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.

Tonight, on the season premiere

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Under hypnosis, Bruce Kelly

was overwhelmed by vivid images of American sailor's death

during World War II.

Later, he was amazed to learn that his vision

of a sinking of a submarine actually

took place 50 years earlier.

How could Bruce Kelly relive inaccurate detail

events that took place before he was even born?

After a killer tornado rips through Woodward, Oklahoma,

the town's residents flee to a local hospital.

The scene is chaos and one of the survivors,

a young girl named Joan Gay Croft,

is carried off by two strangers.

More than 40 years later, she is still missing.

Pedro Santiago, Jr. was his family's pride and joy--

popular, athletic, a good student.

Then on December 12, 1990, Pedro was struck

by a car in front of his house.

The driver callously fled the scene, leaving Pedro to die.

Join me for our dramatic season premiere.

Perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery.

[theme music]

What are you afraid of--

the dark, flying, heights?

Many of us harbor at least one secret irrational fear,

a phobia.

Sometimes when the phobia is serious enough

to disrupt normal functioning, we will do almost anything

to regain control of our lives.

For a man named Bruce Kelly, the attempt to cure his phobias

took him to places he could never have imagined.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Bruce Kelly

grew up in Glendora, California, a small town

just outside Los Angeles.

Bruce was a natural athlete who went to college

on a full baseball scholarship.

Bruce eventually became a sales manager

for a medical supply firm.

He married, divorced, and as a single parent

raised his only daughter.

Through it all, Bruce had been plagued

by overpowering phobias--

a fear of flying and enclosed spaces which he believed

hampered his career and a fear of water which

was just plain bothersome.

Anytime that I got around a swimming pool,

I would be afraid to even go close to the edge of the pool.

I would just walk way around it.

It even was to the point bad enough where

I couldn't sit in a bathtub.

I didn't like the feeling of the water coming up around me.

I'm going to count from three down to one.

When I get to the number one, you're going to be deep--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Over the years,

Bruce had sought help from several different

medical professionals.

Nothing worked.

Finally in desperation, he went to Rick Brown, a hypnotherapist

who specializes in an unusual and controversial technique

known as past life regression.

--this morning.

On the number three, you're going there now.

On the next number, two, you become a part of it.

On one, you're there.

When I was seeing what I was seeing and I said to him,

this can't be real, his direction at the time

was, just go with it.

Probably 99% of the people who come to me

do not go into past lives.

Probably only 1% of the people have spontaneous regressions

when working with phobias, and Bruce

did have a spontaneous regression to a past life.

RICK BROWN: Where are you?

I'm in a submarine.

RICK BROWN: What's happening?

BRUCE KELLY: I'm drowning.

Bruce was writhing in that chair.

He was actually moving around and going

through the death scene.

Tell me your name.

Johnston.

RICK BROWN: What is your full name?

James Edward Johnston.

James Edward Johnston--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The hypnosis session

had taken an intriguing turn.

Bruce Kelly had apparently been thrust

into the life of an American sailor named

James Edward Johnston, recalling specific detail that

seemed astonishing.

RICK BROWN: What's going on?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Bruce said that Johnston

had drowned in a submarine, the "USS Shark,"

during World War II.

Bruce also said the "Shark" had gone down near Borneo, just

off an island called Celebes.

RICK BROWN: Are you alone in this hallway?

BRUCE KELLY: No.

There's another man in the hallway.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Bruce even came up

with the name of a man trapped with Johnston in the submarine,

Walter Pilgrim.

Everything goes blank and there's the sense

that something's really wrong.

There's water coming in.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Bruce told Rick Brown

that Johnson and Pilgrim had both died at precisely

11:34 PM, February 11, 1942.

BRUCE KELLY: Are there any survivors?

No.

The memories were just like it was something

that happened yesterday.

They were very close to the surface.

They came up real easily.

At first, it was like I was just making it up,

like this really can't be happening,

this really can't be real.

I have to be making this up.

And I went to the library, more to prove that it didn't

happen than it did happen.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The next day,

armed with the names of two sailors, a submarine,

and a date, Bruce began a crash course in World War II history.

[explosion]

Bruce learned that during the war,

52 American submarines carrying nearly 3,500 sailors

were lost at sea.

21 went down in battle, 10 in accidents.

21 more simply seemed to disappear.

No one knew exactly what had happened to them.

Incredibly, Bruce found that the very first American sub lost

in the war was a "USS Shark," the submarine Bruce

had named under hypnosis.

Bruce was also astounded that the "Shark" had disappeared

near an island called Celebes.

Once again, Bruce's memories proved accurate.

BRUCE KELLY: They also had a crew roster there

and on the crew roster was James E.

Johnston, which was the name that I had

come up with under hypnosis.

And it also gave the approximate date

of loss, which was February 11, 1942,

which was also the date that I had

come up with under hypnosis.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Bruce was further amazed when

on the crew list, he found the second name he had remembered,

Walter Pilgrim, chief electrician's mate.

BRUCE KELLY: Hairs were standing on the back of my neck

when I saw it.

It was like, oh, god, this is real.

I was in total disbelief and total shock.

And there was also element of excitement

that maybe there is something to this.

Is your mother married?

No.

Is your mother living?

No.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Over the next six months,

Bruce Kelly saw Rick Brown on average once a week.

With each session, more details emerged,

details that appeared to come from the life

of James Edward Johnston.

I'm going to go now to your mother's death.

Is that acceptable?

Yes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In time, Rick Brown

began to talk to Bruce Kelly as if Bruce, in fact,

were on James Edward Johnston.

You're there now.

Are you at home or in the hospital?

BRUCE KELLY: It's in a home.

RICK BROWN: Are there many people there?

BRUCE KELLY: Yes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Bruce saw himself as Johnston

around age 12, keeping watch at the moment

of his mother's death.

A young cousin named Elizabeth stood with him.

Other memories were far less dramatic, even mundane.

Bruce vividly recalled that as Johnston, he always

made it a point to eat the end pieces

from every loaf of bread.

In another session, Bruce remembered that Johnston

was born in February of 1921.

As a young man during the Great Depression,

he was enrolled in a government work program

called the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps.

The year was 1938, the place California.

Bruce remembered a young girl there named Molly Lassiter,

James Johnston's first love.

I'd like to move forward to a time when you're with Molly.

Is that acceptable?

Yes.

Moving very quickly now--

three, to a time when you're with Molly;

two, here there now; one.

Where are you?

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): We're on the bridge.

RICK BROWN (VOICEOVER): What are you doing on the bridge?

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): We're talking.

RICK BROWN (VOICEOVER): What are you talking about?

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): I'm asking her to run away with me.

RICK BROWN (VOICEOVER): Is she afraid?

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): Yes.

RICK BROWN (VOICEOVER): What is you afraid of?

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): Her father.

RICK BROWN (VOICEOVER): What is she afraid of her father about,

why is she afraid of him?

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): Probably afraid for me.

RICK BROWN (VOICEOVER): And what is she

afraid that will happen to you?

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): That he might harm me or even kill me.

RICK BROWN (VOICEOVER): Do you ever see Molly again?

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): No.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Bruce Kelly and Rick Brown

began to research Johnston's life,

and Bruce's memories checked out with remarkable accuracy.

Johnston had been in the CCC in 1938 and 1939,

stationed at Tuli Lake near the California-Oregon border.

In 1940, he enlisted in the Navy and served on board

the "USS Shark."

CCC and Naval records listed James

Edward Johnston's hometown as Jacksonville, Alabama.

The date on Johnson's birth certificate

confirmed another crucial fact.

The month and year Bruce Kelly had remembered under hypnosis

were correct, February 1921.

Bruce came up with a significant amount

of information that was well past being coincidental.

There were too many lines of evidence

that pointed to the fact that Bruce

Kelly is the reincarnation of James Edward Johnston.

I could be the reincarnation of James,

or it just may be some information that somehow

or another that I've tapped into.

And it means it's something else that's happening.

I don't know.

Although Bruce's phobias were cured,

his life had taken on a new and unexpected dimension.

There seemed to be a mysterious synchronicity

between Bruce Kelly and James Edward Johnston.

Bruce's hypnotherapist, Rick Brown,

made two trips to Johnston's hometown, verifying facts,

before he finally persuaded Bruce to go there with him.

Bruce's first visit was filmed as it happened,

which you are about to see.

It is not a recreation.

On April 17, 1993, Rick Brown and Bruce Kelley

arrived in the town where James Edward

Johnston was born and raised, Jacksonville, Alabama.

At the house where Johnston and his mother had lived,

Bruce Kelly experienced a sudden strong reaction.

Again, these events were filmed as they happened.

There's a lot of stuff here.

The back bedroom's right over here.

- You feel that? - Yeah.

That's the bedroom.

That's the [inaudible].

We've been a lot of places, but--

[inaudible]

It sure is.

So I remember I used to come in the back.

There was like an alley back here

or a dirt road or something.

It's almost like he wasn't good enough

to come in the front door.

BRUCE KELLY (VOICEOVER): Moving to the side of the house

when I could actually see the bedroom

and I knew that was the bedroom, that's when the feelings really

started hitting.

Remembering that he used to have to come in on the back street

and come through the back door, the back porch.

I remembered that.

I remembered the feelings of kind of feeling

like a second class citizen.

They were poor, she was unmarried.

I couldn't vocalize it myself and somebody off camera

said something to the effect of you've come home.

And that's when I got really emotional because that's

exactly what it was.

Hi.

BETTY WATSON: So you made it back down

to this part of the country?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Afterwards, Bruce Kelly

went to meet several people who remembered

James Edward Johnston as a boy.

One of them probably knew Johnston better than anyone

else, his cousin Betty.

We've heard all about you.

How are you?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Betty's real name is Elizabeth,

and Bruce believes she is the same Elizabeth he saw

under hypnosis, the little girl who was with James Edward

Johnston when his mother died.

Betty remembers her aunt's death,

but not the specifics of the scene.

However, when she met Bruce, other memories of her cousin,

whom she called Edward, flooded back.

Betty began to press for details.

Do you remember anything about bread?

Yeah.

One of the first sessions that Rick and I had,

I talked to him about always liking the heel of the bread,

wanting to get the end of the bread.

Because the only that meant anything to me was growing up,

I was the same way.

My mom would bring home a loaf of bread

and the first thing I'd do is open that thing up

and grab the heel out of there.

Did you open both ends?

Sometimes.

Edward did.

And I'd get in trouble for it, sometimes, too.

Oh, really?

Yes, I did.

You went to that house, the second on the left?

Yeah.

Did you have--

what where your feelings there?

Well, that's been the emotional high of the trip.

It was real difficult, real emotional.

Do you feel that you are Edward reincarnated?

You don't really feel that?

I don't know.

I don't know.

I've been asked that question so many times.

And all I know is for some reason or another,

I have all this information about him.

I don't know where it comes from.

For me for me to stand here--

I really don't know to believe.

I have doubts, but there are just certain things.

Bruce said that Edward used the back door, and this is true.

And not everyone would have that knowledge.

The older you get, the more you're

going to look at something like reincarnation or anything

that offers an answer.

And reincarnation, regardless of what

this religion or that religion or anything else thinks of it,

it offers a solution.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At the Jacksonville cemetery,

a memorial stone has been erected in honor

of James Edward Johnston.

No one knows exactly how or when Johnston died, except perhaps--

just perhaps-- Bruce Kelly.

BRUCE KELLY: I was in my bunk when the attack happened.

[alarm sounding]

Everybody was heading toward their stations.

I had gotten into the first hallway

when there was a depth charge.

The submarine was rolling and moving.

James got to his feet and he had gotten five, 10 feet more down

the hallway when there was a second depth charge

and it was obviously a direct hit.

The next memory I have is the area

that I'm in filling up with water and filling up real fast.

Pilgrim!

Pilgrim, is that you?

BRUCE KELLY: There was another man in the hallway

and he was experiencing the same thing I was, knocked

off his feet a couple of times and now trapped in this hallway

that was filling up with water.

The last real image that I had was

the other man in the corridor.

I wasn't alone in this corridor.

There's somebody else here and they're

going to the same thing I am.

We are dying.

I'm probably not as afraid of death

as most people in the United States are

or Western civilization are.

Death isn't something that I think about every day.

And I just try to live every day and enjoy

every day the best that I can.

And when death comes, it comes.

I think that there is something beyond

and I don't think it's a final situation.

I don't think it's the end of--

there's more.

Although we know it seems far-fetched,

there may actually be one person who

can verify Bruce Kelly's extraordinary experience.

Her name, if she exists, is Molly Lassiter.

She would have lived near the California-Oregon border

in 1938 and would today be around 70 years old.

If Molly is out there, perhaps the mystery

of Bruce Kelly and James Edward Johnston

will at last be solved.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Next, thanks to you, our viewers,

a fugitive cult leader accused of rape

has finally been tracked down.

This is Julie Cooper of Kansas City, Missouri.

With her is Tim Santi, the man who rescued Julie

from a childhood that she says was nothing short

of a living nightmare.

When Julie Cooper was just six, her parents

joined a religious cult in Missouri

called the DeCloud Family.

The leader of the sect was a charismatic ex-police officer

named Nelson DeCloud.

Nelson thought that he was God's son--

not really that he was Jesus Christ,

but that he was one of God's sons

and that he couldn't do any wrong.

OK.

Now, I want you to stay out here for a little while.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Julie says

that by the time she was 10, DeCloud was

demanding to have sex with her.

--what God wants you to do.

You understand me?

Yes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): According to Julie,

she initially refused but eventually the pressure became

so great that she gave in.

And he says, well, are you ready now?

Of course, after all that had happened, I just said, yes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Julie claims that over the next 12

years, she was subjected to constant humiliation

and emotional torture by DeCloud,

forced to serve as his unwilling sex partner.

Finally in September of 1992, Julie Cooper

made her escape, aided by Tim Santi,

an electronics repairman.

They had met when Tim visited the compound to work on De

Cloud DeCloud's satellite dish.

Last Thursday I called my friend, Tim.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At Tim's urging,

Julie went to the police.

They immediately issued a warrant for DeCloud's arrest.

But before he could be apprehended,

DeCloud and his followers disappeared.

I want Nelson to get caught because it's not fair to anyone

else that's up there.

My mom and dad, they need to know

that he isn't the Messiah--

he's a criminal.

What he was doing was wrong.

After our broadcast, several viewers from San Angelo,

Texas, a small town 500 miles from DeCloud's old headquarters

in Missouri, called to say they had seen

DeCloud's wife in the area.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The cult had apparently

settled in this farmhouse.

When state and local agents converged on the scene,

DeCloud kicked out the screen of the upstairs window

in an attempt to escape.

And the deputies approached him and he tried to wrestle

with a few of them briefly.

There were so many law enforcement officers, thought,

that didn't last very long.

They put the handcuffs on him and escorted him out

of the building.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Nelson DeCloud

was booked at the local county jail

and later extradited to Liberty, Missouri,

to stand trial on four criminal counts, including

forcible rape and sodomy.

Since the arrest of Nelson DeCloud,

other former members of the group

have come forward wanting to testify

about things they witnessed when they were members of the group.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Nelson DeCloud

is currently out on bail, thanks to $25,000 raised by followers.

A trial is scheduled for November 16th, 1993.

If convicted on all charges, Nelson DeCloud could spend

the rest of his life in prison.

I feel confident now that I can

have a normal life after seeing him caught,

knowing that it can be done.

For Julie Cooper her long ordeal is almost,

but not quite over she still has to testify to clouds

upcoming trial.

However, this courageous young woman has already found

a happy ending to her story.

Last summer, Julie became engaged to Tim Santi,

the man who helped her escape.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Next, perhaps you

can help find a hit and run driver whose

victim was an 11-year-old boy.

Chicago's skyline rises majestically

above the southwest tip of Lake Michigan,

yet the city's character is defined

largely by the diverse communities which

fan out from the shoreline.

The Logan Square section of Chicago

is was a close-knit middle class neighborhood.

Pedro Santiago, Jr. was born here

and knew Logan Square like the back of his hand.

It was a place where he always felt safe.

Pedro, a fifth grader, was popular with his peers, a good

student and a talented athlete.

By the time he was 11 years old, he had already

earned a black belt in karate.

Hi, Mom.

Just calling to let you know that I'm home.

Good.

How did school go today?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On December 12th, 1990,

Pedro came straight home from school

and called his mother at work to fill her in on his plans

for the afternoon.

When I'm done with my homework,

can I go over to Eric's and show him the ball blaster?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Pedro left

his house just after 3:00 PM.

At that exact moment, two neighborhood teenagers

were walking back from the corner market.

[tires squealing]

Well, I'd never seen anything like that happen so I couldn't

believe that it happened.

I started walking towards the car

and I seen that it was real.

I started running towards the car.

The driver, he got out of his car.

He started cursing, he started hitting his car.

I guess he was upset with himself for doing it.

Pedro was trying to talk, but my friend was telling

him not to waste his energy.

I'm going to call an ambulance.

Don't let him leave.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Seconds

later, the man jumped into his black Oldsmobile and took off.

EYEWITNESS: When I was on the phone talking

to the man from the fire station,

I seen him pass right by me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): 12 minutes later,

Pedro was on his way to the emergency room.

The hospital chaplain called Pedro's mother immediately.

When I answered the phone and I

heard the voice on the other end, I kind of got shocked.

I said, what happened?

And then this other person talked to me and said,

it's an emergency.

Your son is in the hospital.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Pedro was unconscious and suffering

from massive head injuries.

His parents had only a few precious seconds

to comfort him before he was taken into the operating room.

When we got to surgery room, they said you can kiss him now.

OK. You can touch him.

Lean forward.

We don't have a lot of time.

EDITH SANTIAGO: And then we gave him a kiss.

OK.

That's all the time we've got.

And then they took him in.

They said surgery would be about an hour

and a half or two hours.

We went in the waiting room and we kept on waiting and waiting.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Pedro hung

on for 10 agonizing days, but he never regained consciousness.

He was buried the day after Christmas in 1990.

With Pedro's death, the hit and run incident escalated

to a case of manslaughter.

Police had put out an all points bulletin for the car's owner,

a Cuban immigrant known on the streets as Cachimba.

When police efforts to find Cachimba failed,

Pedro's father began to nose around on his own.

I went to a lot of bars, a lot of places in Chicago

and I asked everybody, did you know Cachimba?

They said, yeah, but he left Chicago.

He's not here anymore.

And I kept asking everybody until one

day I went to this restaurant.

I asked the man--

[speaking spanish]

He left town a long time ago.

Cuando?

The last time I saw him was around Christmas.

He wanted me to lend him some money

so he could move to Nueva York.

Did he say why he was moving?

I think he was in some trouble with the police.

He had to get out of town so I gave him $100.

He told me he maybe is in New York now or Florida.

He gave me a lot of places where the man could be.

So I gave the police all those places.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Nearly two years have

passed with no further leads.

For the Santiagos, nothing will ever be the same.

To me, it's like it happened just the other day.

It's very hard to let go.

I try and just--

the happy times that we spent with Pedro

and I see his smiling face and--

we just miss him a lot.

I know I won't get my son back,

but I would like to see him get caught and be locked up.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Cachimba's real name

is Geraldo Gonzalez.

He has not been charged with any crime.

However, police would like to question him.

Cachimba is Cuban, stands five feet, eight inches tall,

and weighs around 160 pounds.

He may be living in New York, Florida, Michigan, or Illinois.

When we return, a four-year-old girl

survives a devastating tornado and then

mysteriously disappears.

The Woodward, Oklahoma of 50 years ago

belonged to a simpler, quieter age.

On April 9th, 1947, two events were the talk of the town.

A popular Ingrid Bergman film had finally

arrived at the town's only movie theater.

More importantly, a telephone operator strike

had left Woodward's 5,500 residents virtually

cut off from the outside world.

Had the phones been working that day,

Woodward might have gotten news of an impending disaster,

a monstrous tornado that churned its way across Texas

and was headed directly towards them.

As darkness fell, the giant twister slammed into the town,

reducing it to rubble.

More than 1,000 people were injured, more than 100

killed, all in a matter of minutes.

Nearly half a century has passed since the disaster,

but incredibly, one survivor still

remains unaccounted for today.

Joan Gay Croft was only four years

old when she mysteriously disappeared

during the chaotic aftermath of the tornado.

Although Joan Gay was last seen more than 46 years ago,

some members of her family are convinced she is still alive.

Perhaps with your help, she will be found tonight.

Perhaps she will even be watching.

Joan Gay Croft grew up in one of Woodward's most

prominent families.

God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Her father, Olin,

was a successful sheep rancher.

He was able to provide a comfortable life

for the family--

his wife, Cleta, her 12-year-old daughter

from a previous marriage, and of course,

four-year-old Joan Gay, who is remembered fondly

by her great Aunt Ruth Bohn.

She's the most prettiest little girl I ever seen.

She was just perfect.

Her little teeth was white as pearls.

And she was real bashful.

When someone would come in, she'd

get a hold of her mother's dress tail

and kind of hide around behind her.

She was a mama's girl.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): April 9th,

1947 had dawned ominously, with the sky tinted a reddish cast.

That afternoon, Ruth Bohn was visiting

her sister when the day suddenly grew dark and threatening.

Do you feel that?

RUTH BOHN (VOICEOVER): So I looked up

and it was just so still that it was really odd.

It's been windy all day and it's really calm out.

The sky's an odd color.

RUTH BOHN (VOICEOVER): There wasn't no noise anyhow

and the birds wasn't saying.

It was just quiet.

Time we got home, that thing had hit.

We'd hear boards and tin stuff in the house

and I just knew that we'd never had nothing like this.

When the tornado hit, I stepped out on the front porch

and I saw this car coming down the street

with all four wheels looked up and the wind

was pushing it down the street.

I knew we were in trouble then.

Wind began to blow.

It became quite fierce and we huddled back

in the corner of the room to watch the windows blow out

and the electric light lines bounce down the street.

It was just a horrible, horrible experience.

I was very scared.

It lasted four to five minutes, which seemed like an eternity.

We were very lucky.

We had broken windows, minor damage.

And then mother and I went to search for our relatives.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Marvella and her mother,

Ruth, joined the survivors streaming

to the town's only hospital.

Ruth had been unable to find her mother or brother,

nor had she heard from Olin Croft and his family.

Marvella, over here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): An eerie calm had settled

over an unforgettable scene.

Mama, where are you?

MARVELLA PARKS: We stepped over bodies.

Some of them had their skull all cut off and some of them

had their throats cut.

Some of them was dead.

It was just like wartime if they dropped a bomb.

That's just about what it looked like.

It was just terrible.

There's Betty Irwin.

Betty?

Betty, have you seen my mama?

Have you seen my family?

No.

I haven't seen your mama, hon, but Joan Gay

and Jerry are in the basement.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Ruth learned that her nieces had

made it through the tornado.

Their father, Olin, was seriously injured.

Tragically, their mother, Cleta, was dead.

I thought, oh, no.

Lord, it can't be this.

It just can't be this, that's all.

She was a perfect mother to those kids

and the kids who loved her.

And that was hard. It was hard.

It was real hard.

Joan Gay, Jerry?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Ruth picked her way through the dead

and wounded in the hospital basement

until she finally found her nieces.

Joan Gay's leg had been pierced clear

through with a finger-sized splinter of wood.

Her sister was bruised from the flying debris.

RUTH BOHN (VOICEOVER): Well, I thought, God saved them both.

They're going to be all right because neither one of them

was hurt very bad.

You just think of it as a big ol' splinter, OK?

I want my mommy and my daddy.

I know where your daddy is.

I'm going to see if I can find your mama.

The poor kids, I got to tell them mama's gone.

And that was just heartbreaking.

So I didn't let on like I even knew because that wouldn't

help those girls at all.

They would have just went hysterical.

I'm sure they would have.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Relieved

that her nieces were safe, Ruth hurried back outside.

There, she finally found her mother and brother.

Mama.

Carl, is she going to be all right?

No, Ruth. She's bad.

We've got to get her to Moreland Hospital.

Mama, can you stand?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): When she got to the other hospital,

Ruth was pressed into service helping

the overburdened doctors and nurses.

The next morning, she finally returned to her nieces.

Aunt Ruth.

Where's Joan Gay?

Some men took her.

Some men took her?

Did you know them?

No.

Betty?

Betty?

What is it, Ruth?

Where's Joan Gay?

Well, two men came by last night and--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The two men

had claimed they were taking the little girl

to a hospital in Oklahoma City, some 120 miles distant.

But calls to all the hospitals in that area

turned up absolutely no trace of Joan Gay Croft.

Less than a week after the tornado,

Ruth received the phone call she had been dreading,

a call from the local mortician.

When the bodies were laid out in the chapel area,

their relatives would come in and look at them.

Well, when you finally got down, we had two left over

that nobody had identified.

Franklin?

Franklin?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): One of the unclaimed bodies

was a young blonde-haired girl who bore a striking resemblance

to Joan Gay Croft.

The mortician asked Ruth to bring some of her niece's close

to the mortuary.

Ruth, these are too big.

It's not your niece.

I pray to God you're right, Franklin.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Ruth insisted

on viewing the little girl just to be

sure she was not Joan Gay.

I was really relieved it wasn't our little Joan Gay.

I just-- that was one burden of my heart right there.

You will find her, Ruth.

I hope so.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): With Joan Gay still unaccounted for,

her family launched an all-out search.

They listed her missing with all of the law enforcement,

FBI.

They went to all extremes to look for her.

And there was never, ever a trace of her.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): After nearly 50 years,

the identity of the two men who carried off Joan Gay

is a source of lingering speculation.

According to Ruth, they asked the nurse very specifically

for the Croft children.

Had the men known the family?

Were they even the rescue workers?

And where did they take Joan Gay?

Whatever the answers, many of Joan Gay's relatives

believe she is still alive.

It's a possibility she could be out there alive.

I have no idea.

I think maybe she might be because she

wasn't really hurt that bad.

Until somebody can prove to me otherwise,

I will always believe--

I'll firmly believe-- she's out there somewhere.

And we want to find her and bring her back home.

We'd just have a great big reunion, that what we would do.

We would celebrate, yeah.

All of us would.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Very few pictures of Joan

Gay Croft survived the tornado.

Joan Gay had blue eyes, blonde hair, and at the time

spoke with a mild lisp.

She would probably still have scars on her left calf

from a tornado injury.

Joan Gay Croft was four years old when

she disappeared April 9, 1947.

On our next "Unsolved Mysteries," in Australia,

a panicky young pilot radios that he's being tailed

by a bizarre light source.

Seconds later, the pilot and his plane

literally vanish from the sky.

Some believe it was a close encounter

of the most sinister kind.

Also, the curious saga of a convicted bank

robber who refuses to tell authorities his real name.

The more we kept digging into this gentleman's background,

the more mystery surrounded him.

Everyone that surrounded him eventually disappeared.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Perhaps someone

watching will know his identity and what, if anything,

he is trying to conceal.

Join me next time for another fascinating edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

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