Trayvon Martin, 17, was fatally shot by neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman. (ABC News)(SANFORD, Fla.) -- George Zimmerman, who was not initially charged by police in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, was familiar with some of the officers in the Sanford, Fla., police department, having gone on several "ride alongs" with the cops, he told the city's mayor last year.

But Zimmerman, a criminal studies major, was harsh in his criticism of the cops he had met on the Sanford force, calling their on-the-job conduct "disgusting."

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, voiced his opinion at a January 2011 city commission hearing that included then Mayor-Elect Jeff Triplet.

One officer "showed me his favorite hiding spots for taking naps, explained to me that he doesn't carry a long gun in his vehicle because -- in his words -- anything that requires a long gun requires a lot of paperwork and you're going to find me as far away from it," Zimmerman said.

He added the officer "took two lunch breaks and attended a going away party for one of his officers."

These rides, along with new video showing Zimmerman roaming the police department unescorted just three days after the shooting, are reviving old questions of Zimmerman's relationship with the department that decided against charging him with a crime on the night of the shooting.

When ABC News asked the Sanford Police force in mid-March whether Zimmerman had any contact or relationship with the police force, the answer on more than one occasion was no.

"We do not have specific dates Mr. Zimmerman may have ridden or with whom he rode, if in fact he ever did ride with SPD," Capt. Robert O'Connor of the Sanford Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.

Zimmerman was later charged by a state prosecutor with second-degree murder in Martin's Feb. 26 shooting death.

These revelations come as a number of witnesses who claimed to have seen or heard parts of Zimmerman's fatal confrontation with Martin apparently changed or expanded their testimony in the weeks after the shooting.

In a March 13 ABC News article on possible police missteps in the investigation, it was also noted that some of the witnesses felt that police had "corrected" their testimony.

Given that Zimmerman's trial may not take place for a year the memories of the dozen or so witnesses that dark rainy night -- memories that possibly influenced evolving coverage of the case in the news -- would likely be hotly contested in court.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) -- Eight months after a repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the U.S. Air Force Academy Wednesday graduated its first group of openly gay cadets.

As President Obama addressed the graduates, no rainbow flags could be seen on display. The LGBT students couldn’t be picked out of the crowd of white and blue.

But gay and lesbian advocates, academy alums, school officials and current students said they were there.

“The whole thing is we don’t want to be identified as anything different,” said Trish Heller, who heads the Blue Alliance, an association of LGBT Air Force Academy alumni. “We want to serve, to be professional and to be symbols of what it means to be Air Force Academy graduates.”

Heller said her group had connected with at least four members of the class of 2012 receiving diplomas Wednesday who had come out publicly as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.  There were likely others, but they preferred to keep a low profile, she said.

Conversations with dozens of current academy students and some new graduates presented a picture of a smooth transition from the military’s ban on openly gay service members serving to the repeal of that ban. There have been no major incidents of overt discrimination or harassment since the policy was repealed in September.

But many signaled the change in policy would continue to hold a tender and personal meaning for those cadets who were weighing the decision to come out of the closet.

“It’s just been really open, a lot of acceptance. I haven’t heard anyone say, ‘I hate this. I can’t serve in the military with this,’” said 3rd Class Cadet Kevin Wise, a second-year management major. “It’s a sense of ‘OK, this is their lifestyle, but they’re still the person I’ve spent 21 credit hours a semester next to or I’ve gone through this with,’” he said.

Wise said he knew several classmates who chose to come out in the past few months. “Honestly, for me, it was, ‘Oh well, I kind of had a suspicion since I’ve known you for two years now, but you just move on,'” he said.

Acacia Miller, a sophomore from Shreveport, La., praised the school’s leadership for setting the right tone before the repeal. “They did a good job preparing us. There were lots of briefings about it. They stated how the military was going to go forward with it, how we should act. It was pretty much just like any other repeal, segregation, all that stuff. We just got told this is what’s going to happen and we all need to be adults about it,” she said.

Gay cadets at all the U.S. military service academies have been forming clubs and support groups, slowly making their existence known online and at campus social events. The Air Force Academy group -- called Spectrum -- was officially sanctioned earlier this month and had about 30 members from across all classes, the organizers said.

The Air Force Academy’s administration has also allowed the Blue Alliance to have a more high-profile role on campus. The group flew rainbow flags during a tailgate party before a home football game in November, Heller said, and hosted a dinner attended by the dean of faculty, Gen. Dana Born. In February, the group participated in a campus leadership symposium, she said.

“Things have gone very smoothly at the academies since repeal,” said Sue Fulton, a 1980 West Point graduate and spokeswoman for the LGBT military advocacy group OutServe.

The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was approved by President Clinton in 1993 as a compromise toward ending a long-standing ban on allowing homosexuals to serve in the military. Gay service members could enlist but had to keep quiet about their sexual orientation.  Advocates said it essentially forced them to live a lie.

Congress passed a law in 2010 formally ordering repeal of the policy. After a period of preparation and training for lifting the ban, the Pentagon gave the green light for final certification in September 2011.

Advocates said they never believed the repeal would prove problematic on campus, given that younger generations of students were generally more accepting of homosexuality, and the military’s commitment to following the rules set by leaders.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages(WASHINGTON) -- Touting his foreign policy record, President Obama on Wednesday told students graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy that they will be entering into a “new era of American leadership” because of the steps taken by his administration.

“Today, we can say with confidence and pride -- the United States is stronger, safer and more respected in the world,” the president told the roughly 1,000 graduates gathered in the Air Force football stadium.

Rather than offering the traditional advice, the president used the commencement address to hit upon several campaign themes and draw stark contrasts with his GOP rival Mitt Romney.

The president made clear his belief that “America is exceptional,” a defense against Romney who has questioned Obama's belief in America as a unique and unrivaled world power.

“The world stage is not a popularity contest,” Obama said as he defended his foreign policy decisions. “As a nation, we have vital interests, and we will do what is necessary to defend the country we love---even if it's unpopular.  But make no mistake, how we’re viewed in the world has consequences---for our national security, for your lives.”

Obama argued “there’s a new feeling about America” because of the progress made by his administration. “There's a new confidence in our leadership.  And when people around the world are asked 'Which country do you admire most?'...one nation comes out on top---the United States of America,” he said.

The president pointed to the end of the war in Iraq and the winding down of the war in Afghanistan as proof that the cadets are stepping into “a different world.”

“You are the first class in nine years that will graduate into a world where there are no Americans fighting in Iraq,” he said. “For the first time in your lives--and thanks to Air Force personnel who did their part--Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to our country.  We've put al Qaeda on the path to defeat.  And you are the first graduates since 9/11 who can see clearly how we'll end the war in Afghanistan.”

“We aren't just ending these wars, we're doing so in a way that makes us safer, and stronger,” he added.

Obama also highlighted the Arab Spring, saying the U.S. “led from the front” in Libya, a response to Republicans who have said the president is leading from behind.

Looking to the future, the president defended budget cuts that will create a “leaner” military, insisting the U.S. will remain “the finest, most capable military the world has ever known.”

“We'll keep our military, and our Air Force, fast, flexible and versatile,” he said. “We will maintain our military superiority in all areas -- air, land, sea, space and cyber.”

The president then stood for over two hours and saluted each graduate, shaking their hands as they received their diploma and saluted their Commander in Chief in return.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

File photo. Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- A New York woman who faked a cancer diagnosis to get others to pay for her wedding is out of jail.  She was sentenced Wednesday to time served and probation.

Jessica Vega had everyone fooled. “It was very convincing,” said Lisa Stoker, who donated flowers. “I mean she cut off her hair she shaved her head.”

Tom Cavanaugh donated the wedding rings. “There's lots of ways to trick people,” he said. “Why would you do that?”

A dress shop gave Vega a gown and other donors paid for a honeymoon in Aruba. Everyone felt compelled to help, prosecutors said, because Vega had terminal cancer.

Vega pleaded guilty, spent two months in jail, and a judge has now let her out -- but not before ordering her to pay back everyone she scammed.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

David Livingston/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Former first lady Nancy Reagan has been recovering from several broken ribs incurred by a fall in her California home six weeks ago.

The accident didn’t become public until Tuesday night, however, when Reagan canceled a personal appearance at a speech by Republican Rep.  Paul Ryan at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. The director of the Reagan Library announced that the former first lady was at home recuperating from a fall.

“Falls in someone this age can be very serious. They are one of the leading causes of death,” says Dr. Richard Besser, chief health and medical editor at ABC News. “A broken rib makes it hard to take a deep breath, and that can set you up for pneumonia, which in the elderly, in particular, can be deadly.”

Last summer, the former first lady lost her balance at the Reagan Library, but Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., saved her from hitting the floor. In 2009, Reagan broke her pelvis in a fall.

As the widow of Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, now 90-years-old, is a revered figure in the Republican Party. Her last public appearance was at a GOP primary debate last September at the presidential library, where the candidates gave her a standing ovation.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The director of the Secret Service on Wednesday apologized for the distraction caused by last month's sex scandal in Colombia, testifying to Congress that the agency is taking steps to prevent future embarrassing encounters from happening.

Director Mark Sullivan tried to assure a Senate committee that Secret Service agents make appropriate decisions the "overwhelming majority" of the time, but "we had some individuals who made very bad decisions" on the trip to Cartagena before President Obama's arrival.

Sullivan said he is reviewing the Secret Service's ethics policy and training as a result of the investigation into the agents who brought prostitutes back to their hotel after a night of partying.

"Any type of misconduct we take extremely seriously," Sullivan said.

Sullivan had not spoken publicly about the scandal until Wednesday morning.  He appeared nervous at times, once calling Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine "secretary" before correcting himself.

The night before, the Washington Post reported that four Secret Service employees who lost their jobs in the fallout from the scandal are challenging their dismissal.  The agents reportedly say they were made into scapegoats even though the Secret Service has tolerated similar behavior.

The sex scandal and subsequent investigation were an embarrassment for the agency and resulted in a handful of agents losing their jobs, and a dozen military members being accused of hiring prostitutes as well.

"Between the alcohol and, I don't know, the environment, these individuals did some really dumb things," Sullivan told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Republicans have tried to tie the flap to the Obama administration, arguing that the president is responsible for overseeing all federal agencies.  The White House has said that none of its employees were involved in the scandal in the days before Obama arrived in Cartagena.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- For more than a minute, a father and mother scrambled to get their 1-year-old out of a spinning washing machine at a Camden, N.J., laundromat.

The surveillance video of the May 11 incident, which was first posted on YouTube under the name “Epic Parenting Fail At A Laundromat,” shows an unidentified man placing his son in a washing machine. After shutting the door, the machine locked and began its spin cycle, tossing the child in circles.

The parents realized the child was stuck inside the machine and began pulling on the door. The child’s mother sprinted across the laundromat to alert an employee.

The quick-thinking worker, who was identified as Kong Eng, pushed two tables out of the way, opened the back panel and shut off the power.

“I pulled the baby out and then the baby still had a life and I’m very happy,” Eng told ABC affiliate WABC.

The child had a few bruises, but was laughing, witnesses told the station.

The incident doesn’t appear to be criminal, however prosecutors said they hope the mother and father will come forward to prove the child is unharmed.

The video has received more than 6 million hits since it was posted last week.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Strong public support for same-sex marriage exceeds strong opposition by a significant margin for the first time in ABC News/Washington Post polls, and African-Americans have moved more in favor, perhaps taking their lead from President Obama on the issue.

Overall, 53 percent of Americans say gay marriage should be legal -- a figure that has been steady in the past year but is up from 36 percent in 2006.  Thirty-nine percent “strongly” support it, while 32 percent are strongly opposed -- the first time strong sentiment has tilted positive.  Six years ago, by contrast, strong views on the issue were negative by a broad 27-point margin.

Further, this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, finds that support for gay marriage has reached a new high among African-Americans in ABC/Post polls, up from four in 10 in recent surveys to 59 percent now.

Another result shows increasing exposure: Seventy-one percent of Americans now say they have a friend, family member or acquaintance who’s gay, up from 59 percent in 1998.  People who know someone who’s gay are 20 points more likely than others to support gay marriage.

Regardless of that shift, Obama’s May 9 announcement of his support for gay marriage shows no measurable impact on political preferences.  While more support than oppose his position -- 51-41 percent -- Americans divide on whether it’s a political plus or minus, with most saying it’s not a major factor in their vote choice.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Joseph Devenney/Getty Images(LAFAYETTE, La.) -- Police in Lafayette, La., are intensifying their search for a young woman who has been missing for four days.

Michaela "Mickey" Shunick was last seen riding a bike home from her friend's house at about 2 a.m. Saturday, according to police.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lousiana State Police have joined the search, along with volunteers scouring the area where she was last seen.

Friends and family held a candle light vigil Tuesday night, and announced a reward of $20,000 for tips leading to her whereabouts.  Searches by K-9 units, police and volunteers haven't turned up any hints about what happened, but her family remains hopeful.

"I think she's OK, I think she's alive.  I think she's out there," Shunick's sister Charlene told ABC News affiliate KATC-TV in Lafayette, La.

Instead of celebrating her brother's graduation on Saturday and her own 22nd birthday on Tuesday, Shunick's family and friends were hitting the pavement, hanging fliers and searching for clues along the route they believe she last traveled.

Her parents say she is an avid cyclist, so for Shunick to be riding her bike at that hour was not unusual.  They do say that their daughter would never disappear for days on end like this.

"We want our daughter back -- that will make everything better," Nancy Rowe, Shunick's mother, told ABC News.

Police say the search is particularly difficult because the area they are searching is so large.

"It's a very wide scope for us to look at," Cpl. Paul Mouton said to KATC.  "We're canvassing and checking a lot of different businesses for video evidence."

Shunick, a senior anthropology major at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is 5 feet, 1 inch tall and 115 pounds.  She was last seen wearing a pastel multi-colored striped shirt, light-wash skinny jeans and gray shoes.  She also reportedly always carries a can of mace with her when she rides her bike.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinsktock(WASHINGTON) -- Montgomery County, Maryland authorities have just released audio of a woman who called 911 to seek aid for her ailing husband -- but who heard snoring, not help, on the other end of the line.

The April 4 call recording reveals a woman upset about her husband who was having trouble breathing, ABC News affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. reports, and a dispatcher who was literally asleep on the job.  After five minutes, the dispatcher did return to the call, but another dispatcher eventually handled the plea for help.

The dispatcher, who wasn't identified, was suspended without pay. The 911 operator is reportedly a fireman, who was 17 hours into a 24-hour overtime shift.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Brendan Hoffman/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Secret Service director Mark Sullivan will appear before a Senate committee on Wednesday to give his first public testimony on the agency's investigation of the prostitution scandal in Columbia.

A dozen agents have been accused of drinking heavily and cavorting with prostitutes in Cartagena last month ahead of President Obama's arrival for the Summit of the Americas.  Eight have since been fired and three more face disciplinary action.

Sullivan is expected to tell senators that there were no security breaches as the Secret Service agents prepared for Obama’s arrival in visit.

In prepared testimony, he will say the agents involved did not have sensitive documents, radios or weapons in their hotel rooms.  Sullivan will also testify that they had not received specific information that would have put the president's security in jeopardy.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Photos.com/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The FBI is investigating the founder of a "revenge porn" website, where scorned lovers were posting nude photos and videos of their ex-partners anonymously.

Officials would only confirm to Nightline that there was an investigation, but declined to comment further on any other details.

Hunter Moore, 26, used to run a website called IsAnyoneUp.com, which he told Nightline he had launched as a place for "public humiliation." On the site, users could upload sexually explicit photos and videos without a victim's permission, and include screen grabs of Facebook accounts and links to Twitter accounts. A section on the website also allowed people to comment on the photos and videos.

The site became so popular that Moore said he was getting nearly 5 million hits a month. But in April, Moore sold his website for less than $15,000 to BullyVille.com, a social website on which people can share stories about being bullied and seek help. IsAnyoneUp.com was taken down.

But before that, Kayla Laws, a 25-year-old aspiring actress, said nude photos of herself that she took but never distributed surfaced on IsAnyoneUp.com. Laws claims her computer was hacked.

"To be seen on that website is like, breaks my heart inside," she said. "It ruins everything I've built up for myself. It's embarrassing to know that they've seen that photo of me and they know what I look like topless because of that site."

Her mother Charlotte Laws, who is a private investigator, said she was outraged and contacted the FBI after Moore refused to take down her daughter's photos.

"We first asked him, we sent him a cease-and-desist and a take-down notice, and he basically said 'screw off,' in so many words," Charlotte Laws said.

She said she convinced the FBI to launch an investigation into whether Kayle's computer was hacked.

"The FBI, I've been extremely impressed with them," Charlotte Laws said. "They're highly competent and extremely responsive."

Moore denied that he ever hacked anyone's naked photos.

Before IsAnyoneUp.com was shut down in April, Moore boasted to Nightline that he was a self-proclaimed "professional life ruin-er" and he had no scruples about hosting the website because the people on it were simply "characters and avatars and icons on a screen" to him and he wanted to take "full advantage of people's mistakes."

Moore also bragged about the multiple cease-and-desist letters and complaints he got from victims' lawyers, and said his typical response was either to send a dirty picture or a simple "LOL."

Just as YouTube hosts other people's videos, IsAnyoneUp.com fell into the same category -- the person submitting the picture accepts full responsibility for uploading it.

"Your only remedy is against the person who took the picture and posted it," said Bruce Johnson, an attorney in Seattle who specializes in First Amendment and media cases. "There's no real remedy against the website that's posting that photo. The best advice is not to disseminate the picture to begin with."

When BullyVille.com bought Moore's site and shut it down -- IsAnyoneUp.com's URL now re-directs to BullyVille.com -- it seemed that Moore had changed his tune. The site hosted a letter from him filled with words that sounded nothing like the rebel Nightline had previously interviewed.

"I think it's important that everyone realizes the damage that online bullying can cause," Moore wrote.

James McGibney, a former marine and founder of BullyVille.com, told Nightline he did a public service by shutting down Moore, something he said even the government wasn't able to do. However, several critics called the move a media stunt because the re-direct from IsAnyoneUp.com occurred less than a week after BullyVille.com launched, and BullyVille.com received two million visitors from it.

McGibney denied that shutting down IsAnyoneUp.com was for personal gain.

"Do you know what kind of base [Moore has], the subscriber base?" he said. "It's not the type of people I want on BullyVille."

But BullyVille.com isn't McGibney's only website. His bread and butter is CheaterVille.com, a website where anyone can accuse someone of cheating on a spouse or a partner and post it anonymously. But McGibney said CheaterVille.com is nothing like Moore's "revenge porn" website.

"There is no doubt I believe in what I'm doing or I wouldn't do it," McGibney said. "[CheaterVille.com] was not started for revenge or for malicious intent. It was designed to warn people, and I'm never going to change that thought because that's what I believe in."

Moore may have turned humiliation into a business model, but he hasn't cornered the market on getting even. Today, revenge is something he is trying to avoid.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) -- A group of 18 people dressed in black, wearing masks, wielding steel batons and hammers and claiming to be extreme anti-racists allegedly stormed a suburban Chicago family restaurant in broad daylight to assault a meeting of alleged white supremacists, officials said Tuesday.

Ten people were injured and at least three required treatment for head wounds as a result of the attack Saturday at the Ashford House Restaurant in Tinley Park, Ill., a quiet Chicago suburb.  The restaurant sustained $15,000 in damages, including broken plates, glasses and furniture.

“I’ve been mayor for 31 years,” Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki tells ABC News, “and I’ve never heard of anything stranger than this.”

Five of the attackers were caught and have now been charged with aggravated battery, mob action and criminal damage to property, all felonies.  Brothers Jason, Cody and Dylan Sutherlin, along with Alex Stuck and John Tucker, are all from Indiana.  The men are connected to the Hoosier Anti-Racist Movement (H.A.R.M.) whose website now claims them as “The Tinley Park 5″.

Meanwhile the targets of their attack were about a dozen members of the Illinois European Heritage Association, a group linked to the “White Pride” group Storm Front.  Two of these victims were also caught up in the police investigation following the incident: Steven Speers of North Dakota was arrested on an outstanding warrant for possession of child pornography and Francis Gilroy of Florida was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

A restaurant surveillance camera captured some of the melee on video and Zabrocki viewed it before it was turned over to prosecutors as evidence in the investigation. While the confrontation itself happens out of the camera’s view, Zabrocki said, “You see tables moving into view, food spilling on the floor.  You see them marching out and you see some of the waiters taking swings at them.”

Tinley Park police chief Steve Neubauer said neither of the groups involved had any connection to his town or the restaurant and he was struck by the randomness of the incident.

“There was a college graduation luncheon and a shower going on there.  It’s a nice little family restaurant. You take your mother in law there for Mother’s Day for breakfast,” Neubauer said.

The meeting of the Illinois European Heritage Association had been frequently mentioned on the “White Pride” webforum stormfront.org.  It was called the “5th Annual White Nationalist Economic summit” and promoted as an opportunity to “work for whites.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors extremist group activity, suggested that H.A.R.M. probably matched the names of those organizing the meeting on stormfront.org to those on a membership list of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement.  But Beckie Williams, one of the attack victims, told the Chicago Tribune that the charge of racism is “ridiculous” and that her Heritage group was only meeting to discuss “economic hardships.”

Meanwhile Zabrocki said he is angry about this “totally bizarre” incident for the law enforcement and emergency response it has required.

“This is going to cost us a bundle...to our town and a bunch of other towns that responded for you know, a bunch of idiots,” he said. “And I’m referring to both sides.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Annapolis Police Dept(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) -- Gary Giordano, a man who was the sole suspect in the Robyn Gardner missing persons case in Aruba, was arrested for indecent exposure after Maryland police found him naked with a woman in the back of his parked SUV.

Police in Annapolis went to a parking garage last Friday after the attendant reported he had received two complaints about possible sexual activity inside a car.

Giordano, 51, and his female companion, Carol Ann Bock, 45, were arrested and each charged with one count of indecent exposure.

"I observed a blanket hanging from the left side of the interior of the vehicle where both Mr. Giordano and Ms. Bock were located in what appeared to be an attempt to conceal their activity," the police report said.

The reporting officer, Joshua Ingbretson, said he shone a light through the window to get the couple's attention. Bock quickly pulled the sheet up to her neck and Giordano adjusted a towel over his midsection, but the police saw plenty anyhow.

"When Mr. Giordano was adjusting the towel Cpl. Medley observed Mr. Giordano's genitals through the window," the report said.

Giordano was ordered to get dressed and exit the vehicle. At that point, the report says, his "black under ware [sic] was knocked to the ground." Bock then dressed and stepped outside the vehicle. The couple was taken to an Annapolis police station.

Giordano spent four months in an Aruba jail last year as police tried to build a case against him in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner. Giordano and Gardner were snorkelling last Aug. 2 off the coast of Aruba when she went missing.

"At some point I became distressed and found out that I had a problem coming back to shore. Robyn was, I thought, behind me, and she wasn't. I turned, did not see her, and I went for help," Giordano said in December on Good Morning America.

On Aug. 2, Giordano said he last saw Gardner at around 4:15 p.m., but he did not tell anyone she was missing until 6 p.m., an hour and 45 minutes later.

He later speculated to ABC News that she may have been a victim of a human trafficking crime.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DUBUQUE, Iowa) -- Police in Dubuque, Iowa, responded to an unusual call this week: reports of a zebra and a parrot in the front seat of a truck parked outside a bar. The striped animal and his fine feathered friend were there to keep their owner company, but weren’t allowed in the bar.

Jerald Reiter, 55, told police the zebra and maccaw parrot enjoy going for rides in his truck, so he brought them to the bar, which he says usually allows animals inside, ABC affiliate KCRG-TV reports.

When the motley crew got to the bar, they were told because food was being served, the animals wouldn’t be allowed inside. Bar owners told KCRG no animals are ever allowed inside.

When officers arrived on the scene, they stopped Reiter in the parking as he was driving his truck away. Field sobriety tests found he had a blood alcohol level of .14, nearly twice the legal limit, according to police.

His girlfriend, Vickie Teters, told KCRB the animals are like their children, and do everything with them.

“They love going for rides. They’re just a part of the family,” Teters said. “They were not left alone in the car, not even a second.”

Reiter also disputes the drunk driving charge, saying he realized he was too drunk to drive, and was about to let a passenger take the wheel when he was arrested.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio