Original subtitles

NARRATOR: 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.

When Annette Schappacher was a lonely teenager,

she fell in love with a man twice her age.

It was a storybook romance which ended in a flash of violence.

Now the man of Annette's dreams is wanted for murder.

In 1964, 18-year-old Delia Fazzani of London, England

found herself trapped in a nightmare.

As a pregnant, unwed teenager abandoned by her boyfriend,

she had no one to turn to.

Delia's domineering father banished her

to a convent outside London and later forced Delia to give

her baby girl up for adoption.

As a seven-year-old, Jeff Fisher became one of the thousands

of young boys whose lives have been enriched

by Big Brothers of America.

Today Jeff is searching for the man who gave him companionship

and understanding.

And three weeks ago, we profiled a young man suffering

from a baffling case of amnesia.

Our broadcast led to a dramatic reunion with his mother,

but at the same time, placed him under a cloud of suspicion.

Join me for this fascinating edition of Unsolved Mysteries.

[mysterious music playing]

For most of us, life turns on a series of small triumphs

and small tragedies.

The story you are about to see deals

with a young British girl.

A girl who was forced to give up her baby against her will.

The child is adopted by American parents

and is now 27 years old.

Perhaps tonight she'll be able to understand the agony

her birth mother went through.

On a chilly spring evening in 1964,

Delia Fazzani sat in her favorite London pub waiting

for her boyfriend.

Even though Delia was only 18, her life was at a crossroads.

She was three months pregnant and felt

that her boyfriend was the only person she could turn to.

Hello, love.

You look great.

You been waiting long?

Not long, 10 minutes.

There's something important I need to talk about.

It's quite late.

Yeah, well I need to talk to you, it's important.

I can't even bring myself to say it.

I'm pregnant.

You're

Kidding me.

You're sure?

It's been three months.

Have you had any tests or something?

I don't need any tests, I know.

I haven't told anyone.

It's not mine.

What do you mean?

Don't have it.

It's definitely not mine.

It's yours, what do you think?

I need your help.

I don't want anything to do with it.

If you say it's mine, I'll just say all my friends

told me they've been with you.

You won't have a leg to stand on.

And that's it?

Yes.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: I was devastated.

I mean, I wanted to marry him, I mean I loved him.

But he just didn't want the responsibility of it.

That was just the way they did things then,

they just left the responsibility with the girl.

After that, the first fear, obviously, was to tell

my dad that I was pregnant.

I mean, I thought, well I'm either going to tell him

and he's going to kill me on the spot,

or I don't know what's going to happen.

NARRATOR: Delia's father, an Italian immigrant,

ran a highly successful restaurant in London.

He was a strict Roman Catholic who

ruled his business and his family with an iron hand.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: He was the sort of man that

was always on a short fuse.

Everybody was frightened of him and I was absolutely

petrified to tell him.

NARRATOR: For seven agonizing months,

Delia hid her pregnancy with corsets and loose clothes.

Finally when she could hide it no longer,

she begged a friend to break the news to her parents.

You shouldn't talk to her when you're so angry.

I can't believe she's done this.

Wait till you calm down.

Slut!

You are so common.

You disgust me!

Who was it?

I'm not going to tell you.

You can do what you'd like, but I'm not going to tell you.

You've done the worst thing possible.

Now you'll tell no one and you'll

have nothing to say about this.

I'll take care of this problem.

Can't we keep the baby?

We could raise it like it was our own son or daughter, just

like it was one of our own.

I'd rather jump off a bridge than take care of this baby.

I don't even want to smell it.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: Nothing really after that

day was discussed with me.

But obviously, my dad was disgusted with my mom

as regards to what to do with me.

And then I think it was only a matter of about maybe a week,

couple of weeks, and he just came home

and announced that I was going to this place, wherever it was.

We will tell our friends that you're

going north to the country for a few months

to spend some time with you friend Iris.

Say goodbye to your mother.

I didn't want this.

I know, mother.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: I wanted to keep my baby.

You know, even though he was sending me off to this,

wherever, I thought, well maybe once I have the baby,

he's going to feel different.

NARRATOR: Delia's father banished her

to the Loreto Convent, 30 miles north of London.

The convent served as a home for unwed mothers,

and facilitated adoption as well.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: When we drove up to the convent,

I just felt the--

I couldn't believe that they'd just--

he'd just put me there.

We've been expecting you, to Delia,

we're glad to have you with us.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: You know, you cringe at taking your dog

to the pound because you don't want to leave him there,

and yet, he just easily, he just took me there and left me.

And that was my father.

In my eyes, it was like a prison, really.

You were there for a certain time

and you couldn't go home until that time had been completed.

NARRATOR: All expectant mothers were assigned chores.

Those closest to term were given the most strenuous

work, because nuns believed it helped

the girls deliver on time.

After you've raked them into pile, girls,

put them in the barrel over there.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: I suppose they see it as if they're doing

their job and you're there for a certain purpose, that

is to have your baby and then goodbye,

and then the next one comes in.

NARRATOR: On November 2nd, 1964, Delia gave birth to a daughter

and named her Michelle.

Delia was allowed to see the baby only four times a day,

and then for only half an hour.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: They didn't

like you to see your baby other than the feeding

times and the changing times, because the more you saw

the baby, the more you held it, you were more likely to bond

to the baby.

So when it came for adoption, you could just hand over,

so they thought, as though nothing had happened.

But you do make that bond.

Even though you've only seen them for certain times,

you've still given birth to her.

So the bond is there automatically.

NARRATOR: When Michelle was four weeks old,

Delia's parents visited the convent.

It was a moment Delia had been waiting for.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: I was just hoping that my father was going

to say, well OK, you know, you come back home

and and you bring your baby up, and that's fine.

That's what I wanted.

I know my dad was yearning to take a peek,

but didn't want anyone to see him doing it.

And I thought, well at least he's looking.

I watched, thinking that the next move was going to be

he was going to pick her up.

I knew as soon as he walked away from the pram that that was it.

There's no way that I'm going to change his mind.

Have a seat, Delia.

It's been six weeks since Michelle was born.

Yes, sister.

We found a couple for her.

I can't tell you anything about them

except that they have your coloring and they're American.

He's in the Air Force, a pilot stationed at North Hampton.

You'll need to sign some papers for Michelle

to be taken out of the country.

That won't be problem, will it?

No, sister.

This is our waiting room, you can sit here.

NARRATOR: Two weeks later, at the Westminster Offices

of the Catholic Children's Society,

Delia was allowed a final visit with Michelle.

You'll have a nice, long time to say your goodbyes.

Such a beautiful baby.

You've been very brave, Delia.

NARRATOR: When Delia was alone, she slipped

a note into Michelle's blanket.

The note begged the adoptive parents

to tell Michelle that Delia had loved her

and had given her up unwillingly.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: You've only got 30 minutes or whatever

is to say goodbye, so what you try to do

is try to look at her face, to burn the impression

into your mind, because you, there

and then, you get the feeling that I'm

going to forget the face.

And that is the last thing you want.

So you feel the shawl, and maybe because it's wool,

but you're feeling her body because that was the last time

that you're going to see her.

I'm sorry, Delia, it's time.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: She came over, and she took her,

and she took her out of the room and and

locked the door behind her.

And that was it.

That was the last time I saw her.

I can't explain, one minute I had a baby,

next minute it was gone.

NARRATOR: Delia and her parents never

spoke of the adoption again.

Delia eventually married twice, but had no other children.

In 1977, her father died and she began to search for Michelle.

But Delia's mother, Rosalinda, honored

her late husband's wish that the details of the adoption

be kept secret.

Then in 1991, Rosalinda was hospitalized

with a terminal illness.

A family friend, Sonya Filkins, urged Rosalinda

to tell Delia everything she knew about Michelle

and the adoption.

Why don't you tell Delia what we talked about, Rosa?

The people who got Michelle, the name of the people you want

is Walters.

Walters?

I'll never forget their name.

Please, try to find her.

I'll find her, mum.

Let me see her picture.

My darling Michelle.

Put her on there.

When people me, they ask me who that is, I will tell them it's

my granddaughter, Michelle.

Oh, Delia.

NARRATOR: Two weeks later, Rosalinda Fazzani

died, having at last given Delia the precious gift

of Michelle's adoptive name.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: I can honestly

say that not one day has passed, not one solitary today,

where I haven't thought about her

or thought what she might be doing.

She's there all the time.

You just can't rest, you can't leave it alone.

I've got to find her.

NARRATOR: Two photographs were all

that Delia had to remember Michelle,

and she never stopped trying to locate her.

Finally after 15 years of frustrated research,

Delia's efforts began to pay off.

Last July, Delia learned that her daughter

had been renamed Laura.

An adoptions official agreed to send a letter to Laura

that Delia had written.

In the brief note, Delia said that she would soon

appear on Unsolved Mysteries, and asked her daughter

to view the broadcast.

In New York Mills, New York on the evening our program was

aired, Delia's daughter, Laura Franklin,

experienced firsthand the heartbreaking events

leading up to her adoption.

DELIA (ON TV): That was just the way they did things then--

There she is!

DELIA (ON TV): --left the responsibility to the girl.

LAURA FRANKLAND: When I found out my birth mother was

searching for me, I thought it was pretty

touching to know that she had looked

that far to try to find me.

NARRATOR (ON TV): If you have any information,

please call our toll-free number, 1-800-376--

NARRATOR: After the broadcast, Laura contacted our telecenter

and asked to be put in touch with her birth mother.

Against nearly impossible odds, Delia had at last

found her daughter a continent away, amidst

a population of millions.

On September 19th, 1992, Laura, her husband, their two

children, and Laura's closest friends

assembled at Syracuse International Airport.

The separation of birth mother and daughter

that had lasted more than a quarter of a century

was about to end.

LAURA FRANKLAND: There was a lot of anticipation,

a lot of what's she going to think when she sees me,

and what is she going through right now.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: She was everything

and more that I'd expected, absolutely everything.

She's a beautiful girl.

Proud of her.

NARRATOR: Before Laura's adoptive mother died in 1989,

she had shared all she knew of Laura's background.

Delia and Laura could now fill in the remaining

gaps, and nearly 30 years of family history.

LAURA FRANKLAND: Finding my birth mother now,

I don't think has really changed my life as much as it has

probably enhanced it, because now I can find out some

about my past and my history and things

that I never thought that I would ever find out about.

DELIA FAZZANI GOLDIE: I can't replace her mother,

but I'd like to think that I could be pretty close.

NARRATOR: The September reunion is only a beginning.

At Christmas, Laura and her family

plan to travel to England, where they will spend time with Delia

and the many relatives looking forward to meeting

them for the first time.

Next, a baffling case of amnesia is

solved, thanks to our viewers.

NURSE: Do you have any pain anywhere?

Can you wiggle your toes for me?

NARRATOR: On January 28, 1991, a young man was

rushed to a hospital in Nevada.

He had been found dehydrated and disoriented in the desert

outside Las Vegas.

He carried no identification, and was

suffering from complete and total amnesia.

The hospital staff named him Tyler.

All efforts to jog Tyler's memory failed.

Authorities found no one reported missing

who matched his description.

His fingerprints were not found on file with the FBI, the CIA,

or the Department of Defense.

For more than eight months, Tyler

remained a man without a past and possibly without a future.

TYLER: I'm really kind of at a difficult point in my life

right now.

I can't do anything really, I'm almost like an illegal alien

here.

I have no identification of any form now.

I can't go to work because I am not

eligible for a social security number.

I can't drive a car because I don't have a social security

number or date of birth.

And I'm starting to feel more frustrated

as the days go by, because I really feel

this needs to come to an end.

I do need to find out who I am.

NARRATOR: A county psychiatrist diagnosed Tyler

as a genuine victim of amnesia.

Last month, this case took on added urgency, when the state

funding, which provided his job and apartment,

was abruptly cut off.

Then on the night of our broadcast,

Tyler's search for his identity came

to a poignant but unsettling conclusion.

Within minutes, Tyler was reunited with his mother

by phone.

But as more details emerged, some

began to believe that Tyler may not

have lost his memory at all.

That evening, Tyler gathered with friends to watch the show.

Before his segment even aired in Las Vegas, a man from Boise,

Idaho called our telecenter and identified Tyler as his son.

Unsolved Mysteries immediately contacted Tyler.

Yes, sir.

PRODUCER (ON PHONE): Sorry it took so long,

but everything that I was looking into cross

referenced, and we have located your family for.

You have?

PRODUCER (ON PHONE): Yes.

I have located your dad, and your mother,

and your wife, who you've been separated

from since February of 1990.

And they've informed me that you also have two children.

And your wife live in Iowa, your mother lives in Iowa,

and your dad lives in Idaho.

OK?

So I want to--

NARRATOR: Tyler learned that his real name is Arthur Paul Beal,

but he goes by Paul.

He is 23 years old before he was stricken with amnesia,

he lived in Boise, Idaho.

A few minutes later, a nervous Paul Beal

called the mother and stepfather he could not remember.

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): Hello?

May I speak with Mrs. Beale?

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): This is Mrs. Beale.

This is your son.

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): How Are you?

You sound great.

I've waited so long to hear you talk.

I miss you.

I'm scared.

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): I bet you are.

I don't remember you.

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): Huh?

I don't remember you.

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): I'll help you Paul.

NARRATOR: The emotional phone call lasted nearly 20 minutes.

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): You be strong, OK?

And I'll talk to you real soon. - OK.

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): OK, honey.

Bye.

LYNN BEAL (ON PHONE): Bye.

NARRATOR: A short time later, the case of Paul Beal a.k.a.

Tyler Doe, took a stunning and unexpected twist.

What's your date of birth?

I don't know.

You don't know your date of birth is?

No sir, I don't, I have amnesia.

NARRATOR: North Las Vegas police arrived and placed Paul

under arrest for grand larceny.

He was wanted by Boise police in connection

with a stolen shipment of frozen food.

How long have you had amnesia?

Going on nine months.

How do you remember that, you've got amnesia?

Hi, I've come to get my son.

NARRATOR: The next night, Paul's mother,

Lynn Beal, arrived from Iowa to post bail for him.

Their reunion was both emotional and awkward.

Paul Beal still did not recognize his own mother.

I don't remember you.

You will, it'll just take time.

LYNN BEAL: It's strange being with Paul

and his not remembering anything about me, not knowing who I am.

I just want to push everything into his head,

make him remember everything.

I want to make sure I can do things to help him.

I'm scared, I don't want to do something

to push it back farther, I want to reinforce happy thoughts,

good memories.

I just want him to know I love him, we all love him.

And I'm relieved that he's safe, he's alive.

NARRATOR: The reunion was tempered

not only by Paul's amnesia, but by the criminal charge

against him.

In Boise, Paul was a salesman for a food supply company.

On January 5th, 1991, he left for Las Vegas

to sell a shipment of frozen food.

He never returned to Boise.

On January 25, Paul surfaced with the empty truck in Boulder

City, Nevada, where he was questioned, but not

arrested, by local police.

At that particular time, my impression of Mr.

Beal was that he was very intelligent, very well versed,

very, possibly, well-educated, very clean cut,

and extremely talkative.

It just wasn't Paul, that isn't something he would do.

He's done silly, stupid things like anybody else

has made mistakes, but nothing to the degree

that this was, where he was actually breaking the law.

I told him when he left, I says, Boise is

going to get a warrant for you.

You know, they're going to do it.

It's going to be grand larceny felony.

So it's just a matter of time, you better get up there.

Go back up there.

He said, yeah I'm going back now.

I'm going right back up there and take care of the situation,

it'll be fine.

NARRATOR: Three days after he was detained,

Paul Beal, who came to be known as Tyler,

was found wandering in the desert.

Detective Baughman raises the obvious and disturbing

question.

Is Paul Beal faking?

Amnesia is easy.

I don't know.

Who are you? I don't know.

Where you from?

I don't know.

Do you know anything?

I don't know.

That's easy.

And with a guy like him, he's convincing.

Is this the four of you?

Uh huh, from Thanksgiving.

LYNN BEAL: This still isn't my son in the fact

that this isn't how he would react to me.

We were very close.

I could tell by his eyes when I first saw him tonight that he

really didn't recognize me.

He wanted to, I could see it in his face, he wanted to.

If he was faking it, there was no way

he could have faked that.

Am not and have not, throughout this entire ordeal,

faked anything.

This is probably the most horrifying nightmare

that anybody could go through, losing

an identity, losing every ounce and fiber of a person's life.

Having it pulled away and then nine months later,

have it given back to you or have it presented to you,

but you still don't have it.

I'd give anything in the world to remember right now.

NARRATOR: When we return, a nightmare of love gone wrong,

and murder.

When Annette Schappacher was 16, her family

moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Manatee County, Florida.

Annette was on the shy side and had trouble

adjusting to a new high school.

Annette discovered that it was very hard to fit

in with the click of friends and she missed that terribly,

because she was so much a part of high school in Ohio.

So she ended up dropping out of high school

and got a job as a check out girl at one

of our local grocery stores.

Hey Annette, can you come here a minute?

NARRATOR: Here Annette finally made a friend,

the butcher Jim Burnside, 28 years her senior.

Somebody as pretty as you and you don't have a boyfriend?

Thank you, no.

Well listen, I was wanting to ask you,

there's a little restaurant down where I keep my boat,

and I was wondering if you might join me for dinner tomorrow

night.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: At that time, she was only 17

and this man was almost as old as her dad.

Meet you about 8 o'clock tomorrow night?

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: We really hoped that she would meet

somebody more her age, but she was so much in love

with him that they finally agreed to meet him.

But I didn't like him from the first time I met him.

I just, there was just something about him

that I really don't know how to put into words.

I just did not feel comfortable with him at all.

But Annette was really very much in love with him.

NARRATOR: In 1981, Annette Schappacher and Jim Burnside

were married.

The bride was just 18, the groom 46.

It was a beginning of six years of torment for Annette.

The sobering fact is that here in the United States,

wife beating accounts for more significant injuries

than rape, auto accidents, and muggings combined.

Annette Burnside, like millions of women,

endured the private terror of a home

which was a living hell of physical and emotional abuse.

Like so many others, Annette became trapped

in a desperate charade, maintaining the facade

of a happy marriage to cover up an escalating

cycle of violence.

Within a month of his marriage to Annette,

Jim Burnside began to drink, and to reveal

a frightening side of himself that his young wife had never

seen.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: She became afraid of him

almost immediately, because he was jealous of her,

and when he was drinking, he was violent and made remarks to her

all the time, that she would never, ever leave him.

Well, he started telling her right from the beginning

that he would kill her if she ever tried to leave him.

Hello?

Annette, where are you?

NARRATOR: Just before her first wedding anniversary,

Annette took refuge in a shelter for battered women.

I can't.

You need to come back now, or I'll get even with you.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: He told her over

and over again, if he couldn't find her, she would suffer.

--kill your family.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: She would absolutely suffer because he

would kill her family.

And Annette felt like she didn't have any choice.

All right.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: I told her don't

stay with him because of us.

If Jim, if he does anything to us, then I don't know,

I just suppose that it's God's will that things

happen the way they do.

But don't live with him the way you have to live with him.

I would rather that--

I would rather be dead than to have you live a life like this.

Good thing you're here.

I have something for you.

NARRATOR: Against her parents' wishes,

Annette went back to Jim.

She acted out her happy homecoming

with a sinking heart.

Over the next few years, Annette and Jim had two daughters.

For a while, it seemed that things were improving.

Annette wanted to take a job as a receptionist at a local car

dealership, and Jim said yes.

Jim had lost his job and he agreed

to let Annette work, which amazed everybody because he'd

been so possessive and so jealous of her,

we just never dreamt that he would let her get a job.

And Annette was absolutely thrilled with this job.

She was so happy and she did so well,

they all really liked Annette.

NARRATOR: One of Annette's coworkers

was a salesman who we will call Dave.

Annette actually asked my advice

and said, what would you think about an automobile?

I want to buy a car.

It kinda told me that she just wanted a little bit

more freedom, because she always dropped her off and picked her

up, and so she really had very little freedom other than work.

She took the car home and not more than gosh, I don't know,

three days a week, he tried to wreck it.

Mommy, what's the matter?

Nothing's the matter.

We're just going to get you back to bed, OK?

Now let's see you try and leave.

Can't you get it through your head

that you're not leaving me?

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: He said, if you ever try to leave me,

I'll kill you.

I will kill this whole family.

And Stacey was only five years old at the time

and she looked up in him and she said,

daddy, you wouldn't kill me.

And he looked her right in the face

and said, yes, I would kill you.

And it just upset Annette so bad.

She would tell me the way she was be treated.

And all mothers, you know, if your kid's happy, you're happy,

and if they're sad, you're sad.

And it was just tearing me up to see what she was going through.

NARRATOR: The next day with Jim at work,

Annette called the police to escort her and her daughters

to safety.

Mommy, what happened to the car?

Just had a little accident last night, baby.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: She said that she made

up her mind, that this is it.

She's not going to stay with him another day.

If he kills her, then he's going to have to kill her,

because she cannot live this way anymore.

NARRATOR: By the time Jim came home,

Annette would be on a plane to Ohio taking her daughters

to stay with relatives.

Five days later, she would secretly return

to Florida and to her job.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: He had no idea where she was,

but in the meantime, Jim was calling us with these threats,

and telling us that this divorce was never going to be final.

It would never see its final day.

NARRATOR: Eventually, Jim discovered

that Annette was back in town.

He began to spy on her and was often

spotted near the dealership.

We could not get any help from anybody, even the Sheriff's

department when we went there.

It was like, Jim has to do something.

We just cannot arrest the man, he's got to do something before

we can do anything with him.

Unless you have somebody guarding you 24 hours a day,

the chances of somebody getting you to, it's stalking,

and they're going to get you.

And that's what he did, he stalked her.

NARRATOR: February 17th, 1988.

Three days before Annette was scheduled to appear

in court for a divorce hearing.

At noon, Annette met her coworker, Dave, for lunch.

Hi, Dave.

How's it going?

Good.

Well, it's up to you--

DAVE: She was smiling and happy, and all of a sudden, her smile

turned to the most horrible fear.

When I got out of the automobile,

because I knew that if I didn't do something,

this could be the end for Annette,

he looked at me like he was just about to enjoy a large steak.

I watched the fire come out of the gun

and it was like slow motion.

You could feel each one go in just like a hot poker.

NARRATOR: By the time Dave regained consciousness,

Annette was dead.

Jim had stabbed her 15 times with a 10-inch butcher knife.

An autopsy would reveal that Annette

probably died before most of the wounds were inflicted.

Amazingly, Jim Burnside had escaped

on foot in broad daylight.

After the murder, he purchased a bicycle

and army camouflage fatigues at a sporting goods store.

He then withdrew $500 from an automated teller machine

and disappeared.

Annette Burnside was laid to rest

in a Manatee County cemetery.

2 and 1/2 years later, a stranger appeared at her grave.

When a groundskeeper approached him,

the man quickly turned and walked away without a word.

The grounds keeper later identified

the visitor as Jim Burnside.

DAVE: What I'd like to see is James Burnside off the streets.

Not because of what he has done to me, mostly what he has done

to his own children, his wife.

This is why he has to be taken off the streets, because he's

going to do it again.

The world will never get over Annette's death.

There's a person that had so much to give.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: She knew in her heart,

she was not going to make it.

I knew in my heart she was not going to make it.

And I just hope and pray that somebody spots him.

We never will feel safe until we know Jim has been caught.

It's bad enough knowing that Annette had to die.

But to know that he is still out there, it's horrible.

We just want him caught.

We want to be able to close it out and go on with our life.

NARRATOR: Update.

The night this story aired, two viewers

contacted our telecenter to report that Jim Burnside was

living in Shelby County, Alabama under the assumed name Al

Wilson.

MARY COLLUM: When I saw his actual picture,

I just looked at my husband and I just start pointing,

and I'm going, you know, tell me my eyes aren't deceiving me,

you know.

That is Al.

And he goes, yes, that's Al.

The first I thought is that, well, you

know, let's call up the authorities

and get this guy of the street.

NARRATOR: Burnside was employed as a carpenter

at the 280 flea market, just outside of Chelsea, Alabama.

SHERIFF JAMES JONES: We had received a call from the FBI

office in Birmingham stating that they felt pretty sure

that James Burnside would be at this flea market

on highway 280 located in Shelby County.

NARRATOR: The morning after our broadcast,

FBI agents and Sheriff's deputies

checked out the flea market.

You got a fellow around here by the name of Al Wilson?

Yeah, he's right there on the roof.

SHERIFF JAMES JONES: Apparently Burnside saw them

and went towards his truck.

FBI, halt!

NARRATOR: The fugitive drew a 357 Magnum

and pointed it at the officers.

Put the gun down!

NARRATOR: Burnside was struck by two bullets.

He was placed under arrest and taken to a Birmingham hospital.

SHERIFF JAMES JONES: From what we've been able to determine,

and again talking to his coworkers,

that he had made a statement on Thursday

morning that he had anticipate having problems that day.

So apparently, he had viewed the Unsolved Mysteries

himself Wednesday night.

NARRATOR: Next, a young man's pointed search

for the big brother who changed his life.

In 1969, when Jeff Fisher was five years old,

his father left home, forcing Jeff's mother

to raise her young son and daughter alone.

What's the matter?

I don't want to go in there with you.

Why not?

There's only guys in there, and you're not a guy.

Well honey, that shouldn't make

any difference I'm not a guy.

I want to go in there with my dad.

Honey, I know you like to be in there with daddy, OK.

But Daddy's going to be gone for a little while.

LINDA FISHER-HOWARD: It was very hard on Jeff

after his dad left, because he had been very close to him

and suddenly he was gone.

And Jeff went through the feelings that a lot of children

have, that maybe this was my fault, maybe I said something,

maybe I did something that made my dad leave.

Jeff was a very sensitive, shy little boy, so things like that

bothered him a lot.

I would always ask my mom, you know,

where's daddy, where's daddy?

And she'd say, oh, you know, he's gone away

and I don't know when he's going to be back.

And it was just the fact that he just wasn't there anymore.

And I just felt a real loss, because I

had been so close to him, and he just wasn't there anymore.

NARRATOR: Two years after his father let, Jeff Fisher met

a man who profoundly changed his life,

a man he's not seen or heard from in more than 20 years.

Jeff is one of the thousands of boys whose lives have been

enriched by Big Brothers of America,

an organization that provides young boys with

strong adult male role models.

In 1971, Big Brothers of America opened a chapter in Jeff's

hometown of Elkhart, Indiana.

Jeff was a first little brother.

So what kind of sports do you like?

NARRATOR: His big brother was John

Novotny, a local salesman and father

of a two-year-old daughter.

JEFF FISHER: He was a big guy, he was

over 6 feet, jet black hair.

Just a really solidly built guy, a very commanding type of guy.

But really easy to get along with.

You ever put a tent up before?

No.

Well you're about to learn.

NARRATOR: Over the next 10 months,

Jeff and John spent many weekends together.

OK, now we want to unfold it.

JEFF FISHER: John gave me the companionship that I

really needed at that time.

He would take me out and do things

that mom wasn't able to either afford to take us to do

or just didn't have the time, because she

was working so much.

Just the fact that this was an older guy that I could

hang around with and not have him tell me to go away

and come back later and stuff, a guy

that wanted to spend some time with me

made me feel really good.

That looks pretty good.

Think it's ready to light?

Yeah.

OK, I'll give it a spin.

There we go.

LINDA FISHER-HOWARD: After Jeff and John started

seeing each other, I noticed that Jeff had a lot

more confidence in himself.

And he was very proud of the fact that he had a Big Brother,

and and he would tell the other kids,

well John and I are going to go do this, or my Big Brother

and I are going to go do this.

He was very proud of the fact that he had a man in his life

that was just his, they just belonged to Jeff.

NARRATOR: A year and a half after they met,

John's company transferred him to another state.

Jeff and John were no longer able to spend time together,

but they did stay in touch.

In September of 1972, Jeff underwent open heart surgery

to correct a congenital defect.

It was a terrifying experience, but a phone call from John,

who himself suffered heart problems,

helped to ease Jeff's fears.

Yeah?

It's real neat.

I've got this bed that moves up and down and sideways.

I think it helped Jeff to see to that John

was this big, strong guy and he had a bad heart.

And so if John can be big and strong, then

maybe this heart condition isn't the end of the world.

And I think that was a big help to Jeff.

NARRATOR: Jeff never heard from John again, but feels

that John's support and understanding were

a key to his complete recovery.

Jeff went on to graduate from high school.

He now works in the construction field

and has a family of his own.

JOHN NOVOTNY: Why don't you toss it out there

and tell me his story about it.

JEFF FISHER: He just introduced me to a world

that I had never seen before, that was

really beautiful and really just so different

from what I was used to.

And if I finally see him again, I just want to thank him.

I just want to say, God John, thank you, cause you just--

I still think about you.

He made a lasting impression.

It's been 20 years and he's still a really

vivid part of my memory.

NARRATOR: Thanks to our viewers, Jeff

Fisher's search for his Big Brother

ended the night of our broadcast.

Nine days later, Jeff and his mother

traveled to John Novotny's home in Tacoma, Washington

for an emotional reunion.

There they are!

There they are!

Yeah, you look just like your picture, man.

How you doing?

Great, great.

JOHN NOVOTNY: It's unbelievable.

I was absolutely stunned.

I had absolutely no idea that Jeff was looking for me.

And then as the show aired, people from Elkhart

and from Michigan started calling me on the phone,

telling me that I was on television.

And that Jeff Fisher was looking for me,

and we must have got 35 calls that night,

and at least that many the next night.

You know, I've been wanting to say thanks to this guy

for 18 years, and whatever it took to come out and say that,

I was willing to do.

This is when we were down in Lexington, Kentucky

for a John Mellencamp show.

JOHN NOVOTNY: When I first started being a Big Brother,

the question was, would I really have

enough time to do it right?

And then 20 years later to find out that I really

did make a difference, I mean, it brings

the whole thing to reality.

NARRATOR: On our next Unsolved Mysteries.

In the spirit of Halloween, we will explore the St.

James Hotel in New Mexico.

100 years ago, the St. James was a way station

for such legendary guests as Bat Masterson,

Wyatt Earp, and Jesse James.

Today the old hotel is known less for its guests

than for its ghosts.

In 1975, John Hardin was brutally

murdered in his own backyard.

16 years later, the current residents of Hardin's old house

are convinced it is haunted by his spirit seeking justice,

and incredibly, the haunting has spurred authorities to reopen

the murder investigation.

Join me for this intriguing Halloween

edition of Unsolved Mysteries.

[mysterious music playing]