All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S06E07.480p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD 2.0.x264-AJP69_track3_[eng]

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: Just
two months ago,

a kindhearted truck
driver in Virginia

treated a young homeless
man to a hot meal.

Incredibly, this
chance encounter

has now become a key
piece of evidence

in the strange case of
28-year-old John Cheek.

Cheek, a Memphis businessman,
mysteriously dropped from sight

in December of 1993, just
days before finalizing

a deal that would have
made him a millionaire.

Now his family needs
your help to find him.

Earl and Donna Chotvacs
scrimped and saved for years

to build a log cabin
home of their own,

but when they handed
over their life savings

to a smooth-talking contractor
named Mark Mitchell,

the Chotvacs never
guessed that they'd

become the latest victims of a
lucrative million-dollar scam.

In 1917, three peasant
children in Fatima, Portugal,

claimed they were
visited several times

by a vision of the Virgin Mary.

During the controversy
that followed,

they revealed that the Virgin
would make one final appearance

and perform a great miracle.

Many of the 70,000
religious pilgrims

who came for the occasion
were not disappointed.

Tonight, we'll take you
to Portugal to investigate

the fabled miracles of Fatima.

Join me for these
intriguing new stories

and more on another edition
of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

The Church of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, in Mexico City,

is visited each year by
millions of Catholic pilgrims.

According to legend, it
was on this very spot

that the Virgin Mary,
mother of Jesus Christ,

appeared to a Christian
convert in 1531.

Catholic authorities have
judged the vision to be

a miracle, worthy of belief.

Millions also make
the pilgrimage

to the basilica at
Lourdes, France,

where Catholic tradition
says the Virgin

Mary appeared in 1858.

And then there is
Fatima, Portugal.

It was here, in 1917, that many
believe the Virgin Mary made

her most dramatic appearance,
seen by three peasant children,

10-year-old Lucia Santos,
and her two younger cousins,

Jacinta and Francisco Marto.

Their extraordinary
account began

in the quiet solitude
of rural Portugal,

where the following
scenes were filmed.

May 13, 1917, a [inaudible]
in the small farming

community of Fatima.

Lucia Santos and her cousins
had taken their sheep

to an area known as
the Cova da Iria,

land owned by Lucia's family.

As the flock grazed, the
children began to play.

[speaking portuguese]

INTERPRETER: They were building
a little wall around a tree

when there was a flash of
light, and Lucia thought

the flash was a sign of rain.

She thought that
it was lightning,

so she said, let's go home so
we don't get caught by the rain.

The children glimpsed
a second flash

of lightning, which heralded
something far greater

than a rainstorm.

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to Lucia,

a glowing figure said
she had come from heaven

and that she would
not harm them.

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The lady

told Lucia that she
and her two cousins

would be called to heaven.

She then asked the children
to be her messengers,

and warned them that
in doing so they

would endure great hardships.

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The astonishing visitation

was over, but Lucia
Santos and her cousins

had become the key
figures in an episode

that is now regarded as
one of the great miracles

of Catholicism.

Six times, Lucia would claim the
Virgin Mary appeared to them.

On the sixth occasion,
Tens of thousands

were on hand for a final,
dazzling spectacle.

Not everyone,
however, was inspired

by the rumors of a miracle.

Lucia's mother was,
in fact, furious

at her daughter's involvement.

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

INTERPRETER: Her mother punished
the reverend now and again.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Joal Marto, Lucia's cousin,

was then a young boy.

INTERPRETER: It wasn't
that her mother was bad,

but she wanted to
have her daughter

to say that this was a lie.

But Lucia kept saying,
how can I say it was

a lie if I actually saw her?

For Lucia Santos, the
suffering predicted by the lady

had begun.

But even in the face of
her family's hostility,

Lucia returned with her
cousins to the Cova da Iria

on June 13th.

They were joined by some 50
villagers, drawn by rumors

of the impending visitation.

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Once again,

the three children said the lady
from heaven appeared to them.

As in the first visitation,
only Lucia spoke to the vision.

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): [inaudible]

claimed that an unusual
cloud of light was visible.

No one else saw the
lady from heaven.

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): When
news of the second episode

reached Lucia's
mother, she was still

outraged to find her
daughter involved

in what she regarded as a hoax.

INTERPRETER: Her
mother said, you're

going to go to the
priest and you're

going to confess to him in
front of the altar in the church

that you lied.

In an act of startling
disobedience for the time

and place, 10-year-old
Lucia Santos

refused to discuss
the lady from heaven

with Fatima's parish priest,
Father Emanuel Fahera.

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Father Fahera

found himself in a
politically delicate position.

The government saw the Catholic
Church as a bitter rival

for the public's loyalty.

Fahera feared any
endorsement of Lucia's claims

would be taken as an attempt to
boost the church's influence,

and would bring the wrath
of the politicians upon him.

WARREN CARROLL: The
church, for example,

could be taken over
by the government,

in the sense that the government
would seize all of the church

property in Portugal.

There was the possibility
of the government physically

removing bishops, imprisoning
them, or sending them out

of the country.

That was done with
some bishops, not all.

So there are many things
that the government could do.

[speaking portuguese]

INTERPRETER: Well, obviously
for a 10-year-old child,

the word of a priest was
an important thing to hear.

Lucia left the church
with a very big problem.

She had to admit
that maybe the demon

had got into her, that this
was an illusion created

by the devil.

Perhaps her mother was
right, that she hadn't

really seen anything at all.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In
her memoirs, which she began

writing when she was 28,
Lucia Santos described

her tortured internal debate.

LUCIA SANTOS (VOICEOVER): As I
heard people say that the devil

always brings
conflict and disorder,

I began to think that, truly,
ever since I had started seeing

these things, our home was
no longer the same, for joy

and peace had fled.

What anguish I felt.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
July 13, 1917, the appointed

day for the third appearance.

By now, word of the
miraculous visions had spread.

Pilgrims clogged the
road leading to the Cova,

and many beseeched Lucia
to intervene with the lady

from heaven on their behalf.

At 12:00 noon, the lady once
again appeared, and once again,

only to the three children.

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The lady

reminded Lucia to return at noon
on the 13th day of each month.

She also promised that
on her sixth appearance,

she would perform a miracle
for all to see and believe.

The lady from
heaven then invoked

a terrifying vision of
Hell, which Lucia would

later describe in her memoirs.

LUCIA SANTOS (VOICEOVER):
Plunged in this fire

were demons and souls in human
form amid shrieks and groans

of pain and despair,
which horrified us

and made us tremble with fear.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Lucia
claimed the specter of Hell

was the lady's warning
that God was offended

by recent events in Europe.

World War I was then in
its third relentless year.

The lady predicted
that the war would

soon end, only to be replaced by
a more serious threat, Russia.

Lucia knew nothing of that
nation or its revolution,

but she claimed the lady deemed
Russia an offense to God.

Many believe these
words anticipated

the rise of an atheistic
government, the communists.

According to Lucia,
the lady promised

another destructive
war if Russia

was not restored to faith.

Lucy said the lady from heaven
made one other pronouncement,

but was adamant that
Lucia keep it a secret.

One month later, Lucia's
would be severely tested.

August 13, the day of
the fourth appearance.

A local government
administrator, Arturo Santos,

offered to personally
escort Lucia, Jacinta,

and Fransisco to the Cova.

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The abduction

was a stunning turn of events.

Lucia and her cousins
were whisked away

to an uncertain fate
at a government prison

some nine miles from Fatima.

The administrator was convinced
the children were perpetrating

a hoax at the behest
of the church,

and he was certain he could
coax the lady's secret,

if there was such a
thing, from young Lucia.

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
torment lasted for three days.

All the while, the children's
families and angry villagers

clamored at the walls.

Lucia!

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Finally,

the administrator had no choice
but to admit his failure.

He allowed the children
to return home.

According to Lucia Santos,
the lady from heaven

appeared a fourth time
and a fifth, as schedule.

As the date for the sixth
appearance approached,

excitement built
to a fever pitch.

October 13, 1917.

The day of the
long-awaited miracle

dawned wet and miserable.

Thousands descended
on Fatima, and

an ill-humored crowd
milled impatiently outside

of Lucia's home.

There were even mutterings
of reprisals against Lucia

if no miracle took place.

These photographs show some of
the estimated 70,000 onlookers

who gathered that day.

Many had come from
hundreds of miles away.

Soon after Lucia arrived
at the Cova da Iria,

the torrential downpour
had come to an end.

The huge crowd included both
the curious and the faithful.

Shepherds and servants
mingled with the nobility.

Also in attendance were
skeptical reporters

from the major newspapers.

The local priest, fearing
a public fiasco that

would embarrass the
church, was among the most

vocal of the doubters.

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The unruly crowd

grew silent as Lucia
began to speak,

although to the
onlookers, she appeared

to be talking into thin air.

[speaking portuguese]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to many eyewitness

accounts, the sun
began to undulate,

ribbons of multicolored light
shooting across the heavens,

then suddenly the
sun seemed to fall.

Later, many eyewitnesses
would say that they

feared being scorched.

The crowd watched,
dumbstruck, as the sun

abruptly reversed course and
returned to its rightful place

in the sky.

WARREN CARROLL: The miracle
of the sun at Fatima

is certainly the
most spectacular

physical manifestation,
physical miracle, that has

been associated with our lady.

She had to manifest her presence
in a grand manner, and a very

convincing and
spectacular manner,

because it was important that
people all over the world

should believe
what she had said.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The awesome celestial display

supposedly lasted
for 12 minutes.

A council within a 600-square
mile area around Fatima

substantiated many of the
firsthand descriptions,

but incredibly, some
eyewitnesses at the Cova

claim they saw absolutely
nothing out of the ordinary.

Still, history has favored
the more spectacular accounts.

Avolino de al Meda, the editor
of a government-controlled

newspaper, came to Fatima
a confirmed skeptic

and left a believer.

AVOLINO DE AL MEDA (VOICEOVER):
At the hour foretold,

the rain ceased to fall.

The dense mass of clouds
parted, and the sun

began to whirl around in
a wild and violent dance,

with such lovely glowing
colors passing successively

over the sun's surface.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
years to come,

the events of October
13 will be the subject

of considerable debate.

Some dismissed the
spectacle as a textbook case

of mass hysteria, but many
found the eyewitness accounts

to be credible, and word
spread across Europe

and around the world.

Today, a basilica
stands were Lucia

and her cousins claimed to
have seen the lady from heaven.

In 1930, the Catholic Church
recognized the events at Fatima

as a miracle, worthy of belief.

Jacinta and Fransisco Marto
did not live to witness

this official confirmation.

Both died during a
worldwide influenza epidemic

within three years
of the visions.

Many believe it
was a fulfillment

of the Virgin's
promise that they

would soon be called to Heaven.

[music playing]

Over the decades, Fatima's
call to the faithful

has grown ever more powerful.

The tide of pilgrims has
swelled from the thousands

who joined Lucia in
1917 to several million

in recent years.

Even those who remain
skeptical of miracles

puzzle over the mystifying
events at Fatima

and the 10-year-old
girl who many believe

was chosen to be
God's messenger.

LUCIA SANTOS
(VOICEOVER): While there

were some who admired me
and considered me a saint,

there were always
others who called

me a hypocrite and a sorceress.

They are all mistaken.

I am not a saint,
and I am not a liar.

Only God knows what I am.

Many believe that
the lady from Heaven

predicted some of the
most important events

of the 20th century,
the end of World War I,

the onset of World War II,
the rise and fall of communism

in Europe, even the
assassination attempt

against Pope John Paul II,
which took place on May 13,

1981, 64 years to the
day after the appearance

of the first vision.

To the skeptical, it's
all simply coincidence.

To the faithful, it is
proof that a miracle

did occur at Fatima.

When we return, a family's
dream of building a home

is snuffed out by a
smooth-talking con artist.

[theme music]

Come on, kids.

Let's get up here and look
at the view, all right?

From our property, Alex.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
It is hard to imagine

a more beautiful
setting for a home

than this meadow in
Steamboat Springs, Colorado,

200 miles northwest of Denver.

Don't you think we ought
to build a log house right

here, and a big picture window?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It
was here, on six acres of land,

that Earl and Donna
Chotvacs planned

to build their dream home.

For several years, they
had scrimped and saved

until they finally had
enough to begin construction

on a modern-day log cabin,
similar to this one, themselves

and their two children.

But in 1991, the Chotvacs'
hopes came crashing down,

shattered not by
accident or act of God,

but by the deeds of this man,
a sophisticated con artist who

called himself Mark Mitchell.

Here's an ad about a log
home company that needs funds.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In April of that year,

Earl and Donna answered an
innocent-looking newspaper ad

and talked to the
owner of Colorado

Log Homes, Mark Mitchell.

Well, you know, we're
kind of a young business,

but we do we have
a couple of clients

up there in Breckenridge.

I could, uh--

EARL CHOTVACS: It seemed like
a great opportunity for us

because the company
supposedly was growing,

which is one of the reasons
that we really started going

with this company instead of
a more established company

somewhere else.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Mitchell's plan was simple.

The Chotvacs would
invest $25,000

in his growing business.

In return, Mitchell
would give them

a large discount on the
construction of their log

cabin, plus the
$25,000 investment

will be returned with interest.

--$25,000 on the
price of your home.

Isn't that great?

One humdigger.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In early May,

an architect and a salesman
from Mitchell's office

came up to inspect the
Chotvacs' property.

EARL CHOTVACS: They
looked at different views

from our property, and kept
using the word stunning.

They could build
us a stunning home.

If you're ready to go
with us, though, I have

a contract with me right here.

Well, you know, we've got the
money down at the bank, and--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): After
the Chotvacs' attorney approved

the contract, Earl and Donna
would hand over a $25,000

deposit to Mitchell's salesman.

DONNA CHOTVACS: We had been
saving money and living very

frugally from the
moment we got married,

so when we gave
them the $25,000,

that was our whole dream.

All right, now.

This is my copy, that's
your home, that's mine.

OK.

Come on, I'll buy you lunch.

Congratulations.

OK, thanks.

DONNA CHOTVACS: It seemed like
we'd been waiting for such

a long time, and it
was all coming true,

and they said it was real,
and we believed them.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The log yard

at Mitchell's
Denver headquarters

gave every appearance
of legitimacy.

Workers processed hundreds
of logs, and the w of cabins

were carefully pre-assembled.

Supposedly, each shell would
later be taken apart, trucked

to a building site,
and reassembled

on a concrete foundation laid
by one of Mitchell's group.

But after eight weeks, there was
absolutely no progress at Earl

and Donna's property.

The critical job of measuring
and pouring the foundation

had yet to begin.

The Chotvacs made
the four-hour drive

to Mitchel's log
yard in Denver to see

for themselves what was wrong.

There you go.

Into your new home, temporarily.

Look at the logs!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
However, Mark Mitchell

was able to lay their
anxieties to rest.

Very nice.

DONNA CHOTVACS: They
had started our shell,

and it seemed to have
all the basic things that

were in our plans,
and Earl measured it.

And the kids, you know, we
took pictures of ourselves

inside of it, and it just
seemed really exciting.

You know?

It seemed like it was
really happening again,

so of course then
we were back up.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): But weeks

more passed without any
construction of the property.

It took a siege of phone
calls for Earl and Donna

to convince Mitchell to
dispatch a work crew.

DONNA CHOTVACS: They
sent an excavator up,

and we pounded in the
nails and measured where

the corners of the house
were, and stood in the spot

where the living room was going
to be and imagined our view.

This is the foundation,
so where you'll be--

you'll first of all
be up here with--

the windows will be here.

DONNA CHOTVACS: We were
starting to think, well,

it's not going to be
done by Christmas,

but it might be done by March.

We still really didn't believe
that it wasn't going to happen.

Earl, Donna, I'm sorry
I had to keep you waiting.

Please come in and have a seat.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On October 1,

the bitter reality finally
hit Earl and Donna.

They had applied to their local
bank for a construction loan

and were stunned to discover
that the request had

been denied.

Well, I'm afraid
the news isn't good.

Now, it has nothing
to do with you two.

The problem is with the builder.

It appears this man is
in some serious trouble.

He has been taking
deposit money,

just as he did yours,
and then has not started

construction on the homes.

As a matter of
fact, Mark Mitchell

is not even his real name.

It's Wade Mitchell Parker.

I'm awfully sorry.

I wish there were something
more that I could do.

DONNA CHOTVACS: At that
point, I felt nauseous.

I mean, I just--

suddenly just was sick,
feeling as though we

were going to lose
all the money that we

had given to Mark Mitchell.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On October 5, 1991,

Donna and Earl once again drove
to Colorado Log Homes, where

they had a 10 AM appointment
with the man they know

who was Wade Mitchell Parker.

He showed up more
than two hours late.

I don't know what to
tell you, I'm sorry.

Yeah, we've been waiting
for almost 2 and 1/2 hours.

I couldn't get to
a phone, I'm sorry.

It's my secretary--

Could have called us
before we left home.

I tried.
I'm sorry, I just got tired.

200 miles to get down here.

I know it, I'm sorry.

Let's go inside and we'll
talk about what I've got.

No, you know, nothing's been
handled with our log shell--

Yeah, we've got a little--

What's going on around here?

Well, just-- Earl,
just a little hangup.

If we go and sit down
and cool off a little,

make a couple of phone calls,
we'll get your money out here

to you, we'll get it all done.

Do you have our money?

No, no I don't.
No.

You don't have our money?
No,

I don't.

I know, but let's
go in and sit down--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Wade Parker

agreed to refund Earl
and Donna's deposit,

claiming to be short of cash.

He gave them a promissory note,
essentially a $25,000 IOU.

Go ahead and sign it.

Alan, you want to
witness this, please?

DONNA CHOTVACS: We were still
trying to be nice about it,

but I think deep
down inside we really

both knew that,
probably, we weren't

ever going to see our money.

30 days, folks, we'll
get this all wrapped up

and that'll be the end of it.

DONNA CHOTVACS: We finished
up the meeting and we left.

And that's the last
time we ever saw him.

I spoke to him maybe three
or four times after that

on the telephone, but
we never saw him again.

Within the month, Wade Mitchell
Parker declared bankruptcy

and disappeared.

The Chotvacs never
received a dime,

and they soon discovered that
they were not the only people

taken in by the con man.

In November of 1991, the
Chotvacs joined more than 30

of Parker's other victims
at a meeting organized

by Colorado authorities.

As a group, their total loss
exceeded one million dollars.

We should've gotten him
a long time ago, Jerry.

Yeah.

He's really slick, isn't he?

In the end, I got my plans.

And I guess those probably
were worth about $1,000,

and I lost $9,000.

I expected to have
a log home from Mark,

I'd expected to have
my $20,000 back,

and I expected all
of this to happen

within a very expedient amount
of time, and it didn't happen.

So I lost almost $25,000
and I don't have a log home.

What did he tell you
about the land in Bennet?

DONNA CHOTVACS: When we finally
came to terms with the fact

that we lost the
money, we felt stupid.

We just felt like we
had done a stupid thing,

and when we realized that lots
of big-time people, not just

the naive young couple with
two small children, a lot

of big-time people
lost a lot of money,

too, we didn't feel
quite so stupid.

A number of
people have asked us

whether we think that Wade
Mitchell Parker was just

a bad businessman or whether
we think he was a con person

from the very beginning.

$35,000 on the
price of your home--

DENNIS HALL: Some
of the transactions

he made are just plain crooked.

There's no other
explanation for what he did.

Also, we haven't been
able to find the money,

and we think it's got to
be out there somewhere.

The fact that we haven't
been able to find it,

and that Parker fled during
the bankruptcy proceedings,

is a real indication
to us that this

was a con from the beginning.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Some
of Parker's wealthier victims

have been able to
absorb their losses

or write them off as
business expenses,

but for Earl and Donna Chotvaks,
and many others like them,

the dream of owning a
home has been snuffed out,

perhaps forever.

DONNA CHOTVACS: I don't
think that you ever

want to give up on a dream.

And I think that, in a way, we
were realizing that we might

have to give up on that dream.

We might never ever get another
opportunity to give someone

money to build us a home.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Update--

on August 11, 1994,
Wade Mitchell Parker

was arrested in Cobb
County, Georgia,

some 1,300 miles from Colorado.

There, Parker was using
two new aliases, Ronald

Anderson and Larry Wheeler.

Information developed
from our program

helped reveal his true identity.

On September 26, 1994,
Wade Mitchell Parker

was arraigned in Colorado
on fraud and theft charges.

Our cameras are not allowed
inside the courtroom, however,

Earl and Donna Chotvaks
made sure they were

on hand to see justice done.

DONNA CHOTVACS: If he'd
been an honest man,

we'd be living in our home right
now, and raising our children.

I think that anybody who
has been ripped off this way

could take heart
from this, knowing

that, with enough perseverance,
they may get their guy,

you know?

So it certainly gave
me a lot of heart when

I was beginning to lose hope.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
a family is reunited

thanks to you, our viewers.

[theme music]

Bill O'Neill of Santa
Monica, California

was always told he was just
a baby when his father died,

but throughout
his childhood Bill

was plagued by the
nagging suspicion

that he was somehow
different from his older

brothers and sisters.

BILL O'NEILL: I was the
only one with hazel eyes,

and everybody else had
these bright blue eyes.

My skin was more
like an olive skin,

where they were fairer-skinned.

Not that anything was ever
said to me or anything

like that that was
different than anybody else,

like, my mom didn't
treat me any different,

just a feeling inside,
like something was lost.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Years later, Bill's suspicions

were confirmed
when he discovered

that his father,
Hugh Paul O'Neill,

had in fact died two years
before Bill was born.

When Bill confronted his
mother, she told him everything.

Bill learned that
in November of 1958,

Paul O'Neill was a patient
at Chicago's VA hospital.

There, Bill's mother
met a friend of Paul's

named Jim Burke, a
divorced father of four.

So this must be
the beautiful lady

you've been keeping from me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Sadly, within a month,

Paul O'Neill would die.

Nice

Meeting you.

Nice to meet you.

ROBERT STACK: Before
long, Jim Burke

became a familiar presence
in the O'Neill household.

Two years later, Bill was born.

His mother was pregnant
again when the relationship

with Jim Burke ended.

Bill was stunned when his mother
also told him that his younger

sister, who he thought
was dead, had actually

been put up for adoption.

In 1990, Bill O'Neill was
reunited with his sister,

Karen Althouse.

Together they set their
sights on one final goal,

finding their natural
father, Jim Burke.

On the night of our broadcast, a
woman named Eileen Esler of New

Lenox, Illinois called
our phone center

and identified herself as one
of Jim Burke's four children

from his previous marriage.

Bill and Karen were saddened
to hear that their father had

passed away in 1988,
but they were overjoyed

that Eileen and another
half-sister, Sheila Anne

Haskins, were
anxious to meet them.

A week later, Bill
O'Neill, Karen Althouse,

and their families
gathered at Karen's house

to await the arrival of
Eileen and Sheila Anne.

Hello, there.

Hello.

Hello, there.

Hi.

How are you?

[inaudible]

[inaudible] was
going to do this.

BILL O'NEILL: I
felt a connection,

a definite connection.

Like, when I reached
out to hug them--

I don't know.

I didn't, I honestly,
to be honest, I just--

I didn't feel like
I was going to be

as emotionally tied as I felt.

KAREN ALTHOUSE: Ditto.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
For Sheila Anne Eileen,

the bond was just as strong.

SHEILA ANNE HASKINS: As soon
as I saw Bill, as soon as I saw

his face, there was
absolutely no doubt in my mind

that he was a brother.

No doubt.

EILEEN ESLER: I felt wonderful.

I mean, like Sheila,
I wanted to touch him.

I just wanted to
touch him, to have

a baby brother and baby sister.

I know they're not.

They're so much
taller than we are.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Later
that afternoon, Bill and Karen

sat down with their
new sisters to learn

about their father, Jim Burke.

And how it was related to her?

KAREN ALTHOUSE: This is what
I've wondered all my life.

Who are my parents?

Do I have more family?

Did I have brothers and sisters?

Things like that.

And it's exciting to finally
see them, to touch them,

to get to know them.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The reunion was especially

poignant for Bill O'Neill.

His lifelong
feelings of isolation

were replaced with a
new sense of belonging.

BILL O'NEILL: I just--

I figured, hey, we'll
get together with them

and make nice.

KAREN ALTHOUSE: It'll
be like being neighbors.

BILL O'NEILL: Yeah.

You know, get some
pictures, get some more

information about our dad,
but it wasn't like that.

It wasn't like that at all.

It was more of--

it was just an inside warm
feeling that everything

was now complete.

That's true.

God.

Trade you.

[inaudible]

For Bill, Karen,
Eileen, and Sheila Anne,

this was just the first of
many gatherings to come.

Bill and Karen have since met
one of their half-brothers,

and next march they hope
to meet another at a family

wedding in Illinois.

Also in attendance
will be a grandmother,

an aunt, and 12 cousins.

[theme music]

John Cheek seemed
destined for success.

At 26, fresh out
of business school,

he had been hired as a
chief financial officer

of one of the larger real
estate companies in Tennessee.

By the age of 28, John
had purchased this home

in a comfortable
part of east Memphis.

At work, he was engineering
the deal of a lifetime.

For months, John had
helped lay the groundwork

to take his company public.

He had logged
countless 18-hour days

and flown thousands
of miles to talk

with investors around
the country and overseas.

By December of
1993, a complex plan

was on the verge of completion.

Millions of dollars
were at stake.

If the deal was
successful, the company

would be thrust into national
prominence literally overnight.

ARRENA CHEEK: John was very
proud of his accomplishment,

of getting this job, and he
worked very hard, nonstop

almost, to see that his
duties were fulfilled,

and that every I was dotted
and every T was crossed.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In their wildest dreams,

John Cheek's family
and friends never

imagined he would end up the
focus of an anguished search,

his face peering
out from thousands

of flyers plastered around their
hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

But on December 2, 1993, John
Cheek did not show up for work.

At company
headquarters, surprise

quickly turned to concern.

DEE REED: I thought possibly
that maybe he was just tired,

and he might be
somewhere resting.

At least that's what
we were all hoping

that's what had happened.

But it was out of character.

And then as the day went
on, and then that night,

when no one had
heard from John, we

began to know that something
terribly was wrong.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Early the next morning,

John's car was discovered.

It had been abandoned
on Interstate 55

where the highway crosses
over the Mississippi River,

about 12 miles from John's home.

JACK RUBY: There was no signs
of foul play on the car.

The car was checked.

Everything appeared
to be intact.

The Cheek family
examined the car also,

and it appeared to be just the
way John would have left it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Police
theorized that John Cheek had

taken his own life by
leaping into the swift waters

of the Mississippi.

However, extensive searches
of the river and its banks

failed to locate his body.

To those who knew John, suicide
seemed out of the question

from the start.

RICHARD CHEEK: We
didn't believe that.

That he could be normal
right up until 11

PM one night and then
all of a sudden jump

off the bridge the next day.

So we were just left at the same
position we are on right now,

that it was just some big
mystery that happened to him

and we didn't know what.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Two months

passed with no leads,
no word from John,

no reason to believe he was even
alive, until February 14, 1994.

On that day, a trucker
named on Jackson

rolled into west
Memphis, Arkansas.

Over the years, Jackson had
seen hundreds of missing persons

flyers at truck stops
all across the country,

but now he was stunned to find
himself staring into the face

of someone he recognized,
a young man he had

befriended just the day before.

RON JACKSON: You
never really expect

it to jump right out at you and
say, hey, I know this person.

Hey, I had breakfast with
this person the other morning.

So that was added to my
surprise of seeing this poster.

And this identity was so strong,
and it just kind of grabbed

hold of me and shook me, like
this is the individual, period.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It was
an Raphine, Virginia, some 700

miles east, that Ron
found a young drifter

sleeping inside a truck stop.

Had breakfast yet?

No.

I have no money.

No problem.

Lets go, I'm buying
you breakfast.

RON JACKSON: My first
impression of this man

when I saw him is that he
was not homeless people.

He was not street people.

In the conversation,
there was no street lingo.

He was clean, and
the white shirt

was so white it
looked like it had

just come out of the laundry.

OK.

Help yourself.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The young man

didn't volunteer his
name, he spoke only

of an Arkansas
homeless shelter that

had recently taken care of him.

I was there for a while.

In Little Rock.

RON JACKSON: I didn't press
him, he just was rambling on

in the cafeteria line.

So I would have to say that
he was definitely not 100%

in all mental capabilities.

You had a good breakfast?

Yup.

Where are you headed?

Richmond.

RON JACKSON: Ron
and the drifter were

headed in opposite directions.

Good luck.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Outside the cafeteria,

they parted ways.

RICHARD CHEEK: Now, well,
there were several things

about the encounter
that made us feel

optimistic that it was a
positive identification

for John.

And the first was the
white shirt and tie,

because that would be typical
for him to be wearing that,

because that's what
he wore every day.

He also mentioned the fact that
he used very correct English

and sounded like he was
a well-educated person,

which was obviously correct.

Is it morning yet?

Oh, yes, it's morning.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
For John's parents,

the clincher was Jackson's
description of the man's shoes.

Their son had had just such
a pair of slip-on moccasins,

a pair that was now missing.

And we knew that John had
a pair of shoes like this.

We had not mentioned
that to anyone

up until this point in time.

ARRENA CHEEK: It was a very
emotional bit of information.

And immediately, my thought
was, we've got to find him quick

and get him home.

He's wandering around
not knowing who he is.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
No one can be sure

why John Cheek disappeared,
but his father believes

John suffered a sudden episode
of stress-induced amnesia,

known as the fugue state.

RICHARD CHEEK: It's sort of a
self-preservation mechanism.

If something in their past
has become so stressful

that they can't
stand it any longer,

then that's how
they deal with it.

They just block it all out.

And you're no longer John
Cheek, and you're no longer

a financial officer,
and you're no longer

putting together a big deal.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Since Ron Jackson's

sighting in February
of 1994, there has been

no further word of John Cheek.

John has brown hair, blue
eyes, and stands six feet tall.

Before disappearing,
he weighed 150 pounds.

John Cheek is 28 years old.

ARRENA CHEEK: There's
a hole in my heart,

and I'm hoping that
all of this publicity

will find someone that
can fill that void.

And a mother never gives up.

[music playing]

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]