All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S11E07.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: Tonight, on
Unsolved Mysteries.

ROBERT STACK: In a peaceful
suburb of Los Angeles,

a feud over a drug debt
spirals out of control,

an innocent teenage
boy is taken hostage,

and a family is destroyed.

Jill Behrman had a
passion for cycling.

One morning she
set off for a ride

through Bloomington, Indiana,
and inexplicably vanished.

Was she abducted?

Or was she the victim
of a tragic accident?

It began innocently enough.

A selfless good
deed by Billy Fisher

convinced Nancy Hyer that
they should become friends.

Three weeks later,
Nancy sat down to dinner

with Billy and his
father, soon two would

be dead and a third missing.

Authorities need your help
to bring a killer to justice.

Kristen Modafferi
came to San Francisco

for a summer of adventure.

Then she vanished.

Did she drown in the Pacific?

Or was she lured into
the arms of a murderer?

Joining me for these stories
of intrigue and deception,

prime ingredients for
Unsolved Mysteries.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Nick
Markowitz celebrates

his bar mitzvah with dozens
of friends and loved ones.

It would be the last joyous
occasion before tragedy rips

the Markowitz family apart.

MAN: Ladies and
gentlemen, let's give

it up for the Markowitz family!

ROBERT STACK: The seeds of their
tragedy lie with Nick's older

half brother Ben.

For most of his life,
Ben has been in trouble.

And now young Nick is about
to be engulfed in Ben's

world of deceit and betrayal.

Ben owes money to
this man, Jesse

James Hollywood, who was given
his notorious name at birth.

On August 6, 2000,
Jesse allegedly

decided to find Ben and
collect what is owed him,

one way or another.

According to reports, Jesse
and two of his friends

cruise the quiet
streets of West Hills,

California, looking for Ben.

They cannot find him,
but instead spot Nick.

A fateful decision is made.

- Nicky.
- Nick.

Nicky.

Hey guys.

Where's Ben?

- I don't know.
- You don't know?

No, I don't know.

I don't know, man.

I think maybe you do.
- I think you know.

- No, I don't.
- Yeah, you do.

I don't know.

Why don't you come
with us in the van.

No, I gotta get going.

BRUCE CORRELL: Witnesses say
that they saw the van pull over

and there was a
physical confrontation.

And that young Nick was forced
into the van and the van left.

On that day, he was simply a
young man who his only problem

was that he had an older brother
who had provoked the wrath

of Jesse James Hollywood.

ROBERT STACK: At first
glance, Jesse James

Hollywood and his
friends seem like

typical suburban teenagers.

They grew up in a loving
middle class homes

and were given every
chance to succeed in life.

But somewhere along the way,
Jesse allegedly went off track.

When by chance Nicholas
Markowitz crossed Jesse's path,

the result was catastrophic.

Now one of them is dead and the
other a fugitive from justice.

As a child, there was no hint
that Jesse James' outlaw name

might turn out to be prophetic.

Jesse and his close
knit group of friends

would spend countless summer
days playing baseball,

while their families
watched with pride.

But police believe that Jessie,
the innocent little leaguer,

somehow transformed into a
big time suburban drug dealer.

Incredibly, the age of
19, Jesse reportedly

amassed enough illicit profits
to buy an expensive home

and the party began.

Jesse James Hollywood
was driving expensive cars.

He was partying with his
friends on nearly a daily basis.

And he was living
a rather lavish

lifestyle for a young man
without any legitimate means

of employment.

ROBERT STACK: Less than two
miles away, but a world apart,

15-year-old Nick Markowitz
lived with his parents, Jeff

and Susan.

JEFF MARKOWITZ: Nick
was a typical teenager.

He was a likable kid.

Everybody loved Nick.

He had a great sense of humor.

He was always positive
and fun to be around.

ROBERT STACK: But Nick's
25-year-old half brother

Ben was an entirely
different story.

According to police, Ben was
a friend of Jesse Hollywood,

and often bought
marijuana from him.

Shortly before the
kidnapping, Ben and Jesse

had a falling out after
Ben refused to pay a $1,200

drug debt.

BEN MARKOWITZ: He's
a real little guy,

very obnoxious,
just the type of guy

you'd want to take his stuff.
I didn't fear him.

He was, like I just
said, he was just--

Jesse was just a little man.

I was like, $1,200, yeah, sure.

I'll get you later, buddy.

What's going on, man?

Jesse, what are you doing?

Where have you been?

ROBERT STACK: Jesse James
Hollywood reportedly confronted

Ben on several occasions.

I told you I would get
your money, all right?

You don't come to my
house like this, man.

Come to your house--
what are you smoking?

Huh?

This is your last chance.

You got that?

ROBERT STACK: After
numerous run ins with Ben,

Jesse reportedly had had enough.

And on August 6th, he went
looking for his former friend.

Nick Markowitz just happened
to be in the wrong place

at the wrong time.

I was making Nick breakfast
and went upstairs to get him

and he was not there.

I paged him and he did
not return my page.

I guess I must have
paged him 100 times.

I knew something was wrong.

ROBERT STACK: Police
believe that Nick could not

return his mother's call because
Jesse James had kidnapped him.

Nick was purportedly taken
to a home in Santa Barbara,

California and restrained.

There, he would remain a
hostage until his brother, Ben,

paid his debt.

On the following day,
witnesses report seeing

Nick at the Santa Barbara home.

Jesse is not at the house.

Nick is no longer
bound nor gagged.

In fact, Nick's captors seem
to treat him like a guest.

Nick was free to move
around the residence.

Young people that did come
and go from the residence,

although they were told that
he had been, in essence,

kidnapped, by his demeanor
there, he was not acting

as they might expect someone
that had been kidnapped

would be acting.

I personally feel that
Nick had the expectation

that at some point in
time, he would be freed.

Don't worry about
him, he's fine.

ROBERT STACK: In
the ensuing days,

there was no reported effort
by Jesse James Hollywood

to exchange Nick for the
money Ben Markowitz owed him.

According to witnesses,
Jesse realized

the situation was quickly
spiraling out of control.

He telephoned his
lawyer for advice.

That won't-- it can't be.

ROBERT STACK: Police
believe that Jessie came

to a disturbing realization,
if Nick was released

and told authorities about
the spontaneous kidnapping,

Jessie could spend the rest
of his life behind bars.

We believe that, as a
result of that conversation,

Jessie came to the
conclusion that he would

be in a better situation to
kill Nick as opposed to trying

to return him.

ROBERT STACK: Authorities
theorize that Jessie then

contacted this man, Ryan Hoyt,
a 21-year-old acquaintance who

also owed Jessie
$1,200 for drugs.

In this home video taken
by Jesse James Hollywood,

he can be heard demanding
payment from Ryan Hoyt.

JESSE JAMES: You're saying
you're going to give

my money back on Monday?

What's going to be
there tomorrow, Hoyt?

I'm serious man.

Stop recording.

JESSE JAMES: I said, what's
going to be in the bank.

You never answered yet.
I want to know.

$500.
At least $500.

Now stop [bleep] recording.

ROBERT STACK: Jessie
allegedly offered

Ryan a way to pay off his debt.

Hey, Ryan, it's Jessie.

Listen, I got a
proposition for you.

On August 8th, police believe
that Ryan Hoyt and two

accomplices led Nick
Markowitz to Lizard's

Mouth, a remote area in the
Los Padres National Forest.

Jesse James Hollywood
was not there.

[gun shots]

BEN MARKOWITZ: We were friends.

All of us, we were friends.

And the way that it went down,
I feel very responsible for it.

All I can really do is just
overthink it in my head

and, you know, and believe
me, there's many nights

where I couldn't sleep.

ROBERT STACK: Four days later,
the body of Nick Markowitz

was discovered.

An anonymous tip from a teenager
who saw Nick at the Santa

Barbara home quickly
identified several suspects

in his kidnapping and murder.

Within days, police arrested
Ryan Hoyt and three accomplices

for the crime.

All four pleaded not guilty and
remain in custody at the Santa

Barbara County jail.

But Jesse James Hollywood
was nowhere to be found.

Authorities believe
publicity about the murder

caused Hollywood to flee.

BRUCE CORRELL: We don't
know where he went.

We don't know where he is now.

But he did leave the
jurisdiction eventually.

And he returned to the
San Fernando Valley area.

But since that time,
his whereabouts

have been unknown to us.

The nightmares
you wake up from,

this is worse than a nightmare.

They've destroyed me.

They've gutted me.

I am soulless.

I am lost.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Every evening at
dusk, Eric and Marilyn Behrman

perform a quiet ritual.

The candle's flame represents
the flicker of hope,

that they will solve
a perplexing mystery

that has shattered their lives.

On May 31st, 2000, their
19-year-old daughter Jill

looked forward to
another morning

indulging her
passion for fitness.

She left their home in
Bloomington, Indiana

at 9:00 AM.

Her job did not
begin until noon.

She had plenty of time to first
enjoy the sport she loved best.

MARILYN BERHMAN: Jill treated
a bike ride like a workout.

She took it pretty seriously.

And she wanted to ride hard.

And her friends have told
me that going for a bike

ride with Jill was
not very much fun

because they couldn't keep up.

ROBERT STACK: Jill
had just completed

her freshman year as a business
major at Indiana University.

Her family and
friends described her

as the epitome of a
fun-loving, All-American girl.

I found her purse.

ROBERT STACK: 12 hours
later, Eric and Marilyn

became alarmed when Jill
failed to return home.

MARILYN BERHMAN:
It's way after dark.

It's very late.

It's cold outside.

And I was alternating
between being

sad or worried, or maybe
even angry, thinking,

why would she do this?

Why would she go off and not
tell us what she's up to?

I mean, just all
those mixed emotions.

I don't know what to think.

Its was then that
we both were really,

I think, terrified
as to just what

might have happened to her.

ROBERT STACK: Jill Behrman
had vanished without a trace.

Bloomington Police and the
FBI received over 3,000 tips.

But what happened to
Jill is still unknown.

Authorities believed
she might have been

abducted, although
there was no evidence

to support that conclusion.

They also thought she
may have been the victim

of a hit and run accident.

But if that were true,
where was her body?

The investigation yielded
many clues but no answers.

News of Jill's
disappearance spread

quickly throughout Bloomington.

Two days after she vanished,
townspeople by the hundreds

joined investigators in
an exhaustive search.

Local cycling clubs traced the
routes Jill may have taken.

They had groups of people
not only searching the roads,

but about 150 feet or so off
on each side of the road.

In the woods and the ravines
and the areas along several

of the roads, and
in places that we

know that Jill liked to ride.

ROBERT STACK: Despite
the massive effort,

no trace of Jill was found.

But the same day the search
began, a vital clues surfaced.

Resident of Bloomington
stepped forward,

reporting that he had
retrieved an abandoned

bicycle, two days earlier, the
same day Jill had disappeared.

Only later, when news
about Jill broke,

did he realize the significance.

The bicycle's serial
number enabled police

to confirm that it was Jill's.

Investigators searched
the area surrounding

where the bike was found.

But they found nothing.

The location raised
their suspicions.

Jill was last seen
south of her home

riding in a southerly direction.

Her bike was 10 miles
Northwest of that site.

ERIC BEHRMAN: That's
not a route that she

would have been on that day.

That's about 10 miles away.

It's through town.

It's through a great
deal of traffic.

And Jill hated riding
in any kind of traffic.

She just-- she wouldn't
ride in the traffic.

MARILYN BERHMAN: She's
not with the bike

and the bike is somewhere
she would not have ridden.

And this isn't making any sense.

This is even more
mysterious and more scary

now because now I don't
know what to think.

ROBERT STACK: Three days
after Jill vanished,

the mystery deepened.

A digital radio was found
neatly placed in the parking

lot of a Bloomington church.

It was the same model,
and color as one

that Jill usually took
with her when she cycled.

At the moment the radio
was found, at church goer

in the parking lot witnessed a
pickup truck that investigators

viewed with suspicion.

There's no indication
that that pickup truck

was related to the Walkman.

However, we've attempted
to try and find

not only the pickup
truck but certainly

the individual driving it.

We've been unsuccessful
in doing that.

ROBERT STACK: 10 days
later, a young woman

Jill's age was involved
in an attempted abduction

just three miles from where
Jill's bike was found.

We certainly believe
that there could

be a correlation between
the event in Ellisville

and Jill's disappearance.

ROBERT STACK: Is it possible
that the same assailant,

who is still unidentified,
also targeted Jill?

We've had any number
of theories in this.

And certainly one
of those theories

is that Jill was targeted.

And that they placed the bicycle
in an area different from where

she was last seen
in an effort to try

and at least lead us away
from the area in which she

was, in fact, abducted.

ROBERT STACK: The possibility
that Jill was abducted

seemed more plausible
when news broke

a year later about another
female cyclist in Kentucky.

A motorist struck her and
tried to drag her into his car

before he was chased
away by a witness.

A police artist made this
sketch of the suspect.

But whether this man also
attempted to abduct Jill

is unknown.

The only other theory
investigators consider possible

is that Jill was a victim
of a hit and run accident.

We believe that it
was certainly possible

that Jill was struck by a
group of people who were

high on drugs, alcohol or both.

That these folks panicked.

And instead of leaving her
or trying to get help for her,

they put her and the bike
in a vehicle and took her.

ROBERT STACK: The
hit and run theory,

however, is flawed by one
perplexing detail, the damage

to Jill's bicycle was minimal.

Still, investigators say it
is possible that Jill was not

struck while riding,
but after she dismounted

to rest or make repairs.

Ultimately, however,
what happened to Jill

remains unknown.

That's one of
the hardest things

about this whole situation,
is the not knowing.

Without knowing
whether she is alive,

without knowing where she is.

MARILYN BERHMAN:
I miss that smile.

I miss her laugh.

It's a nightmare that
just keeps going on.

ERIC BEHRMAN: Every
night we light the candle

on the front doorstep.

And it stays lit all night
until the next morning.

MARILYN BERHMAN: It's
kind of a beacon of hope.

And just as a reminder
that Jill is still missing.

ERIC BEHRMAN: And every day we
pray that that's going to be

the day that we find Jill.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: 21-year-old Nancy
Hyer and 19-year-old Billy

Fisher met by chance in 1986.

OK.

I'll take your word for it.

ROBERT STACK: Billy first
saw Nancy on a train

heading to New York City.

She had become lost and
was on the verge of tears.

Billy stepped forward
and volunteered

to escort Nancy back home
to Hicksville, Long Island.

The two began a
close friendship.

That's awesome.

DEBRA MCCABE: Nancy thought
Billy was a really nice guy.

She did say to me, he's starting
to look at me like a girlfriend

kind of thing.

And I don't like him that way.

But she didn't want
to hurt his feelings

because he was so nice.

ROBERT STACK: On a stormy
night three weeks later,

Nancy received a
call from Billy.

Get home from
work tomorrow, OK?

Alrighty, I'll
talk to you later.

Bye bye.

I wonder if I'll actually
be able to follow

these directions.

ROBERT STACK: She told
her sister, Debra,

that Billy had asked
for a ride home

from his father's
house in South Hampton.

Despite the weather, Nancy
decided to repay Billy's

earlier act of kindness.

I don't really think
you should be going

out in this weather, Nancy.

DEBRA MCCABE: And I said,
I can't believe you're

going to drive in this weather.

You don't even like
to drive at night.

And she says, well,
he's done so much for me

that I'm going to just go.

Alrighty, I'm all ready to go.

You look great.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK:
Nancy's mother, Joan,

was also concerned
about her daughter

driving during a storm.

JOAN HYER: As I saw my
daughter drive away,

I was a little fearful, myself.

Worry, just mother's worry.

That's enough.

ROBERT STACK: Nancy Hyer
set off into the downpour

for the hour and a half
drive to Southampton.

Her friendship with Billy Fisher
would soon lead to tragedy.

An unsuspecting Nancy
Hyer was heading straight

into another family's
conflict, one

that was about to turn violent.

Billy Fisher had
cystic fibrosis,

a degenerative
respiratory disease

and was overwhelmed
with medical bills.

He was seeking money
from his estranged

father who'd abandoned the
family 15 years earlier.

What followed next was a chain
reaction of ill-fated events,

ultimately put Nancy Hyer in the
wrong place at the wrong time.

At the time Billy Fisher met
Nancy, he was swamped in debt

and increasingly ill.

Hi, may I speak to
William Fisher, please?

ROBERT STACK: He decided
to ask his father,

William, for help,
even though the two

hadn't spoken in over a year.

Hello?

Hi, dad, it's Billy.

STEPHEN OATES: He was
employed by a well-to-do car

dealership in Manhattan
in the city of New York.

Was making a very high salary.

The investigation determined
that he began and had been

using cocaine
extensively, to the point

that it affected his performance
at his place of employment.

ROBERT STACK: Billy's
father invited

his son to visit for
the weekend and discuss

the money situation.

Hey, Billy.

How are you doing?

I'm OK.

Come on, I'm not
going to bite you.

ROBERT STACK: Nobody knows
how Billy got to Southampton.

But a day after
arriving, he called

Nancy Hyer to take him home.

That night, Joan Hyer waited
anxiously for Nancy to return.

JOAN HYER: I was
pacing the living

room, constantly at the front
door looking out the window.

The clock was going,
12:00, 1:00, 2:00 o'clock.

I kind of figured, she's
a responsible girl.

She might have had to stay
over because of the weather

or the time of night.

But then I still kept
hesitant because I said,

she would never not call me.

Yes, well I know she's
21, but could you please--

ROBERT STACK: The next
morning, still no call.

Joan began to panic.

The police could not help.

Nancy had not been gone long
enough to be declared missing.

I know she left directions
and a phone number

around her somewhere.

I don't know where she left it.

ROBERT STACK: Running
out of options, Joan

and Nancy's sister, Debra,
rummaged through her bedroom.

No wait, here it is.

Fisher.

Hello?

Yes, hello.

This is Nancy
Hyer's mother, Joan.

Mr. Fisher, yes.

I'd like to know if my daughter
came out there last evening.

Yeah, she was here.

I cooked a roast.

We had some drinks and dinner.

And for you, young lady?

Medium rare.

JOAN HYER: He said,
we had dinner.

He said, and I gave
them something to drink.

Nice to see you, son.

Dad.

JOAN HYER: And they
went out after that.

Well, listen, you both
take care and drive safely.

He said, oh, they probably
just went somewhere.

Or, he says, or
Billy is somewhere

and Nancy is somewhere else.

If I hear anything,
I'll give you a call--

DEBRA MCCABE: He seemed very
forthcoming, that he was

concerned about his own son.

We were thinking, at that point
that, young Billy had taken her

somewhere and done something.

ROBERT STACK: Another day
passed with no sign of Nancy.

And Joan filed a
missing persons report.

But with no proof
of foul play, there

was little the police could do.

So June turned back to the last
person who saw her daughter.

She repeatedly called
William Fisher, who became

increasingly confrontational.

Mr. Fisher, could you go
over, step by step, exactly

what happened that evening.

Look, like I told you
before, they came over.

JOAN HYER: He would
fly off the handle

and tell me, let the
police handle this.

I have no idea where
these kids went.

And he was getting very,
very hostile over the phone.

Goodbye.

JOAN HYER: So I kept getting
more suspicious of Mr. Fischer.

ROBERT STACK: 10 days
after Nancy's disappears,

in a parking lot two miles
from William Fisher's house,

police responded to a
report of an abandoned car.

Nancy Hyer.

Sarge, it comes back to that
missing girl, Nancy Hyer.

See if you can pop the trunk.

Oh my god, Sarge, get back here.

Oh my god.

STEPHEN OATES: Located
in the trunk of the car

was a young Billy Fisher.

A second body was
located [inaudible]

and that was young Nancy.

The autopsy reported that
Billy had been shot 18 times.

The vast majority
of those rounds

were in the head at close range.

Nancy's autopsy
revealed that she

had been stabbed twice with a
very long, sharp instrument.

At that same time, neighbors
reported strange activity

at the Fisher home.

Apparently, William was
remodeling his master bedroom

at 3:00 AM in the morning.

Well, you can see it's
been freshly painted.

ROBERT STACK: Police
secured a search warrant

for the Fisher residence.

Slight indentations
were observed

in a section of the
wall, and it was removed.

See what we find here.

ROBERT STACK: Two .22 caliber
bullets were recovered.

A single strand of hair was
fused to one of the bullets.

It was identified
as Billy Fisher's.

STEPHEN OATES: That established
that this was the crime scene.

Additional testing established
that there was a large amount

of blood splattered
all about the halls,

of the hallway, consistent
with an individual, Nancy,

being stabbed in
that area immediately

outside the master bedroom.

Well, what does that mean?

That means--

ROBERT STACK: The
evidence clearly

implicated William Fisher.

But the sheer brutality of the
killings obscured his motive.

Well, everybody
works to pay the bills.

So what?

It's not enough.

ROBERT STACK: What could
have caused Fisher,

a man with plenty to lose,
to shoot his son 18 times

and then murder a
complete stranger?

You think I can afford to
live here if I don't work?

Why don't you help me?

This is about money, isn't it.

ROBERT STACK: Could an argument
have broken out over Billy's

financial problems?

Just the same as always, it's
always about money, isn't it?

It's you, you, you.

Constantly.

All the time.

It's always about money.

[gun shots]

ROBERT STACK:
Nancy, who was only

in the house because
of an act of kindness,

was now a witness to murder.

JOAN HYER: I can't imagine a
parent killing their own child

and then taking
someone else's child

that they don't even
know anything about.

I just can't, still today,
believe that anything

could happen like this.

ROBERT STACK: Police
sought a warrant for murder

against William Fisher.

But before it could be
issued, Fisher disappeared.

His car was found
abandoned at JFK airport.

Police later
discovered he had taken

a second mortgage out on his
house in excess of $100,000.

William Fisher has
evaded arrest on murder

charges for nearly two decades.

William Peter Fisher is 57
years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall

and 185 to 200 pounds.

These age enhanced
photos depict what

Fisher may look like today.

He wears expensive
clothing, drinks heavily,

and may have fled the country.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: San
Francisco, California.

18-year-old Kristen Modafferi
enjoys a summer of adventure.

A college honors students, she
is 3,000 miles from her home

in North Carolina.

The extended visit
is a dream come

true for a young woman eager
to explore life on her own.

Monday, June 23 begins
like any other day.

At 7:00 AM she arrives at
the upscale Crocker Galleria.

She has taken a job
at a coffee shop

to pay for a photography
course at UC Berkeley.

Good morning.

How are you?

ROBERT STACK: As always, she
is eager to explore the city

at the end of her shift.

According to the new friends
she had met, perhaps too eager.

GRIFFIN CHERRY: She wanted
to come to the big city

and find some excitement.

But it seemed to be
coupled with a naivete,

maybe, or not a
real understanding

of how the big city works.

ROBERT STACK: At 3:00 o'clock,
Kristen leaves the coffee shop,

then disappears without a trace.

Kristen Modafferi's dream
summer in San Francisco

lasted only three weeks.

The police would be
frustrated by tantalizing

leads that went nowhere.

A mysterious blonde
woman seen with Kristen,

page's inexplicably
torn from a diary,

and an anonymous phone
call directing them

to a shadowy figure who
may know what happened.

The mystery is a nightmare
not only for the police,

but also for Kristen's parents.

OK.

Just got to the hotel.

ROBERT STACK: Bob
and Debbie Modafferi

wasted no time after they
learned Kristen had vanished.

The following day,
they flew 3,000 miles

from North Carolina.

BOB MODAFFERI: When we found
out that she had disappeared,

we were just shocked.
We couldn't eat.

We barely spoke.

We just were-- just even
having trouble breathing.

DEBBIE MODAFFERI:
When you are faced

with a situation like
this, you really don't

know how strong you can be.

You can either crawl in a
hole and die and give up,

or you can fight.

And I think there
was no choice for us.

We were going to fight
for our daughter.

ROBERT STACK: But
finding Kristen

would be a formidable task.

Like many missing persons
cases, it was difficult even

knowing where to start.

PATRICK MAHANAY: You
don't have a crime scene.

You have no witnesses.

You can't even establish
that a crime has occurred.

And you just kind of build on
little pieces of information,

hunches, whatever you can
come up with, and see if you

can put the puzzle together.

ROBERT STACK: One of the
first pieces of the puzzle

was a sighting of Kirsten
by one of her coworkers,

45 minutes after
her shift ended,

she was seen in the Crocker
Galleria with a blonde woman.

PATRICK MAHANAY:
She thought that was

kind of strange
because she never

really stuck around after work.

Soon as she checked
out, she was gone.

BOB MODAFFERI: And
they were very close

together, like they were hanging
out together, talking together.

Definitely with each other.

And so we've made
a lot of effort

to try to get the blonde
woman to come forward,

identify herself.

And we appealed a number
of times through the media,

but never got a response to all
our appeals to the blonde woman

to come forward.

ROBERT STACK: With
few leads, the police

took an unusual
step, a bloodhound

attempted to retrace
Kristen's path from the coffee

shop the day she vanished.

JEFF SCHETTLER: When
we were downtown,

I could tell he was on a trail.

He knew exactly where he was
going, every turn was perfect.

ROBERT STACK: The
police could not

be certain, however, that
this was the path Kristen

took the day she disappeared.

It could have been a route
Kristen had previously

traveled without incident.

PATRICK MAHANAY: He then
led us up to Geary Street,

heading out towards
Land's End Beach.

ROBERT STACK: Kristen's
coworkers had told police

that on the day she
vanished, she talked

of visiting Land's End Beach.

PATRICK MAHANAY: We then
got down to the beach area

and came to a point where the
trail seemed to have stopped.

ROBERT STACK: A chilling
possibility revealed itself.

PATRICK MAHANAY: That's a very
treacherous part of the San

Francisco water line.

Numerous people each year
are washed off the rocks

and are never seen again.

So that was a distinct
possibility that she had,

in fact, fallen into the ocean.

BOB MODAFFERI: We really
don't believe that's what

happened to Kristen.

It's a very
tourist-oriented area.

There's always people around.

If she had fallen
into the water,

somebody would have
seen something.

ROBERT STACK: If Kristen did
not suffer a tragic accident,

what became of her?

[phone ringing]

ABC 7.

ROBERT STACK: A startling
twist to the mystery

occurred 17 days
after she vanished.

An anonymous male telephoned
a San Francisco TV news room.

He said Kristin
had been murdered.

How do you know
these two women?

BILL MAGEE: He went into
a very long description

of who he said killed her.

And he told me that there were
two women and he named them.

And he said that
Kristin had been

killed as a result of a lesbian
love affair that went wrong.

ROBERT STACK: Detectives
tracked down the two women named

by the caller, but determined
they did not know Kristen

and had nothing to do
with her disappearance.

PATRICK MAHANAY: We
then asked these people,

who has a grudge against you?

Who would want to see
you go through this?

And each person
separate and independent

gave the name of John.

All right, so I
made the phone call.

So what?

ROBERT STACK: John, who asked
us not to use his last name,

told police the two women were
his girlfriend's employers.

He claimed they were
harassing her at work.

To get back at them, he said,
he phoned in the false tip.

He said he got the idea
when he saw TV news coverage

about Kristen and
he knew nothing

about the case beyond
what he saw on television.

Still, the police suspected
there was more to John's story.

They investigated his
background and discovered

disturbing allegations of
previously abusing women.

The next step was to
determine whether he

had any connection to Kristen.

Police say that John met women
largely through personal ads.

Come on.

Here it is right here.

I bet you this one's it.

Check it out.

ROBERT STACK:
Previously, they had

found an ad in
Kristen's apartment they

think she might have placed.

BOB MODAFFERI: If
you read it, sounds

like it could be Kristen.

It's all the kind of things
she was interested in.

It's photography, walking
the city, music, art.

It was all the kind of things
that Kristen was there to do.

ROBERT STACK: If the ad had
brought Kristen and John

together, a baffling
piece of the puzzle

could now be seen
in a new light.

BOB MODAFFERI:
John, we were told,

used other women to
lure women to himself.

So we felt that perhaps
this blonde woman

could have been a plant to
draw Kristen to this John.

ROBERT STACK: The
police uncovered

more troubling
pieces of information

from the women John
allegedly abused.

One of them claimed he made an
alarming reference to Kristen.

That's what he said.

Now you know what
I did to Kristen.

Don't make me do it to you.

I never made a
statement like that.

ROBERT STACK: John agreed
to do an interview with us

on condition that we not reveal
his face and alter his voice.

The reason she made
that statement is she

was angry that I was
leaving San Francisco.

I was leaving her.

And I didn't want her anymore.

She was very angry, very bitter.

ROBERT STACK: One more
troubling coincidence

was discovered at the
home of John's girlfriend.

Her diary was missing
several pages, pages

covering the same
time period Kristen

had been in San Francisco.

PATRICK MAHANAY: We asked her,
why is this the way it is?

And she told us that John
had torn the pages out

and said that some of the
stuff that was in there

could come back to hurt him.

ROBERT STACK: Despite
such disturbing pieces

of information,
police say they have

no clear evidence that
John had any involvement

in Kristen's disappearance.

Also, John says he
has taken and passed

a polygraph
examination conducted

by a reputable expert.

BOB MODAFFERI: At
the very least,

this John made a stupid, stupid
mistake by making this phone

call to the TV station.

But if he is more
involved, then we still

need to find out those answers.

And we still need to keep
after him until we find

out whether or not he's guilty.

I've never met Kirsten.

I never saw her.

There's absolutely no connection
to Kristen and I in any way.

And what I did was wrong.

I wish I'd never made that call.

But I did.

And I just want to tell
the parents how sorry I am.

I'm really, really
sorry for what I did.

ROBERT STACK:
Kristen Modafferi had

come to San Francisco embracing
a future full of promise.

What shattered that
future remains a mystery.

For her parents, the search
for answers continues.

DEBBIE MODAFFERI:
We owe this to her.

We owe this to ourselves.

And we owe this to her sisters.

Someone stole Kristen's
dreams and that's not fair.

ROBERT STACK: Join us
for our next edition

of Unsolved Mysteries.

[music playing]