Boston bomb investigators scour cell phone logs in bid to identify man in surveillance video

Updated 12:24 p.m. Eastern

BOSTON The painstaking work to identify a bombing suspect from reams of Boston Marathon footage yielded a possible breakthrough as investigators focused on a man seen dropping off a bag, and then walking away from the site of the second of two deadly explosions.

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports investigators are hoping cell phone records may produce an identification of the mystery man in the surveillance pictures. Investigators are scouring cell phone logs to find out who made calls from the site of the second explosion around the time the bombs went off.

The discovery of the image — found on surveillance footage from a department store near the finish line — was detailed by a city politician two days after the attack that left three people dead, wounded more than 170, and cast a dark shadow over one of this city's most joyous traditions.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday the FBI wants to speak with individuals seen in at least one video from marathon, but she says she isn't calling them suspects. Without providing details of the men's appearance or what the video shows, Napolitano told the House Homeland Security Committee on Thursday that "there is some video that raised the question" of individuals the FBI would like to interview. She said the investigation is continuing "apace."

Investigators are focusing on the man spotted near the scene of the second explosion, Orr reports. Sources say a nearby surveillance camera captured images of the man carrying a backpack and talking on a cell phone. While the FBI has not identified him, he's described as a young white man as tall as 6 foot 2.

• Bombing investigators focus on possible suspect in surveillance video
• Third Boston fatality: Graduate student Lu Lingzi

Sources who have seen the tape say he appeared to be alone and was wearing a black jacket, gray hoodie and white baseball cap backwards on his head, Orr reports. Sources told Orr the man appeared to place his backpack on the ground, then after the first explosion, he fled. Moments later the second blast occurred near the spot where he had been standing.

The footage hasn't been made public but former FBI assistant director John Miller said on "CBS This Morning" that the public can expect to see more photos to be released of the possible suspect seen with a backpack.

"They're trying to find that individual and they'll ... appeal to the public, 'Can you put a name to the face,'" Miller said. "They will also likely introduce a couple of other faces, people in that area that they're interested in. It's unlikely that they'll refer to them as suspects. They'll say these are people we're seeking because they were in the area and we believe they can provide information."

Speaking at an interfaith service honoring the victims Thursday in Boston, President Barack Obama declared "there is a piece of Boston in me" as he paid tribute to a city shaken by what he has called an act of terror. He said: "Every one of us stands with you."

He said Boston gathered Tuesday, quote, "to reaffirm that the spirit of this city is undaunted."

He declared: "You will run again!"

Streets were blocked off around the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston's South End, where the service was held.

Among the hundreds in line was 18-year-old Eli Philips. The college student was a Marathon volunteer and was wearing his volunteer jacket on Thursday morning.

He said he was still shocked that "something that was euphoric went so bad."

Ricky Hall, 67, of Cambridge, showed up at 8 a.m. but was turned away from the line to get inside that was already stretching down at least two city blocks, so decided just to stay outside.

"I came to pay my respects to the victims," he said, but was also angry that someone would desecrate the marathon and urged maximum punishment for the perpetrator.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said he shared the frustration that the person or people responsible were still at large, but he said solving the case will not "happen by magic."

"It's going to happen by doing the careful work that must be done in a thorough investigation," Patrick said. "That means going through the couple of blocks at the blast scene square inch by square inch and picking up pieces of evidence and following those trails, and that's going to take some time."

The bombs were crudely fashioned from ordinary kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails and ball bearings, investigators and others close to the case said. Investigators suspect the devices were then hidden in black duffel bags and left on the ground.

A law enforcement source confirmed to CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton Wednesday that the pressure cooker lid was found on the top of a building near the attack site.

As a result, they were looking for images of someone lugging a dark, heavy bag. Investigators had appealed to the public to provide videos and photographs from the race finish line.

City Council President Stephen Murphy, who said he was briefed by Boston police, said investigators saw the image of the man dropping off a bag and matched the findings with witness descriptions of someone leaving the scene.

One department store video "has confirmed that a suspect is seen dropping a bag near the point of the second explosion and heading off," Murphy said.

Several media outlets reported that a suspect had been identified from surveillance video taken at a Lord & Taylor department store between the sites of the bomb blasts.

At least 14 bombing victims, including three children, remained in critical condition. Dozens of victims have been released from hospitals, and officials at three hospitals that treated some of the most seriously injured said they expected all their remaining patients to survive. A 2-year-old boy with a head injury was improving and might go home Thursday, Boston Children's Hospital said.

On Wednesday, investigators in white jumpsuits fanned out across the streets, rooftops and awnings around the blast site in search of clues. They picked through trash cans, plastic cup sleeves and discarded sports drink dispensers.

Marian Wilson said she tried not to notice the men slowly pacing and looking for evidence on the street behind her as she ate a tuna sandwich at Stephanie's on Newbury, a restaurant a block from the site of the bombings.

"I just go in and out of being completely freaked out," she said.

Boston remained under a heavy security presence, with scores of National Guard troops gathering among armored Humvees in the Boston Common.

Kenya Nadry, a website designer, took her 5-year-old nephew to a playground.

"There's still some sense of fear, but I feel like Boston's resilient," she said. "The fine men in blue will take care of a lot of it."

Dr. Horacio Hojman, associate chief of trauma at Tufts Medical Center, said patients were in surprisingly good spirits when they were brought in.

"Despite what they witnessed, despite what they suffered, despite many of them having life-threatening injuries, their spirits were not broken," he said. "And I think that should probably be the message for all of us — that this horrible act of terror will not bring us down."

Obama and his challenger in the last election, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, planned to visit Boston on Thursday to attend the vigil.

The blasts killed 8-year-old Martin Richard, of Boston, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, of Medford, and Lu Lingzi, a Boston University graduate student from China.