All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S08E01.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTW_track3_[eng]

[mysterious music]

Tonight, the exciting
season premiere

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

Brandon Lee,
handsome, charismatic,

destined to be a
star, then something

went horribly wrong on a
movie set in North Carolina.

Did Brandon Lee fall
victim to an ancient curse

that some believe also
killed his father,

Bruce Lee, 20 years earlier?

Christie Carlsen
was a frightened

and confused
16-year-old when she

gave her baby up for adoption.

More than two decades later,
she and the child's father

are together again,
and searching

for their long lost daughter.

Have you ever had a dream
that just had to be real?

Tonight, you'll meet a man
whose nightmare of capture

and imprisonment
during the Gulf War

was an astonishing psychic
vision that came true.

In northern California,
a fugitive on the loose,

a standoff, a massive search.

Have you seen Tony Castro?

Join me for our dramatic
season premiere.

Perhaps you hold the key.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[theme music]

Bruce and Brandon Lee, a father
and son linked by legend.

Each was a rising star in
the action-packed world

of martial arts films.

Some say Bruce and Brandon
are also bound for eternity

by an ancient Chinese myth.

A few have called it
a lethal family curse.

Supposedly, the first
victim was Bruce Lee's older

brother, who died as an infant.

Later, when Bruce and his son,
Brandon, met unexpected deaths,

many again divined the
unstoppable hand of fate.

Be formless,
shapeless, like water.

I mean you gotta put the whole
hip into it, and snap it.

Ultimately, martial art means
honestly expressing yourself.

ROBERT STACK: With his
explosive power and fluid grace,

Bruce Lee was
one-of-a-kind movie hero.

Almost single-handedly,
he created an audience

for martial arts films.

In the summer of 1973, Lee
was 32 years old, on the brink

of international stardom.

Then on July 20th, he
took a prescription drug

for a headache and
laid down for a nap.

Bruce Lee never got up.

LINDA LEE CADWELL: I
was at the hospital

when they brought Bruce in.

It was just incredible.

I couldn't understand
what was going on.

You know, I kept thinking,
he's going to snap out of this,

you know?

But I didn't know that
he was already gone

and they were trying
heroic measures

to bring him back and all that.

ROBERT STACK: The
unthinkable had happened.

Bruce Lee was dead.

His funeral drew more
than 25,000 mourners.

After an unprecedented
nine-day inquest,

the corner announced
his findings.

Bruce Lee had died from
a freak allergic reaction

to a pain remedy.

JOHN LITTLE: Here we have
this paragon of fitness.

You know, one of the most lethal
human beings with his hands

or his feet, taken out,
you know, essentially

by a headache tablet.

But it happens, and it
only seems all the more

unbelievable when it
happens to someone

who is larger than life.

ROBERT STACK:
Fevered allegations

sprang up overnight.

Lee had been murdered by a rival
studio, a disgruntled business

partner, the Japanese mafia.

Others blamed Bruce Lee's
death on the family curse

and the mysterious
forces of Feng Shui.

Among other things, this
ancient Chinese belief

mandates that a home be
built in perfect harmony

with its environment.

Bruce Lee's house
in Hong Kong was

said to be spiritually
misaligned, a virtual guarantee

of ruinous bad luck.

JOHN LITTLE: The Chinese believe
that unless this is addressed,

through either a Feng Shui
expert who comes in to help you

in some way deflect whatever
evil omens there are,

or if you just tear
down the building

and re-erect it
properly, then you're OK.

ROBERT STACK: Apparently, the
previous owner of the house

had consulted a
Feng Shui expert,

who placed a small
mirror on the house

to deflect the evil spirits.

It remained there
until July 19th, 1973,

when it was ripped
away during a typhoon.

Bruce Lee died the next day.

Was it coincidence,
or a family curse, one

that could reach
across the generations?

At the time, Bruce's son Brandon
was just eight years old.

Already, he was following
in his father's footsteps.

I started training with my dad
really as soon as I could walk.

I mean, my dad was a
really diligent trainer,

and he always had people
over to house practicing.

In fact, I remember when I was a
little kid, a lot of my friends

didn't want to come
over to the house,

because there were
always these men

out in the backyard screaming
and breaking things, you know?

ROBERT STACK: Like
father, like son.

Brandon followed Bruce's
path to the big screen,

as a star of martial arts films.

Brandon was 28 years
old when he was

fatally shot on the set of
his fifth feature, "The Crow."

An untimely death, one
dogged by controversy.

Like father, like son.

It was awful.

I mean, I didn't think--

no one-- no one ever
thinks that their child

is going to pre-decease them.

Especially one who
is so vibrant and had

so much life, and so much
future, and so much promise.

And everything was
coming together for him.

And for one who had already
suffered tragedies in his life,

and then this.

Brandon Lee's sudden
death renewed speculation

about a family curse.

But can this tragedy
really be attributed

to supernatural forces?

Tonight in an
exclusive television

interview, detectives
in charge of the case

set the record straight.

Nearly 50 eyewitnesses,
more than a dozen ballistics

tests, this is the story pieced
together by Detectives Rodney

Simmons and Brian Pettus
of the Wilmington, North

Carolina Police Department.

The strange six-week
journey of the bullet

destined to kill Brandon Lee.

After about five
to six months,

we knew, pretty much,
where the gun had gone,

where the bullets had gone, who
had handled the bullets, who

had handled the guns, and at
what level of responsibility

everybody was.

They were filming
a pawn shop scene.

And they needed items
from an actual pawn shop,

so they went to one of the
local pawn shops in Wilmington.

Now, you can take
any of the guitars

you want except for the two
red ones and the blue one.

- OK, what about accessories?
- Oh, sure.

No problem.
- All right, cool.

Hey, listen, when
you're done with that,

why don't you start
with the guitars, OK?

ROBERT STACK: The stagehand
gathered hundreds of props,

among them was a box of
live .44 Magnum bullets.

The first link in the
fatal chain of events

was now in place.

They dressed the
set up with all

the items that they received.

They had placed the
.44 rounds on a counter

that was used in the scene.

Where'd these come from?

Oh, we got those at
a pawnshop earlier.

These are live.

Hey, listen up!

BRIAN PETTUS: The
stunt coordinator

said when he found
the live ammunition

on set that he was livid.

The bottom line rule
is that you don't

have live ammunition on a set.

ROBERT STACK: The stunt
coordinator locked the bullets

in the trunk of his
car, where they would

remain for another two weeks.

Understanding the
tragic events to come

requires some knowledge
of bullets and blanks.

The business end of a
bullet is a lead tip,

it sits snugly in the casing.

Packed inside is a
load of gunpowder.

This small disk is an explosive
charge known as a primer.

Once a trigger is pulled, hammer
hits primer, primer detonates,

igniting powder, the explosive
force of burning powder

shoots lead tip towards target.

Simple.

Deadly.

A blank is a bullet with a
harmless disk of cardboard

instead of a lead tip.

The gunpowder load can be varied
to affect the amount of flash

visible in the blank is fired.

On the set of "The
Crow," preparations

were underway for a scene that
required quarter load blanks.

However, none were purchased.

To save time, the live
shells were brought

out to be modified into blanks.

BRIAN PETTUS: They removed the
lead tip with a pair of pliers,

shook out the powder
that was inside of it,

that left the cartridge
and the primer.

The primer end
itself they decided

it was the equivalent of a
quarter load manufacture blank.

ROBERT STACK: The end result
was a handful of empty casings,

each with a live primer.

RODNEY SIMMONS: And while they
were making the quarter load

blanks, they realized
that they needed

some dummy bullets, also.

A dummy round is
basically a bullet

with no powder, no primer,
just a casing and a lead tip.

No way it could be fired,
that's a dummy round.

So what they did, they
fired off some of the primers

from the blanks
that they had made.

And took those casings,
and put the lead tips

back in the casings.

But what they didn't do
was check the primers

to see if they'd
all been fired when

they made the dummy rounds.

So they got some mixed up.

So they made at least
one dummy around

that had a primer still intact.

They needed a scene looking
down the barrel of the gun.

The people that
were doing the shot

was part of the second
unit filming crew.

And they would pull
the trigger, rotating

one cylinder at a time
around, simulating someone

firing a weapon.

MAN: What was that?

ROBERT STACK: Police say that
at least two people on the set

heard a popping noise.

No one realized it had been
the sound of a primer firing.

No one realized that the
primer had exploded with just

enough force to dislodge the
lead tip from the bullet casing

and wedge it into
the gun barrel.

There it would
remain, undetected,

for another 14 days,
awaiting its fateful meeting

with Brandon Lee.

About two weeks after
the second unit filmed

the gun, the scene came up--

it was a death scene
for Brandon's character.

And for this scene, the director
chose to use a full load blank.

RODNEY SIMMONS: They
called for the .44 Magnum,

loaded it with the
full charge blanks.

At this time, the lead tip is
still lodged inside the barrel.

He gives the gun to the actor.

[tense music]

MAN: All right, stand-by.

And action.

BRIAN PETTUS: That
bullet being lodged

in the barrel and that full load
blank, that was the equivalent

of a live .44 round.

And it was projected out of
the gun and into Brandon Lee.

ROBERT STACK: North
Carolina officials

concluded that the film
company's biggest failures were

not having a gun
expert on the set,

and taking shortcuts
to save time and money.

However, the chain of
negligence involved

so many people that convicting
any one of them was unlikely.

No criminal charges were filed.

In the end, it seems
that Brandon Lee was

truly a victim of circumstance.

Or was he, as some
claim, the final casualty

of the family curse?

I think the family of
Bruce Lee has been blessed,

not cursed.

And we who are still here,
myself and my daughter,

Shannon, have felt
very fortunate

that we were part of
this family and knew

Bruce and Brandon intimately.

I think that Brandon,
and I think there Bruce,

were two people who did try
their best most of the time,

who wanted to produce
quality work in their lives,

and who did.

They were extraordinary
young people.

ROBERT STACK: Next,
the mysterious case

of a missing anchorwoman.

What happened to
Jodi Huisentruit?

[eerie music]

[gentle music]

Mason City, Iowa is a
quintessential small town.

In fact, it was a
model for the town

immortalized in the legendary
Broadway show "The Music Man."

But since June of 1995,
this homespun hamlet

has been in mourning.

Yellow ribbons everywhere
symbolize the hope

that one of Mason City's
most popular residents

will someday come home.

I'm John Shine from KIMT
Television, Mason City, Iowa.

We need your help.

One of our news
anchors is missing.

Her name is Jodi Huisentruit.

Jodi is 5 feet 3 inches
tall and weighs 120 pounds.

She has blond hair and was last
heard from around 4 AM Tuesday,

June the 27th.

In case you're
counting, today marks

the sixth consecutive day of
hitting 90 degrees or better--

ROBERT STACK: Jodi Huisentruit
moved to Mason City

in late 1993 and quickly
became an active member

of the community.

As the anchor of a
morning news show,

Jodi was a local favorite,
a woman with many friends

and no known enemies.

The day Jodi vanished,
she was scheduled

to work her regular shift
on the morning show.

When she didn't arrive on
time, producer Amy Kuns

called her apartment.

Everything
sounded normal, just

like I had just woken her up.

What time is it, she
asked the question.

So I told her, Jo,
it's about 10 to 4,

you need to come into work.

How much time is left
to produce on the show?

I mean, she was obviously
thinking, she was aware,

she just knew she had overslept
and she had to get into work.

I didn't hear anything
out of the ordinary.

Nothing.

ROBERT STACK: When Jodi
didn't show up by air time,

Amy anchored the newscast, then
sent the first available person

to check on Jodi.

I was halfway mad, because
I had to do all of this stuff

all by myself.

Halfway worried,
because I thought, jeez,

what if she's laying in
her apartment bleeding,

because she fell down
hit her head on the tub,

you know, things like that.

But never once did I think
somebody nabbed outside

of her apartment.

Never once did
that cross my mind.

The officer
arriving at the scene

observed several of
Jodi's personal items

strewn about the
ground around her car.

A quick check was done in and
around the apartment complex

for Jodi, but we were
unable to find her.

Her personal items, which
appear to be things that she

was bringing with her to work in
preparation for that morning's

newscast, were scattered about
her car and kind of trailing

off away from the vehicle.

Which, to all involved,
is a good indicator

that she was taken forcibly.

ROBERT STACK: By that
afternoon, the Mason City police

launched a massive
search, aided by the FBI

and the Iowa Division of
Criminal Investigation.

Rescue teams scoured
the countryside,

divers and police dogs
covered the Winnebago

River and its banks.

But there was no trace
of Jodi Huisentruit.

In fact, the only possible clue
was a white Ford Econoline van,

much like this one.

It was seen in the parking lot
of Jodi's apartment building

about the time she disappeared.

The most difficult aspect
of this investigation to date

has really been the
lack of apparent motive

for an abduction, the lack
of physical evidence involved

in the crime scene, and the lack
of any genuine eyewitnesses.

This is still very
much an open case

and will remain open case.

We are receiving, still, four
to six leads a day on the case,

and all those leads will
be followed out and worked.

[melancholy music]

ROBERT STACK: It's
been eight months

since the people of
his quiet community

hung the yellow ribbons and
put up the missing posters.

The ribbons are now
tattered, the posters faded,

and Mason City is still
trying to make sense of what

happened to Jodi Huisentruit.

Good thinking,
way to go, Kevin.

MAN: I'm getting there slowly.

Way to keep me in check.

PATRICK MCCARTHY: We spent a
lot of time and a lot of effort

talking to people who knew
Jodi and spent time with Jodi.

We located nothing
in her private life

that would have put
her at risk at all.

No dark side to Jodi, she was
as real and all-American as she

appeared to those who knew
her and to her viewers.

I think there's still hope.

I really feel that we
might find her yet.

There's-- you can't give
up hope, that's what

gets you up in the morning.

I can't imagine life without
her, because she is our joy,

she's our life.

I mean, we love her so much,
she's just everything to us.

ROBERT STACK: Next,
more than 20 years ago,

a teenage girl reluctantly gave
her daughter up for adoption.

Can you help reunite them?

[eerie music]

"Tis better to have loved and
lost than never to have loved

at all," or so the poets say.

Better still to have a second
chance at that lost love,

and so it would be for an Iowa
teenager named Christie Wismer.

In 1973, Christie was 16.

Her boyfriend, Dave
Carlsen, was 18.

Their youthful romance
burned briefly, but brightly.

After six months
together, they broke up.

Only to discover that
their love had consequences

that would last a lifetime.

Dave?

Christie.

Hi.

I need to talk to you.

Sure.

How you doing?

Not so good.

What's wrong?

I'm pregnant.

CHRISTIE WISMER (VOICEOVER):
We had broke up a week before I

found out that I was pregnant.

And all I could
think of was, how

is Dave going to handle this,
and what about my folks,

you know?

I just thought it was the
end of the world coming.

CHRISTIE'S FATHER: (SHOUTING)
You've embarrassed me,

and I'm not going
to stand for it.

[doorbell rings]

Come on in, Carlsen!

ROBERT STACK: Any
parent would be

upset and angry to learn that
their teenage daughter was

pregnant.

Christie says a
confrontation with her father

came when she was
four months pregnant

and just beginning to show.

I'll tell you what is
going on around here.

You're sixteen and
pregnant and you did it!

This isn't helping anything.

CHRISTIE WISMER
(VOICEOVER): My father,

he was taking it very hard.

And told me that,
you know, I'm just

an embarrassment to
the family, that he

couldn't possibly love me.

What are you going
to do about this?

ROBERT STACK: It seemed
like the only thing to do

was put the child
up for adoption.

Dave and Christie talked
about getting married,

but that was out
of the question.

I was forbidden to see him.

So we'd sneak, you
know, and each other,

but then we kind of grew
apart during the pregnancy.

Christie, you're almost done.

You're almost done.

Take a deep breath in now.

ROBERT STACK: In June
of 1974, Christie Wismer

gave birth to a baby girl.

It should have been a
time of joy for Christie,

a transition to life with a
child and a family of her own.

Instead, the infant
was to be adopted.

Giving birth was
lonely labor, destined

to end in disappointment.

WOMAN: Good, Christie.

That's the way.

Good.

Pretty girl.

CHRISTIE WISMER
(VOICEOVER): They

took the baby away right away.

And after they wheeled
me back to my room

and put me into the bed, my
mother come up and talked to me

for a little while, and
she asked if I would

walk down and look at the baby.

I saw her earlier this
evening and she's beautiful.

She's the one down front.

CHRISTIE WISMER (VOICEOVER): She
looked so sweet laying there.

She's beautiful.

Mm-hmm.

CHRISTIE WISMER (VOICEOVER): You
know, I knew that I loved her.

But I couldn't take her home.

Christie?

Bob Riley.

I brought that paper
for you to sign.

ROBERT STACK: The
adoption rolled forward,

overwhelming any
last minute doubts

Christie might have harbored.

BOB: Sign right
there on the X, OK?

Excuse me, please.
BOB: Sure.

I just want you to
know how proud we are--

ROBERT STACK: Before the
baby was 24 hours old,

she was on her way
to a new family.

I'm very tired right now,
do you think this could

wait until a little bit later?

BOB: No, got to do it right
now, just as we talked about.

There you go.

CHRISTIE WISMER (VOICEOVER):
I knew that the adoption

was going to take place.

But it hadn't really hit
me at the time, you know,

I was just--

I was pregnant.

I was in labor.

Everything was just
happening so fast.

Christie Wismer never
saw her daughter again.

She and Dave Carlsen
went their separate ways.

They each married, had
children, divorced.

In 1995, Christie
returned to Iowa

for her 20-year
high school reunion.

Friends told her
that Dave Carlsen

had been asking about her.

Christie called him up.

I was really nervous
about contacting him.

And I was really
glad when I did make

the phone call though, because
it seemed like we still--

you know, the feelings
were still there.

And he asked if we could see
each other the following night

for a date.

And we met, and things were
still clicking between us.

[chuckles]

ROBERT STACK: The romance
that had smoldered

for two decades re-ignited.

Christie and Dave were
married on June 22, 1996.

Now they feel that
their happiness

would be complete if they
could locate their daughter.

DAVID CARLSEN: We're
not trying to take

the place of her family.

I gave up all my
rights back then,

and I would just like to make
myself available for whatever

purpose she might have.

CHRISTIE WISMER (VOICEOVER):
I've kept it inside for so many

years and not talked about it.

Dave?

Christie.

What are you
gonna do about this?

CHRISTIE WISMER (VOICEOVER):
After meeting Dave again,

it's just surfaced,
and it's just

something that I've got to do.

I've got to at least
attempt and try to find her.

Let her know that I didn't
give her up for adoption

because I didn't want
her, I gave her up

because of the circumstances.

Maybe she never will forgive me
for what I've done back then,

but I would like to just be
able to see her and talk to her.

[upbeat music]

ROBERT STACK: Next, an
accused killer is on the run,

and the authorities need
your help to track him down.

[eerie music]

[suspenseful music]

July 23rd, 1994.

A young man in a
Chevy Suburban speeds

southbound along Interstate 5
in Shasta County, California.

On his tail is highway
patrol officer Kevin Benson.

Southbound approaching
Pollard Flat.

Washington, Tom X-Ray Sam 726.

MAN (ON RADIO): Tom X-Ray
Sam 726 returns as a stolen

vehicle out of Washington.

10-4.

Requesting backup.

ROBERT STACK: Officer Benson
has no idea that he is following

a very dangerous fugitive.

Tony Castro is a Mexican
national with a long rap

sheet for violent offenses.

Three days earlier, he had
walked into an empty house

near Sacramento, California and
allegedly attacked a man who

was repairing a heating system.

He stabbed me multiple
times, kicked me, and left me

on the floor, went through
my pockets for the car keys,

took my car and left.

ROBERT STACK: Two days
later, the burned out shell

of William Goulart's car was
found in Washington state,

800 miles away.

The day before,
just down the road,

72-year-old Mike Fadeff had
been murdered in his farmhouse.

The prime suspect
is now Tony Castro.

Mr. Fadeff was
beaten badly, shot

twice, one of the worst cases
our pathologist has never seen.

I just don't understand
how he could do it.

How he could have beat on my
uncle the way that he did,

and then to shoot him.

ROBERT STACK: Why was
Mike Fadeff murdered?

Apparently, for his gun
collection and his truck.

Officer Benson kept Castro in
his sights for about 10 miles.

All right, got 52, 61.

Be advised he's exiting
at Pollard Flat.

KEN TISCORNIA: He may have just
been hoping that the patrolman

just continued on
south on I-5, and he

would make his escape that way.

ROBERT STACK: But
the escape route

led straight to a cul-de-sac.

Tony Castro was trapped,
or so it seemed.

Get your hands up.

Got a problem, officer?

OFFICER BENSON:
Keep your hands up!

Get out of the car.

Getting out, OK?

Getting out.

Keep your hands up.

What'd you pull
me over for, huh?

I didn't do nothing, man.
- Keep your hands up.

OK, woah, woah, sorry.
They're up.

They're up.

OFFICER BENSON: Don't move!

ROBERT STACK: In the blink of
an eye, Castro disappeared.

Within an hour, state and
local law enforcement agents

had converged on the
Sacramento River Canyon,

a wilderness area that
covers thousands of acres

of rugged dense terrain.

Hey, contact Dean
Simpson and Byron.

I want them back at the
command center at 1300.

- I'll get right on it.
- What do you got?

Not a trace, not yet.

RON RICHARDSON:
The whole situation

was dealt with as an
emergency in progress.

Tell me what you've
got on this guy.

He's dangerous and he's smart.

There was nothing
to lead us to believe

that he wouldn't commit the
same acts in his attempt

to flee the area.

ROBERT STACK: 40 units were
dispatched immediately.

The highway patrol put extra
squad cars on the Interstate.

Trackers fanned out, up and
down the Sacramento River.

SWAT teams checked
the freight trains

that ran through the
canyon, but there

was no sign of Tony Castro.

Because a canyon is
bordered by steep terrain

to the east and
west, authorities

speculated that Castro
would stick to the river.

An hour later, confirmation.

Got a print over here.

That's our guy.

Better call it in,
he's going northbound.

Command post, 22 24.

Let's get a hold of a lab tech
ID, they've got a footprint.

Let's see if that matches up.

Ha!

We're going to get this guy.

RON RICHARDSON: There wasn't
anything rational about him.

It was difficult to pinpoint
what he would do next.

This guy had no feelings towards
taking a human life to just get

an automobile, just to provide
himself transportation,

to kill another human being.

ROBERT STACK: In the early
afternoon, and a mile upstream,

a news reporter was lost
along the frontage road.

[dramatic music]

Castro darted back
into the woods

and apparently
changed direction.

He headed south, downstream.

RON RICHARDSON: This is an
extremely rugged canyon.

We could have had an army
of officers out there,

and he still would
have slipped by us,

just because of
the natural terrain

and the concealment
opportunities

he had made available to him.

Castro is a survivalist.

This man has the skills to
survive in elements that

the average person wouldn't.

He was a strong individual.

He could probably go
for days in the elements

without food or
water and survive.

Call in the teams.
We'll just pick it up tomorrow.

He's got the advantage
and I don't want

to jeopardize our trackers.

ROBERT STACK: As
nightfall approached,

Captain Richardson
was forced to pull

the trackers out of the canyon.

He could only hope
that Castro would

still be around the next day.

RON RICHARDSON: You know,
our fear level kept rising,

because we hadn't
had any reports

on the movement of the suspect.

We hadn't been able to confirm
whether he is still in the area

or not.

And it became our
concern that he

had taken refuge in somebody's
home, holding them hostage

or doing them harm.

ROBERT STACK: But
Tony Castro continued

to confound authorities.

As far as anyone knows, he did
not bother a soul that night.

In the morning, he showed up
in the small town of Lakehead,

eight miles south of
where the chase had begun.

WOMAN: Excuse me.

Can I help you with something?

I'd like to buy your
car, if it runs good.

Yeah, it runs.

I'd like to buy
it for my wife.

You have your books, right?

Yeah, if you got the cash.

I got cash

I'll get the key.

[tense music]

It's a little wet,
I hope you don't mind.

Just wait right there.

I'll be right back.

I was swimming
with some friends.

ROBERT STACK: A few
minutes later, Tony Castro

was on the road
again, having bought

himself a new set of wheels.

He next showed his face in
Orange County, California,

where he has family.

But within a few days,
Castro disappeared again.

He had alluded one of
the largest manhunts

in northern California history.

The authorities feel very
fortunate that no one was

hurt during Castro's flight
through the Sacramento River

Canyon.

But they also fear that the
next time Castro is cornered,

he may lash out.

Tony Castro is 28 years old, 5
feet 7 with a muscular build.

He has two distinctive
physical features,

his right index finger
is cut off at the knuckle

and his upper, front teeth have
gold etching at the gum line.

When we return, a
man's strange dream

of capture and imprisonment
apparently comes

true for one of his friends.

[eerie music]

At one time or
another most of us

about a dream so intense,
so vivid, that we felt

it had to be real.

Few, though, have
ever discovered

the dream actually was real.

Few have had the spine-tingling
experience of the man

you're about to meet.

[dramatic music]

January 1991, the onslaught
by the United States

and its allies, known
as Desert Storm,

burst across Iraq and
Iraqi-held Kuwait.

The conflict was instantly
up-linked to television sets

all over the world.

GEORGE BUSH (ON TV): I would
like to see a peaceful solution

to this question.

I think Saddam Hussein should
fully, without condition,

comply to the UN--

ROBERT STACK: The first
night Baghdad was bombed,

Joe O'Brien of
Crestline, California

watched with special interest.

One of the Kuwaiti jet pilots
fighting with the Allied forces

was his longtime friend Mohammed
Mubarak, nicknamed Sammy.

They had met 16 years
before, when Sammy

was in the US on
a training mission

and had remained
close ever since.

REPORTER (ON TV): During
the hours of darkness,

Baghdad was bombed
by Allied warplanes.

Wait, hold on.

ROBERT STACK: Joe had
no doubt Sammy would be

in the thick of the fighting.

I'm gonna have
to call you back.

ROBERT STACK: But he was
stunned to see his friends face

staring out at him from the TV.

[non-english speech (on tv)]

ROBERT STACK: The Iraqis
had shot down Sammy's plane

and taken him prisoner.

JOE O'BRIEN (VOICEOVER):
I had a feeling,

it was like my blood
turned to lead.

I think my biggest concern
when he was shot down

was that Saddam Hussein would
make an example out of him.

Iraq's issue was with Kuwait,
so we have a Kuwaiti pilot,

we will--

if they were to torture or kill
him, that was my main concern.

ROBERT STACK: Joe is
consumed with worry.

When he finally fell into a
fitful sleep, he had a dream.

Without question, one of the
most bizarre he had ever had.

JOE O'BRIEN (VOICEOVER):
In my dream,

I was very much aware
that I was Sammy.

I was in his cell, and I was
seeing things through his eyes.

It was a fairly small
cell with a high ceiling.

The floor was very cold.

I was very cold in his dream.

And I noticed the
color it was almost

like a dark, flat porcelain.

It had on a maroon--

took on a maroon or a purplish
color when the light was on.

When it was off, it just
looked gray or black.

I remember being
very uncomfortable,

but the pain I had
my hands almost

overrode everything
else about my captivity.

It was so painful.

My hands were on fire.

ROBERT STACK: In his dream,
Joe had a surprisingly strong

feeling about what appeared to
be an ordinary striped blanket.

JOE O'BRIEN (VOICEOVER):
There something

about this blanket
or material that I

was very happy to have it.

And I don't know what
the significance was,

but I remember studying the
material and the design.

And it was shortly after that
when I woke up in a cold sweat.

I've never had a
dream like that,

and I've never woken
up like that before.

And I immediately got out of
bed, it was about 6 o'clock,

and I went right
in to the bathroom,

and turned on the cold water
to run some water on my wrists,

which were very, very sore.

ROBERT STACK: That same
morning, Joe met a friend

John Gough for breakfast.

Hey, Joe, how's it going?

Hey, how

Are you?

- I'm all right.
- Big night.

Yeah, sure.

JOHN GOUGH (VOICEOVER):
When he showed up,

I noticed that his
hands were kind of red.

And he had a tough time
picking his coffee cup up.

And he says, the darnedest
thing happened to me last night,

I had this strange dream.

And, in the process of my
dream, my hand started hurting.

And so, then he told
me about the dream.

Your friend is
a Kuwaiti pilot?

Yeah.

Yeah, I dreamed I
was him in his cell.

JOHN GOUGH (VOICEOVER):
Joe O'Brien is not a person

to just fabricate stories.

He's a very honest person.

And when he told me
about this story,

I really did think that it
was something really unusual.

Because of the fact
that he explained,

in detail, about
a prisoner of war.

And the pain of his hands
didn't go away for five days.

Well, you know
someone's captive

you're going to picture a cell.

But why the pain?

And why in my wrists?

You know, I've--

I used to be a mason,
I have strong hands.

I've never had
problems with my hands.

And here I can't even
hold a coffee cup.

ROBERT STACK: Finally, 42
days after the war began,

Iraq surrendered.

Saddam Hussein
agreed to a ceasefire

and an exchange of prisoners.

Joe, again, saw
Sammy on television.

This time he was on
his way to freedom.

JOE O'BRIEN: When I saw
Sammy actually being released

I couldn't believe it.

I was just so happy.
And I called him.

I called him right after he--

that night he was
in the hospital,

and I guess he had just
had walked into his room.

And I called him, and had
a wonderful conversation

with him, and he was very happy.

It was a good day.

Sammy!

Joseph, my
friend, how are you?

ROBERT STACK: The
following Christmas

was a true celebration.

Sammy and his sister visited
Joe in California for a reunion.

Oh, how are you?

Oh, you look beautiful!

ROBERT STACK: That night, Joe
finally decided to tell Sammy

about his extraordinary dream.

Well, of course.

Well, I dreamed that
I was you in a cell.

It was dark, black and burgundy
tile with this little window

way up high--

It was cold.

ROBERT STACK: Sammy
was struck dumb.

[non-english speech]

ROBERT STACK: Joe's words
thrust him back, back

into the horror of captivity.

While the Iraqis were
taking Sammy to a POW camp,

they kept him handcuffed
so tightly that his wrists

were cut and bleeding.

SAMMY MUBARAK (VOICEOVER):
The pain with the hands,

I hardly can move
my wrists around.

I had the handcuffs for five
long days, you know, very tight

and very hurting my wrist badly.

And then, also, he had the
pain for five days, exactly.

So, very strange, you know?

I had this beige and
green striped cloth, which

was really important to me.

ROBERT STACK: The
detail was astonishing.

Joe was describing
Sammy's blanket,

the only comfort he had.

SAMMY MUBARAK (VOICEOVER):
I was very cold.

And to keep myself
warm, so I usually just

have the blanket around
me, and that was some kind

of-- somehow my favorite.

Because, you know, it
was keeping me warm.

You've described
my cell, exactly.

ROBERT STACK: Joe and Sammy
compared notes for hours.

On point after point,
Joe's dream matched

Sammy's experience precisely.

Even the cloth--

SAMMY MUBARAK (VOICEOVER): I
was totally amazed, surprised.

I said, he matched the
cell and the reality almost

I'd say 100%, you know, 100%.

The feeling, the description,
the colors, how I felt,

everything.

ROBERT STACK: There
is no accepted

explanation for this
particular unsolved mystery.

Perhaps that was just
an eerie coincidence.

Or perhaps it is proof
that true friendship

cannot be bound by time,
distance, or dimension.

As renowned psychiatrist
and dream analyst

Carl Jung once said, "The
unexpected and the incredible

belong in this world.

Only then is life whole."

For every mystery,
there is someone,

somewhere, who knows the truth.

Perhaps it's you.

Join me again next
Friday, and every Friday,

for "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]