Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Tonight on "Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK: Newlywed Judy Smith

joined her husband on a business trip to Philadelphia.

Then she vanished without a trace.

Some believe she was assaulted and lost her memory.

Others thought she engineered her own disappearance.

A young girl and a 5-month-old infant are abducted.

Now, two grief stricken mothers need your help in finding

their missing children.

Like the character Dr. Doolittle,

Sonya Fitzpatrick says she can talk to the animals.

Case after case she astounds the skeptics.

Is it a miraculous gift or merely clever showmanship?

After an explosion and fire destroyed an Arizona home,

firefighters discovered the murdered bodies

of a woman and her two children in the smoldering ruins,

but the man of the house was nowhere to be found.

Could this seemingly devoted husband and father

have been involved in killing his own family?

Join me.

Someone somewhere has the one vital clue

that can help solve a mystery.

Perhaps it's you.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-- Jeff and Judy Smith

are on vacation, mixing business with pleasure.

Jim has spent the day at a conference.

Judy has been sightseeing.

They have agreed to meet at their hotel at 5:00 PM.

Judy?

JEFF SMITH: So I got back to the hotel room about 5:30,

and she wasn't there.

And by about 6:30, I was starting to get, uh, worried.

She was somebody who believed in being absolutely on time.

In fact, if you were on time, you were

already late by her standards.

ROBERT STACK: Jeff contacts hospitals and the police,

but he turns up nothing.

He then searches Philadelphia by taxi.

Driver, I want to follow the route for the flash bus.

ROBERT STACK: He traces a path of the tour bus Judy

had planned to ride that day.

JEFF SMITH: I was fearful that something had happened to her,

but I actually believed that I would be able to find her.

It was mind boggling.

I just couldn't figure out what could have happened to her.

ROBERT STACK: Months went by, but no trace of Judy Smith

was found.

The Philadelphia police were just as

perplexed as her husband.

They could find no evidence she had been murdered or abducted.

Judy's family believes she had an accident

and developed amnesia, but some of her closest friends

were convinced she engineered her own disappearance.

AMY HARTFORD: It didn't make sense to me.

So I thought that my mom didn't know who she was

and was lost in the city, and, you know,

that was horrible to think.

ROBERT STACK: Judy Smith shared a special closeness with Amy,

but two divorces had created a void in her life.

She and Jeff were married only five

months before she disappeared.

Independent and strong willed, she

was adept at looking out for herself,

yet possessed a generous spirit.

JEFF SMITH: Judy was caring, loving, responsible

and someone I loved deeply.

She had a way-- and she did this for me.

She just, uh, took people into our lives

and somehow made them better just

by being who she was because she was a very caring person.

ROBERT STACK: The mystery began at Boston's Logan Airport.

Here, a curious chain of events began to unfold.

Judy failed to bring her driver's license.

Airline regulations prohibited her from boarding

her flight without a photo ID.

JEFF SMITH: And she told me to go ahead,

and that she would take a later plane,

and come down and meet me.

With some reluctance, I agreed to do that.

Thanks, I'll give you a call.

ROBERT STACK: In Philadelphia that day,

Jeff attended his business conference.

Hi, hon.

ROBERT STACK: At 10:00 PM, Judy arrived at their hotel.

I, um-- I brought you some flowers as an apology for what

happened in the airport.

Oh, you don't have to apologize.

I missed you so much.

How was your flight?

ROBERT STACK: Sometime after 9 o'clock the next morning,

Judy set out for her day of sightseeing.

As always, she carried her belongings

in her trademark red backpack.

She had told Jeff she planned to visit Independence Hall

and see the Liberty Bell.

Whatever caused Judy to vanish occurred

during the next eight hours.

After the Philadelphia police turned up no trace of Judy,

Jeff had no choice but to return to Boston.

From his office, he faxed and mailed 9,000 flyers about Judy

from Maine to Florida.

He also hired three private investigators,

but they uncovered no significant clues.

Five months after Judy vanished, a father and son

were hiking near Asheville, North Carolina.

They found a partially buried skeleton, which animals have

strewn over a 100 yard area.

LT. SAM CONSTANCE: Our victim was a white female, probably

in her late 40s to mid 50s, and the pathologist report

indicates that there's puncture wounds

and cuts on the bra, which could be consistent with stab wounds.

ROBERT STACK: Jeff's flyers had been circulated

throughout the area, so a request was

made for Judy's dental records.

Forensics experts confirmed that the homicide

victim was Judy Smith.

AMY HARTFORD: I was shocked.

I guess you always anticipate that your parent will die,

but not early.

We always talked about when I would have kids and--

and looking forward to that day, and-- and, um, I

guess I just never thought that she wouldn't be there for that.

The information came that the dental records matched,

and my first reaction was I didn't believe it.

ROBERT STACK: How did Judy Smith end up 700

miles from where she vanished?

Four eyewitnesses in Asheville claimed

to have encountered Judy just days after she had mysteriously

vanished from Philadelphia. - Hi there.

Hi.

ROBERT STACK: One of them was retail clerk Joanne Stucker.

She seemed very alert to me.

She was very pleasant.

I didn't see anything about her that would indicate that she

wasn't right in any way.

Where are you from?

I'm from Boston.

Oh, I love Boston.

I have a friend living there. - Oh?

Judy Casey--

Casey, that's it.

Really?

My name's Judy, too.

She told me her husband was an attorney,

and that they were from Boston, and that they

had been in Pennsylvania.

And he was at a convention, and she

had decided to come down here.

ROBERT STACK: If Judy left Philadelphia

of her own free will, a question loomed--

why?

CAROLYN DICKEY: At the time this happened, Jeff and Judy's

marriage was very tenuous.

I believe that something did happen

in Boston that triggered her to want to have

some time away from Jeff.

I don't believe that she would have shown up

at the airport without her driver's license

if she hadn't decided that that was a way for her to kind

of gracefully let Jeff head towards Philadelphia

and give her some time.

And I think then she maybe did show up at the hotel,

brought him flowers to placate him, and then made her move.

JEFF SMITH: I'm not going to try to suggest that she and I never

had a disagreement, but I believe

she was happy with her life at this point.

AMY HARTFORD: She loved Jeff, and you don't--

you don't do that to someone that you love,

and if she did leave, the only thing I could think

is maybe she--

something happened to her before she had time to call.

ROBERT STACK: What scenario resulted in Judy's murder

in an isolated area of North Carolina?

Who stabbed her and left her in a shallow grave?

Was it a stranger or someone she may have

schemed to meet in Asheville?

If you're looking for the, uh, mystery man, there wasn't one.

Is it this way?

CAROLYN DICKEY: Judy was the type of person

that could have easily bumped into another person

and spent some time with them.

Everybody was a good person to Judy,

and I think that was what made her vulnerable to whatever

happened to her.

It doesn't make sense that my mom would leave Philadelphia.

It doesn't make sense that she would be found in Asheville.

It doesn't make sense that someone would hurt her.

ROBERT STACK: Investigators trying

to understand what happened found two clues

to who may have murdered her.

LT. SAM CONSTANCE: We found a blue and black

backpack at the crime scene.

I believe that the backpack that was left

doesn't belong to Judy Smith.

I believe that it potentially belongs to our suspect.

There was a pair of sunglasses there.

These particular glasses were manufactured by Bolle.

They retail for somewhere around $110,

and speaking with Judy's friends,

Judith wouldn't have spent $110 for a pair of glasses.

We believe that these glasses did not belong to Judith

and that they potentially belonged to our suspect.

ROBERT STACK: North Carolina investigators

still have no clue why Judy Smith was killed.

Lieutenant Sam Constance does say, however, that they have

ruled out robbery as a motive.

Found at the crime scene was Judy's diamond

wedding ring and $167 in cash.

You having fun?

Yeah.

- Yeah [inaudible]. - Yeah.

Good.

ROBERT STACK: On the night of July 9,

Colleen Nick took her six-year-old daughter

Morgan to a Little League baseball

game in Alma, Arkansas.

It was an evening of shared joy between mother and child

with no hint of the nightmare about to unfold.

COLLEEN NICK: We'd made the choice to go,

just Morgan and I, just to have girls night out.

And it was such a--

a warm, close, fun night.

Hey, want to come with us to catch some fireflies?

Well, I don't know if my mom will let me.

ROBERT STACK: Throughout the evening,

two local girls asked Morgan to come play with them.

Mom, can me and my friends go catch fireflies?

Oh, I don't think so, honey.

Please.

Please.

Oh, Colleen, they should be fine.

Are you sure it's safe?

Sure, yeah.

COLLEEN NICK: Finally, against my better judgment,

I told her that she could go and play.

And she threw her arms around my neck, gave me a big hug.

Thank you, mom.

All right, stay where I can see you.

[inaudible].

COLLEEN NICK: We could see them very clearly,

and the last time that I turned to look,

Morgan was running back and forth playing.

ROBERT STACK: But when the baseball game ended,

the two girls returned to the field without Morgan.

Girls, girls!

Wait, wait.

Where's Morgan?

By a car getting the sand out of her shoe.

Which car?

I don't know-- yours, I guess.

I'll be right back.

COLLEEN NICK: She was supposed to be dumping sand out

of her shoes by my car, but I could

see my car from where I was standing, and she wasn't there.

Morgan!

Morgan!

COLLEEN NICK: I went over to the car,

looked around the outside of the car, opened the doors

and looked inside the car thinking she had gotten in.

Even at one point looked under the car, just thinking she

has to be here somewhere.

And within a couple of minutes, all of the people

and most of the cars were gone, and it was very

clear that Morgan wasn't there.

Well, she's got to be close by--

ROBERT STACK: As the parking lot emptied,

panic began to overwhelm Colleen.

Calm down.

Where was the last place you saw her?

ROBERT STACK: One of the baseball coaches

arrived and questioned the two girls.

Girls, look at me.

When you were in the field, were you there alone?

ROBERT STACK: They remembered seeing

a man who they described as creepy

talking to Morgan in the field.

I'm going to go call 911.

Thank you.

Morgan!

COLLEEN NICK: One of the coaches had a cell phone

and made the initial 911 call to law enforcement.

They arrived within six minutes and began

an immediate and massive search for Morgan that night.

ROBERT STACK: But the initial search

failed to find Morgan Nick.

The media was alerted, and flyers were posted.

Weeks stretched into months and finally years

with no sign of the blonde haired little girl.

It's the worst terror that any parent can ever feel.

There's such, um, a sense of it-- it not being real somehow.

It does not seem possible that your child

could be missing, that someone could have taken your child.

For five long years, Colleen Nick has searched

for her daughter, Morgan.

Faced with the same circumstances,

many of us would have given up hope--

not Colleen.

In fact, Colleen's personal tragedy has led

to a remarkable transformation.

The once shy mother has become a leading activist

for missing children all across the country.

In the months following Morgan's disappearance,

Colleen successfully lobbied the media

to turn Morgan's disappearance into a national news story.

It was then that Colleen discovered

she was not alone in her grief.

We began to get calls from other parents who had heard

about Morgan whose child was now missing wanting

to know what they could do.

You know, where do they turn?

What resources were available.

And from that, we began to get involved

in, um, the bigger picture of children being missing.

Yes, yes.

Come down.

We really need your help.

ROBERT STACK: One year after her daughter's abduction,

Colleen established the Morgan Nick Foundation,

a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting

families with missing children.

The foundation has been instrumental in bringing

several children safely home.

--and the older cases in the bottom drawer.

ROBERT STACK: Recently, Colleen Nick

has become involved in the search for a missing

5-month-old girl in Arizona.

Jacqueline Castaneda disappeared on May 6.

Her mother, 19-year-old Olivia Castaneda,

hopes that Colleen and the Morgan Nick Foundation

can help find her baby daughter.

Here we are.

ROBERT STACK: Olivia was last with her daughter at a swap

meet outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

Meet me in the middle by the food?

Yeah, [inaudible].

Bye.

Bye.

[inaudible].

Hold mommy's hand.

Bye.

Bye bye.

OLIVIA CASTANEDA: My husband dropped me

off there with my two babies--

Nayeli, my two-year-old, and Jacqueline,

my 4-month-old baby.

I took Jacqueline out of the car with her car seat, and Nayeli,

I took her walking.

ROBERT STACK: Before meeting her mother inside,

Olivia needed to use the restroom.

She finally found a portable bathroom.

Faced with its cramped and dirty quarters,

Olivia made a split second decision

that would lead to tragedy.

Baby, it's only gonna be for a minute, OK?

Jacqueline couldn't fit inside,

so I just took my two-year-old, Nayeli,

inside the restroom because she could've walked

away if I left her outside.

I was in the restroom like for a minute.

Jacqueline?

OLIVIA CASTANEDA: When I came out--

Jacqueline?

OLIVIA CASTANEDA: --Jacqueline wasn't there anymore.

Jacqueline?

Jacqueline?

Jacqueline?

ROBERT STACK: Hoping that her mother had taken the child,

Olivia rushed into the swap meet.

Jacqueline!

OLIVIA CASTANEDA: And I felt that my heart was beating

like--

like really fast.

I was really scared.

Mom!

Mom, do you have Jacqueline!

Do you have the baby?

Oh my god, I lost the baby.

We got to go find her.

OLIVIA CASTANEDA: But I felt more upset and more nervous

when I saw my mom-- that she was by herself.

She didn't have the baby, and that's

when I thought I was gonna die.

I just didn't know what to do.

My baby is missing!

Have any of you guys seen my baby?

ROBERT STACK: Olivia and her mother

went from booth to booth, asking anybody

if they had seen Jacqueline.

After 20 horrifying minutes, the police were called.

Call 911.

My baby is missing!

ROBERT STACK: Avondale, Arizona police officers

immediately sealed off the swamp meet

and began an extensive search.

There was an officer stationed at all the exits

and along the fence line.

And as cars were leaving, we would

check vehicles as they left.

As people were leaving the side exits through the gates,

we would go ahead and check them,

make sure they weren't carrying anything or had a car carrier.

ROBERT STACK: Jacqueline was not found.

What time did you hear about this baby missing?

ROBERT STACK: One of the swap meet

vendors, however, did notice a woman who she felt

was acting suspiciously.

Yeah, this really creepy woman came up to my booth,

and I had my baby in the car seat,

and she started touching her.

So I went over to talk to her.

SGT. MARK LUCAS: What she related to us was that there

was a suspicious woman that actually walked up

to her infant and caressed her infant's face and said,

what a beautiful baby.

Um, this made her feel uneasy, and this

caused her to pay attention to this particular woman.

ROBERT STACK: But authorities were

unable to find anyone who matched

the vendor's description.

Big, big black hair.

Hi, this is Colleen Nick from the Morgan Nick Foundation.

ROBERT STACK: Colleen Nick was informed by a national missing

children's agency that a baby girl

had been abducted in Arizona.

Yeah, hold on a second.

ROBERT STACK: The Morgan Nick Foundation sprang into action.

We're able to do, um, posters.

We're able to email Jacqueline's information out to people who

might not otherwise get it and then

to also counsel her family over the phone

if they would like to talk to us.

COLLEEN NICK: Hi.

Hi.

ROBERT STACK: On June 25, Colleen Nick

traveled to Avondale, Arizona to meet

Olivia Castaneda for the first time and console her in person.

I just want to ask you how you're doing.

I just wish that it could be the day that they call and say

that they found her.

ROBERT STACK: Olivia, who blames herself for her child's

abduction, is comforted to know that she

is not alone in her suffering.

Call me.

Call me collect, OK?

OLIVIA CASTANEDA: She had her daughter stolen,

too, and she knows what you're feeling, and it's--

it's, um, nice to talk to someone that knows

what you're going through.

But it wasn't your fault. Is that OK?

COLLEEN NICK: I find that's the greatest need that a family

has-- just to be able to look someone in the eye

and to know that there are other people who haven't given up

hope, to know that you're going to survive this,

that you're going to come through this,

and that hopefully your child is going to come home.

And I think that is what I try to bring to families the most--

is that hope and that reassurance.

ROBERT STACK: Assisted by the Morgan Nick Foundation,

police continue to search for Jacqueline Castaneda.

She is now five months old and has

a unique heart shaped birthmark on her upper right arm.

The selfless work Colleen Nick performs on behalf of families

with missing children has not detracted from her primary goal

to find her own daughter, Morgan.

But someday I believe that I will look my daughter

in the eye and say, I fought for you

every day as hard as I could, and that

is why you're home today.

I believe, and I--

I hope every single day that I get up that today is

the day that Morgan comes home.

And every night when I go to bed and she's not back yet,

I know that I'm one day closer to getting her back.

Sonya, this is Reckless and Easy.

ROBERT STACK: Racehorse trainer Mary Clark is worried.

Her promising filly, Reckless, has been behaving erratically.

Three different vets have been unable to determine why.

Desperate, she turns to Sonya Fitzpatrick of Houston, Texas.

Like the classic character Dr. Doolittle,

Sonya says she can communicate with animals.

OK, Mary.

I can tell you this horse is in terrible pain all down

the left side of the face.

And I don't know she stood this pain.

MARY CLARK: Sonya immediately showed concern for the mare.

She said this horse is in tremendous pain,

and it's on the left side of her nostril

or somewhere on the left side.

ROBERT STACK: Pain was a plausible explanation

for Reckless's mysterious conduct

over the past several months.

Unknown to Sonya, Reckless have been rearing back

violently before all her races.

MAN: Reckless and Easy acting up in the starting gate.

ROBERT STACK: Even worse, she sometimes

flipped over backwards, putting herself

and her jockey in peril.

And now she's telling me she's flipping to try

and get away from the pain.

MARY CLARK: When I heard the words flip,

I was astonished, because I hadn't discussed the flipping,

and my heart was broken because that meant

that this mare had been flipping in these races

because of excruciating pain.

No, it's not a tooth.

It's something-- I'm feeling that there's

something stuck in here.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: I said to Mary

you really need to have this left side

x-rayed, because I feel there's something stuck in there.

ROBERT STACK: At Texas A&M University,

veterinarians take x-rays of Reckless,

focusing on the area specified by Sonya.

Amazingly, the x-rays confirmed there

was a mysterious foreign object embedded

inside Reckless's head.

Next, a veterinary surgeon attempts to remove it.

You are not going to believe what we found.

MARY CLARK: And he opened his hand, and he said,

this is what we found in the mare's jawline.

ROBERT STACK: The object is a metal fragment that has broken

off from the horse's halter.

Oh my gosh.

MARY CLARK: It was a pretty horrifying thing to look at.

He said this would have been the most painful

thing I can ever imagine.

ROBERT STACK: Reckless recovers fully following the surgery.

She is now retired from racing, completely free from pain.

MARY CLARK: Sonya truly talks to these horses.

They are giving her conversation.

They are sharing with her their feelings, their wants,

and their desires.

It's an amazing gift.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: Animals love to talk,

and they love it when you answer them.

The first time they have someone that answers them they

are so pleased, and it's like, oh,

she really can talk our language.

Can Sonya Fitzpatrick truly speak

telepathically with animals, or is

she merely a talented showman?

5,000 animal lovers who paid for her services

are convinced her gifts are genuine.

Skeptics say she's doing nothing more than picking up

on the body language of pets or inadvertent cues

from their owners.

We'll put Sonya to the test before our "Unsolved

Mysteries" cameras and allow you to judge for yourself.

[inaudible] come on.

Let's eat.

ROBERT STACK: Debbie Oliver was among those who did not believe

in Sonya's professed power.

Debbie operates a dog kennel in Houston, Texas

and is no stranger to animal behavior.

DEBBIE OLIVER: I thought, you know,

she probably just kind of looks at their body language,

and she can tell what they're thinking.

Well, I can do that.

So then we thought this is the stupidest

thing I have ever heard of.

ROBERT STACK: Despite her disbelief, Debbie was curious,

so she and her husband, Duane, scheduled a session with Sonya

to see for themselves.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: And what's the name

this beautiful dog, Debbie?

DEBBIE OLIVER: Zack is our golden retriever.

ROBERT STACK: One of the ways Sonya

claims to communicate with animals

is by inspecting a photograph.

This method, she says, is just as accurate as interacting

directly with the animal.

DUANE OLIVER: I thought this was just

basically a waste of money.

It's one of the reasons I went-- is-- is I

just didn't want my wife to waste any more money on it.

I told Debbie to make sure that she didn't tip Sonya off,

and she didn't.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: Well, Zack is telling me you've moved house,

and since he moved house, he hasn't had any ice cubes.

That's true.

DUANE OLIVER: When Sonya talked about the ice cubes,

that got my attention right away.

We thought, that's a really specific item.

How in the world did she know that?

And he is sending me a picture of little balls,

blue balls, other dogs playing with all these blue balls.

DUANE OLIVER: The more the session went on,

the more amazed I became on-- on what was happening there.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: And who is this little dog here?

She's just coming in.

What's her name?

DEBBIE OLIVER: That's Miss Daisy.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: Miss Daisy wants to know,

where is that pink thing?

Something with her ears that goes on her head and something

matching that goes here--

pink.

DEBBIE OLIVER: And I went, my gosh, I just

went to a flea market a couple of weeks ago,

and I got her this little hat that I have to pull her ears

through, because she's got long floppy ears,

and a pink bandanna that matches it.

Well, she'd like to wear it more often, mum, please,

and can you put that on her when she goes home?

Very polite, your dogs.

DEBBIE OLIVER: There's just no way

she could have known that unless she had a detective living

with us or had cameras here.

So that's kind of when we started thinking

this is pretty amazing.

Somehow she really is talking to these animals.

ROBERT STACK: Sonya says her rare ability

developed in childhood.

It came about, she claims, because she

suffered a significant hearing loss that persists to this day.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: Having a hearing loss,

my sense is heightened, and animal senses

are very heightened, so I think that is

why I was able to speak to animals-- because I

drew on my other senses.

ROBERT STACK: If Sonya's gift is genuine,

can science account for it?

Jessica Utts is a professor of statistics at UC Davis.

Her statistical evaluations of psychic phenomena

indicate it may be valid.

One possible explanation for what Sonya's doing

is that we and animals, as well, have some sort of sense that we

used to rely on before we had language,

and that that sense is still quite vital in animals

because they don't have language,

and that Sonya is somehow able to pick up on that information.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: Animals speak in pictures.

So if I was to say to you, could you

tell me where Buckingham Palace is or the Statue of Liberty?

You'd form a picture in your mind.

You'd visualize it, and that picture is going out

into your energy fields, and the animals see those pictures

and receive them from wherever you are.

I think the more likely explanations here

are that she's reading the body language of the owners

or the body language of the animals.

It is probably also the case that we occasionally

hear a spectacular story where she gets information

that no one could possibly know, but what we don't know

is how many times there were other stories

that turned out not to be true.

Hello, Sonya.

Nice to meet you.

ROBERT STACK: We asked Sonya to visit pets and owners she

had never met before in front of our "Unsolved

Mysteries" cameras.

We selected them independently.

Sonya had no prior knowledge of their background.

What's this one's name?

QUENTIN NEUBER: That's Minnie. SONYA FITZPATRICK: Minnie?

How old is Minnie?

She is approximately five years old.

OK.

Now, Minnie says she lives with other animals,

as well, so you better tell me what the other cat's name is.

The other cat's name is Murphy.

Murphy.

There was a time when she felt sick.

I don't--

I don't recall her being sick.

She's feeling sick.

What is it you use in your house on the floors?

We don't use anything on the floors

other than vacuuming on the carpet and--

No, what do you use that you wash your floors with?

Sorry.

Uh, ammonia, bleach.

Exactly.

It's the worst thing you can do for your cat.

QUENTIN NEUBER: She discussed the fact that my cat seemed

to have some illness related to the cleaning products

that I used on my kitchen floor, and the fact of the matter

is the cat is now an outdoor cat and has been for some time.

Now, Minnie thinks she's in charge,

and she's telling me she's in charge.

QUENTIN NEUBER: Overall, I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 she--

she got two right out of 10.

Yeah, she said that she's--

SONYA FITZPATRICK: Some animals are

really clear with their communication and very direct,

and then, just as people, others don't communicate so well--

so before they can send you a reply back.

So that is the reason why sometimes I

don't always get something, and I do occasionally

get animals like that.

Hello, beautiful.

Hi, what's your horse's name?

Charlie.

Charlie.

Oh, Charlie.

ROBERT STACK: Charlie is an 11-year-old racehorse.

Sonya has not been told that he almost

died recently after suffering continual abuse

from a previous owner.

He's very emotional.

He's, um-- he's had a lot of pain in his life,

and I'm feeling that pain from him,

and he's had a tremendous amount of abuse.

TERRI MORAN: I was surprised that she picked up on the fact

that he had been abused so quickly.

I really expected her to ask me questions that anybody could

figure out, OK, well, from that, I would assume

that he had been abused, but she basically

started just talking to me.

His leg-- he has also had a problem here.

Here. Sorry.

Here.

TERRI MORAN: It was real strange that she would be able

to pinpoint an injury from his hip

because there's-- there's no scars.

I mean, he was in such pain and agony at one time,

and something with the foot.

That was really painful.

He has a-- a crack in his-- in his hoof, and she

knew which hoof was cracked.

And that brings back the memories.

Every time the ears are touched.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: The hardest part is when an animal has been

abused, and sometimes even now I think, oh god,

I don't want to hear this.

I don't want to hear what's been done.

I don't want to know, but I have to know.

To be able to help them, I have to know what's going on.

He wants to know is he going to be staying with you forever

and ever?

Oh, absolutely.

SONYA FITZPATRICK: I get tremendous inner satisfaction--

the fact that I've been able to be a voice for the animals.

It feeds my soul.

That's the only way I can tell you.

It feeds my soul and my spirit, and yes, I love it.

I love talking to the animals.

[sirens]

MAN: What's going on there?

WOMAN: It's-- it's a big fire.

It's a really big fire.

It just, like, blew up.

MAN: OK, what's on fire?

WOMAN: The whole house.

MAN: The whole house?

WOMAN: The whole house is burning up.

ROBERT STACK: 8:42 AM, Scottsdale, Arizona.

A quiet residential neighborhood was

rocked by a powerful explosion.

The force of the blast ripped through the roof

of this ranch style home, causing

it to burst into flames.

Firefighters quickly contained the swift moving blaze,

but not before much of the residence had been destroyed.

The home was owned by Robert and Mary Fisher,

who lived there with their two children,

12-year-old Brittany and 10-year-old Bobby Jr.

When efforts to locate the Fishers proved unsuccessful,

the fire department feared the worst--

that the entire family had perished in the blaze.

When rescuers were finally able to get inside the house,

they found the remains of Mary Fisher and her two children

in the smoldering ruins.

Still lying in their beds, they appeared

to have died in their sleep, but the remains of Robert Fisher

were not found in the burned out home,

and he continues to be missing.

Within days, investigators learned

that it was not the fire that killed Mary

Fisher and her two children.

The three victims had had their throats cut.

Could Robert Fisher, the seemingly dedicated family man,

also have been a ruthless killer?

If so, he was hiding a terrible secret

his own sister found impossible to comprehend.

JEAN: My brother loved his kids and his wife.

A year ago, there's no way I would

have imagined any of this.

There was-- I trusted my brother with my life.

There's no way I would have thought

he would be capable of this.

ROBERT STACK: The Fishers were known as a devoted churchgoing

family.

Mary, how are you, sweetheart?

Good, reverend. Thank you.

Oh, these kids are growing--

ROBERT STACK: Robert and Mary met in high school

and had been married for 16 years.

Brittany attended junior high, and Bobby was a fifth grader.

REVEREND: I'll see next week.

ROBERT STACK: After a stint in the Navy,

Robert Fisher served as a firefighter

before a back injury cut short his career.

Within a few years, he became a proud father of two children.

DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: Robert was a very private person.

Outwardly, he is, uh, perceived as a good father, good husband,

churchgoing man.

During the investigation, we found

that Robert Fisher had a number of faces, a number of masks

that he wore.

ROBERT STACK: Would a man who wore masks

try to disguise the state of his marriage?

Investigators learned from friends and coworkers

that there may have been mounting

turbulence in the Fisher home.

Two years prior to the murders, Robert came

to Mary with troubling news.

Remember the massage therapist that I was

going to because of my back?

Sure.

Honey, I ended up having an affair with her.

ROBERT STACK: Mary was shattered by his infidelity.

I can't believe you.

- We can take care of this. - I want you out!

I want you out! Just leave!

Just leave!

Fine.

ROBERT STACK: Fisher headed to a forest north of Scottsdale,

where he sought solace at his favorite hunting grounds.

When he returned a few days later,

he and Mary reconciled and even agreed

to counseling at their church.

We need to address the personal issues.

Those are the things that usually are at the crux

of any dispute, disagreement.

ROBERT STACK: Robert had suffered deep emotional scars

at the divorce of his own parents,

and he was adamant that his children not be subjected

to that same emotional pain.

REVEREND: And he's prayed about it.

MYRNA BITZER: Robert had told my dad many times

that divorce was not an option.

He would not be divorced like his parents were.

He did state that several times--

Robert did.

ROBERT STACK: But despite his determination,

marital troubles apparently resurfaced in the Fisher home

just prior to the murders.

MYRNA BITZER: Mary never told me that there were any problems,

but there was arguing a lot.

I think Robert was very controlling, telling her things

that he didn't need to say in front of a lot of people.

DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: We spoke with a very close friend of Mary's

and learned that, uh, uh, she had

confided in her that, uh, uh, she was thinking

about divorcing Robert.

I can't believe you've done this again.

I just can't believe it. After all the work--

ROBERT STACK: Neighbors told investigators

that late on the night of the murders

the Fishers had a loud disagreement.

I'm calling the lawyer tomorrow.

DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: I don't think that he

planned this on, uh, this particular day

this is what I'm going to do.

I think that it precipitated over a long period of time,

and there was that one thing that triggered it,

and that could have been the-- the argument.

ROBERT STACK: Could Robert Fisher

have murdered his wife and children

rather than put them through the heartache of divorce?

The crime scene investigation had

uncovered intriguing clues--

a disconnected natural gas line, an out of place candlestick

holder, and the residue of some form

of highly flammable liquid--

which led detectives to piece together

a chilling scenario of what they believe transpired

on the night of the murders. DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: There was some type of a lacerated trauma

to all three victims' necks, which could not

have occurred during the fire.

ROBERT STACK: Several hours before the explosion,

investigators theorize that Robert Fisher

slashed the throats of each of his children and then his wife.

In addition to having her throat cut,

evidence also showed Mary Fisher was shot.

[gunshot]

[barking]

DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: Fire from a gas explosion

usually isn't as intense as the fire at the Fisher residence,

so there was some type of other flammable material used.

ROBERT STACK: Investigators think

Robert Fisher doused the house with the ignitable fluid.

Then the former firefighter is believed

to have disconnected the line leading to the gas furnace.

DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: As a source of ignition,

we believe that a candle with a candle holder

was used as a timing device in order to allow Robert

time to leave the residence.

ROBERT STACK: Hours later, once a sufficient amount of gas

had built up, this candle then triggered the explosion

and ignited the subsequent fire.

[sirens]

DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: Robert committed the arson in order to cover up

the murders believing that the bodies would be burned

beyond recognition and would have covered up

any sign of what had happened, but it didn't cover it up quite

as well as expected.

ROBERT STACK: A full scale manhunt turned up few leads.

Then, 10 days later, Mary Fisher's SUV,

which disappeared the same night as the murders,

was spotted by a hiker more than 100 miles away

in the Tonto National Forest.

It had apparently been left there the day before.

DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: It was clean.

There was no dust on it.

It was underneath pine trees, and there was very little pine

tree needles on top of the vehicle

or in the vehicle, which indicated

to us that it had probably been dumped there

within 24 hours of discovery.

ROBERT STACK: Investigators descended on the remote area.

They learned from Fisher's friends

that he went there often on hunting trips.

The conditions were harsh, and the landscape itself was

riddled with hundreds of caves.

Days of extensive searching would prove fruitless.

Two theories emerged.

One speculated that a despondent Robert Fisher took

refuge in one of the caves, where he

eventually committed suicide.

[gunshot]

The other theory suggested that a cunning Fisher left the SUV

behind to divert the attention of investigators

and then vanished.

JEAN: Where would he be?

How could he have gone to where he would be?

He didn't take any money with him.

And he would be in so much physical pain from his back.

I don't know.

If he did this, I don't know how he

could be alive knowing how much my brother loved his family.

ROBERT STACK: However, Detective John Kirkham does not subscribe

to the suicide theory, and he feels

that Robert Fisher is not dead.

DET.

JOHN KIRKHAM: The theory of Robert Fisher committing

suicide in the woods after leaving the vehicle,

um, I believe is a remote possibility.

The vehicle itself was about a quarter

of a mile off of an improved Forest Service road.

It's a fairly active area with a lot of traffic on that road.

And there are various places that one could use a phone,

catch a ride, that sort of thing.

He has now probably started a new life

under an assumed identity.

If Robert wanted to kill himself,

he would have done it when he killed Mary, Brittany,

and Bobby is my belief.

So I do believe Robert is alive, yes.

ROBERT STACK: Robert Fisher has been indicted for the murders

of his wife and children.

Fisher is 41 years old, stands six feet tall,

and weighs 190 pounds.

He also has surgical scars on his lower back

and a gold crown on his upper left canine tooth.

Robert Fisher should be considered armed and dangerous.

Join me next time for another intriguing hour

of "Unsolved Mysteries."