All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E11.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

[music playing]

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.

ROBERT STACK: In 1991, a weekend
fishing trip off the coast

of Mexico apparently
ended in a tragic death

for four young Americans,
but two of the bodies

were never recovered.

Ever since, repeated sightings
of a strange young man

have been reported up and
down Mexico's Baja Peninsula,

convincing many that one of
the victims, Gordon Collins,

is still alive and
suffering from amnesia.

Tonight, Gordon Collins's
family needs your help.

Perhaps you hold the
crucial clue that

can bring their son back home.

Join me for this intriguing
new case and more,

on another edition of
"Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

In the 1940s and
'50s, a mysterious

and terrifying epidemic
swept the United States--

polio.

The victims were
almost all children.

Thousands died.

Thousands more were
crippled for life.

In 1952, Dr. Jonas Salk
developed a vaccine

against polio.

It was nothing
short of a miracle.

But for many children, it was
a miracle that came too late.

Such was the case for Judi
Davis of Beverly, Ohio.

Judi was just five years old in
1949, when both her legs were

hopelessly crippled by polio.

My attitude towards polio
was it was a challenge.

My parents decided that
I was going to live

as normal a life as possible.

And regardless, the
doctors wanted to put

me in a convalescent center.

And my mother just hit the roof.

She says, no way.

That child is going to live as
normal as possible, and I did.

ROBERT STACK: When
she was eight,

Judi was enrolled in a
special elementary school.

Then at the age of 12, she
entered a regular school,

where her braces and crutches
provoked fear, stares,

and uncomfortable giggles.

September, 1956, the first day
of junior high for Judi Davis,

here Judi would be the
only handicapped student.

Here she would
for the first time

face a world which might
be unintentionally cruel.

JUDI DYMOND: I was
petrified because I didn't

know anyone in the school.

So I was really petrified.

My father, he was the type
of person who encouraged

me to do things for myself.

And he kind of instilled
in me that there

was nothing I couldn't
do, as long as I tried.

Daddy, I want to do it myself.

OK, honey.

JUDI DYMOND: I was able to
get in and out of the car

by myself.

And I would have been able to
climb the stairs to the school

if there was a railing,
but there was no railing.

So I was resolved
to let my father

carry me into the school.

It's OK, honey.

JUDI DYMOND: Seeing all
the kids stare at me

when I entered
the school, it was

really an awkward
feeling because it

was something new for me.

And I'd never had that before.

My father carried
me up the steps

and sat me down at
the top of the stairs.

And this girl comes over.

And she says--

Hi, I'm Becky.

Can I help?

Thanks.

What home room are you in?

The letter said 102.

That's the same one I'm in.

It's Mr. Hawkins.

He's pretty good.

Come on.

I'll show you.

OK, bye, Daddy.

Bye, honey.

ROBERT STACK: Judi had
made a real friend.

In the weeks that followed,
she and Becky Terry

would become inseparable.

JUDI DYMOND: Becky was
a very warm person,

very warm, very outgoing.

I mean, she had to be
to be so open with me

the first day of school.

But the other kids
in the school,

it was like I was an
alien from outer space.

And I felt that way, except
when Becky was around.

Around Becky, I felt like
everything was possible.

She made me feel like
there was no braces.

There was no crutches,
that I was just like her.

ROBERT STACK: All
through seventh grade,

the girls' friendship group.

In eighth grade,
Becky and Judi even

took to coordinating
their wardrobes.

They were often
mistaken for sisters.

And, in fact, no sisters
could have been closer.

Becky and I
talked about music.

We talked about boys.

We talked about marriage.

We talked about
everything under the sun.

ROBERT STACK: But Judi and
Becky's favorite subject

was definitely boys.

At the junior high,
serialized horror movies

were shown each day at noon.

Before long, a boy began
sitting next to Becky.

JUDI DYMOND: All of a sudden,
he wasn't just sitting there.

He was holding Becky's hand.

[screaming]

Knowing Becky had
a boyfriend was--

I don't know.

It was kind of sad for me
because she had a boyfriend,

and I didn't have a boyfriend.

So I felt kind of left out.

ROBERT STACK: Becky's
boyfriend was David

Major, a fellow seventh grader.

But Judi was so shy that she
couldn't bring herself to talk

to David or to any other boy.

Judi, I can't help
you tote your books.

Why?

JUDI DYMOND: Well, one day,
Becky had a big load of books.

And she wasn't able to carry
my books on top of her books.

- I'll be fine.
- Are you sure?

I mean, get David or one of
those other boys to help you.

They're right there.

I can't ask boys.

Yes, you can, if it
means you might fall.

I'll be fine.

Are you sure?

I'm sure.

I was so shy, I
would rather have died

than to ask a boy for help.

I was very shy at that age,
especially around boys.

So here I was, trying to carry
maybe three or four books,

plus pencils and a notebook, and
they fell all over the floor.

Oh, here, let us
help you with that.

Come on.

JUDI DYMOND: I had
a class with David,

so I knew who David
was even before Becky

and he became involved.

Shortly after Becky and David
became an item, they broke up.

And Becky decided she liked
this boy named Gordon.

And evidently he liked
her because they started

holding hands in the movies.

And David started holding
my hand in the movies,

so I was really
thrilled about that.

It was real exciting because
now we both had boyfriends.

ROBERT STACK: A few months
later, Becky came to Judi's

house in a somber mood.

The girls had been through
everything two friends could

experience, except separation.

Hi.

What's wrong?

Something awful has
happened, really awful.

My dad got a job.

- That's good.
- It's in West Virginia.

We're moving.

Moving?

We're moving tomorrow.

He says it can't wait.

Tomorrow?

No.

No, no, no.

It'll be all right.

[sobbing]

JUDI DYMOND: I was
broken hearted when

Becky told me she was leaving.

Becky's friendship
to me meant that I

was able to be accepted by the
other students in the school.

And it made me feel like I
was more like everyone else

and that there was no
difference between us.

And at the age of
12, that meant a lot,

and it still means a lot.

ROBERT STACK: Becky and
Judi wrote to each other

for several years, and Becky
even came back to visit once.

But eventually they lost touch.

In 1960, Judi's condition
deteriorated, and she

was confined to a wheelchair.

Nevertheless, Judi went on to
marry and have four children.

She also became an
outspoken advocate

for the rights of the disabled.

In 1979, Judi divorced and
later moved to Tucson, Arizona.

Through it all, her
friendship with Becky

has been an inspiration.

JUDI DYMOND: I would
really like to find Becky.

I'd kind of like to tell
her how much she meant

to me as a friend, and I'd like
to get that friendship back

if it's possible.

[theme music]

ROBERT STACK: September 1991,
a young American, disoriented,

penniless, and obviously
out of place, wandered

into the Mexican village of
Colonia Vicente Guerrero,

300 miles south of
San Diego, California.

He lingered for months,
living on handouts,

depending on the
charity of strangers.

For one California couple,
tales of the young stranger

were a ray of hope in the search
for their 34-year-old son,

Gordon Collins, who had been
missing for five months.

I know he's alive.

We have our priority
now to try to find him.

And I can't get on
with my business.

I can't get on with nothing
until we get him home.

Inside your heart, you're
always longing to that day

you're going to be able to hold
him and know it's for real.

ROBERT STACK: The strange
saga of Gordon Collins

began on April 19, 1991.

He was vacationing with his
girlfriend, Anastasia Seals,

and another couple
near Santa Rosalia,

a popular deep-sea fishing spot
midway down the Baja Peninsula.

Four days after they arrived,
the group secured a boat

at a local hotel.

Gordon's friend, Wayne Schwartz,
had fished off the Baja Coast

many times and
knew the area well.

As the group left port,
a fisherman on his way

in warned them that
a storm was brewing.

Hey.

[speaking spanish]

Danger.

Danger.

ROBERT STACK: The
fishermen's warnings

apparently went unheeded.

Several hours later,
a fierce storm

would, indeed, hit the area.

Gordon Collins and his
friends never returned.

The next day, a
hotel employee was

sent out to search for them.

His search ended
28 miles northeast.

[speaking spanish]

ROBERT STACK: Wayne Schwartz
and Gordon's girlfriend,

Anastasia Seals, were dead.

Gordon Collins and Schwartz's
wife, Arlean Burlington,

were nowhere to be found.

[speaking spanish]

The bodies and all the
paraphernalia out of the boat

was all within one
square mile of each other

because I talked to the fellow
that fished the bodies out.

And so we said, hey.

Where's the other two jackets?

And where's the
other two people?

ROBERT STACK: For three days,
the United States Coast Guard

searched a 250-mile area
of the Sea of Cortez

on the Baja shoreline.

Finally, they
suspended the search,

pending further evidence.

SEARCHER: Scott, you got
anything on the left side?

It seemed obvious that
Gordon Collins and Arlean

Burlington had perished.

The US consulate in Mexico asked
Gordon and Arlean's parents

to sign death certificates.

However, reports that
Gordon was still alive

had already begun to
filter across the border.

His parents came to
believe that he'd

been picked up by a fishing
boat and brought ashore.

They were certain that Gordon
was suffering from amnesia

and was unable to
find his way home.

John and Mary Lou Collins
travelled from Moreno Valley,

California, to the
area where the two

bodies had been recovered.

They combed Santa Rosalia,
desperately hoping for a clue

to Gordon's whereabouts.

JOHN COLLINS: We
got flyers made up.

And so we were
spreading them all out

when two Mexican fishermen
come running up to us

and kept pointing to the flyer.

He said they'd seen a guy
come out of the water.

He just had shorts,
and he was all

cut up and waiting there,
trying to get on a bus

there to a bus station.

I was very excited.

Things started fitting
together because this

is where the accident happened.

They found the bodies
just a mile and a half

off of this shore.

It's got to be Gordon.

Pause.

ROBERT STACK: Around
the same time,

Gordon was also sighted
on a nearby beach

by a man named Jose Peralta.

Can I have your blanket?

[spanish]

Can I have your blanket?

I-- I'm cold.

[speaking spanish]

Jose said that Gordy said
he was waiting for friends

he went fishing with.

And could he have Jose's
blanket because he

was going to sleep on
the beach there at Cabo

and wait for his friends.

[speaking spanish]

They're coming.

ROBERT STACK: Neither
lead panned out, And the.

Collins returned home.

It was the beginning of
a frustrating, seemingly

endless pattern.

I would go down
until I wouldn't

get any more sightings.

And then I'd go
back home, and we'd

get a phone call or something.

And so, boom, I'd
get on a plane.

And we'd head back on down
and hit these areas where

the sighting evidently was at.

On one trip, we
headed toward La Paz.

And we stopped at a few
of these taco places.

And they says, yeah, we've
seen him an hour ago.

So we went on down further,
probably another three or four

miles, and we stopped again.

The guy said, yeah.

We seen him about
30 minutes ago.

So we finally got
right into town.

And they says, yeah,
within five minutes.

And then they seen
us all together.

And I don't know what happened.

But everybody just clammed up.

We couldn't get no
more information.

I don't know if they thought
we were the police, the FBI,

or the DA, or what, you know.

And we couldn't get
no more information.

Then, bam, it just stopped.

ROBERT STACK: Over
the next three months,

Gordon Collins was
spotted at least 50 times

in 7 different locations,
all in the area of La Paz

and Cabo San Lucas
at the southern end

of the Baja Peninsula.

It almost seemed that Gordon
Collins had wanted to disappear

and might be hiding out.

But Gordon had called
his parents the day

he left for Mexico so they
would know where he was.

John and Mary Lou Collins are
adamant that Gordon would never

desert his 10-year-old
son, Christopher,

and cause his family
such pain and suffering.

I believe he can't remember
what happened and cannot make

the choice to return
home because he

doesn't know where home is.

And you can't leave your child
wandering around in a country

aimlessly.

And not only were we exhausted,
but our money was exhausted.

And we began to think we
weren't doing it right.

We decided we needed a
professional at this point.

ROBERT STACK: The
Collins hired Bill

Garcia, a private investigator
who alerted newspapers in Baja.

After the articles
ran, Garcia received

several calls from the village
of Colonia Vicente Guerrero.

He was four or five
months here in town.

He never worked here.

He never worked, and he'd
only hang around here in town.

He was walking all the
time, move too much here.

And almost in the town,
everybody knows him.

We've shown them pictures,
and everyone recognizes him.

And they're positive
that it's him.

The people that
have talked to him

know some things about
him, about Gordon,

and feel confident that
he is there, or was there.

ROBERT STACK:
According to Amador,

Gordon was eventually
arrested for stealing food.

The local sheriff,
or [spanish], brought

in James Hatfield, an American
living in the village,

to translate.

Hello, my name is James.

What's yours?

Hi.

I-- I'm Gordy.

Gordy, this [spanish] has
something to say to you.

[speaking spanish]

There's no doubt
in my mind that it's

Gordon because when
we met him in jail,

I introduced myself to him.

And he gave me his name, Gordy.

And then when the
flyer came out,

it was right there
on the flyer, Gordon.

And you can't get the
two pictures mixed up.

It's the same.

He moved on shortly before we
were able to get to that area,

and we haven't been able to
find where he's gone from there.

Gordon seems to
be just wandering

through the different
towns in Baja,

not really knowing
where he's going.

I don't think he's
attempting to get home

because he seems to go north.

Then he seems to
travel back south.

ROBERT STACK: Over
the next year,

sporadic sightings
of Gordon continued.

The last was near the
village of Rosarita,

25 miles south of Tijuana.

The US consulate has
now officially reversed

its position and
no longer presumes

that Gordon Collins is dead.

You just can't up and give
up because it's your son.

I know it keeps me driving
and keeps me going.

And I want to get him
home, to get him home safe

and back to normal again.

ROBERT STACK: Recently, we
feature the story of WB Mac

McDonald, a self-made
millionaire who

was searching for his
heir, a child who Mac had

seen but once, 43 years ago.

Mack's story began in 1948
in Pomona, California.

That summer, he fell in
love with a 16-year-old girl

named Mary Helen Carr.

But their courtship was cut
short by Mary Helen's mother.

She threatened to
have Mack arrested

if the romance continued.

MAC: My whole life was
revolving around her.

It upset me, you know, because
I was in love with the girl.

And we were planning
on a future together.

And here were these
tremendous stumbling blocks

being thrown out into the path.

ROBERT STACK: Mac moved
to Houston, Texas.

Three weeks later, Mary
Helen ran away from home

and joined him.

- I saw the new neighbors.
- You did?

ROBERT STACK: Posing
as husband and wife,

the young lovers
moved in together.

But their happiness
was short lived.

[phone ringing]

Hello.

Just a minute.

It's for you.
- Who is it?

I don't know.

ROBERT STACK: A friend tipped
off Mac that the police were

on the way to the apartment.

Mary Helen's mother had
made good on her threats.

Authorities carried
warrants charging

Mac with statutory rape and
legally living with a minor.

That's fine.

I'll call you.

ROBERT STACK: Mac made his
escape with no time to spare.

I was devastated, again.

They jerked her
back to California.

And I had no way of
contacting her again.

ROBERT STACK: A year later,
Mac returned to California

and was shocked to learn
that he was a father.

He visited Mary Helen
and met his child

for the first and only time.

But fearing that authorities
were still looking for him,

Mac fled after
only five minutes.

He never even learned
if the baby was a boy--

Don't go.
ROBERT STACK: --or a girl.

Don't.

ROBERT STACK: Now a
wealthy businessman,

Mac wants to find the child
he left behind 43 years ago.

MAC: I feel that the youngster
is entitled to my estate.

And I would want that youngster
to know that I love them,

and I want them
to have the best.

The night of our
broadcast, Mac McDonald

learned that he had a
daughter named Sherry.

The long awaited news
came from a viewer

in Dallas, Texas, Mary
Helen Carr, Sherry's mother.

Unlike many of the
reunions we have featured,

the end of this search evoked
decidedly mixed emotions

for Mac, for Mary Helen, and
especially for their daughter,

Sherry, who had been raised by
a loving and caring stepfather.

I'm 43 years old
and pretty well

set in my life and everything.

And I didn't know what to think.

You know, I'm very
happily married,

and I have two great kids.

And we just are a
normal American family.

And this was quite
a shock to everyone.

ROBERT STACK: One week
after our broadcast,

Mac McDonald arrived at Sherry's
home in Denver, Colorado.

For Mac, the reunion
would bring a bittersweet

and at times unsettling
reconciliation with the past.

Hello.

Hi.

Come on in.

Hi, Mac.

It's hard to
describe the feeling

that I had for my daughter
when I opened the door,

and she was there.

And I was able to hold her.

Do you want to sit down?

I don't want to sit down.

I want to hold you.

SHERRY: I just tried to
come to the realization

that it really was my
father standing there.

And I just-- does
he look like me?

Does he act like me?

You know, I have
all these things

I need to learn about him.

I don't know what to say.

I'm still in a state of shock.

At this point in my life, to
find that there is someone who

is my father and who
wants to establish

a relationship
with me, it's just

emotionally very traumatic.

Apparently, he wants
to be part of her life.

And if that's the case, it's OK.

I hope since he's gone to
this much effort to find her,

that he doesn't bring
any sorrow to her.

MAC: The fact that I didn't
stay and fight the battle,

it's most unfortunate.

I don't believe I would
do it that way again.

However, yesterday,
unfortunately, can't be redone.

I'd like to.

No matter how you
look at it, he left

my mother with a tiny baby.

You know, and I have
to deal with that.

I have to deal with
the fact that I

have a father who loves
for me, who has raised me,

who's cared for me.

But I believe
there's enough room

in this family for everyone.

And I sincerely mean that.

[emergency sirens]

ROBERT STACK: On the
afternoon of March 11, 1992,

paramedics were dispatched to
an emergency at a toy store

in Redwood City, California.

Hi.

Can you tell me what's going on?

ROBERT STACK: Inside,
sprawled on a table

in the employee's lunchroom,
was 23-year-old Gilbert Ortiz.

He was sweating profusely
and experiencing

severe convulsions.

Are you having
cramps in your stomach?

Yeah.

Gilbert, what did you drink?

Did you drink or eat something?

The shake.

The shake, what's
in the shake, Gilbert?

ROBERT STACK: Gilbert managed
to tell the medics that he had

become ill after drinking
a high-protein amino acid

milkshake commonly used by
bodybuilders to help them

bulk up and strengthen muscle.

Gilbert, where did
you get the shake from?

A friend.

A friend?

Yeah.

And how long ago did
you drink this, Gilbert?

ROBERT STACK:
Gilbert began to slip

in and out of consciousness.

His wife was contacted,
and paramedics rushed

in to nearby Sequoia Hospital.

Is that the shake right there?

ROBERT STACK: Doctors
in the emergency room

were baffled like
Gilbert's condition.

They examined the plastic bottle
which had contained the shake

and set it aside so the
contents could be tested later.

Within moments, Gilbert's
wife, Elizabeth,

arrived in the emergency room.

Doctors hoped that
she could provide

an explanation for Gilbert's
sudden, mysterious illness.

The paramedics just
brought him over here

just a few minutes ago.

And they said that
after taking that sports

drink over there,
about 15 minutes later,

he started vomiting.

And he's very disoriented.

And I can't get anything
straight out of him.

Have you ever seen that bottle?

No, never, I have
never seen this bottle.

You know what we're thinking?

We're thinking he might
have had an overdose

of drugs, maybe some street
drugs, or maybe something else.

Gilbert doesn't do drugs.

- Are you sure now?
- Yeah, I'm serious.

Gilbert doesn't do drugs.

OK, OK.

ROBERT STACK: By 10
o'clock that evening,

Gilbert had developed pneumonia,
and his kidneys had failed.

He was admitted to the
intensive care unit.

He would later suffer cardiac
arrest and slip into a coma.

As his life hung in
the balance, doctors

worked feverishly to
determine what had caused

him to become so violently ill.

Sometime that afternoon,
the plastic milkshake

bottle, similar to this one,
mysteriously disappeared.

It was a first in a series
of bizarre incidents

that would lead
authorities to believe

that Gilbert Ortiz had
been poisoned by someone

he thought he could trust.

In 1987, Gilbert was
serving in the army

when he met Elizabeth Fuentes.

They married three years
later, shortly after the birth

of their son, Jonathan.

Gilbert took an entry-level
position in a toy store

in Redwood City,
but he and Elizabeth

frequently fought over money.

In March of 1992, Gilbert
received a promotion,

and the future suddenly
seemed brighter.

Less than a week later,
Gilbert was in the hospital,

fighting for his life.

Gilbert's mother and
sister soon joined

Elizabeth at the hospital.

They said that while they
were in the waiting room,

Elizabeth received
a strange phone

call which seemed to upset her.

Yes, yes, OK, bye.

BRENDHA ORTIZ: She
got nervous when she

came back from that phone call.

I don't know why.

I don't know what they told her.

I'm going to go home.

And I think I should
check on Jonathan.

And, uh, I need to get
something to eat, too.

BRENDHA ORTIZ: And so she
decided that she was going

to go see Jonathan,
that she was concerned

about Jonathan for some reason.

And she was going to
go to Gilbert's work

because she knew the
combination for the locker.

And she was going to go see
if she could find anything,

because Gilbert wasn't
getting any better.

He's got Jonathan.

That man has Jonathan.

Elizabeth, what's going on?

BRENDHA ORTIZ: And about two
hours later, she came back.

She was hysterical.

And she kept saying,
somebody has Jonathan.

This guy has Jonathan.

Jonathan, somebody has Jonathan.

- What happened?
- That man outside has Jonathan.

What man?

That man outside in the
parking lot, he-- he said

he was going to hurt Jonathan.
- Wait.

He has Jonathan outside?

No, yea-- no, the man said
he was going to kidnap him.

Wait a minute.

I thought Jonathan
was with your mother.

BRENDHA ORTIZ: And
so I was like, wait.

Your mom has Jonathan.

--was going to
kidnap Jonathan.

I'm going to call your mom.

BRENDHA ORTIZ: And I went,
and I called her mom.

And her mom, you know, I
asked her, is Jonathan there?

And then she's all like, yeah.

He's right here.

Like, why?

I'm like, because Elizabeth
just said that some guy had him.

ROBERT STACK: While
Brendha was on the phone,

Elizabeth blurted out a
disjointed, frightening story.

She said she had been approached
by a small boy in the hospital

parking lot who then
directed her to a masked man

in a parked car.

Did you know him?

No, he was wearing a mask.
I couldn't see.

What kind of mask?

I don't know.

It just covered his face.

What did you do?

What did he say?

He said that he knew what
had happened to Gilbert

and that Gilbert had
drank the wrong stuff.

What?

The stuff in the bag.

He said Gilbert drank
the stuff in the this?

Yes.

ROBERT STACK: Inside
the paper bag was

a bottle of liquid insecticide.

I'm calling the police.

I don't know.

No, don't call the police.

He said if you call the police,
he was going to hurt Jonathan.

I'm calling the police.

ROBERT STACK: The
ICU nurse immediately

made two phone calls, one to the
National Poison Control Center

and the other to the
Redwood City Police.

This is Sequoia Hospital.

I have a poisoning to report.

I need to speak to an officer.

I don't know.

I didn't see it.

ROBERT STACK: Five
days later, Elizabeth

was questioned about the
mysterious, masked man she said

had handed her the insecticide.

So tell me about the little
boy that ran after you.

Well, when I was in my
car, um, I turned on my car.

And I was, uh--

For about the first
hour of the interview,

she maintained the story that
she had given the officers

and the nurses at the
scene, stating that the man

with the mask and a little boy.

And she told me
that she thought it

was definitely a strange
story, but it was the truth.

Elizabeth, if what you're
telling us is the truth,

how would this guy have known
that Gilbert drank this thing?

How should I know?

Well, how would
the little boy know?

I don't know.

I don't know.

I've never seen anything
before in my life.

Your story doesn't make sense.

KATHRYN ANDERSON: I
still couldn't believe

what she was telling me.

And so my partner and
I started to jam her

by telling her certain things
to see how she would react,

like we knew more
than we actually did.

And that man
gave me the bottle.

There was a witness
in the parking lot.

He didn't see a man with a mask,
and he didn't see a little boy.

All he saw was you.

There was no masked man,
and there was no little boy.

OK, all right, OK,
I made that part up.

Why?

Because the doctor, you know,
he said that whatever Gilbert

drank was in my house, OK?

And so I went--

he asked me if I had
any insecticides.

And I looked.

I searched in the house, and
that's when I found the bottle.

So why did you make the story
up about the man with the mask

and the little boy?

Because I was scared.

I didn't know if Gilbert
had done this to himself

on purpose.

She told me that maybe he
was trying to hurt himself.

And so I asked her, you
mean, you think he was

trying to take his own life?

And she said, yeah, maybe.

Maybe he was depressed.

And I didn't want him
to get in trouble.

Elizabeth, would
you be willing to take

a lie detector test?

Look, I have a job interview,
OK, so I've got to go.

What about the
lie detector test?

OK, when?

Later this afternoon,
after your interview.

OK, I'll be back.

ROBERT STACK: Elizabeth never
returned to the police station.

The next morning,
Detective Anderson her

at her mother's house in
San Francisco, 20 minutes

from Redwood City.

This time, Elizabeth
refused to come in.

Could you talk to
your lawyer about it,

please, and give me a call back?

ROBERT STACK: 11 days later,
Gilbert regained consciousness,

and police suspicions
were finally confirmed.

Gilbert had apparently been
poisoned by his own wife.

Elizabeth, she was
working for some people.

And she called me
about 12:00 or so

and told me she wanted
to have lunch with me.

ROBERT STACK: Gilbert explained
that Elizabeth had told him

about a co-worker's son who
had bulked up by drinking

amino acid milkshakes.
- You know, I--

I lift weights and all.

But I-- I--

I could never get big.

And that's the kind
of guy she likes.

Do you know this guy?

No, it's some
guy she worked for.

So she mixed something up and
brought it for you to drink?

No, no, the guy, the guy
mixed it up and gave it to her.

She came to my work at
lunchtime and dropped it off.

ROBERT STACK: Gilbert
said Elizabeth

met him around 2:00 PM in
the toy store parking lot.

Hey, hi.

ROBERT STACK: The
shake was already mixed

in a plastic sports bottle.

And here's your shake.

He told me to tell you to drink
it before you eat anything.

It smells like chocolate.

What did he say was in it?

Amino acids.

They're supposed
to make me stronger?

Yeah, this guy is real big.

He's real buff.

And, uh, he said it might taste
a little nasty, but that's OK.

It's supposed to.

Well, actually, I didn't
open it until I got inside.

It looked like a real shake.

I mean, like a chocolate shake,
that's what it looked like.

So I kind of tried it, right?

And then when I tried it.

It sort of, like, burned
my throat a little bit.

I said, hmm, maybe that's the
way it's supposed to taste.

I didn't know.

I didn't know if it was
supposed to be sour or--

I don't know-- spicy,
because it was spicy.

But I thought that's the way
it was just supposed to be.

And I kept drinking
it and drinking it,

but I didn't touch
the food at all.

Then pretty close to--

I almost finished the bottle.

And then I started
feeling really hot,

and my throat started
really, really, burning.

And I was all shaky.

And then I felt
like getting sick.

Then I passed out.

Then I was in the
emergency room.

Gilbert, what I'd like to do--

ROBERT STACK: Police
obtained a search warrant

to see if they could trace the
poison or the plastic bottle

to Elizabeth.

But when they arrived
at the Ortiz apartment,

they made a startling discovery.

Elizabeth Ortiz had vanished,
along with the couple's

2-year-old son, Jonathan.

Then that's when it hit me.

She did it.

It really, really hurt.

You know, especially
when they told me.

I said, where's the baby?

She's gone.

That's-- that's the main part
that really got me hurting,

you know?

Fine, she's gone.

She's gone.

But the kid?

I was too attached to the kid.

I still am.

ROBERT STACK: Nearly
one year has passed

since Gilbert
Ortiz was poisoned,

but he still has
not fully recovered.

The insecticide caused
serious damage to his liver

and nervous system.

His right foot is numb,
and he has difficulty

walking without assistance.

Doctors don't know if I'm
going to get back to normal,

or if it's permanent
damage to my nerves.

The same thing with my hands,
the tips of my fingers,

numbed, I can't feel anything.

That really messed up my life
because if I can't do anything

on my feet, I can't work.

ROBERT STACK: Jonathan
Fuentes Ortiz has not

been seen since March 17, 1992.

He was born on May 13, 1990, and
has brown eyes and black hair.

An arrest warrant has
been issued for Elizabeth

Fuentes Ortiz, the charge--

attempt murder, with a special
consideration for torture.

Elizabeth is 23 years old,
5 feet, 6 inches tall,

and weighs 140 pounds.

She has black hair, brown
eyes, and a prominent cleft

in her chin.

On a previous
broadcast, we featured

the agonizing story of a young
Englishwoman, Delia Fazzani.

In 1964, she was 18
years old, unmarried,

and had just had a baby,
whom she named Michelle.

At her father's insistence,
Delia was staying at a convent

until the baby was adopted.

Two weeks after
the baby was born,

Delia's parents
visited the convent.

Delia hoped once her father
saw Michelle, he would relent.

But he wouldn't even look
at his granddaughter.

In the end, Delia had
no choice but to give

up her daughter for adoption.

You go, and you've got
30 minutes to say goodbye.

What you try to do
is look at her face,

to burn the impression into
your mind so you feel you the,

um, the shawl, maybe
because it was wool.

But you're feeling her body,
because that was the last time

you were going to see her.

And that was it.

I can't explain it.

One minute, I had a baby.

The next minute, it was gone.

ROBERT STACK: Two
photographs were all

that Delia had to
remember Michelle,

and she never stopped
trying to locate her.

Finally, after 15 years
of frustrated research,

Delia's efforts
began to pay off.

Last July, Delia learned
that her daughter

had been renamed Laura.

An adoptions official agreed
to send a letter to Laura

that Delia had written.

In the brief note, Delia
said that she would soon

appear on "Unsolved Mysteries"
and asked her daughter

to view the broadcast.

-

ROBERT STACK (ON TV): 1964,
Delia Fazzani sat in her--

ROBERT STACK: In New York
Mills, New York, on the evening

our program was aired, Delia's
daughter, Laura Franklin,

experienced firsthand
the heartbreaking events

leading up to her adoption.

DELIA (ON TV):
But he just didn't

want the responsibility of it.

That was the way
they did things.

Oh, it's you.

DELIA (ON TV): Yes, the
responsibility to go.

When I found out my birth
mother was searching for me,

that was pretty touching,
to know that she had looked

that far to try to find me.

ROBERT STACK (ON TV): If you
have any information, please

call our toll-free number--

ROBERT STACK: After
the broadcast,

Laura contacted our
telecenter and asked to be put

in touch with her birth mother.

Against nearly impossible
odds, Delia had at last

found her daughter, a
continent away, amidst

a population of millions.

On September 19, 1992,
Laura, her husband, their two

children, and Laura's
closest friends

assembled at Syracuse
International Airport.

The separation of birth
mother and daughter

that had lasted more than
a quarter of a century

was about to end.

There was a lot
of anticipation,

a lot of what's she going
to think when she sees me.

And what is she going
through right now?

[talking quietly]

I know.

She was everything and more
that I had expected, absolutely

everything.

She's a beautiful girl.

I'm proud of her.

ROBERT STACK: Before Laura's
adoptive mother died in 1989,

she had shared all she
knew of Laura's background.

Delia and Laura could now fill
in the remaining gaps in nearly

30 years of family history.

LAURA: Finding my birth
mother now I don't think

has really changed my life
as much as it has probably

enhanced it because now
I can find out something

about my past and my
history and things

that I never thought that I
would ever find out about.

DELIA: I can't
replace her mother.

But I'd like to think that
I could be pretty close.

ROBERT STACK: The September
reunion is only beginning.

At Christmas, Laura
and her family

plan to travel to England, where
they will spend time with Delia

and the many relatives
looking forward to meeting

them for the first time.

Join me next time.

Perhaps you will be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]