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NARRATOR: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

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Whenever possible the
actual family members

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and police officials
have participated

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in recreating the events.

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What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

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NARRATOR: In 1978,
19-year-old Gus

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Hoffman was accosted
by a motorcycle

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gang in San Jose, California.

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For 10 years, his
mother has haunted

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gang hangouts in a
desperate attempt

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to find her son or his killers.

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In 1927, two weeks before
Charles Lindbergh's

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famous Atlantic crossing, a
pair of intrepid French aviators

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attempted the same flight.

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Some believe they made
it, and aviation history

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will have to be re-written.

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In 1987, Patsy Wright was killed
by a lethal dose of strychnine

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in her col medicine.

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Police believe the murder
was someone close to her.

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In 1942, the oil tanker Muskogee
was sunk by a German U-boat.

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All hands were lost.

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45 years later, the son
of the Muskogee's captain

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has asked a Nazi
U-boat commander

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to help locate the missing
relative of a man lose at sea.

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Tonight four stories, which
ordinary people are thrust

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into the most extraordinary
circumstances,

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each needing one vital
clue to solve a mystery.

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Perhaps someone watching
tonight can help.

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Perhaps it's you.

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[theme music]

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In 1977, Gus Hoffman who
was a popular 19-year-old

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in San Jose, California.

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He had a reputation as
an excellent musician

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and a mechanical whiz.

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Gus was not a biker,
but one of his hobbies

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was restoring
vintage motorcycles.

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And he took great
pride in his work.

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In October of 1977, Gus bought a
1966 Harley Davidson Sportster.

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He spent eight months and $4,000
restoring it to mint condition.

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The motorcycle became
a source of conflict

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between Gus and his parents.

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ROSE HOFFMAN: We
didn't like it at all.

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My husband gave
him an ultimatum.

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He said either you
go or the bike.

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And I said I don't
want you to leave, Gus.

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I said you've got
to do something.

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And neither does your
dad want you to leave,

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so he's just afraid
that something

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is going to happen to you.

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We don't want you
to have that bite.

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He said, well, I'll just
fix it up, and I'll sell it.

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That's what he told us.

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[motor starting]

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NARRATOR: On July 4, 1978,
Gus put the finishing

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touches on his motorcycle.

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He showed it off to his brother
and told him he was taking

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the bike out for a short ride.

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Gus Hoffman's family
would never see him again.

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When Gus did not return,
his mother, Rose Hoffman,

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called the police to
report her son missing.

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Because they could
take no action

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until 48 hours had
passed, she started

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to investigate on her own.

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This began a 10-year
quest in which

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Rose Hoffman never
stopped trying to find out

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what had happened to her son.

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Rose has asked that an actress
portray her in recreating

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these most painful moments.

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When Gus didn't return, Rose
canvassed the neighborhood.

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She questioned one
of Gus' friends

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who worked at a
nearby gas station.

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But about two days ago, I saw
him pull up on his motorcycle.

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There were these two other guys
that were on choppers with him.

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ROSE HOFFMAN: He said that he
saw Gus riding by Meridian.

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And he said there was
two motorcycles in back

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of him and a blue Monte Carlo.

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And he said the
reason he recognized

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it was because these same
two motorcycle guys came

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in to the gas station, and they
were like real mean to him,

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and so he remembered them.

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And they had real long hair.

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And they were just real
tough guys-- guys that you

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don't fool around with.

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NARRATOR: A second
witness later said

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that the two bikers
had stopped Gus,

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argued, and threatened
him with chains.

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[shouting]

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When Gus pulled
away, they roared

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after him, the blue
Monte Carlo in pursuit.

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The two witnesses
identified one of the bikers

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as Michael Hodges, a member of
the Forgotten Few Motorcycle

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Gang.

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The other was Michael
Stevenson, another member

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of the same gang.

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SGT JEFF OUIMET:
If there was ever

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a person who you could
say was a career criminal,

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the name would be
Michael Stevenson.

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He's probably the
most violent person

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that I've ever investigated.

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NARRATOR: The San Jose Police
did not have enough evidence

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to bring Stevenson and
Hodges in for interrogation,

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so they began to
question other gang

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members who knew the two men.

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GANG MEMBER: Yeah?
- The San Jose Police.

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We've got a few
questions to ask you.

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All right.

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What's up?

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Yeah.

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Do you know a Gus
Hoffman by any chance?

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No.
Never heard of him.

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NARRATOR: No one
was willing to talk.

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It appeared that everyone
feared Michael Stevenson.

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--coming in now?

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Well, then arrest me or, you
know, get the heck out of here.

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ROSE HOFFMAN: After they
found out who they were,

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they told me expect the worst.

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I got very angry.

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My husband got angry.

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We said no.

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This can't happen.

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I just wanted to go
after them after that.

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I mean, that's all I thought
about was going after them.

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NARRATOR: In order to turn
up leads for the police,

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Rose and a friend
named Carol Jensen

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went undercover to infiltrate
motorcycle gang hangouts.

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I tried to dress like a
biker person, a woman that's

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been around in the biker world.

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I wore my hair all
wild, and tight pants,

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and tight jeans, and
heels, and bracelets.

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I tried to look tough.

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It was scary, but I
don't think I was as

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afraid as I should have been.

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What about you?

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Have you seen this guy?

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Nah.

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CAROL JENSEN: We just let it be
known that I had a loaded gun.

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It was not loaded, but
we let them think it was

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and that I would use it
any moment to protect Rose.

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NARRATOR: Hey, guys.

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What's happening?

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SGT JACK BAXTER: Rose Hoffman
spent hundreds of hours going

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to biker bars, different
low class establishments,

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soliciting information
from informants,

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buying information
when necessary.

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She followed up every lead,
which she shared with us.

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She and her daughters,
family members, and friends

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covered the whole area knocking
on doors talking to anybody

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whose name they were given.

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The witness is
in the motor home.

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She doesn't want you
to know who she is,

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so she doesn't like
t speak face to face.

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NARRATOR: Rose hired a private
investigator with connections

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to motorcycle gangs.

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He set up a meeting with
a woman who claimed she

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knew what had happened to Gus.

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I understand you have
information about my son?

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INFORMANT: Yes, I do.

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ROSE HOFFMAN: She told
me that my son was dead.

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And she told me that
my son was tortured.

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He was tortured for
three to five days.

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And-- and I begged her.

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I said please tell
me who did it.

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You got to talk to the police.

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You got to talk to the police.

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I begged her.

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I offered her money.

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I said I'll give you
anything you want, anything.

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Please talk to the
police and tell them.

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Anyway, the investigator--
he just said no.

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There's no way he
could let her talk.

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He said he just
wanted her to let me

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know what happened to my son.

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And I begged him, too.

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And he said I can't.

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He said I don't want to be
responsible for her death.

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NARRATOR: Rose now felt she
knew the horrible truth of what

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had happened to her son,
but she had no hard evidence

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that could lead to an arrest.

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ROSE HOFFMAN: I think
they enticed him.

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I think they said, well,
let me see your bike.

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Let me see your bike.

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And then he was
intimidated and said, well,

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all right because they're real
rough, tough-looking guys--

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real tough guys.

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And I think he was more
intimidated into everything.

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GUS HOFFMAN: What are
you guys chasing me for?

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[interposing voices]

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CAROL JENSEN: And I think that
once that he got off his bike,

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that was it.

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I think they wheeled
the bike into the garage

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and then walked him
into the garage.

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And when that garage
door went down,

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he was never seen
again-- never seen again.

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NARRATOR: On June 19,
1986, Michael Stevenson

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was killed during a
failed extortion attempt.

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His death provided an unexpected
break in the Hoffman case.

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Let's see if you've
ever seen this man before.

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NARRATOR: With
Stevenson dead, police

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requestioned members
of biker gangs

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and other possible witnesses.

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Now they talked,
and they name names.

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Yeah, that's
Michael Lee Stevenson.

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SGT JEFF OUIMET: It appears
that Gus Hoffman was forced

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through intimidation to go
to Mike Stevenson's residence

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in San Jose, was forced
through intimidation

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to enter the garage.

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There were certain acts of
violence against Gus Hoffman

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inside that garage,
which ultimately

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resulted in his death
and the disappearance

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of his motorcycle.

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NARRATOR: Police
immediately arrested

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Michael Hodges, one
of the men witnesses

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had linked to Gus' murder.

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Richard Dollar, a friend
of Hodge's, was picked up

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at San Quentin where
he was already serving

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time for a parole violation.

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The third remaining
suspect, John Stelle,

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was finally captured
in northern California.

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He was carrying
a loaded handgun.

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Tragically, no trace of Gus
Hoffman has ever been found.

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Rose Hoffman wants to give
her son the dignity in death

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that he was denied at
the end of his life.

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She hopes one of our
viewers can help.

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ROSE HOFFMAN: You can help me
as if anyone knows-- if anybody

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knows where my son is, please, I
beg you, please tell the police

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or call me.

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I want my son.

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That's the most important thing.

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[music playing]

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[theme music]

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NARRATOR: On a
previous broadcast,

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we brought you the story
of a Los Angeles resident

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who one midnight
last summer went

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to an automatic teller machine
to make a cash withdrawal.

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He never returned home.

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On June 8, 1988, 22-year-old
Matthew Chase left his house

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and drove to his bank
a few blocks away.

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That night a hidden camera
took these photographs

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of an unknown man
standing next to Matthew

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as he used the automatic
teller machine.

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The person standing next
to Matt was somewhat

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shorter, somewhat stockier.

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And, overall, he shouldn't
have been in the photograph.

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No one is going to let someone
stand that close to him

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while they're using
an ATM machine where

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they can see the PIN number.

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Police believe that Matthew was
abducted in a robbery attempt,

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and that this mysterious
figure was his kidnapper.

249
00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:23,270
TERESA DAHL: Today I sense
that he's still alive.

250
00:13:23,370 --> 00:13:27,107
And that has kept us going.

251
00:13:27,207 --> 00:13:30,043
And we'll never stop looking
for him until we find him.

252
00:13:30,143 --> 00:13:31,244
And I know we'll find him.

253
00:13:34,514 --> 00:13:35,782
NARRATOR: Over the
next few months,

254
00:13:35,883 --> 00:13:38,618
Matthew's friends and family
scoured Los Angeles searching

255
00:13:38,718 --> 00:13:41,955
for the missing youth.

256
00:13:42,055 --> 00:13:44,624
They turned up nothing.

257
00:13:44,724 --> 00:13:48,095
SUSAN CHASE: Los Angeles can
be a dangerous place at night.

258
00:13:48,195 --> 00:13:51,331
We saw a lot of things that
were very frightening, I think.

259
00:13:51,431 --> 00:13:54,501
And that only made
it more real to us

260
00:13:54,601 --> 00:14:02,209
that something perhaps very
serious had happened to Matt.

261
00:14:02,309 --> 00:14:04,945
On March 29, one chapter
of this mysterious case

262
00:14:05,045 --> 00:14:06,947
came to a close
when the Los Angeles

263
00:14:07,047 --> 00:14:09,016
coroner's office
positively identified

264
00:14:09,116 --> 00:14:10,850
the body of Matthew Chase.

265
00:14:13,887 --> 00:14:17,090
His remains were discovered
in a ravine in nearby Pasadena

266
00:14:17,190 --> 00:14:19,459
on September the
17th of last year,

267
00:14:19,559 --> 00:14:22,695
three months after
he disappeared.

268
00:14:22,795 --> 00:14:25,065
Identification was
delayed by the difficulty

269
00:14:25,165 --> 00:14:27,834
in tracking down dental records.

270
00:14:27,935 --> 00:14:31,171
The cause of death
was a gunshot wound.

271
00:14:31,271 --> 00:14:33,406
DET LIONEL SALGADO: We had
estimated that he had been

272
00:14:33,506 --> 00:14:37,710
down in this canyon
area since the last week

273
00:14:37,810 --> 00:14:43,516
in June of last year to
September when he was located.

274
00:14:43,616 --> 00:14:48,755
This case is being handled as a
robbery homicide at this point.

275
00:14:48,855 --> 00:14:51,324
The man in the
bank photograph is

276
00:14:51,424 --> 00:14:54,494
wanted for questioning
in the disappearance

277
00:14:54,594 --> 00:14:59,199
and death of Matthew Chase.

278
00:14:59,299 --> 00:15:01,568
NARRATOR: This is an artist's
rendering of the prime suspect

279
00:15:01,668 --> 00:15:03,836
in this case based on
computer enhancements

280
00:15:03,937 --> 00:15:07,240
of the bank photographs.

281
00:15:07,340 --> 00:15:10,410
Matthew's car was also
stolen and later abandoned.

282
00:15:10,510 --> 00:15:14,647
The killer may have been seen
driving this car in early June.

283
00:15:14,747 --> 00:15:18,851
It was a red two-door
1983 Volkswagen GTI.

284
00:15:18,952 --> 00:15:23,223
When this car was recovered, a
blue bandana was found inside.

285
00:15:23,323 --> 00:15:27,327
It is thought the bandana may
have belonged to the killer.

286
00:15:27,427 --> 00:15:30,763
TERESA DAHL: I do hope
to find his killer.

287
00:15:30,863 --> 00:15:32,966
And I think that we need
to see this through,

288
00:15:33,066 --> 00:15:34,467
and we will see it through.

289
00:15:34,567 --> 00:15:38,671
And this person must
be brought to justice.

290
00:15:38,771 --> 00:15:41,241
NARRATOR: We extend our
condolences to Matthew's family

291
00:15:41,341 --> 00:15:42,742
and friends.

292
00:15:42,842 --> 00:15:45,412
We strongly share the Chase
family's desire to see

293
00:15:45,512 --> 00:15:48,515
their son's killer apprehended.

294
00:15:48,615 --> 00:15:50,950
[theme music]

295
00:15:55,388 --> 00:16:00,827
[music playing]

296
00:16:00,927 --> 00:16:04,931
NARRATOR: On May 21,
1927, Charles Lindbergh

297
00:16:05,032 --> 00:16:07,467
electrified the world by
being the first to fly

298
00:16:07,567 --> 00:16:10,803
nonstop across the Atlantic
from New York to Paris.

299
00:16:10,903 --> 00:16:12,839
[music playing]

300
00:16:15,408 --> 00:16:16,409
[crowd cheering]

301
00:16:17,910 --> 00:16:20,213
NARRATOR: When he returned home,
he received a hero's welcome.

302
00:16:25,518 --> 00:16:29,289
10 days earlier, two French
pilots, Charles Nungesser

303
00:16:29,389 --> 00:16:32,559
and Francois Coli, were
preparing to beat Lindbergh

304
00:16:32,659 --> 00:16:34,827
across the Atlantic in
their plane, "L'Oiseau

305
00:16:34,927 --> 00:16:36,529
Blanc," "The White Bird."

306
00:16:36,629 --> 00:16:37,630
[non-english speech]

307
00:16:39,132 --> 00:16:42,769
NARRATOR: Their plan was to take
off from an airfield near Paris

308
00:16:42,869 --> 00:16:45,972
and land their watertight
plane in the New York Harbor

309
00:16:46,073 --> 00:16:47,807
at the base of the
Statue of Liberty.

310
00:16:47,907 --> 00:16:49,042
[non-english speech]

311
00:16:50,177 --> 00:16:51,478
NARRATOR: Nungesser
was France's most

312
00:16:51,578 --> 00:16:54,214
decorated World War I pilot.

313
00:16:54,314 --> 00:16:57,084
Coli was the first
man to fly nonstop

314
00:16:57,184 --> 00:16:58,051
across the Mediterranean.

315
00:16:58,151 --> 00:16:58,985
[non-english speech]

316
00:17:00,220 --> 00:17:01,554
NARRATOR: He had promised
his wife that this

317
00:17:01,654 --> 00:17:02,789
would be his last adventure.

318
00:17:02,889 --> 00:17:05,692
[non-english speech]

319
00:17:05,792 --> 00:17:10,497
NARRATOR: As fate would have
it, he kept his promise.

320
00:17:10,597 --> 00:17:13,166
"The White Bird" was last
seen by escort planes

321
00:17:13,266 --> 00:17:15,335
as it crossed the
coast of France

322
00:17:15,435 --> 00:17:17,570
and headed out over the vast
reaches of the Atlantic.

323
00:17:20,307 --> 00:17:22,975
It was never seen again.

324
00:17:23,076 --> 00:17:26,045
Most experts assume the
plane simply crashed at sea.

325
00:17:31,284 --> 00:17:36,623
Nearly 50 years later in 1971,
Jim Reed, a local hunter,

326
00:17:36,723 --> 00:17:38,425
was deep in the
remote woods of Maine

327
00:17:38,525 --> 00:17:42,995
when he came across a
strange, moss-covered mound.

328
00:17:43,096 --> 00:17:45,132
JIM REED: I saw something
that just didn't look right.

329
00:17:45,232 --> 00:17:47,434
I thought it was a
boulder at first.

330
00:17:47,534 --> 00:17:50,036
And shortly thereafter, I went
up, and I probed a around.

331
00:17:50,137 --> 00:17:53,673
And it was an engine,
an aircraft engine.

332
00:17:53,773 --> 00:17:55,275
Well, I was a mechanic.

333
00:17:55,375 --> 00:17:57,910
And it was definitely
not a diesel engine

334
00:17:58,010 --> 00:17:59,679
or an automobile engine.

335
00:17:59,779 --> 00:18:03,015
The cooling elements,
the way it was built,

336
00:18:03,116 --> 00:18:04,951
indicated to me that it
was an aircraft engine.

337
00:18:07,687 --> 00:18:10,957
NARRATOR: Jim Reed was never
able to relocate the engine,

338
00:18:11,057 --> 00:18:13,526
although he made several
attempts to retrace his steps

339
00:18:13,626 --> 00:18:15,895
through the dense woods.

340
00:18:15,995 --> 00:18:18,798
Could it have been the last
remains of "The White Bird"

341
00:18:18,898 --> 00:18:22,135
and proof that the French pilots
actually crossed the Atlantic

342
00:18:22,235 --> 00:18:25,438
two weeks before Lindbergh?

343
00:18:25,538 --> 00:18:27,140
RICK GILLESPIE: It's
very much like trying

344
00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,909
to assemble a jigsaw puzzle.

345
00:18:30,009 --> 00:18:32,679
And little bit by little
bit, the pieces come together

346
00:18:32,779 --> 00:18:34,414
and make a picture.

347
00:18:34,514 --> 00:18:35,882
And we have enough
of a picture now

348
00:18:35,982 --> 00:18:40,387
to convince us that
we're onto the trail.

349
00:18:40,487 --> 00:18:42,021
Rick Gillespie and
his wife, Pat Thrasher,

350
00:18:42,121 --> 00:18:43,756
are aircraft
archaeologists who have

351
00:18:43,856 --> 00:18:46,826
been searching for "The White
Bird" for over four years.

352
00:18:46,926 --> 00:18:48,895
They're so convinced the
plane crashed in Maine,

353
00:18:48,995 --> 00:18:51,364
they have given up their job
to devote their lives to search

354
00:18:51,464 --> 00:18:52,965
for the missing plane.

355
00:18:53,065 --> 00:18:55,034
After 50 years,
most of the aircraft

356
00:18:55,134 --> 00:18:57,670
made of wooden fabric will
have totally disintegrated.

357
00:18:57,770 --> 00:19:01,574
But they feel they are close.

358
00:19:01,674 --> 00:19:04,911
Using a helicopter equipped
with an infrared scanner,

359
00:19:05,011 --> 00:19:08,348
the investigators survey the
area near Machias, Maine, where

360
00:19:08,448 --> 00:19:10,149
the engine had been sighted.

361
00:19:10,250 --> 00:19:11,718
Rick, we're about to come--

362
00:19:11,818 --> 00:19:13,253
NARRATOR: They were
hoping to find traces

363
00:19:13,353 --> 00:19:15,054
of metal that would
indicate where

364
00:19:15,154 --> 00:19:17,824
"The White Bird" had crashed.

365
00:19:17,924 --> 00:19:19,859
RICK GILLESPIE: From the very
beginning of this project,

366
00:19:19,959 --> 00:19:23,963
we felt that technology
would be the answer.

367
00:19:24,063 --> 00:19:26,333
And we have driven
ourselves nuts

368
00:19:26,433 --> 00:19:29,302
trying to find that technology.

369
00:19:29,402 --> 00:19:33,673
And time and time again,
what has worked is people.

370
00:19:33,773 --> 00:19:35,408
People have succeeded.

371
00:19:35,508 --> 00:19:36,709
People have led us closer.

372
00:19:39,612 --> 00:19:41,080
NARRATOR: Rick and
Pat concentrated

373
00:19:41,180 --> 00:19:43,115
their investigation
on longtime Maine

374
00:19:43,216 --> 00:19:46,319
residents who might have seen
or heard "The White Bird"

375
00:19:46,419 --> 00:19:49,088
50 years ago.

376
00:19:49,188 --> 00:19:51,524
They visited a retired
blueberry farmer who had

377
00:19:51,624 --> 00:19:54,761
lived in the area for 77 years.

378
00:19:54,861 --> 00:19:57,264
HAROLD VINING: I was outside,
and, all of a sudden,

379
00:19:57,364 --> 00:19:59,566
this plane was overhead.

380
00:19:59,666 --> 00:20:00,867
RICK GILLESPIE: You
heard the aircraft?

381
00:20:00,967 --> 00:20:02,302
I heard the airplane.

382
00:20:02,402 --> 00:20:05,505
NARRATOR: Harold Vining is
the last person still alive

383
00:20:05,605 --> 00:20:06,939
who claims to have
heard "The White

384
00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:08,708
Bird" on its final flight.

385
00:20:08,808 --> 00:20:15,114
At that time, we was all keyed
up listening for Lindbergh.

386
00:20:15,214 --> 00:20:17,317
Due to the fact
that this plane was

387
00:20:17,417 --> 00:20:19,886
traveling in the
wrong direction,

388
00:20:19,986 --> 00:20:21,554
it couldn't have been Lindbergh.

389
00:20:25,091 --> 00:20:30,963
I was out chopping wood when
I heard this plane go over.

390
00:20:31,063 --> 00:20:34,501
And I honestly believe
that that's the first plane

391
00:20:34,601 --> 00:20:37,337
that I ever heard in my life.

392
00:20:37,437 --> 00:20:42,542
That's why it is so
outstanding in my mind.

393
00:20:42,642 --> 00:20:46,145
Not knowing that it
was these French people

394
00:20:46,245 --> 00:20:50,650
trying to make history, I
just paid no attention to it.

395
00:20:54,220 --> 00:20:56,656
NARRATOR: Three miles
from Harold Vining's home,

396
00:20:56,756 --> 00:21:01,294
a young couple, Everett and
Abigail Scott, heard a plane

397
00:21:01,394 --> 00:21:02,662
and stopped their car to listen.

398
00:21:07,367 --> 00:21:10,470
Two miles away, Mary
Gould was in her kitchen

399
00:21:10,570 --> 00:21:12,572
when she, too, heard
the sound of a plane.

400
00:21:16,275 --> 00:21:20,347
MAURICE BERRY: It was real
foggy for several days.

401
00:21:20,447 --> 00:21:22,148
I remember the day-- well--

402
00:21:22,248 --> 00:21:24,784
NARRATOR: Maurice Berry's
cousin, Anson Berry,

403
00:21:24,884 --> 00:21:29,489
was fishing when he, too,
heard a plane fly over, then

404
00:21:29,589 --> 00:21:31,924
heard its engine stop.

405
00:21:32,024 --> 00:21:33,426
[engine sputtering]

406
00:21:35,595 --> 00:21:36,396
[crash]

407
00:21:37,830 --> 00:21:42,301
MAURICE BERRY: Anson said
that he heard a ripping crash.

408
00:21:42,402 --> 00:21:43,603
I believed the man.

409
00:21:43,703 --> 00:21:45,438
I believed what he said.

410
00:21:45,538 --> 00:21:51,243
And I fully believe
that that airplane

411
00:21:51,344 --> 00:21:53,546
is down there somewhere.

412
00:21:53,646 --> 00:21:57,717
You just haven't
stumbled onto it.

413
00:21:57,817 --> 00:22:00,186
[branches cracking]

414
00:22:00,286 --> 00:22:02,889
NARRATOR: The team searched one
possible crash site near where

415
00:22:02,989 --> 00:22:05,057
the old timers heard the plane.

416
00:22:05,157 --> 00:22:08,628
There they discovered an
unusual piece of wood.

417
00:22:08,728 --> 00:22:10,162
RICK GILLESPIE: Hey, Pat?

418
00:22:10,262 --> 00:22:14,567
It turns out to be a single
stalk of something that

419
00:22:14,667 --> 00:22:19,238
has been run through a
roller, man- fashioned,

420
00:22:19,338 --> 00:22:22,975
the kind of generic material
that would have been used

421
00:22:23,075 --> 00:22:27,547
for any kind of a padding
purpose but not in Maine

422
00:22:27,647 --> 00:22:28,848
because it's not from Maine.

423
00:22:28,948 --> 00:22:32,452
And it's not even apparently
from North America.

424
00:22:32,552 --> 00:22:34,286
NARRATOR: Eventually
they found 23 more

425
00:22:34,387 --> 00:22:36,656
fragments of the same strip.

426
00:22:36,756 --> 00:22:40,593
Together they formed a length
of two meters, the exact width

427
00:22:40,693 --> 00:22:43,430
of "The White Bird's" wing.

428
00:22:43,530 --> 00:22:45,197
RICK GILLESPIE: We will
continue on the project

429
00:22:45,297 --> 00:22:48,601
as long as it seems
reasonable to do it.

430
00:22:48,701 --> 00:22:51,237
But it's kept us
going in the past.

431
00:22:51,337 --> 00:22:54,907
New information keeps
coming out that corroborates

432
00:22:55,007 --> 00:22:56,743
what's come before.

433
00:22:56,843 --> 00:22:59,646
And there's very much a feeling
of getting closer, and closer,

434
00:22:59,746 --> 00:23:02,849
and closer.

435
00:23:02,949 --> 00:23:03,716
Watch the ground.

436
00:23:03,816 --> 00:23:06,719
Watch your alignment.

437
00:23:06,819 --> 00:23:09,288
NARRATOR: Rick believes that
there still may be a hunter who

438
00:23:09,388 --> 00:23:12,659
has spent time in the desolate
woods near Machais, Maine,

439
00:23:12,759 --> 00:23:15,928
and who has seen some clue to
the fate of "The White Bird."

440
00:23:16,028 --> 00:23:18,698
They intend to search until
the ill-fated French plane is

441
00:23:18,798 --> 00:23:19,832
found.

442
00:23:19,932 --> 00:23:22,201
Only then will
Nungesser and Coli

443
00:23:22,301 --> 00:23:24,937
be awarded their rightful
place in the annals

444
00:23:25,037 --> 00:23:26,072
of aviation history.

445
00:23:31,043 --> 00:23:32,945
[theme music]

446
00:23:37,517 --> 00:23:38,918
[bell ringing]

447
00:23:43,022 --> 00:23:47,426
NARRATOR: October 1987,
Arlington, Texas, the friends

448
00:23:47,527 --> 00:23:50,897
and family of 43-year-old
Patsy Bolton Wright mourn

449
00:23:50,997 --> 00:23:53,700
her tragic and unexpected death.

450
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,804
She had died suddenly at 3:00 in
the morning in her own bedroom.

451
00:23:57,904 --> 00:24:01,941
And no one knows why.

452
00:24:02,041 --> 00:24:03,610
LESLIE WRIGHT: You
would never ever

453
00:24:03,710 --> 00:24:06,112
expect that to happen because,
you know, I mean, she was.

454
00:24:06,212 --> 00:24:07,013
She was so alive.

455
00:24:07,113 --> 00:24:08,781
She was so healthy.

456
00:24:08,881 --> 00:24:10,216
There was nothing
wrong with her.

457
00:24:10,316 --> 00:24:13,953
And when it happened,
you're just in awe

458
00:24:14,053 --> 00:24:15,822
because you would
never ever have

459
00:24:15,922 --> 00:24:18,658
expected that to happen to her.

460
00:24:18,758 --> 00:24:21,528
SALLY HORNING: There's not a day
that goes by that we can even

461
00:24:21,628 --> 00:24:22,862
believe that this has happened.

462
00:24:22,962 --> 00:24:26,365
We can all still see Patsy
coming into the room smiling,

463
00:24:26,465 --> 00:24:27,500
and we can hear her laugh.

464
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:33,105
And it just doesn't
seem real at all.

465
00:24:33,205 --> 00:24:35,441
NARRATOR: Eight days after
Patsy's memorial service,

466
00:24:35,542 --> 00:24:37,944
a routine autopsy was performed.

467
00:24:38,044 --> 00:24:40,913
A mass spectrometer
checked for 56,000

468
00:24:41,013 --> 00:24:45,284
different foreign substances
in Patsy's blood samples.

469
00:24:45,384 --> 00:24:51,023
Suddenly, the machine showed
a violent, positive reaction.

470
00:24:51,123 --> 00:24:54,861
The lab technician immediately
requested identification.

471
00:24:54,961 --> 00:24:58,931
Within seconds, the chilling
answer came back, strychnine.

472
00:25:01,768 --> 00:25:03,235
Because of its
horrible side effects,

473
00:25:03,335 --> 00:25:04,871
strychnine poisoning
is considered

474
00:25:04,971 --> 00:25:07,406
an unusually cruel way to die.

475
00:25:07,506 --> 00:25:10,409
Death by strychnine
is also very rare.

476
00:25:10,509 --> 00:25:13,212
According to a leading
toxicologist, since 1950,

477
00:25:13,312 --> 00:25:15,414
there's only been one
confirmed case of homicide

478
00:25:15,514 --> 00:25:18,718
by strychnine poisoning in
the entire United States.

479
00:25:18,818 --> 00:25:21,353
In the death of Patsy
Wright, the Texas authorities

480
00:25:21,453 --> 00:25:23,322
faced a puzzling question.

481
00:25:23,422 --> 00:25:27,326
How had this virulent poison
entered Patsy's bloodstream?

482
00:25:27,426 --> 00:25:28,795
[phone ringing]

483
00:25:29,929 --> 00:25:32,732
3: 00 AM the morning
of Patsy's death,

484
00:25:32,832 --> 00:25:34,567
Steve and Sally
Horning were awakened

485
00:25:34,667 --> 00:25:35,835
by a frantic phone call.

486
00:25:35,935 --> 00:25:36,736
STEVE HORNING: Hello?

487
00:25:36,836 --> 00:25:37,937
I need to talk to Sally.

488
00:25:38,037 --> 00:25:39,238
STEVE HORNING: Patsy?

489
00:25:39,338 --> 00:25:40,573
What's the matter?

490
00:25:40,673 --> 00:25:42,374
I can't breathe.

491
00:25:42,474 --> 00:25:44,977
NARRATOR: The caller was
Sally's sister, Patsy Wright.

492
00:25:45,077 --> 00:25:46,312
Hello, Patsy?

493
00:25:46,412 --> 00:25:48,948
I took some cold medicine
and something is really wrong.

494
00:25:49,048 --> 00:25:49,982
What's the matter?

495
00:25:50,082 --> 00:25:51,918
What is it?

496
00:25:52,018 --> 00:25:52,852
Patsy?

497
00:25:52,952 --> 00:25:53,753
Patsy?

498
00:25:56,656 --> 00:26:00,727
We got to the house, and
parked in the driveway,

499
00:26:00,827 --> 00:26:02,528
and went to the front door.

500
00:26:02,629 --> 00:26:04,296
And, of course, the
door was locked.

501
00:26:04,396 --> 00:26:05,632
And we couldn't get in.

502
00:26:05,732 --> 00:26:06,532
(FRANTICALLY) Patsy!

503
00:26:06,633 --> 00:26:07,900
Steve, go around the back.

504
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:08,835
Patsy?

505
00:26:08,935 --> 00:26:09,802
Open up!

506
00:26:09,902 --> 00:26:10,903
It's Sally!

507
00:26:11,003 --> 00:26:13,405
STEVE HORNING: I went
around to the side.

508
00:26:13,505 --> 00:26:16,242
The window was open
just, I suppose,

509
00:26:16,342 --> 00:26:18,477
for getting fresh air in there.

510
00:26:18,577 --> 00:26:21,147
Open it up, jump through
the window, came through.

511
00:26:21,247 --> 00:26:22,381
And I saw Patsy on the bed.

512
00:26:26,318 --> 00:26:27,186
Patsy?

513
00:26:27,286 --> 00:26:28,487
In the bedroom.

514
00:26:28,587 --> 00:26:31,290
SALLY HORNING: When we got
in, she was in the bedroom.

515
00:26:31,390 --> 00:26:33,259
She just looked like
she had kind of fainted,

516
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:35,662
so I thought that's
what had happened.

517
00:26:35,762 --> 00:26:38,030
And so we tried to get her up.

518
00:26:38,130 --> 00:26:39,766
And that didn't work.

519
00:26:39,866 --> 00:26:40,967
Operator?

520
00:26:41,067 --> 00:26:44,436
We need an ambulance at
3017 Homeoak and Arlington

521
00:26:44,536 --> 00:26:45,371
immediately.

522
00:26:45,471 --> 00:26:48,775
My sister's not breathing.

523
00:26:48,875 --> 00:26:51,143
STEVE HORNING: I worked on
both her heart and mouth

524
00:26:51,243 --> 00:26:53,145
to mouth resuscitation.

525
00:26:53,245 --> 00:26:58,284
During that, a lot of green
fluid came out up from her.

526
00:26:58,384 --> 00:27:02,388
And I would continually
spit that out onto the bed,

527
00:27:02,488 --> 00:27:04,924
or there was a towel
there, as I remember.

528
00:27:05,024 --> 00:27:07,493
Sometime after that,
the medics came.

529
00:27:07,593 --> 00:27:09,328
MEDIC: When was the last
time y'all talked to her?

530
00:27:09,428 --> 00:27:11,063
About 3 o'clock
this morning, and she

531
00:27:11,163 --> 00:27:12,598
just stopped talking to us.

532
00:27:12,699 --> 00:27:13,800
We think the phone dropped.

533
00:27:13,900 --> 00:27:15,201
And we rushed over here as
quick as we could, and--

534
00:27:15,301 --> 00:27:16,368
This the way y'all found her?

535
00:27:16,468 --> 00:27:17,970
Yes.

536
00:27:18,070 --> 00:27:20,940
We, at first, thought that she
was responding because I could

537
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,575
see the monitor
going up and down,

538
00:27:23,676 --> 00:27:26,212
but it was every time they
were pushing on her chest

539
00:27:26,312 --> 00:27:27,113
that that's what it was.

540
00:27:27,213 --> 00:27:29,581
MEDIC: We're coming down.

541
00:27:29,682 --> 00:27:30,482
Step.

542
00:27:30,582 --> 00:27:31,951
There you go.

543
00:27:32,051 --> 00:27:32,852
Step.

544
00:27:40,092 --> 00:27:41,794
SALLY HORNING: I rode to the
hospital in the ambulance

545
00:27:41,894 --> 00:27:43,162
with her.

546
00:27:43,262 --> 00:27:46,665
And, uh, they said that, um,
they were not able to save her.

547
00:27:46,766 --> 00:27:49,235
And they said they had done
everything they could do.

548
00:27:49,335 --> 00:27:50,937
And there just wasn't
anything they could do.

549
00:27:53,706 --> 00:27:55,041
NARRATOR: Neither
Sally nor the police

550
00:27:55,141 --> 00:27:57,877
had any reason to
suspect foul play.

551
00:27:57,977 --> 00:28:02,181
But in her phone call, Patsy had
mentioned taking cold medicine,

552
00:28:02,281 --> 00:28:05,818
so police collected the
bottle for possible analysis.

553
00:28:05,918 --> 00:28:10,456
Patsy's cold medicine contained
huge amounts of strychnine.

554
00:28:10,556 --> 00:28:13,159
The FBI ruled out
product tampering.

555
00:28:17,696 --> 00:28:20,332
Patsy Wright seemed to have
everything to live for.

556
00:28:20,432 --> 00:28:23,569
She had two children, a son
Wayne and a daughter Lesley,

557
00:28:23,669 --> 00:28:26,138
to whom she was very close.

558
00:28:26,238 --> 00:28:29,675
Patsy and her sister, Sally,
were successful businesswomen.

559
00:28:29,776 --> 00:28:34,446
They owned two wax museums
worth over $6 million.

560
00:28:34,546 --> 00:28:37,917
Also, Patsy had just bought
three prized quarter horses,

561
00:28:38,017 --> 00:28:40,753
and she'd planned to
train them herself.

562
00:28:40,853 --> 00:28:42,521
DR JOANN HOUTS: In my
professional opinion,

563
00:28:42,621 --> 00:28:46,192
it's highly unlikely that
Patsy committed suicide

564
00:28:46,292 --> 00:28:50,296
or was a high risk for suicide.

565
00:28:50,396 --> 00:28:53,332
NARRATOR: Sergeant Jay Gustavson
of the Arlington, Texas, police

566
00:28:53,432 --> 00:28:57,136
began to investigate
Patsy's death as a murder.

567
00:28:57,236 --> 00:28:58,805
He had two clues
which made him think

568
00:28:58,905 --> 00:29:03,209
that the murder was probably
someone Patsy knew very well.

569
00:29:03,309 --> 00:29:05,544
First, Patsy's
burglar alarm had not

570
00:29:05,644 --> 00:29:09,448
been set on the night she died.

571
00:29:09,548 --> 00:29:12,251
Secondly, only
those close to Patsy

572
00:29:12,351 --> 00:29:15,087
knew it was her habit to
take nighttime cold medicine

573
00:29:15,187 --> 00:29:17,623
when she had trouble sleeping.

574
00:29:17,723 --> 00:29:18,757
DR JOANN HOUTS:
I can pretty much

575
00:29:18,858 --> 00:29:22,161
say that this case
involves someone that

576
00:29:22,261 --> 00:29:25,331
knew Patsy, knew her habits.

577
00:29:25,431 --> 00:29:29,335
And then I have to put together
motive and opportunity.

578
00:29:29,435 --> 00:29:31,570
NARRATOR: The first people
Sergeant Gustafson questioned

579
00:29:31,670 --> 00:29:34,373
were Patsy's sister and
brother-in-law, Sally

580
00:29:34,473 --> 00:29:36,075
and Steve Horning.

581
00:29:36,175 --> 00:29:37,443
SALLY HORNING: They
started asking a lot

582
00:29:37,543 --> 00:29:39,645
of questions of all of us.

583
00:29:39,745 --> 00:29:42,181
And, uh, I guess we
came to the realization

584
00:29:42,281 --> 00:29:45,852
that we were all, you
know, pretty much suspects.

585
00:29:45,952 --> 00:29:48,187
And they had to ask us some
questions that, you know,

586
00:29:48,287 --> 00:29:49,388
were not very comfortable.

587
00:29:49,488 --> 00:29:52,191
And, you know
I--I-- I don't ever

588
00:29:52,291 --> 00:29:55,527
want to go through that again.

589
00:29:55,627 --> 00:29:57,329
NARRATOR: The Sergeant
looked for a motive.

590
00:29:57,429 --> 00:29:59,866
Patsy's wealth came
from the two wax museums

591
00:29:59,966 --> 00:30:01,633
she owned with her sister.
- OK.

592
00:30:01,733 --> 00:30:02,568
Y'all come here.
- Whoa!

593
00:30:02,668 --> 00:30:03,936
[scream]
- Whoa!

594
00:30:04,036 --> 00:30:04,837
[laughter]

595
00:30:06,272 --> 00:30:08,307
NARRATOR: Not only were the
museums tourist attractions.

596
00:30:08,407 --> 00:30:12,278
They were also centers of social
life in their respective towns.

597
00:30:12,378 --> 00:30:15,214
When Patsy died, the
museums were inherited

598
00:30:15,314 --> 00:30:17,884
by Steve and Sally Horning.

599
00:30:17,984 --> 00:30:19,718
STEVE HORNING: We as family
members were being asked

600
00:30:19,818 --> 00:30:22,554
questions that you
never even think

601
00:30:22,654 --> 00:30:23,923
you're ever going to be asked.

602
00:30:26,525 --> 00:30:32,564
So surprise, and hurt, and
yet knowing that questions

603
00:30:32,664 --> 00:30:36,335
like these have to be asked.

604
00:30:36,435 --> 00:30:40,372
Did you put that strychnine
in Patsy's cold medicine?

605
00:30:40,472 --> 00:30:41,540
STEVE HORNING: No.

606
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:43,175
NARRATOR: The authorities
also speculated

607
00:30:43,275 --> 00:30:45,945
that if Steve Horning
had poisoned Patsy,

608
00:30:46,045 --> 00:30:47,279
he would not have
performed mouth

609
00:30:47,379 --> 00:30:50,582
to mouth resuscitation on
her, taking potentially deadly

610
00:30:50,682 --> 00:30:53,920
liquid into his own mouth.

611
00:30:54,020 --> 00:30:57,589
Steve and Sally along with
other family members voluntarily

612
00:30:57,689 --> 00:30:59,391
took polygraph tests.

613
00:30:59,491 --> 00:31:02,228
All of them passed.

614
00:31:02,328 --> 00:31:04,730
Police also gave Patsy's
former boyfriend,

615
00:31:04,830 --> 00:31:06,899
Leo Fikes, a polygraph test.

616
00:31:06,999 --> 00:31:09,035
SGT GUSTAFSON: He was one of the
ones that would have been close

617
00:31:09,135 --> 00:31:12,171
enough to her to
have known about her

618
00:31:12,271 --> 00:31:15,007
taking the liquid cold
medicine on occasion.

619
00:31:15,107 --> 00:31:17,176
He was very much
in love with Patsy.

620
00:31:17,276 --> 00:31:21,147
But for reasons
from Patsy herself,

621
00:31:21,247 --> 00:31:24,216
she did not want
to get remarried.

622
00:31:24,316 --> 00:31:28,120
Do you know for sure who
caused Patsy to be poisoned?

623
00:31:28,220 --> 00:31:29,588
No.

624
00:31:29,688 --> 00:31:32,258
I had no fear of any questions.

625
00:31:32,358 --> 00:31:35,794
I had no fear of
a polygraph test.

626
00:31:35,894 --> 00:31:38,864
In realizing that
I was a suspect,

627
00:31:38,965 --> 00:31:40,599
I think the most
difficult part of it

628
00:31:40,699 --> 00:31:43,535
for me was that Patsy
had rejected me,

629
00:31:43,635 --> 00:31:47,339
and we had not been
real close for seven

630
00:31:47,439 --> 00:31:49,508
or eight months prior to that.

631
00:31:49,608 --> 00:31:53,445
I'd seen her, been out with
her two or three times,

632
00:31:53,545 --> 00:31:56,515
but there was a
certain tenseness

633
00:31:56,615 --> 00:31:59,118
when we were together.

634
00:31:59,218 --> 00:32:03,455
NARRATOR: Leo Fikes
passed his polygraph test.

635
00:32:03,555 --> 00:32:06,592
Patsy's ex-husband, Robert
Cox, was another person

636
00:32:06,692 --> 00:32:08,560
questioned by the police.

637
00:32:08,660 --> 00:32:11,297
Patsy had obtained a
restraining order against Cox

638
00:32:11,397 --> 00:32:13,365
during their
separation because she

639
00:32:13,465 --> 00:32:15,501
claimed he was harassing her.

640
00:32:15,601 --> 00:32:17,769
SGT GUSTAFSON: I had some
people give me statements

641
00:32:17,869 --> 00:32:26,545
that Patsy had some fears
of her ex-husband, Bob Cox.

642
00:32:26,645 --> 00:32:28,614
I understand that there
are times that Patsy

643
00:32:28,714 --> 00:32:32,884
believed that Bob
Cox had driven by

644
00:32:32,985 --> 00:32:34,586
or parked close to her house.

645
00:32:39,058 --> 00:32:40,892
[engine starting]

646
00:32:40,993 --> 00:32:42,328
SALLY HORNING: We knew
that Patsy was going

647
00:32:42,428 --> 00:32:44,796
to be testifying against
her second husband

648
00:32:44,896 --> 00:32:48,967
in an upcoming civil
suit about an arson fire.

649
00:32:49,068 --> 00:32:52,238
And, uh, we knew that
he had called her

650
00:32:52,338 --> 00:32:55,107
on a number of
occasions and asked her

651
00:32:55,207 --> 00:32:57,109
to change this or that story.

652
00:32:57,209 --> 00:33:00,712
And she had told him that she
was going to tell the truth.

653
00:33:00,812 --> 00:33:07,919
He was offered a polygraph
test the same as several others

654
00:33:08,020 --> 00:33:11,823
that I had, uh, interviewed
and taken statements from.

655
00:33:11,923 --> 00:33:13,892
And, uh, he refused to
take a polygraph test.

656
00:33:16,828 --> 00:33:18,997
NARRATOR: Robert Cox
maintains his innocence

657
00:33:19,098 --> 00:33:20,866
as does Leo Fikes.

658
00:33:20,966 --> 00:33:25,337
And there is evidence to suggest
that neither of them is guilty.

659
00:33:25,437 --> 00:33:28,374
Next to Patsy's bed on the
night she died were two

660
00:33:28,474 --> 00:33:30,942
empty dinner plates on a tray.

661
00:33:31,043 --> 00:33:33,145
It seems highly unlikely
that Patsy would

662
00:33:33,245 --> 00:33:36,182
have spent an intimate evening
with either Robert Cox or Leo

663
00:33:36,282 --> 00:33:37,449
Fikes.

664
00:33:37,549 --> 00:33:40,219
Could there have been an
unknown visitor that night

665
00:33:40,319 --> 00:33:43,222
intimate enough to know
Patsy's personal habits

666
00:33:43,322 --> 00:33:45,557
and to share a late
night dinner with her?

667
00:33:50,796 --> 00:33:53,432
The day after Patsy died,
her daughter, Lesley,

668
00:33:53,532 --> 00:33:56,235
received a strange phone call.

669
00:33:56,335 --> 00:33:57,269
No, she's not right now.

670
00:33:57,369 --> 00:33:59,004
May I take a message?

671
00:33:59,105 --> 00:34:01,373
I said hello, and this
person asked for my mother.

672
00:34:01,473 --> 00:34:03,809
And I said, well, she's not
here right now, you know.

673
00:34:03,909 --> 00:34:05,111
Can I take a message?

674
00:34:05,211 --> 00:34:09,648
And this person persisted
in wanting to talk with her.

675
00:34:09,748 --> 00:34:12,751
Um, well, she passed
away yesterday.

676
00:34:12,851 --> 00:34:14,486
She said something
to the effect that--

677
00:34:14,586 --> 00:34:15,387
[phone hanging up]

678
00:34:15,487 --> 00:34:16,455
--well, good.

679
00:34:16,555 --> 00:34:19,891
I wanted her dead or
something like that.

680
00:34:19,991 --> 00:34:21,727
Um, I don't know if it
was a prank phone call.

681
00:34:21,827 --> 00:34:22,728
If it meant something.

682
00:34:22,828 --> 00:34:23,995
Maybe somebody
wanted to find out

683
00:34:24,096 --> 00:34:27,199
if she had died by
taking the cold medicine

684
00:34:27,299 --> 00:34:28,767
with the poison in it.

685
00:34:28,867 --> 00:34:31,103
You know, it could
be totally unrelated.

686
00:34:31,203 --> 00:34:32,138
It could be related.

687
00:34:32,238 --> 00:34:33,038
I don't know.

688
00:34:36,342 --> 00:34:37,509
NARRATOR: The
authorities are still

689
00:34:37,609 --> 00:34:39,778
convinced that the
murderer is someone

690
00:34:39,878 --> 00:34:42,114
who will knew Patsy well.

691
00:34:42,214 --> 00:34:44,716
Sorry for your loss.

692
00:34:44,816 --> 00:34:46,084
Appreciate it.

693
00:34:46,185 --> 00:34:48,620
It's frightening because we
do know that somebody knew her

694
00:34:48,720 --> 00:34:51,457
very well and, knew her habits,
and was close enough to her

695
00:34:51,557 --> 00:34:55,794
to know how to get in and
to use that cold medicine.

696
00:34:55,894 --> 00:34:58,730
So it is very frightening.

697
00:34:58,830 --> 00:35:02,534
And we are afraid that we do
know the person pretty well.

698
00:35:02,634 --> 00:35:04,936
It's a hard thing
for, I guess, my brother

699
00:35:05,036 --> 00:35:10,576
and I just from the point that
this person knew her very well.

700
00:35:10,676 --> 00:35:13,779
And we obviously have to
know them just because we are

701
00:35:13,879 --> 00:35:16,315
such a big part of
my mother's life

702
00:35:16,415 --> 00:35:19,117
that we knew most the
people that she did know.

703
00:35:19,218 --> 00:35:22,254
And it's hard just
because you don't really

704
00:35:22,354 --> 00:35:24,055
know who to trust anymore.

705
00:35:30,996 --> 00:35:34,333
SGT GUSTAFSON: This
is not unlike someone

706
00:35:34,433 --> 00:35:38,170
who wanted to set a
trap out in the woods

707
00:35:38,270 --> 00:35:40,372
to trap something illegal.

708
00:35:40,472 --> 00:35:43,942
He knows what path
the animal goes down.

709
00:35:44,042 --> 00:35:46,345
He knows if he sets a trap
and walks away from it

710
00:35:46,445 --> 00:35:48,146
that he can be alone.

711
00:35:48,247 --> 00:35:53,018
He can be in a crowd of
people when the trap goes off.

712
00:35:57,789 --> 00:36:01,760
What we've got is
Patsy home alone.

713
00:36:01,860 --> 00:36:05,364
She decided to take
medication that night.

714
00:36:05,464 --> 00:36:07,433
And that medication
was like a trap.

715
00:36:07,533 --> 00:36:10,202
It was laced with
strychnine poisoning.

716
00:36:20,078 --> 00:36:22,013
NARRATOR: In a moment, the
story of an American oil tank

717
00:36:22,113 --> 00:36:24,216
and the Nazi submarine
that sunk her.

718
00:36:24,316 --> 00:36:29,721
Over 45 years later, the real
story can finally be told.

719
00:36:29,821 --> 00:36:32,190
[theme music]

720
00:36:37,696 --> 00:36:41,533
NARRATOR: December
7, 1941-- on that

721
00:36:41,633 --> 00:36:43,535
day of infamy, the
Japanese bombed

722
00:36:43,635 --> 00:36:45,437
Pearl Harbor, and
the United States

723
00:36:45,537 --> 00:36:46,838
was thrust into World War II.

724
00:36:49,708 --> 00:36:53,412
In the Pacific, the Japanese
claimed victory after victory.

725
00:36:53,512 --> 00:36:56,282
But in the Atlantic, the
German Navy threatened the sea

726
00:36:56,382 --> 00:36:59,217
lanes of America's backyard.

727
00:36:59,318 --> 00:37:01,420
The German submarines,
known as U-boats,

728
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:03,255
even infiltrated
the waters of New

729
00:37:03,355 --> 00:37:05,457
York Harbor and Chesapeake Bay.

730
00:37:10,929 --> 00:37:15,567
In 1941, 39-year-old William
Betts, a father of two boys,

731
00:37:15,667 --> 00:37:18,003
was captain of the
Muskogee, a tanker

732
00:37:18,103 --> 00:37:20,939
that transported crude oil up
and down the Atlantic coast.

733
00:37:21,039 --> 00:37:21,940
[boat horn]

734
00:37:23,174 --> 00:37:26,111
The oil was vital to the
burgeoning war effort.

735
00:37:26,211 --> 00:37:28,980
Because Betts had no time
to go home to his family,

736
00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:32,618
Ellen his wife would go to him.

737
00:37:32,718 --> 00:37:37,255
On February 2, 1942, two
months after Pearl Harbor,

738
00:37:37,356 --> 00:37:40,459
the Muskogee was preparing
to leave his home port.

739
00:37:40,559 --> 00:37:43,829
William and Ellen exchanged what
would be their final farewells.

740
00:37:47,198 --> 00:37:50,168
Ellen returned home
to her sons and waited

741
00:37:50,268 --> 00:37:52,571
for word of her husband.

742
00:37:52,671 --> 00:37:53,972
Are you Mrs. Betts?

743
00:37:56,875 --> 00:37:59,010
I have a telegram for
Mrs. William Betts.

744
00:38:03,982 --> 00:38:06,084
ELLEN BETTS: I
received a telegram

745
00:38:06,184 --> 00:38:10,922
from the company saying
that the ship was

746
00:38:11,022 --> 00:38:14,025
probably lost on its way north.

747
00:38:16,928 --> 00:38:20,098
And, uh, that is all they said.

748
00:38:20,198 --> 00:38:21,166
They didn't know anything.

749
00:38:24,202 --> 00:38:26,605
NARRATOR: Ellen had no idea
what happened to her husband,

750
00:38:26,705 --> 00:38:29,841
the father of her two boys.

751
00:38:29,941 --> 00:38:32,110
One year later, the
older son, George,

752
00:38:32,210 --> 00:38:34,245
was drafted into the military.

753
00:38:34,346 --> 00:38:38,450
But he remained haunted by
his father's unknown fate.

754
00:38:38,550 --> 00:38:41,687
For 13 years, there was no clue.

755
00:38:41,787 --> 00:38:46,057
Then in 1955, a strange
coincidence, a friend at work

756
00:38:46,157 --> 00:38:48,059
showed him a book
about German submarines

757
00:38:48,159 --> 00:38:49,961
called "The Sea Wolves."

758
00:38:50,061 --> 00:38:54,500
And George had his first clue as
to what happened to his father.

759
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:58,470
GEORGE BETTS: It told of how
this submarine, the U-123,

760
00:38:58,570 --> 00:39:02,173
as soon as they arrived
in their battle zone,

761
00:39:02,273 --> 00:39:06,845
they came upon the tanker
Muskogee and sunk it.

762
00:39:06,945 --> 00:39:10,281
After I got done at work
that day, I hopped In my car

763
00:39:10,382 --> 00:39:12,451
and rode north to
my mother's home

764
00:39:12,551 --> 00:39:15,587
to see if I could find out if
that's where the Muskogee had

765
00:39:15,687 --> 00:39:17,756
come from was Wilmington.

766
00:39:17,856 --> 00:39:18,824
And she said yes.

767
00:39:18,924 --> 00:39:20,726
And I said, well, then
I've just found out

768
00:39:20,826 --> 00:39:24,463
what happened to Dad's
ship when it went down.

769
00:39:24,563 --> 00:39:26,898
[music playing]

770
00:39:32,904 --> 00:39:36,174
NARRATOR: The Muskogee was
just one of the 413 ships

771
00:39:36,274 --> 00:39:39,711
sunk my German U-boats in 1942.

772
00:39:39,811 --> 00:39:43,048
29,000 merchant sailors
lost their lives.

773
00:39:43,148 --> 00:39:46,518
Among them, the 34 missing
mariners of the SS Muskogee.

774
00:39:50,556 --> 00:39:52,390
These are photographs
taken from the deck

775
00:39:52,491 --> 00:39:55,126
of the German
submarine in the U-123

776
00:39:55,226 --> 00:39:58,730
only minutes after it
torpedoed the Muskogee.

777
00:39:58,830 --> 00:40:01,132
They were taken by a
German war correspondent

778
00:40:01,232 --> 00:40:04,470
and show seven survivors
from William Betts' ship.

779
00:40:04,570 --> 00:40:09,074
All seven would perish at sea.

780
00:40:09,174 --> 00:40:11,510
These photographs took
George Betts an important step

781
00:40:11,610 --> 00:40:13,445
closer to uncovering
the complete story

782
00:40:13,545 --> 00:40:15,413
of his father's death.

783
00:40:15,514 --> 00:40:18,550
As George learned more about the
last moments of the Muskogee,

784
00:40:18,650 --> 00:40:21,319
he began to develop a bond with
this merchant marine captain

785
00:40:21,419 --> 00:40:23,121
he never really knew.

786
00:40:23,221 --> 00:40:25,090
By learning about
his father's death,

787
00:40:25,190 --> 00:40:27,626
he was establishing a closeness
they never shared in life.

788
00:40:30,829 --> 00:40:34,966
Well, it was fascinating
to see the pictures at last.

789
00:40:35,066 --> 00:40:41,573
And it made me feel
closer to my dad's demise

790
00:40:41,673 --> 00:40:45,110
when I saw the pictures
here in the book.

791
00:40:45,210 --> 00:40:46,478
I naturally looked
to see if I could

792
00:40:46,578 --> 00:40:50,982
recognize my father on the raft,
but I didn't see him there.

793
00:40:51,082 --> 00:40:54,786
And I could quite understand it
because the basic rules of sea

794
00:40:54,886 --> 00:40:57,756
are that the captain sees
that all able-bodied men are

795
00:40:57,856 --> 00:40:59,891
off the vessel
before he leaves it.

796
00:40:59,991 --> 00:41:03,328
Therefore, I felt it was a
safe assumption that my dad

797
00:41:03,428 --> 00:41:04,262
went down with his ship.

798
00:41:08,333 --> 00:41:12,303
NARRATOR: In 1979, George
contacted the National Archives

799
00:41:12,403 --> 00:41:15,406
in Washington, D.C. and
obtained a microfilm copy

800
00:41:15,507 --> 00:41:22,313
of German war records, including
the captain's log of the U-123.

801
00:41:22,413 --> 00:41:23,715
GEORGE BETTS: Of course,
it was in German,

802
00:41:23,815 --> 00:41:27,553
but I could see the American
name of the Muskogee ship sunk,

803
00:41:27,653 --> 00:41:29,921
and I could read
some of the fact

804
00:41:30,021 --> 00:41:32,891
that the ship was
being fired on.

805
00:41:32,991 --> 00:41:36,227
And I could see
where the Muskogee

806
00:41:36,327 --> 00:41:37,629
was on that plodding chart.

807
00:41:37,729 --> 00:41:38,730
And it would show the day.

808
00:41:38,830 --> 00:41:40,398
And he even had
it marked on there

809
00:41:40,498 --> 00:41:43,034
like SS Muskogee got sunken.

810
00:41:43,134 --> 00:41:46,938
They knew they'd sunk the ship.

811
00:41:47,038 --> 00:41:49,608
NARRATOR: Captain Reinhard
Hardegen commanded the U-123

812
00:41:49,708 --> 00:41:52,043
thought most of the war.

813
00:41:52,143 --> 00:41:55,847
He sunk 23 airline ships,
totaling 200,000 tons

814
00:41:55,947 --> 00:41:58,584
and was personally
congratulated by Adolph Hitler.

815
00:42:01,753 --> 00:42:05,356
Only one out of 10 U-boat
personnel survived the war.

816
00:42:05,456 --> 00:42:09,060
Reinhard Hardegen
was among them.

817
00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:11,830
After the war, he was elected
to the West German parliament

818
00:42:11,930 --> 00:42:14,499
and served 32 years.

819
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:16,635
George began
writing to Hardegen.

820
00:42:16,735 --> 00:42:20,238
And they agreed
to meet in Canada.

821
00:42:20,338 --> 00:42:22,007
GEORGE BETTS: I was all for it.

822
00:42:22,107 --> 00:42:24,976
At long last, I thought I'm
now going to talk to this man.

823
00:42:25,076 --> 00:42:27,713
I had no animosity toward him.

824
00:42:27,813 --> 00:42:30,481
That's the way I felt. I felt
her's one more World War II

825
00:42:30,582 --> 00:42:34,586
veteran that was on one side and
one World War II veteran that

826
00:42:34,686 --> 00:42:36,187
was on the other side.

827
00:42:36,287 --> 00:42:39,157
And, in our cases, we
were two of the lucky ones

828
00:42:39,257 --> 00:42:42,227
that survived the battles.

829
00:42:42,327 --> 00:42:46,064
NARRATOR: In October
of 1987, the two met.

830
00:42:46,164 --> 00:42:48,533
Reinhard Hardegen
gave George a chilling

831
00:42:48,634 --> 00:42:52,270
eyewitness report of the last
moments of the "Muskogee."

832
00:42:52,370 --> 00:42:57,442
In the morning of the
22nd of March in 1942,

833
00:42:57,542 --> 00:43:00,779
I saw steam and some mast.

834
00:43:00,879 --> 00:43:05,784
And then I tried to get in front
of the [inaudible] of the ship.

835
00:43:05,884 --> 00:43:08,854
The ship was zig-zagging a
little bit of nearly 15 degrees

836
00:43:08,954 --> 00:43:10,488
to every side.

837
00:43:10,588 --> 00:43:13,258
As nearly two hours, I
was in a good position.

838
00:43:13,358 --> 00:43:14,125
And then I dived.

839
00:43:18,997 --> 00:43:23,134
And then I shot a torpedo
with my [inaudible].

840
00:43:23,234 --> 00:43:28,807
This torpedo hit in the
engine room of the tanker.

841
00:43:28,907 --> 00:43:30,876
Therefore, the
tanker didn't burn.

842
00:43:30,976 --> 00:43:33,845
And she sank very quick.

843
00:43:33,945 --> 00:43:37,115
In a minute, it was
all over, and it

844
00:43:37,215 --> 00:43:43,822
was too short for the crew to
take lifeboats in the water.

845
00:43:43,922 --> 00:43:46,391
And, therefore, there
were only two rafts.

846
00:43:46,491 --> 00:43:51,730
I gave the crew on the rafts
food and water, cigarettes,

847
00:43:51,830 --> 00:43:53,531
and told them their position.

848
00:43:53,631 --> 00:43:56,968
I thought the next day a
ship would find the rafts.

849
00:43:57,068 --> 00:43:59,871
And so it was very
sad information for me

850
00:43:59,971 --> 00:44:01,873
to learn from George Betts
that no one of the crew

851
00:44:01,973 --> 00:44:02,774
were rescued.

852
00:44:07,212 --> 00:44:09,748
NARRATOR: Now that George knew
the truth about the Muskogee,

853
00:44:09,848 --> 00:44:11,850
he was determined to let the
families of the other crew

854
00:44:11,950 --> 00:44:15,120
members share in his knowledge.

855
00:44:15,220 --> 00:44:18,423
He managed to contact
eight families.

856
00:44:18,523 --> 00:44:21,893
In September of 1988,
he drove over 200 miles

857
00:44:21,993 --> 00:44:23,962
to meet with the family
of Clifford Chesley,

858
00:44:24,062 --> 00:44:26,765
the radioman of the Muskogee.

859
00:44:26,865 --> 00:44:31,269
Clifford was 26 when
he perished at sea.

860
00:44:31,369 --> 00:44:35,406
Now there's a picture
of the ship going down

861
00:44:35,506 --> 00:44:37,408
from the deck bridge of the--

862
00:44:37,508 --> 00:44:39,444
NARRATOR: The Chesley
family had no idea

863
00:44:39,544 --> 00:44:41,479
what had happened to Clifford.

864
00:44:41,579 --> 00:44:43,648
Thanks to George,
for the first time,

865
00:44:43,749 --> 00:44:45,383
the Chesleys learned
the fate of their loved

866
00:44:45,483 --> 00:44:49,254
one 46 years earlier.

867
00:44:49,354 --> 00:44:54,259
We just assumed that there
was either a storm or something

868
00:44:54,359 --> 00:44:56,561
that the ship was missing.

869
00:44:56,661 --> 00:45:02,000
Up until now, we didn't even
know actually if it went down.

870
00:45:02,100 --> 00:45:06,972
I mean, there were so many
prisoner of wars in my age now.

871
00:45:07,072 --> 00:45:10,108
It could've happened the
same thing back then.

872
00:45:10,208 --> 00:45:11,877
One day, I almost
thought I saw

873
00:45:11,977 --> 00:45:16,147
him walking across the street.

874
00:45:16,247 --> 00:45:17,682
They say everyone has a double.

875
00:45:17,783 --> 00:45:19,717
I almost ran over.

876
00:45:19,818 --> 00:45:24,689
And I just was wondering
where he could be.

877
00:45:24,790 --> 00:45:29,327
Now that I know it definitely
was the sinking of the boat,

878
00:45:29,427 --> 00:45:32,330
and it's gone, and
I definitely will

879
00:45:32,430 --> 00:45:37,402
believe my mind to
say my oldest brother,

880
00:45:37,502 --> 00:45:39,604
and that's how he's gone.

881
00:45:39,704 --> 00:45:43,508
It's just a little
more peace that finally

882
00:45:43,608 --> 00:45:46,077
knowing what really did happen.

883
00:45:49,514 --> 00:45:51,482
NARRATOR: Of the seven
men in this photograph,

884
00:45:51,582 --> 00:45:53,985
three have been identified.

885
00:45:54,085 --> 00:45:56,554
They are Third Mate
Nathaniel Foster,

886
00:45:56,654 --> 00:46:00,558
Chief Mate Morgan Finucane,
and able-bodied Seaman Anthony

887
00:46:00,658 --> 00:46:02,327
Sousa.

888
00:46:02,427 --> 00:46:05,396
The other four have
never been identified,

889
00:46:05,496 --> 00:46:08,333
but they are among these
34 men who disappeared

890
00:46:08,433 --> 00:46:10,468
on board the "Muskogee."

891
00:46:10,568 --> 00:46:13,771
Like so many brave men who
served in the merchant marine,

892
00:46:13,872 --> 00:46:18,076
they died unheralded,
unrecognized until now.

893
00:46:18,176 --> 00:46:21,980
[music playing]

894
00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:32,223
[theme music]

895
00:46:36,227 --> 00:46:38,997
Next week on "Unsolved
Mysteries," the story

896
00:46:39,097 --> 00:46:41,732
of a 16-year-old school
girl who vanished just yards

897
00:46:41,833 --> 00:46:43,634
away from her parents' home.

898
00:46:43,734 --> 00:46:45,736
A year later, she
may have been 1,000

899
00:46:45,837 --> 00:46:48,006
miles away in South Carolina.

900
00:46:48,106 --> 00:46:50,041
Then she disappeared again.

901
00:46:50,141 --> 00:46:53,411
Perhaps you could help
find Kari Lynn Nixon.

902
00:46:53,511 --> 00:46:55,246
Also, a fascinating
treasure hunt in New.

903
00:46:55,346 --> 00:46:58,149
Mexico 50 years
ago, a prospector

904
00:46:58,249 --> 00:46:59,951
discovered a maze
of secret tunnels

905
00:47:00,051 --> 00:47:01,953
in a mountain,
which he claimed led

906
00:47:02,053 --> 00:47:04,455
to an underground chamber
filled with gold bars

907
00:47:04,555 --> 00:47:06,357
and priceless relics.

908
00:47:06,457 --> 00:47:09,360
Join me next week
for another edition

909
00:47:09,460 --> 00:47:10,428
of "Unsolved Mysteries."

910
00:47:10,528 --> 00:47:14,065
[theme music]