[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Well, for weeks, police tried to find a pregnant young Marine who disappeared from Camp Lejeune. Today, they found or they're looking for her body.
[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] They're also looking for the fellow Marine whom the victim had accused of rape. He's a prime suspect in her death. Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
[Lemon:] And I'm Don lemon. You're in the
[Cnn Newsroom, 3:] 00 Eastern time. Earlier today, there was a glimmer of hope Maria Lauterbach would be found alive, but by noon those hopes were gone. This hour, authorities in North Carolina are looking for the grave of the pregnant Marine on a tip from a key witness.
[Ed Brown, Sheriff Of Onslow County, North Carolina:] Ms. Lauterbach is dead and has been buried here in Onslow County. The suspect in the case is the Marine accused by her for assaulting her. And while you all have been getting up here, we have been getting out there in or searching the area for the grave that could be in and around the place where she was murdered.
[Lemon:] CNN's Ed Lavandera joins now live from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Ed, it sounded like no one was expecting to hear any of this today from the sheriff in that news conference.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Oh, there's no question, Don. Everything came as a stunning development here this morning, and even more so given that it is a fellow Marine, a Marine corporal by the name of Cesar Laurean, that officials here are on the lookout for. But authorities here in Jacksonville, North Carolina, say that essentially that Mr. Laurean had gotten essentially an eight-hour head-start on them, that at about 4:00 this morning they believe he left the area and that's why they are still on the lookout for him. We have not been provided a picture of this Marine just yet. So, we're still waiting for that to come through. But this is the same person that authorities here in Jacksonville say that Maria Lauterbach had filed the sexual assault charges with, and she was about to testify in a military court proceeding, which is called an Article 32 hearing, which is essentially a grand jury hearing. She was supposed to testify in that hearing against the well, what is described as the key suspect now in this case. So, this situation has turned a in a tragic way. However, the sheriff here in Jacksonville saying that he does believe that the missing Marine had been murdered, but they still have not found her body. In fact, there are crews searching an area along Gun Branch Road here in the Jacksonville area. They continue to do that. Whether or not they have made any progress here this afternoon, we still have not been told Don.
[Lemon:] OK. So, Ed, you have updated us on the search for her and this grave that they believe she's buried in. What about the suspect, who was also a Marine, right?
[Lavandera:] Right. We understand that authorities here will probably be serving a search warrant on his house at some point today, that that is probably in the process of going on as we speak as well. And then authorities here, as we mentioned, believe that he had gotten essentially an eight-hour head-start, so they were putting out be on the lookout for notices to all state authorities around North Carolina, South Carolina, nationwide as to where this Marine corporal might be. But we still haven't heard if they have had any progress or any tips coming in as to where he might be.
[Lemon:] All right, keep us posted. Ed Lavandera, thank you.
[Phillips:] Hundreds of people, friends and family and the dozens of people who looked for her were expected to pack an Athens, Georgia, church within the last hour to honor the memory of Meredith Emerson. She's the 24-year-old kidnapped on a mountain hike and bludgeoned to death just after New Year's. Emerson graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005 and had been living in the Atlanta area. Her family says that there will be a second memorial service in Colorado, where her parents live.
[Lemon:] There's a lot of cleanup ahead for parts of the Deep South slammed by powerful storms. These scenes are from Caledonia, Mississippi, where a suspected tornado plowed right into a school. Look at those cars. Look at the roof of that, was once a structure, once a roof. Now it's on the ground. The wind was so strong, it tossed a school bus onto a roof. There are no reports of any serious injuries there. But across Mississippi, the storms are blamed for two traffic- related deaths. Dozens of homes, businesses, and farms are also damaged. And that same system pounded parts of Louisiana and also Alabama. In the town of New Roads, Louisiana, a storm believed to be a tornado damaged a business and knocked over four-wheelers and tractors there. In Washington State, a rarity, especially, especially in January, a tornado in Vancouver left a trail of damage four miles long. It damaged homes and businesses and blew down trees and power lines.
[Rob Sparks, Home Damaged:] It's something I don't want to go through the rest of my life, never, and because when you are inside by that yourself, you're scared. I was. It looked like worse than a war zone. It was bad.
[Lemon:] Well, this is only the third January tornado in Washington State since 1950. A twister that struck Vancouver in April of 1972 killed six people and injured hundreds more.
[Phillips:] Well, just to make the O.J. Simpson story once again back here in the news, we're getting word now that his bail has actually been revoked. Here's the situation. Apparently O.J. Simpson is back in custody in Florida and is going to be brought before a judge next week on those allegations, again, that he violated his terms of his release on bail in that Las Vegas armed robbery case. You remember he was sentenced or actually put out on bail because of the memorabilia, the sports memorabilia, that apparently he broke in with a gun, with accomplices, threatened this memorabilia owner, to take back those items, and he was let out on bail after going through, as we watched, for weeks, that whole court process. Now we're being told he's back in custody and he's going to be brought before a judge because he violated the terms of his release when he was out on bail after that Las Vegas case. So, we're following it. We will let you know more as we get it.
[Lemon:] I'm sure we will be following that a lot more. Stock prices have sunk today, way down again, by the mortgage mess. The Dow is down 250 points right now. And by the millions, homeowners, who took out subprime mortgages in recent years are in deep financial trouble. But things are looking up for the nation's biggest mortgage lender. Countrywide was facing possible bankruptcy in all this, but now there's word that the Bank of America has agreed to buy Countrywide for $4.1 billion in stock. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here to factor the fallout for us. Busy time for you, Gerri. What do you have for us?
[Gerri Willis, Cnn Personal Finance Editor:] Well, you say $4.1 billion like that's a big number, Don, but in reality it was really a fire sale. Countrywide was under assault. Earnings were down. They were having to lay people off. They were really hamstrung by this mortgage meltdown, lots of problems, the share price down. So, they sell out, and boy, they don't get a premium for their shares. They really get very little indeed. Now, here's the good news, though. Countrywide will continue. The brand will continue. Bank of America will continue operating the brand. So, if you're out there sitting with a Countrywide mortgage, you don't have to worry about it going away.
[Lemon:] OK. So, what does that mean for, then, the average consumer, because that's really the bottom line? People...
[Willis:] Yes.
[Lemon:] We hear about this big number or whatever. The banks will fight that out. But what about for the average consumer?
[Willis:] Absolutely right. You know, this is good news, because it's certainly better than going bankrupt. In the past, when we have seen some of these mortgage lenders go out of business, people get caught in the crossfire. That's not the case here. If you have a mortgage with Countrywide, it will still be around and it will be kept either by BofA or sold. You may not even notice a difference. Look, your loan, Don, is an asset to Countrywide. If BofA buys it, it's buying an asset. And somebody is going to keep that. You got to keep paying your mortgage.
[Lemon:] OK. So, we're talking about thousands, possibly millions of people, who are in this situation. So, what if people are watching and they are in this situation. What do they do?
[Willis:] Well, you have got to keep making your payments on time. Look, at the end of the day, it matters whether you keep up. If the loan changes hands, the new owner will tell you where to send the payments. That's the way the law works. Know your rights. Your loan terms can't change, Don. So, if you got a sweet 5 percent rate a couple of years ago, you will be able to keep that. Also, if the lender sells your mortgage, you will get a letter from the new company within 15 days telling you where to send that new payment. You will get a grace period of 60 days to get your payment to the right place Don.
[Lemon:] OK. And, again, I can't believe what you guys are talking about this weekend on "OPEN HOUSE." Don't say anything. Remember, shh. Yes.
[Willis:] Well, you better tune in.
[Lemon:] OK. That's right. That's why I said don't say anything.
[Willis:] It's very exciting.
[Lemon:] All right.
[Willis:] Do you want me to promo it or are you going to do it yourself?
[Lemon:] No, no, I'm going to do it. I got you covered. Gerri, I got your back. I got your back. Thank you. Have a great weekend.
[Willis:] Great seeing you.
[Lemon:] Maybe we will be talking, as busy as it's going, maybe talking to you again in the next hour. But thank you.
[Willis:] Thank you, Don.
[Lemon:] And, if I don't see you, have a great weekend.
[Willis:] You, too.
[Lemon:] And be sure to catch Gerri this weekend on "OPEN HOUSE." She will be talking economy and politics, plus this story, a new way to buy foreclosures from a tour bus. And you will find out how to save money on your medicine. That's "OPEN HOUSE" Saturday at 9:30 Eastern, a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. And you can watch on Headline News Saturday and Sunday 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
[Phillips:] The red flags were there, but it was too little, too late for four sisters in D.C. They're in the morgue and their mother is in custody. Some people think the whole tragedy was totally avoidable.