All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S01E05.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

[music playing]

ANNOUNCER: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

NARRATOR: On November 24,
1971, at 8:12 PM, 10,000

feet above Southwestern
Washington state,

a man forced open a rear doorway
of a commercial airliner.

Buffeted by winds gusting in
excess of 200 miles per hour,

he stood briefly in
a rear stairwell.

The man, known
only as DB Cooper,

leapt into space
and the unknown.

The last flight and strange
disappearance of DB Cooper

is one of the most baffling
cases of this century.

Many, including
the FBI, believe he

must have perished when
he leaped from a 727

at 10,000 feet.

Others disagree.

They say he made it.

Tonight, we will recreate
DB Cooper's last flight

and examine two other cases.

In one, an $8 million
dollar collection of sports

memorabilia has disappeared.

Among the treasures was
Babe Ruth's uniform.

And the other, two teenage
boys lay motionless in the path

of an on-rushing train.

Their parents believe
they were murdered.

Join me.

You may be able to
help solve a mystery.

For some, DB Cooper is
a skyjacking mastermind

behind a daring crime that
defied both the elements

and the authorities.

To most of us, he's nothing
more than a common criminal

who risked the lives of 42
innocent people for $200,000.

But one fact remains,
nobody knows whether DB

Cooper is dead or alive.

NARRATOR: Thanksgiving eve 1971.

At 2:00 PM, DB Cooper walked
into the Portland Airport.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: He was
your typical business man.

A suit, tie, a raincoat,
carrying an attache case.

Nothing distinctive about him
except, perhaps, for the fact

that everything was very dark.

Black tie, black
raincoat, black shoes.

Cooper.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: He
appeared at the ticket counter

and bought his ticket.

And just gave the name Cooper.

By the way, is that a 727?

Yes, sir.

It is.

It'll be $20 please.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The
727 became notorious

through this case because it
is the only airliner from which

a successful
parachute jump can be

made from the passenger cabin.

ANNOUNCER: Flight 305,
non-stop service to Seattle.

NARRATOR: Cooper had purchased
a one way ticket to Seattle.

The only luggage he carried
was an attache case.

[flight attendant presentation]

NARRATOR: He was the last
person to board the plane

and took his seat while the 727
began its taxi to the runway.

Florence Shaftner was the first
crew member to talk to Cooper.

FEMALE: You'll need to put this
under your front seat, please.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER:
He handed me a note

and he kept looking at me.

And I just ignored him the
first time he looked at me.

And then, he said I want
you to read the note.

It was printed Miss, I have
a bomb in my briefcase.

I want you to sit beside me.

MALE: This is no joke.

There's a bomb in here.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: I saw a
big battery with six dynamite

sticks wrapped
around the battery.

And he said to me,
all I have to do

is attach this wire to this
gadget here and we all be dead.

She saw the bomb so
we know it's for real.

NARRATOR: Florence went to
cockpit to inform the crew

about Cooper and his threat.

Can you handle it?

Yeah.

Tina, he's the
guy of very back.

He's all dressed in black.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: We were
very, very scared to death.

All of us were.

I was thinking about dying.

That's all I thought.

I was also thinking I'll
never see my parents,

my brothers and sisters.

Scottie, we call headquarters?

Yes, Mel, go ahead
and call headquarters.

NARRATOR: The flight
crew immediately

notified air traffic
control about the hijacking.

Radio five.

We have a hijack in progress.

NARRATOR: They, in
turn, contacted the FBI.

OK, I gave the
captain your demands.

Did you tell him
$200,000 cash small bills?

- Yes, I told him small bills.
- Four parachutes?

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: He wanted
$200,000 in cash in a knapsack.

And four parachutes.

Identified the
parachutes as two front

packed parachutes
and two backpacks.

And he specified that the
airliner remain in the air

until the money
and the parachutes

were ready at Seattle.

He also specified that
the other passengers not

be told that the airplane
was being hijacked.

Can I get you
something to drink?

NARRATOR: The flight crew
proceeded as if nothing

was out of the ordinary.

Drinks were served.

Cooper ordered two
bourbon and waters.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The FBI asked
the airline what their approach

to the hijacking
was going to be,

that is, did they wish
to pay the ransom?

This is an option that the
victim of an extortion has,

rather than law enforcement.

And they responded instantly,
they wish to pay the ransom.

And so, the FBI at Seattle
set about assisting

and obtaining the money.

NARRATOR: Each bill
was photographed

and the serial numbers recorded.

Cooper also insisted the
plane be immediately refueled

upon landing in Seattle.

No passengers were to
be released until all

of his demands were met.

Flight trail five,
Seattle-Tacoma,

we've just been
informed the money

and the chutes have arrived.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The hijacker
instructed that they land,

but that they stay on the
runway, rather than to taxi

up to the terminal.

[inaudible] checks?

Check.

Drop check here.

NARRATOR: At 5:43 PM, flight 305
landed at the Seattle airport.

The plane taxied in and parked
in a remote area of a field.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The
money and the parachutes

were bought by an FBI
agent to the airplane.

They were carried on board
by the flight attendant.

There were 10,000 $20
bills assembled in straps

of 100 bills to a strap.

And individual straps held
together with rubber bands.

The money alone, just the
currency, weighed 21 pounds.

NARRATOR: Four parachutes
were delivered,

but the authorities
and the skyjacker

were unaware that one of the
parachutes was defective.

It would not open under
any circumstances.

All right, that's two.

Where's the other two?

They're right out back.

Get them up here.

NARRATOR: Both the
flight group and the FBI

were worried that Cooper would
use the four parachutes to take

hostages along with him.

But the passengers on board are
oblivious to what was going on.

Though annoyed at the
delay, they remained calm.

Unaware of the drama
surrounding them.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH:
During the time

the airliner was on
the ground at Seattle,

there were FBI agents
with scoped rifles

who were prepared if the
indications were present that

required it to take him off.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: He
was very, very uptight.

Suspicious.

He said to us to
pull down the shade.

Every shade must be down
so I did and Tina did.

WILLIAM SCOTT: They seemed to
be having trouble with getting

fuel on the aircraft.

And we thought well,
maybe they're delaying it.

And we said we don't
want any delay.

And at this time,
the hijacker seemed

to be getting real shook up.

So we told them on
the ground, if you're

trying to delay us with any
of these kind of tactics,

let's get with it
and get the fuel on,

which they finally did.

FEMALE: We apologize--

NARRATOR: Finally,
the passengers

were allowed to deplane.

But Cooper demand that
the flight crew and one

flight attendant stay onboard.

The copilot said, you
better get the hell out now.

So I left went out Tina.

And that's when he decided to
keep her because he was getting

suspicious at everything.

NARRATOR: The passengers
are met by FBI agents.

Only then did they
realize that their lives

had been in mortal danger.

When de-briefed, they could
remember nothing about the man

with the attache case.

All right, listen up, captain.

NARRATOR: Cooper
ordered the pilot

to fly from Seattle to Mexico
City at a height of 10,000 feet

and a speed of 200
miles per hour.

Under these
conditions, a 727 would

have to refuel along the way.

Cooper agreed to stop and
refuel in Reno, Nevada.

He then made an unusual request.

And I want the
back stairwell down.

MALE: We're checking with the--

RALPH HIMMELSBACH:
The pilot explained

that he wasn't able to take
off with that door open.

And they argued back and
forth and finally, the pilot

said he just couldn't
fly the airplane

and wasn't going to try.

And the hijacker
consented for the door

to be closed for
takeoff, which it was.

NARRATOR: At 7:37 PM,
Flight 305 took off.

The Seattle control tower
alerted all other aircraft

in the area to remain clear so
the 727 had the sky to itself.

The weather had deteriorated
and a storm front directly

in the plane's flight path.

I want you to get up
there with your fly--

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: He told her
to go back into the cockpit

and to close the curtain
between the coach

and the first class cabins.

And as she turned around
to close the curtains

she said she saw him tying
something to his waist

with what she thought was rope.

But later in the
cockpit, the light

flashed indicating
that the hijacker was

attempting to operate the door.

At 8:12, the pilot told us
that they were experiencing

a rapid change in the
air pressure, reflected

in a ear's popping experience.

NARRATOR: Somewhere over the
forest of Southern Washington

state, Cooper jumped.

He has never been seen since.

Since DB Cooper's
hijacking, all 727s have been

modified so that
the rear door cannot

be opened during a flight.

When we return, we'll
reveal an important new clue

to the identity of DB Cooper.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

No one can be certain
that DB Cooper survived

his jump from 10,000 feet.

In the aircraft, he left no
identifiable fingerprints.

No personal items.

No clue to his identity.

DB Cooper seems to have vanished
from the face of the earth.

NARRATOR: Upon landing in Reno,
Nevada, every inch of the 727

was scrutinized for clues as
to DB Cooper's real identity.

The flight attendants who
had seen Cooper up close

created a composite
drawing of his face.

Flight 305 flew along this
path on his way to Reno.

The crew felt that
Cooper had jumped

somewhere near the southern
tip of Washington state.

For that reason, it was believed
that Cooper would be found

in this area bordered by
Lake Merwyn to the north

and ending 20 miles north
of Portland, Oregon.

No matter where Cooper
landed, Frank Howe believes

he could have survived.

Let's say he went
down in the water.

You've got to know how
to manage that parachute.

You can use it for
some flotation.

Now, his life
expectancy is not going

to be very long in that water.

It's cold and you have
to think of the time

of the year it was in.

So he had probably very, very
few minutes to get on shore.

But I think he could
have done this.

NARRATOR: A large white
object had been reported

floating in Lake Merwyn.

Divers repeatedly explored
its depths but found nothing.

My feeling is he would
have been hurt regardless

of what he landed into.

I think that Cooper most
likely crawled to a creek.

He didn't have any
water supplies.

Didn't bring any along
with him and he would have

had to have water to survive.

So I assume he made his
way to a little creek

and perished there.

NARRATOR: Some feel
that Cooper could not

have survived in
that rugged terrain,

rest only in a business suit.

FRANK HOWE: We don't know
what he wore under the suit.

Could have had a long
underwear on, which

he certainly should have had.

And what he had
in his pockets may

have been the most
important thing

because this would've given
him the tools of survival.

As long as a man's got a
knife, a cigarette lighter,

the clothes on his
back, he could have

lived indefinitely out there.

Could do it.

It's possible.

I think he buried the chute.

I think he probably
buried the briefcase.

He got rid of that.

I think he probably put
the money in his coat

and I think he headed
for a big city someplace

and lost himself.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: The
search for DB Cooper

continued, but no new
clues were discovered.

Seven years passed.

Then in November
of 1978, a hunter

deep in the Washington
forest, discovered

a plastic placard from a 727.

It had been ripped from a
lower stairwell of flight 305.

15 Months later, an even more
dramatic discovery was made.

Can you run up there and just
clear a spot off for a fire?

NARRATOR: On February
10, 1980, a family

was preparing a barbecue on the
shore of the Columbia River.

165 miles south of
Seattle and 20 miles

southwest of Cooper's
supposed jump point.

They planned on digging a fire
pit, but dug up something else.

The bills totaling $5,880 were
water logged and deteriorated.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: There
were 294 bills found.

And all of those serial
numbers are on the ransom list

so that money is
definitely, positively

identified as having come from
that particular ransom money.

Money was found.

If they had found $200,000 I'd
had said, hey, it's all over.

He's out there.

He's dead.

Now we've got some real proof,
but they did not find $200,000.

Where's the rest of the money?

That's what I want to know.

He risked his life
to hijack the airliner.

He didn't get to
spend the money.

He may have lost his life.

Now I don't know that
he lost his life,

but I think there's a very
good chance that he did.

None of the money,
not one bill, has

ever turned up in circulation.

NARRATOR: Could DB
Cooper have struck again?

Only five months after Cooper's
flight in April of 1972,

a half million was extorted
from another airline

by another skyjacker.

The crime was remarkably similar
to the Cooper skyjacking.

His name was Richard McCoy, a
former Green Beret skydiver.

He was sentenced to 45
years for air piracy,

but escaped and was tracked
down and killed in a gun battle

with the FBI.

Due to the resemblance
between their pictures,

some believe that DB Cooper and
Richard McCoy are the same man.

Florence Shaftner, however,
believes the composite

of Cooper may be inaccurate.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: The composite
never really looked like him.

The hair does not look like him.

The face does not look like him.

I've added a little
bit of eyelid up here--

NARRATOR: At the request of
"Unsolved Mysteries," Florence

worked with Malin
Coleman, a forensic artist

from the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department.

Together they created a
new portrait of DB Cooper.

Wide forehead.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: It's
still strong in my mind.

OK, narrow face.

I remember everything.

The color of his eyes.

the color of his eyebrows,
and his features.

What do you think of that?

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: Yeah.

That's it.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

NARRATOR: Last May, be examined
the case of Diane Brodbeck,

a Pennsylvania
housewife and mother

of two, whose
charity work led her

to exchange letters
of friendship

with convicted killer Jon Yount.

Yount, a former high
school math teacher,

was sentenced to life
in prison in 1966

for the brutal murder
of a teenage girl.

Brodbeck and Yount's friendship
gradually grew into a romance.

On April 5, 1986, Jon
Yount escaped from prison.

And on the same day, Diane
Brodbeck disappeared.

I know my daughter.

She would not deliberately
help a convicted

murderer escape from prison.

Yes, I think my
wife probably did

help Jon Yount get out of jail.

Under pressure, for what
reason, I don't know.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Update.

Jon Yount and Diane
Brodbeck have been captured.

Two of our viewers
in Boise, Idaho

recognized Brodbeck as a
former coworker, Kathy Kerman.

When they showed the picture,
it was Kathy's face, obviously.

And once they said
she was a bank manager

and was from
Massachusetts and they

said that Jon's background
was in computers,

it was a dead giveaway.

NARRATOR: The Humphrey's
called the FBI

and after a month
long investigation,

the fugitive couple was
arrested at their home.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

NARRATOR: In the pre-dawn
hours of August 23, 1987,

a 75 car, 6,000 ton cargo
train made its regular night

run to Little Rock, Arkansas.

The train was over a mile long
and was traveling at a speed

of 52 miles per hour.

So far the run had
been clear sailing

as engineer Steven Shroyer
approached the small town

of Bryant, Arkansas.

[train horns]

There's something on the
rail out there, you see that?

See what it is?

NARRATOR: Certainly, Shroyer
saw something in his path.

He couldn't tell what it was.

As his train drew closer--

Yeah, it's a couple of bodies.

NARRATOR: He made the
horrifying discovery

that two boys were
lying motionless

across the railroad tracks.

STEPHEN SHROYER: From the time
that we had placed the train

into an emergency position
and laid down on the horn,

I would estimate about three
to five seconds to impact.

And that may not sound like
a very long period of time,

but when you're bearing
down a couple of children,

it's an eternity, honestly.

[train horns]

NARRATOR: Despite the engineer's
frantic emergency stop,

the weight of the
heavy cargo train

carried it for a full half mile.

The boys bodies were
terribly mangled.

The two boys were identified
as 16-year-old Don Henry

and 17-year-old Kevin Ives.

Best friends and popular
seniors at the Bryant,

Arkansas high school.

It is extraordinary that
Kevin and Don lay on the tracks

without moving a muscle,
when a huge freight

train was hurtling towards them
blaring its emergency horn.

The state medical examiner
said the boys had been

under the influence
of marijuana and he

ruled the deaths accidental.

Don and Kevin's parents
could not accept that ruling.

They began a crusade to find
out what really happened.

And to salvage the
reputation of their sons.

Well, I couldn't believe
that Kevin was knocked out

on marijuana or into any kind
of a heavy drugs or anything

like that because I was
home a lot during the day

when Kevin come in from school.

And Linda was here at nights.

And we'd never
seen him in a state

that he even act like
he was spaced out

or however you
want to phrase it.

I just couldn't see
any signs that he was

into any kind of heavy drugs.

Or any kind of--
really, drugs at all.

NARRATOR: Kevin and Don were
both typical teenage boys.

They loved to work
on their cars.

They loved to hunt.

Don was a natural comedian and
Kevin was his best audience.

Most weekends the
two double dated.

However, on the night of
Saturday, August 22, 1987,

Kevin and Don met
a group of friends

at the outskirts of Little
Rock at a favorite gathering

place for the local teenagers.

The two boys left
around midnight

to go back to Don's house.

Kevin waited on the
porch while Don went

inside to talk to his father.

And he gave me in
approximately 12:15.

Came in the bedroom.

Told me where he was going
and everything, you know.

I told him just be careful.

And he took one of my
spotlights with him.

Took he is .22.

And we talked for approximately
15 minutes before he left.

You ready?

Let's go.

NARRATOR: The two
boys set off to go

spotlighting, a form
of night hunting

which is illegal in Arkansas.

One of them would shine a
light in the animal's eyes,

transfixing the prey
while the other fired.

Spotlighting was a
fairly widespread

activity among the local boys.

So far, Kevin and Don
had avoided being caught.

That night the boys
chose their usual hunting

ground, along the
railroad tracks

that ran behind Don's house.

CURTIS HENRY: I never was
even concerned, you know,

worried about him when he
was in the woods, hunting.

Because I didn't--
I realized you

could get in trouble hunting.

NARRATOR: It was almost
1 o'clock in the morning.

Three hours later, Stephen
Shroyer's locomotive

came speeding down Bryant Hill.

When we were about
six poles away from it,

my conductor yelled out big-o.

I immediately
recognized what we saw.

[TRAIN HORNS AND TIRES
SCREECHING]

It looked like a body morgue.

They were just laid out.

NARRATOR: The boys were lying
exactly parallel on the tracks.

Their arms straight
down by their sides.

They were partially covered
by a light green tarp.

Lying parallel to both of
them was Don's .22 rifle.

Neither boy was moving.

I started laying down
on the diesel horn.

And I got no reaction.

Not at all.

Not so much as a flinch.

And the-- we just
passed over them.

NARRATOR: What had caused
the two boys to lie side

by side on the railroad tracks?

The state medical
examiner concluded

they had smoked the equivalent
of 20 marijuana cigarettes.

He determined that Kevin and
Don had been in a deep sleep

induced by the drug.

And had never heard
the oncoming train.

He ruled their
death an accident.

Don and Kevin's
parents would not

accept the medical
examiner's conclusion.

LINDA IVES: If they
were that stoned,

how did they lie down
in identical positions?

That was my immediate
reaction to his ruling.

We checked the
train and it was

98 decibels, which is
equal to a jackhammer,

an air compressor running.

I don't think that
no one can sleep

through that kind of noise.

And another thing,
too, my son's gun,

it was laying on the gravel.

I know my son too well.

He would not lay it on gravel.

He wouldn't take a chance on
the wood getting scratched.

LARRY IVES: We hired a
private investigator to try

to find out what happened.

Every time he would try
to find out something,

it seemed like he
would meet resistance

from different authorities
and everything.

And we weren't getting anywhere.

NARRATOR: Five months after
their sons were killed,

Don and Kevin's parents
held a press conference.

They hoped to force
the authorities

to reopen the investigation.

Would you like
to give up your son

and everybody think they was
smoking up and laid down--

passed out.

No, I don't think anyone
wants to give up their kid

unless that is honestly
proved to be the truth.

then you have to except it.

At this point, it has
not been proved to us.

NARRATOR: The day after
their press conference,

the investigation was
officially reopened.

Newly appointed prosecutor,
Richard Garrett,

had the boys bodies exhumed
for a second autopsy

to be performed
by a noted expert.

This doctor concluded
that together,

the boys had smoked
not 20, but between 1

and 3 marijuana cigarettes.

He also found
evidence to indicate

that one boy was already
dead and one unconscious

when the train hit them.

In July of 1988, a grand jury
reversed the medical examiner's

original finding
of accidental death

and officially ruled the boy's
deaths probable homicides.

Prosecutor Garrett then
focused on the green tarp.

Neither boy owned such a tarp.

Who had covered them
with it and why?

All four of the people on the
train who were able to observe

the scene prior to
the accident, stated

that the boys were partially
covered by a green tarp.

See what you can find.

I'll go ahead and call it in.

NARRATOR: Police who
searched the scene later

denied that engineer Shroyer had
even told them about the tarp.

STEPHEN SHROYER: They even
questioned its existence.

That, to me, would be like
questioning the existence

of the boys on the track.

They were covered
up with a tarp.

STEPHEN SHROYER: Because
what's real is real

and what's not is not.

And it was there as
well as the boys.

RICHARD GARRETT: I can
understand two people laying

down on a railroad track.

I can understand two people
laying down and covering

themselves up with a tarp.

Where would the tarp come from?

I am convinced that
the tarp existed.

The tarp, however,
was never found.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: The
ensuing investigation

unearthed an intriguing lead.

One week before the
boys were killed,

a man wearing
military fatigues had

been spotted in the vicinity.

His behavior had
aroused suspicion.

When Police Officer Danny
Allen stopped to question him,

the man opened fire.

DANNY ALLEN: When I got up from
the seat, the subject was gone.

And five minutes later,
Celine County showed up

and we searched the area
and never found a subject.

NARRATOR: On the night
Kevin and Don died,

witnesses, again,
reported seeing

a man in military fatigues.

This time, he was leaving
town, heading down a road

less than 200 yards
from the spot where

the boys bodies were run over.

Police had been
unable to locate him.

Six weeks after the
investigation was reopened,

Richard Garrett came up with
a strangely similar case.

In Hogden, Oklahoma, just 200
miles west of Little Rock,

two young men lying together
on the railroad tracks

had been run over by
a locomotive in 1984.

They were lying
motionless on the tracks,

in a position nearly
identical to Kevin and Don's.

[train horn]

[music playing]

RICHARD GARRETT: I think that
someone took these boys' lives.

They incapacitated
one of the boys

and then, felt like they had to
do something to the other one.

And then to cover
their tracks, laid

the boys on the railroad
track and covered them up

with a tarp.

The reason why they
did that, I'm not sure.

What I'm hunting for is
the reason why they did it.

I've never carried
a gun in my life.

But since we've started
working on this thing,

I am carrying a gun.

Because I do feel like that
my life could be in danger

at some point in time.

Whatever it takes,
however long it takes.

As long as there is
anything to investigate,

as long as there's anything
to work on, we'll do it.

[music playing]

Hundreds of times, I've
been out there day and night.

Just trying to get it in my
mind of what could have happened

or what did happened.

I've been out there
at night to see

how far you can see the train.

How far you can hear the train.

How loud is the train.

I basically, think
that they walked up

on something that they
was not supposed to see.

They was at the wrong
place at the wrong time.

I know in my own mind
that they was murdered.

And put there.

Since we filmed
this story, Don

Henry's t-shirt
has been analyzed

by an expert pathologist.

Tears in the fabric
indicate that Don

had been stabbed before he
was run over by the train.

In light of this new
evidence, the grand jury

changed its ruling from probable
homicide to definite homicide.

[music playing]

Next, a curious footnote
to the legend of Babe Ruth.

His uniform, long displayed as
a priceless sports treasure,

has been stolen.

Along with other sports
memorabilia worth $8 million.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

NARRATOR: In 1927, legendary
Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs.

The record has stood
for over 30 years.

Today, his 1927 World Series
ring is valued at $50,000.

It has disappeared.

In 1956, Mickey
Mantle had the most

home runs and the
best batting average

of any player in the game.

Today, Mantle's
1956 World Series

uniform is valued at $15,000.

It has disappeared.

Pete Rose, a hometown
boy from Cincinnati,

has more hits than any player
in the history of the game.

Rose's silver bat
is worth $30,000.

It, too, has disappeared.

At conventions
across the country,

millions of avid collectors
have made baseball memorabilia

a multimillion dollar business.

One of the most ardent of these
collectors was Dennis Walker.

He amassed a trove
of sports memorabilia

valued at nearly $10 million.

Today, this irreplaceable
collection is missing.

Among the items in
Dennis Walker's collection

are Babe Ruth's ring,
Mickey Mantle's uniform,

Pete Rose's silver
bat, and hundreds

of priceless sports treasures.

Number three, the classic
New York Yankees pinstripe.

Sadly, this uniform
is only a prop.

Babe Ruth's real uniform,
along with most of Walker's

collection, is missing.

America's national pastime has
been robbed of a major portion

of its history.

And someone watching tonight
may be able to help find it.

NARRATOR: In June of
1980, Dennis Walker

quit his job teaching political
science at a small Oregon

college and set up an investment
company in his hometown

of Medford, Oregon.

He concocted grandiose
investment schemes

and opened his own bank on the
South Pacific Island of Tonga.

Walker offered an amazing
25% rate of interest.

And indeed, paid off early
investors on schedule.

More than 140 people gave
Walker better than $7 million

to invest.

SGT. MICHAEL SWEENY:
He had the Midas touch.

And word spread.

Because if somebody
says give me $10,000

and I will give you
$12,500 right now,

that sounds like one
whale of an investment.

The only thing was
is that he didn't

actually give them $12,500.

He gave them a piece of
paper saying that he owed

them $12,500 one year from now.

Dennis, I have a few
things I'd like you to sign.

NARRATOR: Dennis
Walker's employees

also invested with him.

PEGGY STEWART: He seemed to
be an astute business person.

Seemed to be very intelligent.

And seemed to be very fair.

I was an investor.

And I had a considerable
amount of money with Dennis.

We all trusted Dennis.

I believe that every
one of the employees

had money invested with Dennis.

NARRATOR: Walker had always
been an avid baseball fan.

With his newly accumulated
investor's money,

he bought rare and expensive
sports memorabilia.

Oh, I just came in to see if
you had anything new to show me

today.

Oh, yeah, I got some
new Mickey Mantle cards.

NARRATOR: It was as if he were
acting out a childhood fantasy.

That's his rookie
year, isn't it?

Yeah.

JIM MCLAUGHLIN: The
first thing that Walker

did was he spent a great deal
of money on sports memorabilia.

$995.

What about that Willie Mays?

Sure of an eye for them.

$225.

They are some nice cards.

JIM MCLAUGHLIN:
Walker had a passion

for sports collectibles.

And he freely indulged in
with the investors' money.

To some degree, I felt that
that was somewhat comforting.

Because we had anywhere
from five to, perhaps,

$22 million worth
of collectibles.

Obviously, that's a rather
large amount of assets

so the investors
weren't too concerned.

NARRATOR: Walker soon graduated
from $1,000 baseball cards

to the really
major collectibles.

He built one of the most prized
collections in the country.

Major league batting
champion 1981, 370 average.

It'd be an absolute
steal if I'd sell you

this whole package at $12,000.

$12,000?

That's right.

NARRATOR: Walker leased
an empty bank building

in Medford, Oregon and
opened his very own Sports

Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose was Walker's special
guest at the grand opening

of his hall of fame.

Walker had bought several
pieces of memorabilia from Rose

personally.

He displayed them elaborately
among his vast collection

which spanned nine
decades of sports history.

Some of the most
prized items were

a pristine, uncut
sheet of baseball cards

from the year 1933
worth $10,000.

Two Honus Wagner baseball
cards from the year 1910

valued at an incredible $70,000.

A diamond studded ring
awarded to Pete Rose 1984,

the year he achieved 4,000
hits, valued at $30,000.

And finally, a New
York Yankees uniform

worn by the great Babe Ruth.

In 1986, the Medford
police obtained a warrant

and searched Walker's office.

The state of Oregon had
been watching him for a year

and had filed suit, charging
him with fraud and racketeering.

The search yielded
enough evidence

to prosecute Walker
for the illegal sale

of unregistered securities.

SGT. MICHAEL SWEENY:
Once we had done that,

then we ran into a brick
wall as far as cooperation

from the people who had
invested their money.

PEGGY STEWART: The
investigation was not

a case where an investor
did not get money

or had complained to
the state of Oregon.

Everybody at that
point was getting

their principal interest,
whatever it was that they

required, to my knowledge.

NARRATOR: Walker
immediately filed

a counter suit against the
state claiming his innocence.

He received a number of
summons but continually

failed to appear in court.

Anticipating the state of Oregon
would confiscate his assets,

Walker asked Sandy
Sanders, an employee,

to pack up his prized
sports collection.

SANDY SANDERS: Actually, I was
all for getting it out of there

so that it could be
turned into liquid assets

and be given back
to the investors.

And to keep the state
from getting their cotton

picking hands on it.

NARRATOR: In April 1986,
Walker decided to leave Oregon

and took his entire collection
of sports memorabilia with him.

Most of Walker's collection
would never be seen again.

NARRATOR: 16 months
later, a man registered

under the name of
Charles Lee was found

dead in a Las Vegas motel.

There was no apparent
cause of death

and no signs of identification,
except a prescription bottle

bearing the name Dennis Walker.

From reviewing the
autopsy photographs

and the autopsy records and
looking at the dental charts

and records, there is
no doubt in my mind

that was Dennis Walker.

There are a number of
theories as to why he died,

but no one has ever really
been able to determine

what caused his death.

That, combined with the
missing sports memorabilia,

leaves many, many more questions
open and closed in this case.

[music playing]

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

For every mystery, someone
somewhere knows the truth.

Perhaps that
someone is watching.

Perhaps it's you.