Father says missing intern phoned lawmaker 'several times'

Chandra Levy: The day after she disappeared friends found her bags packed in her apartment.

By From Bob Franken
CNN National Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Chandra Levy's phone records reveal that a number she called repeatedly was the pager of Rep. Gary Condit, D-California, the father of the missing 24-year-old said Sunday.

Speaking to CNN from his home in Modesto, California, Robert Levy said that after seeing phone records showing that Chandra had called a number "several times," he and his wife, Susan, called the number and reached a pager last month.

Condit, Levy said, called back and they had "a brief conversation." A spokesman for Condit on Monday confirmed that the conversation had occurred.

Asked whether he had hired a Washington attorney, Levy answered "yes." He would not say when he and his wife planned to travel to Washington to meet with their attorney. The attorney, whom Levy would not name, was hired Friday.

Chandra Levy, 24, was last seen April 30 at a Washington gym. She had just completed an internship at the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was preparing to return to Modesto for her college graduation.

VIDEO CNN Bob Franken speaks with Levy's parents. Condit's office still denies the congressman had a romantic relationship with Levy (June 14) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Through his staff and attorney, Condit -- a 53-year-old married father of two -- has repeatedly denied a romantic relationship with Chandra.

Last week, attorney Joseph Cotchett decried the "media circus" and "tabloid frenzy" surrounding Condit and said the focus on "this so-called relationship is nonsense." He described Chanda as a "good friend" and "constituent" of Condit's.

A source with the Sund Carrington Foundation said its members have grown increasingly irritated with the Levys encouraging speculation about a romantic relationship between their daughter and Condit. "This has gone too far. This is not what we're about," an official of the group told CNN.

Sund Carrington is an organization devoted to helping families of missing persons use publicity to find their loved ones and has been involved in the Levy case.

The organization has its headquarters in Modesto. CNN was told by that same source that a representative of the foundation discussed the group's concerns with Levy's parents Thursday before they met with reporters in their Modesto home.

Levy's mother and father repeatedly stressed that the comments they made that day -- that a relative told them Chandra had said she was having a romantic relationship with Condit -- were separate from the Sund Carrington efforts.