Original subtitles

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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