All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S04E21.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

NARRATOR: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

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

[theme music]

NARRATOR: In 1983, two
beautiful, young women

on holiday from Sweden were
murdered while hitchhiking

in California.

The case gathered
dust until 1991

when an anonymous phone
call sparked a renewed

search for the unknown killer.

As a young boy, Joe Soll
was teased by schoolmates

because he had been adopted.

As an adult, Joe would learn the
painful truth about his past.

He had been bought and sold
by a notorious baby broker.

In 1974, a successful
businessman

named Gary Simmons
disappeared on the same day

he paid $30,000
for a prize horse.

No one had any idea
where he had gone

until Gary Simmons' skeleton was
found hidden in a cave almost

20 years later.

Also tonight, a
fascinating update

on a story about
legendary aviator

Amelia Earhart who
disappeared in 1937.

Recently, an aviation
archaeologist

made headlines while
claiming he had

solved the mystery of Amelia
Earhart's last flight.

Others say he is
just plain wrong.

Join me, for every
mystery, there

is someone who knows the truth.

Perhaps, it's you.

[theme music]

[phone ringing]

Good afternoon,
Consulate of Sweden.

MAN (ON PHONE): I
have some information.

Excuse me?

NARRATOR: On September 26,
1991, a bizarre, anonymous phone

call came into the
Swedish Consulate

in San Diego, California.

MAN (ON PHONE): It's
about two hitchhikers.

Two hitchhikers?

MAN (ON PHONE): Yes,
two Swedish girls.

NARRATOR: The caller went on
to describe a double murder.

MAN (ON PHONE): I
think he was Canadian.

NARRATOR: Incredibly, a double
murder that had taken place

a full eight years
earlier, this was

a first solid lead since 1983.

It all began on July 24th of
that year behind a gas station

in the city of Commerce,
a Los Angeles suburb.

SGT. BRUCE CORRELL: A station
attendant went to dump trash.

He looked inside the dumpster
and saw a couple of backpacks.

Checking further, he
found clothing, diaries.

There were rolls of
film, passports, wallets,

many of the things that
you would expect tourists

to have collected in
a several-month tour

of the United States.

NARRATOR: The items
in the dumpster

belonged to two Swedish
nationals, Marie Lilienburg,

23, and Maria Wahien, 25.

They had failed to show
up for their return flight

to Sweden that day.

The fathers of both
women came to California

hoping to find their
daughters by means

of widespread media attention.

We're extremely worried.

I'll tell you that.
They have never--

NARRATOR: During the
next three weeks,

more than 50 sightings of Maria
Wahien and Marie Lilienburg

were reported.

All were checked out, but none
of them could be confirmed.

That's not the nature of
my daughter, absolutely.

I'll tell you that.

She is the one who will
stick to every promise made.

That's her nature.

Hey, hang on.

What is that?

I don't know.

Let's go find out.

NARRATOR: Then on August 18th,
1983, in Santa Barbara County,

California, a
missing persons case

became a murder investigation.

SGT. BRUCE CORRELL:
Two deer hunters

noticed a skeletonized arm.

Probably a coyote had pulled
one of the arms off and drug it

out into the open.

Checking further, they
found other remains

hidden under brush there.

Those remains were positively
identified as being Marie

Lilienburg and Maria Wahien.

NARRATOR: An autopsy
showed that both women

had been stabbed to death as
well as sexually assaulted.

Sheriff's detectives learned
that the two young women had

met in January of
1983 at a Resort

Hotel in Vail,
Colorado, where they

both worked as chambermaids.

[speaking swedish]

NARRATOR: When the
ski season ended,

they decided to hitchhike
around California--

We're going to California.

NARRATOR: --before heading
back home to Sweden.

Oh, great.

MARIE LILIENBURG:
Hi, how are you?

DRIVER: How you doing?
MARIE LILIENBURG: Fine.

DRIVER: Where you going?

MARIE LILIENBURG:
We're just touring.

We just want to see the coast.
DRIVER: Well, hop in.

Let's go.

SGT. BRUCE CORRELL: Marie
Lilienburg and Maria Wahien

thought that it was
safe to hitchhike.

They had been cautioned
by Swedish friends

and by Americans that it
was not safe to hitchhike.

But they felt that they
would be able to size

up persons giving them a ride.

They would be able to
sense whether this was

a dangerous situation or not.

Maria Wahien carried a
small knife with her,

and she felt that she
would be able to defend

herself in any
type of a situation

where she was threatened.

Young Swedes come
to the United States

from a culture which is entirely
homogeneous and middle class.

There are only 8 million
people in Sweden.

It is a more open and, if
you will, a more trusting

environment.

They, therefore, tend to
come to the United States

and remain as trusting
as they were in Sweden.

So sometimes they
do run into trouble.

DRIVER: How you girls doing?
MARIA WAHIEN: Fine, how are you?

MARIE LILIENBURG: Are you
going to San Francisco?

DRIVER: I can take you
about half way there.

Is that cool?

Great.

NARRATOR: When the gas station
attendant found the knapsacks

in the dumpster, he also
found a travel diary and two

rolls of undeveloped film.

Working from these photographs,
as well as a diary,

investigators established
the women's itinerary

and contacted several
truck drivers who had

given Marie and Maria rides.

MARIE LILIENBURG: Hi.

MARK HANSON: Where
you girls going?

MARIE LILIENBURG:
We're going to--

NARRATOR: Mark Hanson a trucker
from San Diego, California,

remembered them well.
- --if that'll help ya.

OK, thanks.

MARK HANSON: Hop in.

MARK HANSON (VOICEOVER): A
lot of truck drivers out there

have daughters, and if they
do see girls out hitchhiking,

they try to take care of them.

Talked about that they shouldn't
be hitchhiking, I, maybe being

too much of a big
brother and a little bit

of a lecturer on the way up
about that it wasn't safe.

It wasn't like being in Europe,
that women didn't hitchhike

in the United States anymore.

And they didn't seem terribly
concerned, that they felt they

would be safe being together.

NARRATOR: Hanson drove the
women from San Diego to Compton,

just south of Los Angeles--
MARK HANSON: Hey, how ya doing?

NARRATOR: --where he
arranged another ride

for them at a truck stop.
TRUCK DRIVER: Seattle.

MARK HANSON: Hey, could
you use some company?

TRUCK DRIVER: Yeah.
I can give them a ride.

- Great.
- Oh, great.

MARK HANSON: There you go.

MARIA WAHIEN: You, too.

NARRATOR: The
second truck driver

dropped the women off in
Oakland, just across the bay

from San Francisco.
MARK HANSON: Take care.

MARIE LILIENBURG: Bye.
Thank you.

MARK HANSON: You're welcome.

NARRATOR: Maria Wahien
and Marie Lilienburg

were last seen in
Redwood City, California,

on July 22nd, 1983,
heading back to Los Angeles

so they could catch their
flight to Sweden two days later.

On the very day they
were scheduled to depart,

their backpacks and
personal effects

were found in the
city of Commerce.

Four weeks later, the hunters
discovered their bodies

near Santa Barbara.

For eight years,
the investigation

into the murders of Marie
Lilienburg and Maria Wahien

remained at a standstill.

Two hitchhikers?

MAN (ON PHONE): Yes,
two Swedish girls.

NARRATOR: The anonymous
phone call came

into the Swedish Consulate.
- He was Canadian?

MAN (ON PHONE):
Yes, he was skinny.

And his hair--

JOHN NORTON: He said that he
knew a fellow whom he had seen

on a regular basis who
was from Canada who would

come down every winter in his
van to go through San Diego

to Mexico.

He said that, on one
occasion in 1983,

the man had come
through and mentioned

that he had met two Swedish
girls who had tried to con him.

The caller also
described the van.

He said he drove a white van
with a green canoe on the top,

and that this was
very recognizable,

and a number of people knew him.

DRIVER: You girls need a lift?

Yes.

MARIA WAHIEN: We are
going to Los Angeles.

MARIE LILIENBURG:
Los Angeles Airport.

JOHN NORTON: He gave a
description of the man.

He said he was over
6 feet, a slight

build, 175 pounds,
thinning, red hair, long,

pointed nose,
protruding, watery eyes.

I don't believe that
the call was a hoax.

You'll have to
squeeze in here.

There's not a lot of room.

My regret is
that the caller was

unwilling to identify himself.

If he would step forward, even
now, and call us again, even

anonymously, to provide
further information,

it might be very helpful.

It's not only frustrating
that we have not

been able to find the persons
responsible for these slayings

but also considering the
probability that there may be

other slayings
across the country

that this killer is
responsible for, as well.

I think the moral
of the story is

quite simple, that
it is just very,

very dangerous to hitchhike.

And, in the case of
women hitchhiking,

it could very easily turn up
in this type of a situation.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: When we return,
an aviation expert

believes he has solved
the mystery of Amelia

Earhart's final flight.

Others disagree.

[theme music]

One of the most popular
stories we have featured

is a fascinating mystery
of legendary aviator,

Amelia Earhart.

Recently, she once again
made front page news.

Life magazine even carried
an exclusive six-page spread

after aviation archaeologist,
Richard Gillespie,

announced to the
world that he had

finally solved the mystery of
Amelia Earhart's final flight.

Six decades ago, Amelia Earhart
captured the heart and spirit

of an entire generation.

Part All-American girl,
part daredevil, she was

a perfect hero for her time.

[airplane motor]

On May 20, 1937, Amelia and
her navigator, Fred Noonan,

began a daring attempt
to circumnavigate

the world in this twin
engine Lockheed 10 Electra.

They never returned.

On July 2nd, they disappeared
on route to tiny Holland

Island in the South Pacific.

A massive search turned
up no trace of Amelia,

Fred, or their airplane.

They were officially
declared lost at sea.

But, as the years passed, rumors
surfaced that Amelia Earhart

and Fred Noonan ended up
on the island of Saipan,

2,500 miles from Howland Island.

At the time of Earhart and
Noonan's disappearance,

Saipan was occupied
by the Japanese army.

In 1944, American forces
liberated the island.

Among the soldiers
stationed on Saipan

was this man, Thomas Devine.

--on the island

NARRATOR: Devine claims he
overheard a conversation

between two Marines outside
a guarded aircraft hangar

at a remote location
on the island.

We got Amelia Earhart's
plain in that hangar.

NARRATOR: The
Marines were severely

reprimanded by an official
wearing civilian clothes.

You've come about that
damn close to compromising

the project right now.

I'm telling you, I want you
to sit down, do your jobs,

and shut up.

Do you understand?

NARRATOR: Devine
claims that later

that same day he actually
saw Amelia Earhart's plane

fly overhead.

That night, he saw the
Lockheed 10 Electra

again engulfed in flames.

THOMAS DEVINE: I saw
that plane, personally,

on three occasions that day.

The last time, the
plane was in flames.

[non-english speech]

NARRATOR: This
woman, Niva Blaas,

has lived on Saipan
her entire life.

[dong]

She claims that Earhart
and Noonan were captured

by the Japanese as spies and
that she actually witnessed

Amelia Earhart's execution.

[speaking japanese]

[gunfire]

NARRATOR: Were Amelia Earhart
and Fred Noonan taken prisoner

and executed on the
Island of Saipan,

or did their plane,
in fact, go down

in the vast and unforgiving
waters of the South Pacific?

In 1989, the tiny uninhabited
island of Nikumaroro

became the focal point of a
new and intriguing theory.

Nikumaroro is located 420
miles from Howland Island,

Earhart's intended destination.

RICHARD GILLESPIE:
Watch the ground.

NARRATOR: Aviation
archaeologist,

Richard Gillespie,
headed an expedition

to search for evidence
that Earhart and Noonan had

been marooned on Nikumaroro.

The expedition turned up
this aluminum aircraft part

which, at the time,
Gillespie believed may

have come from Earhart's plane.

RICHARD GILLESPIE: This box
doesn't constitute proof.

What it does is constitute
sufficient evidence

to merit a return to
Nikumaroro to find

and photograph the ultimate
proof, the airplane itself.

In October of 1991,
Richard Gillespie

mounted a second
expedition to Nikumaroro.

Searchers found several
intriguing artifacts,

which Gillespie claims are
indisputable proof that Amelia

Earhart and Fred Noonan
died on the island

while awaiting rescue.

NARRATOR: On March
16, 1992, Gillespie

presented his findings
at a press conference

in Washington, D.C.

Before you, are artifacts,
which along with the recently

discovered historical
documents, conclusively

solve the disappearance
of Amelia Earhart.

NARRATOR: Among the
items on display,

were these tattered
remnants of a shoe,

allegedly worn by
Amelia Earhart,

and this weathered
piece of aluminum.

According to Gillespie, it came
from the fuselage of Earhart's

Lockheed 10 Electra.

The rivet pattern is the
same, four parallel rows

of number three rivets--

NARRATOR: If Richard
Gillespie is correct,

then the final chapter of Amelia
Earhart's story can be written.

However, Gillespie's
conclusions have been

disputed by several experts.

--radio direction findings--

ELGEN M. LONG: It
was quite exciting

that a new piece of
evidence had been uncovered

because there hasn't
been much on Amelia

Earhart in the last few years.

NARRATOR: Elgin Long,
noted historian an Earhart

biographer, was
asked by Gillespie

to study detailed
measurements and photographs

of the aluminum section.

Long assembled a panel
of experts to compare

the evidence with
an airplane fuselage

identical to Amelia Earhart's.

ELGEN M. LONG: When
we received the data,

we made a template that
was the exact same size

and had all the rivet holes
in it, just like the fragment

that was found on Nikumaroro.

We put this template up to
the bottom of the airplane,

and we compared the rivet
lines with the rivets

on the actual airplane.

ELGEN M. LONG: You
notice that there's

no real fasteners along here.

They didn't match at all.

There was rivet holes where
there shouldn't be any rivets.

And there weren't rivet holes
where there should be rivets.

What do you think?

No way.

NARRATOR: The panel compared
the template to nearly

every section of the airplane.

No match could be found.

There's no way
that piece could

have come from a Lockheed 10
or Amelia Earhart's airplane.

NARRATOR: Richard Gillespie
attributes discrepancies

in the rivet patterns
to repairs which

were made on Earhart's plane
during her first attempt

to fly around the world.

The repair had to be exactly
per the engineering orders.

NARRATOR: Panel consultant
and former Lockheed

engineer, Ed Warner, disagrees.

He argues that all repairs
made on Earhart's plane

were done to strict
factory specifications.

EDWARD WARNER: Well,
at first, I was

kind of happy that the
controversy was over

but then very disappointed.

Now I've come to the
conclusion that it

can't be part of her airplane.

According to
Richard Gillespie,

the National Transportation
and Safety Board

has concluded that
the aluminum is

consistent with materials used
to build Lockheed 10 Electras.

However, they could not
confirm that it came

from Amelia Earhart's plane.

So for now, at least, Amelia
Earhart's disappearance

remains and unsolved mystery.

[theme music]

On a previous broadcast, we
brought you the chilling story

of a woman named Georgia Tann.

For more than 20 years, Tann
used her well-known Tennessee

orphanage as a front for a
highly-illegal black market

baby ring.

CHILD: Yahoo!

NARRATOR: Thanks to our viewers,
nearly 200 of the children

placed for adoption
by Georgia Tann

have been reunited with
their birth families.

Such happy endings are
certainly gratifying,

but the appalling fact
remains that Georgia Tann was

not the only one of her kind.

Another notorious baby broker
was Bessie Bernard who bought

and sold thousands of children.

One of them would learn of his
adoption in a very painful way.

His story begins almost 50
years ago in Nyack, New York.

In 1944, Joe Soll was in his
first months of kindergarten.

What'd you do that for?

'Cause you're an adopted kid.

I'm what?

An adopted kid.

JOE SOLL: I didn't
know what that

meant, except I knew it
was bad because of the way

they said it.

And I ran home crying and asked
my mother what that meant.

And was I, in fact,
adopted, still not

knowing what the word meant.

And she said, yes--

Your real parents--

they were killed in a car crash.

But you're safe, and now
we're your real parents.

And we love you so much.

NARRATOR: Joe had been
adopted as an infant in 1939

by Florence and Charles Soll.

Charles was a
successful attorney

who died unexpectedly in 1960.

It was not until 20 years later,
that Joe learned his birth

parents had not died
in a car accident

after all, a fact which his
mother reluctantly confirmed.

JOE SOLL: She said that my
father handled the whole thing,

and she really
didn't want to know.

And not only that, he
didn't want to tell her.

He told her that
he had fixed it so

that nobody could ever
find out anything,

which is very scary for me.

Here's your
father's old files.

You can use our
library if you'd like.

Thanks a lot.

NARRATOR: After
extensive maneuvering,

Joe gained access to
his father's records.

Filled with
anticipation, he began

the search for his origins.

JOE SOLL: I found that there
was a file that he had left

with all the letters that he
had written looking for a baby

and information on me.

And the information was that
my name was Robert Wilson when

I was born, that my birthday
was November 3rd, 1939,

and that my mother's
name was Ruth Haverman.

And there were the
adoption decree.

I had never seen any of this.

It just washed me with
all sorts of emotion.

Excuse me?

Yes?

Is this 677 Lexington Avenue.

JOE SOLL: I know that
my birth mother was

supposed to have lived
at 677 Lexington Avenue

here in New York City.

Does the name Ruth Haverman
mean anything to you?

No.

No one.

JOE SOLL: But there
was never a Haverman

at 677 Lexington Avenue.

Not here.

I know that there was a
family named Haversack that

lived at 677 Lexington Avenue.

And that building apparently
was an unwed mother's home.

NARRATOR: Disheartened, Joe
went back to the old files.

He discovered that
his father had

corresponded regularly
with an adoption

agent named Bessie Bernard.

In the New York
City archives, Joe

found out more
about Bessie Bernard

than he had ever bargained for.

JOE SOLL: As I searched to try
and find out who Bessie Bernard

was, I came across articles
in The New York Times

from 1949 when she was
arrested for baby selling

and realized that I
was a black market

baby, that I was sold,
which my mother confirmed,

that I was bought.

And that was painful.

I felt like a piece of property.

It's a strange feeling
to know that somebody

paid money for you.

That ad you put in the
Miami Herald, it was great.

NARRATOR: Bessie Bernard lived
with her father in Manhattan.

She used newspaper
ads to round up

infants for her thriving
east coast baby brokerage.

MR. BERNARD: --that
last batch of babies.

Dad, I didn't pay too much.

We're making lots of dough.

It's good.

NARRATOR: Bessie Bernard
charged each adoptive couple up

to $2,000, a huge
sum at that time.

--ready for tomorrow.

JOE SOLL: She
averaged 20 a month.

She brought them
in from Florida,

from Hartford,
Connecticut, Boston.

Anywhere she could get
babies, she advertised.

And she brought them in, had the
births registered in New York,

changed names.

It was vicious what she did.

[knock on door]

NARRATOR: By 1949, the
Manhattan District Attorney

was onto Bessie Bernard.

Mr. Bernard?
MR. BERNARD: Yeah?

I'm Detective O'Brien.

This is--

NARRATOR: On October
8th of that year,

two police officers armed
with a search warrant

showed up at her apartment.

--warrant, sir.

Would you please
stand over there?

BESSIE BERNARD: Hey,
what's going on here?

Are you Ms. Bernard?
BESSIE BERNARD: Yeah.

Who wants to know?

Stand over there with
your father, please, ma'am.

NARRATOR: When the
detective started

to rummage through
Bessie Bernard's purse,

she went berserk.
- Dad, hold onto this.

Hey.
Hey, you!

Get out--

DETECTIVE O'BRIEN:
Would you get back

over there with your father?

I want you out of my house!

- Get over there with him.
- Get out!

Did you hear me?
- What are you doing?

I said get out!

NARRATOR: Some believe that
the little black book Bessie

Bernard threw to her father
contained the names of clients

and other vital information.

Get out--

DeLuca!

Come here.

NARRATOR: Bessie's father
escaped, and the book

was never recovered.

DETECTIVE O'BRIEN: Hold it!

Calm down.

JUDGE: Will the defendant
please step forward?

NARRATOR: On June 30,
1950, Bessie Bernard

was found guilty of illegally
placing children for adoption.

JUDGE: At this time,
is there anything

you wish to say on your behalf?

No.

I hereby sentence
you to one year

in the women's penitentiary.

NARRATOR: Bessie Bernard
never spent a day in jail.

She paid a $2,500 fine to avoid
serving her one year sentence.

Bessie Bernard died in 1989,
taking her secrets with her.

JOE SOLL: What makes
me angry and fills me

with pain is that because Bessie
Bernard always changed things--

birth dates, and birth
names, and birth mothers'

names and places of birth--

that me and so many other
people can't find their family.

And I need to find my family.

When I was looking
through the adoption

file in my father's office,
and I saw all the letters

that he had written to adoption
agencies, and orphanages,

or relief organizations,
and I finally

understand how much
they wanted a child,

and why they did what they did.

But it's impossible
to think for me

and many other adopted
people about ever leaving

the world when you
don't know how you

got here in the first place.

And my mother could be alive.

I could have a
brother, a sister,

or cousins, aunts, uncles.

I need to know.

I need to know who my family is.

Joe Soll thinks his
mother's name was either Ruth

Haverman or Ruth Haversack.

She may have had a
friend named Lucy Bent.

Joe's father is listed as Robert
Wilson, an engineer who worked

in Hartford, Connecticut.

Joe Soll believes he was born in
Manhattan on November 3, 1939,

or one week earlier in Florida.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: Next, an
unexpected discovery

prompts a murder investigation.

[theme music]

In November of 1991,
Unsolved Mysteries

received a very unusual
letter from a man

named Tyrone Rollins who
wanted us to look into a case.

Rollins that unwittingly
sparked a murder investigation

after experiencing a number
of strange premonitions, which

he simply could not explain.

I'm sure I'll catch you.

I don't get off till 7:00.

You take care.

NARRATOR: In 1985,
Tyrone Rollins

was hired as a school bus driver
in Independence, Missouri.

Right from the start,
he had an eerie feeling

about the rocky outcroppings
behind the bus yard.

TYRONE ROLLINS: Every time
I walked past them hills,

I'd get the same feeling.

I'd be sitting up in
the front of my bus,

and I'd feel like somebody
watching me from behind.

And I'd look back
there, and there

wouldn't be nobody on the bus.

For a while there, I just
thought I was going crazy.

There's a strong feeling like
something pulling inside me

wanting me to do something,
and I just couldn't

figure out what it was.

NARRATOR: Finally,
on October 16, 1991,

Tyrone was overcome by
the urge to investigate.

On the north side of the hill,
he discovered a hidden cave.

TYRONE ROLLINS: When that
strong feeling was back again.

I knew I had to go in
there for some reason.

It was like an amazing
adrenaline rush,

just the feeling
of being in there.

I didn't know if it was from
not knowing what was in there.

When I shined my flashlight
towards the rocks,

you could see little tiny specks
that looked like crystals.

So I started
examining the rocks.

And it was just then that
I happened to glance over,

and I seen a pair of boots.

It was just a shock.

I just couldn't believe
what I was seeing.

NARRATOR: Dental records would
later confirm that the remains

are those of Gary Simmons,
a businessman from Overland

Park, Kansas, 25 miles away.

An autopsy revealed that
he had been murdered,

shot once in the head.

Tyrone Rollins' startling
discovery was about to become

a nightmare for the police.

They were confronted
with a killing that had

taken place 17 years earlier.

Gary Simmons had mysteriously
vanished in 1974.

And, at this point,
investigation

seemed almost futile.

Yet, the police had no choice.

After all, someone had
gotten away with murder

for nearly two decades.

[horse neighing]

In the 1970s, Gary
Simmons owned and operated

a lucrative chain
of gas stations

in the Kansas City area.

This must be Charisma.

NARRATOR: His passionate
avocation was horse trading.

Yeah.

Beautiful horse.

JERRY SIMMONS: Gary
had always worked hard.

And I believe he got
involved in horses

in order to have a
form of relaxation

and a means of doing something
that was fun with his family.

And it was a hobby
that he had probably

been involved in only
two or three years

prior to his disappearance.

- What do you say, Gary?
- Hey, buddy.

How you doing?
- Good.

How you been?
- Good.

Just got back from a show
down at Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Man, I saw some of the
most beautiful horses

I've seen in a long time.
- Is that right?

You bet.

Anything I might
be interested in?

NARRATOR: On October 14, 1974,
a day before he disappeared,

Gary Simmons learned of
a prize horse for sale.

[horse neighing]

You know Tom Dixon?

Tom Dixon, yeah.

Isn't he a member of the
Appaloosa Association?

Right, right.

He had one of the most
beautiful purebred Appaloosa

I've seen in a long time,
raised him from a colt.

How much is he asking for him?

I'm not so sure he
wants to sell him.

He's asking $30,000 for him.

$30,000?

Whew!

That must be some kind of horse.

Oh, man--

NARRATOR: The next
morning, an agent

acting for the
horse's owner showed

up at Gary Simmons' office.

Hi.

Can I help you?
- Yeah.

I'm here to see Mr. Simmons.

- Do you have an appointment?
- Uh, yeah.

We talked earlier on the phone.
- Uh-huh.

And your name, please?

Tom Dixon.

M-hm.

NARRATOR: It was the beginning
of an intricate transaction,

which lasted all day
long and which police are

still trying to piece together.

Excuse me, Gary, there's
a Tom Dixon here to see you.

GARY SIMMONS: Oh, sure.

- Hi, Gary.
- Hi.

Tom Dixon.

NARRATOR: At 10:15
AM, Gary Simmons

left his office with Dixon.

TOM DIXON: About 20 minutes.

GARY SIMMONS: OK.

Uh, I'll follow you.
TOM DIXON: Sure.

NARRATOR: Simmons
told his secretary

that he would return
shortly, but he

did not say where he was going.

[phone ringing]

15 Minutes later, Gary Simmons
telephoned his secretary

and instructed her to make out
a $30,000 check to Tom Dixon.

OK, 30,000.

Hi.

Can I help you with something?

Yeah, I'm here to pick--

NARRATOR: 11:00 AM, Dixon
picked up the check.

--Gary earlier.
- Uh, yeah.

Didn't he call?

Uh, yes, he did.

And I've drawn up the check,
but you're going to have

to get Gary's signature on it.

NARRATOR: Dixon then took
the check to Gary Simmons

for his signature,
but no one knows

where the meeting took place.

At 11:30 AM, Gary Simmons
was spotted at a truck stop

10 miles from his office.

COOK: Your hamburger and
cheeseburger are ready.

DET.

VICTOR ZINN: The
owner saw Gary Simmons

walking back and forth between
the counter and the window.

He remembers that Gary
Simmons was alone,

and there did not seem
to be anybody with him

or waiting with him.

NARRATOR: It was
the last time anyone

ever saw Gary Simmons alive.

Just before noon, Dixon
showed up at Simmons' bank.

DET.

VICTOR ZINN: Gary Simmons
had called the president

of the bank and had informed
him that Tom Dixon was

on his way to cash the check.

The bank president recognized
Gary Simmons' voice,

and he did not recognize
anything unusual in his voice

to raise his suspicions either.

$9,900, $10,000.

$30,000 Total, Mr. Dixon.

Don't you think
you'd like to open up

a checking or savings account?

A lot of--

NARRATOR: Dixon took delivery
of the money in $100 bills.

I need it to pay
off some debts.

Thank you.

BANKER: Thank you.

[horn honking]

NARRATOR: Around
five hours later,

Dixon showed up at a salvage
yard, 11 miles from the bank.

He was driving Gary Simmons'
Lincoln Continental.

I waited for you this morning.

You never showed.

Well, I got busy.

Where'd you get that Lincoln?

Uh, it's--it's not my car.

It's something I
need to get rid of.

I was wondering if you
could use your machine

to sort of crush it for me.

Yeah.

I can make it flat for ya.

But if you want
to get rid of it,

you're going to have to melt it.

[ahem]

Feds have been keeping a real
close eye on the furnace.

You got any, uh, better ideas?

Yeah.

Put a brick on the
accelerator and drive it

in the Missouri River.

Hey, thanks for the advice.

I'll catch you later.

All right.

NARRATOR: The next day,
one of Tom Dixon's friends

dropped him off at a truck
stop near Kansas City.

Dixon said he was planning
to hop a cross-country rig.

It was the last time
anyone ever saw Tom Dixon.

Six months went by.

Then on April 25, 1975, Gary
Simmons' Lincoln Continental

was pulled out of
the Missouri River

less than six miles from
the salvage yard where Dixon

had tried to get rid of it.

DET.

VICTOR ZINN: All you had was two
grown men that had disappeared.

And that happens
every day in America.

It was unknown whether
they had disappeared

and not wanted to be
found, or if foul play

had indeed occurred.

Upon finding Gary
Simmons' body, it became

a homicide investigation.

We had an actual crime.

A finger of guilt appeared
to point squarely at Tom Dixon.

Police theorize that
Simmons had been the victim

of a bogus horse deal.

Dixon acting either
alone or with a partner,

took Simmons' money and killed
him that, in fact, there may

never have been a horse at all.

But then during the
filming of this story,

a new witness came forward.

ROY HILTON: Oh,
Gary knew a horse.

That's for sure.

He knew what a good
horse was and--

NARRATOR: Roy Hilton is
a local rancher who says

he knew both Simmons and Dixon.

--he didn't like and
didn't care about and--

NARRATOR: On the day that
Gary Simmons disappeared,

Roy Hilton claims he
heard Simmons making calls

to his office and to the
bank from the Whispering

Downs Horse Ranch.

Yeah, $30,000.

NARRATOR: He also states
that Simmons showed

him the horse he was buying.

--the signature.

Just have it ready for him, OK?

ROY HILTON: This murder didn't
come down over a $30,000

horse deal.

It had to come down on
some black market gas.

I'm almost positive
of that because Gary

Simmons was having problem
getting fuel for his stations.

NARRATOR: Roy Hilton's testimony
adds another layer of confusion

to an already complex case.

In the year prior to
his death, Gary Simmons

was struggling to save
his chain of gas stations

in the face of the
1973 Arab oil embargo.

JERRY SIMMONS: Gary was affected
drastically by the embargo.

He closed the bulk
of his stations

because of the fact
of lack of gasoline.

After Gary disappeared,
there was numerous rumors

that Gary might
have been involved

in black market gasoline.

What Gary was involved in was
buying gasoline on the spot

market, and a lot of people
labeled spot market gasoline

because it was beyond
government controls

as black market gasoline.

But it was one in the same.

It was a perfectly
legal transaction

to buy gasoline
on the spot market

that most oil
companies did sell.

NARRATOR: Who murdered
Garry Simmons and why?

There may be only one
man who can answer both

of those questions, Tom Dixon.

A warrant has been
issued for Dixon's arrest

on charges of auto theft.

When he disappeared in
1974, he was 42 years old.

This photograph has been
aged to show how Tom

Dixon might look today at 60.

He is 5 feet 8 inches
tall with brown or graying

hair and green eyes.

He may be working as a house
painter or general contractor.

[theme music]

On a previous broadcast,
we featured the story

of Jackie Dragon who was
adopted by a California couple

when she was just an infant.

When Jackie was 12, she came
across her adoption papers

and learned the names
of her birth parents.

JACKIE DRAGON: It
was a big thing.

It was a turning point.

It was something that I
knew from that point on that

someday I would find those
people in that paper,

and that I had to,
that they were real.

NARRATOR: In July of 1990,
after nine years of searching,

Jackie finally tracked down her
biological mother, Marge Rider.

Hi.

May I speak with
Marge Rider, please?

Speaking.

NARRATOR: Marge was living
in Winchester, Illinois.

The phone call from Jackie
was totally unexpected.

Does February 16, 1964
mean anything to you?

MARGE RIDER: I was
already sitting down,

and I felt like I had
just fallen into a chair

because it was--

I've never had a shock
like that before.

Well, do you have
time to talk right now?

NARRATOR: During the
course of the conversation,

Jackie was surprised to
learn that she had three

sisters whom she had never met.

Only the youngest, Tracy,
was raised by Marge.

JACKIE DRAGON: It
was very exciting.

I couldn't believe it.
It was like, there's more?

You're kidding.

There's something more
that I didn't know?

NARRATOR: During a poignant
reunion with Marge,

Jackie learned that
her two other sisters,

Laura May and Dawn Marie, had
also been placed for adoption.

Wow.

You can definitely
tell it's family.

JACKIE DRAGON: I would love the
opportunity to find my sisters.

I like to think that
somewhere, wherever they are,

that they know that
they're adopted,

and that they wonder
where they came from.

They were mine.
I did love them.

I do love them.

And it would be nice to make
the family complete again.

NARRATOR: Thanks to our
viewers, Jackie Dragon

and Marge Rider's dream
of reuniting their family

finally came true.

And they were contacted by
Laura May and Dawn Marie.

Dawn Marie, whose
adoptive name is Susan,

owns her own business in
Santa Barbara, California.

Laura May, Marge's
oldest daughter,

is now married and
lives in Mississippi.

Three months after
our broadcast,

Laura May arrived at
her sister Jackie's home

in Glendale, California.

Marge and her youngest
daughter, Tracy,

had flown in from Illinois
for this very special reunion.

We've talked so
much on the phone.

This is Tracy.

Hi.

I'm your sister, Tracy.

LAURA MAY: Meeting them
was really nerve-wracking

because it's like I wasn't
quite sure what to expect

and what they
would expect of me.

You're short.

You're tall.

[laughing]

And then, after I got here,
it just all seemed to flow.

It was very natural.

[indistinct chatter]

MARGE RIDER: The last time
I remember seeing Laura,

she was in a high chair.

And now here she
is all grown up,

and I'm still looking
for this little girl.

And it's kind of hard.

Hi, Susan.

Oh, it's good to meet you.

NARRATOR: A short
time later, the circle

was finally completed with
the arrival of Marge's

other daughter, Susan.

OK, hug.

You look great.

SUSAN: I grew up knowing
that I was adopted,

but I didn't know anything
about who my real parents were.

And it's nice to know
who your family is,

and what your background is,
and learn more about them.

I think when I first started
feeling really comfortable

was when we went out
and took some Polaroids.

And it was a really
neat feeling to have

a picture right in
front of me and see

all of us standing together.

Get closer.

JACKIE DRAGON: It's a
very once in a lifetime

kind of a thing to find a
sister that you've never met.

Everybody smile.

MARGE RIDER: Each one
is totally individual.

They're all strong,
I've found out.

And they've done good
with their lives.

I'm proud of all four of them.

[theme music]

Wholesale medical
supply distributor wanted.

Investment of $18,000
minimum required

for necessary inventory.

During the past year,
this advertisement

was placed in over 90 newspapers
all across America by a company

called Fidelity National
Medical Supply, Incorporated.

The ad seemed to offer
the perfect opportunity

for enterprising individuals
who had always dreamed

of owning their own business.

Fidelity National was based
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

They extended an open invitation
to potential investors

to visit the company
headquarters.

One person who took
advantage of the offer

was a man whom we will
call Robert Jones.

He has asked that we not
reveal his true identity.

ROBERT JONES: --doing something.

NARRATOR: On January
24, 1992, Robert Jones

was driven to the
company offices

in a limousine provided
by Fidelity National.

Jones who had arrived
in town the day

before wanted to see
the operation firsthand

before making an investment.

ROBERT JONES: I checked with
the Better Business Bureau

in Oklahoma City.

There was no complaints there.

I had them checked out with
a national credit firm,

and all their resources checked
out the same with this firm.

I was satisfied that
they were legitimate.

[phone ringing]

And over on our
globe map, you'll

see that all of our
suppliers are from overseas.

We've got London--

NARRATOR: Fidelity National
was certainly impressive.

Orders were pouring in.

Workers were busily
taking inventory

and answering a constant
stream of phone calls.

Robert, this is
our [inaudible] room.

I can't take you
into the warehouse

because it's a bonded warehouse.

You know, we have
pharmaceuticals.

You know how it is.

For security, sure.

What you see here--

NARRATOR: The warehouse
was equally impressive.

Thousands of boxes were
stacked behind locked doors

awaiting delivery
to distributors.

MANAGER: You can see
by the packing labels

here that all these
will be ready--

ROBERT JONES: Their
financials indicated

that they had $2.8
million or so of inventory

in various locations.

More comes in next weekend.

NARRATOR: Jones took the plunge
and purchased a distributorship

for $54,000, his life savings.

He was just one of
more than 300 people

who had made investments
totaling $1.2 million.

But, as the money
flooded in, the Criminal

Investigation
Division of the IRS

became increasingly suspicious.

On February 17, 1992, agents
from the FBI, the IRS,

and the Oklahoma City
Police made a surprise raid

at Fidelity National's
headquarters.

OFFICIAL: I can tell by you
lifting five or six boxes

at one time, there's
nothing in any of the boxes

that you can tell?

No, sir.

BOB RICKS: When they
went into the boxes,

they found that they
were completely empty.

We found no evidence that
Fidelity had in any way

purchased, ordered,
received, or shipped

during the entire course
of their business life

any medical supplies.

The inventory which we
found when we executed

search warrants
at their warehouse

would fit on the
side of my desk.

OFFICIAL: They're empty.

NARRATOR: Investigators
painstakingly

checked every single
box in the warehouse.

Every single box was empty.

And the masterminds
of the operation

had long since disappeared.

BOB RICKS: These
are not amateurs.

These people have obviously
done this in the past.

They knew what they were doing.

They did it very quickly.

They knew how to get in.

They knew how to get out.

They knew how to setup the
accounts without putting

fingerprints on the accounts.

We believe the leader
of this operation

was a gentleman
named Richard Condia.

[theme music]

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[theme music]