Clayton Sandell

Clayton Sandell is an ABC News Correspondent based in Denver. He files stories for "Good Morning America," "World News with Diane Sawyer," "Nightline," ABC News Radio and ABCNews.com. Sandell covers a wide range of breaking news across the West, in addition to stories on climate change, space exploration and the science behind extreme weather. He's reported on wildfires and avalanches, the Texas trial of polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs, the FBI's hunt for serial bank robbers, Najibullah Zazi's plot to bomb New York subways and the infamous "Balloon Boy" hoax. Prior to his post in Denver, Sandell was a producer for "World News with Charles Gibson" and "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings," based in Washington DC. In 2010 Sandell received an Emmy Award as part of the ABC News team that covered the inauguration of President Barack Obama. He traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009 to cover the U.N. Climate Change Conference. Along with correspondent Bill Blakemore, Sandell went to Greenland in 2007 and has made two trips on board the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy to follow scientists researching the effects of climate change in the Arctic region. In October 2007, he went to China with correspondent David Kerley to produce a special series on toy recalls and food safety. In April 2007, Sandell helped cover the shooting massacre at Virginia Tech University. From the U.S. and the Caribbean he has reported on the approach and aftermath of numerous hurricanes, including Hurricane Ike that struck Texas in 2008 and Category-4 Hurricane Wilma that hit Cancun Mexico in 2005. He was in Haiti in February 2004 during the violent uprisings that led to the ouster of President Jean Bertrand Aristide, and also covered the trials of the two men eventually convicted in the 2002 DC-area sniper murders. Prior to joining "World News," Sandell was an associate producer for the "Sam Donaldson: Live in America" radio program and the [email protected] daily web cast. He joined ABC's Washington bureau in September 2000, working on the assignment desk. Before coming to ABC News, Sandell worked as a reporter at Los Angeles news radio station KFWB-AM. During that time he also produced and edited award-winning science and nature documentaries for the Finley-Holiday Film Corporation in Whittier, California. He began his professional broadcasting career in Southern California, first as a DJ at KRTM-FM radio in Temecula and then as a reporter and anchor at KCKC-AM news-talk radio in San Bernardino. Sandell grew up in Riverside California and graduated from the University of California Riverside with a degree in political science.