Original subtitles

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Tonight, on Unsolved Mysteries.

NARRATOR: You've no doubt heard of a near-death experience

where someone embraced by the light

has a premature glimpse of heaven.

Tonight, meet a man who says his near-death experience took him

on a torturous journey to the depths of hell

and changed his life forever.

Rushing home after the birth of his first child,

Steve Newton hit a wet patch of road.

Then, along came an unknown good Samaritan.

Stephanie Booker and two friends,

a moonlight cruise on a lake in Texas,

ended in a horrifying collision.

Stephanie's physical scars have begun to heal.

The man who nearly killed her is still at large.

He was a convicted bank robber.

She was an elementary school teacher who

helped him escape from prison.

See how one of our viewers helped track them down.

If you're a woman traveling alone, beware of this man.

Police say he offers a helping hand

on the highway as a prelude to kidnapping and murder.

Join me for these intriguing cases.

Perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Sometimes, the incredible occurs

when you least expect it.

Just ask Howard Storm.

In the summer of 1985, Howard spent three weeks touring

Europe with his wife, Beverly.

In Paris, on their last day abroad, disaster struck.

A curtain was drawn on a profound drama that

would take Howard to the brink of death

and launch him on a frightening journey to the afterlife.

Howard, are you OK?

Oh my god, Howard, what's the matter?

HOWARD STORM: I thought I'd been shot.

There was the most serious, excruciating pain

in the center of my abdomen.

I was just panicked, full of fear.

I couldn't think at all.

The doctor that came to the hotel and the two doctors that

examined me in the emergency room at the hospital

all said the same thing, that this

was a very critical situation.

And that if I didn't have the surgery within an hour,

I would die.

NARRATOR: Howard's small intestine had ruptured.

He was transferred to another hospital where

the staff spoke only French.

Now there were problems finding a surgeon.

HOWARD STORM: They didn't give me any medication whatsoever.

No treatment whatsoever.

I was beginning to fear that I wasn't going

to make it after a few hours.

After six or seven hours, I had a very strong feeling

that I wasn't going to make it.

And after 10 hours, I knew I wasn't.

I said to my wife, it's time for us to say goodbye.

NARRATOR: When Howard lapsed into unconsciousness,

it seemed like the end was very near.

In fact, Howard's story was just beginning.

He was about to embark on what is commonly referred

to as a near-death experience.

Thousands of people have described

such episodes as warm and comforting, even heavenly.

Howard Storm, on the other hand, believes

his near-death experience took him

straight to the depths of hell.

What makes this story even more remarkable is that at the time,

Howard was an avowed atheist who believed in nothing--

not God, not heaven, and certainly not hell.

By his own admission, Howard Storm

was a man with a dark side.

An accomplished artist turned professor,

Howard commanded everyone around him with angry passion.

HOWARD STORM: My wife and my children feared me.

Sometimes I was fun, sometimes I was good,

but I also used a lot of threats.

I used a lot of rage.

I used a lot of coercion to get my way.

That was the bottom line all the time, was to get my way.

My will to prevail.

NARRATOR: Now that person lay in a Paris hospital.

As he slipped closer to death, Howard Storm

said he took the first step on a journey that was

nothing short of terrifying.

HOWARD STORM: I looked at the bed, and I saw myself, lying.

And I was horrified, because I knew that that's not possible.

Because I didn't believe in life after death.

I didn't believe in God.

I didn't believe in heaven or hell.

I mean, I really didn't believe.

Howard, it's time, come with us.

I heard people calling me from outside the room,

and they were saying, Howard, Howard, hurry up.

You've got come with us.

It's time.

Come with us, Howard.

Howard, Howard.

It's time.

Come with me.

HOWARD STORM: I assumed that they

must be hospital personnel to come

to take me to have my surgery.

Where's my doctor?

This way.

HOWARD STORM: And they didn't deny that, although they

didn't confirm it, either.

We're waiting.

HOWARD STORM: As I walked with these people,

I became increasingly aware that something was very wrong.

Everybody wants to help me.

Be quiet.

HOWARD STORM: These people were getting more and more

aggressive, cruel to me.

We have to move along now.

HOWARD STORM: Alls I wanted to do

now was to get away from them.

It was getting darker and darker.

They kept leading me along, standing in a circle around me.

And there was really no way to escape from them.

They were scratching and pushing and pulling at me.

And began biting at me.

So I was starting to yell and scream and holler with pain.

And they thought that was real funny.

And they really liked that a lot.

The more that they did, the better they liked it.

It was worse and worse and worse to totally

tear me apart, not only physically,

but psychologically, emotionally.

In that place, I heard a voice, which sounded like my voice,

say, pray to God.

I didn't believe in God.

It said a second time, pray to God,

and I tried to remember how to pray.

The mention of God pushed them away from me, pushed them

back and back into darkness.

So I just kept at it, kept at it.

It's as if it burned them.

They simply retreated into the darkness.

Then they were gone.

Now I was all alone in the place.

Left in physical pain, my emotional pain, self pity.

Considering my whole life, it was

sort of like, what was the point of ever

living, to end up like this.

I never really accomplished anything very significant.

Now I end up in this place of torment.

Why was I ever born?

And in that state of, like, complete hopelessness.,

I recalled myself as a little child.

[child singing]

HOWARD STORM: And what was so especially powerful about it

was that that child whom I had been 30 years before believed

in something other than himself, believed in something greater

than himself.

And in that complete despair, pain and hopelessness,

a small light appeared, and got brighter

and brighter and brighter.

And for the first time in that light, I could see myself

and I was horrible.

I looked like roadkill.

I was just all mangled and gore and horror.

And I felt this brightness reach down and pick me up,

and I was like, all healed and whole and full

of most wonderful, physical, ecstasy.

I was being carried by my new friend, this person of light.

I'm aware that there is a tangible feeling

of light and lovingness coming from that direction.

He called a number of angels around us.

And they showed me the effects that I had on other people,

how I hurt other people.

And I think to myself, I'm scum.

I don't belong here.

They made a mistake.

And then for the first time, he spoke to me and said,

we don't make mistakes, you do belong.

Where are we going? Heaven?

No, Howard.

Not yet.

NARRATOR: Howard Storm's journey to the other side was over.

He says a mysterious figure instructed

him to return to work and live with love in his heart.

I can't.

I can't.

You can.

[coughing]

NARRATOR: Soon after Howard regained consciousness,

the surgeon arrived.

The operation saved Howard's life, but not without a price.

He remained hospitalized for two months,

suffering from hepatitis, double pneumonia, a collapsed lung,

and minimal liver function.

Howard Storm would eventually make a full recovery.

He would also undergo a dramatic transformation.

The Lord be with you.

Lift up your hearts.

Let us pray.

NARRATOR: In 1988, Howard left teaching and attended

a Methodist seminary.

Today, he is pastor of Zion United Church

of Christ in southern Ohio.

HOWARD STORM: I'm thankful for the whole experience

because it gave me a whole second chance at life.

I feel like I died and was born again.

My wife said that on that day, I died.

And the person that came out of that experience

was a complete stranger to her.

And I feel that way.

That I've been given a new life.

There's no doubt in my mind that I went to hell.

I know what I experienced.

And I know it wasn't a dream.

And I know that there is a conscious existence

beyond this world. Outside of this world.

If you want to call it another dimension

or you want to call it the supernatural world or you want

to call it heaven and hell.

There is a life beyond this life.

And we will reap the reward or suffer the consequence of what

we've done with this life.

NARRATOR: Next, a stranger's helping hand

becomes a fist of death for a woman in Virginia.

NARRATOR: As children, we're taught never to get

into a car with a stranger.

As adults, we sometimes forget that lesson,

even though it's a lesson that might save your life.

I'm going right to the mall.

I'll call you when I get there.

How are you getting there?

495 to 66, to 29, straight to Charlottesville.

All right. You've got a full tank of gas?

- I filled it last night. - Good.

Love you.

Love you.

NARRATOR: On March 2nd, 1996, Alicia Showalter Reynolds

said goodbye to her husband and left her home

in Baltimore, Maryland.

It was a Saturday at 7:30 in the morning.

Alicia planned to drive more than 150 miles

to spend the day shopping with her mother

in Charlottesville, Virginia.

She left early, giving herself plenty of time

to be at the mall by 10:30.

Alicia's mother arrived on schedule, expecting

her daughter at any moment.

But she was late.

Sadie Showalter became worried.

SADIE SHOWALTER: Right about 11:00, she wasn't there,

and I said, this is not like Alicia.

I wonder what's going on.

But I made myself wait till 11:15.

And I then finally called her husband, called Mark.

Have you heard from Alicia?

No.

I've been waiting.

It's over a half hour.

MARK REYNOLDS: At that point, I said, you know, the weather

is kind of bad this morning. There's a little fog.

There was a little drizzle.

Could have been some slick roads.

Maybe she just slowed down a little bit,

or, give her a little while and give me a call back.

NARRATOR: Sadie continued to wait.

An hour passed.

Then two.

Alicia never showed up.

At six o'clock that evening, a Virginia state trooper

found Alicia's car abandoned along

a highway near Culpepper, Virginia,

50 miles from Alicia's destination.

A white paper napkin had been tucked

under the windshield wiper, a commonly

used signal of car trouble.

When the car was examined, however, there

were no mechanical problems.

SADIE SHOWALTER: My gut reaction immediately

was that she was gone, that somebody

had abducted her and taken her.

HARLEY SHOWALTER: I feared the worst.

But we were told by many, many folks to hope for the best.

Now we have an update on our top story tonight.

As we told you, 25-year-old Alicia Reynolds

disappeared this weekend.

Her abandoned car was found--

NARRATOR: The next day, the local news

media began broadcasting reports of Alicia's disappearance.

Police set up a traffic block where Alicia's car was found

and tracked down witnesses who had seen her on route

29 the day she disappeared.

At least three people saw Alicia talking

to a clean cut white man with a dark colored pickup truck.

The traffic block also produced witnesses

who had been approached by a man fitting that exact description.

Police began to realize that whatever it happened to Alicia

might have been the final act of a nightmarish scenario that

had been evolving for weeks.

THOMAS CARTER: There were approximately 20 women

who came forward after Mrs. Reynolds' disappearance who

indicated that they, too, had been stopped

along the route 29 corridor.

Most of the witnesses talked about a man who would come up

behind them or beside them in a dark, small, pickup truck,

flashing his headlights, honking his horn,

looking in any way he could to attract the attention.

Hey, lady, pull over.

There's something wrong with your car.

I'm seeing sparks out of your car.

THOMAS CARTER: Most of the women,

they did have some concern for their vehicle,

did manage to pull off to the side of the road.

He immediately jumps underneath the vehicle,

conducts an examination, comes out.

And then engages them in a conversation, a very

polite conversation, about the mechanical difficulties

that he has allegedly uncovered.

NARRATOR: At that point, the helpful stranger

usually offered to drive the woman to the nearest phone.

There's a phone right inside.

OK.

Great.

NARRATOR: In at least two cases, the women

accepted and came to no harm.

Other women found the stranger to be anything

but kind and courteous.

THOMAS CARTER: Some of the women would not pull over for him,

but merely went to the next exit or to their destination

and had someone else look at their vehicle.

Pull over, lady, your car.

THOMAS CARTER: The only instances

where we have found that the individual became agitated were

those instances where women either refused his assistance

or refused to pull over for him.

And in those instances, there was a display of anger

by him, such as pounding his fist on the steering wheel

or murmurring things under his breath.

RICK JENKINS: Looking at all of the stops,

I think we pretty much all agree that he was getting

his courage up if you will.

He was practicing, getting comfortable at what

he was doing.

Was stopping these ladies until he found someone that

trusted him enough for him to carry

forward what he intended to do.

NARRATOR: One week before Alicia Reynolds disappeared,

a woman driving through a neighboring county apparently

fell for the same ploy.

I didn't mean to scare you, but there's

something wrong with your car.

There's sparks coming out the back of your car.

Sparks?

Yea, sparks.

So, there's a gas about a mile up the road.

If you want me to give you a lift up there,

I'll be happy to help you out.

LEO MCDONNELL: She said from the first moment she met him,

he was soft spoken.

He seemed to be trustworthy.

She had no problem with it at all.

And she knew she needed a ride home.

She didn't know how to get home.

So she accepted the ride.

I really appreciate your taking me to the gas station.

I don't know what I would've done.

No problem.

Glad to help out.

Why are we slowing down?

I can't see anything out of this windshield.

Frost.

LEO MCDONNELL: As they were going along the road,

he would slow down.

And he would make the excuse that there was bright lights

behind him or he couldn't see because there

were vehicles behind him.

And he pulled off the road.

He did this three times.

We believe that he was trying to establish

a place to do something.

Look, if you could just take me to a phone,

I can just make a phone call.

Stop it.

What are you doing?

LEO MCDONNELL: She became very frightened.

She fought him, and he decided he

didn't want to fight with her, so he pushed her away.

When he pushed her out, he took off

and the shoulder belt was still caught on her arm.

NARRATOR: The woman broke her ankle, but she got away.

Seven days later, Alicia Reynolds

would not be so fortunate.

For two months, the search for Alicia proved fruitless.

Then on May 7th, 1996, a passer by

found her body in a wooded area 15 miles

southeast of Culpepper.

Alicia had been murdered, probably

on the day she disappeared.

MARK REYNOLDS: I don't want it to happen to somebody else.

I think that's really my main concern for the capture

of the guy is so that I don't want

to hear about another husband who lost his wife,

or another father and mother who lost their daughter.

That's too much.

NARRATOR: The stalker may have begun his rehearsals

in February of 1996.

He apparently stopped operating in the Culpepper area

shortly after Alicia was abducted on March 2nd.

No contacts have been reported since.

RICK JENKINS: There is a likelihood that the individual

has fled this area, possibly the state,

and may be in another community now,

where he may be preparing to start the same type of behavior

again.

LARRY MCCANN: This entire incident

was based upon the perpetrator having a fantasy

and then living this fantasy in his mind over

and over and over.

And then going out and living it with a real person.

Getting a little closer and a little

closer and finally with Alicia, he found the perfect victim.

She got in the car with him.

And if we don't catch him, there will

be another perfect victim out there that will get in his car

again.

NARRATOR: Next, when a motorcyclist loses control

of his bike, disaster is averted thanks

to an unknown good Samaritan.

Also, an escaped convict and his wife

are finally in custody after 11 years on the run.

This quiet neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota,

is a quintessential American community.

Tree-lined streets, quaint churches, cozy homes.

The kind of place where everyone knows their neighbor,

or so they think.

For eight years, Thomas Leo Langstone and his wife

lived in a small, nondescript bungalow.

No one ever suspected that Langstone

was in fact Richard Cepulonis, an escaped convict

with a long criminal record.

In 1973, Cepulonis and two accomplices

robbed a bank in Woburn, Massachusetts,

and made off with more than $17,000 in cash.

In fleeing, they almost killed an innocent bystander.

Cepulonis was convicted of bank robbery and armed assault.

His sentence?

58 to 82 years in prison.

Then he met Karen Walters.

Karen was an aspiring teacher whose class assignment involved

writing letters to inmates.

Eventually, she visited Richmond,

and their relationship intensified.

For Karen, it was love.

For Cepulonis it may have been something

different, perhaps nothing more than a means to an end.

A A typically inmate in prison, I find,

takes advantage of people in the community.

Oftentimes, they'll latch on to women who are lonely,

want some attention.

And they take advantage of them.

And I think the women are beguiled by all that attention.

NARRATOR: Eight years after they met,

Richard Cepulonis and Karen Walters

married in the prison chapel.

Several months later, Sepalotus escaped,

and the couple disappeared.

11 years would pass before anyone

knew where Richard Cepulonis and Karen Walters were hiding.

Let's go to Keely Shaye Smith to find out what happened.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: After a recent broadcast,

a viewer in Minneapolis who had done business with a couple

recognized Karen's photograph.

A task force which included the local police and FBI

was mobilized and the house was staked out.

On October 1st, 1996, officers observed

Richard Cepulonis leave his residence and drive

to a nearby convenience store.

STEPHEN GILKERSON: As he pulled into the parking lot

and got out of the vehicle, one of the task force members

was right there with him.

So he jumped out, drew his weapon,

ordered Cepulonis not to move.

And at that point, other task force members

got there, jumped out, and assisted in the arrest.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: Karen Walters was picked up 20 minutes later.

For eight years, she and Cepulonis had completely

fooled their neighbors.

KIMBERLY STRUSS: When I found out that they were

who they were, I was shocked.

I couldn't believe it.

My mouth fell to the floor.

I never would imagined in a million years

that these two people would do anything wrong.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: A bag of robbery paraphernalia found

inside the hideout gave authorities

a much different impression.

VERN LEE: The discovery of the bag with the face mask,

the gun, the rubber gloves, the large amount

of cash in small bills.

We think that perhaps he's been back in the bank robbery

or robbery business again.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: August 27th, 1995, was a joyous day

for Steve and Cheron Newton.

That morning, their first child, Virginia,

was born in Naples Community Hospital in Naples, Florida.

It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen before

in my life to watch this child being born,

especially knowing that it was my child.

STEVE NEWTON: That's what I always

wanted to be was a father.

And I just-- she was my world.

That's pretty much how I felt with my wife.

And you know, I just-- it couldn't have gotten

any better at that point.

NARRATOR: Steve had come to the hospital straight from work

the night before.

At around 2:00 PM, he headed home to pick up the family car.

The ride to the small town of the Imocle

would take about an hour and a half.

Over the previous week, rainstorms

had blanketed the area.

Steve says it had cleared by that afternoon,

but up ahead, disaster loomed.

A deep pool of water covered the road,

creating a treacherous hazard.

STEVE NEWTON: It looked like a mirage at first,

but it wasn't a mirage.

It was water.

I remember thinking, this is it.

I'm going to die.

I just remember coming straight down on my head.

As I hit, I saw poof, this big bright light.

And that was it.

Then I was just completely out.

Steve ended up in a drainage ditch,

face down and unconscious.

Death was just a whisper away.

Are you OK?

Can you hear me?

STEVE NEWTON: I woke up.

And there's this lady staring me in the face.

I remember thinking that this woman

was like an angel of some sort.

She was just so peaceful, so quiet, so pretty.

I'm going to stay here with you until they get you, OK?

NARRATOR: The woman, apparently a passing motorist,

had turned Steve over in the water

and saved him from drowning.

She pulled him to his feet, led him from the drainage ditch,

and over to a car.

STEVE NEWTON: I remember standing in the car.

She was talking to me.

And after a while, her voice started to fade out.

I remember that.

And then I remember seeing these lights coming up the street.

NARRATOR: When paramedics arrived,

Steve was in a precarious state.

Were you both involved in the accident?

No, it's just him.

Sir, do you remember what happened?

WAYNE WATSON: He appeared slightly confused.

And he was hyperventilating.

Where are you hurt?

It's in my back and my shoulder.

OK.

WAYNE WATSON: The woman was there initially.

And since his answers were somewhat disoriented,

I asked her what she had found on the scene.

And she said that he was face down

in the water at the roadside.

And when she initially went up to him,

he was unconscious at that time.

He wasn't answering her at all.

He easily could have drowned if she had

not pulled him from the water.

NARRATOR: The stranger stayed at the scene

until Steve was taken away.

She gave a statement to police, then disappeared,

without leaving her name.

How are you doing, sir?

You remember your name?

Steve.

One, two--

NARRATOR: Forty minutes later, Steve

was brought into the same hospital where his daughter had

been born just hours earlier.

STEVE NEWTON: I kept telling him the whole time that, you

know, tell my wife I'm sorry.

And they didn't understand what I was getting at.

But I just, I was really getting at the fact that if I died,

I was really sorry that, you know,

it shouldn't have happened like this.

NARRATOR: More than a year has passed since Steve

Newton's brush with death.

He is now on disability because he suffers

from occasional seizures.

But if not for the mysterious good Samaritan,

Steve Newton wouldn't be here at all.

CHERON NEWTON: She helped him stay around

to be a father to our daughter.

I mean, if she wouldn't have helped him, he might've died.

And then, my baby wouldn't have a father.

You know, that's basically why I want to find her.

I just want to thank her.

STEVE NEWTON: I'm just glad to be alive now.

I never thought about life.

You know, I'm here, and I'm always going to be here.

And I just thank God for each day.

I always knew tomorrow was coming.

I always knew that next week was coming.

And now, I don't take that for granted no more, because it

could take end just like that.

If she could just see my daughter,

she'll know that she did me the greatest favor or gift

that anybody can give, and that's to give me back my life.

And I'd like to say thank you for that.

NARRATOR: With the help of our viewers,

Steve Newton recently had a chance to do just that.

Here's Keely Shaye Smith with the details.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: Bob, a woman in Florida recognized

the story as one she had heard from a coworker named

Tammy Dotson.

After the broadcast, Tammy's boyfriend discussed the case

with one of his coworkers, who happened to be

Steve Newton's father-in-law.

It soon became perfectly clear that Steve's

mysterious good Samaritan was, in fact, Tammy Dotson.

On January 31st, 1997, Steve and Tammy

met face to face for the first time

since the near fatal accident.

As a special treat, Steve brought along Virginia,

now 1 and 1/2 years old.

TAMMY DOTSON: Nobody has ever gone

that hard to come to thank me.

And he kept saying that I was his angel.

I've never been called an angel before.

Far from it.

But, it just--

I mean, it made me feel good inside

to know that I've done something that helped somebody so much.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: Steve and his wife,

Sharon, now expecting their second child,

were finally able to express their gratitude to the woman

who saved Steve's life.

STEVE NEWTON: I owe her everything.

And there nothing that I have that I wouldn't

give to her to say thank you.

Start

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: Before the day was out,

Tammy and Steve returned to the scene of the accident, all too

aware that Tammy's simple act of kindness

had changed both of them forever.

STEVE NEWTON: It makes me want to do more for other people

now.

If someone's in trouble, I would go that extra mile, that extra,

just to help that person.

TAMMY DOTSON: I just wanted to hug him.

I was so glad to see that he was OK, and the baby,

and everything.

I was just thrilled that he was fine.

NARRATOR: Next, a hit and run boating

accident leaves a young woman fighting for her life.

This is Stephanie Booker of Dallas, Texas,

as she appeared in 1995, before this happened.

Stephanie Booker 1995.

Stephanie Booker today.

The change may seem slight to you,

but to Stephanie, her new face is that of a stranger, artfully

created by plastic surgeons.

In that horrific hit and run accident,

the other Stephanie was destroyed.

It happened on Lewisville Lake, 20 miles north of Dallas.

Stephanie Booker and two friends, Sabra Scott

and Kim Colvin spent a great deal of time

on the lake, swimming, sailing, whatever appealed to them.

June 17, 1995 was a typical outing until nightfall.

After a break for dinner, the three friends

decided to take one last cruise beyond the breakwater.

Near midnight, the young women headed back to the slip.

Kim, it's really dark.

Can you help me [inaudible]?

NARRATOR: They slowed down as they entered the marina,

maneuvering through a no wake zone

that prohibits boaters from going

more than 5 miles an hour.

Then, 100 yards away, a speedboat

raced out of the darkness.

Stephanie and her friends never had a chance.

A rumble, only silence, stunned disbelief.

What did you just do?

Do you know what you just did?

You just hit my boat. Look at this.

Oh my god.

KIM COLVIN: Sabra was still screaming,

and I could feel someone tugging on the back of my shirt.

And it was Stephanie.

And at that point, I got on my knees,

and I could see that she was in serious condition.

STEPHANIE BOOKER: I tried to speak,

and no words would come out.

It was as if my mouth felt sewn shut.

And so I had to brace myself with my hands

to push my body up.

And then I felt this terrible weight hanging off my face,

as if dough was hanging off of my face.

And I reached up, and realized that my face was in my hand.

NARRATOR: The speedboat's propeller

sliced across Stephanie's face, literally

slicing it from the bone.

KIM COLVIN: Her lips were detached from her face.

I couldn't see any gums or teeth.

There was skin hanging down from her eye.

So I was seeing her exposed face.

And I could tell she was having a hard time breathing.

NARRATOR: On the other boat, a young woman

appeared at the driver's side.

They stared.

Neither said a word.

KIM COLVIN: They stood there, as if contemplating

the pros and cons.

I'm sure he thought he already killed someone by looking

at the damage on our boat.

SABRA SCOTT: I remember one of the individuals

making the other person to, kind of like, be silent.

Don't say anything.

So it was total silence with me yelling and screaming at him.

They made no motions to say one word

or make any actions towards to come to help us.

Please. Come help us.

We need help.

We need help.

NARRATOR: When the driver finally did do something,

it was to save himself.

He gunned his engine and took off.

Don't leave.

Come help.

NARRATOR: Kim turned her attention back to Stephanie,

and Sabra got the boat started and made for shore.

KIM COLVIN: I'm thinking to myself that Stephanie is going

to quit breathing any minute now,

so the trip seemed like it lasted forever.

Long enough for me to think, I can't give her mouth to mouth

because I'm afraid if I put any pressure,

it will cave in any facial structure she has.

And also, I didn't think there was an airway big enough

to get any air in her.

STEPHANIE BOOKER: Looking at Kim,

not being able to breathe very well,

I felt a very conscious decision to either live or die.

And so at that moment, instead of freaking out,

looking at Kim's face, I decided to just remain calm.

And it was as if a power overcame me

and gave me this incredible strength

to take control of my life.

NARRATOR: As Stephanie was being rushed to surgery,

police started looking for the driver of the other boat,

or anyone who might have seen him.

WELDON LUCAS: Right after the accident,

we have two witnesses that were there.

They heard the screaming.

They heard the noise coming from the accident.

And then about 15 or 20 seconds after that,

they saw a boat fitting this description just

come howling, but--

NARRATOR Five minutes later, another eyewitness

saw two people load the same boat

onto a trailer, towed by a white four-by-four pickup truck.

Without even bothering to tie down the boat,

they sped off into the night.

They remain unidentified.

The community was outraged.

While local businesses raised reward money,

Stephanie suffered through her own private ordeal.

Seven reconstructive surgeries done,

and five more scheduled to rebuild

her internal facial structure.

STEPHANIE BOOKER: I'm not able to breathe very well.

I'm not able to smell as well.

Nor can I taste the way I used to be able to.

And my teeth that I have are very much for aesthetics,

for looks.

Memory, concentration skills, the ability to do

more than one task at a time--

all the things that I used to do and take for granted are gone.

And I walk by a mirror after I've

had one of my many surgeries and look at myself,

and just wonder, why did someone do this?

Why did they not come forward?

Why don't they care?

We need help.

We need help.

She's hurt.

NARRATOR: At least one person did seem to care.

Police have heard from the same anonymous caller

on three occasions.

WELDON LUCAS: He stated emphatically

that he knew who it was, that he was

going to talk to the person, and try

to get them to turn himself in.

From the tone of his voice and the way he was talking,

we think that he does know who it is,

and we would like for him to at least contact us.

KIM COLVIN: It frightens me that these people

are still out there.

It really does.

They've proven that they place absolutely no value

whatsoever on human life.

That was shown the night of our accident

when they chose to leave us there to die.

STEPHANIE BOOKER: These people being brought to justice

has a huge impact on me emotionally,

as well as my family.

My feelings towards the people in the other boat

was, I felt very sorry for them.

It had to be devastating to cause an accident like this.

However, they do need to do the right thing

and come forward so that I can move on

and try to work on myself emotionally and get back

as close to normal as possible.

NARRATOR: The suspect's boat is a Miami Vice style speedboat,

with a single engine mercury cruiser outdrive,

similar to these.

It is 25 to 30 feet long, painted

white with teal green markings.

The fiberglass shell was probably

damaged on the starboard side about five feet from the stern.

The motor would have had damage to the outdrive,

girkins, skeg or gimbal rig.

It might have been brought in for repairs

or sold some time after June 17, 1995.

The driver of the speedboat was a

stocky, muscular, clean shaven white male with light hair.

His companion was an athletic looking woman

with very long, dark hair.

They drove a white four-by-four pickup truck.

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NARRATOR: Join me next to another compelling hour

of Unsolved Mysteries.

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