celis family started out quiet, but they`ve since opened up and they`ve talked to the media a lot.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, and the other big headline -- David Pike, you are Isabel`s neighbor. Your boys played with Isabel`s brothers. This report that there was some guy staying reportedly, allegedly, with the Celis family, who owed them a lot of money. Have you ever heard anything about this claim before just now -- David.
PIKE: No, Jane. We knew that I believe Becky`s brother was staying with the family for a while, a year or so ago, and the boys had alluded that it was their uncle or cousin. And he was...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well -- go ahead.
PIKE: Yes, he was staying with them, but I think it was, like, maybe six or eight months. I`m not sure how long he stayed with them, but, yes, he was living there.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1205/25/ijvm.01.html