Original subtitles

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

The breathtaking beauty of Canada's Yukon Territory

has captivated travelers for generations.

But when Philip Fraser of Anchorage, Alaska

picked up a lone hitchhiker, the wilderness became

the gateway to a nightmare.

In 1990, four men were cast adrift when their fishing boat

sunk off the coast of Georgia.

After an incredible four day ordeal, one of them

was rescued.

As for the other three, a series of strange phone calls

suggests that they are being held against their will

in a foreign country.

When he was 20, Mack McDonald fell madly

in love with a girl next door.

A year later, Mack met his child for the first and last time.

Now that child could inherit Mack's estate, estimated

at more than $1 million.

Free-wheeling Las Vegas was a perfect locale

for Max Carson, a fast-talking, self-styled film producer.

In reality, Carson was a hustler and ex-cop

named William John Wood.

He is now wanted for rape.

Join me for these intriguing new stories.

Perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

[music playing]

Alaska, America's last frontier.

Highway 1 is its lifeline, a thin asphalt ribbon which

cuts through Canada's Yukon Territory

to connect Alaska to the continental United States.

On June 14, 1988, 25-year-old Phillip Fraser,

the son of two physicians, left his home in Anchorage

to enroll in a pre-med course at Evergreen

College in Washington state.

Philip had packed up everything he owned for the trip,

including two handguns.

On June 17, after losing two days to car trouble,

Philip crossed the border into Canada.

- Hi, where are you coming from? - Alaska.

Alaska. Where are you headed?

Washington. I'm a student.

You're going to school down there, then?

Yeah.

Anything on board, any goods that you purchased

that you're bringing across?

Um, just my books and things like that for school.

At Beaver Creek, Philip was entering

into Canada from Alaska into our Yukon Territory.

And Philip did declare that he'd had two firearms of his own.

And at that point, our Canada customs people

seized the firearms from him, as it is illegal for Americans

to enter Canada with any kind of a firearm.

After a one hour delay, Phillip Fraser was on his way.

His guns became the property of the Canadian government.

The next day, 600 miles south of the border checkpoint,

a hitchhiker was dropped off at the 40 Mile Flat

Cafe, owned by Gay Frocklage.

Gay and her daughter, Tina, were on duty.

The individual that dropped him off

didn't come into the cafe, just dropped him off and left.

And just looking at him through the window,

it was something wrong.

He didn't-- there was something wrong with him,

you know, in appearance wasn't comfortable.

And I said to Tina, we've got a winner here.

There's something wrong with this guy.

I remember saying to mom, you know

maybe he escaped from a mental institution,

because he was so strange.

I think we got a problem here.

Yeah.

Are you going to stick around?

Yeah, I think I better best not leave you alone.

I wouldn't leave all alone in the building

with him, as there was nobody else there at the time.

And so I said to Tina, well, you go ahead and take care of him

and I'll just hang around.

As I passed the side window, I seen a small black car pull up,

right to the side of the cafe.

And the young man in the car didn't get out of the car

but proceeded to act like he was searching

his car, like he had misplaced something that he needed.

During this time was when another vehicle pulled up

to the service station.

Yeah, Tina, there's a car at the pumps.

Do you want to serve him gas, and I'll just stay in here.

OK, sure.

Tina Frocklage went to the parking lot

to pump gas for another customer.

She and Phillip Fraser exchanged hellos.

Is that everything?

Yeah.

Gay and Tina were relieved when the hitchhiker

finished his meal.

They remember that he paid his bill in Canadian money.

I watched the hitchhiker go out and approach Fraser.

- Where you heading? - Down south.

Yeah?

I'm heading that way, too. - Good.

How about a ride?

Uh, I'm going to go in here yet.

- You sure? - Yeah.

All right.

The car sat for a few minutes, and then he pulled ahead

like he had second thoughts.

Still heading in this direction?

I thought you were going to have a bite to eat.

Mind if I go with you?

The hitchhiker just ran beside him and pulled the door open,

and the young man in the car proceeded to let him enter.

The strange thing was was as they left the yard,

Tina made some remark about he's going to live to regret

this day he picked this man up.

It was like a sixth sense that this man

was capable of anything.

Eight hours later and 200 miles south of the 40 Mile Flat

Cafe, Eddie and Pauline Olson of Katwanga,

Canada pulled over to help a stranded motorist.

Oh, wow, am I glad to see you guys.

Hey, I think my car ran out of gas.

I don't know what happened, because I

stopped at the last gas stop, but it just quit.

I'm on my way to college and I've got all my stuff

in the back of the car.

You could tell he was nervous, but I thought that--

well, you know, he was just scared of being out here

this late at night, didn't want to stay out here,

because it's kind of a remote area.

And at that point I just said, well, I'll tow you home

and we'll figure it out in the morning.

Now, you can sleep down here.

We've had quite a few people stay down here,

and they have pretty good sleep.

No, this will be great.

I really appreciate everything you guys have done for me.

You can just pick out whichever couch you want there,

and there are some blankets right there.

OK.

Have a good sleep, and we'll see you in the morning.

All right, thanks. I'll sleep good.

He slept downstairs in our basement,

and I have about 12 or 15 guns in a gun case down there.

And where he slept, the guns were just right beside him

there.

Oh, good morning.

How did you sleep?

Oh, I slept great, thanks.

Oh, sit down, have of coffee.

Thank you.

The next morning, the young man

told the Olsons that his parents were both doctors in Anchorage

and that he was on his way to college in the States

to study medicine.

And I really wanted to thank you guys.

Well, I got talking to him about his car,

and he told me that if I was interested,

he would sell it to me.

And I said, well, I was interested,

because all he wanted was a plane ticket to Seattle.

But I said, the only way I would buy it

is if he waited till Monday and we went through customs.

And he said that would be too late for him.

I can't wait till Monday.

I need to be in Seattle on Monday.

I really can't wait.

I really need to get going.

Is there something I can do for your hospitality?

Anything?

The Olsons were surprised when the young man

pulled out two wallets and began to behave secretively.

He gave the Alston's $20 in American money,

then left to fix his car.

Thank you.

Within an hour, the young man was back on the road,

headed south.

The car trouble had turned out to be nothing

more than a broken fan belt.

12 Hours later, the charred ruins of Phillip Fraser's car

were found at a car wash in Prince

George, British Columbia, 300 miles from the Olsons' home.

The condition of the car after it was burned,

it was almost totally gutted out on the inside

due to the fire and fire damage to the outside, as well.

Nothing was found in the car of any significance.

In fact, none of Phillip Fraser's belongings

have ever been found.

The parents were contacted in Alaska,

and there was a great deal of investigation done

at that point, as Phillip was considered

a missing person and potentially a homicide victim.

I was sure that there had been foul play,

but I kept hoping, thinking of all sorts of alternatives,

like maybe he decided he wanted to ditch his car

and being on his own.

And I knew-- intellectually, I knew that was wrong,

because he really loved his car.

Six weeks later, a body was discovered

in a gravel turnaround area 70 miles from the Olsons' home.

At the time of the discovery of the body,

it was already well known about the incident

of the car burning in the car wash in Prince George.

And almost immediately, investigators

who are looking at the remains being that of Phillip Fraser.

In order to do a positive identification,

we required dental records from Alaska, which

we obtained very quickly and were able to make

that identification.

I think-- excuse me.

Any parent who loses a kid feels like he's lost part of himself.

I think that's the--

one of the things you definitely feel, you feel like you

aren't intact yourself.

I just think it's very difficult to describe it in words.

You felt like your life and your family

has been truncated, cut off.

I felt angry, bitter.

I wondered, what sort of a person, what kind of a person

would destroy someone who is so idealistic and so full of life?

What really happened along that lonely stretch

of Highway 1?

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police

theorize that the mystery hitchhiker

learned everything he could about Philip Fraser

and then killed him.

They believe the hitchhiker assumed Phillip's identity,

stole his possessions, and finally

attempted to destroy the car.

In my mind, he most definitely is a dangerous person.

He's taken one life.

He has the capability of taking more.

As to whether he has done this type of thing before,

I couldn't say that.

But we know he has taken one life,

and I would consider him very dangerous.

These are composite drawings of the hitchhiker, based

on the descriptions of Gay and Tina Frockledge

and Eddie and Pauline Olson.

He is Caucasian, about five feet nine inches tall,

and weighs approximately 225 pounds.

He has a flabby belly which overhangs his belt,

and is between 20 and 25 years old.

He has brown hair and brown eyes.

The authorities believe that the hitchhiker

is familiar with the Toronto area and the Seattle,

Washington area.

He may be masquerading as Philip Innes Fraser.

Among the items never recovered were

Philip Frasier's birth certificate,

visa, passport, and checkbook.

Next, three fishermen are lost at sea,

but some believe they survived and are

being held against their will.

[music playing]

The vast oceans of the world have captivated humankind

since the dawn of civilization.

The young especially seemed drawn by the promise

of adventure and romance, but there

are also 1,000 hidden dangers.

Sometimes the sea can be an unforgiving mistress.

In 1990 alone, 865 people drowned

in American coastal waters.

April 12, 1990, Richland Hill, Georgia,

just south of Savannah.

Four commercial fishermen prepare to embark on a seven

day expedition in the Atlantic.

The Captain is 23-year-old Billy Joe Neesmith.

The crew includes his brother, Nathan,

his nephew, Keith Wilkes, and a friend, Franklin Brantley.

You're ready, let's go fishing.

Franklin, you in? - I'm in.

I'm in, let's go.

All right, it's all your.

In the late afternoon, they set off

on the Casie Nicole, a snapper boat owned by Billy

Joe Neesmith's employer.

The boat had recently been returned

to service after five weeks in dry dock for maintenance.

We were headed out probably approximately close to 90 miles

offshore.

I guess it was somewhere around 3:30,

4:00 in the morning that next morning.

It was still dark.

I had got up and was operating the boat,

and the boat just seemed to be sluggish, you know,

like it wanted to bust through the waves,

kind of like a submarine or something.

It didn't want to ride over the waves.

Something's wrong.

Man.

We're going to the right.

Billy Joe!

So I told my brother, he was laying in the bunk.

I woke him up.

I said, Billy Joe, I said, all of a sudden,

I said, something's wrong with the boat.

What's up, man?

It won't stay on course.

What do you mean, it won't stay on course?

I'm losing 10, 15 degrees, man.

I tried it manually, and it keeps going off.

And then I tried it automatic pilot,

and it just-- it won't hold, man.

Jesus.

We got to nosing around, the boat was riding

pretty deep in the water.

Yeah, [inaudible] two foot down.

Did you check the engine?

It sounds like sputtering a bit.

No, I ain't checked it, man.

We better check it, though.

Oh man, Nathan, we got two foot of water down there.

Let me see that light.

There you go.

Nathan, did you get them pumps yet?

No.

Hit him a couple times.

And we started working on our pumps,

trying to get our pumps to work to pump the boat out.

How about now?

Nothing.

We got to get them boys up next.

We got to start bucking this water out here right now.

The other crew members slept down in the bow,

and when we turn on the light, we

notice there was water about a foot

deep down in the bunks were they were at.

And we got in a line and started passing the bucket,

trying to bail the boat out.

In the meantime, we took the life raft out.

It was a two man life raft.

We'd been hollering mayday on the radio.

We had Billy Joe on it, working it.

Casie Nicole.

We're taking in water, going down.

Somebody, come back with it, please.

We never did get anywhere with that.

And the engine finally stalled.

Casie Nicole, we're going--

All power in the Casie Nicole was lost.

The radio was useless.

The four men abandoned ship.

The life raft was kind of rotten.

It had a hole in the side of it, up on the top.

We don't know for sure if the anchor snagged it and tore

this whole in it, or if the whole thing was just rotten

and it eventually wore in it.

We don't really know what happened there,

but we do know that it had a hole in it

about the size of a quarter.

By sunrise, the life raft was sinking fast.

Then salvation came floating by--

the hatch cover from the Casie Nicole.

I think I got it.

You got it?

Oh, his head.

What you doing, feet?

Come on, buddy.

Oh, I'm tired.

Come on, buddy.

The four men tethered the raft to the hatch cover

and clambered aboard.

It was then that Nathan Neesmith spotted the hull of the Casie

Nicole in the distance.

It looked like it was maybe three or four miles from us.

I said, I don't know what kind of chance we got,

but at least maybe one I was going make it to the boat

and get some kind of help.

Well, that's what I struck out to do.

And they started hollering, no, no, you come back.

You stay with us.

We can't separate up.

If we separate up, we're going to be split up,

and there ain't no telling what go wrong.

I just kept swimming and kept swimming.

I swam from oh, about 9 o'clock that morning.

And just before dark that afternoon, I got to where I

thought was what the boat was.

And I got to looking around and I seen the stern of the boat

sticking up at a distance, probably another

100 yards or so to the right of it.

So I just kept swimming.

I done swam till I thought there wasn't no more swimming in me.

And I drank so much salt water trying to swim in it.

And I was just real weak.

As darkness fell, Nathan lost sight of his companions.

He spent a long, harrowing night clinging to the hull

of the Casie Nicole.

The next morning, a freighter passed

within three miles of Nathan.

This ship here looked like it made about four stops,

maybe five stops.

And each time it would stop or circle,

I could see a fog of smoke boil out of it.

And it was in the direction that my other mates had went,

so I figured that maybe it had stopped to pick them up.

The freighter continued its odd maneuvers for nearly

three hours, then disappeared.

For 2 and 1/2 days, Nathan Neesmith

drifted and prayed that the Casie

Nichole would stay afloat.

All seemed lost, until a large wood and Styrofoam bait

box ripped loose from the boat's deck and popped to the surface.

I couldn't tell what it was for a minute,

because I was scared and everything like that.

And I swam over to it, where I could get a better view of it.

Like I say, I was pretty weak.

I couldn't-- I about starved down I was hungry and thirsty,

and really weak.

And I got to the front of it and blessed god,

the whole front was out.

I mean, it was just like a boat to me.

I mean, it looked like just something

that I needed at the moment.

[music playing]

It was really hot.

I mean, I was getting real sunburnt.

My skin was turning real, real red.

And I was very close to dead.

I mean, actually I was to the stage of death,

but I knew I couldn't give up because I had

two kids and a wife at home.

And I remember saying, God, please

let me go home to my wife and kids

and be able to raise my kids.

Don't let me die in this ocean.

At 10:00 AM on April 15, 1990, Nathan Neesmith

was finally rescued, 20 miles off the coast of Georgia.

He had been adrift without food or water for four days.

Nathan Neesmith's companions were never found.

A large scale search mounted by the Coast Guard

yielded no trace of the life raft or the hatch cover,

but Nathan and his family never gave up hope that the three men

might somehow have survived.

It seemed a futile hope until a strange telephone

call was made to the home of Nathan's sister, Oneda.

[phone ringing]

It was October 5, 1990, six months

after the Casie Nicole sunk.

Oneda's mother-in-law answered the telephone.

Hello.

[speaking gibberish]

What?

I can't understand you.

Can you speak English?

The caller, a man, spoke in Spanish

and seemed unable to understand English.

No.

I can't understand a word you're saying.

Can you speak English?

All this person would keep saying is repeating our phone

number and saying our name.

And that's all.

Then it was just like a cut off.

It wasn't anything after that.

And you know, we just kept Hello, hello.

And it was just cut off, static cut off.

STACK: That same day, an unusual call also

came into the home of Doug Tyson,

owner of the ill-fated Casie Nicole.

Hello?

ROBERT STACK: Once again, the caller was a man.

The only English words he said were the Tysons'

name and telephone number.

That was strange.

What do you mean?

They were speaking in Spanish.

In Spanish?

DOUG TYSON: We didn't say anything about the call

when we got it.

Six weeks later, after that, about six weeks,

we were down visiting with the Neesmith family,

and they started telling us about their call.

And after they got through, I said, how long ago was this?

I asked them.

They thought back a minute, and they said about six weeks.

I looked at my wife.

She looked at me, nodded her head.

He said, about the same time?

And I said, yeah.

ROBERT STACK: Over the next year, five more calls came in--

three to Oneda and two to that Tysons.

Finally, on March 6, 1991, a caller spoke

a single sentence in English.

Hello?

Excuse me?

ONEDA DRAWDY: He said just very simple words.

Not, "I'm bringing it home," "I'm bringing him home."

He just said, "I'm bringing them home."

That was it.

Hello?

Hello?

ROBERT STACK: After only a moment,

the connection was broken.

There have been no calls since.

The Neesmiths and the Tysons are convinced that the three

missing men were taken aboard the passing freighter

and perhaps transported to a foreign country

against their will.

I think they're somewhere being held.

I really do.

And I think that whoever called us is putting theirself

on the line because my brother or my nephew or our friend,

one of the three has made a friend, a very dear friend

because this person that's doing this

is probably putting himself on the line to do it.

In my mind, people are lost at sea.

They're never found.

I realize that.

But there's no explanation for where the debris went.

And then the fact that Nathan's seen his ship

stopped the first day--

you add all those together with the phone calls,

and I think it adds up to a tremendous amount of hope.

In my heart, yes, I feel like they're alive.

I think they had a lot--

I know they had a lot better chance of surviving than I did.

I don't think that I would've ever made it not knowing

that they couldn't make it.

ROBERT STACK: What really happened to the lost

crewman of the Casie Nicole?

A Coast Guard search was the largest

ever conducted in the area of the Atlantic Ocean

where they disappeared.

Officially, Billy Jo Neesmith, Keith Wilkes, and Franklin

Brantley are presumed dead.

Unofficially, there seems reasonable hope

that they may still be alive.

When we return, one man's poignant search

for his long-lost child who stands to inherit

more than a million dollars.

MARY HELEN: It's our baby, Mac.

Beautiful baby, huh?

It's ours.

ROBERT STACK: For most parents, seeing

their baby for the very first time

is a moment of unrestrained joy.

But for this young father, it was a moment of confusion

and panic that drove him away from the girl he loved

and the child he has not seen since.

Don't go.

Don't--

ROBERT STACK: Four decades later,

the young man is 63 years old.

WB Mac McDonald is now a wealthy businessman

with a sizable estate, yet he is very much alone.

Mac has never been married.

No one from his immediate family is still alive.

For 30 years, Mac McDonald has been searching for his child,

but has found only frustration.

Those lost years are the one thing his money cannot buy.

Mac's story begins in 1948 in Pomona, California, when

he fell madly, perhaps tragically,

in love with a girl next door.

Her name was Mary Helen Carr.

She was just 16 years old.

MAC MCDONALD: The first time that I noticed my neighbor she

was in the swing on her front porch she was

in a pair of white slacks and a light-colored blouse

and very pleasing to look at.

While she was there on the swing,

there was a definite attraction both ways.

However, I guess I was a little shy at that time.

I didn't speak to her at that time.

It was several months before I finally began to speak to her.

Nice bike.

Yeah.

I like to keep it clean.

My name's Mac.

Mary Helen.

Nice to meet you.

I've seen you before.

Uh, I'm just cleaning my bike.

Would you like to go for a ride sometime?

My mother would forbid me to ride that, especially with you.

Is your mother always here?

ROBERT STACK: The romance progressed slowly

and discreetly.

Mary Helen's mother was distrustful

of Mac's intentions.

Still, the two young lovers saw each other

at every available opportunity, until the inevitable day

came when Mary Helen's mother caught them together.

We were planning on a future together

and here were these tremendous stumbling blocks

being thrown out into the path.

ROBERT STACK: Mac felt he had no choice but to pack his bags

and leave.

His destination, the oil fields of Texas.

I'm sorry.

MAC MCDONALD: I was very much in love with her.

My whole life was revolving around her at that time.

But with the disturbance that I was causing her at home,

I thought, well, I'll get away a while

and maybe it'll solve some of these problems.

We can be sure that what we were feeling for each other

is going to last the rest of our lives.

We both agreed that this was the best thing to do,

but it didn't make it any easier.

I went directly to Houston.

The only time I stopped on that trip

was just for gas because I left part of me in Pomona.

And it didn't get any easier the more miles I got away from her.

ROBERT STACK: Three weeks later, Mac had

established himself in Houston.

He had no idea that Mary Helen had

run away from home to join him.

MAC MCDONALD: Mary Helen called me from the bus station

there in Houston and she says, I'm here for good.

And I told her, I'll be right there.

And I tore the streets up getting

down to the bus station.

It was a very happy reunion.

Here we are.

ROBERT STACK: The next day, Mac and Mary Helen,

posing as husband and wife, found an apartment

and began planning for the rest of their lives.

We're here for the apartment.

You called.

ROBERT STACK: Their troubles seemed far behind them.

You just got married, right?

Yeah.

Well, congratulations.

Thank you.

Well, it's right here.

Let me show you.

MAC MCDONALD: It was happiness itself.

It was the ultimate dream.

The feeling that she gave you-- she was beautiful to look at.

She was beautiful to talk to.

And she gave you the incentive to tear the world up.

- I met a new neighbor. - You did?

- Yeah. - Are they nice?

Yeah, real nice.

ROBERT STACK: One month later, Mac and Mary Helen's world

would collapse again.

It's very good.

[phone ringing]

Hello?

Just a minute.

ROBERT STACK: A friend tipped Mac off that the police were

on their way to the apartment.

Hello?

ROBERT STACK: Mary Helen's mother

had made good on her threats.

The authorities carried warrants charging

Mac with statutory rape and illegally living with a minor.

Right now?

I'm so sorry.

I don't know how she found out.

It's not your fault.

She must've talked to your mother or something.

It's OK.

It's not your fault.

- I don't know how she found me. - That's fine.

That's fine.

I'll call you.

ROBERT STACK: Mac made his escape with no time to spare.

MAC MCDONALD: I left Texas, and it was in the afternoon.

It seemed like afternoons is when all

these departures took place.

And I didn't stop till I was out of the state of Texas.

I was devastated again.

They jerked her back to California

and I had no way of contacting her again.

ROBERT STACK: A year passed.

Mac returned to California to take a new job.

One evening, he and a friend stopped off

at a drive-in in Long Beach.

Mac?

Mary?

MAC MCDONALD: I almost fell out of the car.

The waitress-- the carhop that came to wait on us

was Mary Helen.

Los Angeles is a big city.

It was a big city then.

And the possibilities of driving into a restaurant

and having her the waitress was like hitting

a keno ticket here in Reno.

Well, listen, I can't really talk to you,

but I get off work at 9:00.

Do you want to come by my apartment?

Yeah.

Here's my address.

Great.

You can see our baby.

I have a baby?

MAC MCDONALD: I almost had heart failure.

It took my breath away because I had no idea she was pregnant.

There was that possibility, though.

So I told her I'll be right over.

When I--

Mac.

Come on in.

MAC MCDONALD: --with this baby in her arms.

Come in.

Look.

MAC MCDONALD: I thought, well, the police department

is probably on premises.

Honey?

MAC MCDONALD: This is just a matter of time

till I'm going to be shackled and in jail over this.

I'm so glad to see you.

MAC MCDONALD: I was so distraught

when her mother opened the door that I overlooked the fact

that she was about half-civilized-- the first time

she'd ever spoke to me civilly.

I was in such a traumatic state of fear,

the benefit of being able to hold

your baby for the first time, I missed

that because all I could think of is either the law

is in the bedroom or they're on the way.

ROBERT STACK: Mac was terrified that Mary Helen's mother still

had a warrant out for his arrest.

In California, statutory rape was punishable by up to 30

years in prison.

Mac McDonald stayed for less than five minutes.

He never even learned if the baby was a boy or a girl.

MAC MCDONALD: I feel that I made the greatest mistake of my life

by not staying there and riding it out.

I don't think there was--

probably-- well, it's been 40 years?

That's what it's cost me.

I feel that the youngster is entitled to my estate.

I'm not entitled to be its father, probably,

but I would want that youngster to know that,

even with the mistakes, that I love him and I want

him to have the best.

The night of our broadcast, Mac McDonald

learned that he had a daughter named Sherry.

The long-awaited news came from a viewer in Dallas, Texas--

Mary Helen Carr, Sherry's mother.

Unlike many of the reunions we have feature,

the end of this search evoked decidedly mixed emotions

for Mac, for Mary Helen, and especially for their daughter,

Sherry, who'd been raised by a loving and caring stepfather.

I'm 43 years old and pretty well

set in my life and everything.

And I didn't know what to think.

I'm very happily married and have two great kids

and we just are a normal, American family.

And this is quite a shock to everyone.

ROBERT STACK: One week after our broadcast,

Mac McDonald arrived at Sherry's home in Denver, Colorado.

For Mac, the reunion would bring a bittersweet, and at times

unsettling, reconciliation with the past.

Hello.

Hi.

Come on in.

[inaudible] right place?

Yes.

Hi, Mac.

MAC MCDONALD: It's hard to describe the feeling that I had

for my daughter when I opened the door and she was there

and I was able to hold her.

- Sit down. - I don't want to sit down.

I want to hold you.

SHERRY BLACKMAN: I just try to come to the realization

that it really was my father standing there

and I just wanted to see, does he took like me?

Does he act like me?

I have all these things I need to learn about him.

I don't know what to say.

I'm still in a state of shock.

SHERRY BLACKMAN: At this point in my life,

to find that there is someone who is my father

and who wants to establish a relationship with me,

is just emotionally very traumatic.

Apparently, he wants to be part of her life.

And if that's the case, that's OK.

I hope, since he's gone to this much effort to find her,

that he doesn't bring any sorrow to her.

MAC MCDONALD: The fact that I didn't

stay and fight the battle, it's most unfortunate.

I don't believe I would do it that way again.

However, yesterday, unfortunately can't be redone.

I'd like to.

No matter how you look at it, he

left my mother with a tiny baby, and I have to deal with that.

I have to deal with the fact that I

have a father who loves for me, who has raised me,

who's cared for me.

But I believe there's enough room

in this family for everyone, and I sincerely mean that.

ROBERT STACK: Next, an ex-cop, masquerading

as a movie producer, is wanted on charges of rape.

Every year, more than 20 million tourists

descend upon Las Vegas, Nevada, the gambling

capital of the world.

Most come for only one reason--

to spend and win money.

It's no wonder that Vegas is also

a mecca for every kind of hustler

and con artist imaginable.

Yes.

Well, I talked to two of the guys yesterday,

and they seemed to be excited about this whole thing,

and so--

ROBERT STACK: In May of 1988, a self-styled star-maker

named Maxwell Carson arrived in Las Vegas.

Carson was a smooth talker who dabbled in anything

that might make money.

Carson owned and operated a sports

betting business, a fledgling film

company, and a modeling agency.

But Max Carson was a man with a dark past.

He was an ex-cop gone bad, whose real

name was William John Wood.

In 1972, Wood resigned from the Toledo, Ohio police force while

under investigation for misconduct.

Between 1977 and 1985, Wood served time

for a number of offenses, from passing bad checks,

to impersonating a federal officer, to assault with intent

to rape.

In 1986, William John Wood moved to Las Vegas

and became Max Carson.

BOB SCOTT: Max was absolutely obsessed

with good-looking women.

He would, especially with actresses, models,

any good-looking women, use the movie industry

or use his clout as, quote, unquote,

"a movie producer to be," could get them whatever they wanted.

- Tiffany? - Yeah.

Hi.

Mr. Carson will see you now.

ROBERT STACK: In November of 1989,

Carson began holding auditions for an upcoming film.

One striking 19-year-old model caught his eye.

We will call her Tiffany.

Hi. How are you?

Hi.

Great, thank you.

Have a seat.

You're-- - I'm Tiffany.

Tiffany.

TIFFANY: I went in.

I talked to him.

And he told me a little bit about what the movie was about

and what I would be doing.

I think there's a role in here for you.

Of course, it's a speaking part.

Oh!

That'd be wonderful.

TIFFANY: He had started talking about money,

and I felt strange that he would offer a large amount of money

to someone in my position that's never

really had any acting before.

So I talked to a couple of agents.

And they'd all heard of him.

They had done their homework on him

and found that there was nothing wrong with him.

Super.

Well, we've got your address and phone number

and how to get in touch with you.

And I appreciate you coming in.

ROBERT STACK: Tiffany had several other meetings

with Carson, but the movie never got off the ground.

Max Carson's empire was on the verge of collapse.

We have employees that haven't been paid.

Now, Bob, just relax.

Have faith.

We've been through so much together.

ROBERT STACK: By January of 1990,

Max Carson would shut down his offices.

Yet he would maintain the illusion that he

was still in full operation.

Hello.

I'd like to speak to Tiffany.

ROBERT STACK: In February, he called Tiffany

and hired her as a last-minute replacement

model for a photo shoot.

--problem down here.

We had a photo session this afternoon and--

ROBERT STACK: Carson arranged to meet her later that day

at a restaurant on the strip.

Max?

Oh, hi.

Hi.

We're all set up.

We got two rooms set up, one for wardrobe--

TIFFANY: I had met him in front of the coffee shop

and he said that we needed to go to the motel there,

where they had set up a dressing room for me.

Oh.

Here's the limousine we're gonna be using.

And-- oh, I wanna thank you very much for coming

here on short notice.

This shoot should be probably about two hours.

You'll be done in--

those dresses are just fine.

TIFFANY: I started to feel a little

uncomfortable just because there was no one around.

Tiffany, why don't you just go over

there and fill out those forms and I'll make a call.

TIFFANY: So I'd left the door open with my bag

sitting between the room and the door

so that it would make it a little bit

difficult to get the door shut.

This

Is Max Carson.

Listen, I'm expecting somebody in very shortly and--

TIFFANY: Supposedly, he was calling the makeup artist

and the photographer to let them know

that we're here and waiting.

Yes. OK.

Well, I appreciate that.

Thank you very much.

TIFFANY: And about that time, he had

asked me if I would give him a hug,

and I knew that I was in trouble.

Max, I don't feel very comfortable, OK?

Um, I'm not gonna do the sh--

What do you mean you don't feel very comfortable?

Let's just forget about the whole thing.

Max!

You're not going anywhere.

Max, please--

Don't make a sound.

Do what I say and I won't hurt you.

I thought at that point that I was going to die.

I thought I was going to be extremely

lucky if I walked out.

I tried very hard to cooperate, hoping that that would keep

him from becoming more violent.

This was scary.

ROBERT STACK: Later that day, Tiffany called the police,

even though Carson had threatened

that he would accuse her of prostitution

if she told anyone.

Max Carson was charged with kidnapping,

sexual assault, and battery.

But by then, he had disappeared.

Two months later and 3,000 miles away,

Max Carson surfaced in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Once again, he tried to work a scam on a beautiful woman.

Hi.

I hope I didn't keep you waiting.

No.

I just got here.

Well, I've been here before.

Why don't we go upstairs in the lounge.

How about downstairs? I just want you--

ROBERT STACK: Carson and the woman

had arranged to meet in the lobby of a Cocoa Beach hotel.

Carson wanted to continue their conversation

in a private room upstairs.

He had convinced the woman to accept money for sex.

--get something upstairs.

Hold it right there.

Cocoa Beach Police.

You're under arrest for solicitation.

ROBERT STACK: Max Carson had walked into a clever trap.

The woman was wearing a concealed wire

as part of a sting operation.

Carson pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution.

At the time, police in Florida had no idea that he

was wanted in Las Vegas.

Take this guy downtown.

ROBERT STACK: Two days later, Max Carson

was released from jail and disappeared once again.

Only then did police finally discover his true identity.

William John Wood was last seen in Reno, Nevada

in March of 1991 still using the name Max Carson.

He tried to run one of his scams on a model

he had known in Las Vegas.

When she confronted him with his past, he disappeared.

Authorities believe he may be operating anywhere

in the country, though he seems to prefer Florida,

Nevada, or Southern California.

They are certain that he is still masquerading as a film

producer or talent agent.

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Join me next time for another edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries".

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