Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Dr. Michael Swango's career

began with great promise, only to be derailed by allegations

of poisoning and murder.

What happened to Michael Swango?

Did an angel of mercy choose to become an angel of death?

Some 30 years have passed as a young woman from Texas

and a Jordanian airman fell in love, only

to be torn apart by the uncertainties of war.

Now, a heartbroken father needs your help to find

the son he has never met.

Little Logan Carroll was born with no heartbeat

and no vital signs.

Doctors could do nothing to save him.

But as Logan's family gathered to grieve,

something truly extraordinary happened, something that

can only be called a miracle.

Join me for these intriguing cases, as well as updates

from [inaudible] phone center on tonight's Unsolved Mysteries.

[mysterious music]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): February 7th, 1984,

Columbus, Ohio.

An intern at the State University Hospital

checked on a 69 year old woman recovering

from routine back surgery.

No one knows why Dr. Michael Swango was in the room, perhaps

just to say hello, but he left.

Rena Cooper seemed to be doing fine.

WOMAN: Nurse?

Nurse?

Doctor?

[screaming]

Nurse, we need some help.

She-- she started to convulse.

I don't know what--

Nurse?

I've got a code blue, room 900, respiratory distress.

WOMAN (OVER INTERCOM): Dr. Wavo, room 214, code blue, stat.

Repeat, emergency, stat.

[commotion]

We were just talking.

Oh my god.

NURSE: --checking the swell.

DOCTOR: Let's check her rhythm.

Just-- I don't know.

He was over the IV and then she just started shaking like this.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): As she was being stabilized,

Rena struggled to tell the doctors what happened.

DOCTOR: Let you write a notice, OK?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): She wrote the doctor

put something in my IV.

That was Dr. Swango.

When I was over there, I was doing a synopsis.

What was Dr. Swango doing?

EDWARD MORGAN: While this is going on,

we know that a another nurse decided to walk down the hall

to calm the other patients, since there

was a great deal of commotion.

And four rooms down, within minutes sees

Dr. Swango exiting another room with a very

funny grin on his face.

And those are her words, not mine.

The nurse goes into that room and finds

a large, hypodermic needle with a plunger

down sitting on the sink, which is not-- a very unusual.

You wouldn't expect that in a hospital.

Hypodermics aren't left lying around.

Call Mike.

Good, glad you're here.

I need to talk to you for a second.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Three different doctors

confronted Michael Swango about what had

happened in Rena Cooper's room.

Swango allegedly told three different stories.

At one point, he claimed he had never even been in the room.

She just kind of got our of surgery.

It's common for patients just out of surgery

to be delusional.

Most of us tend to hold doctors to a higher standard,

and perhaps that's fair.

After all, we are sometimes compelled to trust them

implicitly, depending on their knowledge and expertise

to save our lives.

Did Michael Swango betray that trust

for his own sadistic pleasure?

If you ask Swango, he'd probably tell you he was a victim

of bad luck and circumstance.

But unfortunately, the question cannot be posed.

No one can find Michael Swango.

Michael Swango came to Ohio as a recent graduate

of the Medical School of Southern Illinois University.

He projected charm and confidence,

despite a lackluster med school record.

Normal, OK.

MICHELE SALCEDO (VOICEOVER): Michael Swango

became more and more withdrawn as he proceeded

through his college classes and eventually

got into medical school.

And though academically, he did very well, the more the classes

became advanced and the more he needed to do hands

on patient work, the more he pulled

away from that, to the point where he was held back a year.

Take a look at one of these appraisals

and you can see what I'm talking about.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Swango's poor performance

continued through the first six months of his internship.

DOCTOR: Doctor Swango, the end result

is unless you have a significant improvement,

you will not be allowed to take the next step.

Are you saying you may no recommend me for residency?

I've-- I've been working my entire life to be a doctor.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Swango's lifelong goal

was now jeopardized, it could mean he would never

become a full fledged doctor.

[screaming]

WOMAN: Nurse?

Nurse?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It was shortly

after Swango was put on probation

that Rena Cooper suffered her mysterious seizure.

It was one of a series of puzzling events at the hospital

last spring. - Nurse?

Doctor?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Rena Cooper survived, but at least

five other patients died.

The five mysterious respiratory arrests

in the last month, the neurosurgery wing

has caused quite an alarm among all of us, I'm aware of that.

I've decided to see if there's some sort

of pattern to the situation, and I've developed a chart--

EDWARD MORGAN (VOICEOVER): The upshot

of it is that whenever these incidents occurred,

Swango is always there.

A black cloud seems to follow Michael Swango.

Wherever Swango was, there was an unexplained respiratory

arrest.

And it didn't happen once or twice,

it happened five, six, seven times.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Though some evidence appeared

to point to Swango, hospital officials

chose not to call the police.

They decided to watch him closely

and quietly wait out the last months of his internship.

I think the kid is great.

I think I was better, but--

[laughter]

- Chicken. - Food, thank you.

Great.

Thank you so much.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Swango did not appear disturbed

by the hospital's decision to let him go

or the whispered allegations against him.

In fact, on several occasions during the last months

of his internship, he treated staff members to what

he called extra spicy chicken.

Mm, that is--

that's tangy.

Whew, you weren't kidding.

That really is spicy.

We know that from interviews with three doctors,

they became violently ill within hours

of eating this spicy chicken.

So ill in fact, that they needed treatment for their eyes

from ruptured blood vessels from the vomiting.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Michael Swango

left OSU Hospital in June of 1984

without being formally investigated.

No charges have ever been filed.

One month later, Swango had a new job not as a doctor,

but as a paramedic.

On September 14th, he brought donuts for the whole crew.

I grabbed a donut, started eating the donut.

But I noticed there was something

different about the donut, it didn't spring

back up like most donuts do.

You all right in there?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): 45 minutes

later, Brent and several others became very ill.

They wanted to test the leftover donuts,

but they had disappeared.

Only an empty box remained.

GREG MYERS (VOICEOVER): No one had suspicions of Mike

at all at that time.

They figured that that was food poisoning.

Since the donuts were gone and they couldn't analyze it,

they just more or less thought that that's what it

was and let it go by at then.

Well, the next night I worked with Mike at a football

game, a local football game.

Halftime, he offered to buy me a soda.

I started sipping the soda at halftime.

And about the start of the third quarter, I became deathly sick.

[phone ringing] - Hello?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Yet another mysterious illness

made Swango's coworkers increasingly suspicious.

They also couldn't help noticing Swango's grisly fascination

with accidents and death.

Brent?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The gorier, the better.

Is she breathing?

He would describe his ultimate calls as a paramedic

and that would be a bus load of children

hitting head on with a tanker truck and igniting.

And as he's approaching the scene, you--

he would see charred bodies out of the-- out

of the windows of the buses, bodies that are up--

up against the barbed wire fence, caught in the--

caught in the barbed wire fences.

I mean, this is-- to me, I thought it was really strange,

just-- you know, to want to see death.

No, no.

Just stay calm, ma'am.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Finally, the paramedics

decided to fake a call to get Swango out of the building.

They wanted him away long enough to search his locker.

[sirens]

In Michael Swango's gym bag, his coworkers found

two bottles of ant poison--

What's this?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): One full, one empty.

Ant poison.

Michael Swango?

Yes?

Hi, I'm Detective Reynolds.

These are officers DeWit and Rogers.

We have a warrant to search the premises.

Paul, why don't you start looking in--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In Swango's apartment,

police discovered more incriminating evidence.

Dozens of bottles of poisons, books on poisons,

recipe cards for making poisons, and then

an assortment of syringes.

One syringe was full of ant poison.

The evidence was overwhelming.

Swango was convicted of six counts of aggravated battery

and sentenced to five years in prison.

After serving half his sentence, he was given

time off for good behavior.

Amazingly, Swango again found work in the health care field.

He was apparently able to convince

employers that he had been the victim

of a miscarriage of justice.

In Newport News, Virginia, he turned up

at a medical vocational school.

There, three of his colleagues reportedly fell ill.

Swango then talked his way into the University

of South Dakota Hospital.

Again, he was shadowed by his past and dismissed.

Finally, in August of 1993, Swango resurfaced at Stony

Brook University in New York.

He was assigned to a Veterans Administration hospital

on Long Island.

While there, he changed his name to Michael Kirk.

Of the residency--

MICHELE SALCEDO (VOICEOVER): He was accepted into the Stony

Brook program and they never bothered to check him

with a central registry for medical residents,

which apparently, had a file that was an inch thick on him.

There were 180 people who applied for 12 slots

and he managed to get one of those 12 slots,

despite these clouds of questionable activity

that followed him in at least four states.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On September 29th, 1993,

Michael Swango's path crossed that of Elsie and Baron Harris.

Baron Harris was a 60 year old cabinet maker from Long Island.

Hi, Mr. Harris. I'm Dr. Kirk.

How are you?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): He had a fever of 104 degrees

and a slight case of pneumonia.

I'm going home tomorrow.

Well, we'll see if we can't accommodate you.

ELSIE (VOICEOVER): My first impressions of Dr. Kirk,

he seemed very professional.

He seemed to be very concerned, he seemed to know what he

was doing, a very pleasant man.

- OK, if you say so. - OK.

- He'll be all right? - Yes, he will.

OK, thank you. See you in the morning.

All right, yes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Swango told Elsie to go home, there

was nothing more she could do.

[laughter]

I'll see you in the morning sweetheart.

Don't you forget to come back and get me.

No, you'll be all right.

Love you.

Love you too.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Elsie Harris claims

at some time during the night, Dr.

Michael Swango, alias Michael Kirk,

gave her husband a sedative.

By the next morning, Baron had been moved to intensive care,

he had lapsed into a coma.

ELSIE: Doesn't make any sense to me.

He was coughing, he had a little fever.

I don't get it.

I don't understand.

Mrs. Harris, sometimes people have allergic reactions

to certain drugs.

Now, that may have happened in your husband's case.

But why a coma?

[chuckles]

I just hope it wasn't anything that we did.

ELSIE (VOICEOVER): He had a very smirky attitude, like a half

cocked smile on his face.

Like a little kid with his hand in the cookie jars,

this is what he reminded me of.

Even though he had a terrific bedside manner,

he-- there was just something sneaky about him.

Once the story hit the wires and reporters started

converging on the Northport VA Hospital and on his dorm room,

he very hastily packed up and disappeared.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Before Michael Swango vanished,

Elsie Harris says he told her that Baron would

never come out of his coma.

Swango apparently knew what he was talking about.

Baron Harris died November 9th, 1993.

[machine beeping]

Wherever Michael Swango is today,

authorities believe that he is most likely

working in the medical field.

[intense music]

[mysterious music]

Good afternoon, sir.

Good afternoon.

Can I see your driver's license please, sir?

Yeah, sure.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): June 7th, 1994,

Richland Hills, Georgia, just south of Savannah.

Here you go.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The license

identified the stranded motorist as Moses Lall but it was a lie.

Moses Low was an importer and beater of exotic birds

who owned a ranch 400 miles away in Florida.

This man's real name was Hari Goben,

and he worked for Moses Lall.

In fact, he was on the run because of Moses Lall.

WOMAN (OVER RADIO): L-A-L-L?

That is correct.

Who was Moses Lall?

Ask 10 people and you're likely to get 10 different answers.

On the surface, Lall seemed to be a reputable businessman.

But sources say he also had a secret life that

involved international smuggling and alleged ties

to organized crime.

Now, Moses Lall is missing.

Police suspected his secret life led him to a violent end

and put his aunt, an innocent bystander, in mortal jeopardy.

[birds chirping]

[horn honking]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Three days

before Hari Goben was seen in Georgia,

a feed company delivery man made a routine stop

at Moses Lall's ranch Near West Palm Beach, Florida.

When no one came to meet him at the gate,

Daryl Crew hopped the fence.

[birds chirping]

Daryl had never before found the ranch deserted.

Hundreds of exotic birds had been left unattended,

everything from yellow headed Amazon parrots

to rare, brilliantly colored macaws,

total value up to $700,000.

[birds chirping]

Daryl had expected to find one of four people, either Moses

Lall and his aunt, Lila Buerattan,

or the ranch hands, Hari Goben and Roland Felix Eyoum.

Lila?

[birds chirping]

Lila?

DARYL (VOICEOVER): It wasn't right, nobody being around.

And the birds were too noisy.

You know birds are noisy, but when

they're hungry for a couple of days, they're real noisy.

So I knew something was up.

And then I just decided I'd better leave the feed in case--

maybe they did go out for the day, but nobody ever did there.

There was always somebody there.

So then I just climbed back over the gate,

threw the feed down and left.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The next day,

Daryl would return to find the feed still there

and the birds even louder.

The authorities were notified, but a bureaucratic snafu

delayed any investigation for 10 days.

This is actual video footage of a Palm

Beach County Sheriff's deputies found when they arrived.

[birds calling]

LANCE (VOICEOVER): It was worse than you can imagine.

The smell was really, really bad and the sight was even worse

than that, to see all those beautiful birds

laying dead in the bottom of the cages, literally

hundreds of them.

Some cages had up to 30 and 40 exotic birds dead in the bottom

of the cages.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The birds that had survived

were in desperate condition.

Bird expert Howard Voren was among those

working to revive them.

- Got it. - Thank you.

Go ahead.

HOWARD: We started force feeding those that

were too weak to eat, injecting them

with-- with fluids in order to combat

the dehydration they suffered.

And of course, filling all the cages with food and water

if there were birds left alive in them.

[bird squawking]

It was tough, but it was worthwhile.

I think a very small percentage of the birds died after that.

Hopefully we can save this one.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): While animal control experts took

charge of the birds, Sheriff's deputies

began trying to understand the puzzling disappearance

of the caretakers.

We've got three alive in this cage.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Moses Lall and Lila

Buerattan came from a family of bird importers

based in Guiana, South America.

In 1993, federal restrictions on importing wild birds

prompted them to concentrate instead on breeding

birds, that was Lila's job. - Ooh.

HOWARD (VOICEOVER): She was the caregiver.

She was the bird lady.

She was the one that looked after all their needs,

drove them to the hospital when they needed hospitalization

or care, and she was the one that was the professional bird

worry person.

Lila was very quiet, very dedicated to the birds.

You could tell from going into the house

the amount of care that this woman took.

[birds chirping]

She fed them, she weaned them, she took care of them

when they were in the incubator, basically,

she took care of the entire thing.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Moses generally

handled the business end.

He delegated most of the daily chores to Hari Goben,

also from Guiana.

Hari had worked for Moses and Lila

since they started the ranch in 1992.

The other missing ranch hand, Roland Felix Eyoum,

was from Africa.

He was a brother of one of Moses Lall's business contacts.

I'm making some good money from these pancake sources

from Africa coming into New York.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Around the time the ranch was

abandoned, Moses was working with Eyoum on a plan

to import reptiles from Africa.

I need more birds.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Moses had

apparently hit a cash crunch and decided to diversify.

Rumor has it that defined as the scheme,

Moses borrowed money from shady underworld figures.

Two days after Sheriff's deputies discovered

the dying birds, they tracked Roland

Felix Eyoum to New York City.

WESCOTT: Sir, I'm investigating Moses and Lila's disappearance.

Would you be willing to go to a New York City police detective

and give a statement to them?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Eyoum had a solid alibi.

He was able to prove he had been in New York

since before Moses and Lila disappeared.

Then Eyoum told Detective Westcott

a bizarre story told to him by his coworker, Hari Goben.

WESCOTT (VOICEOVER): During our conversation on the phone,

he told me a story that he had been contacted

by Hari sometime on June the 4th or June the 5th,

he wasn't exactly sure.

And Hari had told him that two men in a white van

came and took Moses and Lila and some birds away at gunpoint.

Come on!

[inaudible]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Could Hari's story be true?

Had Lila and Moses been kidnapped?

If so, what was the motive?

[engine starting] MAN: Come on, come on, come on.

WESCOTT (VOICEOVER): It may not have started out

to be an abduction, it may have started out as a collection

if those stories are true.

It could have been revenge for some of the other dealings,

business dealings that he's reportedly

been involved in that weren't exactly on the up and up.

The problem is we don't know.

We're hearing stories about all these things and none of them

are substantiated.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): What they

needed for substantiation was Hari

Goben's eyewitness account.

But Goben had disappeared after his run

in with the police in Georgia.

They assumed Goben was Moses Lall and sent him on his way.

L-A-L-L.

WESCOTT (VOICEOVER): My speculation

is that the story that he told to Roland Felix Eyoum

scared him so bad, that he knew that he

had to get out of town somehow.

I believe that Hari used Moses's driver's license

and took his van so he could get away and have

some type of collateral.

Go.

I pulled that thing.

Pick up the birds.

- He has nothing to do with it. - Shoo.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): What happened to Moses

Lall and Lila Bueratta?

I told you I'd get you your money.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Did Moses Lall's

questionable business dealings come back to haunt him,

or was someone after the rare and expensive birds?

HOWARD (VOICEOVER): If someone had in fact,

killed them for birds, the birds that were missing

were not the right birds.

Birds that were worth $2,000 in adjoining cages

were left behind.

If they met with foul play because people

wanted to take the birds, they took the wrong birds.

WESCOTT (VOICEOVER): The question remains who

and why, because it seemed that Moses had several people

that he was involved with, and things that were either legal,

or illegal, or borderline.

And Lila is not explained, because nobody

seems to have anything bad to say about her whatsoever.

Lila doesn't seem to have any involvement with anyone

that is in any way unusual.

She seemed to be very happy in her solitude.

The birds were her world, she didn't much care for anything

outside of that world.

My gut feeling is she's dead.

To me, that's the only way Lila would leave her birds,

is if she was dead, or so afraid for her life,

that that's the only way she would leave that place.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Police believe that Hari Goben is

crucial to solving this case.

If he indeed witnessed a kidnapping,

he undoubtedly knows vital details

that could help the police.

In a moment, the tragic death of an infant

is found by a miraculous rebirth.

[mysterious music]

Perhaps the only time we welcome a visit to the hospital

is for the birth of a child, but even this special moment can

be marred by sudden disaster.

Just ask an Indiana couple named Todd and Tami Carroll.

Their second child, Megan, was stillborn

after an eight month pregnancy.

Naturally, Megan was very much on their minds

when the Carroll's arrived at the hospital

for the birth of their third child, a son named Logan.

They had no idea how close they would come to another tragedy.

Hi Doctor O'Connell.

Hi Tami

Oh, this is my sister, Ruthie.

She is going to be with us today.

Hi Ruthie, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Well, Tami, everything looks great.

TAMI (VOICEOVER): After we lost Megan, I was real anxious.

It was real stressful.

I was worried is anything to be wrong with this baby?

Is you know, everything going to be all right?

And after the ultrasound, everything looked good on it,

and then we ran some other tests that looked fine.

That eased my mind.

I really tried to look at it as a separate incident.

OK, here comes the next one.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Tami's obstetrician, Dr. Diana Okon,

induced labor at around 8:45 AM.

The contractions grew stronger and more frequent

through the day. - Relax.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The baby's vital signs

were consistently stable and positive.

[breathing heavily]

DOCTOR: OK, not long of a rest.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): 4:30 PM.

DOCTOR: Here comes the next one.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Birth was imminent.

Tami's sister, Ruthie, stationed herself

near the fetal heartbeat monitor.

[beeping]

The red numbers showed a normal rate,

120 to 140 beats per minute.

Another deep breath and push.

RUTHIE (VOICEOVER): While Tami was pushing--

trying to push the baby out, I noticed that the heart monitor

like, would drop way down.

And that really kind of alarmed me.

And they had her take some slow breaths

and it recovered back up.

[beeping]

One more push.

Deep breath, and push.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): 4:42 PM.

At the moment Logan Carroll was born,

his heart rate plunged to zero, a fragile life

in mortal danger.

OKON (VOICEOVER): I knew something

was wrong as soon he delivered, because he

didn't have any tone.

When I felt his umbilical cord, I didn't feel any pulse at all.

And that's when we started CPR.

Why isn't he crying?

Why isn't he crying?

Relax, it's all right.

[cries]

Oh, what's wrong with him?

Call a code.

No!

[shushes]

WOMAN (ON INTERCOM): Dr. Stanford,

please report to maternity 201.

We have an emergency, code blue.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): For 15 minutes,

the emergency team tried desperately to revive Logan.

[beeping]

4:57, Dr. Mary Valentine, the Carroll's pediatrician,

joined the emergency team.

What's the history here?

Uneventful pregnancy.

We lost the heart rate immediately before delivery.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Logan still had no vital signs,

no heartbeat, no breathing.

[flatlines]

No heart rate, flatline.

[beeping]

Stop compression.

[flatlines]

No heart rate, flatline.

Continue resuscitation.

VALENTINE (VOICEOVER): We continued doing CPR

throughout that time, again, with no response

approximately another 15 minutes after my arrival.

[flatline]

And I began inserting a line into his umbilical cord

to try to administer some drugs to help revive him.

They had put a EKG monitor on him

and the tracing was not showing any electrical activity.

So I-- I knew it didn't look good at all.

Todd, why?

TODD: Well, I was still hoping, but they was there so long,

I don't know how many, five or six

doctors there working on him at one time trying to do--

get him revived, and it still ain't doing nothing.

And I-- I just couldn't lose this baby.

I just could not believe this could happen again.

At some point, you know, you always

have to just say we've done what we can do,

this baby is not going to respond.

And we finally called it and pronounced

him dead at that time.

I'm sorry.

No!

No!

No!

I don't think there's any lower feeling

than holding a dead child.

It's supposed to be such a time of joy and renewed life

giving birth, that when they hand you this child that's

no longer living, I just can't begin to tell

you how low that feeling is.

And sitting there holding him and looking in

his face, I just--

I just wanted him to be alive so bad.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Logan James Carroll was officially

pronounced dead at 5:15 PM.

He was 33 minutes old.

In accordance with hospital policy,

the Carrolls were allowed time to say their goodbyes.

Swaddled in a blanket, Logan was cradled

by each grieving family member.

In the midst of their anguish, Tami and Todd

agreed to an autopsy, hoping for some explanation.

[somber music]

Tami, Todd, I don't mean to sound crass or anything,

but we usually take pictures of the baby for the family.

SUSAN: You never know how people are going to take that when

you come in and say I'd like to take

pictures of you and the baby.

But they were very receptive, because they said they didn't

get enough pictures the last time

that this had happened to them.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): These photos

were taken that afternoon, stark portraits meant to commemorate

the end of a young life.

Instead, they would mark the beginning of a miracle.

[sobbing]

[shutter clicking]

[cough]

What was that?

What was what?

He just made a noise.

That was just a reflex action, Tami.

TAMI: Are you sure? - I'm sorry.

[sobbing]

RUTHIE (VOICEOVER): While I was holding Logan,

he made the gasping sound.

And it was a very eerie feeling, but we had

been told that that was normal.

It is called agonal gasping, and it can happen

because of the medication.

It can go on for quite a while, so I wanted to let them know.

Because every time he would do that-- he did

a couple of times for Tami--

they would-- they would just-- their eyes would light up.

And then they would be really let down

when he wouldn't do it again.

TAMI (VOICEOVER): As the minutes went by,

I was slowly becoming unaware of what

even was going on in the room.

I just wanted to completely detach myself and float

away somewhere, and be somewhere where I wasn't hurting so bad.

I wanted to get away from the pain.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Some 40 minutes

had passed since Logan was pronounced dead.

The time for his autopsy was close at hand.

However, as Tami's stepmother held the infant,

she was beginning to think that an autopsy

would not be such a good idea.

His color looks so good.

Really?

He's getting warmer.

Feel?

[sniff]

Go get the nurse.

Just look.

I'll be right back.

What's going on, Ruthie?

There's no reason for this to have happened.

Doctor Okon, I understand about agonal breathing,

but is there such a thing as an agonal heart rate?

Susan.

He has a heart rate.

Please, come and take a look at him.

OKON (VOICEOVER): I thought she was nuts.

You know, if you keep this up, you're going

to give me a heart attack.

I just-- I think I was afraid that she was reacting

in a way that was going to upset the family even more, because I

mean, the baby was dead.

This baby's alive.

Let's get him to the nursery.

TAMI: What?

It was total unbelief, and I wanted to touch him.

I can't-- I had an uncontrollable

urge I needed to touch him.

And I don't know how soon it was, but it was real soon.

They came and took my IV out, and I had monitors on me,

and I had a blood pressure cuff.

I mean, they were taking wires and just

pulling them off of me.

And put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me into the nursery.

And I reached in and I held his arm.

And I was talking to him, telling that he had to hang

in there, and that I loved him.

And that I was proud of him for being so strong.

I was still in a different type of shock,

because it was so unbelievable.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Unbelievable, indeed.

At least six physicians and eight

registered nurses, all certain that Logan Carroll had died.

High tech meters and monitors had confirmed that judgment.

I figured God's hand had to have been in it.

But that's not in the medical literature,

to account for the miraculous as an explanation.

But it's amazing.

I mean, we're all trained to do something as doctors,

and here, we did nothing and he came back.

VALENTINE (VOICEOVER): Word spread through the hospital

very quickly.

You know, people from the lab, people from other nursing units

came up just to look at him to say that they could

have seen this miracle baby.

It was-- it was incredible.

The emergency room doctor came up and was totally amazed.

He was-- it was something.

It was something.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Logan's metamorphosis

from a lifeless infant in this photo

to the squirming marvel videotape just one day later,

was simply astonishing.

He would remain in the hospital for the next five weeks.

His vital signs never faltered.

Though Logan remains healthy, doctors

fear he may have sustained some degree

of permanent neurological damage during the time he had

no oxygen. Only time will tell.

TAMI: My feelings for him will stay the same.

Whether he has an IQ of 180 or 50, he's here, he's alive.

I've held the alternative, and holding him,

no matter how he's going to develop in the future,

we try to live for today.

And we'll keep him.

It is impossible for most of us

to fully appreciate the Carroll family's experience.

Today, Logan's extraordinary revival

continues to baffle any expert who studies the case.

However, those who were in the delivery room that day,

when despair turned to wonder, are

certain that they witnessed nothing

less than a modern day miracle.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Next, a poignant tale

of love denied and a son lost.

[mysterious music]

You're about to meet a man named Fawzi Mahmud.

Almost 30 years ago, a single moment

changed his life forever.

It is the spring of 1967 in San Antonio, Texas.

The event, nothing less than love at first sight.

[peaceful music]

Fawzi Mahmud was a trainee in the Jordanian Air Force.

He was in the United States to learn

American flying techniques.

He was not interested in anything else,

or so he thought.

Fawzi, how are you doing?

Do you remember Barbara?

Hi.

MAN: And Zoila.

ZOILA: Hi.

Hello.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Her name was Zoila Maldonado.

She was just 20 years old.

In Fawzi's eyes, she was dazzling.

What?

FAWZI: I mean, she looks so beautiful to me.

And she got this green dress, and just-- she was a knockout,

and I was knocked out.

I fell in love with her, I mean, I fell madly in love with her.

This is beautiful.

It is pretty.

I like it.

Like you, very beautiful.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): For both Fawzi and Zoila,

this was their first taste of true love,

but for Fawzi, it was also much more.

Actually, Zoila was not only the first love,

it was the first woman I ever talked to in my life.

Because we came from a very, very

strict family, and strict people, and strict government.

You know?

But she was my first everything.

Mom, come on. He's waiting.

He's not coming--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Zoila's

parents were very conservative, and she was their only child.

They did not like the idea of Zoila dating anyone.

The fact that Fawzi was a foreigner who spoke

little English did not help.

He's a nice boy, mom.

What country is he from?

Well, it doesn't matter.

Papi--

FAWZI (VOICEOVER): Even though her parents

were conservative and strict, we managed to go out almost daily.

We went dancing, we went to the lake, we went to the mountains,

we went everywhere together.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Six months

later, Zoila and Fawzi found themselves at a turning point.

Fawzi, I think I'm pregnant.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): To Zoila's great relief,

Fawzi was ecstatic.

You are?

Yes.

I want to marry you.

[soft piano music]

[bomb whistling]

[explosion]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But the marriage

would never take place.

Several months earlier, the Six Day War had erupted

between Jordan and Israel.

Tension between the two countries remained high.

In late November 1967, Fawzi was ordered home.

I will come back, I promise.

Fawzi, I--

FAWZI (VOICEOVER): We talked, and we promised,

and we vowed that we will always be together,

no matter what happens.

When I come back.

I can't raise a baby by myself.

I can't.

You and baby come to Jordan with us.

FAWZI (VOICEOVER): So helpless.

I come back very soon.

Come on kids, we need to get going.

FAWZI (VOICEOVER): After our love should be like that,

I've been--

we were having so good time together.

We're happy.

Why they happen to decide to go?

[bus hisses]

ZOILA (VOICEOVER): Sometimes I miss you so much,

I think I'll go crazy.

But then I receive your letters, and I feel better.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Zoila and Fawzi continue

their love affair by letter.

The Jordanian Air Force refused to release Fawzi,

so Zoila planned to go to Jordan.

ZOILA (VOICEOVER): Please take care of yourself and stay safe.

I will close now.

I'm tired, but the baby's fine.

It still kicks all the time.

If he's a boy, he'll probably be a football player.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In late June, 1968,

Zoila gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

She named him Amadeo Marcello.

I mean, I was thrilled. I was very happy.

I was jumping.

But I also was very unpleased because of the fact that I

cannot be there to see him, and be with her,

and be of help to her.

I was very frustrated.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Even on duty, Fawzi's thoughts are

with Zoila and his infant son.

He could not wait to bring his new family to Jordan.

Zoila kept writing to Fawzi, but the tone of her letters

soon changed.

ZOILA (VOICEOVER): Fawzi, I'm writing to say I'm

sorry to hear of your problem.

I want us together more than ever.

I will always believe my love is strong, but the war--

I refuse to take that chance with Marcello's life.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Zoila made a difficult decision.

She needed a father for her baby.

She wrote Fawzi that she had married someone else.

Fawzi could not bring himself to write to Zoila again,

but he could never forget his son.

In 1970, Fawzi returned to the United States.

He claims he tried to call Zoila by phone,

but her mother hung up on him, then had the number changed.

She apparently blamed Fawzi for her daughter's out

of wedlock child, and was understandably

upset to hear from him again.

In desperation, Fawzi went to Zoila's house.

Hello.

I like see Zoila, please.

Nobody wants to talk to you.

My son, I would like see my son.

You ruined my daughter's life.

No, no.

I love your daughter.

ZOILA'S MOTHER: You know what?

You are three years too late.

[door slams]

[knocking]

If you don't get out of here, I'm going to call the police.

No, please wait.

I just want to see my son, please.

Wait.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Fawzi had no choice.

He could not risk being arrested and possibly deported.

That moment was as close as Fawzi Mahmud has

ever gotten to meeting his son.

Today, Fawzi lives in Eden, Oklahoma with his wife, Robin.

They have a young son, and Fawzi has three grown children

from a previous marriage.

But thoughts of his first born still haunt him.

FAWZI (VOICEOVER): There is one thing missing all the time.

I would like to see my son.

I would like to see how he looks like.

I want to hug him. I want to tell him I love him.

I mean, there's a lot of things that we did not do together.

Maybe we can do it now, even at this age.

[peaceful piano music]

[mysterious music]

Join me again next week.

Perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery.

[mysterious music]