Original subtitles

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.

ROBERT STACK: On May 12th, 1982, the body

of a young Minnesota housewife washed up

on the shore of Lake Superior.

Her husband, Larry Race, was convicted of murder

and sentenced to life in prison.

To this day, Race maintains his innocence

and his dead wife's parents support his claim.

Is Larry Race guilty or innocent?

Helen Rose Myran grew up on the Long Plain Reservation

in Manitoba, Canada.

In 1941, Helen Rose was banished by her father

when she joined the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Heartbroken, she vanished.

Her family has not seen her in nearly 50 years.

Also, thanks to our viewers, a man charged with murdering

his wife is now in custody following a dramatic shootout

with police.

Join me, perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery.

Lake Superior, headwater of the Great Lakes.

The largest freshwater lake in the world.

The water temperature hovers near freezing

for most of the year.

A person adrift without a life raft

stands little chance of survival.

On May 12, 1982, the lake claimed another victim,

33-year-old Debbie Race.

Her life jacket was intact, she had not drowned.

Debbie Race had succumbed to the icy lake temperatures

and died of hypothermia.

According to the authorities, Debbie Race's death

was no accident.

Her husband, Larry Race, was accused

of deliberately allowing her to freeze

to death in Lake Superior.

He was subsequently convicted of murder.

Yet Debbie's own parents believe that Larry could not possibly

have harmed their daughter.

After eight agonizing years and five

unsuccessful post-trial reviews, this is

the final appeal of Larry Race.

Larry Race is currently serving a life

sentence at Stillwater State Prison

in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He maintains that the jury which convicted him

was prejudiced, because he had a long history

of adulterous relationships.

LARRY RACE: What happened that night was an accident.

I didn't kill Debbie.

Yes, I was unfaithful, but I had nothing to do with her death

that night.

Adultery, yes, I'm guilty for that.

Sorry for it--

I'm extremely sorry.

ROBERT STACK: Debbie and Larry Race, along with her three

children, lived in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota,

75 miles from Lake Superior.

Larry's hobbies were boating and scuba diving,

Debbie built her world around her home and her children.

Over the years, Larry and Debbie's married suffered

badly because of his affairs.

But by 1982, Larry says they had vowed to try again.

May 11th of 1982 was Larry and Debbie's

14th wedding anniversary.

To celebrate, they had dinner at a lakeview restaurant,

and took their boat named the Jenny

Lee, after their daughters, on Lake

Superior for an evening cruise.

LARRY RACE: It felt as if things were starting over again.

Things had like a renewed spirit.

I wanted to stop what I was doing, and I was thinking,

you know, maybe this is the chance.

You know, I have a wonderful woman here, there's

nothing wrong with her, and--

and I want to take an about face.

ROBERT STACK: After darkness fell,

Larry and Debbie drifted contentedly.

They stayed about one mile off shore,

enjoying the view of the city lights

and listening to tapes of their favorite music.

I'm going to turn the tape over.

Or do you want to listen to another one?

- No, that's good. - All right.

ROBERT STACK: Suddenly at 9 PM, the mood was broken.

Debbie noticed that the boat was taking on water.

ACTOR AS DEBBIE RACE: Larry, there

is water all over the bottom of the boat,

where's that coming from, honey?

ROBERT STACK: Larry says Debbie began to panic.

She had no faith in the Jenny Lee,

because it had nearly sunk the summer before.

LARRY RACE: As soon as we pulled the cover off the engine,

we noticed there was water spraying all over the place.

So we shut the engine down, took the alternator,

loosened up the bolt, and dropped the alternator.

Soon as we dropped the alternator,

it shut the engine down, the water leaking stopped.

ACTOR AS DEBBIE RACE: Is that going to hold?

ACTOR AS LARRY RACE: I think that'll work.

I'm going to have to tape it, though.

LARRY RACE: Things were pretty well under control till then.

We worked together to get the boat fixed,

we worked together to get the water stopped,

and everything was OK.

We didn't feel [inaudible], we had a light on.

Nothing-- nothing was bad then.

ACTOR AS LARRY RACE: Can you cut this tape right here?

LARRY RACE: Once we got all the repairs done,

Debbie went to start the engine.

Larry, it won't start!

ACTOR AS LARRY RACE: Just turn it over, one more time.

LARRY RACE: Well, I figured she just

didn't know how to start it right, so I went to start it.

ACTOR AS LARRY RACE: Here, let me get in there.

LARRY RACE: I made it till almost the battery was dead.

We had two batteries on the boat.

It wouldn't start for me, either.

So now we're both back by the engine,

wondering why it won't start.

Must be something I'm missing here.

[loud bang]

(SCARED) Oh, Larry, we're sinking!

I want to get off the boat now, Larry, I want to get off now!

LARRY RACE: The fear came to both of us

when we heard that gushing and that wooshing noise

from the bottom of the boat.

I mean, I was scared along with her.

She made me scared.

Now I didn't know how to--

I wasn't thinking right, I didn't listen to what

I-- what I should have done.

I made poor judgments, I listened to what she said,

get off the boat.

OK, crack the valve on this one, I get it together.

OK, tell me when you're ready.

I got it.

LARRY RACE: First thing we did was pull the life

raft out to get it blowing up.

We always carry a scuba tank on the board for that purpose.

Larry, there's holes in it, it's not holding air,

we can't use this!

LARRY RACE: So we tossed that one aside

and got the second one, then we filled that one up the same way

we started the first one.

And that was filled, it worked fine.

- Little more. - OK.

LARRY RACE: Even though these are two man rafts,

there's only room for one person in that boat.

So you're going to get in here,

I'm going to drag us to shore, OK?

ACTOR AS DEBBIE RACE: All right.

ACTOR AS LARRY RACE: OK.

ACTOR AS DEBBIE RACE: OK, I'm going to put my purse

in the bag, give me your shoes.

ROBERT STACK: Debbie put her purse

and other valuables, as well as Larry's shoes into a gear bag.

She took the bag and a scuba tank with her in the life raft.

Larry Race had his dry suit and scuba tanks on board.

He was a strong swimmer, and thought he could tow

Debbie and the raft to safety.

He had done the same thing with his daughters

when the Jenny Lee had run into trouble before.

I knew I had to push her to shore, and I knew I could.

I was strong enough, she said the same thing.

She said Larry, you're strong enough, you can do it.

[crying]

LARRY RACE: I pushed, and I pushed, and I was making it.

I was OK, but I started getting cold.

I can't hold on.

I gotta come in, my hands are freezing.

I can't hold on, I need to get to the boat.

All right.

No, no!

No, Larry, the water's coming in.

No, don't come in, you can't come in.

OK.

LARRY RACE: She was terrified.

And at that time, I knew I couldn't get in the raft.

And, um-- and I thought that, you know, I would die.

And at that time, I made a poor judgment.

Looked off to the right, and there was lights coming.

I said, I'll go for help.

--light out there.

I-- I think I could get to it.

LARRY RACE: The lights were closer than swimming to shore.

Debbie was going that way towards shore,

I was going the opposite way for help.

One of us were going to get help.

One of us were going to get to shore--

Debbie was going to get to shore for help,

or I was going to get to the boat for help.

One of us were going to get somebody to help.

ROBERT STACK: The light Larry Race had seen

was his his own boat.

This time, the engine started.

After catching his breath, he would search for Debbie,

all the while firing distress flares.

In the end, Larry would return to shore

and notify the Coast Guard.

They would conduct a grid search of the lake, to no avail.

The next afternoon, a teenager on his way home from school

saw Debbie Race's body in the lake.

Larry Race was charged with murder.

At his trial, Larry Race's attorneys

advised him not to take the stand on his own behalf.

After he was convicted, Larry hired a new team of lawyers,

insisting that he'd been the victim of incompetent counsel.

Larry Race believes that if he had testified,

the jury would not have found him guilty.

The prosecuting attorney at Larry Race's

tried to link John DeSanto of Duluth, Minnesota.

Even though the case against Larry was circumstantial,

DeSanto was able to convince a jury

that Larry Race had the opportunity, means,

and motive to murder his wife.

JOHN DESANTO: I have absolutely no doubt that Larry Race is

guilty of first degree murder, and that's

why I believe that this is not an appropriate case

for Unsolved Mysteries.

It simply is not an unsolved mystery.

I believe the evidence showed that he wanted out

of an unhappy marriage at this time in his life,

and at the same time, he had $108,000 of life insurance

on her life, in place, that he had purchased

within the seven months previous to her death

through Credit Life Insurance.

Part of it, about $37,000, was mortgage

insurance that came along with the mortgage on his house.

The rest of it came as part of a group policy

from his credit union.

And there was some testimony, in fact,

that Debbie had been the one to seek out

this additional insurance coverage.

Larry, it won't start!

ROBERT STACK: Larry Race's defense

was built around his story of mechanical problems

of the Jenny lee.

The prosecution claimed Larry concocted the episode.

ACTOR AS LARRY RACE: --start up, it's already [inaudible]

ROBERT STACK: After his trial, the Jenny Lee was sold

and an independent mechanic examined the starter.

DAVID W. LARSON: The mechanic said that it was worn,

and that the type of problem that he saw there

would cause an intermittent starting failure.

That the engine, on some occasions, would not start.

At one of Larry Race's post-conviction hearings

following the trial, a man did come forward and testify that

he'd found a starter problem in the Jenny Lee in late May

or early June of 1984, or two years after Debbie's death,

the night of May 11th and 12th of '82.

He simply could not say that this was a problem he--

that was on the boat the night of Debbie Race's death,

and therefore it was ruled irrelevant,

both in the trial court and ultimately

in the appellate courts.

It-- look, it's losing air, there's holes!

It's got a hole in it!

We can't use this!

ROBERT STACK: Larry Race is adamant that he had two life

rafts on board the Jenny Lee.

JOHN DESANTO: Well, the evidence clearly

showed there was but one raft on the Jenny Lee the night

of May 11th and 12th of 1982.

Every one of Larry Race's diving companions or friends,

or both, that testified at the trial

said that they had never seen him

in possession of two blue and yellow rafts, as he claims.

And also significant is the fact that the search and rescue

people from the Coast Guard said that if that raft had existed,

they would have found it.

We've got-- we don't have a radio--

ROBERT STACK: At Larry Race's Trial,

the Deputy Sheriff testified that Larry had told him there

were two life rafts on board.

--right now.

I didn't hear you mention any noise makers of any sort.

No, we don't have a noise maker.

But we do have two raft.

Huh.

I just got another raft.

This deputy testified that Larry specifically told

him quote, "What about rafts?

I have two."

That deputy testified about that happening

over two weeks beforehand.

Well, sounds like you've got just about everything.

Yeah.

ROBERT STACK: The prosecution points out to the deputy's

testimony was inconsistent.

When he was first questioned 11 days after Debbie Race's death,

he said he knew nothing about two rafts.

--end up in the water, rafts'd definitely help, yeah.

ROBERT STACK: The prosecution claims that Larry pushed Debbie

and the raft well away from the Jenny

Lee, then returned to the boat and donned his scuba equipment.

They say Larry swam back under Debbie's raft

and slashed it with knife, leaving her to freeze

to death in the icy waters.

[crying]

JOHN DESANTO: This was very significant evidence

at the trial.

And it was that there were five punctures or cuts in the bottom

of the raft, placed in the raft while it was inflated,

because as the experts testified,

there was no knife cut on the top of the raft that would

correspond with the bottom puncture,

meaning the air chambers were inflated.

And strategically placed, in that they

cut both air chambers.

It wasn't a random thing like vandalism, where someone who

isn't really intent on cutting both air chambers,

but just damaging a piece of property.

They were placed in both air chambers,

from the bottom, while the raft was inflated.

ROBERT STACK: The prosecution failed to produce

the knife used to cut the raft.

The puncture marks did not match the only knife found on board

the Jenny Lee.

The prosecution asserts that once Debbie had been set

adrift, Larry dragged the life raft back to the Jenny Lee,

so he would have support for his story about attempting

to inflate a first raft.

JEAN AUBINEAU: All of the events that

leads to the action of Larry, according to the prosecution,

required super human effort, super feat that were

not just physically possible.

ROBERT STACK: Witnesses place the Jenny Lee here,

near the mouth of the Talmadge river at 8:30 PM,

and again at 9:30.

Debbie's body was found here, seven miles away.

According to Jean Aubineau, it would

have been impossible for a body to drift

that far without a raft.

JEAN AUBINEAU: If she has been in the water with a parka,

with a life vest, she can only travel one to two miles

and will hit shore somewhere.

The only way she could have landed seven miles down

was on a raft.

The fact that we just don't know

where the Jenny Lee was on the lake at the time he persuaded--

that time Larry Race persuaded Debbie to leave it,

makes it impossible to then start with a drift theory that

would put her body at such and such a place,

whether she's in a raft or without a raft.

Because we, again, don't have a precise starting point.

We never did have one, and that's

what makes it so difficult to give any credibility

to the Aubineau drift theory that

was presented by the defense.

ROBERT STACK: According to Larry Race's attorneys,

the skin lividity in Debbie's body

also proves that she came ashore in a life raft.

Debbie's blood had not sunk to her feet.

They claim it would have done so if she'd

been kept afloat in an upright position by a life vest.

The lividity of Debbie Race's blood following her death

was to the back, and that was consistent,

or is consistent with the fact that she floated in the water

with that life jacket, without a raft available to her.

Because as the expert testified at trial,

this particular life jacket would

have kept her basically face up on her back

as she floated, following her death.

Her body, of course, was then found face up,

on its back, on the shore of Lake Superior

as well, which would continue the lividity to her back.

And the autopsy report clearly indicates

the lividity was to her back.

ROBERT STACK: After hearing all the evidence,

but without hearing from Larry Race himself,

a jury of four men and eight women

found him guilty of murder.

MICHELLE LEE RACE: I couldn't believe

it, because there was no hard, cold evidence, hard facts.

There wasn't anything.

It was all circumstantial.

There was nothing concrete about his case

at all, except he had his affairs.

It's hard to take, you know, when

so many people think he was guilty,

but it's never been a problem with us.

We just don't believe he was guilty.

If you only knew Larry, you wouldn't think that Larry would

ever do anything like that.

Today, I'm angry at the fact that he was able to convince 12

jury members that this happened without any facts,

without any evidence, he just says, we think Larry did it.

We want him convicted.

And that's what he did.

You getting off work now?

Yeah, I'm going to go home in a few minutes.

Gonna see your boyfriend?

No.

ROBERT STACK: In 1981, 17-year-old Annette Schappacher

fell in love with Jim Burnside, a butcher at the grocery store

where Annette worked. - Bye.

You have a good evening.

Bye.

ROBERT STACK: A year later, the couple married.

The bride was just 18, the groom, 46.

For Annette, the marriage marked the beginning of a nightmare.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: She became afraid of him

almost immediately, because he was jealous of her,

and when he was drinking he was violent, and--

and made remarks to her all the time, that she

would never, ever leave him.

That-- well, he started telling her right from the beginning

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

ROBERT STACK: In 1987, after five years of nearly constant

emotional and physical abuse, Annette finally

found the courage to leave Jim.

Two months later, Jim Burnside brutally attacked Annette

and one of her coworkers.

[crying] Please!

Hey!

Get over here, what are you doing?

[gunshot]

[crying and screaming]

ROBERT STACK: Annette's coworker survived the attack.

Annette had been stabbed 15 times with a butcher knife,

and was pronounced dead at the scene.

That afternoon, Jim Burnside disappeared.

JEAN SCHAPPACHER: 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, and I just hope and pray

that somebody spots him.

ROBERT STACK: 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 started 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 thing I thought is that well, you

know, let's call up the authorities

and get this guy off the street.

ROBERT STACK: Burnside was employed

as a carpenter at the 280 Flea Market, just

outside of Chelsea, Alabama.

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

in Birmingham, stating that they felt pretty sure that Jim

Burnside that would be at this fleamarket on highway 280,

located in Shelby County.

ROBERT STACK: The morning after our broadcast,

FBI agents and Sheriff's deputies

checked out the flea market.

You got a fellow hanging around here

by the name of Al Wilson?

Yeah, he's right there on the roof.

JAMES JONES: And apparently Burnside saw them

and went towards his truck.

FBI, halt!

FBI, hold it!

The The fugitive drew a .357 magnum

and pointed it at the officers.

Put the gun down, put the gun down!

[gunshot]

[gunshot]

[gunshots]

Hands up, get your hands up!

ROBERT STACK: Burnside was struck by two bullets.

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

JAMES JONES: From what we've been able to determine in again

talking to his coworkers, that he had made

a statement on Thursday morning that he had anticipated

having problems that day.

So apparently he had viewed the Unsolved Mysteries

himself Wednesday night.

On April 1, 1988, Jeanne Tovrea, a wealthy socialite

from Phoenix, Arizona, was murdered in her own bed

while she slept.

At the time of her death, she was

worth several million dollars, most of inherited

from her late husband.

But Jeanne Tovrea's origins were humble.

Jeanne was born in a small Arkansas

farming community and married fresh out of high school.

In 1953, her marriage failed, and Jeanne

eventually wound up in Phoenix, working as a cocktail waitress.

If you folks need anything, I'll

be sitting right over there.

ROBERT STACK: Jeanne had no intention of spending

her life waiting tables.

On her rest breaks, she studied real estate

law, determined to make a better life for herself.

Several years later, Jeanne was well on her way.

She had obtained her real estate license in 1970,

and become an immediate success.

In 1971, one of Jeanne's clients introduced her

to Edward Tovrea, a charming, wealthy divorce.

Jeanne's the one that helped us on that real estate

deal I was telling you about.

She did a great job for us.

ACTOR AS EDWARD TOVREA: Oh really?

Well, congratulations.

That was super.

Thanks, you're embarrassing me.

ACTOR AS EDWARD TOVREA: Never be embarrassed when somebody

tells you you've done something well,

it's part of the business.

And I think you're going to do well because of your people

skills or that you're good at.

SANDRA ELDER: Ed had all the qualities

that Jeanne was looking for.

JEANNE'S CLIENT: I'd like to propose a toast.

SANDRA ELDER: It's just that simple.

To old friends, and to new friendships.

You have to kiss a lot of frogs

before you find the prince, and she considered Ed a prince.

ROBERT STACK: Ed Tovrea embarked on an intense courtship,

and Jeanne was swept off her feet.

Ed's ancestors had made millions in the cattle business,

and were among the founding fathers of Phoenix.

But Ed Tovrea made his own name as a pilot in World War II.

He was shot down and taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans.

Ed helped engineer the famous Great

Escape, digging tunnels which allowed

79 other POWs to go free.

Less than a year after they met, Jeanne and Ed

were married in a private ceremony in Hawaii.

Jeanne became an instant hit with the Phoenix upper crust.

DANNY MEDINA: She seemed to fall right into it,

as if though she'd had that money forever.

She was welcomed and very, very well loved, extremely liked.

I don't know of one-- and I can honestly say this--

I don't know one person that disliked Jeanne.

She was just one of those very special people

with very special qualities.

She treated people like she wanted to be treated.

I never saw any airs with Jeanne.

They entertained a lot, very casual entertaining.

Had friends in.

They had a very good marriage.

They both liked to do the same things.

ROBERT STACK: But there was one cloud darkening

Jeanne and Ed's life together.

Respiratory problems had plagued Ed ever since his POW days.

By 1982, he was virtually bedridden,

and Jeanne nursed him around the clock.

How about a little soup?

Jeanne, I think it's about time

we talked about what you're going to do after I'm gone.

Ed, please don't talk that way.

I just want to make sure you're taken care of.

You get the house, and you're comfortable.

OK?

OK.

Jeanne was not a greedy person.

It wasn't like, well, I--

I have married you, everything you have is mine.

This was not Jeanne.

ROBERT STACK: On July 11, 1983, Ed Tovrea died.

He left Jeanne an estate worth millions, including the house

and a valuable art collection.

SANDRA ELDER: It was hard for her

to visualize life without him, because he

was her steadying factor.

I think it was scary for her.

ROBERT STACK: After a period of mourning,

Jeanne threw herself back into the Phoenix social world.

DANNY MEDINA: I think it was her way to get over everything,

and meet people.

Became quite the socialite, and chaired many of the balls,

and her circle of friends all went.

So it became a very-- for Jeanne it became a way

of doing things for herself.

Well, I'm going to finish these last few invitations

and call it a night.

ROBERT STACK: The evening of March 31, 1988,

found Jeanne Tovrea preparing the final few invitations for

yet another high society party.

At 7 PM, she spoke with her sister.

By 1:00 AM the next day, she would be dead.

DANNY MEDINA: She had mailed those invitations

and then they came right after we found

out that she had been murdered.

And it did do a number on all of us.

It was almost like, remember my party?

It was very spooky.

ACTOR AS ERNIE HAMRICK: Wonder if he did that before

or after he killed her.

ROBERT STACK: At the murder scene,

police found several fingerprints, but

little other physical evidence.

Jeanne's purse, along with her identification

and credit cards, were missing.

ACTOR AS ERNIE HAMRICK: --to the jewelry case, too.

COP: Ernie, do you want to move the pillow?

ACTOR AS ERNIE HAMRICK: Sure.

ACTOR AS ERNIE HAMRICK: Those credit cards never been found

and they've never been used to this day.

The fingerprints that we have have been compared

to every name that's been mentioned to us,

has been through our computer system,

and we have not identified who those prints belong to.

In my opinion, and that opinion of two detectives,

all felt it that she was the victim of a hit.

She was killed intentionally for somebody.

ROBERT STACK: Police theorize that the killer was familiar

with Jeanne's neighborhood, because he had so easily

gained access to her home.

ERNIE HAMRICK: I would say the suspect at least had

some knowledge of the house.

Entry into the house was made through a window,

but it was done in a manner not to set the alarm system off.

There's white carpeting throughout the house,

and there was no indications in any room, except her bedroom,

that anybody had been in there.

It appears that he knew the direct path

from the point of entry to her bedroom and where she was.

She was shot while she lay in bed, asleep.

There was no obvious signs of a struggle.

[muffled gunshots]

ROBERT STACK: Police believe that the killers scattered

Jeanne's costume jewelry simply to give the appearance

of a burglary attempt.

He left thousands of dollars worth of real jewelry

untouched in the next room.

Also, it seemed that he wanted someone to be alerted.

ERNIE HAMRICK: The alarm was set off when the sliding door

was opened by the suspect.

He could have out the same way he got in without ever

setting the alarm off.

It's only a theory, but one of the reasons we considered

is that this person, if he was paid to kill her,

wanted to let the person who paid

him know that the job was done.

ROBERT STACK: Who could have wanted Jeannie Tovrea dead?

Police were at a loss, until they were given the old tapes

from her answering machine.

That was when they heard the voice of a mysterious man who

called himself Gordon Phillips.

GORDON PHILLIPS (ON TAPE): --and I

will try and call back this afternoon,

and I have some information for you.

It's a beautiful place you have here.

ROBERT STACK: In 1987, Phillips, who claimed to be a magazine

writer, had tried to interview Jeanne about her late husband's

POW experiences.

How may I help you?

Well, as I told you on the phone,

I'm writing a book about prisoners of war.

I'd like to talk to you specifically

about your husband, Ed.

Well, you know, that was a very long time ago.

I'm not that familiar with Ed's past.

Well, surely he must have said something to you

about his POW experience.

I mean, that was a big part of his life.

He didn't like to dwell in the past.

You know, you'd be better off talking

to the first Mrs. Tovrea.

Tell me about Ed himself.

Your husband, the man. What was he like?

Mr. Phillips, you say you worked for Time Life.

Yes.

Well, then of course you would have some identification

you could show me.

Well, actually I'm a freelance writer,

I'm not really on staff.

I can provide you with some references.

You know, I'm going to have to cut you short.

I have a plane to catch in the morning, and a lot--

SANDRA ELDER: Jeanne had him checked out,

and Time magazine had never heard of him.

And Jeanne once again told him that she was

the wrong person to talk to.

She couldn't seem to make him understand this.

ROBERT STACK: Gordon Phillips continued to hound

Jeanne Tovrea by phone.

If she was not in, he left messages on her machine.

And Jeanne became certain that Phillips was following her.

Mr. Phillips, I told you, I do not want to meet with you.

SANDRA ELDER: Maybe she'd be at a party,

or out shopping or something, and she

thinks she saw this guy.

For a while there, it was every time she went

somewhere she would see him.

He never came up to her, but she would see him in a crowd.

And she was extremely nervous about this.

GORDON PHILLIPS (ON TAPE): Look, Jeanne, this is

Gordon Phillips checking back.

It's about 3:30, I will call back around 5:00.

Thank you.

[machine beep]

ROBERT STACK: Police still have no idea who Gordon Phillips is,

where he has gone, or whether he was involved

in the murder of Jeanne Tovrea.

My greatest fear is that I'll never know why.

It's inconceivable to me that Jeanne was murdered.

This happens to other people, it's

what you read in the newspaper.

It doesn't happen to my family.

I miss her.

She was my sister, she was my best friend.

She was mine, and she didn't deserve to die.

ROBERT STACK: When we return, the saga

of a young Indian woman who ran off to join the Air Force

and never came home.

In Manitoba, Canada, just across the North Dakota border

is a family called the Myran clan.

They are part of the plains Ojibwe Indian nation.

In the 1940s, the Myrans found themselves caught

between the global politics of the Second World War

and the deeply rooted traditions of the Ojibwe.

There were seven children in the Myran family.

The youngest girl, Helen Rose, was just six months old when

this picture was taken in 1925.

Her family has not seen her for more than half a century.

It's been going on too long.

We've missed her too long, too many years have gone by.

And we'd like to find her now.

No matter where she is, we still love her,

and we're all concerned about her, too.

ROBERT STACK: When the Myran children were growing up,

they spent the winter months at a government boarding school.

Every summer, they came home to their parents' log cabin

on the Ojibwe reservation.

ACTRESS AS MRS. Myran: Helen Rose, come and sit beside me.

ROBERT STACK: In September of 1932,

the children prepared to return to school,

even though their mother was gravely ill.

And I might not be here when you return from school.

Be a good girl, and make me proud of you.

I will.

Goodbye.

ROBERT STACK: A month later, Archie Myran

showed up at his children's school, unannounced.

When you children left last summer,

your mother was very sick.

FLORA MERRICK: Our dad came and told us that our mother

had passed away.

And--

--she died there, three days ago.

FLORA MERRICK: Right away I saw what it was going to do to her.

ACTOR AS ARCHIE MYRAN: Helen Rose!

ROBERT STACK: All of the children were devastated,

especially Helen Rose.

Always her mother's favorite, she would never

fully recover from the death.

By 1941, Helen Rose was in her junior year

at the boarding school.

She was 17, and the world had become a very different place.

Right now as I'm speaking, the German hordes

are marching across Europe, causing

havoc, destruction, and death.

ROBERT STACK: Hitler's armies were threatening to overrun

the globe.

The new principal at the boarding school

was actively interventionist, and Helen Rose became swept

up in the anti-fascist fervor.

You know I've talked to you about joining the reserves.

This is your opportunity to join the world that really matters.

ANGUS MERRICK: He was teaching them

the role of the other society, and I presume that that's

where Helen got her idea to better her life

with the outside world, and to join the air force.

ROBERT STACK: Helen Rose dropped out of high school.

In an unprecedented move for an Ojibwe woman,

she'd listed in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

When they discovered that Helen Rose was underage,

the Air Force ordered her to obtain her father's permission.

Helen Rose returned to the reservation in July.

As a tribal elder, Archie Myran was helping preside

over the annual [inaudible] thirsting dance,

when the plains Ojibwe erect traditional structures

and offer prayers to the Great Spirit.

What is it you want to talk to me about?

I would like for you to sign--

JEAN MEECHES: She had papers, and she asked

my dad to sign those papers.

What is this paper?

It's to join the Canadian armed forces.

I don't think I want you to join

the Air Force, my daughter.

Why not?

JEAN MEECHES: And he told her, that I don't

want you to die someplace else.

If you go to war, you may not come back.

So he didn't sign those papers, and Helen Rose got mad.

Said you'll never see me again.

I'll get someone else to sign for me or something.

ANGUS MERRICK: Friends and relatives

who would have been proud to see Helen in the Air Force.

I often think now, if he had consented

to signing his name on there, this

would have been far different.

We would have-- I'm sure that we would have had Helen Rose

with us here all this time yet.

ROBERT STACK: Helen Rose did not return to her father's cabin.

She spent the night with an aunt.

The next morning she said her last goodbyes.

You take care of yourself, and I'm going to miss you.

Yeah, I'm going to miss you, too.

ANGUS MERRICK: When she was leaving her auntie's place,

she told her auntie well, I'm leaving now,

and you'll never see me again.

I'm not ever coming back.

Well, take care, OK?

ANGUS MERRICK: She was very disappointed.

She wasn't actually mad, but she was disappointed why

she didn't get that signature.

ROBERT STACK: Two years later, Helen Rose

did return to the area.

And where are you stationed, miss?

ROBERT STACK: When Angus Merrick walked into the general store

15 miles from the reservation, he was shocked

to see his sister-in-law.

Helen Rose!

Angus!

It's-- nice to see.

Helen Rose, how you been doing?

Oh, I'm fine.

ANGUS MERRICK: She had her uniform on,

and oh, she looked good.

Thank you.

ANGUS MERRICK: I said you father's

just across the street, here.

I'll go and get him.

He'll maybe want to see you, too.

I'll be right back, OK?

Just-- it won't take long.

So I went over and told Archie that his daughter Helen was

there, and asked him, if he--

would you like to come?

And without hesitation, he came right away.

By the time we got to the store, I couldn't find Helen.

She disappeared.

She was here.

ROBERT STACK: 16 years later, Archie Myran

died without ever having made peace

with his youngest daughter.

Each year, Archie Myran's family gathers

at the cemetery to honor the entire Myran

clan with an Ojibwe ceremony.

The extended family now numbers 150, and still they long

for the return of Helen Rose.

Even if she is passed away, her family wants to know,

so that Helen Rose's spirit can be honored in accordance

with the Ojibwe tradition.

JEAN MEECHES: I don't know what's keeping her away.

Surely she cannot hold a grudge this long.

We have no part in it, it was between her and my dad.

Not us.

She said she wasn't going to come back,

and she has stuck to her word, true.

Like a real Indian woman.

Join me next week for another edition of Unsolved Mysteries.