Original subtitles

Narrator: The story you are aboutto witness is based on fact.

The names have not been changed,the identities of those involved

have not been disguised.What you are about to see is

the tragic tale of a happy youngcouple and the lurid and gruesome

end that befell them as theychose to take the path less

traveled. Making their story evenmore wretched is the fact that

not even a full forty eight hourshad passed between their wedding

ceremony and their cruel end.

[instrumental music]

Good evening. I m T.J. Emerson andwelcome to Under Investigation.

On tonight s episode we ll belooking at the case of Kimberly

and Keith Russell, a young newlywedcouple who came to these

idyllic mountains for a romantichoneymoon, only to never return.

Keith and Kimberly s story beginswith joy and celebration as they

spend their wedding with friendsand family, most of whom have

given up hope of ever seeingthe Russell s alive again.

Kim was a beautiful child, justfull of joy and um, light

and she just, every room shewalked in she just made

everybody feel comfortable.

Kim was always an excellent rolemodel. She was always, um, she

was always there for me. We prettymuch we got along as much as

most sisters do. She, um, she wasalways more artistic, more

creative, more brilliantthan I was.

Playing video games, going out inthe woods, exploring the world

You know, trudging through thecreeks, hiking on these trails

We would just talk about things.Just, talk about how the universe

worked.

Well, Keith was a real happy, uh,he was a real fun-loving boy. He

got into a lot of mischief,but, you know most boys do.

And then comes around, high school.You know we re 13, 14

years old. Suddenly he startsgetting into books and studying

a lot. And I just couldn t getinto it. I didn t want to think

about college, and that s allhe talked about.

I think that Keith and Kim werea perfect couple. He was really

the only person she ever trulyfell in love with, so I think that

they were good together.

When he met Kim that was a reallygood thing for him, and Kim really

made him happy, and, um, the twoof them were a good couple.

He didn t have a lot of luck withgirls for a lot of his life, so

it was really nice to see himhappy in that aspect of his life.

He went off to Tennessee whereshe was going to college and

came back, and they were engaged.He got a speeding ticket one way

or the other going there. No,it wasn t a surprise. Any time she

had time off from work she d cometo my house. One time, she

couldn t get in, so she crawledthrough the bathroom window and

knocked Dad s shaver off andsmashed it. What the? We ll never

forget that. I thought, How didshe ever get up to the bathroom

window? But she did.

When I first found out that theywere engaged, it was really

exciting. I know that she wasreally happy. That he makes her

happy that, You can kinda tellwhen they look at each other,

and the way they joke with eachother, and even the way they

get mad at each other thatthey re totally in love, and I

think that they ll They are, orthey would have been really

happy together.

After leaving the wedding receptionKeith and Kim checked

into this motel where they stayedthe night. The office clerk who

checked them out was the lastknown person to see the couple.

They left their car parked herein the parking lot as they

loaded up their camping gearin preparation of their trek

across the mountain pass.

[suspenseful music]

[country man by vicki forman]Sitting up all night, waiting for

a tune, I called your station,you ll play it real soon

You are the party,and I am your guest

It s my time to become obsessed,Country man, I m your crazy fan

Country man, crazy for youPlay the song that takes me back

To the lover that didn t lastDon t keep me waiting for my

request It s my time tobecome obsessed

Country man, I m your crazy fan,Country man, crazy for you

Country man, we re never apartCountry man, your song is living

in my heart My heart

My heart

You plague my heart with suchsweet words

You make me believe you remy only world

I close my eyes, my fantasy guestIt s my time to become obsessed

Country man, I m your crazy fan,Country man, crazy for you

Country man, I m your crazy fan,Country man, crazy for you

Crazy for you

Country man

Country man

Country man

Country man

Oh god, it s so nice to bealone, finally!

Yeah, I agree. Away from yourparents, away from my parents.

It was kinda getting a littlecrowded there towards the end.

A little bit.That s how weddings go.

People have to show up.Otherwise, it s depressing.

Yeah, well. For the most part.That was a fascinating speech

Ben gave. Yeah? You like that?

Yeah. No one knows me like Ben.

That s why I chose him.Good speech.

Yeah. It was very fascinating.Keith and Kim. Born to win.

Oh my god. That was great, though.

That was fun. Who else cansay they had that at

their wedding? Only us, I guess.I m kinda glad

like, um, Hm?

I m glad there was less dramathan I expected.

I m really sorry about my mom.You know, she just she doesn t

get it. She loves you, shereally does, she just doesn t

understand that just becauseyou re gonna be with someone you

don t have to be perfect.Hey. It s ok. Hard part s over,

right? Let s just have fun,not worry about it.

Yeah! Alright?You have the rest of

your life to worryabout your mom.

I guess. So, let s justhave a good time,

alright? Yeah? OK. OK.

Alright? Clean slate? Yeah.Yeah. OK. I love you.

I love you, too. Mr. Russell

Mrs. Russell

Oh, the wedding was beautiful.Um, Well, what can I say?

It was actually a really goodwedding. It had an open bar.

The bridesmaids were lookin good. There was some dancing

going on. I think it lastedfor a few hours. I think.

Well, the wedding was amazing.It was, It was wonderful.

Everyone was together.She was, of course, the

beautiful bride. She lookedgreat and Keith was handsome

and loving, and everyonehad a great time.

We had a wonderful time.

Well, when they left that wasjust the end of a wonderful day.

The couple was so happy.Keith and Kim.

All of their friends were there.The whole family was there.

That was just a memory thatwe ll all cherish, and that is the

last time that I saw him, but Idon t think it s the last time

I will see him.

They had, um, many, many presentsthat they decided that they

wouldn t open until they got backfrom their camping trip, so

I ve actually left all theirpresents in her room. Hoping,

you know, when they come back,or if they come back, that, you

know, they ll have that timetogether to open their presents

and make their new home.

No, I knew I was going to haveto write a speech once he told

me he was going to ask Kim tomarry him, and I m not,

I ve never really been too goodwith public speaking, so, I just

came up with something reallysimple and short that I thought

Keith would appreciate. Um,

Cause he knows I ve always seen,His life s just gone so

smoothly and him and Kim werea perfect match for each other.

That summed it up. Keith and Kim.Born to win.

I was honored to be his best man.

I wish he was going to bearound to be mine.

Kim: Do you think webrought enough food?

Keith: Well, if not, that s thebeauty of the wilderness.

Keith: You can live off it.

Kim: Why do you insist onmaking me a carnivore?

Keith: Well, I meant nuts andberries, but we could always

put a little meat in ya.

Will you hold my apple? Yeah.

You want wa wa?

Kim: Thanks, darlin .Keith: Anytime, my love.

Kim: Are you always gonnacall me that? My love?

Keith: Yeah. As long as youkeep calling me darlin .

[relaxing music]

Kim: What are you thinking?Keith: I don t know. I m

thinking about what presentsare waiting for us back home.

Kim: Yeah.Keith: I should have brought a

Frisbee. Kim: You know that little

cottage by my mom s house?Keith: Hmm

Kim: It was so cute.It was so perfect.

Kim: Keith, can we get a dog?Keith: You still want to get a dog?

Kim: Yeah, I still want to geta dog, you know that.

Keith: You really wannamove closer to your mom?

Kim: Of course! I love my mom!Keith: No. Look, your mom s

great, but every young lifein this world must, one day,

venture away from the nest.

Kim: So, what are you gonnawrite your bestseller about?

Keith: Well, it s the story ofa young Aztec slave who s been

chosen to be flayed andsacrificed alive to a god of

rebirth called Chepay Totek.Would you like a walking stick?

Kim: Oh, how sweet.Keith: When the priest comes

along to kill him, the slaveoverpowers him and kills him

instead, skinning him alive.Kim: Eww!

Kim: Are you happy about yourdad s present?

Keith: Oh my god.Kim: Yeah?

Keith: Grill from heaven.Kim: Of course you are.

Keith: Gonna grill that thinglike crazy when I get back.

Kim: Have you thought moreabout the dog?

Keith: [grunt]Kim: Oh, baby, please!

Keith: We could be the firstpeople to ever play Frisbee in

these hills.Kim: How do you know no one s

been here before?Keith: Well, they still couldn t

be as good as me. I will be thereigning Frisbee champ of

these hills.Kim: I m not convinced yet.

Keith: Well, I ll convince thehell out of you in our tent

tonight.Kim: Oh, really?

Keith: What kind of dog are youtalking about?

Kim: I m talking about the big,beautiful black lab that we

saw at the pound.

Keith: I m gonna build a hotrod when I get back.

Kim: Yeah?Keith: Yeah. Whatever. Win the

Nobel Prize. I m a dreamer,not a thinker.

Kim: Really? Well, I believewhat you re saying, so I guess

I have bigger expectations foryou than you have.

Keith: We should be playingFrisbee right now instead of

having this conversation.Kim: I d still kick your butt.

Keith: Over the cliff. Keeperof the water, please bestow your

blessing upon me.Kim: Here.

Keith: Thank you.

Keith: So, when the king sendsfor the sacrifice to be brought

before him, this young slaveshows up wearing the skin of the

old priest and all of his garments,and they have a fight, and the

slave has to overpower the kingfor control of the throne.

It s sort of an underdog story.Kim: I want a dog!

Keith: You want a dog?Kim: Yeah!

Keith: Alright.Kim: What? Really?

Keith: Well, no. I was justagreeing with you.

Kim: Oh, ok. You are good atFrisbee, but not as good as me.

Keith: You d probably throw itoff the first cliff we came to.

Kim: I m gonna beat you as soonas we get home.

Kim: I m gonna show you.Keith: It s easy to make

promises when there are noFrisbees lying around.

Kim: Wait a minute! Hey!Come here! Let s go this way!

Keith: Can we take like a10-minute break?

Kim: No, wait! Just a littlebit more.

Keith: See what I mean?Kim: No! Be careful! Be careful!

10 minutes.Really? OK.

Heavy bag.I know.

Wait a minute.Do you hear that?

What is that? Along A river.

Can we?You want a break down there?

Yeah. Please? Really?OK, come on!

Just watch for falling me.OK!

[soothing music]

I love you.I love you, too.

This is beautiful.No, you are.

No! You are obsessed withgetting my face wet!

You got my face wet.

We should go set up our tent.Yeah.

It s gonna be dark soon.We should.

I liked that.Me, too.

While hiking and camping in themountains may not seem like the

most ideal honeymoon to some,those closest to Keith and Kim

felt that nothing was moreappropriate.

They were pretty friendly.I didn t really have too much

with taking to them. You know,they said they was gonna be here

one night, and the next morning,they was getting ready to leave,

and they asked if they couldleave their vehicle here. I said,

well you can see there s notreally anyone staying here, it s

a pretty slow season, so I saidit wouldn t be too much of a

problem if it was just two days,three days. But, you know.

Come a week later, and it sstill there, I don t know what

to do. They didn t leave anumber. I didn t know what to do.

I towed their vehicle away.

I don t understand why he didn tsave up some money and take

Kimmy to Hawaii or Greece.

A lot of people were sayingthat, you know, they should go

to Hawaii. Normal honeymoonstuff, I guess. But that s not

how Keith is. He likes to do hisown thing. And, yeah, it was

kind of what I expected him towant to do on his honeymoon.

And he was lucky enough to meetsomeone that wanted to do the

same thing.

Not just on the honeymoon,but just in life.

Well, that s not so bad. Is it?

Yeah, it s not so bad. For you.

Thank you. Well, you know, I dcarry you over the threshold and

all, but you re already insidethe tent. And I think it s

about that time anyway.

What?

Come with me.What?

Just trust me. Come on.What?

Kim: Wow. This is so beautiful,Keith. How did you find this place?

Keith: I m not gonna lie.It took some planning and a

little bit of time. But I wantedto find something worthy enough

for my new wife, my beautifulnew wife. Something that could

hold up to her beauty.

Kim: You re so sweet. You know,this might sound cheesy and

kinda silly. But I was wondering.Do you remember the first day

we met?Keith: Yeah.

Kim: You do?Keith: Yeah, I definitely do.

Kim: You remember that?Keith: Kim, how could I forget

the first day we met? In frontof the university. I sat down

in front of the fountain.Gonna grade a bunch of papers

right there. And a beautiful,young coed from across the way

sitting on her bench informedme that if I didn t move my

stuff in about 30 seconds I dbe totally drenched with water,

and suggested I come over andshare the bench with her.

Kim: I did.Keith: And I worked my literary

department magic.Kim: Oh, you worked your magic,

huh? Well, I, You re cute.Keith: What can I say?

Kim: You re sweet. But what Iremember is a little bit

different. I remember seeingyour face for the first time

walking by me. Everyone elsewas sitting down studying and

you walk into this beautifulgarden of roses surrounding a

fountain, right near aroundwhere I was sitting. And then

you sat right on the fountain.I don t think you knew that

that was a fountain.Keith: I didn t.

Kim: It was so funny! You knowand, My gosh. Then,

It s such a beautiful sunset,isn t it?

Keith: You saved me from awatery fate.

Kim: I saved you. I m good.

Keith: Real good.

He was 15 when he made EagleScout. He was an excellent

scout and worked very hard forhis merit badges. He did

community work. Whatever wasrequired, he did.

She loved the woods. It wasgreat. She s kind of a natural

person. Just gets out intothe wilderness. That s where

she really is herself. Shereally becomes herself. She

loves nature and she lovesanimals.

They were always camping. Hedid a lot of the cooking

because he loved to do thecooking outdoors. And he d cook

for us when we d go campingas a family.

Hopefully when you learnsomething as a young child, you

save some of that and you llthink of it when the time

comes. How to stay warm atnight and how to feed yourself

so, I still have hope for them.

[relaxing music]

Hey.Hi.

Sleep good?Mm-hm. How bout you?

Yeah. Real good.Good.

It s great out here, huh?Mm-hm.

I m doing a littleprevisualization out here.

Check it out. That way? Top ofthe hill? We build a cabin,

alright? I cut the wood myself.Build it up from the ground.

It s good through winter,whatever you want. You re

inside. Big fire going. Pregnantbelly, maybe? Got your feet up?

I drag in a big deer I justkilled. Bare hands. Fair fight.

Nothin to worry about. I feedus, work on my book. You paint,

take care of baby together.

That sounds really nice.Yeah?

Yeah.

So, um. What happened toprofessor Keith Russell?

Big city?Well, I don t know. I mean,

there s all of this out here.It s like I don t wanna miss out

on it. If it pays the bills,then we re gonna do what we

gotta do. But, we could liverent free. I don t know.

I guess you re right.Babe. Just be aware. You know?

Yeah.It is nice, though. It s nice.

Keep it in the back of yourmind.

Well, right now it s in thefront of my mind.

That s good.

[suspenseful music]

[screaming]

Oh my god!

[grunting]

[grunting]

[yelling]

Ahh! No!

[groaning]

Ahh! No!

[biting]

[bone breaking]

Ahh!

What did you do?

What does it fucking look likeI did? Did you fucking see it?

You killed her!

What the fuck did you want meto do?

No, don t. You re not supposedto. You shouldn t have killed her!

You didn t have to kill her!

Baby, what the fuck else was Isupposed to do?

You re not supposed to kill!You can t kill!

It was coming right for us!No! No, you could have,

Kim!No!

Kim! Kim! Baby, I didn t have afucking choice. Did you fucking

see me? Did you fucking seewhat it was trying to do to you?

It would have fucking killedyou. What fucking else was I

supposed to do?

[crying]

[suspenseful music]

Go! Go!

Ahh!

Kim!

Kim! Kim!

[screaming]

Keith!

No! Ahh! No! Help me, please!

No!

Ahh! Ahh!

Please! Please!

Kim!

[crashing]

It s hard to say what happenedto Keith and Kim. Was it foul

play? Or a secret desire tostart over.

Hello.

Reporter: Hello. Would youplease state your name and how

you re involved in this case?

Hi. My name is Sargent Schulman,and I am the lead investigating

officer here. A lot of peoplehave a lot of questions about

this and unfortunately, we haveno facts, we have no answers.

Ibelieve that Keith and KimRussell are dead. If not, I

believe they want people tothink they are. We have combed

this whole entire area. We foundblood, we found a few teeth,

and we found hair. This was allsent to the state crime lab for

analysis, and the DNA testingcame back inconclusive. So,

there again, we don t have anyanswers.

Reporter: What makes you so surethey re deceased? You have no

answers. Couldn t there stillbe hope?

Sir, I know my job. I know thisarea. If somebody was out here

doing things, I would know that.

In my heart, I know she s sostrong and so brave, and I still

think she s out there. But,each day that goes by, I just,

I get more empty. And I keepworrying about her. So, I just

keep hoping and looking outfor her every day out the

window. And when I hear thedoor open up, I think it might

be her. I don t know. I just,I still have hope, but.

[grunting]

[growling]

[crying]

No!

Kim!

Kim!

Kim!

Kim!

[yelling]

Kim!

Kim!

Kim!

Kim!

[creepy music]

[cutting]

[fighting]

[screaming]

[beating]

[banging and screaming]

Kim: Keith!

No! Keith!

[banging and screaming]

[breaking]Kim: What was that?

Keith! No! Stop, please!Please don t hurt him!

Please, please stop! Please stop!

[crying]

Keith: Kim? Kim, are you ok?You monster!

Baby, I m ok. Be quiet! Shh!Don t say anything. Oh my god,

what did he do to you?What d he do?

Kim, I can t see you.Where are you?

I m right over here. I m overhere, baby. I can just see your

feet. I saw him break your leg.What else did he do to you?

He pinned my hands to the ground!But I m gonna get out of here.

Kim, I m going to get us outof here.

[yelling]

Yeah. Are you ok?

[screaming]

Kim: I can t get loose. I m nothaving any luck. I m bound.

I don t know. I can t get out.

I m sorry I killed that thing.This is my fault.

I shouldn t have killed it.

Don t say that. You were doingwhat you thought you needed to

do. And you were protecting me.

But it didn t work.I made things worse.

No, baby. It s ok. It s ok. Cause, cause we re gonna get

out of here. And we re gonna goreally far away and

we re gonna be ok. We re gonnabe ok. And we re gonna find that

place in the woods. That cabin,like you want.

Fuck that, baby. If we get outof here, I m never leaving

the city again!

Kim: We re gonna get out of here.

Kim: We re gonna get out of here.

Kim: We re gonna get out of here!

Kim: Any luck?

I love you, Kim.

I love you, Keith.

[screaming]

I got one.

Good job, baby! Good job! Comeon! Come on, if you get the

other one, we ll get out! We llget out. We ll get out if you

get the other one. Come on, baby.

[screaming]

Oh, I got em.

Baby! Come on! Ok, good job!Scoot over here! Come on!

Scoot over here! Help me out!

[grunting]

Kim: Ok, you can do it. Becareful! Be careful, baby! Baby.

[crying]

Oh! No! No!

[screaming]

[biting]

Ahh! Keith!

[crying]

No! No!

[screaming]

No! Keith! Let him go! Please!You son of a bitch!

Oh god! No!

[sawing]

No! No, don t! No! Let him go!No!

No! No! No!

[crying]

[sniffing]

No!

[crying]

[screaming]

[crying]

Ben Williams, Keith s BestFriend: Whatever happened.

Something bad happened, I know.

He s done everything he can tostop it.

Nancy Peterson, Kim s Mother:You know, Keith really, really

loves her. I know he would tryto protect her the best he could.

Debby Richardson, Kim s Friend:I don t think they made it. I

think if they were alive, theywould have found a way to get

ahold of somebody.

Nancy Peterson, Kim s Mother:I don t know. I think she s

young and she s strong andbrave. I still think there s

hope that she may come home.

Ben Williams, Keith s BestFriend: You know, I really don t

want to think something badhappened, but.

Nancy Peterson, Kim s Mother:I don t know where she s at.

Ben Williams, Keith s BestFriend: I m afraid he s dead.

Nancy Peterson, Kim s Mother:I keep thinking she s gonna walk

through that door and come home.

Debby Richardson, Kim s Friend:No matter which way it turns

out, I just wanna know whathappened to my friends. I wanna

know that they re ok or thatthey re not ok. I just wanna be

able to shut that door.

Kelly Peterson, Kim s Sister: Ithink that she has enough of a

strong will. I think that shewould try to stay alive whatever

situation she may find herselfin. I would like to see her come

home and live the rest of herlife and make more art and be

happy with her husband.

[sad music]

No!

No!

[suspenseful music]

[beautiful music]

T.J. Emerson: Keith Russell isfive feet eight inches tall.

He has brown hair and browneyes. His wife Kimberly is five

feet four inches tall with greeneyes and dark blonde hair.

Today, Keith would be 29, andKimberly, 27. If you have any

information concerning thewhereabouts of Keith and

Kimberly Russell, please call1-800-555-LOST. I m T.J. Emerson

and this is Under Investigation.

Ok, now, the search startedhere and the minimum we had was

15guys. We had dogs. We hadcadaver dogs. We cross the

creek here. I ll take you overthere in a bit. This is where

we found the clothing and upover there. I hope you re up for

that kind of a hike because yougotta go over that ridge about

a half mile. You gotta keep up.We re losing daylight here. We

found the teeth and a pool ofblood down the ravine on the

other side. Watch your step.

Reporter: We gotta go all theway over across that ravine?

I told ya it s gonna be a hike.

We ll cross right down here.

I ve been through this thingso many times, I can t tell ya.

Well, you ready?

[hissing]

Ahh!

[gunshots]

[biting]

[hissing]

[biting]

[hissing]

[biting]