All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S11E10.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: Tonight on
"Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK: Thieves
target $3 million

and an armored car in Las Vegas.

They steal a vehicle, then
disguise themselves as they

make their getaway by jet.

Many called it
the perfect crime.

Perhaps you can help bring
the thieves to justice.

When a healthy, well-liked
41-year-old man was found dead

in his bed of apparent
natural causes,

few suspicions were
raised, until the autopsy

revealed he'd been murdered.

And now, a small circle of
Hood River, Oregon, residents

are finding themselves
under suspicion.

An innocent night out suddenly
becomes a battle for survival

for a young Indiana woman.

What makes this story
unique is that she

has chosen to fight back.

And that the identity of
one man who was accused

of terrorizing her is known.

Authorities now need
your help to catch

him before he strikes again.

This single mom had
everything to live for,

a beautiful daughter and
a new man in her life.

Then she mysteriously vanished.

Police later found her SUV,
but why was there no trace

of Niqui McCown anywhere?

With every mystery, a
single critical clue

may be the key to a solution.

Perhaps you hold that key.

Join us for
"Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

Las Vegas, where the
lure of the quick score

entices gamblers to risk it
all with a pull of a handle

or the turn of a card.

For those daring enough to take
a much greater gamble however,

the biggest payoff is
not in the casinos.

It is in the armored
vans that supply

the casinos with millions
of dollars in cash.

Friday, October 1, 1993,
begins like every other day for

21-year-old Heather Tallchief.

Radio check, route 3.

Arriving at drop-off number 1.

ROBERT STACK: She
and her two partners

are responsible for making
the rounds of several casinos,

replenishing their automatic
teller machines with cash.

How much you taking in?

125, 150.

Better put in a little more.

Got to fill them
for the weekend.

Heather would drive to the
back portion of the casino

and drop us off.

I would be carrying the money.

And my partner and I
would enter the casino.

ROBERT STACK: The finally
ATM the guards will service

is near the casino's
side entrance.

Standard procedure
calls for Heather

to move the van there to
pick up her partners when

their job inside is finished.

When my partner and
I exited the casino,

we did not see the van anywhere.

We assumed that
maybe she got lost.

That she was stuck in traffic.

Or, that maybe she might
have been in an accident.

We didn't know.

So I, joking, suggested that she
might have taken the vehicle.

ROBERT STACK: A surveillance
camera recorded the moment

when she was last seen.

The tape reveals no sign that
she had been hijacked or met

with any sort of foul play.

The Las Vegas police can find
no trace of Heather or the van.

Ultimately, they conclude
that she has fled by design

with $3 million in cash.

Heather Tallchief
appears to have

pulled off what many consider
to be the perfect crime.

She not only got
away with the money,

but managed to elude
capture for eight years.

According to the FBI, it is
one of the largest armored car

robberies in which
the perpetrator has

not been brought to justice.

Perhaps you can help authorities
finally track Heather down.

No one suspected that
Heather Tallchief

had the inclination
or the audacity

to commit such a brazen crime.

She was a nurse from
Buffalo, New York

of Seneca Indian
descent, building

a promising career in medicine.

Then, inexplicably she surfaced
in Las Vegas seeking a new job.

GRANT ASHLEY: Heather
Tallchief applied

for the job with the
armored car company

approximately two months
before the robbery.

And the investigation
has led us to believe

that this entire event, from the
moment of applying for the job

to the robbery, was all planned
in advance for the sole purpose

of committing this crime.

ROBERT STACK: Shortly
after the robbery,

investigators searched
Tallchief's apartment.

They discovered
fingerprints that

provided an important clue.

Heather, it seemed,
had not acted alone.

The prints were identified
as those of Roberto Solis,

a convicted murderer,
had been released

from prison six years earlier.

In 1969, he had shot and
killed an armored car guard

during an unsuccessful robbery.

Intelligent and
articulate, Solis

used his time in prison wisely.

Over 17 years, he
authored five books.

His achievement was heralded
by professional writers

as proof of his rehabilitation.

That's how he got
an early release

from the state penitentiary.

A lot of well-known poets
would write on his behalf

and he was allowed
to be released early.

GRANT ASHLEY:
Tallchief and Solis

met in San Francisco, where
they began a relationship.

And subsequently,
planned this crime.

Once we get you into
an armored car company,

it will be a matter
of time before they

give you a big cash wad.

How do you know
they'll hire me?

I know what to put
down in the application.

Here, take a look at this.

ROBERT STACK: 48-year-old
Solis and 21-year-old Heather

were an unlikely romantic couple
and adept partners in crime.

Investigators learned that
they designed their scheme

with meticulous care.

They recognized that the
most difficult challenge

in a multimillion dollar robbery
is often not the theft itself,

but the getaway.
- It will work.

Trust me.

ROBERT STACK: Two hours after
Heather sped the armored van

from the casino, an unusual
couple arrived at Las Vegas'

Hughes Airport, they had
chartered a private jet

to Denver, Colorado.

JOSEPH A. DUSHEK: They
were very well-disguised.

Solis looked like an
older gentleman, a doctor.

And Tallchief like a
sickly invalid, older lady.

Only three small
suitcases were taken

aboard the craft when they
traveled from Las Vegas

to Colorado.

If you had $1 million
or $3 million,

it would take approximately
8 to 10 suitcases

to transport that much money.

We surmise that they must have
shipped the money on ahead.

ROBERT STACK: Three days
later, the FBI traced

Heather and Solis to Denver.

But by then, it was too late.

Denver, they believed, had
been only a brief stopover

for the fugitives
before they continued

on to their final destination.

But where was it?

Investigators found an
address that indicated

they may have fled to Florida.

But that address
turned out to be

merely a postal drop containing
two forged passports.

Both were for entry
into the South

American nation of Suriname.

But the FBI questioned whether
this had truly been Tallchief's

and Solis's destination.

It was possible that they had
intended for the documents

to be found as part
of an elaborate effort

to mislead their pursuers.

13 days after the
robbery, investigators

discovered the armored van
in a commercial rental site

in Las Vegas.

Inside the building they
rented were packing materials.

This confirmed the FBI's
suspicions that the $3 million

had been shipped to some
unknown destination.

They learned that Heather
and Solis had set up

a phony business
here, so that they

could abandon the
van in plain view

without attracting suspicion.

GRANT ASHLEY: Solis
opened this business

under the guise of
retrofitting vehicles

to be used as
armored car vehicles.

In that manner, it
didn't draw any attention

to the other people in the area
when a real armored vehicle

was brought into the facility.

ROBERT STACK: The
ploy was one of

many carefully-crafted details
to a seemingly flawless crime.

JOSEPH A. DUSHEK:
I think that it

was well-thought
out, well-conceived,

and well-executed,
but crime doesn't pay.

And I don't think
it's a perfect crime.

I think that we'll
still get them.

They only have to make a mistake
one time and we've got them.

[theme music]

So what else do you
want to know about me?

ROBERT STACK: Although Hood
River, Oregon residents Eric

Tamiyasu and Diana Anderson
had known each other for years,

this was their first date.

It was just kind of checking
each other out and seeing

if maybe this was
someone that I would

like to spend more time with.

And I think it was the
same for both of us.

What do you do for fun?

Golf.

ROBERT STACK: Eric
was an attentive host

and the date seemed
to be going well.

However, beginning at
11:00 PM, the couple

was harassed by mysterious
tapping noises outside.

[tapping sound]

What was that?

ROBERT STACK: And
the sound of someone

apparently at the front door.

[doorbell ringing]

The second time
the doorbell rang,

footsteps could be
heard running away,

but there was no sign of anyone.

DIANA ANDERSON: It was not
funny at that time of night,

when I have to get in my car
and drive home by myself.

ROBERT STACK: That was
the last time Diana

Anderson saw Eric Tamiyasu.

Eric's home was located in a
remote area outside of town,

next to the fruit orchard
business he owned and operated.

A week after Eric's
date with Diana,

Don Dixon, a friend and
business consultant,

drove out to Eric's
house to check on him.

[knocking]

Hey, Eric.

Eric, it's Don.

You home?

ROBERT STACK: According
to Dixon, for several days

he had fielded phone calls from
other friends of Eric's who

had not been able to reach him.

Dixon used a key Eric
had given him to enter

the home through a back door.

Eric, you home?

It's Don.

ROBERT STACK: He was greeted
by an overpowering smell.

DON DIXON: It was an odor that
I had never smelled before.

Eric?

DON DIXON: My initial hope
was that this was the garbage

that I had seen left out.

ROBERT STACK:
Getting no response,

Dixon headed upstairs
to the master bedroom.

Eric!

DON DIXON: There was no question
in my mind that he was dead.

So I said a prayer.

I said a prayer.

I went downstairs and I called
911 and asked for assistance.

ROBERT STACK:
Investigators from the Hood

River County
Sheriff's Department

quickly arrived on the scene.

When I first walked
in, it appeared to me

that we were dealing
with an unintended death.

That something that happened.

Whether it was a medical
problem or a heart attack,

those kind of things.

There was no sign of trauma
that we could see right off.

Nothing to indicate that there
was any kind of foul play.

At the time of his
death, Eric Tamiyasu

didn't seem to have
an enemy in the world,

but an autopsy
would reveal that he

did not die of natural causes.

In fact, he was killed by
three gunshots to the head.

Incredibly, the advanced state
of decomposition of the body

had disguised the true
nature of his death.

Who killed Eric Tamiyasu?

At this time, the
investigation has focused

on three potential
suspects, all of whom

have agreed to be interviewed.

One of them happens to
be the sheriff overseeing

the murder investigation.

As Eric Tamiyasu's body was
being removed from his house

on the day it was discovered,
Sheriff Joe Wampler

approached Eric's
friend, Don Dixon,

with what Don considered
a strange request.

Does Eric have a
burn pile around here?

DON DIXON: And he said,
we've looked for a gun.

We've looked for bullet holes.

We've looked for shells.

And to spare the family
grief and discomfort,

we're going to bring the bedding
out and we want you to burn it.

Piece of earth over there
I could burn it there.

And I said, if it
would help the family,

I would be happy to do
what I can to assist.

ROBERT STACK: At sunrise
the following morning,

Don Dixon set fire to the
soiled building that had

been removed from Eric's room.

When he was done, there was
nothing left behind but a metal

frame and a pile of ashes.

A day later during Eric
Tamiyasu's autopsy,

Hood River County
investigators were

stunned to learn three
small caliber bullets

were lodged in his head.

Investigators now had a
homicide on their hands

and theories began to emerge.

Because of Sheriff Joe Wampler's
decision to burn the bed,

potentially valuable
clues had been destroyed.

Based on the lack of
evidence that this was going

to turn into a
criminal case, it was

my decision to burn the bed.

It was my decision at that
time because the family,

they might just actually
appreciate not having

to go through the trauma of
viewing the horrid things that

were left behind.

ROBERT STACK: But
could the sheriff

have had a more sinister
motive for destroying

potential evidence?

A possible answer
may have come up

in a conversation Don Dixon
said he had with Eric regarding

a new romantic relationship.

There's this Polynesian women
I've been seeing a little bit.

DON DIXON: This Polynesian woman
described as older than he was.

And the rumor mill has
that the Sheriff's wife is

Polynesian and older
than Eric, but that

could be purely coincidental.

I've heard a rumor
that my wife was having

an affair with Mr. Tamiyasu.

And out of retaliation
for that, then

I went up there and
did these things.

[gunshots]

Even went to the
trouble of destroying

the evidence, burning the
bed, and all that stuff.

All I can say is, they're
looking in the wrong direction.

ROBERT STACK: If Sheriff
Wampler had nothing

to do with the murder, who did?

Eric Smith, Eric
Tamiyasu's lifelong friend,

is considered potential
suspect number 2.

What have we here?

ROBERT STACK: Don Dixon,
who occupied an office

in the same building,
says he overheard

a heated argument Eric
Smith had with the victim

just days before the murder.

DON DIXON: He and Eric Smith
had been in business together.

And Eric Tamiyasu felt that
Eric was pocketing money.

MAN: What's all
these expenditures?

It's supposed to go
into the business,

and here you're going--

DON DIXON: And that he owed him
between $50,000 and $60,000.

And he needed to collect it
because the orchard business

was really on a down slide.
and he needed the money

to finish the crop year.

Hey, Eric.

Is everything OK?

ROBERT STACK:
According to Dixon,

after Tamiyasu confronted
Smith about the money,

Eric Tamiyasu was clearly upset.

DON DIXON: I asked
him if he was OK,

if everything was all right.

He said, that son of a
bitch, and got into his car.

And that's the last words that
I heard from Eric Tamiyasu.

I can tell you flat
out for a fact, Eric

and I did not have an argument.

Eric didn't owe me money.

I didn't owe him money.

Don lives in a fantasy world.

ROBERT STACK: But it was no
fantasy that Eric Tamiyasu

and Eric Smith did at one time
have a side business together

selling used cars.

However, police believe that
the amount invested was far

less than Don Dixon claimed.

When I checked into
the business dealings

with Eric Smith
and Eric Tamiyasu,

we found out that they both
invested the same amount

of money, which was probably
$15,000 to start this business,

not $50,000 or $60,000.

And it went downhill, and then
they had to go out of business.

ROBERT STACK: If
Eric Smith was not

involved in Eric
Tamiyasu's death,

who else might have been?

Potential suspect
number 3, the man who

discovered the body, Don Dixon.

As questions began
to mount, some

began to wonder whether Dixon,
Tamiyasu's orchard consultant,

was as close to him
as he claimed to be.

What Eric told me was
that Don is somebody

he bought spray from, period.

If you talk to any one of
Eric's friends, most of them

don't even know who Don is.

ROBERT STACK: It was Don Dixon
who notified Eric's sister,

Ramona Tamiyasu, of her
brother's death, just minutes

after he discovered the body.

Well, I came out to his house.

I found Eric and he's dead.

ROBERT STACK: She recalled
that what he said next

struck her as very strange.

He said, it didn't look
like there was any foul play.

And it also appeared that
there weren't any exit wounds.

And I said, what are you--

what are exit wounds?

What are you talking about?

Exit wounds,
like from a bullet.

I said, what?

Why would there
be gunshot wounds?

Well, I clearly looked
closely at the body

to try and see if
he had shot himself.

I mean, because that was one
of my first reactions was

it was suicide.

He had been very depressed.

And I had looked
closely because of that.

I mean, I honestly believe
that a logical reason Eric

was dead in bed was suicide.

ROBERT STACK: But Eric Tamiyasu
had been shot three times.

His death was clearly
not a case of suicide.

Investigators theorized
that the killer

knew not only the remote
location of the Tamiyasu home,

but also his layout.

The murder weapon, believed
to be a small caliber handgun,

was not found.

[gunshot]

Could one of these men have
murdered Eric Tamiyasu,

or could someone else
have pulled the trigger?

In one final twist to
this classic whodunit,

Diana Anderson says that during
her date with Eric Tamiyasu,

they went outside to
look for the source

of the strange noises and
found a single unexplained shoe

print.

Could that have
been the shoe print

of Eric Tamiyasu's killer?

Investigators will never know.

Heavy rains in the days
following their date

washed away any potential
evidence left that night.

I don't know if the
events on Saturday

night had anything to
do with Eric's murder,

or if it was just coincidence.

I think it's a possibility,
but I don't know.

ROBERT STACK: For now, many
unanswered questions still hang

over the town of Hood River.

Did the sheriff deliberately
destroy evidence in the case?

I did not have anything
to do with the deaths--

with the death of Eric Tamiyasu.

No.

ROBERT STACK: Could Eric Smith
have wanted Eric Tamiyasu dead?

Eric was my best friend.

He was the best
man at my wedding.

He was like my brother.

ROBERT STACK: Did Don Dixon tell
the truth about his connection

to the murder?

I have no way of
knowing who was involved

with Eric Tamiyasu's death.

The only ones that I
know that didn't do it

are my wife and myself.

Other than that, everybody
else in my mind is suspect.

ROBERT STACK: All the
principals in this case

have taken and passed
polygraph tests arranged

by the Hood River County
Sheriff's Department,

except Don Dixon.

Dixon recently took an
independently-administered

polygraph.

The results were
deemed inconclusive

by the Sheriff's Department.

A local hangout
popular with college

students in Mishawaka, Indiana.

You, my friend, will
be buying the drinks.

ROBERT STACK: A young
woman and a friend

have come here for a night out.

At her request, we
changed her name.

We will call her Laurie.

We did our usual,
setting up the pool table,

all making little jokes where--

I'll bet you I'll beat you.

Best out of three.

I am on a roll tonight.

LAURIE: And whoever wins
that would get a free drink.

ROBERT STACK: Though
Laurie wasn't aware of it,

she had caught the attention
of some other men in the bar.

Yes.

There you go.

ROBERT STACK: Laurie
briefly left her friend

and went to the bar to
order her victory drink.

Can I get a beer, please?

Thanks.

ROBERT STACK: She now noticed
that the men at the bar

seemed fixated on her.

Uncomfortable, she walked away.

As she moved through the bar,
Laurie paused near an exit.

She had no inkling of
what was about to happen.

What had begun as a simple
evening of friendly billiards

would soon become a night
of terror for Laurie.

Over the next few hours,
she would experience

every woman's worst nightmare.

Lori has bravely chosen to
tell her traumatic story

to help police.

Investigators need your help
to track down the individuals

responsible for the suffering
that Laurie ultimately

endured and survived.

Without warning, a group
of men surrounded Laurie.

And they abducted
her from the bar.

LAURIE: I was taken to a car
that was no more than six feet

from that final door.

And it was two men
pushing me into this car.

I screamed, but
that scream was very

short and fleeting, because so
quick they had me in that car.

And quicker than I could snap
my finger, we were backing up.

ROBERT STACK: A terrified
Laurie was restrained

by the man in the backseat.

After about 20 minutes,
the two kidnappers,

who conversed in Spanish,
got into an argument.

Then, the driver suddenly
pulled the car over and left.

Get out of here, man.

LAURIE: I believe that
the man in the front

had decided not to carry
on from this point.

ROBERT STACK: The
remaining man pulled

Laurie into the
front seat and drove

her to a nearby apartment.

As her abductor dragged
her through the door,

Laurie desperately
sought anything

she could use as a weapon.

But Laurie's attempt
to fight back only

served to further
enrage her assailant.

[crying]

Stop it.

LAURIE: He dragged
me into a bedroom.

And that is where he was
able to overpower me.

And he violently raped me there.

After the assault, I got
this fire inside of me.

No more was all I
could hear in my brain.

So I just took that power
and I gave him a kick.

I brought my knees up
and kicked him off of me.

And it gave me enough
time to get up off

of that nasty mattress
and dirt and filth.

And I ran through
into the living room.

I just thought, get
out to the door.

ROBERT STACK: Hoping to
hamper her attacker's pursuit,

Laurie threw
furniture in his path,

but he easily ran over it.

LAURIE: And he threw me up
against the wall by my neck.

I could hear the bones
in there crunching.

And I could feel it.

The pain was overwhelming.

And I couldn't breathe.

And the lights were going dark.

I knew he's killing me.

And I said, no.

I have more to life than this.

And I brought that knee up.

And as hard as I could--

bang, I took that
foot into his gut.

And it threw him back.

Made him fall to his butt.

And I just booked it for
all-- everything I had.

I was a track star that day.

I ran for that
back kitchen door.

And by the grace of God, I
was able to get the door out.

Ran out that door.

[screaming].

[inaudible].

LAURIE: And I can
hear him coming.

And he's screaming.

And it's getting louder.

He is right on my tail.

And I ran and I screamed.

And I could hear him
coming through that gate.

There was a dumpster at
the end of this alley.

And I ran real quick
around behind that dumpster

and I squatted.

And I sat there and I listened.

And I could hear
the gravel coming.

I know he was out
there looking for me.

So I tried to just
hold my breath.

And you're so hysterical.

That was the hardest thing, to
control my breathing, because I

didn't want him to hear me.

ROBERT STACK:
Petrified with fear,

Laurie waited 20
minutes before she

fled the safety of her hiding
place and located a payphone.

[sirens ringing]

ROBERT STACK: Police responded
to the scene immediately.

LAURIE: What a relief that was.

I could just feel
my body just drained

of exhaustion from the fear.

I ran this way.

ROBERT STACK: Laurie
next retraced her escape

route to lead authorities
back to the scene

of her brutal assault.

CRAIG WHITFIELD: She was
going through the most

traumatic time in her life.

But yet, she was able to give
us the location of the residence

where it took place.

She was able to give us a
description of her attacker.

ROBERT STACK: Within a few
hours of Laurie's escape,

police secured a search warrant
and entered the property

where the attack occurred.

Everything was as
she said it would be.

CRAIG WHITFIELD: There were
key pieces of her clothing

that were found in this bedroom.

She said she was
wearing beige pants.

CRAIG WHITFIELD: It was
important that she remembered

where this attack took
place because that's

how we were able then
to identify the suspect.

Because we could link the
suspect to the residence.

We were then able
to identify a person

named Rufino Castaneda as a
potential suspect in this case.

He had a history of
choking and assaulting

at least one other woman.

Tell me if you recognize
any of these people.

OK.

ROBERT STACK: The day
after the abduction,

Detective Whitfield included
Castaneda's prior booking photo

in a lineup he showed to Laurie.

That's him.

ROBERT STACK: Now
that Rufino Castaneda

was positively
identified, tracking

him down became a priority.

But Castaneda had
apparently vanished the day

after Laurie's kidnapping.

Investigators
learned he abruptly

resigned from his
job following a visit

by two unknown individuals.

Castaneda has not
been seen since

investigators suspect
Castaneda's partner in

the abduction was a relative.

However, there is not
currently sufficient

evidence to make an arrest.

Laurie continues to be haunted
by the horrifying attack.

LAURIE: You might
be out in public

and there might be a
smell of something that

takes you right back to it.

And it's just like you're
right back there living it.

I remember every single thing.

I don't remember
bits and pieces.

I remember everything, right
down to the smell of that man.

To the sweat that
was on my body.

All of that.

This man needs to get off
the streets before he does

this again, because
I don't believe

the next woman will make it.

And nor do I believe
that I was the first.

[theme music]

Mom.

ROBERT STACK: July 22, 2001.

It was a sweltering day
in Richmond, Indiana.

But when 20-year-old Niqui
McCown walked into her mother's

house, it wasn't
only the weather that

had her hot under the collar.

Who's this?

These two guys
at the laundromat

would not leave me alone.

Well, you're a
very beautiful girl.

I can understand that.

No.

These guys are creepy.

BARBARA MCCOWN: She
just was really upset.

I didn't even want to go
back down and get my laundry.

And I laughed at first.

You know, because she's
such a pretty girl.

I just thought that some
man was making a play.

You know?

I said, Niqui.

Just calm down, because she
really was really upset.

ROBERT STACK: Authorities
believe Niqui McCown did return

to the laundromat
a short time later,

but no one knows for sure.

Niqui mysteriously disappeared
that muggy summer day.

She has not been seen
or heard from since.

Police suspected foul play.

However, two elements essential
to solving most homicides

were missing.

There was no body and
no apparent motive.

Niqui was friendly,
had no known enemies,

and looked forward
with great anticipation

to her upcoming wedding.

That never happened.

Leaving detectives with a
complex puzzle and pieces

that simply didn't fit.

So you guys are going to get
fitted for your tuxedos today?

Yeah.

We're going to go
by there later.

ROBERT STACK: Sunday, July
22 began routinely enough.

After attending church, Niqui
set off to do the laundry,

while her fiance, Bobby Webster,
met the best man in his wedding

at a local tuxedo shop.

Bobby and Niqui planned to get
together later that afternoon.

The big event was
just three weeks off

and the bride-to-be
wanted the special day

to be extra-special.

Niqui had a
nine-year-old daughter

from a prior relationship.

And even her ex-boyfriend
seemed happy for her.

She spent so much money,
put so much into this wedding.

She wanted it to be the
most perfect wedding.

She wanted her
face to be perfect,

her hair to be perfect,
her body to be perfect.

She wanted everything
to be perfect.

ROBERT STACK: Niqui had
always been a perfectionist,

despite being the youngest
and most precocious of 10

kids in a close-knit family.

She was a daredevil.

She would try anything.

She loved sports.

She's very academically
inclined, too.

I mean, she made honor
roll all the time.

She made the dean's list here
recently over in college.

You mind if I
just jump in that,

use that machine right
there real quick?

- No, it's fine.
- That's cool.

No one's using it?

ROBERT STACK: So what
happened to Niqui that summer

day in 2001?

You know what?

I'm going to just
grab this real quick.

Excuse me.

I'm just going to
borrow this real quick.

ROBERT STACK: Did she
return to the laundromat

where she was confronted by
two strangers up to no good?

I believe that,
you know, you're just

here all by yourself and stuff?
Wait.

Come here.

What?

ROBERT STACK: And why
did those close to Niqui

find no trace of her anywhere?
- Hello, Barbara?

This is Bobby.

Have you seen Niqui?

ROBERT STACK: The day after
Niqui's disappearance,

Monday, July 23,
her fiance contacted

the Richmond Police Department.

Yeah.

I tried them, but nothing.

Filling out all that
information, that missing

persons report,
was very difficult.

Because a situation like this
you just see happening on,

like a TV movie or something.

You never really think in
your wildest imagination

you'd be in that situation
until it really happens.

And it's really
confusing, really.

ROBERT STACK: Over
the next week,

detectives looked into
the alleged incident

at the laundromat
and the possibility

that Niqui had been abducted.

They also had questions for
her fiance, Bobby Webster.

According to police,
Bobby had begun

acting very
strangely in the days

immediately following
Niqui's disappearance.

Instead of postponing
the wedding,

he canceled it entirely,
demanding a full refund

from the reception hall.

I'm sorry about that.

I have the receipt
and the ring.

ROBERT STACK: Bobby then
tried to return his wedding

band, also for cash.

Your policy clearly states
that if I bring back the ring

and the ring is not damaged--
- Sir.

Please--

ROBERT STACK: But
the manager refused.

Niqui had paid for the ring and
her name was on the receipt.

Allegedly, the heated argument
nearly turned violent,

and Bobby had to be
escorted from the store.

I'm going to have
to ask you to leave.

ROBERT STACK: Bobby
said he needed

the money to help
find Niqui, to pay

for flyers, and a cellphone.

You're sorry.

I was to the point
where it was like, it

doesn't matter right now.

This wedding doesn't matter.

Niqui's well-being is
what matters right now.

ROBERT STACK: Detectives
weren't convinced and pressed

Bobby to take a polygraph test.

He refused at first,
but later said yes.

One of the questions that
was asked of Mr. Webster

was, did you have anything
to do with the disappearance

of Nikki McCown?

And he says no.

And according to the
operator, the needle about

jumps off the chart.

So not only did he fail it,
I mean, he failed miserably.

ROBERT STACK: Bobby
denies that accusation.

He claims neither he nor his
lawyer ever saw the results.

I said, look.

You don't got to give it to me.

Just send it to my lawyer.

But they don't do
stuff like that around

here is what they told me.

ROBERT STACK: More than
three months passed.

Still, no sign of Niqui McCown.

Then on November 5, 2001,
detectives caught a break.

Niqui's SUV was found parked
at a sprawling apartment

complex in Dayton, Ohio,
45 minutes east of her home

in Indiana.

It had apparently been
abandoned for some time.

Police found a
punched-out door lock,

an ignition that had
been tampered with,

and a missing stereo system.

We kept getting
told by the police,

we got to locate this truck.

It's the big piece
of the puzzle.

And when they located it,
it was a little relief

that now they can find Niqui.

ROBERT STACK: Unfortunately,
locating the SUV raised more

questions than it answered.

Police found no fingerprints
or other promising leads that

might help them find Niqui.

However, they did make
one important discovery--

her laundry.

The clothes
appeared that they had

come just from the laundromat.

They were folded neatly.

They did not have the
appearance that someone

had went through the clothing
or taken any of the items.

ROBERT STACK: That seemed to
rule out the abduction theory.

If Niqui had been forcibly
removed from the laundromat,

why would her clothes be
in the back of the SUV?

Even more puzzling was this.

Who drove the vehicle
from Richmond to Dayton?

And why?

Detectives canvassed
the area and soon found

that Niqui's ex-boyfriend
lived in another part

of the large apartment complex
where the SUV was found.

We talked to the
father of her child,

and he was very cooperative.

We checked his alibi.

We found out he was
at work the time

that she was reported missing.

He agreed to take
a lie detector test

and come through that fine.

So we could eliminate
him as a suspect.

ROBERT STACK: Another dead end.

However, investigators
discovered

that Niqui did make a phone
call to Dayton the day

she disappeared.

It's Niqui.

ROBERT STACK: To a coworker
who lived about a mile

from where the SUV was found.

I was wondering about the
hair and nail care products.

Do you know where
I can find them?

ROBERT STACK: They talked
about some specialty

hair and nail products.

And Niqui was told
she could purchase

the items at a store in Dayton.

This leads us to
think that we've

got two different scenarios.

Something happened to her over
here in Richmond, Indiana,

or she drove over to
Ohio, and something

happened to her over there.

ROBERT STACK: There was also
a third possible scenario.

If Niqui did drive to Dayton
that Sunday afternoon,

perhaps something tragic
happened on the way.

But how did her SUV
end up in the parking

lot of her ex-boyfriend's
apartment complex?

Was it simply an
unbelievable coincidence?

I find it hard to believe.

And then, if it's not
coincidental, then what

better way to throw the
suspicion off of somebody

over here in Richmond,
by taking the vehicle

and putting it over where,
say, her ex-boyfriend and

the father of her child lives?

Your policy clearly states--

ROBERT STACK: That theory
led detectives right back

to Bobby Webster and his
suspicious behavior following

Niqui's disappearance.

But Niqui's sister
believes Bobby

is innocent of any wrongdoing.

I love Bobby to death.

And there's no way
he could do this.

He'd have to be
the devil himself

to be able to walk around here,
still see us face to face.

I mean, everybody
has their limits.

ROBERT STACK: Niqui's
mother, however,

isn't so sure about Bobby.

Have you seen Niqui?

BARBARA MCCOWN: As a wise,
old woman once told me,

keep your friends close and
your enemies even closer.

So I stuck with him like glue.

Because I figured if
Bobby did do this,

or if he knew anybody who did
do it, he would come to me.

ROBERT STACK: Police
continued to follow-up

on other possible suspects,
while also keeping

a close eye on Bobby Webster.

I believe that based
on all the information

we have so far, that if Mr.
Webster did not have anything

to do with the disappearance
of Niqui McCown,

he does know quite a bit
about what did happen to her.

I don't know
anything about Niqui's

disappearance or whereabouts.

I have nothing to do with it.

I mean, I love Niqui
more than I love myself.

All I wanted to do was just
be the best man I could.

And you know, it feels unfair
that I'm in the situation

that I'm in now, just because
I love so much, you know?

I just don't understand it.

ROBERT STACK: Meanwhile,
a distraught family

and a heartbroken young
child wait and hope.

BARBARA MCCOWN: There's a
little girl nine years old

who every night after she gets
in the bed, says, Grandma,

I've said my prayers for mommy.

How much longer?

Are we getting any closer?

And I keep telling her, every
day is closer and closer.

I just want somebody,
somewhere to come clean.

Because there is somebody out
there that knows something.

Niqui didn't deserve this.

ROBERT STACK: Niqui McCown's
fate remains a mystery.

Friends say she
adored her daughter

and would never
run off by herself.

Perhaps her fiance had something
to do with the disappearance.

But what possible
motive did he have?

And what about
Niqui's ex-boyfriend?

He cooperated fully and
passed a polygraph test.

Could it have been a
random act of violence?

If that was the case,
why was Niqui's vehicle

found abandoned at the
apartment complex in Dayton?

Perplexing questions
without any good answers.

Niqui McCown is 5 feet 2 inches
tall and weighs 115 pounds.

She has brown eyes, brown
hair, and a small scar

over her left eye.

Niqui was last seen on July
22, 2001, in Richmond, Indiana.

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