Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Tonight on "Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It was a blueprint for tragedy.

In Cokeville, Wyoming, a vengeful ex-cop

armed with a powerful homemade bomb

commandeered an entire elementary school.

As the crisis escalated, it seemed

that only a miracle could save the lives of more

than 100 innocent children.

By all accounts, Michael Short is a man with a red-hot temper

and an affection for guns.

When his misdeeds landed him in prison,

Short masterminded a daring escape with the help

of his 20-year-old girlfriend.

Yonkers, New York.

Sometimes you need more than luck to win the lottery.

Just ask Sam Zelikson who says he

hit the jackpot after an eerie visit from beyond the grave.

In Washington DC, the aftermath of a fatal house fire

yields the unmistakable signs of arson

and launches a manhunt for the killer

of a young businesswoman.

Join me and perhaps you can help solve one of tonight's

unsolved mysteries.

[theme music]

17-year-old Melody Woods was not the kind

of teenager anyone ever expected to get into trouble.

She enjoyed school, didn't stay out late,

and had barely begun to car date.

Then in June of 1994, Melody fell in love.

ROSALEE WOODS: Melody, Michael's here!

MELODY: I'm coming!

MICHAEL: Appreciate it.

Sorry.

Hi.

I guess you met everybody already.

Yeah, we're just getting to know each other a little bit.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): His name was Michael Short.

Melody had met him during a summer session

at her high school in Fort Worth, Texas.

Short was 19 years old, and he made

a very good first impression.

We won't be out too late.

Bye.

Seems like a real good kid.

Did you see the way he opened the door for her?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But that first impression

evaporated quickly.

Melody's parents never guessed that the man

their daughter loved had a criminal record

and a nasty reputation.

PAT HOWELL: Michael's not afraid to use a handgun or a weapon.

And statements from some of his acquaintances

indicated that his favorite pastime

was dressing up in black and shooting at cars and trains.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Six months

before he met Melody, Michael Short and a friend

came up behind a couple driving down the highway.

They were in the fast lane moving too slow to suit Short.

If you ain't going to drive the speed limit,

you got no business being in the passing lane.

[honking horn]

Just pull over and let him by.

He can go by if he wants to.

He's right on my tail.

He's starting to bug me.

God.

This guy's ticking me off!

[engine revving]

Hey Grandma!

Where'd you learn how to drive?

You're lucky I don't run right over you.

This guy's a lunatic.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Short dogged the couple for 10 miles,

getting wilder by the minute.

[shouting]

Oh my god, honey, he's got a gun.

Honey, he's got a gun!

Drive.

Do something!

Freaking out of his mind.

All right.

I'm going to speed up, and I'm going

to brake real hard, all right?

Teach you a lesson you won't soon forget!

Want something of me?

[gunshot]

[screaming]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The driver was struck once

in the shoulder but survived.

Police tracked Short by his license plate number

and charged him with attempted murder.

A few months later, while he was out on bail,

he met Melody Woods.

ROSALEE WOODS: She fell head-over-heels for Michael, I

mean, from the very first day.

She came home and was so excited about him.

Telling me about him and just thought that he was everything

that she had ever wanted.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Melody's parents

believe that by the time Melody learned about Michael's past,

she was already under his spell.

I've missed you.

ROSALEE WOODS: She became real secretive and always away

from home and didn't spend a lot of time with us.

And she never wanted Michael around us very much.

I want you to have this.

It's a beeper.

Duh.

I know what a beeper looks like.

When I call you, I punch in 911.

Drop whatever you're doing and give me a call right away.

I don't want to have to worry about you.

Deal?

Deal.

ROSALEE WOODS: I had a talk with her, and I told her, I said,

I'm afraid that he's being a little bit too possessive.

And she was like, well, you know,

we just really enjoy being together,

and there's really nothing to it, and he's not possessive.

And every time I would try to say

anything about the situation, she

didn't want to talk about it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In March of 1995,

Michael Short was found guilty in the highway

shooting incident.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison on a reduced charge--

aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Melody's parents hoped that would end the affair.

To their dismay, Melody refused to give up on Short.

RONNIE WOODS: After the impact wore off,

she started talking about, I can get through this.

I'll make it.

It may just be four years.

He may not spend eight there, so we'll do the best we can.

I can make it through this.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): By all accounts,

Short was just as determined to remain a part of Melody's life.

He had access to a jail phone from 10 AM to 10 PM.

He used it to barrage Melody and her parents with collect calls.

Where are you?

ROSALEE WOODS: He called us day and night, night and day.

He was relentless with the phone calls.

I mean, they just never would stop.

She had to be at a specific phone

at a specific time for him to call, and if she wasn't there

then he was very angry.

And when he did finally get a hold of her,

it would always be a screaming match over the telephones.

Finally, we just had our phones

blocked from any collect calls.

Because that's the only way he could call was collect.

And he figured out a way around that by calling his parents

and getting his parents to call us on three-way.

[phone ringing]

ROSALEE WOODS: The phone calls at first

were a blessing for Melody.

I mean, any contact that she could have with him,

she was thrilled to death.

Mom, let it ring.

ROSALEE WOODS: But as time went along,

she started to get a little irritated,

because she couldn't do anything.

This has got to stop, Melody.

I'm going to have to change this number again.

It's not my fault he keeps calling me.

ROSALEE WOODS: She started to pull away from it a little bit,

but then the calls would intensify.

And Michael would say, you just don't understand

how horrible it is for me here.

You're the only thing I've got.

You can't, you can't forsake me now.

You're my soulmate and just really would make her feel bad,

so then she would go back to accepting all the phone calls.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): From jail,

Short controlled Melody's every move for more than a year.

Even his fellow inmates called him "The Little Bully."

On June 7, 1996, authorities learned the full extent

of his power over Melody.

That morning, Melody and a girlfriend

waited in a borrowed van outside the prison walls.

Melody, Melody, maybe we should go.

It's 7:45.

He says gym ends at 7:30.

Christy, just hang on a few more minutes, OK?

He's going to be here.

[whistle blowing]

All right, rec's over.

Let's go, guys.

You know the drill.

Line it up two at a time in front of the gate.

[whistle blowing]

GUARD: Stop bouncing the ball!

Let's go!

[whistle blowing]

GUARD: Move it!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Before anyone could react,

Short made a bold break for freedom.

GUARD: Hey, Short, hold it!

Stop or I'll shoot!

[alarms beeping]

Christy, start it up!

He's coming.

Go! Go!

Go!

[brakes squealing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Start to finish, the entire escape

took less than one minute.

At a nearby motel, Short changed clothes and switched

from the van to Melody's car.

Hey, be careful, OK?

I will, all right.

I'll call you.

I'll ring once and then hang up, and you'll know it's me, OK?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): When he left,

he took Melody with him, possibly against her will.

ROSALEE WOODS: Based on my conversation with her friend,

she indicated to me that Melody had every intention

of coming home that night and that she would get in touch

with her when she got home.

I personally don't believe that Melody had any intentions

on leaving with him.

There's a lot of things she didn't take with her.

It was clothes and girl things like rollers and hairdryers

and just a bunch of stuff.

I just don't believe she had any intentions of leaving.

The only thing that we've received from Melody

since her disappearance was one postcard from Chattanooga,

Tennessee and the only thing that postcard said

was, "I'm OK.

I'm sorry, and I love you very much."

And that was about a week after her disappearance,

and there's been nothing since.

What concerns me the most about Melody's disappearance

is that just that.

She's disappeared, and we've had three unconfirmed sightings

of Michael.

Nobody has ever seen Melody.

And one would have to wonder has she already

become a liability to him?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In a moment,

when a madman takes an elementary school hostage,

the residents of a small town can only pray for a miracle.

But first, was a young businesswoman murdered

to keep her from blowing the whistle

on illegal banking activities?

December 11, 1995.

3:30 AM.

Fire units raced to a blaze in the fashionable Georgetown

district of Washington DC.

A resident had been awakened by a fire alarm

and phoned 911 to report seeing flames

in a neighboring townhouse.

[door breaking]

Once inside, firefighters discovered

that the blaze was restricted to the upstairs bedroom.

In fact, it was confined to the bed itself.

Initially, it appeared that nobody was home.

But as the smoke began to clear, the firefighters

were stunned to discover that the bed was

occupied by a woman, barely breathing,

but incredibly, still alive.

38-year-old Lynn Amos was a financial analyst

who'd been living in Washington for just five months.

She was rushed to Washington Hospital

Center with third degree burns over 80% of her body.

One of the nurses who saw her when she first was taken

to the hospital told us later on that she

asked Lynn when she was brought in if she knew what happened.

And Lynn shook her head no.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At first, investigators

believed it was an accident.

Lynn's blood alcohol content was 0.25,

2 and 1/2 times the legal limit for driving in Washington DC.

That fact coupled with the discovery of a cigarette butt

seemed to indicate that Lynn Amos had been smoking in bed.

But Lynn's friends and family rejected that scenario.

Well, Lynn didn't smoke.

I smoked until recently.

If you're a closet smoker, you certainly smoke

with your friends who smoke.

There were no dirty ashtrays in the house,

there were no matches, there were no cigarette packs.

There was no evidence that she was smoking in bed.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Within a few days,

the police had to rethink their initial assumption.

When insurance investigators came to the house,

they found the presence of accelerants

on the mattress, floor, and pillow.

They concluded that the fire had been deliberately set.

HELEN AMOS: The insurance investigator's report

showed that there was a combination of kerosene,

gasoline, and turpentine.

And the doctor has told me that her burns

were consistent with those from a fire that was accelerated.

He told me at the hospital.

He couldn't believe that only she and the bed burned.

He said she looked like the result of a house

having been burned around her.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Lynn Amos hung on for 10 days barely

conscious and unable to speak.

On December 21, 1995, she passed away.

A month later, the cause of death

was officially listed as homicide.

But who would want Lynn Amos dead and why?

She seemed an unlikely target, friendly, outgoing,

with no known enemies.

But Lynn Amos apparently did have her secrets.

In the weeks before she died, she abruptly stopped talking

to her friends about her job.

When pressed, she refused to elaborate.

To those who knew her best, a motive for Lynn's murder

began to emerge.

Lynn Amos had moved to Washington in August of 1995

to take a position with a management consulting firm.

As part of her job, she made frequent trips to Mexico

to assess the lending practices of several large Mexican banks.

How are you?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Less than a month before the fire,

Lynn had lunch with her close friend Emily Smith

and offered the first indication that she was

sitting on top of a bombshell.

EMILY SMITH: I realized when we were having lunch that I didn't

know what she was working on and that was unusual, because we

talked about work a lot.

We did sort of similar types of things.

So tell me about work.

Well, I've working on this project

for the Mexican equivalent of the Federal Reserve.

What are you doing?

I'm in charge of examining credit issues.

And I've seen some very bad lending practices.

EMILY SMITH: I waited, and it was clear she

wasn't going to say more.

So I said, well, is your report going to be ugly?

And she said, yes, it's going to be really ugly.

And that was all she would say.

They have great Eggs Benedict here.

Well, darn. You know--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On Sunday, December 10th,

the day before the fire, Lynn once again

hinted to friends that she was privy

to some explosive information.

That is not true.

It is true.

So how are things at the office?

Are you still on that project with the banks?

Yeah.

I've seem some, uh, dangerous things in Mexico.

He, at the time, thought it was

a very strange comment to make.

It wasn't the kind of dangerous, the way she said it.

In other words, she didn't mean I'm

feeling a little dangerous and uncomfortable where I'm living.

I'm living in a safe neighborhood.

It wasn't that kind of dangerous.

She definitely meant to mean that she

had seen literally some dangerous things

in what she was working on.

I'm purely speculating here, but it's possible

that she bumped into a loan having to do with drug

money or a fraudulent loan.

That's the sort of thing you might bump into when you're

reviewing credit portfolios.

Hey, it's Lynn.

What are you working on?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The last time

anyone spoke to Lynn Amos was at 10 o'clock that night.

Actually, I was just, uh, working on the credit checks.

ANNE SAER: We do know that she called her office

to confirm that she was going to be late for work the next day.

Maybe 12.

I've got a doctor's appointment.

No, no.

I'm OK.

It's no big deal.

ANNE SAER: So we know Lynn was at home,

lucid, completely fine, had a 30 minute conversation

at 10:00 o'clock at night.

At 10:30, she then-- we then don't know what happened.

When we first told our attorney

how Lynn was killed his first statement

was that's a professional hit.

The fire detective who came to the scene

said that it had all the indications that this

was a controlled fire.

That somebody was there making sure that this fire didn't

do more than it needed to do.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Lynn's friends and family

believe that sometime after midnight the killer

broke into the townhouse.

Because there were no signs of forced entry,

he may have had a key.

[gasps]

You do what I tell you, and I won't have to use this.

Let's go.

[gasping and crying]

Drink it!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The intruder

may have then forced Lynn to swallow enough alcohol

to render her unconscious.

ANNE SAER: To achieve the level of alcohol

that she was found with, it takes

between nine and 14 glass--

drinks in an hour for a woman her size, which is

almost impossible to consume.

That means you have a new drink every four to seven minutes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): According to the scenario,

the intruder then set about making Lynn's

death look like an accident.

ANNE SAER: What was done to Lynn Amos is so horrible.

I really do not have the words to describe it.

Lynn was just a great friend.

She was really fun.

She loved life, and people should not be

allowed to get away with that.

It's interesting to note that Lynn

Amos never completed her report on the Mexican banks.

Lynn's former employer declined to appear

on camera for this segment.

In a letter to "Unsolved Mysteries," he wrote,

we are troubled by the same questions

being asked by investigators.

We can only hope that forensic science

will provide some answers.

In a moment, the remarkable story

of Sam Zelikson who says he hit the lottery jackpot with help

from an unlikely source--

the spirit of his deceased son.

And later, a small town faces unspeakable tragedy

when a deranged ex-cop and his wife

seize control of a local elementary school.

Meet Sam Zelikson of Yonkers, New York.

Devoted father, loving grandfather, an [inaudible]

self-made businessman.

Sam had been through just about everything

a man could go through until the morning of January 16, 1991.

[tires squealing]

[crashing]

Call for an ambulance here, Gary.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): No one who

witnessed the accident could have

imagined that Sam survived.

But Sam proved them wrong.

For above all else, Sam Zelikson is

a survivor, the very definition of resilience.

[blasting]

It was 1941.

Sam was 12 years old when the German army marched

into his homeland of Latvia.

The Zeliksons, devout Jews, were sent to a ghetto

and later a concentration camp.

Sam was one of the lucky ones.

He survived the Holocaust.

But tragically, by the time he was liberated,

Sam had lost his entire family.

After the war, Sam moved to New York City,

married, and had five children.

Then in 1986, he suffered another devastating blow.

His only son, Barry, the pride of the family,

died of cancer a week short of his 27th birthday.

For Sam and his wife, Janice, the heartbreak

of losing their only son was almost too much to bear.

Come.

Let's go.

SAM ZELIKSON: He was wonderful.

He loved family.

He was worried about the younger sisters.

He was protective.

And he loved us very much, and we love him very much.

My brother was the good sheep, the spirit of my family.

My brother was always trying to make everybody happy.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Although Barry was gone,

his spirit and memory served to hold the family together.

By 1991, it seemed the worst was behind.

Then came the day of Sam's accident.

[tires squealing]

You bet.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): All things considered, Sam came

through in pretty good shape.

Oh, probably about an hour--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A sprained neck, two broken ribs,

a single cut on his forehead.

After two weeks in the hospital, Sam was ready to go home.

You look 100% better than when you came in here.

Yeah, you're right.

I was generally laying in bed and saying

my prayer very quietly.

But this time, I felt like an arm touched me.

And I stunned at the moment.

And as I looked, I saw a shadow of my son

like he was in shroud.

Barry, my boy!

Barry.

SAM ZELIKSON: I couldn't believe it.

I thought he came back to me.

I thought God give a new life.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Sam just stared,

locked in a profound silent exchange with the spirit

of his deceased son.

The spell was abruptly broken when

another patient began to jabber about the state lottery.

Sam, Sam, look what day it is today.

It's the $90 million day.

Look Sam, it's what they call the super lotto.

It's $90 million today, Sam.

When Barry disappeared, I thought that was a sign,

and I had to play the lotto because he moved me towards it.

He told me to play in a certain way.

Sam, I want you to go upstairs.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): That afternoon Sam

came home from the hospital.

His wife and daughters tried to keep him calm,

but all Sam cared about was buying his lottery tickets.

Thank you.

First of all, do me a favor.

The first thing you do, I want you to go up to my room.

The top drawer in my bureau--

there's money in it.

Take it out and bring it down here.

For what?

I want you to buy lottery tickets with it.

WOMAN: Lottery tickets? For what?

Yes, because Barry came to me in the hospital and he said,

buy tickets to the lottery.

It's the $90 million lottery.

When my dad came home from the hospital,

he was really insistent that he play the lotto.

He had this feeling that my brother was pushing

him to buy a lotto ticket.

And he kept telling us, let's play lotto.

We have to play lotto.

Barry was there.

This was a sign from heaven.

We need to play lotto.

Hey.

So do you know what numbers you want to play, Dad?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The Zeliksons bought 16

at $1 apiece, 16 different combinations

of six numbers for a chance to win $90 million.

Sam's overwhelming confidence slowly spread

to the rest of the family.

16 bucks.

July 15th.

When we went to buy the lotto tickets,

there was a feeling of buying it to please my father.

And then there was this other feeling

that, well, maybe something might come so you never know.

Anything in life can happen.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Nobody knows

that better than Sam Zelikson.

The evening, he made sure his entire family

was gathered around for the drawing of the winning numbers.

ANNOUNCER: --in state history.

Now, for tonight's winning super lotto numbers.

The first winning number is 46.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): 1946, the year Sam left the refugee

camp after World War II.

Good.

It's on the ticket there.

ANNOUNCER: Tonight's second winning number is 50.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The year Sam came to America.

ANNOUNCER: The third winning number is 35.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The number of years Sam

and Janice had been married.

ANNOUNCER: Tonight's fourth winning number is five.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The number of children

in the Zelikson family.

ANNOUNCER: The fifth winning number for tonight is 30.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Daughter Denise's age.

ANNOUNCER: And the sixth winning super lotto number to win

a share in $90 million is 15.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Son Barry's birthday--

July 15, 1959.

[shouting]

When we won, my dad smiled like an angel.

It was as if he knew that he really did see my brother.

He was so happy, and I've never seen him glow like that.

It was just an inner glow.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The odds of Sam's special numbers

winning the lottery were 13 million to one.

Sam is convinced that the loving spirit of his son

improved his odds considerably.

My son Barry definitely was responsible for winning

the lotto.

He definitely give me the gift.

You know, God works in mysterious way.

He takes away the best thing in your life,

but He give you back a little in return.

I felt it was like a gift.

It was a gift from Barry, from my son, and that's how I felt.

SAM ZELIKSON: Barry wanted his father, his mother,

and his sisters should have a happy life and to help other

people that cannot be helped.

Because he was that kind of person, Barry.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): As it turned out,

the Zeliksons were not the only winners that night.

Eight other people also hit the jackpot,

making each ticket worth slightly more than $10 million.

Sam and his family will continue to receive

annual payments of roughly $475,000 until the year 2011.

To honor the memory of their son Barry,

they have donated a significant portion of the proceeds

to charity, a tradition they plan to uphold

with each coming year.

Next, a powerful homemade bomb demolishes

a crowded school classroom, yet not a single child

is seriously injured.

An extraordinary piece of luck or a case

of divine intervention?

They wheeled it into the school just

after the lunch hour recess.

A homemade bomb packing the brute force of 25

sticks of dynamite.

No futzing around.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): They herded everyone

at the school, 136 students and 17 adults into one small room.

What is all this?

Look.

Shut up and sit down!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): His name was David Young,

and he was no stranger to Cokeville, Wyoming.

He had served briefly as a town policeman

before he was fired for misconduct.

Young's resentment had mushroomed into

a full blown messianic tirade.

It's a scenario that is now chillingly familiar.

Innocent lives hanging by a thread at the whim

of a suicidal madman.

But 10 years ago when David Young and his wife, Doris,

stormed the elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming,

such horrors were still fresh and incomprehensible.

To the people of Cokeville, it seemed only a miracle

could save their loved ones.

[rapping]

Hey, listen!

You're all part of a great revolution,

one that began many years ago.

The government and its schools have

filled your mind with lies.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): David Young

made it clear that he was prepared to kill himself

and everyone in the room.

DAVID YOUNG: Read it!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Virtually every child

in Cokeville between the ages of 5 and 12 was at his mercy.

Among them, Melanie Chadwick, then eight years old.

MELANIE CHADWICK: I didn't really

realize what was happening, because I remember one

of my friend's older brother [inaudible],,

his older brother, Brian.

He's like, well, we're being held hostage.

And I remember Kevin saying, well, what

does hostage mean, you know?

We were really young, and we didn't

realize what was happening. [sniffling]

DAVID YOUNG: And when the time comes,

you will fully understand the plan I have for you.

Now, so far you've been pretty good, but if any of you

tries to escape, we're going to have to shoot you.

David told the kids that he would shoot them in the legs,

so that they couldn't run away.

He said, we don't want to hurt you,

but if you try to run away, we will.

You.

Come here.

You the principal?

Yes, I am.

OK.

You'll be my spokesman.

You tell them I want $2 million a piece for each of these kids.

And you tell them I'm attached to this bomb.

If I go down and this wedge pulls out,

this school blows sky high.

We're about half an inch from death.

[sirens wailing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): News of the crisis flashed

through Cokeville and beyond.

Police converged on the scene.

Dep, all four of my children are in there.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Distraught parents

confronted the Sheriff, determined to take

matters into their own hands.

The radio said that there's a bomb.

What do they want?

Just take a rifle and put it back.

Listen, I've got my boys in there.

And if you can't get them out, I will.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): David Young

was a veritable human fuse, one tug of his wrist

could destroy the school room and everyone in it.

OK. Get out of the way.

Come on!

KLISS SPARKS: At one time, one of the children

jostled Mr. Young, and he became quite upset.

I guess he didn't want to set the bomb off,

and either Mr. Mitchell or Mr. Moore

suggested that they put tape in an area about a nine

foot square on the floor.

What they called a magic square so that the youngsters would

not step inside that square and would

not jostle Mr. Young's arm.

There was at one point, we kept thinking, well,

maybe someone can shoot him from the outside.

And I would say no.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At the time,

Amy Bagaso was 10 years old.

AMY BAGASO: I remember thinking, oh my gosh, I am going to die.

I'm not going to see my family.

How am I-- this isn't.

I'm not going to be able to grow up.

I'm not going to be able to get my driver's license.

I'm not going to be able to do anything.

May we please open some doors and windows

and let some air in here?

The fumes are making the kids sick.

CHRISTINE COOK: There were a lot of children getting ill from

or throwing up and so forth from the smell

of the gasoline fumes.

As the time went on and the fumes got stronger, most of us

felt pretty nauseated.

Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee for thy watch--

We prayed a lot.

I remember just sitting there with my hands

clenched so tight, you know, just

praying to Heavenly Father that, to let something happen,

you know.

Dear Heavenly Father--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Many of those

in the classroom believe that the praying

heralded a coming miracle.

First, David Young became agitated and appeared

to lose confidence.

Moments later, he handed control of the bomb over to his wife

and left the room.

By then the children had been immobile for nearly two hours.

They were restless, irritable.

Could you please do something about the noise

and help me get these kids quiet right now?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Eye witnesses remember Doris Young

gesturing carelessly even though one false move would trigger

a catastrophic explosion.

--moving them around a little bit.

We could get everybody from that side,

and we could move some of the kids over here,

and then we could move some of the kids over--

[exploding and crashing]

[screaming]

[fire alarms ringing]

[screaming]

KEVIN WALKER: I had a fifth grader, a third grader, and

a first grader in that room.

And when I seen that smoke coming out of the windows,

I expected to see the school go in a million pieces.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A few children

stumbled from the smoke within seconds of the blast.

Others were trapped in the classroom.

OK.

AMY BAGASO: Teachers were throwing children out

of the windows, and I could feel flames still hot on my back,

and didn't yet realize that I was on fire.

And I saw flames coming from the corner of my eye

on my right shoulder and started to burn.

So I dropped and rolled.

As I looked up, I could see all these little feet just

scurrying out into the hallway.

All these kids were just stepping over me, and stepping

on me, and jumping over me.

And out of nowhere, I felt big hands just pick me up,

and I looked up and saw Mr. Moore and Jack Mitchell,

and they were beating the fire off of me.

And they picked me up, and they shoved me to safety.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Ambulances

rushed injured children to area hospitals.

Some of those who emerged unharmed

were taken home by their parents.

No one knew how many youngsters had survived

or how many might lay lifeless in the ashes.

Just inside the classroom, police

found the body of Doris Young.

David Young had also died, but not from the explosion.

He had killed himself with a single gunshot to the head.

A grim search for Cokeville's children commenced.

After an hour, dread turned to hope then hope to joy.

Not a single child had perished in the flames.

It seemed that Cokeville had been blessed with a miracle.

There's many, many things that point to something

happening and a higher power to stepping

in and helping in this case.

OK. Now, get out of the way.

Come on!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At the very least,

an extraordinary run of luck helped the children survive.

By staying outside the so-called magic square,

they were away from the bomb when it exploded.

With the doors and windows open, much of the bomb's force

blew harmlessly out of the classroom.

And then there was the bomb itself.

Remnants sifted from the rubble told the incredible story.

Now look at this.

It's a fully intact blasting cap.

This bomb didn't even completely detonate.

The potential of this explosive device

could have and should have destroyed

that whole end of the class, of the school building

had it have functioned the way it was supposed to.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Police learned that Young had built

and exploded several bombs exactly like the one

he brought the Cokeville.

Yet in the classroom, Young's bomb had unexpected problems.

A container of blasting powder had become thoroughly soaked,

rendering it a useless paste.

Detonation wires to other tubs of powder had been cut.

No reason, no explanation.

There should have been 162 people dead in that room.

We should have been in there just picking up bodies.

Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The people of Cokeville

came to their own conclusion about the improbable

turn of events.

The hostages must have been saved by a modern-day miracle.

I just had this overwhelming feeling

that Heavenly Father was there, that he

was watching out over us.

To me, I knew that the Lord was there with me,

and I knew that he would make it all right,

and that we'd make it through it.

OK.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A few students

were adamant about seeing what they called

a presence hovering above the room in the moments

before the bomb ignited.

Some of the youngsters said that the mysterious presence

actually directed them to move, advice that may

have helped save their lives.

In my mind, the only way out of that thing

would have been divine intervention.

We've always said guardian angels to help people out,

and I believe in that there is people that have went

on before us that help us out.

What!

What are you going to do?

Sheriff Deb Wolfley says that outside the school room

he too felt the touch of heavenly guidance.

What are you going to do?

DEB WOLFLEY: I remember Very clearly thinking in my mind,

what am I going to do?

Here's a man in here with a bomb who wants to blow our kids up.

How am I going to handle that?

Deb, get my boys out of there.

And I know that without a shadow of doubt

that the God in heaven that answered my prayers.

A voice said to me, everything will be OK.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): One final discovery.

This ghostly image singed into the north wall of the classroom

led some to conclude that an angel

had been in school that day protecting innocent lives.

[explosion]

10 years have come and gone since a crazed gunman named

David Young nearly wiped out an entire generation

in Cokeville, Wyoming.

Since then the town has resumed its quiet ways.

But most folks there still believe

that only a divine miracle stood between themselves

and unspeakable tragedy.

Join me next time for another fascinating edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]