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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:06,639 --> 00:00:10,640 {\an8}♪ 2 00:00:10,679 --> 00:00:12,759 In a Kentucky mall, you can meet 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,359 a very famous taxidermy bear. 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,280 This is my first time seeing the cocaine bear. 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:19,800 The what bear? 6 00:00:19,839 --> 00:00:22,559 Yes, the cocaine bear. 7 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,399 There's a reason why he's called the cocaine bear. 8 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,640 This story is amazing. 9 00:00:28,679 --> 00:00:30,920 {\an8}♪ 10 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:35,880 One day in the woods, a bear finds a huge bag of drugs. 11 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,719 And the bear got high. 12 00:00:38,759 --> 00:00:39,960 [ Bear growling ] 13 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,039 The cocaine was 95% pure. 14 00:00:43,079 --> 00:00:45,200 No, really, they found him laying there 15 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:47,600 with the cocaine around him. 16 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:48,679 [ Chuckles ] 17 00:00:48,719 --> 00:00:52,000 That's a very interesting story in itself. 18 00:00:52,039 --> 00:00:56,320 But this is the origin story of the cocaine bear, 19 00:00:56,359 --> 00:01:00,359 featuring the larger-than-life man who started it all. 20 00:01:00,399 --> 00:01:02,200 He was mercurial and mysterious. 21 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:03,719 He lived on the edge. 22 00:01:03,759 --> 00:01:08,519 He had a James Bond wristwatch that shot tear gas. 23 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,239 These are Kentucky Blue Bloods 24 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,920 that got together to go into full-time smuggling. 25 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,000 He was a bad dude! 26 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,040 This is such a powerful story. 27 00:01:17,079 --> 00:01:20,879 It has corruption, it has murder. 28 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,439 Judge John Wood was fatally wounded by a single gunshot. 29 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,640 Drugs, murders, gun running, you name it. 30 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,079 Holy crap, you would never believe it, 31 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:31,560 but it did actually happen. 32 00:01:31,599 --> 00:01:35,040 Believe it or not, this story even has cows... 33 00:01:35,079 --> 00:01:36,200 on drugs. 34 00:01:36,239 --> 00:01:38,439 Oh, come on! [ Laughs ] 35 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,280 This is the true story of the cocaine bear. 36 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:44,599 You wouldn't forget it. Let's put it that way. 37 00:01:51,120 --> 00:02:00,879 {\an8}♪ 38 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,319 The backwoods of the Chattahoochee National Forest 39 00:02:03,359 --> 00:02:07,799 in North Georgia are stark and remote. 40 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,360 In December 1985, a hunter finds something here 41 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,599 that sparks a legend. 42 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:15,400 {\an8}♪ 43 00:02:15,439 --> 00:02:20,800 This legend has grown to be quite a story. 44 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:22,599 And in 2023, that legend 45 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,280 is brought to life by an incredible movie. 46 00:02:26,319 --> 00:02:28,199 [ Bear roars ] 47 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,400 And soon the whole world is talking about it. 48 00:02:31,439 --> 00:02:34,080 Number one trend on Twitter. Everyone's talking about this. 49 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:35,199 [ Bear roaring ] 50 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,599 A bear did cocaine! 51 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,280 This will be the winner of the decade probably. 52 00:02:41,319 --> 00:02:43,599 Cocaine Bear, Fran. 53 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:45,400 Take One. Mark. 54 00:02:45,439 --> 00:02:49,240 {\an8}♪ 55 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,360 Well, my name is Francis Bishop Wiley. 56 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,199 And in December of 1985, 57 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,639 I was Assistant Special Agent in Charge 58 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,080 of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 59 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:02,280 in Gainseville, Georgia, 60 00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:05,879 and right now I'm retired. 61 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:07,400 I received a call at the office 62 00:03:07,439 --> 00:03:11,840 from a game warden in Fanon County, Georgia. 63 00:03:11,879 --> 00:03:15,000 And he advised that a hunter had found a bear 64 00:03:15,039 --> 00:03:18,120 in the woods on a mountain 65 00:03:18,159 --> 00:03:22,199 and that there was a parachute and a duffel bag close by. 66 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,199 I dispatched two of my agents to the scene. 67 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,400 They radioed back and advised me 68 00:03:27,439 --> 00:03:31,680 that there indeed was a bear, parachute, and duffel bag. 69 00:03:31,719 --> 00:03:33,479 So I said, well, this is very strange. 70 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,840 I mean, very odd that we would even find something like this. 71 00:03:36,879 --> 00:03:39,199 I told them to take it to the Georgia crime lab 72 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,879 in Atlanta, and they did take the duffel bag 73 00:03:42,919 --> 00:03:46,159 and found residue of cocaine on it. 74 00:03:46,199 --> 00:03:48,240 There was no cocaine in the duffel bag, 75 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:49,960 so where did the cocaine go? 76 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:51,719 Well, the bear ate it. 77 00:03:51,759 --> 00:03:57,120 {\an8}♪ 78 00:03:57,159 --> 00:04:02,520 {\an8}♪ 79 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,400 The bizarre story of this bear and what happened 80 00:04:05,439 --> 00:04:09,960 actually begins three months before. 81 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,400 [ Thud ] 82 00:04:12,439 --> 00:04:15,080 In the middle of the night, a Knoxville resident 83 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,959 is awakened by a sound from his backyard. 84 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,319 It wasn't until the next morning 85 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,720 that he looked in his driveway 86 00:04:23,759 --> 00:04:26,439 and immediately called the police. 87 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,000 {\an8}♪ 88 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:31,199 My name is Jimmy Jones. 89 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,360 I'm a retired Knox County sheriff. 90 00:04:33,399 --> 00:04:34,759 From the time I was 16 years old, 91 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,639 I knew I wanted to be in law enforcement. 92 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:39,120 We were just in the office that day. 93 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,079 It was a normal day, just like any other day. 94 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,560 The call came in from dispatch. It was an elderly gentleman, 95 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,759 and he said that there was a gentleman out in his driveway 96 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:50,360 who was trespassing, 97 00:04:50,399 --> 00:04:53,680 and if the police didn't come he would take care of it himself. 98 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,879 {\an8}♪ 99 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,600 The "trespasser" is the dead body of a skydiver, 100 00:05:01,639 --> 00:05:04,839 and JJ is called to the crime scene. 101 00:05:04,879 --> 00:05:14,639 {\an8}♪ 102 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:16,839 This is a very quiet community, usually. 103 00:05:16,879 --> 00:05:19,800 There's very little crime, very little happens. 104 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,600 When we arrived on the scene, the individual was found 105 00:05:22,639 --> 00:05:26,079 in the gravel driveway area between the houses. 106 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:28,600 {\an8}♪ 107 00:05:28,639 --> 00:05:31,120 We were surprised to see this individual here. 108 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:33,959 His parachute was kind of wadded up beside him, 109 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,279 like it hadn't fully opened. 110 00:05:37,319 --> 00:05:39,600 The gentleman was deceased. 111 00:05:39,639 --> 00:05:44,120 There was a duffel bag that was hooked to the individual. 112 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:46,000 The duffel bag contained somewhere 113 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:50,079 between 30 and 40 packages marked USA. 114 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,240 All of them were labelled the same way. 115 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:54,439 We knew when we cut into it, it was still moist, 116 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,800 and the smell would just hit you in the face. 117 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:00,800 It was a very high quality of cocaine. 118 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:03,759 {\an8}♪ 119 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,879 Somewhere between 30 and 40 kilos of cocaine. 120 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,759 It was probably worth hundreds of millions. 121 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:12,399 I was amazed. 122 00:06:12,439 --> 00:06:16,120 And I was just a kid. I mean, I wasn't but 24, 25 years old. 123 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,000 I had never seen anything like that. 124 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,160 It was like holy crap, you know? 125 00:06:20,199 --> 00:06:22,360 This-- You would never believe this happened 126 00:06:22,399 --> 00:06:24,879 in sleepy, little, old Knoxville, Tennessee. 127 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:27,959 [ Laughs ] 128 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,839 We continued to look at the body to evaluate it. 129 00:06:31,879 --> 00:06:35,680 There was at least one attack knife along with some daggers 130 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:40,120 or spears that were actually in a sheath on his arm, 131 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:41,519 night vision goggles. 132 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:45,519 There was about $5,000 in US currency. 133 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,000 There were precious and semi-precious stones 134 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,240 in a money belt. 135 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,519 He had some gold Krugerrands. 136 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:55,399 Nobody knew what a Krugerrand was. 137 00:06:55,439 --> 00:06:56,800 We heard of 'em, but nobody actually-- 138 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:59,319 I don't think anybody had ever seen 'em. 139 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,040 They were gold, and they have like a little kangaroo 140 00:07:02,079 --> 00:07:04,519 or an animal on the front. 141 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:09,399 {\an8}♪ 142 00:07:09,439 --> 00:07:13,839 Initially we had no clue what had happened. 143 00:07:13,879 --> 00:07:17,079 None of this is making sense for JJ and his team. 144 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,759 Who is this guy in the driveway? 145 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,000 There's some questions that really haven't been answered. 146 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:24,360 He was mysterious. 147 00:07:24,399 --> 00:07:28,360 He looked a lot like a soldier of fortune. 148 00:07:28,399 --> 00:07:30,879 He had a 9mm Browning high powered pistol 149 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,199 that was loaded with Teflon-coated 9mm bullets. 150 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,800 Those are the bullets that will penetrate a bulletproof vest. 151 00:07:37,839 --> 00:07:40,040 He also had a wristwatch 152 00:07:40,079 --> 00:07:43,519 that was like a James Bond wristwatch, 153 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,800 but it wasn't one that you would get out of a cereal box. 154 00:07:46,839 --> 00:07:52,759 It was actually a high-quality watch that shot tear gas. 155 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:57,120 I was amazed every time something came off his body, 156 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,199 a piece of equipment or whatever it was. 157 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,399 I mean, it was just more and more and more. 158 00:08:03,439 --> 00:08:07,920 He also had some very expensive shoes. 159 00:08:07,959 --> 00:08:11,000 In an odd fact that a lot of people noted at the time, 160 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,680 he was wearing Gucci loafers. 161 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:15,120 [ Ding! ] 162 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,800 {\an8}♪ 163 00:08:17,839 --> 00:08:20,160 I mean, we were still trying to put pieces together. 164 00:08:20,199 --> 00:08:22,160 We really didn't have anything. 165 00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:26,759 Then as more agencies became involved, 166 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:28,319 we ultimately found out 167 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,879 that the plane had crashed in North Carolina. 168 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:35,639 {\an8}♪ 169 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,639 The wreckage of the Cessna 404 is still scattered 170 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,600 across this ridge of the Nantahala Mountains. 171 00:08:41,639 --> 00:08:44,759 We did hear that a body had been found in Knoxville 172 00:08:44,799 --> 00:08:46,679 of someone who parachuted out of a plane, 173 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,159 and evidently, the parachute didn't open. 174 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,399 At this time, it kind of appears 175 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,840 that that may be involved with this. 176 00:08:53,879 --> 00:08:56,080 {\an8}♪ 177 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,360 The location of the plane in North Carolina 178 00:08:58,399 --> 00:08:59,799 is more than 100 miles 179 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,679 from the body of the mysterious parachutist. 180 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,279 The aircraft provides a vital clue-- 181 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,639 It's registered to a man from Lexington, Kentucky. 182 00:09:14,159 --> 00:09:16,399 In Lexington, the information filters down 183 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,600 to the local papers. 184 00:09:18,639 --> 00:09:23,200 {\an8}♪ 185 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,519 I was a investigative reporter at the Lexington Herald Leader 186 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:28,799 in Kentucky 187 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,159 from about 1979 to 1987. 188 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,320 {\an8}♪ 189 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,480 The body was identified as Andrew Thornton. 190 00:09:37,519 --> 00:09:40,919 And that erupted the newsroom at the time. 191 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:43,679 {\an8}♪ 192 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:44,799 Drew Thornton was someone 193 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:46,320 who had been in a position of authority, 194 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:48,960 a police officer who came from privilege. 195 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,159 He was a soldier, had, you know, been wounded in combat. 196 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,480 Personally, I wasn't all that surprised 197 00:09:54,519 --> 00:09:58,000 when I heard that he was dead in Knoxville in a driveway, 198 00:09:58,039 --> 00:09:59,600 having fallen out of a plane. 199 00:09:59,639 --> 00:10:03,000 He had lived on the edge and was-- 200 00:10:03,039 --> 00:10:05,039 His luck had run out. 201 00:10:08,039 --> 00:10:13,159 {\an8}♪ 202 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:18,240 {\an8}♪ 203 00:10:18,279 --> 00:10:20,799 With the body identified, police trace Thornton's 204 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,639 flight path all the way back to North Georgia. 205 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:26,840 We started receiving more information 206 00:10:26,879 --> 00:10:28,960 that there was more cocaine that had been dumped 207 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,200 along the way of his journey. 208 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,799 {\an8}♪ 209 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:37,679 The duffel bag Drew Thornton had strapped to his body 210 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:39,000 when he died 211 00:10:39,039 --> 00:10:41,639 was of the same make, color, and type 212 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:45,639 that they found close to the bear in Georgia. 213 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:49,879 The incredible story is quickly picked up by the TV networks. 214 00:10:49,919 --> 00:10:52,320 The medical examiner says the bear had been dead 215 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,200 for at least six weeks. 216 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,320 GBI agents recovered none of the cocaine. 217 00:10:57,360 --> 00:10:59,759 They said it could have been blown away by the wind 218 00:10:59,799 --> 00:11:01,320 or simply dissolved. 219 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:02,799 One thing's for sure-- 220 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:07,720 The bear did not eat 75 pounds of the stuff. 221 00:11:07,759 --> 00:11:11,240 We believe that the duffel bag that was found in Fanon County 222 00:11:11,279 --> 00:11:12,840 next to the bear 223 00:11:12,879 --> 00:11:17,320 also had 75 pounds of cocaine. 224 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:21,159 When we found it, there was no cocaine. 225 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,399 There was 75 pounds found with Andrew Thornton 226 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:28,039 in a similar duffel bag when he jumped to his death. 227 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,120 {\an8}♪ 228 00:11:30,159 --> 00:11:32,440 So who really is Andrew Thornton? 229 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,600 And how is he connected to the cocaine bear? 230 00:11:35,639 --> 00:11:37,799 To find answers, we need to go back decades 231 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,120 to the heartland of Kentucky's blue-blood society. 232 00:11:41,159 --> 00:11:48,480 {\an8}♪ 233 00:11:48,519 --> 00:11:55,679 {\an8}♪ 234 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:57,200 My name is Ron Bryant. 235 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,399 I was historian for the Kentucky State Park System 236 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,519 and director of Waveland State historic site. 237 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:09,399 My family has been in Kentucky for over 200 years. 238 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:11,159 Kentucky historian Ron Bryant 239 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,080 is a distant relative of Daniel Boone. 240 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,320 He knows Kentucky. 241 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:18,879 There was always old jokes in Kentucky 242 00:12:18,919 --> 00:12:21,200 about everyone being related to each other. 243 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,320 Well, in some cases, the gene pool was rather shallow, 244 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:25,879 I've got to admit. 245 00:12:25,919 --> 00:12:28,279 {\an8}♪ 246 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,000 But not with Andrew Thornton. 247 00:12:31,039 --> 00:12:33,600 Andrew was a child of privilege. 248 00:12:33,639 --> 00:12:35,000 None of this should have ever happened 249 00:12:35,039 --> 00:12:37,480 according to the way he was raised. 250 00:12:37,519 --> 00:12:42,000 When the news came that Andrew Thornton had died 251 00:12:42,039 --> 00:12:44,519 and how he died, 252 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:48,000 society was not only in a state of shock. 253 00:12:48,039 --> 00:12:51,120 It was in a state of absolute shock. 254 00:12:51,159 --> 00:12:53,879 {\an8}♪ 255 00:12:53,919 --> 00:12:57,519 Andrew Thornton II was the son 256 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:01,240 of, uh, Andrew Carter Thornton. 257 00:13:01,279 --> 00:13:04,000 The Thorntons had established themselves 258 00:13:04,039 --> 00:13:05,759 in the horse industry. 259 00:13:05,799 --> 00:13:07,960 And they knew their horses. 260 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,000 And they, in fact, had at least two derby winners. 261 00:13:11,039 --> 00:13:14,480 That's quite a feather in anybody's cap right there. 262 00:13:14,519 --> 00:13:16,519 {\an8}♪ 263 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:22,399 Andrew Thornton certainly had the breeding-- 264 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,440 [ Chuckles ] It's funny to use the word breeding 265 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:26,080 for someone from Lexington, Kentucky, 266 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,360 because that never hardly ever talks about people. 267 00:13:28,399 --> 00:13:29,559 It's only about horses. 268 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,639 But he really did have the breeding. 269 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:34,960 Andrew Thornton entered the University of Kentucky, 270 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,480 but his heart wasn't in it. 271 00:13:36,519 --> 00:13:38,039 So he left the University of Kentucky 272 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:42,960 after a short period of time and volunteered for combat. 273 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,399 {\an8}♪ 274 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,720 He went into the Army, actually won a purple heart. 275 00:13:50,759 --> 00:13:55,960 And he particularly liked flying and parachuting. 276 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:04,639 {\an8}♪ 277 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:09,399 In 1968, Thornton returns home a hero and gets married. 278 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:10,840 But it doesn't last. 279 00:14:10,879 --> 00:14:14,639 This man of action is looking for his next thrill. 280 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:18,799 He wanted something that was not staid and safe. 281 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:24,480 He wanted something that was, shall we say, nearly dangerous. 282 00:14:24,519 --> 00:14:26,399 {\an8}♪ 283 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,200 After having a very distinguished military career, 284 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:34,159 he came back, and he joined the police department. 285 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:39,279 Thornton liked the idea of being a police officer 286 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,440 because that was an adventuresome life. 287 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,720 {\an8}♪ 288 00:14:44,759 --> 00:14:46,000 My name is Jim Huggins. 289 00:14:46,039 --> 00:14:47,720 I was a supervisory special agent 290 00:14:47,759 --> 00:14:50,200 for the FBI in Lexington, Kentucky. 291 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:54,399 from 1986 to 1995 when I retired. 292 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:55,840 I worked very closely 293 00:14:55,879 --> 00:14:59,000 with the Kentucky State Police Intelligence Bureau. 294 00:14:59,039 --> 00:15:04,320 {\an8}♪ 295 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,799 In the '70s at that time, there was a lot of 296 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:08,600 drug activities starting to show up, 297 00:15:08,639 --> 00:15:11,440 particularly around the college campus area. 298 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,679 It was becoming a major crime problem 299 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,799 for the local law enforcement agencies at that time. 300 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:19,399 The Lexington Police Department 301 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,159 creates its first narcotics squad. 302 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,799 And the promise of action is a huge draw 303 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,159 for the young Andrew Thornton. 304 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,519 He volunteered for the Narcotics unit. 305 00:15:31,559 --> 00:15:34,559 His best friend, Bill Canan, was already working there. 306 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,080 Bill Canan came from a much different background 307 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:38,879 than Drew Thornton. 308 00:15:38,919 --> 00:15:41,200 His family was working class. 309 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,200 Drew Thornton likes the fact that Bill Canan is a tough guy. 310 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,039 As a pair, they're made for trouble. 311 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:54,159 {\an8}♪ 312 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,080 They were trying to infiltrate student groups 313 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:58,519 out at the University of Kentucky, 314 00:15:58,559 --> 00:16:00,480 and they would hang out in bars 315 00:16:00,519 --> 00:16:04,519 and dress like a regular student. 316 00:16:04,559 --> 00:16:09,600 There also were accusations that they would arrest a drug dealer, 317 00:16:09,639 --> 00:16:11,440 confiscate his drugs, 318 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,639 and then instead of turning them into the evidence locker 319 00:16:14,679 --> 00:16:19,440 like they should have, they'd keep them for themselves. 320 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:20,799 There were allegations that 321 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:24,879 they did in fact resell some of the drugs. 322 00:16:24,919 --> 00:16:28,559 It wasn't too big a leap for someone in a new narcotics squad 323 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,000 to think that maybe if they just held back a little bit 324 00:16:31,039 --> 00:16:33,320 of what, uh, they had confiscated 325 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:34,679 and then turned it back out on the streets, 326 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:36,639 that they could increase their income. 327 00:16:36,679 --> 00:16:39,840 But why would a wealthy member of the Lexington elite 328 00:16:39,879 --> 00:16:43,440 stoop to stealing drugs? 329 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:45,960 Nobody really, really, really knew 330 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,600 what Andrew Thornton was doing. 331 00:16:47,639 --> 00:16:51,240 There had been rumors that were going around 332 00:16:51,279 --> 00:16:54,679 that something was bad wrong with Andrew. 333 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,000 For Thornton, it may not have been simply 334 00:16:57,039 --> 00:16:59,200 just to get some extra money. 335 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,200 It may have been to do something 336 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,799 that other people couldn't do or wouldn't do. 337 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:08,799 It would go along with his whole soldier of fortune lifestyle 338 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:11,160 that he cultivated. 339 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,400 That would be his downfall, 340 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,240 changing him from a pillar of society 341 00:17:16,279 --> 00:17:19,640 into a pariah in society. 342 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,400 The charmed life of Drew Thornton is about to get darker 343 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:27,440 on the way to a rendezvous... with the cocaine bear. 344 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:42,319 In 1975, the cocaine bear was just a cub 345 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:45,519 learning the bear way of life in the woods of Georgia. 346 00:17:45,559 --> 00:17:48,880 {\an8}♪ 347 00:17:52,079 --> 00:17:56,400 Meanwhile more than 300 miles away in Lexington, Kentucky, 348 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,599 Drew Thornton is relishing his role as a dirty cop 349 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,319 with his tough guy partner Bill Canan... 350 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:04,680 a world away from his respectable upbringing 351 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,839 in Kentucky horse breeding society. 352 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,279 I think Andrew Thornton was one of these types of individuals 353 00:18:11,319 --> 00:18:13,480 that's grown up with a silver spoon, 354 00:18:13,519 --> 00:18:16,559 and they've gotten just about anything they wanted. 355 00:18:16,599 --> 00:18:20,039 So to have this kind of thrill 356 00:18:20,079 --> 00:18:22,000 is something that excites them. 357 00:18:22,039 --> 00:18:24,359 [ Chuckles ] He was a bad dude. 358 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,200 I don't think Andrew Thornton was rebelling 359 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,720 against his position in society. 360 00:18:29,759 --> 00:18:33,839 I think Andrew Thornton wanted a different type of life. 361 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:35,079 That's all it was. 362 00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:38,160 He saw himself as being an adventurer, 363 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,960 a person that literally lived on the edge. 364 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,519 Thornton helped create the myth of Drew Thornton. 365 00:18:45,559 --> 00:18:49,599 He tried to build an image of himself that was the superman. 366 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,079 But it went beyond what he was really capable of. 367 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:56,079 Always a show-off, Thornton liked to demonstrate 368 00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:57,680 his athletic arrest techniques 369 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,240 to his buddies in the police department. 370 00:19:00,279 --> 00:19:02,160 And so he tried to jump over a car, 371 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,839 and at the same time, he was wearing a weapon. 372 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:08,880 And the weapon went off, and it ricocheted and shot him. 373 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,759 [ Laughing ] 374 00:19:11,799 --> 00:19:13,680 {\an8}♪ 375 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,759 It does no more than graze his leg and his ego. 376 00:19:16,799 --> 00:19:19,440 But that doesn't stop him from escalating his game 377 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,079 from street dealing to flying illegal drugs into Kentucky. 378 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:27,240 {\an8}♪ 379 00:19:27,279 --> 00:19:29,519 I've been a pilot for over 40 years, 380 00:19:29,559 --> 00:19:30,720 and then later I became 381 00:19:30,759 --> 00:19:33,119 an aviation writer and photographer. 382 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,079 {\an8}♪ 383 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:37,440 I think one of the most fascinating stories you'll find 384 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,200 in drug smuggling is the story of Drew Thornton. 385 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,880 {\an8}♪ 386 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,079 {\an8}There's a personality type who looks for a way 387 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:51,039 to make life bigger. 388 00:19:51,079 --> 00:19:52,680 Sometime in the mid-'70s, 389 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:56,920 Drew Thornton decided to move beyond street level crime 390 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:58,559 and become a smuggler. 391 00:19:58,599 --> 00:20:02,599 Drew was primarily bringing really plane loads of marijuana 392 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,400 into Kentucky for distribution throughout the state. 393 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,119 I mean, this was a big thing. 394 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,799 They had devised a plan that worked well. 395 00:20:10,839 --> 00:20:14,240 All they did was go get it, transport it back, 396 00:20:14,279 --> 00:20:17,319 cut out the middle man. 397 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:22,480 I would have never imagined that this was happening. 398 00:20:22,519 --> 00:20:24,440 {\an8}♪ 399 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,240 Through their contacts in the Lexington drug scene, 400 00:20:27,279 --> 00:20:30,079 dirty cops Andrew Thornton and Bill Canan 401 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:32,920 establish a network of out-of-state wholesalers 402 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:37,319 who supply them with larger quantities of pot. 403 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:39,799 Thornton would be coming in on the weekend, 404 00:20:39,839 --> 00:20:42,880 when a lot of recreational flyers would be coming back in, 405 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,839 so the radar scopes would be full of airplanes. 406 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,160 And you could easily unload your luggage into a car, 407 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,400 head up the highway, and you're done. 408 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:57,319 Drew Thornton flew in many, many loads of marijuana. 409 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:00,079 He was making a substantial amount of money. 410 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:04,720 {\an8}♪ 411 00:21:04,759 --> 00:21:09,880 As 1976 draws to a close, life is good for the cocaine bear. 412 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,960 But 200 miles away, things are about to get complicated 413 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,279 for our pair of dirty cops. 414 00:21:15,319 --> 00:21:21,880 {\an8}♪ 415 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,680 In the late '70s, when the narcotics squad in Lexington 416 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,440 was cultivating people who could become informants, 417 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,559 one of those people was Melanie Flynn. 418 00:21:30,599 --> 00:21:33,240 Melanie Flynn met Bill Canan, 419 00:21:33,279 --> 00:21:35,559 who was trying to use her as an informant. 420 00:21:35,599 --> 00:21:38,079 She was furnishing him with information 421 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:40,079 about drug users and purchasers 422 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,680 around the University of Kentucky. 423 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:43,759 Melanie by all accounts 424 00:21:43,799 --> 00:21:46,519 was just helping out the local cops. 425 00:21:46,559 --> 00:21:48,920 She felt like this was the right thing to do. 426 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,480 Melanie doesn't know she is working with crooked cops. 427 00:21:52,519 --> 00:21:54,160 But soon she begins to suspect 428 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,480 that the drugs circulating in Lexington 429 00:21:56,519 --> 00:22:00,039 are being supplied by Drew Thornton and Bill Canan. 430 00:22:00,079 --> 00:22:01,839 And I think they became concerned 431 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,240 that she may be a threat to their operations 432 00:22:04,279 --> 00:22:05,440 and would go to the authorities 433 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:09,359 and cause them some major problems. 434 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:14,119 She leaves work one day and is going home 435 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:16,519 and is never seen again. 436 00:22:16,559 --> 00:22:23,400 {\an8}♪ 437 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:25,400 Her car was later found abandoned 438 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,240 in an apartment complex on the north side of Lexington. 439 00:22:29,279 --> 00:22:32,240 {\an8}♪ 440 00:22:32,279 --> 00:22:36,240 She was last seen about two blocks away 441 00:22:36,279 --> 00:22:37,599 parked at an intersection, 442 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,240 talking to two people in a dark van. 443 00:22:41,279 --> 00:22:45,000 An investigation later by Kentucky State Police, 444 00:22:45,039 --> 00:22:48,119 there was some belief that maybe those two individuals 445 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,880 had been Drew Thornton and Bill Canan. 446 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,880 {\an8}♪ 447 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,559 When you go from drug smuggling 448 00:22:56,599 --> 00:22:58,839 and you escalate to a crime of murder, 449 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,880 that's really taken it to a whole 'nother level. 450 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,279 And that has not been proven yet 451 00:23:04,319 --> 00:23:07,640 of however Melanie Flynn is still missing. 452 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:14,480 {\an8}♪ 453 00:23:14,519 --> 00:23:21,200 {\an8}♪ 454 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,400 After Melanie Flynn's disappearance, 455 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:24,720 a pocketbook that she was carrying 456 00:23:24,759 --> 00:23:27,880 was found by a fisherman in the Kentucky River. 457 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:32,680 And in that were some medications that were hers. 458 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:36,319 Melanie Flynn is probably one of the most tragic characters 459 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:37,880 in all of this. 460 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:40,799 To this day, we don't know what really happened to her. 461 00:23:40,839 --> 00:23:46,000 And the rumor mill was running very, very much. 462 00:23:46,039 --> 00:23:47,480 One rumor is that Drew Thornton 463 00:23:47,519 --> 00:23:50,880 is the subject of an internal affairs investigation. 464 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:52,559 He quits the police. 465 00:23:52,599 --> 00:23:55,640 Now he's free to move into full-time smuggling... 466 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,079 and the path is clearing for his final flight 467 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:00,519 over the woods of North Georgia. 468 00:24:06,319 --> 00:24:10,920 {\an8}♪ 469 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:15,039 In the woods of North Georgia, an innocent bear has no idea 470 00:24:15,079 --> 00:24:19,680 that there is a man 200 miles away plotting something so huge 471 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,680 that their worlds will one day collide. 472 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:28,920 I have heard many people say in talking about Andrew Thornton, 473 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,519 they would relate him to the myth of Icarus 474 00:24:32,559 --> 00:24:34,759 flying too close to the sun. 475 00:24:34,799 --> 00:24:36,759 And that's exactly what he did. 476 00:24:36,799 --> 00:24:38,400 [ Chuckles ] 477 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,440 {\an8}♪ 478 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,680 By 1977, Drew Thornton is no longer a cop 479 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,519 and can now expand his drug smuggling business 480 00:24:49,559 --> 00:24:52,880 with no one looking over his shoulder. 481 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,920 He thought of himself as smarter than everybody else, 482 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:58,200 had no fear. 483 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,200 And he would push that envelope 484 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,000 where many people wouldn't do that. 485 00:25:03,039 --> 00:25:07,480 The only way for Thornton to go big is to find new partners. 486 00:25:07,519 --> 00:25:10,279 He turns to an old friend from Lexington, 487 00:25:10,319 --> 00:25:13,160 a man named Bradley Bryant. 488 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:17,839 Bradley Bryant was a childhood school friend of Drew Thornton. 489 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,000 {\an8}They went to the same private school in Lexington, 490 00:25:20,039 --> 00:25:22,240 {\an8}and they both went to the military academy, 491 00:25:22,279 --> 00:25:24,480 {\an8}so they had a long history. 492 00:25:24,519 --> 00:25:28,119 {\an8}Bryant was even Thornton's best man at his wedding. 493 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:29,599 They were the salt of the earth. 494 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:33,279 They were-- They were the bastions of society. 495 00:25:33,319 --> 00:25:35,519 {\an8}♪ 496 00:25:35,559 --> 00:25:39,000 Bradley Bryant isn't just an old buddy of Thornton's, 497 00:25:39,039 --> 00:25:40,960 he's a successful businessman 498 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,279 with links to organized crime all over the country. 499 00:25:44,319 --> 00:25:47,799 And he wants to be a player in Sin City. 500 00:25:47,839 --> 00:25:53,799 {\an8}♪ 501 00:25:53,839 --> 00:25:57,240 Bradley Bryant went to Las Vegas, 502 00:25:57,279 --> 00:26:02,799 and he met the Chagra brothers, Lee and Jimmy Chagra. 503 00:26:02,839 --> 00:26:05,839 {\an8}♪ 504 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,559 The Chagras were major, major players 505 00:26:08,599 --> 00:26:11,200 in the drug business. 506 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:16,599 They had connections with South America, Mexico, Colombia. 507 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,839 {\an8}♪ 508 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,599 Jimmy and Lee Chagra would allow Drew Thornton 509 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,960 to import larger amounts of marijuana. 510 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,039 {\an8}♪ 511 00:26:27,079 --> 00:26:30,119 Andrew wasn't afraid to, to go to South America 512 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:31,799 and risk his life doing it. 513 00:26:31,839 --> 00:26:34,359 But I think that was part of the attraction for him. 514 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:39,640 {\an8}♪ 515 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,200 If you're gonna bring in tons of marijuana, 516 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,720 you're gonna need an airplane capable of hauling that. 517 00:26:45,759 --> 00:26:49,920 Drew Thornton was flying a four-engine cargo aircraft, 518 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:51,359 a World War II plane 519 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:56,720 that was able to carry tons of marijuana into Kentucky. 520 00:26:56,759 --> 00:26:59,519 Thornton's route takes him from South America, 521 00:26:59,559 --> 00:27:04,240 up the coast of Florida, and over North Georgia-- 522 00:27:04,279 --> 00:27:06,960 the home territory of the cocaine bear. 523 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:08,599 [ Bear growls ] 524 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:10,240 {\an8}♪ 525 00:27:10,279 --> 00:27:13,440 He was bringing in what's estimated to be 10,000 pounds, 526 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,599 five tons of marijuana. 527 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:23,119 In today's money, that's $5 million. 528 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:24,640 These are Kentucky Blue Bloods 529 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,200 that got together to go into full-time smuggling 530 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,000 and were pretty successful at it. 531 00:27:29,039 --> 00:27:33,039 People don't understand what a process it would be 532 00:27:33,079 --> 00:27:35,000 to fly into a foreign country, 533 00:27:35,039 --> 00:27:39,640 with a load of drugs coming back to the United States of America. 534 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:41,920 That takes a unique individual. 535 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:45,640 They quickly ratcheted up their business, 536 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,200 becoming a major organization in the southeast, 537 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,079 maybe the biggest at that time. 538 00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:52,880 I mean, it was-- it-- it-- 539 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:54,759 it was unbelievable. 540 00:27:54,799 --> 00:27:59,680 {\an8}♪ 541 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,960 Drew Thornton and Bradley Bryant are raking in the cash 542 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,880 on their way to the top of the drug smuggling food chain. 543 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,559 {\an8}♪ 544 00:28:09,599 --> 00:28:11,680 But they're so busy living the high life, 545 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:13,519 they ignore the warning signs 546 00:28:13,559 --> 00:28:16,359 that it's all about to come crashing down. 547 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:21,240 {\an8}♪ 548 00:28:21,279 --> 00:28:25,000 In 1978, Lee Chagra was assassinated 549 00:28:25,039 --> 00:28:27,200 {\an8}in his office. 550 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,319 {\an8}The suspicion was obviously that it was a retaliation 551 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:33,319 {\an8}for some crime that had gone bad. 552 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:34,680 {\an8}Lee Chagra's death brings 553 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,680 {\an8}unwanted police attention for Thornton. 554 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:42,519 {\an8}Within months, Jimmy Chagra is arrested for drug trafficking. 555 00:28:42,559 --> 00:28:45,000 And this sets in motion a bizarre series of events 556 00:28:45,039 --> 00:28:49,200 that will send Thornton's life into free-fall. 557 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:53,519 Jimmy Chagra was to go on trial for his criminal activities. 558 00:28:53,559 --> 00:28:56,400 That trial that would be under the, uh, supervision 559 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,039 of Judge John Wood. 560 00:28:59,079 --> 00:29:00,799 Was often known as Maximum John 561 00:29:00,839 --> 00:29:03,400 for the sentences he would hand out. 562 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:06,400 The day before the trial was scheduled to start, 563 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:09,799 Judge Wood was assassinated in his driveway. 564 00:29:09,839 --> 00:29:13,240 {\an8}♪ 565 00:29:13,279 --> 00:29:16,000 Judge John Wood was fatally wounded by a single gunshot 566 00:29:16,039 --> 00:29:18,000 as he was getting in his car this morning. 567 00:29:18,039 --> 00:29:19,920 Emergency attendants worked on the judge 568 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:21,799 but could not revive him. 569 00:29:21,839 --> 00:29:27,359 {\an8}♪ 570 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:30,519 John Wood was assassinated by a hit man 571 00:29:30,559 --> 00:29:33,839 hired by Jimmy Chagra. 572 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,240 It's hard to imagine what Thornton's associate 573 00:29:36,279 --> 00:29:40,000 was thinking when he ordered the hit. 574 00:29:40,039 --> 00:29:43,240 It didn't make a lot of sense in many, many ways. 575 00:29:43,279 --> 00:29:46,559 It just simply wasn't done. 576 00:29:46,599 --> 00:29:50,519 People just didn't do things like that. 577 00:29:50,559 --> 00:29:54,319 Perhaps it was scare tactics, but it didn't work. 578 00:29:54,359 --> 00:29:57,680 Jimmy Chagra went down for 30 years. 579 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,200 But that's not the strangest twist in this assassination. 580 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:07,960 Chagra had hired a gentleman named Charles Harrelson. 581 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,759 If the name Charles Harrelson is familiar, 582 00:30:10,799 --> 00:30:14,359 it's because the hit man has a Hollywood connection. 583 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:19,279 He's the father of actor Woody Harrelson. 584 00:30:19,319 --> 00:30:23,000 {\an8}♪ 585 00:30:23,039 --> 00:30:25,640 The Wood killing was international news. 586 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:27,359 Everybody in law enforcement in the United States 587 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:28,680 knew about it. 588 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:30,640 That was a line that had not been crossed. 589 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,559 A lot of attention was on anything that happened to do 590 00:30:33,599 --> 00:30:37,039 with the Chagra Brothers, including Drew Thornton. 591 00:30:37,079 --> 00:30:41,079 Suddenly Drew Thornton of little-old Lexington, Kentucky, 592 00:30:41,119 --> 00:30:43,519 is on the radar of the FBI. 593 00:30:43,559 --> 00:30:45,960 There's nowhere left to hide. 594 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:58,160 {\an8}♪ 595 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:02,519 The cocaine bear was the second case that was worked in Georgia 596 00:31:02,559 --> 00:31:06,839 where an animal had come to its demise from cocaine. 597 00:31:10,039 --> 00:31:13,200 In September of 1982, the sheriff's office had called 598 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:18,039 and said a farmer had found a blue canister cylinder 599 00:31:18,079 --> 00:31:21,519 in his pasture with his cows. 600 00:31:21,559 --> 00:31:24,880 And his cows had gotten into the cylinder. 601 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:25,920 [ Cow moos ] 602 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:27,880 And I said are you crazy? 603 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,279 The cows had white powder all over their noses. 604 00:31:31,319 --> 00:31:35,039 {\an8}♪ 605 00:31:35,079 --> 00:31:37,880 There's something going on here. 606 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,279 But where did the cows get their cocaine? 607 00:31:41,319 --> 00:31:43,079 [ Cow grunts ] 608 00:31:46,359 --> 00:31:50,599 Could it be the same supplier to our legendary bear? 609 00:31:52,039 --> 00:31:56,759 {\an8}♪ 610 00:31:56,799 --> 00:32:01,519 But back in 1980, Drew Thornton isn't a cocaine smuggler. 611 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:07,279 He's running marijuana 612 00:32:07,319 --> 00:32:09,319 and lots of it. 613 00:32:09,359 --> 00:32:12,480 {\an8}♪ 614 00:32:12,519 --> 00:32:14,559 After the murder of a federal judge, 615 00:32:14,599 --> 00:32:18,839 Thornton becomes a person of interest for the FBI. 616 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:20,680 {\an8}♪ 617 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,480 We got notified immediately from FBI headquarters 618 00:32:23,519 --> 00:32:25,079 that a federal judge had been murdered, 619 00:32:25,119 --> 00:32:29,279 and there might be a person in Lexington involved in that. 620 00:32:29,319 --> 00:32:31,799 The FBI has the killer 621 00:32:31,839 --> 00:32:34,960 and the man who ordered the hit. 622 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,920 Now they are shaking down all of his criminal contacts. 623 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,799 But despite the heat, 624 00:32:42,839 --> 00:32:45,039 Thornton and his old buddy Bradley Bryant 625 00:32:45,079 --> 00:32:47,000 are still smuggling. 626 00:32:47,039 --> 00:32:50,400 Thornton was living a very, very good life, 627 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:53,880 and Bryant was after the money. 628 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:55,480 So they gambled. 629 00:32:55,519 --> 00:32:58,519 And that's an old Kentucky vice, of course. 630 00:32:58,559 --> 00:33:02,799 They gambled, and they lost, and they lost big time. 631 00:33:02,839 --> 00:33:10,319 {\an8}♪ 632 00:33:10,359 --> 00:33:15,279 In 1981 at a hotel at the Philadelphia airport, 633 00:33:15,319 --> 00:33:18,559 Bradley Bryant's luck ran out. 634 00:33:18,599 --> 00:33:21,880 He was arrested with a huge supply 635 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:25,960 of automatic weapons, night vision goggles, 636 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,920 and sophisticated communication gear, 637 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,000 something that one federal agent told me 638 00:33:30,039 --> 00:33:33,920 looked a lot like a complicated assassination kit. 639 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,759 Another weapons stash is discovered by the feds 640 00:33:36,799 --> 00:33:39,880 in a Lexington warehouse owned by Bryant. 641 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:46,880 {\an8}♪ 642 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:51,880 He's sentenced to 15 years in jail, 643 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:55,680 and there's bad news for the drug operation's star pilot. 644 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,759 Hidden among the weapons is a notebook. 645 00:33:59,799 --> 00:34:02,920 Written inside is the name Andrew Thornton, 646 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:07,319 along with code words for marijuana smuggling missions. 647 00:34:07,359 --> 00:34:08,760 Thornton became fearful 648 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:12,880 for the attention that was gonna come to bear on him. 649 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:15,039 He immediately dropped outta sight. 650 00:34:15,079 --> 00:34:17,679 {\an8}♪ 651 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,079 It turned out that he was on the run, 652 00:34:20,119 --> 00:34:23,840 and he was still up to his old tricks, flying his airplane. 653 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:28,159 {\an8}♪ 654 00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:33,440 For months, Thornton flies from airport to airport, 655 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:36,880 staying under the radar and avoiding capture. 656 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:40,480 Thornton liked the idea of risk. 657 00:34:40,519 --> 00:34:45,679 He loved excitement, he loved adventure. 658 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:49,440 He would have enjoyed that immensely. 659 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:56,079 {\an8}♪ 660 00:34:56,119 --> 00:34:58,000 He landed at an airport in North Carolina, 661 00:34:58,039 --> 00:35:00,920 and customs officials were intercepting his communication 662 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:02,400 and tracking his flights. 663 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,719 [ Indistinct radio chatter ] 664 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:07,480 And that's where they got him. 665 00:35:07,519 --> 00:35:14,480 {\an8}♪ 666 00:35:14,519 --> 00:35:16,840 But he wasn't caught with drugs. 667 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:18,679 {\an8}♪ 668 00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:22,199 Thornton's plane is completely clean. 669 00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:24,079 Someone could have tipped him off... 670 00:35:24,119 --> 00:35:27,880 or he just got lucky. 671 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:34,199 Thornton was a very, very, very lucky man in many, many ways. 672 00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:36,119 The evidence against him is thin. 673 00:35:36,159 --> 00:35:38,840 Thornton was under suspicion for drug trafficking. 674 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,440 He was indicted for a conspiracy involving drugs, 675 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:45,639 pleaded no contest to a single count of marijuana smuggling. 676 00:35:45,679 --> 00:35:50,079 Thornton gets off easy and only serves five months. 677 00:35:50,119 --> 00:35:53,639 {\an8}♪ 678 00:35:53,679 --> 00:35:55,480 With all his friends in prison, 679 00:35:55,519 --> 00:35:58,639 Thornton's marijuana empire has collapsed. 680 00:35:58,679 --> 00:36:01,920 But he's not ready to give up just yet. 681 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,039 {\an8}♪ 682 00:36:04,079 --> 00:36:06,360 That's when Drew Thornton became the lone wolf. 683 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:08,599 He used what connections he had 684 00:36:08,639 --> 00:36:12,119 to start bringing in cocaine... 685 00:36:12,159 --> 00:36:14,079 [ Bear growls ] 686 00:36:14,119 --> 00:36:16,599 ...which changed everything. 687 00:36:16,639 --> 00:36:18,800 [ Indistinct conversations ] 688 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:21,239 {\an8}♪ 689 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,960 In the '70s, there was a huge appetite for marijuana 690 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,039 in the United States, 691 00:36:26,079 --> 00:36:30,760 but then in the '80s, the appetite shifted to cocaine. 692 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:31,960 It became the drug of choice. 693 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,800 A lot of celebrities were using it, 694 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:38,079 and it was attractive for the smugglers. 695 00:36:38,119 --> 00:36:40,599 I joined DEA in 1983, 696 00:36:40,639 --> 00:36:45,599 I was assigned to working drug cases throughout Kentucky 697 00:36:45,639 --> 00:36:48,920 that took me to South America. 698 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:54,480 Once I joined DEA, I learned a lot about Andrew Thornton. 699 00:36:54,519 --> 00:36:57,280 Andrew went from flying tons of marijuana 700 00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,920 to flying kilos of cocaine, 701 00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:01,920 because it took a much smaller airplane, 702 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:05,280 which was less noticeable by law enforcement. 703 00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,519 You could make 10 times the amount of money easily on a run 704 00:37:08,559 --> 00:37:10,280 that you would with marijuana. 705 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:13,880 And a pilot like Drew Thornton could do everything on his own. 706 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:18,079 {\an8}♪ 707 00:37:18,119 --> 00:37:23,159 By 1983, Thornton's using his connections in Colombia 708 00:37:23,199 --> 00:37:26,559 to smuggle cocaine into America. 709 00:37:26,599 --> 00:37:29,480 I knew that he was a major drug smuggler. 710 00:37:29,519 --> 00:37:31,760 And several agencies were working 711 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:35,280 to build a case against Andrew Thornton. 712 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:39,039 He's now set for the flight that will make him infamous 713 00:37:39,079 --> 00:37:43,519 and forever connected to the fate of the cocaine bear. 714 00:37:49,559 --> 00:37:53,800 {\an8}♪ 715 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:58,519 It's 1985, and Andrew Thornton is back in the big time, 716 00:37:58,559 --> 00:38:01,880 smuggling cocaine into Kentucky. 717 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:04,440 But in the legend of the cocaine bear, 718 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:06,800 his fate is sealed, 719 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:09,280 and his end is fast approaching. 720 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:16,599 {\an8}♪ 721 00:38:16,639 --> 00:38:21,039 On the night of September the 10th, 1985, 722 00:38:21,079 --> 00:38:25,199 he flew a load of cocaine into the United States from Colombia. 723 00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:27,440 {\an8}♪ 724 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:32,440 His goal was to move cocaine into the Lexington area, 725 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:34,880 with an intermediate stop in Georgia 726 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:37,119 where he had some co-conspirators 727 00:38:37,159 --> 00:38:39,239 waiting to offload the airplane. 728 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:40,920 You just don't get in a plane and fly to Colombia 729 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,039 and pick up a load of cocaine and come back. 730 00:38:43,079 --> 00:38:46,840 This would have taken some serious prior planning. 731 00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:48,679 {\an8}♪ 732 00:38:48,719 --> 00:38:51,280 Thornton's journey started as planned. 733 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:53,679 He passed Cuba and navigated the coast of Florida 734 00:38:53,719 --> 00:38:56,559 without incident. 735 00:38:56,599 --> 00:38:59,480 But what happened next? 736 00:38:59,519 --> 00:39:03,119 There are certain facts upon which most investigators agree. 737 00:39:03,159 --> 00:39:06,719 {\an8}♪ 738 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,320 Thornton did not make his landing in Georgia. 739 00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,039 Was flying over the National Forest in Georgia 740 00:39:13,079 --> 00:39:16,440 and started throwing out cocaine into the forest. 741 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:18,960 {\an8}♪ 742 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,320 Probably worth hundreds of millions. 743 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:25,599 He attached the duffel bags to parachutes, 744 00:39:25,639 --> 00:39:27,239 pushed them out of the airplane, 745 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:31,360 and then he had about 75 pounds of cocaine strapped to his body. 746 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:33,280 {\an8}♪ 747 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:35,920 And then with the remaining cocaine strapped to him, 748 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:38,440 he put the airplane on autopilot 749 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:42,199 somewhere near the Knoxville downtown airport, jumped... 750 00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:50,159 And then something happened that he didn't expect to happen. 751 00:39:50,199 --> 00:39:51,880 [ Thud ] 752 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:02,679 How did Andrew Thornton parachute to his death? 753 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:08,039 People do have a number of different theories 754 00:40:08,079 --> 00:40:10,559 to how this happened, why it went bad. 755 00:40:10,599 --> 00:40:14,239 {\an8}♪ 756 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:15,559 The most common story I heard 757 00:40:15,599 --> 00:40:18,239 was that the main chute did not fully open 758 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:20,639 for unknown reasons. 759 00:40:20,679 --> 00:40:24,480 The reserve chute also did not fully inflate. 760 00:40:24,519 --> 00:40:28,000 {\an8}♪ 761 00:40:28,039 --> 00:40:30,760 People noted at the time that there was an obvious cut 762 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:34,119 or bruise on his head, and so perhaps he hit his head 763 00:40:34,159 --> 00:40:37,320 going out the door of the airplane. 764 00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:38,679 He was unconscious, 765 00:40:38,719 --> 00:40:41,760 didn't have an opportunity to pull his chute. 766 00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:43,760 It also may have had something to do with 767 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,400 Thornton carrying all that cocaine on him. 768 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,519 {\an8}♪ 769 00:40:49,559 --> 00:40:54,599 From the injuries to his face, the medical examiner believed 770 00:40:54,639 --> 00:40:57,800 that load of cocaine had swung back around 771 00:40:57,840 --> 00:41:00,039 and caught him in the face and either knocked him out 772 00:41:00,079 --> 00:41:02,719 or addled him to where he was confused. 773 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:05,800 You know, so, it would be a pretty good lick. 774 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:13,039 But what compelled Thornton to jump out of the plane? 775 00:41:13,079 --> 00:41:15,239 The word on the street was he felt like 776 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:18,440 he was being surveilled by customs or DEA. 777 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:20,480 [ Indistinct radio chatter ] 778 00:41:20,519 --> 00:41:23,440 Somewhere along the way, he became paranoid 779 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:27,199 that he were being followed or being tracked by a DEA plane 780 00:41:27,239 --> 00:41:29,599 or Coast Guard or customs. 781 00:41:29,639 --> 00:41:31,840 A lot of people think he probably jumped out 782 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:35,440 of the airplane because of his paranoia. 783 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:38,039 {\an8}♪ 784 00:41:38,079 --> 00:41:41,480 But we checked, and they did not have any aircraft 785 00:41:41,519 --> 00:41:44,119 following him into the United States. 786 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:52,440 If law enforcement wasn't on his tail, why jump at all? 787 00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:55,840 {\an8}♪ 788 00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:59,639 I think this was his plan all along. 789 00:41:59,679 --> 00:42:01,519 One of the stories that was circulating 790 00:42:01,559 --> 00:42:05,440 was that he actually was ripping off the Colombian suppliers 791 00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:07,960 by intentionally crashing the airplane, 792 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:10,280 claiming the cocaine was destroyed in the crash, 793 00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:12,199 but keeping it for himself. 794 00:42:12,239 --> 00:42:14,840 Why would he have all those parachutes in the airplane 795 00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:17,000 tied to duffel bags full of cocaine 796 00:42:17,039 --> 00:42:20,239 if that wasn't the plan originally? 797 00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:21,760 No, I don't think so. 798 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:26,039 He was way too smart to steal from the Medellin Cartel. 799 00:42:26,079 --> 00:42:27,639 They knew who he was. 800 00:42:27,679 --> 00:42:31,440 He-- He would have not lasted very long at all 801 00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:34,440 if he had stolen from them. 802 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:39,519 Whether Thornton was scamming the cartels or just paranoid, 803 00:42:39,559 --> 00:42:41,239 there's one even more shocking theory 804 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,239 about what happened that night. 805 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:45,440 One of the theories is that 806 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:48,119 there was a second person on the airplane. 807 00:42:48,159 --> 00:42:55,039 {\an8}♪ 808 00:42:55,079 --> 00:42:58,199 We initially thought that other people were involved, 809 00:42:58,239 --> 00:43:01,159 but we didn't have any proof. 810 00:43:01,199 --> 00:43:04,880 This is the downtown Knoxville Island Home airport. 811 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:08,920 Where Mr. Thornton parachuted into the residential area 812 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:12,239 is about 250 yards as the crow flies 813 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:15,000 above us on the hill. 814 00:43:15,039 --> 00:43:18,239 About two or three months after Thornton was found, 815 00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:24,079 another parachute was found on the far end of the runway. 816 00:43:24,119 --> 00:43:26,639 We theorized that Andrew Thornton 817 00:43:26,679 --> 00:43:30,239 let the other individual in the plane jump. 818 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:33,039 And then Thornton put the plane on autopilot. 819 00:43:33,079 --> 00:43:35,760 He would jump out of the plane and let it go across 820 00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:39,679 the mountains in North Carolina and crash. 821 00:43:39,719 --> 00:43:41,639 If there was one other person on the plane, 822 00:43:41,679 --> 00:43:44,519 it would've to be someone that Drew Thornton trusted. 823 00:43:44,559 --> 00:43:45,880 And I don't know of anybody back then 824 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:48,360 that he trusted more than Bill Canan. 825 00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:50,199 {\an8}♪ 826 00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:53,119 Canan's his very close friend who worked alongside him 827 00:43:53,159 --> 00:43:55,719 {\an8}at the Lexington Police Department. 828 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:58,639 {\an8}Was Thornton's old partner, corrupt cop Bill Canan, 829 00:43:58,679 --> 00:44:00,760 with him at the very end? 830 00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,239 Canan was the most likely suspect 831 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:07,199 until someone else came forward, uh, also named Bill 832 00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:10,079 who, uh, professed that he was on the plane. 833 00:44:10,119 --> 00:44:13,280 {\an8}♪ 834 00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:17,239 In 1990, a man named Bill Leonard told an amazing story 835 00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:20,320 to a journalist at the Knoxville News Sentinel. 836 00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:23,000 {\an8}♪ 837 00:44:23,039 --> 00:44:27,320 Thornton had talked Bill Leonard into travelling with him 838 00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:29,519 to help provide security for him. 839 00:44:29,559 --> 00:44:32,599 But apparently Leonard thought that was gonna be in Florida 840 00:44:32,639 --> 00:44:35,039 or The Bahamas, but Thornton kept flying, 841 00:44:35,079 --> 00:44:38,880 and they ended up in Colombia, surprising Bill Leonard. 842 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:42,159 {\an8}♪ 843 00:44:42,199 --> 00:44:44,920 You have to ask yourself how plausible that is. 844 00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:48,599 But, you know, the Bill Leonard that I knew was a stand-up guy, 845 00:44:48,639 --> 00:44:51,840 and you could believe him. 846 00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:54,199 Leonard has never been charged with a crime. 847 00:44:54,239 --> 00:44:56,599 And I spoke to former detectives from Lexington 848 00:44:56,639 --> 00:44:58,440 who believe his story. 849 00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:01,800 They're convinced that he was an unwitting accomplice 850 00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:05,159 in that smuggling run. 851 00:45:05,199 --> 00:45:07,039 I don't know how you account for the fact 852 00:45:07,079 --> 00:45:09,920 that someone as experienced as Drew Thornton 853 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:12,639 as a paratrooper did not survive that night 854 00:45:12,679 --> 00:45:16,280 and the totally inexperienced Bill Leonard did. 855 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:19,800 Pure luck? Perhaps. 856 00:45:19,840 --> 00:45:21,760 I've asked a number of the investigators 857 00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:23,119 from the federal aviation 858 00:45:23,159 --> 00:45:25,840 to the FBI to the state police in Tennessee. 859 00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:27,840 Nobody has any answer. 860 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:29,400 {\an8}♪ 861 00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:31,760 Much of what happened in the skies over Knoxville 862 00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:35,039 remains a mystery. 863 00:45:35,079 --> 00:45:38,760 Can more answers be found in North Georgia? 864 00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:41,880 And what really happened to the cocaine bear? 865 00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:52,119 {\an8}♪ 866 00:45:52,159 --> 00:45:55,880 On Andrew Thornton's final flight in 1985, 867 00:45:55,920 --> 00:45:58,639 he drops several duffel bags full of cocaine 868 00:45:58,679 --> 00:46:02,119 over the Southern United States. 869 00:46:02,159 --> 00:46:03,519 There was a map 870 00:46:03,559 --> 00:46:05,920 that showed where the cocaine was found along the way. 871 00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:09,840 And you could just about track his line of flight 872 00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:12,280 where the packages were thrown out. 873 00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:18,679 {\an8}♪ 874 00:46:18,719 --> 00:46:21,719 One lands in the woods that are the home of the cocaine bear. 875 00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:23,119 [ Bear growls ] 876 00:46:23,159 --> 00:46:25,679 One of the DEA agents called back and said, 877 00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:27,719 "You know that a bear 878 00:46:27,760 --> 00:46:29,960 got into that cocaine down there in the woods." 879 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:32,199 And I was like, "Oh, come on." 880 00:46:32,239 --> 00:46:35,360 And at first I thought that, you know, that was, they were, 881 00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:37,719 they were kind of gigging me a little bit, 882 00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:39,960 but actually, it did happen. 883 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:45,000 {\an8}♪ 884 00:46:45,039 --> 00:46:47,920 When Fran Wiley's officers get to the scene, 885 00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:51,800 there is no cocaine left. 886 00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:54,920 She has her own theory about what happened to it. 887 00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:58,840 There was no cocaine in the duffel bag at the scene. 888 00:46:58,880 --> 00:47:01,679 So where did the cocaine go? 889 00:47:01,719 --> 00:47:02,960 Well, the bear ate it. 890 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,760 Well, no, the bear didn't ate it. 891 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:07,719 The bad guys got it. 892 00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:10,800 {\an8}♪ 893 00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:14,159 The bear would've never been able to consume 894 00:47:14,199 --> 00:47:16,239 75 pounds of cocaine. 895 00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:19,800 The pathologist told me that it had consumed 896 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:22,840 about 3 grams of cocaine 897 00:47:22,880 --> 00:47:26,920 that was 95% pure. 898 00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:29,920 It would probably would have been dead 899 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:32,639 within the first or second bite. 900 00:47:32,679 --> 00:47:35,519 {\an8}♪ 901 00:47:35,559 --> 00:47:41,400 My theory is that Mr. Thornton had a predestined location 902 00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:46,719 for his ground crew to pick up the cocaine. 903 00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:49,840 And I think that they did. 904 00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:52,679 They probably saw the bear had got into it. 905 00:47:52,719 --> 00:47:56,119 {\an8}♪ 906 00:47:56,159 --> 00:47:59,039 And they picked up the remaining and left. 907 00:48:04,119 --> 00:48:12,880 {\an8}♪ 908 00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:17,239 I've heard many variations of this story 909 00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:19,639 about the bear 910 00:48:19,679 --> 00:48:23,280 in Lexington, Kentucky, that is on display. 911 00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:25,280 {\an8}♪ 912 00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:29,239 They are portraying it to be Pablo EskoBear. 913 00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:35,360 {\an8}♪ 914 00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:37,840 But that is not my bear. 915 00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:39,480 There's no way. 916 00:48:39,519 --> 00:48:41,360 {\an8}♪ 917 00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:46,119 The bear was in no condition to be taxidermied. 918 00:48:46,159 --> 00:48:48,840 I think the purveyors of the display, 919 00:48:48,880 --> 00:48:50,360 if you press them, they would tell you 920 00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:52,800 that it's not the same bear. 921 00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:54,880 It's symbolic. 922 00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:57,719 So, what do the mall's owners say? 923 00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:00,159 They claim that their "taxidermy bear 924 00:49:00,199 --> 00:49:03,840 is 100% Cocaine Bear," 925 00:49:03,880 --> 00:49:06,159 {\an8}and that "if disbelief is your choice, 926 00:49:06,199 --> 00:49:09,519 {\an8}then we created the most fantastic story ever." 927 00:49:09,559 --> 00:49:15,760 {\an8}♪ 928 00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:18,000 The whereabouts of the real cocaine bear 929 00:49:18,039 --> 00:49:22,920 is as mysterious as so much of this legend. 930 00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:26,239 The story begins with reports of a dead parachutist 931 00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:28,719 found wearing Gucci loafers, 932 00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:31,760 and even that may be a myth. 933 00:49:31,800 --> 00:49:33,159 There were incorrect accounts 934 00:49:33,199 --> 00:49:37,679 as to what exactly he was wearing on his feet. 935 00:49:37,719 --> 00:49:41,039 There was one indication that he had Gucci loafers. 936 00:49:41,079 --> 00:49:44,239 In reality, Thornton's shoes were described 937 00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:48,360 as the "Gucci loafers" of the parachuting world. 938 00:49:48,400 --> 00:49:54,079 He had some very expensive jumping shoes on. 939 00:49:54,119 --> 00:49:58,119 When I was told about them, they were equated to Gucci. 940 00:49:58,159 --> 00:49:59,880 That's how they tried to correlate it to me 941 00:49:59,920 --> 00:50:02,199 was this would be like Gucci. 942 00:50:02,239 --> 00:50:06,320 {\an8}♪ 943 00:50:06,360 --> 00:50:09,599 I don't think we'll ever know what really happened. 944 00:50:09,639 --> 00:50:12,599 I think we have gotten pretty close 945 00:50:12,639 --> 00:50:13,960 with the bits and pieces 946 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:15,719 and the puzzles that we've put together. 947 00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:17,800 With the individuals that are still alive 948 00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:20,800 and the agencies that did the legwork that they did, 949 00:50:20,840 --> 00:50:24,480 I think we got as close to knowing what happened 950 00:50:24,519 --> 00:50:27,760 as we ever will. 951 00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:30,719 A curtain was drawn over the conspiracy, 952 00:50:30,760 --> 00:50:34,480 the drugs, the murders. 953 00:50:34,519 --> 00:50:37,920 If I had to go to my grave with that on my conscience, 954 00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:40,199 I would not want to stand very tall 955 00:50:40,239 --> 00:50:43,159 on the day of judgment is all I can say. 956 00:50:43,199 --> 00:50:45,320 {\an8}♪ 957 00:50:45,360 --> 00:50:49,559 Bradley Bryant served his time and then dropped out of sight. 958 00:50:49,599 --> 00:50:54,840 Bill Canan was jailed in 1994 for federal drug charges. 959 00:50:54,880 --> 00:50:57,360 He passed away in 2020. 960 00:50:57,400 --> 00:51:02,960 {\an8}♪ 961 00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:06,519 And as for Drew Thornton, his myth lives on, 962 00:51:06,559 --> 00:51:10,599 alongside that of the cocaine bear. 963 00:51:10,639 --> 00:51:12,239 He was a bad guy. 964 00:51:12,280 --> 00:51:16,079 These guys did this stuff for fun, 965 00:51:16,119 --> 00:51:19,840 and, and that's kind of scary. 966 00:51:19,880 --> 00:51:23,119 Thinking about Andrew Thornton and the cocaine bear, 967 00:51:23,159 --> 00:51:27,360 {\an8}would've Thornton liked to have been associated with that? 968 00:51:27,400 --> 00:51:28,840 {\an8}I think he would've thought 969 00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:30,880 {\an8}the bear was getting more attention than he did, 970 00:51:30,920 --> 00:51:33,400 {\an8}and I don't think he would've liked that whatsoever. 971 00:51:33,440 --> 00:51:36,440 {\an8}But he probably would've been amused by it. 972 00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:42,119 {\an8}♪ 70782

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