All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S11E02.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: Tonight on
Unsolved Mysteries:

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Two
seemingly unrelated murder

investigations lay
dormant in the files

of neighboring Virginia
police departments

until a routine
review of DNA evidence

proves the two cases
have a common suspect,

and the hunt is now on
for a serial killer.

A factory in New Hampshire,
an isolated security

guard, and a mysterious fire.

Elements of a baffling night
that sees Curtis Pishon

vanish without a trace.

A Texas woman was robbed and
murdered in her own driveway.

Leads were few and the
case soon grew cold.

Now more than a decade
later, detective Roben Talton

is in hot pursuit of Opal
Zacharias's ruthless killer.

A 21-year-old Louisiana
college student

disappears after a night
of partying in Shreveport.

Where the two men with whom
she was reportedly last seen?

Could her ex-boyfriend
have been involved?

Where is Wendi Elizabeth Long?

Join me for these
stories and more.

Perhaps you may be the
one to solve a mystery.

[suspenseful music playing]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): December 6.

A worker surveying an
out-of-the-way wooded

property in Fairfax
County, Virginia,

makes a gruesome discovery.

The partially clothed
body of a young woman

lay sprawled in a clearing.

She has been shot,
and it appears she

has been sexually assaulted.

Her jeans, purse, and red
shoes are piled neatly nearby.

Once the police
arrived on the scene,

they began cordoning
off the area.

DETECTIVE IN
REENACTMENT: This area

is just too far off the
beaten path for most people

to come here.
DET.

ROBERT MURPHY (VOICEOVER): As
they were stretching the crime

scene tape and walking
the area, they discovered

a second body nearby.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
young man has been shot once

in the head execution style.

Like the woman, he
carries no identification.

The victims will
soon be identified

as 22-year-old college
sweethearts Rachael

Raver and Warren Fulton.

The baffling
murders would remain

unsolved for more than a
decade, but recently dramatic

advances in forensic science
and an incredible connection

to a previous Unsolved
Mystery story produced

a major break in the case.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Warren Fulton

was the captain of the
George Washington University

baseball team, and hoped to one
day play in the major leagues.

Rachael Raver was a vivacious,
well-liked recent graduate

of George Washington who was
planning to go to law school.

She and Warren had met
at a local hang out

and had been dating
for several months.

Bye, guys.

Have a good night.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On December 3,

Rachael and Warren
met friends for drinks

at a Washington, DC bar.

At 12:30 am, they
called it a night

and were last seen
walking to their car.

It's my belief
that they probably

encountered someone near their
car or on their way to the car.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Investigators theorize

that Rachael and Warren were
probably abducted at gunpoint

and forced to drive from
Washington into the Virginia

suburbs west of the city.

Just tell us where
you want us to go.

Can we just give him the car?

I want to get out of the car.

I do, too, sweetie.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The terrifying ride

would have covered a
distance of about 20 miles.

Once at the obscure wooded
site, police believe the gunman

apparently wasted no time.

Come on!

Okay.

Can you just leave us
here and take the car?

Don't hurt us, please.

DET.

ROBERT MURPHY (VOICEOVER):
Warren was as killed soon

as they got into the woods.

Rachael would have seen that.

We think, probably, at
that point, she ran.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): After
mortally wounding Rachael,

the killer then
sexually assaulted her.

Police believe the assailant
fled in Rachael's car,

but he unknowingly left
clues to his identity.

Semen recovered from Rachael's
body contains his DNA.

A single hair retrieved the
autopsy revealed a killer's

race, African-American.

And his choice of location
for the murder scene

told investigators
he was probably

familiar with the surroundings.

The area where
the bodies was found

was very close to
the Dulles toll road,

a major road that runs
from interstate highway

to Dulles Airport.

However, the area where the
bodies were specifically

is very secluded, and you would
not have known about that area

if you weren't familiar
with this particular area.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Two days

after the bodies were found, the
Fulton and Raver families had

their worst fears confirmed.

In time, Rachael's
mother, Veronica, would

channel her grief into action.

I didn't feel anger
for several months,

and then one day I
got up and I got mad,

and my attitude was, "Who the
hell does he think he is?"

And that's when I started
healing, and looking for him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Along
with Rachael's sister Dede,

Veronica became obsessed
with seeing that Rachael

and Warren's killer was caught.

The ravers immersed themselves
in every detail of the case.

What's in Marshall?

Oh, there's an article
here about a suspect

who killed a young girl.

No rape.

The date was roughed up.

He wasn't killed, so--

- It's not the same thing.
- Yeah, I know.

I know.

We'll get it.

We'll do it

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Believing

that Rachael's
missing car was a key

to solving the case,
the Ravers focused

their search on finding it.

And even though she lived
in suburban New York City,

Veronica Raver
spent her free time

driving the streets and
highways around Washington,

looking for that car.

VERONICA RAVER: Going down
to DC I would stop, you know,

at those wayside rest areas,
and I'd go through every parking

lot, all the way down
to DC, on the way

back on the other
side of the highway.

I was obsessed.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Just hopes

were dwindling, six weeks
after the murders there

was a major break in the
case from an unlikely source.

VERONICA RAVER: I
came home from work.

When I check the mail it's from
the motor vehicle for tickets.

And when I opened it
up, I thought, whoa.

Oh, God.

Norm.

It's the car.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Rachael Raver's missing

Toyota sedan had been
ticketed for illegal parking

on a street in Queens, New York.

The date on the
ticket was the day

after the murders and two
days before the bodies

were discovered.

DET.

ROBERT MURPHY (VOICEOVER):
The car was sitting unattended

on a New York City
street, so you

can imagine what happened to it
by the time it was recovered.

There wasn't much left of it.

The car was taken to a garage
in New York City where it was

processed extensively, and a
number of latent fingerprints

were developed, and we weren't
able to identify anyone.

So basically, we came away
with no clues from the car.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Despite the latest setback,

Veronica Raver
refused to give up.

TELEVISION:
Arlington, Virginia--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Almost a full year

after the murders, an episode
of Unsolved Mysteries,

caught her attention.

On May 10, 1988, the body
of an unknown young woman

was found in an Arlington,
Virginia, schoolyard.

She had been sexually
assaulted and shot

once at point blank range.

TELEVISION: She was sexually
assaulted and then murdered.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The victim

was subsequently identified
as 24-year-old Gena

Jefferson, a newcomer to
the Washington, DC, area.

TELEVISION: One good suspect
admitted that he had seen her

the day that she was killed and
he was able to describe her,

all the way down
to her red shoes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Unsolved Mysteries

came on about this young
woman who had been shot,

and I don't know
what attracted me.

I think it was the date.

The date was also
Rachael's birthday.

That got my attention.

It's something about it.

I called up my daughter,
Dede, and asked

her to check on this, that,
you know, something about it.

It bothered me.

DEIDRE RAVER: When I spoke
to the detective about it,

he told me that he had
looked into the case,

too, because it
bothered him a lot.

But the case was so
different, and her killer

seemed to know her.

And we assumed that in Rachael's
case, that it was a stranger.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
discrepancies between the cases

were significant.

Rachael Raver was
white, while Tina

Jefferson was African-American.

Rachael was in the
company of her boyfriend.

Tina was alone.

And while investigators
believed Tina knew her killer,

it was suspected that the
attack on Rachael and Warren

had been random.

Years would pass and both murder
investigations would grow cold.

Until one day in
the spring of 2000,

a technician at Biotech Two,
Virginia's state DNA lab,

was routinely
running comparisons

on samples submitted by
law enforcement agencies.

She was able to develop
the most vital lead either

of these cases had
had to that date,

and also prove Veronica Raver's
instincts were on the mark.

I received a phone call
from the serologist at our lab

and she says I've got good
news and I've got bad news.

The good news is we
got a hit on your case

in the Virginia data bank.

The bad news is the hit is
on another unsolved homicide.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): That
other unsolved homicide was

the murder of Tina Jefferson.

It was now
scientifically proven;

Rachael Raver and
Warren Fulton were

murdered by the same
person who killed Tina.

Investigators also
now had confirmation

that a serial killer
was on the loose.

My husband got a phone
call from the detectives,

and they told him that
they had a cold DNA hit,

and it matched
another case that was

seven months after
our daughter, Tina,

and it was the Fulton
and the Raver's case.

And shortly afterwards Deidre
Raver got in touch with us.

When I met the Jeffersons,
it was as if I had known them

for years, and we feel as
though we've been grieving

together for the last 12 years.

On Rachael's birthday,
their daughter was murdered

and for the last
12 years we've been

grieving on the very same day.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The Ravers and Jeffersons

now had hopes that
this new development

would lead to a successful
resolution of their cases.

Once we make the DNA
link between these murders

and then we can go
back and we can closer

examine these murders, we start
to see some small similarities.

The red shoes I think
are fascinating.

I think it's probably
more than coincidental,

though, that they were
both wearing red shoes.

In the Arlington County case,
they have a composite drawing

of a suspect.

They have a face
to go with the DNA

and we never had that before.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Witnesses described him

as a clean-cut bodybuilder
type, an African-American,

approximately 6 foot 3 inches
tall and weighing 170 pounds.

Tina Jefferson was last
seen alive in his presence.

The Ravers and the Jeffersons
have been revitalized

by the DNA link, and are
now more hopeful than ever

that the killer of their
loved ones will be caught.

VERONICA RAVER: I won't
rest until he's found.

I really won't have any
peace until he's found.

He's an evil predator, an
evil, perverted predator.

He's dangerous.

I'd like for him to go
through the pain and the hurt

that I have gone
through for 13 years.

I would like to see
him face to face.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Seabrook, New Hampshire,

1:42 AM.

The unexpected disrupts a
normally tedious graveyard

shift of security
guard Curtis Pishon.

Hello, 911?

I want to report a car fire.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): His car has

inexplicably burst into flames.

[sirens]

You all right?

Yeah.

I'm OK.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Curtis, a former police

officer, informs the fire
department that he has no idea

how his car caught on fire.

The firefighters noticed
that under the circumstances,

he seems curiously subdued.

Two hours after the
firefighters leave the scene,

the mystery deepens.

Curtis abruptly disappears
without a trace.

The The whole
disappearance is confusing.

The car fire is confusing,
because even without the car

fire, there's no clues here.

This is a worst nightmare
for any investigator,

because there's not that
tangible lead to go on,

and an entire family that
wants answers, and deserves

answers, and hasn't
been able to get them.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): What
happened to Curtis Pishon?

Every possibility
considered by investigators

led to a dead end.

They thought Curtis might have
purposely destroyed his car

before engineering
his own disappearance,

but they found no other way for
him to leave the remote factory

where he worked.

They considered suicide,
but where was his body?

They also believed Curtis
could have been abducted,

but there was no evidence
supporting that conclusion.

For 10 years, Curtis
Pishon cherish

his career as a police officer.

Then he was stricken
with multiple sclerosis,

a painful muscular disorder that
severely limited his mobility.

The disease progressed
to the point

where he could no longer
accurately fire his gun.

He had no choice but
to turn in his badge.

MARK PISHON: I'd
never seen Curtis

so devastated in my life.

His personality changed.

He became sort of quieter,
and I don't think even up

to the time of his
disappearance he

really knew what he was going
to do the rest of his life.

Hey, Curtis.

How are you doing?

Hey, How are you?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to his family,

Curtis became depressed
and withdrawn.

After taking on a frustrating
series of odd jobs,

he found a new sense
of satisfaction

as a factory security guard.

The job's physical requirements
were less stringent

than those of a police
officer, and he was

not required to carry a gun.

The night he vanished
began like every other.

At midnight, 2 and 1/2 hours
into his shift, all was normal.

How's it going, Curtis?

It's going good.
How about you?

Busy?

No, sir.

Quiet as a mouse.

[sirens]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): At 1:42 AM,

Seabrook firefighters responded
to Curtis's call for help.

He pretty much said that
he saw a bunch of smoke

and some flame, and then he
went to find a fire extinguisher

and then went to
put the fire out.

One fire extinguisher is not
going to have much effect,

but we did notice that he
did try to put out the fire.

There have been cases where
security guards, building

superintendents,
and things like that

intentionally set
fires and put them

out just to get recognition.

But I don't have any
idea or a gut feeling

how the fire started or why the
case ended up the way it did.

When the firefighters
arrived on scene,

they had a
conversation with him,

and they found him to be
totally accepting almost.

It was, he was not
in the least upset,

or did not appear to be upset.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Curtis's stoic behavior

was all the more
curious because his car,

as always, had been cluttered
with many of his possessions.

His family said he had the
odd habit of using it to store

what he treasured most.

Curtis's reaction to the
fire, I find surprising.

I would think that if he
had seen his car on fire

with his belongings in it, that
he would have been very upset.

I would think he would have been
almost in tears And in shame,

and I can't believe he
was quiet and timid.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
2 and 1/2 hours

after the fire was extinguished,
the factory security

supervisor checked on Curtis.

Are you all right?

Yeah.

You're OK?

Yeah.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
He left Curtis at 3:25 AM.

20 minutes later,
3:45, a factory worker

was the first to notice
that Curtis was missing.

An exhaustive search of the
factory and the surrounding

area turned up nothing.

Our very first thoughts
about what happened to Curt

was that he could have
taken his own life,

he could have wandered off, or
he could have been abducted.

One thing that we thought of
in terms of trying to flesh out

that suicide scenario was the
fact that he had purchased

this pistol just, I
guess, a few days prior

to his disappearance.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Curtis
bought the nine millimeter

gun from his father, Nicholas.

Suicide was a possibility with
somebody in Curtis's condition.

With him, as he had lost a job
that he wanted all his life,

but his mood when he, on the
weekend that he did pick up

the gun and everything, seemed
to be more happy, more pleased

at himself.

I'm doing good, Dad.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Suicide

seemed a likely solution.

However, Curtis's gun
could not be found.

Police could find no trace of it
in his car or in his apartment.

Then, as Curtis's family cleaned
out his cluttered residence,

they made a
surprising discovery.

I think I found what
we were looking for.

Once I discovered
the weapon, I

think that we eliminated
the likelihood that Curt

had taken his own life.

Now we had narrowed it down to,
I believe one of two things.

One, that Curt broke down
mentally and had wandered off,

and then the other one was, of
course, a much darker scenario,

where Kurt was abducted
and probably murdered.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The first possibility,

that Curtis has suffered
a mental collapse,

prompted investigators
to focus once

again on the mysterious fire.

They believed Curtis might
have accidentally started it,

then became so despondent over
losing his prized possessions

that he simply walked away.

There is absolutely no
way that Curtis would have

or even could have
wandered off by himself

under these circumstances.

Curtis was a smoker.

Smokers don't leave cigarettes.

You don't go anywhere
without your cigarettes.

It doesn't happen.

So he didn't just walk off.

And he had deteriorated
enough that he, probably,

physically couldn't,
probably, walk two miles,

let alone want to do it.

There are histories of
individuals who we do not

anticipate can travel any
extended distance, who

in fact are located
several miles away

from their original
starting point.

I would tend to doubt
it, but it is possible.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
possibility remained the Curtis

call for a taxi or hitched
a ride on a truck leaving

the factory, but
investigators discovered

that no cabs or company
trucks left the plant

during Curtis's shift.

One disturbing possibility
remained; that Curtis

was abducted and murdered.

I think Curtis went to work
like he always did that night,

and I think that he probably,
in carrying out his duties,

saw something that
he shouldn't have,

and he probably carried out
his true duty of either getting

ready to report it or call
it in, and he was attacked,

and he couldn't defend himself.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Investigators exploring

the possibility of foul play
found that a door and two

vending machines had been
damaged during Curtis's shift,

but who caused the
damage remains unknown.

With regard to
criminal activity

that Curtis may
have encountered,

anything is possible.

One individual that we spoke
with took note about 3:30

of two vehicles
departing the premises.

My best guess is that somebody
abducted him and did him in

and disposed of the
body in such a way

that it hasn't shown up yet.

I don't have much hope
that Curtis is alive.

I think if he was alive, he
would have reached out already,

and he never would have
put us through this.

It would be very difficult
if he'd been killed in a plane

crash, but not having
no idea what happened

to him is even more difficult.

I miss my brother.

I miss Curtis.

I was his best friend,
and I miss him.

I miss him very much.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Curtis Pishon is

5 foot 9 and weighs 165 pounds.

He has brown eyes and
graying brown hair.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
8:00 AM, Houston, Texas.

64-year-old Opal Zacharias
left her home for work.

She had no idea
that two men were

lying in wait in her garage.

[suspenseful music playing]

Who are you?

Take it easy, lady.

What do you want?

- We just want your purse.
- Be cool.

- No!
- Yes.

[sounds of a struggle]

Give us the purse!

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The plan

may have been to simply rob
her, but there was a struggle.

Get back!

[gunshot]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Sadly, Opal Zacharias

lost her life after
being victimized

by two cold blooded assailants.

Stories like this happen
in the United States

far more often than
we'd like to believe,

but what makes this case
unique is that it currently

rests in the expert
hands of one of the most

successful cold case
investigators in the country.

Her name is Roben Talton, and
she is one of this nation's

toughest female cops.

Over the years, the
veteran detective

has proven herself time
and again in an arena

dominated by men.

June, 2000, a machine
shop in Houston, Texas.

Plain clothes Harris County
Sheriff's detective Talton

and her partner
responded to a tip

that a wanted felon
was on the premises.

DETECTIVE ROBEN TALTON: We
were told he had escaped three

different times, so he was a
known rabbit and we figured

that he would run from us.

The manager there
was very cooperative.

He actually agreed
to point the guy out.

Detective Talton, Harris County.

You're under arrest.

Let him go.

I got him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Although Detective Talton knew

she'd been injured,
she was determined

to conceal her condition
until the arrest was made.

DETECTIVE ROBEN
TALTON: The detective

that was with me kept after the
defendant and he did get him,

and I did not want this crook
to know that I was hurt.

We walked him down to
where the unit was.

Hey, you OK?

No, man.
I'm hurt.

I'm hurt bad.

Can you make it
back to the car?

Yeah.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Apparently a burst

of adrenaline
masked the severity

of Roben Talton's injury.

She was stunned when
doctors told her

she had chipped
her left knee cap

and fractured the lower
leg in two places.

This arrest would
change her life.

You feeling OK?

Yeah, I'm all right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): While
Detective Talton recovered

from her broken leg, she
was assigned to the newly

created Cold Warrant Unit.

What we'd like to do is get
you to working on the computer

and see if you can find some
new sources of information

where we can find
these guys and may we--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Her new unit

was set up to
trace and apprehend

Harris County's wanted felons.

Many of these criminals
had been on the lam

for more than a decade.

The dramatic sudden
shift in career

might have shattered anyone
else in Roben's shoes,

but the thought never
crossed her mind.

From the start, she was driven
to turn tragedy into triumph.

A desk job was not going to
hamper her effectiveness.

Hey, I'm in.
I'm in.

OK.
Can we start tomorrow?

We can do that.

OK, great.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The veteran investigator

with more than 10 years as a
street detective under her belt

would now need to get accustomed
to a couple of new partners;

a computer and the internet.

Detective Talton
now found herself

armed with faded warrants are
often obsolete information.

However, she quickly proved
to have a talent for tracking

down long lost fugitives.

DETECTIVE ROBEN TALTON:
It's kind of like a game of,

you know, catch me if you can.

Sometimes I start with
just a name, an age range,

in an old address,
and I put together

past acquaintances,
family members,

trying to find somebody
that could fit.

It's like putting the
pieces together to see

if it's going to make sense.

By the time I get the
warrant, it's old enough

that I feel like these
guys have settled down

and they think they're safe.

The Cold Warrant Unit
is a little bit deceptive.

It's not a band of detectives.

It's one detective,
Roben Talton.

And after she does
her research, we

have about an 80%
rate of arrest,

once she handles those warrants.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Today, Detective Talton's work

with the Cold Warrant Unit
has led to the arrests of more

than 400 dangerous fugitives.

However, despite
her successes, she

is still challenged by the
cases she has yet to crack,

like the 1987 ruthless
murder of Opal Zacharias.

[gunshot]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Even as Opal

lay wounded on her
driveway, the robbers

were not finished with her.

CHARLES PADON: From what I
remember of the gun shot wound,

apparently it entered
the thigh and it

came out the back of the hip.

So the shot itself
was not a fatal shot.

Go, go, go go, go!

CHARLES PADON: But they
had her purse and car keys,

and end up stealing the
car and backing over her,

and that's actually
what killed her.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): A witness

reported seeing
one of the men flee

the scene by scaling a fence.

Later that day, Opal Zacharias's
abandoned car would be found.

However, at that time
it yielded no clues that

would lead to Opal's killers.

A year later, tips
from an informant

identified the murder suspects.

One of the men was apprehended
living outside Houston.

Despite the fact that the
man's fingerprints were

on Opal Zacharias's car,
authorities could not

physically connect
him to the murder

and he was released
without charges.

The alleged trigger man was
identified as Lance Bedgood

good who was still
at large Roben Talton

tackled the case in 2001.

While trying to
locate Lance Bedgood,

I came across some post
office boxes, three,

in fact, that are still
being looked at today.

What we're assuming is that
he's using three different post

offices, basically as a mail
drop so he can keep in contact.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Detective Talton

discovered the
mailboxes are registered

to 3 of Lance
Bedgood's relatives

but paid for by a fourth.

Well, I'm glad that
the investigation

hasn't been forgotten.

The sad part is that my
aunt's life was taken

and she didn't get to see the
family grow up and mature.

And that's sad.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Lance Bedgood

stands 5 foot 9 inches tall.

He has tattoos on
his arms and legs,

as well as a scar
over his left eye.

He is wanted for the
murder of Opal Zacharias.

Bedgood should be considered
armed and dangerous.

On a sunny spring afternoon
in Coushatta, Louisiana, Karol

and Duke Long received
a telephone call

from a friend of their
21-year-old daughter, Wendi.

ON PHONE: Good.

Listen, I have Wendi's car.

I just wanted to know how
to get it back to you guys.

Where's Wendi?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Two days earlier,

on Friday the 13th
of April, Wendi

had driven to Shreveport to
shop and party with friends.

Her parents expected her
home by Sunday afternoon.

Instead, they
received news that is

every parent's worst nightmare;
Wendi had disappeared.

I thought she was with you.

ON PHONE: No, I haven't
seen her since Friday night.

We called the
police and told them

that we thought something
had happened to Wendi,

and that's where it all started.

Somebody knows where
Wendi's at, and we

just want to find her so bad.

Wendi Long's disappearance is
a classic missing person case.

Because she is 21, Wendi
is considered an adult.

Until any proof of
foul play is found,

police cannot officially
consider the case

an abduction or a homicide.

What happened to
Wendi Elizabeth Long?

Police and Wendi's parents
seek your help to solve

this agonizing mystery.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In the spring of 2001,

Wendi Long decided to take
a semester off from college

and was planning to continue
her studies in the fall.

During this time, Wendi
lived with her parents.

The Long's considered
her strong willed,

yet very open and friendly.

One of her flaws may have
been that she's too trusting.

She thought everybody
she met when her friend.

She was one of those people that
made friends with everybody.

Bye, Mom.

Bye, Sweetie.
You look cute.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Shortly after noon on Friday,

Wendi left her
parents' home driving

her own car and
headed to Shreveport

50 miles from Coushatta.

I will.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On the
way, she picked up two friends

from Natchitoches.

Following an
afternoon of shopping,

the three pick up another
friend, Tommy, who

lived in the Shreveport area.

At approximately 11:00 PM, they
arrived at a Shreveport party.

CAROLYN DEAL: There was
drinking at the party,

and I'm told that
Wendi had had quite

a bit to drink that night.

So that when it came time for
them to take Tommy back home,

she didn't want to drive.

In fact, she didn't want
to go with them at all.

She decided to
stay where she was.

Are you OK to drive?

CAROLYN DEAL: Her
two friends that she

came to Shreveport
with drove Tommy

back to where he was
staying at the time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
After leaving Tommy,

Wendi's friends had a
run in with the law.

Their statement is that
they went to get some food,

and they were stopped
by a state trooper.

And one of the friends
was arrested for DWI

and taken to the Benton jail.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When questioned by police,

Tommy explained that he
was concerned that Wendi

might be stranded at the party.

He chose to drive
his own vehicle

to find Wendi and offer her a
ride back home to Coushatta.

Tommy says Wendi
accepted the offer.

On the way, he stopped for
gas and a quart of oil.

CAROLYN DEAL: When he came
back out of the gas station

Wendi was talking to two young
men in a black Chevy truck.

Hey, Tommy, come here.

This is Mike and Zandt.

Tommy said that it
appeared that she knew them,

and Wendi told Tommy at that
point not to worry about it,

that she was going
to go with them

and they were going
to get her home.

Are you sure you
know these guys?

Yes, I'm sure I
know these guys.

I will get home OK.

Just go home.

All right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to Tommy,

the last time he saw Wendi was
when she left with the two men.

This alleged sighting made
Tommy the last person to see

Wendi before she disappeared.

Tommy agreed to take a
polygraph test, which,

according to police, he passed.

CAROLYN DEAL: Tommy
did extremely well

on the polygraph.

The polygraph
examiner himself was

very impressed with him and the
details that he could remember.

At that point, they
decided that it

would be beneficial to
hypnotize Tommy to see

what else he could remember.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Under hypnosis, Tommy

was able to provide a
more detailed description

of the black Chevy pickup truck
and the appearance of the two

men who took Wendi away.

His recollection
enabled a police artist

to produce these
sketches of the men,

but no one has come
forward to identify them.

In further investigating
Wendi's disappearance,

police discovered a
puzzling incident.

On the day after Wendi vanished,
her ex-boyfriend in Shreveport

claims to have received
a message from her

on his answering machine.

Hey, Mark, this is Wendi.

[inaudible message] connection.

Hear me?

Hello?

He said that it sounded
like she was on a cell phone

and he didn't hear
everything that she said.

He did clearly hear the
words, "This is Wendi."

He said the rest of
it was very staticky,

and here erased the message.

At that time, he didn't even
know that Wendi was missing.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Wendi Long's missing

person's case is filled
with many more questions

than answers.

A key question involves another
of Wendi's ex-boyfriends.

Just tell me who you were
with last Friday night.

CAROLYN DEAL: There
are quite a few reports

that indicate that there
was some physical violence

between them.
- No!

[slap]

CAROLYN DEAL: The
thing that concerns me

about Wendi's
ex-boyfriend is the fact

that another
girlfriend of has came

his missing years prior to this,
and that she was never found.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
But Wendi's ex-boyfriend

apparently has an alibi.

The boyfriend cannot be
placed in Shreveport any

time that Friday or Saturday.

I consider him to be
suspect only because of

the prior things that happened.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
For Wendi Long's parents,

the nightmare that began with
a single phone call continues.

We've had people call and
said that they've been praying

for us and praying for Wendi.

I'm just trusting God
to answer our prayers

and to lead us to
wherever Wendi might be.

I do you still
believe in miracles,

and I believe it could
still be a miracle

that Wendi could be alive.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Update.

Eight months after
Wendi's disappearance,

Tommy, whose real name
is Robert Stewart,

was arrested for check fraud.

Police began to re-question
him about inconsistencies

in the story he told him
about the last time he

saw Wendi Long.

According to investigators,
Stewart eventually broke down,

confessed to the
murder and pinpointed

the location of Wendi's body.

[suspenseful music playing]

Now a special bulletin.

We ask you to pay
close attention

to this story about a
young woman who is missing.

Perhaps you may be able
to help authorities

determine what happened the
day Rachel Cooke disappeared.

On the morning of
January 10, 2002,

19-year-old Rachael Cooke went
jogging in her Georgetown,

Texas, neighborhood.

She left her house at
approximately 9:30 AM,

wearing a green sports bra,
gray shorts, a gray shirt tied

around her waist,
white running shoes,

and a bright yellow
armband Walkman.

Witnesses spotted her at
various points along a route

that morning.

At 11:00 AM near
the end of her run,

she was approximately
200 yards from her home

in the North Lake
subdivision of Georgetown,

and that was the last
known sighting of Rachel.

She is 5 feet 2 inches tall
and weighs about 120 pounds.

Her hair is blond with
dark auburn streaks in it.

She has hazel eyes.

Rachel also has
multiple piercings

in both ears, two heart
shaped cherry tattoos

on her left shoulder,
and a black star

tattoo on her left foot.

[music playing]

Hundreds of cases
like those you've seen

have been solved with
the help of our viewers.

Join me next time.

Perhaps you will
solve a mystery.

[suspenseful music playing]