All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E14.480p.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 New Mexico,
a frantic emergency call

to the police gives hope
to a desperate mother

that her daughter, kidnapped
almost seven years ago,

is still alive.

Several years ago, a
retired couple in Florida

offered food and comfort to
a poor, itinerant stranger.

Later, in the midst of
their own hard times,

their good deed was rewarded by
a generous, unknown benefactor.

Just before Christmas in 1982,
seven-year-old Chucky McGivern,

stricken with a rare, often
fatal illness, when in a coma,

Chucky is visited
by a mysterious boy

and given the gift of
a Christmas miracle.

Join me for these
stories which capture

the spirit of the season on
a special holiday edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

Even at Christmas time,
it is easy to doubt

the possibility of
miracles, unless you believe

you have experienced one.

The McGivern family of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

never imagined
that they would be

chosen to receive such a gift.

Their remarkable story began
during the Christmas season

10 years ago, on the day
seven-year-old Chucky

McGivern came home
early from school

with a case of the chicken pox.

BOY: Mom, Dad, come quick.

ROBERT STACK: Three days later--
- What is it?

What's the matter?

--Chucky's brother --Chucky's
brother frantically

called his parents upstairs.

Chucky had taken a sudden
terrifying turn for the worse.

He had lost consciousness
and slipped into a coma.

Chucky.

Honey, he is ice cold.

I'm going to call the doctor.

ROBERT STACK: Chucky
was immediately

rushed to a nearby hospital,
his brain dangerously swollen.

His parents waited for
an hour while doctors

stabilized his condition.

NANCY MCGIVERN: The doctor
warned me when I went in there.

He says, when you see him, he's
going to look like he's dead.

His skin was so hard
and cold and pure white.

And he had all these-- he had
a bolt sewn into his head.

He had tubes in his
kidneys and up his nose.

The main thing was the
bolt that was in his head.

And just his liver,
everything was

just hooked up to everything.

And I was shocked.

I was really shocked.

ROBERT STACK: Chucky's
diagnosis was grim.

He had Reye's syndrome, a rare
disease of the nervous system,

brain, and liver that is
virtually unique to children

and often fatal.

How is he?

I have to be honest with you.

Your son is very ill.

But he's going
to be all right.

At this point, we're not sure.

What exactly are his chances?

We're not promising.

Even if he does
recover, in severe cases

of Reye's syndrome, there's a
possibility of brain damage.

I'm sorry, but, uh, I
think it's best that you

know exactly where we stand.

Thank you, Doctor.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK: Despite
the bleak prognosis,

Nancy and Chuck McGivern
refused to give up hope.

They moved into the hospital
to be closer to their son.

They were soon
joined in the vigil

by other family members,
who brought religious medals

for comfort and healing.

Nancy's cousin, Jerry, gave
her a particularly unique

ornament--

a relic from the robe
of Saint John Neumann,

the patron saint of vocations.

You remember when I was
in that car crash in Italy?

I should have been dead,
but this was in my pocket.

And I swear it saved my life.

I think it might
help Chucky, too.

ROBERT STACK: John Neumann
came to the United States

from Bohemia in 1836.

He was known as a
simple, tireless priest

who would ultimately become the
fourth bishop of Philadelphia.

In 1860, Bishop Neumann died.

Almost immediately, people
began praying to him

for favors and blessings.

In 1923, a young girl
was cured of peritonitis

when a picture of the bishop
was placed on her abdomen.

Before long, a
number of miracles

had been attributed to Neumann.

In 1977, John Neumann was
canonized and declared

the first American male saint.

Grasping at anything
that could offer hope,

Nancy McGivern pinned the
relics to Chucky's pillow.

NANCY MCGIVERN: Reye's syndrome
is a build up of pressure

on the brain, and
that's why I wanted

these medals next to his head.

The medals made me feel
stronger and gave us more hope.

Here you go, Chucky.

They'll take good
care of you, babe.

ROBERT STACK: The
McGiverns had never

been especially religious.

In fact, they had not
been to church in years.

But now they found
themselves turning to God,

praying that their
youngest son would not die.

I've never prayed that
hard in my life, never.

I mean, I was praying
so hard that only

blood was sweating
down my forehead,

anything but your kid.

ROBERT STACK: Despite
the prayers of his family

and the efforts of his
doctors, Chucky's condition

continued to deteriorate.

Lidocaine.

After a day or two,
like, his lungs collapsed.

Pneumonia set in.

There were two nurses,
and they didn't

know I was there in the room.

They were behind
this door there,

and they had an x-ray
set up right in his room.

And when I came in, I heard them
say, he's not gonna make it.

ROBERT STACK: Chucky's parents
could only wait and hope.

Little did they know that
over the next 48 hours,

something truly remarkable
was going to occur.

Hey, Chucky.

NANCY MCGIVERN: I
notice that the Saint

John Neumann medal was turned
face down on his pillow.

So in order to turn
this relic back around,

I had to unpin it, take
off the other ones,

and turn the Saint John
Neumann relic around,

put it back onto
the pin, and put

the other ones back on again
in order for it to be face up.

Hey, baby.

The next time I
came back, it was

face down again, like somebody
came and kept switching it.

As I'm putting it
up, somebody was

coming in and putting it down.

And that's what
it was just like,

and I thought I was going crazy.

ROBERT STACK: That evening,
another intriguing mystery--

someone taped a picture of Saint
John Neumann in Chucky's room.

Nancy asked around, but no one
knew where it had come from

or who had put it there.

The next morning, Chucky's
father had an odd encounter

in the hospital waiting room.

CHUCK MCGIVERN: It was, like, 11
o'clock or something like that,

and I was watching TV.

And all of a sudden,
this little boy walks in.

He looks at everybody
in the room.

He looks at my wife,
and he stares at me.

I'm staring at him,
thinking, you know,

maybe his parents are
going to come in next.

And I'm wondering why, like, why
is he by himself or, you know.

So he just looked around,
and he looked at me again.

And he just walked out.

So later that day, the
nurse comes up and says,

oh, we had a little incident.

We don't want you
to get worried.

But a little boy
came to visit Chucky.

I came to see Chucky.

Uh, how did you get in here?

I-- I only wanted
to see Chucky.

Wait.
Wait.

Come back here.
Wait.

Wait a second.
Excuse me.

ROBERT STACK: Later
that day, Chucky

received another unexpected
visitor, Father Robert Roncase.

He had heard about
Chucky's plight

and felt compelled to
administer what is commonly

known as the last rites.

Just something
inside me was saying,

he needs to be anointed.

He needs to receive the
sacrament of the sick.

It was an overwhelming
feeling that I just

had to go down and do this.

And I left immediately.

I went right down that
day, right at that moment,

to go down to anoint him.

Through this
holy anointing, may

the Lord in his love and
mercy help you with the grace

of the holy spirit, amen.

ROBERT RONCASE: And I do
remember when I was anointing

Chucky that I could
feel that something

definitely was happening.

I could feel an overwhelming
presence of the spirit,

and I could feel
that he in some way

was receiving grace
and strength from God.

ROBERT STACK: Less
than an hour later,

the unimaginable happened.

Chucky?

Chucky?

ROBERT STACK: Within hours,
Chucky would be off of life

support and sitting up in bed.

To his parents, a
miracle had come to pass.

Hey, babe.

Chucky.

From being very low where you
think, well, my son might die,

to he came through, it was--

oh, my, it was great.

I mean, we were calling
everybody on the phone

that he was getting better.

But he got better so
fast, it was unbelievable.

There you go, Chucky.

ROBERT STACK:
Chucky began telling

his parents about a bizarre
dream he had while unconscious.

Incredibly, he described
the same young boy

that his father and his doctor
had seen in the hospital.

What presents, honey?

Well, there were lots
of kids in the room,

giving me presents.

And you and Dad were here, too.

I remember when I got up, I
was sort of confused because I

didn't understand if
that was all a dream

or did that actually happen.

And all these Asian
kids would surround me,

coming in and giving
presents of all sorts.

But there was one
boy in particular

who stayed by my bedside.

Everything is going
to be all right, Chucky.

I know.

This boy in my dream
was my best friend.

And he was, like,
the strength for me.

And at all times, like, in
this dream when I was maybe not

feeling so good, he
was there to make sure

everything was all right.

And I guess he was
just like a symbol

of the best friend I would
have, even outside a dream.

ROBERT STACK: One week
after he had lapsed

into a coma and a
week before Christmas,

Chucky McGivern was
released from the hospital.

NANCY MCGIVERN: The doctors
said they never had anybody

so gravely ill recover so fast.

And three months
later, we went back.

And they went
through everything.

And he came out
like he was never

sick, is what the doctor
said, like nothing

ever happened to him.

You're coming now into
the shrine of Saint John.

ROBERT STACK: Two weeks after
Chucky left the hospital,

his parents took him to the
shrine of Saint John Neumann

in Philadelphia.

We have right here the real
body of Saint John Neumann.

When he died as Bishop
of Philadelphia in 1860,

he was brought to Saint Peter's
Church here to be buried.

And for many years, he was
under a tomb in the crypt.

What is it, honey?

That was my best friend in
the dream in the hospital.

Are you sure?

Yeah, I'm sure.

That's him.

ROBERT STACK: The
McGiverns were startled

when they realized
that the portrait was

of Saint John Neumann as a boy.

I was so taken back.

Then I started thinking.

It really hit me that
something happened

here, that Saint John Neumann
interceded for him in some way.

There was some kind
of a connection there.

It's hard to believe.

I don't know why.

Even now, I don't
know because he's

just like any other person.

He's just like any
other kid at his age.

But there must be
a reason for it.

I don't know.

The reason why Saint John
Neumann came to my aid,

I have no idea.

That's something I'll never,
never be able to explain.

But I know, like, Saint John
Neumann will always be there

for me, which is always good.

You know, I know he'll
always be near my side.

Did the McGivern family
actually experience

a Christmas miracle, or
were they the recipients

of incredible good luck?

Perhaps it doesn't
really matter.

In the case of this
unsolved mystery,

a rational explanation
is hardly necessary.

[theme music]

[emergency sirens]

Sunday, February 28, 1988, 9
PM, firefighters in Odessa,

Texas, were called to the
scene of an untended trash fire

in the parking lot
of an abandoned bar.

Within minutes, they
discover that in reality they

had been called to the
scene of a grisly murder.

Buried in the ashes was
a charred body of a man

who had been beaten and
shot twice in the back

before being set afire.

The victim was identified as
59-year-old Neal Jennings,

an RV dealer from
Dallas who dabbled

in restoring classic cars.

As the Odessa
police began to look

into the death of Neal
Jennings, a macabre scenario

began to unfold.

And they found
themselves faced with one

of the most bizarre
homicide cases

they had ever investigated.

The key was a man named Bill
Roberts, an enigmatic drifter

who worked for Neal Jennings and
was apparently the last person

to see him alive.

On February 26, 1988, Neal
Jennings and Bill Roberts

stopped off at Neal's brother's
house, just outside of Dallas.

Neal, this car looks great.

Well, Bill helped me restore
it and did a pretty good job.

It is a pretty good job.
Now, listen.

You're going to help me--

ROBERT STACK: Eight
weeks earlier,

Neal had hired Bill
to do the finish

details on his latest project,
a 1959 Ford Thunderbird.

Tell me about this
new guy you hired.

Well, Bill, he's OK.

You know, we pay him $50 a
week, plus room and board.

You're kidding?

Well, that keeps
him off the street.

ROBERT STACK: In private,
Neal let on that he

was having financial problems.

In fact, he could not even
pay Bill the $50 weekly salary

he had promised him.

Bill, glad to have met you.

Yeah, bye now.

ROBERT STACK: That Friday
evening, Neal and Bill

drove 300 miles across
the barren Texas prairie

to the oil town of Odessa.

At 8:30 PM, they checked into
a motel at the edge of town.

That would be the last
time anyone ever saw Neal

Jennings, not so Bill Roberts.

Over the next 48
hours, he was all

over Odessa, engaged in a
number of suspicious activities.

An hour after arriving
in town, Bill Roberts

showed up at the
home of a man named

Jack, who had introduced him
to Neal a few months earlier.

Hey, Bill, come on in.

Jack.

ROBERT STACK: Jack
could not help

noticing that Bill was very
nervous and sweating profusely.

Jack, could I get a
glass of water from you?

Oh, sure you can, Bill.

Uh, where's Neal?

Uh, we just got back in town.

I dropped him off at
his lady friend's house.

Uh, I guess they're having
some dinner or something.

Oh, well, here you go.

Thank you.

Well, you sure look
like you're out of breath.

Yeah, I had to walk from this
little bar down the street.

The battery went
dead in the truck.

I was wondering if you
could give me a jump.

Well, sure, I can.

ROBERT STACK: Jack agreed
to jump start the pickup.

Bill parked the truck
in Jack's backyard

and went to sleep in the cab.

The next morning, Jack
noticed that the truck

bed was covered with a tarp.

He also noticed that
Bill was circling

the vehicle in a
strange manner, his eyes

fixed on the cargo bed.

How y'all doing?

ROBERT STACK:
10:30 AM, Saturday,

Bill stopped at a rundown motel
where he attempted to sell

Neal's truck for $1,200.

I'd have to have
cash for it, though.

Well, that's a nice
truck, Bill, but $1,200.

ROBERT STACK: When
he found no buyer,

Bill asked the
residents if he could

park the truck in the back of
the motel, hidden from view.

I've got no problem with that.

All right, well,
I appreciate that.

All right.

ROBERT STACK: About six
hours later at 5:00 PM,

Bill Roberts returned
to the motel.

Listen, I wonder if
y'all might have a pick

and a shovel I could borrow.

I need to fix a broken
water line for an old lady.

Sorry about that, Bill.

I don't think we have a pick
or a shovel around here.

I wish I could help you, though.

That's OK.

Look, I'll just, uh, see
you all a little later then.

ROBERT STACK: Bill then drove
the truck to a convenience

store less than a mile away.

I was sitting on the
store behind the counter.

And Bill came in
and asked me if he

could park the truck behind
because the truck was

overheating.

Thank you.

No problem.

All right.

Would that be all?

[gunshot]

[gunshot]

ROBERT STACK: 15 minutes
later, Saul heard

two gunshots in the distance.

Another 45 minutes passed,
and Bill was back, this time

flashing a large wad of cash.

Thanks again, buddy.

Good night.

ROBERT STACK:
Later, Bill was seen

back at the motel,
where he again spent

the night in Neal's truck.

Saturday night, he came back.

And he said he had
done done the job.

He acted real nervous, and
he acted especially nervous

whenever he went over to get
something out of the truck that

had the tarp on it.

How are you, Bill?

All right.

ROBERT STACK: The next
morning, another odd encounter.

Would it be OK if
I did some laundry?

MOTEL RESIDENT: And I noticed
that blood was on his shirt.

Well, I didn't think anything
about it because, you know,

it just looked like
maybe he cut himself

and wiped it off on his shirt.

Why don't you follow me?

And I'll show you how
to use this washer.

MOTEL RESIDENT: So I told
him, OK, you know, yeah.

You can use the laundry.

ROBERT STACK: A few minutes
later, another resident

noticed a small amount of
blood on the back bumper

of Neal's pickup.

Around noon, Bill left the
motel and never returned.

Eight hours later,
the police were

on the scene of the trash fire.

I believe we've got
someone burned up in here.

OFFICER: Our
investigation at the scene

showed there was
two pools of blood.

We found shotgun shell
casings and waddings there

at the scene.

There was drag marks
leading from the parking lot

over to the concrete
slab where Neal

was actually found, on fire.

MARK DONALDSON: There's
no doubt in our mind

that the fatal shots
happened in that parking lot.

ROBERT STACK: Sheriff's deputies
now believe that Bill Roberts

shot Neal Jennings on
Saturday night and hid

his body in a trash heap.

For some unknown reason,
he waited 24 hours

and then returned to
set Neal's body on fire.

Robert's apparent
motive-- to murder Neal

Jennings so that he could
steal his truck and sell it.

The thing that makes
this case so strange to us

is we know Neal got
here Friday night.

He was with Bill.

Neal was never seen
again after Friday night.

Now Saturday morning, we've got
Bill by himself in the truck.

Saturday evening, we've got
Saul hearing the gunshots.

[gunshots]

And Sunday evening is
when the body was actually

found, due to the fire.

The question is, where was Neal
from Friday night until Sunday?

When did the murder
actually take place?

ROBERT STACK: In the course
of their investigation,

police learned that
Bill Roberts was

actually Bill Blackwell,
who had served

time for larceny and theft.

He was wanted by the Texas
Department of Corrections

on a parole violation.

Authorities determined that Bill
Blackwell left Odessa within 24

hours of setting the fire.

He then drove to
Albuquerque, New Mexico,

where he sold Neal's
truck at a flea market.

He has not been seen since.

Next, the strange odyssey of a
little girl, kidnapped in 1986.

[theme music]

Gallup, New Mexico, 140
miles west of Albuquerque,

lies within what was for
centuries the territory

of the Navajo Indian Nation.

On April 6, 1986, this
quiet community of 18,000

was rocked by the
mysterious disappearance

of a 9-year-old Navajo
girl, Anthonette Cayedito.

She's not in the living room.

ROBERT STACK: When her
mother and two sisters

awoke that morning, they
were surprised to discover

that Anthonette was
not in the house.

We went looking for her
around the house, nothing.

Anthonette?

I didn't start
panicking until we checked

with all the neighbors,
went to every house,

and nobody had seen her.

And that's when I panicked.

Have you guys seen her?

No.

Have you guys seen her?

Anthonette, I can't find her.

ROBERT STACK: Penny
Cayedito's neighbors

fanned out through the
surrounding foothills,

looking for Anthonette.

That For three days, they
searched along with the police,

but no one found a trace
of the little girl.

Authorities were almost
certain she had been kidnapped.

The days stretched into
weeks, then months.

Police could offer little to
bolster Penny's hopes of ever

finding her daughter alive.

Finally, after a year had
passed and all seemed lost,

a dramatic call for help came
into the Gallup Police Station.

OPERATOR: Hello,
this is Gallup--

ROBERT STACK: Before
the girl could answer,

the call was abruptly ended
by an unidentified man.

[sobbing]

ROBERT STACK: Detectives
played a recording of the call

for Penny Cayedito.

If the voice was, indeed,
her daughter's, it would be

an agonizing glimmer of hope.

OPERATOR: Gallup Police
Department, hello?

This is Gallup--

ANTHONETTE: I'm-- I'm
Anthonette Cayedito.

OPERATOR: What?

ANTHONETTE: I'm Antho--
I'm Anthonette Cayedito.

I'm in Albuquerque.

OPERATOR: OK, whereabouts
in Albuquerque?

MAN: Who said you
could use the phone?

OPERATOR: Hello?

[sobbing]

I listened to that tape
over and over and over.

And just by the way
she says her last name,

and the way she screamed, it
sent chills all over my body

because a mother knows.

And I know that was her.

She knew that was her
daughter's voice on that tape,

and she just couldn't
figure out who

the male's voice was
in the background

and where Anthonette was at.

We know Anthonette had indicated
that she was in Albuquerque.

But the call was so short that
it couldn't even be traced,

as to what line it
was coming from.

ROBERT STACK: The phone
call nourished renewed hopes

for Anthonette's safe return.

However, four
torturous years passed

without any further clues.

Once again, authorities
began to fear that she

would never be found alive.

In desperation, the
FBI finally released

two computer-enhanced
photographs,

showing what Anthonette might
look like at the age of 14.

Four months later, the
last ditch effort paid off.

A possible sighting
of Anthonette

was reported in Carson City,
Nevada, 870 miles from Gallup.

A waitress at a
restaurant in Carson City

told the Carson City Police
about a strange incident

that she had witnessed
that particular day.

OK, three cheeseburgers.

KEVIN MILES: She
waited on a table

at which sat a
male and a female,

rather unkempt,
and a small girl,

about the age of 14 or 15.

The little girl
would deliberately

drop a utensil on the floor.

The waitress put the
utensil back on the table,

and the little girl grabbed
her hand and squeezed it, hard.

The waitress thought nothing of
it and went about her business.

The threesome left
the restaurant,

and the waitress went
back to the table

and began to bus the table.

She lifted up the plate
belonging to the girl

and underneath it was a napkin
that said, please, help me.

Call the police.

By the time she realized
what had happened,

the couple and the
girl were gone.

ROBERT STACK: One month after
the Carson City sighting,

detectives re-interviewed
Anthonette's younger

sister, Wendy, who was
five years old when

Anthonette disappeared.

Now 10, Wendy made a
stunning revelation.

Wendy.

KEVIN MILES: We went
to Wendy's school

with the intention
of just talking

to her about what
her recollections

were of that particular night.

There was a knock at the door.

And then Anthonette
went to go answer it.

And then I followed her.

[knocking]

Who's there?

MAN: Open up.

Who's there?

MAN: Uncle Joe, open up.

ACTRESS AS WENDY:
She goes, who is it?

And then they say, Uncle Joe.

So she opened the door,
and they grabbed her.

She started kicking,
and she goes, let me go.

Let me go.

And then they took her
to a van, a brown van.

Did you see what
these guys looked like?

Nuh-uh, I didn't
see their faces.

Wendy, why didn't
you tell anybody

about what you saw that night?

Because I thought since my
mom was crying and everything,

I thought I'd get in trouble.

I strongly believe that she
was fearful in that people

would think that
for a five-year-old

she's just making stories up.

You know, I don't believe
she's making this up.

I strongly feel that she's
telling us the truth with that.

Uncle Joe at that time in
1986 was Penny's brother-in-law.

He was married to
Penny's sister.

We recently
interviewed him, and he

provided an alibi and a witness
corroborating his alibi.

And he is not a suspect.

I believe that the
people that took Anthonette

are not family members,
but is somebody

that is close to the family.

Otherwise, Anthonette
would not have

opened that door,
had they not stated

that it was her Uncle Joe.

I strongly believe
that somebody had

to have known who
Uncle Joe was and had

to have known what to
say to get Anthonette

to open up that door.

ROBERT STACK: Finally,
Penny Cayedito

turned to her own
Native American heritage

in the search for Anthonette.

She and her other daughters
visited a respected Navajo

medicine woman,
skilled in performing

traditional tribal ceremonies.

"Unsolved Mysteries" was
allowed to film portions

of the crystal ritual, or as it
is called in Navajo, [navajo].

It is a centuries-old right
with the specific purpose

of contacting the spirit
of a missing person.

[speaking navajo]

ROBERT STACK: According
to the medicine woman,

Anthonette is still alive
and may have a child.

She is being held against her
will by threats of violence,

far from any city,
somewhere in the Southwest.

Detectives were amazed that
additional information provided

by the medicine woman was
consistent with elements

of their own investigation.

PENNY CAYEDITO: Going
to the medicine lady

gives me a lot of
strength, and it helps me

to just know that she is alive.

I want her to be
safe, wherever she is.

No matter who she
is with, they've

got to have some compassion not
to hurt another human being,

as small as she is.

And I pray that God will help
guide her and help guide all

of us to keep the strength,
to go on, to find her

and bring her home safe.

ROBERT STACK: When we return,
a series of anonymous gifts

shows a Florida couple that
no good deed goes unrewarded.

[theme music]

Around Christmas time, even
the most hard boiled among us

seems to soften up, to look
for the best in others,

to give more freely
of ourselves.

It's a time when we begin
to hope for little miracles.

This is the story of
a simple good deed

which in a charming
and mysterious way

returned itself 500-fold.

The setting is not the snow and
ice and fir trees of the North,

but rather the palm
trees, balmy breezes,

and blue waters of Florida.

Behind its ritzy
facade, Florida harbors

a very different subculture
of retired couples,

living on meager fixed incomes.

Jean and Russell Johnson
are just such a couple.

Russell, a former fire
chief in Wayne, Michigan,

was forced to retire after
a severe heart attack.

Now Russell spends most
days in his workshop,

building custom dollhouses
and repairing church organs.

Jean is a homemaker who raised
four children before she

and Russell moved to Florida.

Despite some continuing
health problems,

the Johnsons were managing
to make ends meet,

and their lives were
routine and uneventful

until the winter of 1985.

Well, this day started out
about the same as any other day

down here.

It was in November.

And it was unusually warm,
as I remember it, and humid.

I was working out in the shop.

It was about 10:30
in the morning.

All of a sudden, the door
of the house came open,

and Jean came out,
frightened, scared.

There's a man outside.

What does he want?

He He said he-- he wanted some--
some work for something to eat.

- He's out here in front?
- Yeah.

OK.

Do you have any
work that I could

do to get something to eat?

I'm really hungry.

No, I don't have any
work for you to do.

But you sure won't
leave here hungry.

Jean, do we got anything
to make a sandwich out of?

I can make you a sandwich.

Well, usually we don't have
much for lunch, you know.

But we just happened to go in
to town and got some lunch meat.

And so I had lots of
stuff to feed them.

How about a glass
of iced tea, cold?

That would taste real good.

Jean, would you bring
a glass of iced tea?

Make it two glasses.

I'll have one with him.

You look tired.

Would you like a
chair, to sit down?

Yes.

ROBERT STACK: The stranger had
asked for help from a couple

who had very little themselves.

Russell had recently
undergone open heart surgery,

and Jean had successfully
battled cancer.

Their financial
resources were depleted.

Nevertheless, they were
willing to share what they had.

Tired?

Yeah, well, I've come
a long way, you know.

Where are you from?

I'm from Houston, and
there are no jobs out there.

And--

RUSSELL JOHNSON: Just
talking with him--

--I came hitchhiking here.

RUSSELL JOHNSON: --you could
tell the man was not a bum.

I had no luck being
picked up at all.

He was very articulate
in his speech,

friendly, and
basically a gentleman.

Thank you.

Thank you.

RUSSELL JOHNSON: He may
have been down on his luck,

but he was no bum.

He ate quite a while.

I think probably he had about
three sandwiches to begin with.

And then he rested a bit
and had some more tea.

He was just really
too tired to talk,

so we just sat there
and kept him company.

After a period of time--
oh, I don't know, I

would say five minutes or so--

he said, well, he says, I
guess I'd better be on my way.

Thank you.

Lots of luck on your job.

Thank you.

Uh, just a minute,
do you have any money?

$0.13.

RUSSELL JOHNSON: I
reached into my pocket,

and I had some change.

And Jean turned at that time
and went back in the house,

hit the hypothetical sugar bowl.

And she came up with some
change and another dollar bill,

and I imagine the man--

we probably gave him about $5.

Get something to eat.

Yeah.

And as we gave it to
him, we noticed his eyes,

there was just such a sparkle
of life came back into them.

And he just reacted
so differently.

He didn't seem to be
the man that he was

when we first talked with him.

Thank you.

RUSSELL JOHNSON: And that was
only a matter of everything

within a half an hour.

God bless you.

RUSSELL JOHNSON: Well, as
he said that, the strangest

feeling came over Jean
and I, just a feeling

of such goodness and love.

Go through the
back to the pool.

ROBERT STACK: Jean
and Russell Johnson

walked through their
house into the garage,

then out onto a side porch.

They wanted to wave to
their visitor one last time.

Where is he?

ROBERT STACK: He was
nowhere to be seen.

Are we losing it?

RUSSELL JOHNSON: We walked back
through the garage, nobody.

We walked out to the
street, looked both ways,

walked out to the main street
in front of our house, nobody.

ROBERT STACK: The mysterious
stranger had vanished

as quickly as he appeared.

Yet the special warmth Jean and
Russell Johnson felt lingered.

Oh, this is a nice one.

ROBERT STACK: They began
to remark, half in jest,

that perhaps they had
been visited by an angel.

Then about 10 days before
Christmas, the Johnsons

received an anonymous card.

I think somebody
is playing a trick.

Hmm?

"Your Christian friends?"

There's a check
for-- for $500.

I can't-- I don't believe this.

$500?

RUSSELL JOHNSON: Well,
we don't know any friends

that have that kind
of money to give

away, especially anonymously.

"Love, your
Christian friends."

RUSSELL JOHNSON: And
I looked at Jean.

She was crying.

What's the matter?

I can't believe it.

RUSSELL JOHNSON: It had hit
at a very opportune time.

We didn't have anything.

And the only remark that
I could make at the time

was, it has to be our angel.

Good morning, Russ, Jean.
How are you today?

- Real good, Ernie.
- Good, how can I help you?

Well, we've got a bit
of a problem, perhaps.

We got this in the
mail, and we think

it might be a practical joke.

And if we didn't
know you, I don't

think we'd even try to cash it.

Is it any good?

I'll take a look at it.

Good as gold, Russ,
how would you like it?

Isn't that something?

Put it in the checking
account, Ernie.

I'll do it right now.

We couldn't believe it.

We tried to check to see if
there was somebody that we

knew that could have sent it.

We looked at the post
marks, where it was from.

We checked handwritings.

And we'd say to everybody,
if you sent this, thank you.

But nobody-- nobody did.

ROBERT STACK: The
following Christmas,

another anonymous card arrived.

It was signed, "your friend."

It contained another $500 check.

The next three
Christmases brought

three more checks
and three more cards,

all mailed from
the Orlando area.

Jean and Russell
Johnson have never

been able to find out
who their benefactor is,

but they have a
pretty good idea.

We've often thought back.

We took $5 that we didn't
have and gave to somebody

that needed it more.

We don't know if
there's any connection.

But in return, from
somewhere, we've

gotten $500 for five years.

God bless you.

RUSSELL JOHNSON: Could
it be from our angel?

We don't know.

We have no identification.

But we would like to say
thank you to somebody.

It was a gift well received.

Did the Johnsons experience
a Christmas miracle?

Perhaps, or perhaps
they simply experienced

the everyday
miracle of kindness,

which is never out of season.

From all of us at
"Unsolved Mysteries,"

I'd like to extend to
you and your family

our best wishes for a
safe, happy holiday.

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[theme music]