All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E19.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

[music playing]

ANNOUNCER: 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 (VOICEOVER): When
Brian Brophil, a wealthy New

York businessman bought
a farm in rural Vermont,

local residents were
instantly charmed

by his easy manner and
good natured attempts

to adopt country ways.

But in 1990, an early morning
raid on Brophil's farm

left his friends and
neighbors started.

The congenial city
slicker was apparently

a major player in the
international drug trade.

In the summer of 1988,
tensions in the Persian Gulf

were at the boiling point.

On July 3, Captain Will Rogers
of the USS Vincennes believing

his ship was about to
be attacked mistakenly

ordered his gunners to shoot
down an Iranian airliner

leaving 290 civilians dead.

Several months later in San
Diego, a car bombing that

is no accident, the
target is the wife

of the American ship's captain.

In police radio code,
it's known as 211

armed, a robbery in progress.

Two masked gunmen are about
to terrorize the customers

and employees of a restaurant,
clean out the cash register,

and then just escape
unmolested and unidentified.

Since August 23, 1991,
the same scenario

has unfolded no
less than 29 times

in and around the city
of Vallejo, California.

In every case, the
robbers brandished

handguns and
semi-automatic weapons.

And in almost every case, the
target was a pizza restaurant.

Join me for these
fascinating stories.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Orleans

County, Vermont lies on
the United States border

with Canada.

It's quiet countryside
is dotted was

small farming towns
whose families

lived here for generations.

In these parts, a stranger is
guaranteed to cause a stir.

But no one was prepared
for the whirlwind

that would follow the arrival
of a man named Brian Brophil.

In August of 1986, the
wealthy New Yorker bought

a 30 acre farm in West Glover.

He told people he
had made his fortune

manufacturing toothbrushes
and had come to the country

to put down roots.

His unassuming manner soon won
the trust of his neighbors.

He loved Vermont.

And he really became friendly
with a lot of the local people.

NANCY BUCKLEY
(VOICEOVER): He had

this easy way about him that
made people very comfortable.

Bye, bye, baby.

Tough to part with this one?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Nancy Buckley

met Brian when he
called about a puppy she

advertised in the local paper.
- Bye bye.

Bye bye.

NANCY BUCKLEY (VOICEOVER):
He was open and friendly

and was either
knowledgeable in an area

that you were interested
in or he was very curious

and wanted to learn
about something

that you knew a lot about.

And both of those things
ingratiate him to you.

He was an accident waiting
for a place to happen.

He knew nothing
about country life.

But he was willing to learn.

FRANK MEDOR (VOICEOVER):
But Brian's idea of learning

was to ask you to
help him do something

and then stand and
watch you do it.

I think there's something
wrong with this saddle.

This doesn't feel right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Frank and Susan Medor,

who also owned a farm
in Virginia, where

Brian's nearest neighbors.

They probably knew him better
than anyone in the area.

FRANK MEDOR (VOICEOVER):
Manual labor

was not in his vocabulary.

But he did it in such a likable
way you didn't object to it.

He was very
obviously a city boy.

He couldn't hide that.

Think you could did
that on that side?

Could you show
me one more time.

Sure

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Brian Brophil was definitely

a hard man to figure out.

He knew next to nothing
about country life,

yet he went out and spent
thousands of dollars

to buy a single horse of a
special breed, a Warmblood.

What a great big Warmblood.

He's wonderful.

Where did you such a big horse.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Brian then paid

thousands more to board the
horse with another neighbor,

Peggy DuPont.

I paid 10 grand for him.

PEGGY DUPONT
(VOICEOVER): There were

a couple things about Brian
that seemed a little strange.

The first thing was that he
paid in cash for his board.

He had two horses.

So he would pay me $500
in cash for the boarding.

And my husband immediately
said, oh, he's a drug dealer.

And I said, he's
not a drug dealer.

You're out of your mind.

He's a nice person.

And besides, he had to go to
the bank first to get the money.

He told me so.

[sirens approaching]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Peggy DuPont's husband

had no idea how right he was.

On February 12, 1990,
20 heavily armed

Vermont State Police, DEA
agents and US marshals

paid a visit to
Brian Brophil's farm.

The agents burst in
on a crop of more

than 2,000 marijuana plants.

It was the biggest bust
in Vermont history.

At that very moment,
Brophil was with the Medors

at the farm in Virginia.

At 8:30 AM, a
friend from Vermont

telephoned with stunning
news of the raid.

Why would they want to
know if I've seen Brian?

Are you kidding?

Going to do any riding today?

I don't think so.

I got all that work in
the corral to finish.

Tomorrow would be a better bit.

That was weird.

There was a marijuana
bust in West Charleston.

They're looking for you, Brian.

What's going on?

I don't know.

But, jeez, I better
make a phone call, huh?

SUE MEDOR (VOICEOVER): He
just was real calm and said,

jeez, I better
make a phone call.

So he made a quick phone call.

And he came back
and said, you're

going to have to take
me to the airport

he said because
I'm going to have

to straighten this mess out.

He said that he was
worried about his reputation.

And what is somebody
trying to do to him?

And this can't be right.

I've got to get home and
straighten out my reputation.

It was at that--

I mean, I sincerely
believed him.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The Medors

unwittingly drove
Vermont's biggest

pot dealer to the airport.

Brian Brophil then
dropped from sight.

Meanwhile, authorities were
just beginning to realize

the scope of his enterprise.

The agent's initial reaction
was just one of pure awe.

Nobody's ever seen
such an operation.

Nationwide, it was one of the
most sophisticated operations

that has ever been seen.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Brophil has spared no expense.

His marijuana plantation
featured automated irrigation

and lighting.

A heating system
sheltered the plants

from Vermont's hard winters.

Authorities estimated
that the operation

had been grossing
as much as a quarter

of a million dollars a month.

Agent LaBier sifted
through Brophil's

private papers trying to
pick up the fugitive's trail.

ANDRE LABIER (VOICEOVER):
I was looking

for anything that would tell
me who Brian Brophil was or is

or will be.

I found volumes in information.

I tracked down each
piece of information.

And each piece of information
led me to a dead end.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Agent LaBier

expected Brophil would have a
well-documented criminal past.

However, FBI and
various state records

revealed only a single
conviction for drunk driving.

Convinced that Brophil was
wanted somewhere for something,

Agent LaBier contacted
Interpol, the international law

enforcement agency, he
was stunned to discover

that the giant marijuana
operation was little more

than a hobby, just a small
part of an illicit drug empire

masterminded by Brian Brophil.

ANDRE LABIER (VOICEOVER):
What I learned

is that he initially
began smuggling

in the late 1970s, early 1980s.

He got involved with
a group of people who

were living a good lifestyle.

ANDRE LABIER (VOICEOVER): He
traveled to a few exotic places

with these people and got
addicted to their lifestyle.

He wanted to become a playboy.

The quickest way
he could do that

was to become a
narcotics smuggler.

Initially, Brian traveled
to Southeast Asia

in the South Pacific,
where he procured

small amounts of narcotics.

He would take these narcotics
and tape them to his body

and walk through customs.

He did this in
countries that execute

people for drug activity.

Brian would walk through customs
without sweating a beaten

and making friends.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): By the
time Brophil moved to Vermont

he had developed one
of the world's largest

drug smuggling networks.

After months of
painstaking research,

Agent LeBier was
able to penetrate

Brophil's shadowy world
and recruit an informant.

Hey, what have you got for me?

This is what I found out.

He's working on his motherload.

His motherload?

Yeah, his motherload.

He talked about this
one for a while.

This is the one he's
going to retire on.

Brings the drugs
in on West Coast.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The man's disclosures

were frustratingly incomplete.

Brophil planned to smuggle some
$20 million worth of heroin

into the United States,
perhaps along the Oregon coast.

But Agent LaBier could never pin
down the exact place or time.

He confirmed our
speculation that Brian

is a major narcotics
smuggler and is continuing

to smuggle narcotics.

What we didn't learn
is the specifics.

ANDRE LABIER (VOICEOVER):
We know that Brian's

out there right now
smuggling narcotics,

peddling his narcotics.

But we don't know
exactly where he is.

When all of this
happened, I was in shock.

And I just couldn't
believe that he

could live such a double life.

I feel sorry for Brian.

I feel sorry for him because his
life, his total life was a lie.

He lived this lie so
perfectly that he obviously

had no life of his own.

The Brian that we
like did not exist.

So I can certainly feel
sorry for him being caught.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On
the night Brophil's story aired,

our phone center switchboards
lit up with calls from Paso

Robles in central California.

Alert viewers there
recognized Brian Brophil

as one of their neighbors.

Local authorities immediately
moved in to make an arrest,

but Brophil had vanished again.

ANDRE LABIER (VOICEOVER):
Our understanding

is that Brian watched the show.

The show aired at 8:00 o'clock
and Brian was gone at 8:15.

He had left all his
personal belongings behind

and was just gone.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In Paso Robles,

Brophil went by the
name Brian Jenkins.

He found work as a handyman
at local horse ranches

and became an accepted
member of the community.

Brophil never once drew
the attention of police.

ANDRE LABIER (VOICEOVER):
He was living

comfortably with no fears.

We weren't even close to him.

He could have wrote a
textbook on how to hide.

He was that good.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
But Brian Brophil

wasn't good enough.

After he fled Paso
Robles, viewer tips

helped authorities track the
fugitive south to Carlsbad,

near San Diego, where he was
arrested on December 19, 1993.

Three weeks later, Brian Brophil
was extradited to Vermont.

If convicted on all charges, he
faces a prison term of 20 years

to life.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Next,
a car bombing in San Diego.

The suspects, international
terrorists seeking revenge.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Summer, 1988, the Persian Gulf.

Just three months
earlier, an American ship

had been badly damaged when it
ran afoul of an Iranian mine.

Now the Gulf swarmed
with United States

naval vessels and aircraft.

Their mission--
protect US flagged

oil tankers from increasingly
hostile Iranian forces.

The centerpiece of the
United States naval presence

in the gulf was
the USS Vincennes,

a state of the art guided
missile cruiser, fully armed

with surface-to-air missiles.

What happened on July the 3rd,
1988 would claim 290 lives,

alter the face of Middle Eastern
politics, and deeply effect

Will Rogers, captain
of the USS Vincennes.

By chance, a Navy film crew
was aboard the ship that day.

They documented
the hellish events.

WILL ROGERS (VOICEOVER):
It started out

in a benign fashion.

We were en route to Bahrain to
celebrate the ship's birthday.

And as we had approached the
southern end of the Gulf,

we received a radio call
that the USS Montgomery was

having some difficulty
with Iranian Revolutionary

Guard small craft.

We were directed
by higher authority

to develop a tactical picture
and relay this information back

to Bahrain.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The Vincennes dispatched

a reconnaissance helicopter.

It was immediately
attacked by at least

seven Iranian gunboats.

Captain Rogers
sought and received

permission to return fire.

WILL ROGERS
(VOICEOVER): What ensued

was a rather violent
surface engagement

between myself, USS
Montgomery and about seven

small, high speed craft.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Almost simultaneously

an unidentified aircraft showed
up on the ship's radar screen.

The plane appeared to be
gathering speed and descending

straight toward the Vincennes.

I initially didn't pay
much attention to it.

It was of some interest but
not very tactically significant

particularly in the middle
of this surface engagement

we were involved in.

WILL ROGERS (VOICEOVER):
We commenced

to issue radio warnings, asking
it to divert from its course

heading directly at us.

Received no response.

In the meantime, the surface
engagement continued.

I was very concerned
about damage

to my ship and me and my crew.

When the aircraft reached
20 nautical miles,

I had permission to engage
it from higher authority.

I simply couldn't believe
that this was happening.

I elected not to engage.

When the aircraft had closed
to about 12 nautical miles,

the decision had to be made.

And I chose to engage
it with muscles.

He had him.

That was a dead on.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The crew's jubilant

mood quickly turned somber.

Information began to
come in over the radio

about an Iranian passenger plane
which had failed to show up

at its appointed destination.

WILL ROGERS (VOICEOVER):
It became obvious to us

that something was badly wrong.

What the pieces of the
puzzle began to add up to was

this overdue
airliner was a result

of the missile engagement
that we in fact

had destroyed a
civilian airliner.

Hold the ship, crossing the
Iranian declared war zone line.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The men aboard the Vincennes

had come face to face
with the unspoken fear

that haunts every military man.

They were responsible for the
death of innocent civilians.

290 passengers aboard a
commercial Iranian airlines

flight were dead.

Their baggage and personal
effects creating an eerie wake

in the blue waters of the gulf.

Most people accept the
downing of Iranian flight 655

as a tragic error.

The flight was not running
at a scheduled time.

It had not responded to repeated
requests to identify itself.

And the Vincennes' radar
screen could not differentiate

between the large
passenger plane and smaller

Iranian fighter jets.

Inside Iran itself, however,
response to the incident

was quite different.

One high ranking
Iranian official even

stated that his country
would not forgive

and claim the right to revenge.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In San Diego, California,

Captain Rogers' wife, Sharon,
a fourth grade schoolteacher,

tried to cope with the news.

A few weeks later, she would
have chilling reason to take

the Iranian rhetoric seriously.

SHARON ROGERS (VOICEOVER): It
was about a month after July 3.

It was 1:00 o'clock
in the morning.

The phone rang.

There was a man on the
other end of the phone

with a mid-Eastern accent.

He wanted to know if this was
the home of Captain Rogers.

And then he said, are you
the wife of the murderer?

And at that time, I hung up.

My worst nightmare
was coming true.

I had feared that
there was someone

out to make retribution for
what had happened in the Gulf.

At this point with
someone calling me,

I thought possibly they
know where our home

is, they know where I live.

And possibly
someone's in the city.

It didn't sound like a long
distance telephone call to me.

Needless to say, I didn't
sleep the rest of the night.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The Naval

Investigative Service was called
in to secure the Rogers' home.

Agents checked the mail and
monitored incoming phone calls.

They recommended that
Sharon Rogers always

keep her car securely
locked in the garage

when she was at home.

10 weeks went by.

No further phone
threats were received.

And on October 24,
1988, Sharon Rogers

was at the dock that
welcomed the USS

Vincennes and her husband home.

Despite the period
of relative calm,

the Rogers continued to
observe safety precautions

and to keep both cars garaged.

Then on March 9, 1989,
their stringent attitude

momentarily relaxed.

SHARON ROGERS
(VOICEOVER): Will and I

had a commitment at the Navy
base for a Navy meeting.

And we got back home
around 9:00, 9:30.

We were both exhausted.

Inadvertently, I had parked
my van on the driveway.

I guess we'll be all right.

SHARON ROGERS (VOICEOVER):
To make a long story short,

we were very tired.

We decided not to put
the cars in the garage.

It was the first
night since July 3,

that we had not parked
the cars in the garage.

And the only night.

The only time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At
7 o'clock the next morning,

Captain Rogers, as was
his custom, left the house

and drove his wife's
van to a local market

to buy breakfast pastries.

Will came back to the house.

We exchanged a few words.

It was time for
me to go to work.

Got into the van.

Pulled out of the driveway.

SHARON ROGERS (VOICEOVER):
Took my normal route to school.

Everything seemed fine.

Pulled up at a red light at
La Jolla Village Drive in JC.

And it was then that
I heard the explosion.

[explosion]

I knew that if I'd
ever do anything right,

I better do this one right,
because I realized I didn't

have many seconds left before
I could get out of that van

alive.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Sharon Rogers

threw open the
driver's side door

but forgot that she
had her seat belt.

As she struggled
to free herself,

a few of her precious
seconds slipped away.

SHARON ROGERS (VOICEOVER): I
jumped from the cab of the van.

Then I ran to the
curb where there

was a construction worker.

He took me and placed me
in the cab of his truck.

Put his jacket around
me and asked if there

was anyone I wanted to call.

Can I call somebody for you?

Oh, yeah, my husband, please.

What's the number?

SHARON ROGERS (VOICEOVER):
About that time

a police woman approached me.

I told her who I was.

That I was the wife of the
captain of the Vincennes.

She immediately called
a halt to everything

and told everyone to
move away, get away.

She then began calling in the
Naval Investigative Service,

the FBI, everyone else.

At the time I simply
couldn't grasp it,

could not fathom that in
fact the van had been bombed.

I was convinced that
the catalytic converter

had exploded.

But then very shortly I
noticed laying in the street

a length of pipe
about like this, which

was split from end to end.

And that was no
catalytic converter.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
An FBI investigation

revealed that indeed a large
pipe bomb had been strapped

to the underbelly of the van.

STEVEN HANCOCK
(VOICEOVER): Sharon Rogers

was extremely lucky.

The blast from the
bomb went up just

behind her seat through
the roof of the van

and out to the right
side of the van.

The bomb was definitely
designed to kill someone.

It was not a prank.

It was placed
underneath the vehicle,

located probably just behind
where the driver's seat was.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The FBI

learned that less than two
months before the bombing

incident a stranger had
been asking questions

on the Rogers' street.

Excuse me.

Yes.

Would you happen to know
which house the captain lives?

The captain.

I'm sorry, I don't think
I can help you with that.

I was told that a
Middle Eastern family

lives in this neighborhood.

Would you know which
house that might be?

Well, you might try the
gray house on the right,

the third house up.

I believe there's
a Middle Eastern

family that lives there.

Thank you very much.

You bet.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The FBI produced this drawing

of the man based
on the description

given by the Rogers' neighbors.

The man was thin, 5 feet
9 and 1/2 inches tall

with dark eyes and hair
and a receding hairline.

He had a pronounced
Middle Eastern accent.

A second man waited for him
in the passenger seat of a BMW

with California license plates.

The BMW was an unusual color,
known as bronzit beige.

Both men appeared
to be in their 30s.

It should be stressed
that neither man

is wanted for any crime,
only for questioning.

STEVEN HANCOCK: We would like
to identify the two individuals

who spoke to the
neighbors because that's

one piece of our puzzle
that we need to solve.

And in addition to that,
we would like anybody that

has any information at all
relative to the bombing

or to the individuals involved
in it to give us a call.

I think we both fervently hope
that it results in the arrest

and conviction and
imprisonment of the people

responsible for the
attempt on Sharon's life.

The FBI and NIS have
worked very hard to bring

this case to a conclusion.

And we certainly
hope that somebody

out who sees something,
knows something,

passes that information.

This was a case
of attempted murder.

It was a terrorist act.

And we need to
apprehend someone.

They need to be convicted.

As Will said, they
need to be imprisoned.

And we have to send a very
strong message to terrorism

that you're just not going to
win here in the United States.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When we return,

the inspiring story of a young
man's second chance at life

and the search for the
mystery woman who saved him.

[music playing]

Rock and roll
musician John Lennon

once said, life is what
happens while you're

making other plans.

You're about to meet a vibrant
inspirational young man

named Phillip Macri.

Six years ago, Phillip was a
high school basketball star

and a hot college prospect,
whose life was turned

upside down in a split second.

It happened on August 28,
1987, during a weekend vacation

in Virginia Beach,
Virginia, that went

suddenly and terribly wrong.

PHILLIP MACRI (VOICEOVER):
We went to the beach a day

before the softball
tournament and just

went down there to
try to get a nice tan

and check out the
babes on the beach.

And I dove into the
water with my hands

out forward, breaking the wave.

And that was the
last movement I had,

because when I
dove into the wave,

I broke my neck instantly
and couldn't feel anything.

And I opened up my
eyes on the water.

And it was really
dark and black.

All I heard was the
ocean going, sh, sh.

I didn't know why
I wasn't moving.

In my mind, I felt like I was
moving my arms and swimming,

but I wasn't getting nowhere.

And I just kept remembering
that I was going

to go way out to the ocean.

PHILLIP MACRI (VOICEOVER): I
was going to be eaten by sharks.

My life was going to be over.

My basketball career was going
to be over because that's all I

love to do is play basketball.

[cheering]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Just the previous season,

Phillip Macri had
led his Newcastle,

Pennsylvania high school
team into the state playoffs.

He seemed destined to win a
college basketball scholarship.

Phillip's most
glorious moment had

come during a match up with his
team's arch rival with a score

tied and only seconds
remaining in the game,

Phillip stole the ball.

SPORTS ANNOUNCER:
Steal by Macri.

5 seconds.

Phillips Macri with 3.

Dribbles to the hoop.

Good.
Newcastle wins it at the buzzer.

It's over.

Phillip Macri.

It's over.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eight months later, Phillip

found himself unable
to move his arms

and legs, buffeted
by waves, not knowing

whether he would live or die.

I do remember when I was
underwater, I was saying,

help, somebody help me, help.

I was screaming.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): No
one knows if Phillip's calls

for help were actually heard.

But miraculously
they were answered

by a woman whose identity
remains a mystery to this day.

CHARLENE MACRI (VOICEOVER): I
was looking out into the water

and I saw some lady pulling
Phillip out of the water.

But the only reason
I knew it was him

was from his swimming trunks
that he had been wearing.

And when I saw the swimming
trunks, I just ran.

What happened here?

I don't know.

I think he was body surfing.

Phil.

Step back.

Can you move your toes?

PHILLIP MACRI (VOICEOVER):
And I heard my sister say,

Phillip, Phillip,
move something.

Move your arms.

Move your legs.

And I was gasping for air.

And I was--

I responded by saying I can't.

I can't move anything.

And that was it.

Move something, please.

Can you wiggle your feet?

Can you wiggle your fingers?

What's wrong with him?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
With everyone's

attention on Phillip, the quiet
rescuer was all but forgotten.

She disappeared before
anyone could ask her name.

CHARLENE MACRI (VOICEOVER): I've
often thought about the woman

that saved Phillip.

Now I regret that I
didn't think at that time.

But my mind and my thoughts
were just all for Phillip.

DOROTHY MACRI (VOICEOVER):
I got the telephone

call from Virginia Beach.

The doctor is on the phone.

He says to me, Mrs. Macri.

And I said, yes.

He says, I need
your verbal consent

to do something on Phillip.

And I says, you have
it, What did he do?

Break an arm or a leg?

He Is no ma'am, he's paralyzed.

He broke his neck.

PHILLIP MACRI
(VOICEOVER): When I

saw my parents for the
first time, it was so hard.

It was like the hardest
thing, seeing them,

you know, hovering over
me, crying, and telling

me that I'd never walk again.

It was devastating all around.

We-- I mean, maybe men aren't
supposed to cry, but I cried.

I never cried so much in
all my life as I did then.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): For
three, days doctors pumped sand

from Philip's stomach.

For two weeks, he was
wrapped in ice blankets

to counter raging
fevers resulting

from multiple infections.

Finally, Phillip's condition
improved enough for doctors

to surgically stabilize as
crushed vertebra but the damage

had been done

more than five years have passed
since a mysterious stranger

gave Phillip a
second shot at life.

In that time, Phillip had
to redefine his aspirations.

But he pursues them with
the same determination

he once brought to
the basketball court.

PHILLIP MACRI (VOICEOVER): When
I was in a hospital in Virginia

I had like three or four goals.

First goal was to get
off the respirator.

My second goal was to
get in a wheelchair

and don't be so depressed
and knowing that it's all

right to be in a wheelchair.

And my last goal was to go
to college and get a degree

and get a job.

PHILLIP MACRI: This is Phillip
Macri coming from the campus

at Westminster College.

And here are today's
sports headlines.

The Chicago Bears have
canned Coach Mike Ditka--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Phillip

is majoring in
telecommunications

at Westminster College near
his home in Pennsylvania.

In the fall, he will return to
the sport he loves, this time

as a play-by-play announcer
for a local high school

basketball games.

Phillip Macri has made the
most of his gift of life.

But he still hopes to accomplish
one very important goal.

He would like to personally
thank the woman who saved him.

PHILLIP MACRI (VOICEOVER):
It's very important to find

this lady who pulled
me out of the water,

because again I wouldn't be able
to fulfill my goals of becoming

a sports broadcaster.

I wouldn't be able to be
here with my family today.

I wouldn't be able
to do the things

that I always
wanted to do in life

if she wouldn't
have saved my life.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On
the night of our broadcast,

Phillip was overjoyed to learn
that he would finally get

his chance to say thank you.

43-year-old Linda Potts
called our telecenter

and identified herself
as the unknown rescuer.

On March 27, 1993,
Phillip and Linda

met face to face
for the first time

since Phillip nearly
drowned at Virginia Beach.

PHILLIP MACRI (VOICEOVER):
When she pulled up in their car

today when I first met her it
is just give me tingling all

through my body and made me feel
real good to know that I could

thank her for saving my life.

I felt like I found
a member of my family,

a lost member of my family that
I hadn't seen in five years.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): That
evening, Phillip's parents

hosted a dinner for
family and friends

in honor of the woman who
saved their son's life.

[applause]

PHILLIP MACRI
(VOICEOVER): I hope

to keep it real
close relationship

with me and Mrs. Potts.

i found out she's had some
medical problems in her life

and, you know, if
there's anything

I could do to help
her with her problems,

I'd love to help
her out with it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Phillip Macri and Linda Potts,

two strangers, joined
by a twist of fate.

LINDA POTTS (VOICEOVER):
Phillip and I will remain

friends for a long, long time.

If there's anything I can ever
do for Phillip all he has to do

is pick up the phone
and dial my number.

I'll be there for him.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Recently we brought you

the story of Martha Doe
Roberts who was kidnapped

from her home in
Eads, Tennessee,

on the morning of
August 7, 1992.

Since our broadcast,
several strange developments

have surfaced in this case.

Friends and relatives
of Mrs. Roberts

have received more than a dozen
telephone calls from a man

who claims to be her kidnapper.

He has demanded a
ransom of $185,000

and says that Doe
Roberts is still alive.

-- good friend.

She asked me to call--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Melissa

Lancaster received a call
from the alleged kidnapper

last December.

He said he had Doe
and that she was alive.

And I said, well,
let me speak to her.

He said, no, no, you questions.

You ask three questions.

He turned around after each one
and asked someone to answer it

and turned around and gave
me the correct answer.

[phone rings]

MAN (ON TAPE): Hello.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): This
is an audiotape of a ransom

call made on December 14, 1992.

The caller always uses a fake,
exaggerated Asian accent.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Voice
tests indicate that the caller

is a middle aged white male.

In addition,
several of his calls

have cast suspicion on
Doe Roberts' husband.

RAMONA SWAIN (VOICEOVER):
In these phone calls,

the caller was
implicating Mr. Roberts

as being responsible for the
disappearance of his wife.

The caller stated that
Mr. Roberts had hired them

to kidnap Doe and
had not paid them

the money that he owed them.

Any implications that I was
involved in the kidnapping

of my wife is totally untrue.

And-- and I resent it.

ALLEN ROBERTS (VOICEOVER):
I love my wife.

We were like one.

We've been together
for 44 years.

And we was planning
on another 44 years.

It would be real nice if
I could get my wife back.

If the kidnapper
were to see this

and my wife is still alive, you
let her go and I'll send you

$185,000 any way you want it.

I'll do it secretly.

If she's not alive
and she's dead,

you let me know
where she's buried,

and I'll give you $50,000
anywhere you want.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On a previous broadcast

he presented the unsettling
story of isolation Nation,

a nurse in San Antonio, Texas.

During the 1950s and
'60s, Nation allegedly

operated a secret but
lucrative enterprise in which

he befriended
young unwed mothers

and then sold their
babies for a profit.

Our segment profiled a
case of Dawnette Barker

Lucier, who was adopted in 1966
by a childless couple in San

Antonio.

As a last desperate
attempt, they

had approached Ethel Nation
after years of trying

to adopt from state agencies.

DAWNETTE BARKER
LUSSIER (VOICEOVER):

There were bassinets
and there were children.

I think there were two
twin boys and myself.

My parents didn't--

because they didn't expect that
things would happen so quickly,

they just thought they were
going to go to see the baby.

But at that point,
Mrs. Nation told

my parents that
they could go ahead

and take me home that night.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When Dawnette turned 18,

she began to search for
her natural parents.

She found that her mother's
name was Gloria Cantu.

The adoption papers had been
notarized by Ethel Nation.

When Dawnette met the nation,
she was coldly informed

that she should
abandon her search

because her mother had not
wanted her in the first place.

Your mother was a tramp
she didn't want you she

went there to have an abortion.

But it was just too
late to have one

I don't understand
what's happening.

I told you, you shouldn't
have been messing around

with something like this.

DAWNETTE BARKER
LUSSIER (VOICEOVER):

I really couldn't understand
why or how she could say that.

It hurt.

On the right of our
broadcast, several viewers

called our telecenter
on behalf of Dawnette's

birth mother, Gloria Cantu
Martinez of San Antonio, Texas.

A short time later,
Dawnette spoke to her mother

for the very first time and
learned that Gloria had never

intended to give her up, but
had been tricked into signing

the adoption papers.

Dawnette was overjoyed to
discover that Gloria wanted

to see her as soon as possible.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On November 9, 1992,

Gloria flew to Washington
DC for a tearful reunion

with Dawnette.

For mother and daughter, it
was an emotional end to 26

years of painful separation.

DAWNETTE BARKER
LUSSIER (VOICEOVER):

When I was waiting for her
to come out from the plane,

a million things
going through my mind.

Just relief that it was over.

That I was finally where I
wanted to be after a long time

ago of looking.

GLORIA CANTU (VOICEOVER): And
I just couldn't believe it.

It was finally going to
happen, what I always wanted.

I've always
wanted to find her,

wondering what she was
like, if she was married

or if she had any children.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The reunion

was made even more
special when Gloria

met her four grandchildren
for the first time.

Dawnette's dream of
having her entire family

together had finally come true.

This is Micheal.

How are you?

This is Tyler.

In the past six months 29
restaurants in the Vallejo,

California area have
been robbed at gunpoint.

Authorities believe
that the robberies

are the work of a marauding
street gang known to operate

in northern California.

To date no innocent bystanders
have been seriously injured.

But police fear that if
the holdups continue,

violence is inevitable.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The assault-style robberies

typically occur
between 9:00 and 11:00

PM near closing time, when the
restaurant is virtually empty

and the cash register is full.

Move, quick,
quick, get over here.

[screaming]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Police
believe that in all, there

may be as many as
six to eight pizza

bandits, who usually operate
in rotating teams of two.

Just stay right there, man.

Keep your head down.
Nobody move.

Nobody breathe.

Shut up.

DANA MYERS (VOICEOVER): When
the two robbers came in,

they're just ordering us around.

Telling us to open things.

If we weren't fast
enough, they'd curse

and tell us to do it quicker.

So we just gave them
the stuff and hoped

they'd hurry up and leave.

From the time they came in
to the time that they left,

it probably took
about two minutes.

Come on, let's go man.

It was frightening,
the fact that I mean they

have guns right
there, they could just

kill you if they wanted to.

Some of the
language they've used

during the commission of
these has been very specific.

They've used terms such
as don't make this a 187,

which in California is the
penal code section for murder.

RICK NICHELMAN
(VOICEOVER): The pattern,

it was fairly consistent
throughout in that it

involved generally
two black males that

would enter an establishment.

They always wear masks.

They're generally of the
knit cotton ski mask type.

Weapons have varied
from handguns,

revolvers, semiautomatics to
more recently uzi-type weapons.

They've gone so far
as to strike people

on the side of the
head with the handguns,

kick them when they're down.

Whether or not they're
going to get more aggressive,

we always fear that and we
don't want to encourage--

giving them any opportunity
to escalate that.

We don't want to see
anyone acting as a hero

or taking them on.

Come on.

Let's go.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The robbers

seem familiar with the layout
of each individual target

and go about their business
with brisk, cold efficiency.

Within minutes the
thieves have vanished,

leaving police with
almost no clues, only

a handful of terrified victims.

On January 3, 1992,
authorities finally got a break

in the pizza bandit case.

A reputed member
of the Vallejo gang

was arrested moments after
the robbery of a restaurant

in nearby Fremont, California.

The FBI has now joined
in the investigation

because a gang has also
been linked to several bank

robberies in the area.

Two suspected gang
members have been charged

in connection with
one of the bank

hold-ups and are now in custody.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Authorities

believe there are at least
five bandits still at large.

All are thought to be
black males in their 20s.

All should be considered
armed and dangerous.

[music playing]

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]