All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S06E23.480p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD 2.0.x264-AJP69_track3_[eng]

[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.

[music playing]

Tonight, join me for a
special two-hour edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Some
legends get better with time.

Others become more
and more real.

Many people believe
that the untamed forests

of the Pacific Northwest
harbor a mysterious creature

known as Bigfoot.

Now, a team of
researchers, bolstered

by credible eyewitness
accounts, set out to prove

the fabled beast does exist.

Since 1984, Bill
and Dorothy Wacker

claim they have been targeted
in a vicious campaign

of harassment--

anonymous phone calls,
threatening notes, burglaries,

and even violent assaults.

In this most bizarre case,
everyone is suspect--

even the Wackers themselves.

Christine Reinhard needs your
help to find her husband.

He disappeared from a Colorado
motel on August 31st, 1993.

Two weeks later,
he was apparently

spotted on an Amtrak train,
disheveled and disoriented.

Christine is convinced that
he is suffering from amnesia,

that he has no idea who
he is or where he lives.

Are there angels here
on Earth watching over us?

You'll see the compelling
accounts of the two women

who came face to face with
death and miraculously survived.

Join me for this
very special edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Mt.

Hood, Oregon.

April 19th, 1994.

The peaceful beauty
of an alpine spring

is shattered by a manhunt.

[helicopter whirring]

MAN: Copy contact team.

I understand your
latest coordinates.

We're closing in
on the fugitive.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): 25
volunteers are on the ground.

In the air is a
helicopter equipped

with a sophisticated thermal
imaging system called FLIR--

forward looking infrared.

There's our target.

27, [inaudible].

Attention ground units.

You're closing in
on the fugitive.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But
this manhunt is different.

It's a training exercise.

Even the fugitive
is a volunteer--

a stand-in, as it were, for
the elusive, legendary creature

known as Bigfoot.

Bigfoot, Yeti, Sasquatch--
no matter what this beast is

called, many believe
that if he exists,

he is a missing link
between ape and human.

MAN: Attention ground units,
I see fugitives at 45, 39--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The training exercise

was sponsored by an
Oregon-based group,

the Bigfoot Research Project.

Peter Byrne, noted adventurer
and world explorer,

heads the project.

PETER BYRNE: We don't
want to capture it,

we don't want to shoot it.

The ultimate find,
you know, as far

as we're concerned
would be to do something

like what Jane Goodall did.

In other words, to find one, see
if we can communicate, have it

lead us to others, and then
bring in the right people,

totally responsible people.

Bring in scientists, and
show them what we found,

and, um, document the
whole thing, of course.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Attempts to document Bigfoot

have so far been sketchy.

There are several
crude home movies

and videos purporting to show
the creature in the wild.

And there are dozens of plaster
casts and photographs showing

large, humanoid footprints.

Yet for every person who
believes Bigfoot exists,

you'll find at least two
who say that the films

and the footprints alike
are merely the handiwork

of pranksters in fur suits.

Is Bigfoot real or an
elaborate, ongoing hoax?

Well, even hoaxes are
usually based on something.

Through the years,
eyewitness accounts

have consistently described
a very human-like animal.

He walks upright with
an almost comical gait

and steers clear of
people, unless they

happen to invade his turf.

But even those who claim
they've run across Bigfoot

say he's a harmless, if
somewhat scary-looking, giant.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Todd Neiss is a sergeant

in the Army National Guard.

Once a month, he returns to
the Oregon Coastal Range,

where he had an unusual
sighting on [inaudible] in 1993.

TODD NEISS: Across the
ravine, I could distinctly

see three large, black figures.

I would estimate the
largest one to be

between eight and nine feet.

The two that flanked it
were a full head shorter.

But I tried to think if they
were bear, or if they were elk.

And then when I saw them
shuffling back and forth,

I could very plainly see they
were upright on two legs.

And during that entire
time, they were--

all three of them were
standing on two legs.

I don't think I would have
ever told this to anybody

had something very
unusual not happened.

I was approached by another
sergeant, who had walked up

to me and said, Sir Neiss,
did you see what I saw down

at that second rock quarry?

And not to be made a fool,
I said, well, I don't know.

What did you see?

He followed with, well,
for lack of a better

word, what I saw were three
large, hair-covered Bigfeet."

One of our theories is
that they are nocturnal,

and that when they're
seen in the daytime,

it's a result of
disturbance of some kind.

In this-- in this case,
there was a National

Guard exercise with explosions.

And immediately
after the explosion,

three of these things were seen.

They were seen by him,
seen by another man.

And he gave us a description
and, um, a very credible story.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): One month

after Todd Neiss'
sighting, two women

were driving on a
remote country road

100 miles away when they
had a much closer encounter.

The driver agreed to speak
with us in silhouette.

We had just come
around a bend in the road

when I saw movement,
and I slowed

down for the
anticipation of something

crossing in front of me.

And that's when it stood up
and moved across the road

without once looking
at us, and disappeared.

We couldn't make any
sense of what we saw.

It was very close to a
human, but yet it wasn't.

There was no visible signs of--
of clothing, shoes, jacket,

hat.

There was no neck.

The arms were very long and
swinging with the movement.

We had the opportunity
of interviewing

both of the ladies, and we
found the story very credible.

We saw some signs where
something had crossed the road,

and, um, about 300
yards into the forest,

there was a dead steer.

And a few footprints that we
saw-- they were very faint--

were going directly
towards that dead steer,

possibly with the
intention of eating it.

ELMER FROMBACH: So
do you guys want

to come along with me up there?

MAN: [inaudible]
You go on ahead.

ELMER FROMBACH: OK.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Perhaps the most amazing

Bigfoot sighting in recent years
occurred when Elmer Frombach

of Seattle, Washington took
his family on an outing

near the Canadian border.

Elmer, an electrician
and part-time prospector,

set off to stake a claim nearby.

ELMER FROMBACH: I had,
uh, 4x4 cedar posts that I

was using to mark the claim.

And, of course, I had
all of the normal things,

like surveyor's
ribbon, and a compass,

and different items which
would be used to lay

out the claim boundaries.

As I traveled into
the upper areas,

I was now at about 1,500 feet.

And I noticed that the
trails in this area

were somewhat isolated,
with trees being snapped off

and laid over the trail in
certain spots, which looked

as though they
were strategically

placed to block the trail off.

So I laid the cedar
post down on the ground

and went up the hillside,
uh, to where I could walk

on the trails easily again.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Elmer had just

started to take a few more
samples when he suddenly

realized he was not alone.

[hammering]

[distant pounding]

[pounding continues]

As I walked
around the hillside,

the pounding seemed to cease
for a short period of time,

and then it resumed again.

And I thought,
maybe the boys are

up here playing a trick on me.

[pounding]

All right, you guys.

It isn't funny.

[pounding continues]

Hey!

You on the hill!

[rustling]

I thought at first I had
triggered an avalanche

of some type, until I saw
a big, black, hairy mass

right behind all of
those rocks and twigs.

And then I began to wonder, is
this a bear that I'm seeing,

or is it something else?

And at that time, I kept
thinking in my mind,

I've got to find
a way to scare it.

And I fired a shot
above its head,

and it turned just
slightly and then

proceeded to walk down the trail
as though I wasn't even there.

And as it walked
away from me, it

took perfect, human-like
strides down the trail,

only like a giant man.

At that point in time, I thought
the thing was probably gone.

But this thing had crouched
down at the end of the trail,

and it picked up a rock
the size of a basketball

and was using it to bang
against the other rocks.

It again, made a slight sideways
turn, just enough to see me out

of the corner of its eye.

I was scared, and I wanted
to get out of there.

I kept running
down the hillside,

and the thing was in hot
pursuit the whole way.

I was absolutely terrified.

And I had a hard
time figuring out

how that thing could
cover so much area,

or if there were actually
more than one of them.

I've never been more
scared in my life.

The creature could have
very easily have caught

me if it would have wanted to.

Why it didn't is
still a mystery to me.

I still can't understand, with
something that would move that

fast, cover that much
territory, why it had

such a hard time locating me.

I don't think it was a chase.

I think-- possibly, it was what
we call a demonstration charge,

if it truly was a
Bigfoot that he saw.

And it was simply saying to
him, get out of here, you know.

This is my territory.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Accounts

like Elmer Frombach's are
invaluable to the Bigfoot

Research Project.

The project correlates
all eyewitness data

in an attempt to
predict where and when

a Bigfoot will show up next.

Based on this data,
special infrared cameras

are set up in hopes
of photographing

the elusive beast.

But even credible
photographs might not

convince the skeptics.

Noted anthropologist
Daris Swindler

wants to see tangible proof.

And I'm amazed that
through all the years,

the various people that
have been hunting Sasquatch

through the years
have not really

found any what we call
bone or dental evidence

of the creature.

That, to me, would
be very satisfying.

You can talk to people
who lived out here 50 years,

never found a dead bear,
never found a dead cougar--

a dead deer, maybe.

But when something dies, it's
eaten, just as in East Africa.

When a eight-ton elephant
dies, in 72 hours,

it completely disappears.

This is nature's way.

I would still like to see some
what we call teeth and bones.

I would think it would be
only logical to suspect this--

that we might-- by this
time, would have found

some more concrete evidence
of their existence.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Does a lost species

roam the Pacific Northwest?

If so, there are a lot of
people who are very interested.

Some, like Peter Byrne, want
to find a Bigfoot alive.

Others want a specimen
dead or alive.

The eyewitnesses
we interviewed hope

that the scientific
community takes

notice before it's too late.

It's not just to
validate what I saw,

but I think it's important
if these creatures are still

out there, that they need
to be protected in some way,

that they need to be
understood and studied.

[footsteps]

There was no aggression
at all in the animal.

And I believe that
it is up to us

to protect it, learn all we can
about it and leave it alone.

[pounding]

What I saw there was a
living creature and not

some figment of my imagination.

Modern science hasn't absolutely
proven by a dead object

that this thing
exists, but I tell you,

quite frankly, I've seen one.

I know it exists.

And there is no
doubt in my mind.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Next, a determined

wife crisscrosses the country in
search of her missing husband.

Perhaps you can help.

[music playing]

Imagine that you are a
woman whose husband has

gone away on a business trip.

You speak to him
the night before he

is due to come back
home, and you never

see or hear from him again.

What are your choices?

Do you sit at home waiting
for police in distant cities

to call you back, or do you
try to do something yourself?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Christine Reinhard

of Clintonville,
Wisconsin did something.

Today, Christine's
search for her husband

has become an
all-consuming quest.

CHRISTINE REINHARD: Hello.

Hi.

Hi.

Uh, my name's Christine,
and I'm out here

searching for my
husband, who's been

missing for quite some time.

His name is Craig Williamson.

I've reason to believe that
he's suffering from amnesia

and may have been on
this interstate corridor

and perhaps caught a
ride with a trucker.

And I'd like to put
this up in your window,

if that's possible, and--
- That'd be fine.

--someone might see it.

Sure.

Oh, I-- I really
appreciate that.

Thank you very much.

All right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Christine's quest

began on September 14th, 1993
in Colorado Springs, Colorado,

at the motel where Craig
Williamson was last seen.

HOTEL STAFF: OK, Ms. Reinhard.

This is where your husband
stayed, in room 112.

[keys jangling]

This is the washroom here.

All this stuff was in here, and
he had a book here on the sink.

OK, this is the
room he stayed in.

Over there on the
chair was his luggage.

It was unpacked and opened.

The bed was made.

It looked like it
was not slept in.

Had there been any, um--

like, signs of
struggle in the room?

HOTEL STAFF: No sign
of struggle at all.

It looked like, uh, someone
just left and walked out.

[music playing]

MINISTER: It is now my pleasure
as an ordained minister,

and by the power invested in
me by the state of Nevada.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Craig Williamson was nearly 46

and Christine Reinhard, 41,
when they married at Lake Tahoe.

It was a second
marriage for both.

MINISTER: --and wife.

Craig, you may kiss your wife.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Craig and Christine

had known each other
for only a month,

but it was definitely
a love match.

Christine still speaks of their
marriage in the present tense.

CHRISTINE REINHARD: Being
married to Craig is--

it may be a cliche to say
it's like a honeymoon,

but it really is, because
he's the most sincere, caring,

loving person.

I think the thing about
Craig that is most endearing

is his caring and nurturing
attitude toward me.

He's just wonderfully
supportive and very loving.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Craig and Christine

bought a farm in Wisconsin,
Christine's home state,

and undertook an
immediate renovation.

They added onto the barn,
installed large tanks,

and began to raise
an exotic and tasty

African fish called tilapia.

CHRISTINE REINHARD:
[inaudible] oxygen today, dear?

CRAIG WILLIAMSON: Yep.

CHRISTINE REINHARD: Any reason?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Craig
specially rigged an old school

bus to transport the fish.

On August 28th, 1993, Craig
Williamson loaded up and set

off for Colorado, even though
he was still experiencing

headaches and blurred
vision due to a concussion

he had suffered
four weeks earlier.

If I tried to rub his
head, he said, honey,

don't do that, it hurts.

And so I know he was
still suffering from it,

because he would still--

I'd say, do you have a headache?

And he'd say yes, you know,
but he wouldn't admit it.

But I'd catch him taking
aspirin all the time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In Colorado Springs,

Craig rented a car to use
for business appointments.

At 9PM on August 30th, the night
before he was to return home,

he and Christine spoke
for the last time.

Craig was 1,000 miles away
from the farm in Wisconsin

when he disappeared
in Colorado Springs.

The next day, his credit cards
were discovered at a market

in El Paso, Texas,
675 miles south.

Two weeks later,
in Juarez, Mexico,

just across the
border from El Paso,

Craig's rental car
was found abandoned.

Once again, there were
no signs of foul play.

Detective Robert Johnson headed
the investigation in Colorado.

This is the area where we
found the bus still parked--

OK.

--when we came out
the day of the search.

Uh-huh.

And what I wanted to show
you is some of the things

that we found.

When we got here, the bus that
Craig had driven down here

was still parked kind
of along this line here,

about three or four
feet from the dumpster.

CHRISTINE REINHARD: OK.

I truly believe that Craig
walked up to his rental car

and that someone came up behind
him and hit him on the head.

And this is completely
in keeping in character

with Craig, is that he'd
get up and wouldn't go in

and say, I'm hurt, help me.

He'd think, I have to
get on with things.

I, you know, I have
to be doing something.

I'm supposed to go somewhere.

I have to get back.

And he would wander toward the
bright lights of the parking

lot and then the interchange.

And he wandered off from there.

TV ANNOUNCER: Over
the past week,

Williamson's wife Christine--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Television

stations in Wisconsin
and Colorado

covered Christine's story.

Within days, a retired nurse
from Montana came forward.

When I saw him on TV,
you know, I recognized him.

And I said, that man was
on the train that I was on.

And my son said, are
you sure about that?

I said, yeah, I recognize him.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Judy Inman

believes she saw
Craig Williamson

looking dazed and disheveled
two weeks after he disappeared.

Judy was on a train
traveling from Montana

through Washington
state, where Craig

and Christine had first met.

JUDY INMAN: When he
first got on the train,

these two drunks-- they
just kept harassing him.

[drunken rambling]

JUDY INMAN: I was just wishing
they'd all three shut up,

you know, so we
could get some sleep.

[loud talking]

JUDY INMAN: But when
he walked up the aisle,

he didn't say anything.

But there was something
that he wanted.

I've got to get
back to the fish.

He kept talking about this
fish that he had to go pick up.

And, uh, he was talking
about this big building

that had these big,
huge tanks in it,

where they kept the fish.

How are you going
to catch this fish?

JUDY INMAN: These
two drunk guys asked

him, well, where do you have
to go to catch that fish,

you know.

He said, well, you wouldn't find
a fish like that around here.

He said, in fact, you
wouldn't find a fish

like that in the United States.

Hey!

My jacket.

CRAIG WILLIAMSON: Oh.

Oh.

I've got to get
back to the fish.

JUDY INMAN: That man definitely
had something wrong with him.

He was absolutely not drunk.

And I knew he was not
mentally retarded.

There's a difference
between someone

that's mentally retarded
and someone that's drunk

and someone that
has a head injury.

And I knew that he definitely
had some type of a head injury,

because I've taken care
of patients like that.

I knew that that was Craig.

I knew it!

And the fact that
it was on Amtrak,

and it was heading toward the
Pacific Northwest, I mean,

I knew that that was Craig.

There was no way anyone could
make up the type of things

that Judy Inman said
Craig was talking about.

I packed up everything that
I would need, packed up

a suitcase for Craig in the
outside chance I would find

him, and went to look for him.

NARRATOR: Christine set
off on a six-week odyssey,

paralleling Judy Inman's train
route from Whitefish, Montana

to Portland, Oregon.

She photographed every
train station along the way.

On December 26, 1993, Christine
met Judy Inman in person

for the first time, and
showed her the photographs.

This is another one
of the train yard.

There's really nothing
much around there.

It's pretty empty.

Then there's this one.

That's it there.

You think this is the one?

That's the one he got off.

Because it was
a small building?

Yeah, it was small.

And it was this color.

This is the one
where he got off.

NARRATOR: Judy had identified
Wishram, Washington,

near the Oregon border.

Christine believes
Craig might have

mistaken Wishram for
Washougal, a town where

he had lived in the 1980s.

Craig's son plastered
the area with his poster,

but no new clues surfaced.

It was absolutely
terrible to drive

back here after looking
for Craig for the six weeks

that I did.

This place was so
cold and empty.

And everywhere I look,
things remind me of Craig

all the time.

NARRATOR: Today, Christine
Reinhardt has no choice

but to sit at home and wait.

The farm is closed.

The fish tanks are empty.

But Christine will never
abandoned her quest.

I can't give up.

I will never give up.

I will just constantly look for
him until I die, or he's found.

Those are the only two options.

I know he's alive.

And I know someday
I'll find him.

The trouble is I
don't know when.

And I just have to
keep hanging on.

The hardest part is hanging on.

NARRATOR: Craig Williamson is
49 years old, 5 feet 10 inches

tall, and weighs 190 pounds.

He has gray hair and blue eyes.

This is television
footage shot in Wisconsin

in February of 1993.

Some of these will be filleted
out in our processing plant.

Some will be delivered to the
east coast as live, whole fish

to the oriental market.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: When we
return, a fugitive

is captured thanks
to your calls,

and the bizarre case of a
couple targeted for terror

by an unknown assailant.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: This is
36-year-old David Vieira.

He is charged with the
murder of his wife.

On April 16th, 1994,
Viera was arrested

in Montreal, Canada,
the 108th fugitive

captured thanks to your calls.

His long, troubling
odyssey began

some 20 years ago on a small
island in the Atlantic Ocean.

David Viera grew
up on St. Michael,

one of a group of
island's west of Portugal

known as the Azores.

It was there in 1974
that Viera married

his 17-year-old cousin
Alice, who lived

in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

David and Alive eventually
settled in New Bedford.

Within a year,
Alice was pregnant.

Their marriage
went off pretty good,

like maybe I'd say about
the first couple of months.

And then already, he was
already starting with her.

You know, she
couldn't wear make up.

She couldn't do anything.

You know, he was very jealous,
very possessive of my sister.

NARRATOR: By 1981, Alice and
David had three children.

As the years went by, David
reportedly became abusive,

to the point of violence.

David used to always
say, there's no other woman

in my life like you are.

And he always had
threatened her that if she

ever decided to leave
him for anybody,

that he would kill her.

But we never took it
seriously, you know?

NARRATOR: Alice and
David finally separated

in the summer of 1988.

Alice enrolled in
nursing school,

and began to see another man.

But David Viera
would not let her go.

He allegedly began to
stalk Alice at work

and at home, night and day.

On July 25th, 1988, Alice was
at home with her boyfriend,

when David apparently snapped.

By the time police
arrived at the scene,

Alice was dead bludgeoned
and stabbed 24 four

times with a butcher knife.

David Viera had vanished.

And for nearly six
years, he could not

be found, until the
night of our broadcast.

Our particular
segment on that show

aired our time here in
New Bedford, Massachusetts

at approximately 8:50 PM.

By 9:03 PM, I was receiving
telephone calls from Canada

right here into my office
with very good leads

as to his whereabouts.

The first phone call that I
received saying that they knew

where he was, I just jumped up
with joy, and told my husband,

I think we got him, you know?

And I couldn't believe it.

It took less than 48 hours.

NARRATOR: Viera had
lived in Montreal

for at least two years,
and was well known

in the Portuguese community.

He belonged to a
neighborhood soccer team

and was employed at
a local fish market.

Viera's coworkers were stunned
to learn about his secret past.

I don't believe the guy do it.

I don't believe it,
because the guy is so nice.

We do, because
we see the picture.

If you don't see the picture
is exactly the man, if we

don't see, we never trust.

I've seen him apprehended,
and with handcuffs.

And to me, that was a sign of
saying, thank God, I can rest.

And my sister can also be at
peace now that he's caught.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Dorothy
and Bill Wacker

lived in a small town in Ohio
for most of their 48 years

together.

What time is
Kathy coming over?

About 6:00 o'clock.

NARRATOR: The Wackers are
quiet, unassuming people, who

tend to mind their own business,
hardly the time to draw

the wrath of an unseen enemy.

Oh my, not again.

All right, that's it.

I've had enough.

I'm calling the Sheriff.

NARRATOR: On January 16th, 1985,
the Wackers home was ransacked.

It was a third incident
in a campaign of terror

that began in 1984, and
continues unabated to this day.

After nearly 10 years, Dorothy
and Bill Wacker still wonder,

who and why?

Well, as far as
all this harassment

is going on, which to
me it looks like it's

trying to force us to move.

Why should I move?

Why should we move?

Why should we be
forced out by a kook?

To me, that's what
it is, is a kook.

I'll not do it.

I'll stay there, and
protect our home.

[knocking]

NARRATOR: July of
1985, after six months

of peace, another incident.

Dorothy was home by herself
recovering from heart surgery.

Yeah?

I'm really sorry
to bother you, ma'am.

My car broke down.

And I was just wondering
if I could use your phone.

Where's your car?

Oh, it's just down
the street here.

I would really appreciate.

OK, I guess
it'll be all right.

Come on in.

Anybody come to
the door, we didn't

believe the worst of them.

So we did what we had to do.

If they wanted help or
anything, we always helped them.

Right here.

Nice place out here.

You need me I'll
be in the kitchen.

Thanks a lot.

I really appreciate it.

He was very polite.

So I had no qualms
about leaving him in.

I need to get a tow truck.

Right, right on South Ferry.

He was talking on the phone.

But like I say, I didn't
pay no attention to him.

I don't listen to
people's conversations

when they use the phone.

And he said, thanks very much.

And that's the reason
I thought he'd left.

You're welcome.

The next thing I remember, I
woke up on the floor tied up.

And hit me in the head.

And he hit me alongside the jaw.

And, finally, I got over
towards the kitchen window.

And it was open.

And I got the neighbors
to hear me over there.

And they come over.

NARRATOR: Bill
returned home to find

his house swarming with police.

Fortunately, Dorothy was
not seriously injured.

She's all right.

NARRATOR: Bill did discover
some personal possessions were

missing--

a .22 caliber revolver, an
antique watch, a movie camera,

and a radio scanner.

In the dining
room, the assailant

had left a cryptic message
scrawled in crayon.

The words were
cheaper, but will do.

There's no connotation.

There's no rationale behind that
message that we can understand.

NARRATOR: This sketch drawn
from Dorothy's description

was widely distributed
after the attack.

The suspect never surfaced.

But inexplicably, most of the
Wacker's missing possessions

did.

Bill says that about four months
after Dorothy was assaulted,

the revolver turned
up on the front porch.

One by one, the other
items also reappeared.

I couldn't figure it out.

I still can't figure it out,
why it was brought back.

If somebody was steal
something, normally

if they don't have
any use for it,

they're going to sell
it to somebody else.

And it just looked like
this stuff was laid around

till it was brought back.

This is extremely
unusual, if not very rare.

In all my years in
law enforcement,

I have never known
of a gun being

returned after it was stolen.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, the
unseen tormentor had launched

a new pattern of harassment.

Hello?

Sometimes, he
wouldn't say anything.

He'd just breathe real deep.

And then the next
time, why, he says,

I'll knock you in the
head, and lay you out.

And I'll do this to
you, and do that to you.

I was angry.
And I was scared.

They've changed her
telephone number several times.

And whoever this
is that's harassing

them has come up
with the number.

How they found it,
I have no idea.

NARRATOR: According
to Bill and Dorothy,

the phone calls never let up.

And the mysterious assailant
soon escalated his campaign.

I would be sitting
there watching

TV, or reading, or whatever.

And always after dark.

And on the driveway
side of the house

is where it first started.

They would bang five,
six times real hard.

[banging]

What's that?

I don't know.

But I'm darn sure
going to find out.

Bill.

I've had it!

I don't want you
going out there, Bill.

I'd rush outside, never see
a thing, never hear a thing,

never hear a car, never
hear a noise whatsoever.

We got to the point that
we figured that we needed

some kind of security
light outside

in the front, which we put up.

It wasn't too long after that we
had a note on the front porch.

It says, your
lights are a laugh.

NARRATOR: Periodically,
other notes have shown

up on the Wacker's front porch.

Some are crudely threatening,
others simply mocking.

It was a disturbing onslaught.

But at least the Wackers
had tangible evidence

to present to the authorities.

It would appear that the
person that wrote these notes

may have been using the
opposite here from what they're

normally used to writing with.

Whoever printed them
went to some pains

to try to conceal their
normal handwriting

or printing techniques.

To date, we have found
no latent fingerprints

or any other form of
material on the evidence

that's been submitted.

NARRATOR: With the
investigation stalled,

Dorothy and Bill were
seemingly at the mercy

of their unknown enemy.

He struck again on
October 27, 1993.

This time, Dorothy was
raced to the hospital

with skull lacerations.

Desperate for a witness,
police once again

canvassed the neighborhood.

Have you had anybody around
your residence crawling

around your resident,
looking in the windows

the last few months, sir?

No.

Do you have any idea
who may be crawling

around the Wacker residence?

We've interviewed
the neighbor's

on numerous occasions.

And none of the
neighbors have yet

been able to provide
us with any information

which would lead us to believe
that there was a person there.

Nobody has ever seen a body,
which is very frustrating to us

in our efforts.

NARRATOR: With no
suspects and no clues,

the lead detective
presented Dorothy

with an unthinkable scenario.

He says I'm going to
ask you a question.

But he said, I don't want
you to take it the wrong way.

He says, do you think your
husband could have done this?

And I said, no way.

I said, he wouldn't do
something like that.

He says, we've got to
explore all possibilities.

She says, no, which, why should
I do something like after being

married 48 years, you know?

In any type of
criminal activity,

usually you can
identify pretty much

upfront what the motive is.

It's pretty simple.

The problem with this is you
cannot identify the motive.

You can't identify the
reasons behind the activity

that's going on out there.

There seems to be--

there seems to be a
pattern of activity, yes.

But what is the underlying
reason that this activity

is taking place?

The other thing
is, it's sporadic.

It's not constant.

You'll have months go by with
absolutely nothing happen.

And then you'll have
a flurry of activity

for maybe a period of a month.

And then it becomes
dormant again.

This has thrown us
into a quandary,

because we can't figure out
exactly what's going on.

We know what's going on.

They're filing the complaints.

And they're filing reports.
We're going out there.

But, yet, we can find nothing.

NARRATOR: In November of
1993, Bill and Dorothy took

matters into their own hands.

With the help of family
members, the Wackers

staked out their own house.

Bill was holed up in a trailer
parked in the driveway.

Across the street, his
sons in law Dan and Clay

watched from a van.

Clay's wife Kathy stayed
with Dorothy in the house.

The family was linked
by walkie-talkie.

It's all quiet in here.

For

NARRATOR: Almost four
hours, they waited.

Around 10:30 PM, they
decided to call it a night.

And all of a sudden, we
heard bump, bump, bump, bump.

I said, there's something
on the front porch.

We can't see anything.

NARRATOR: Inevitably,
perhaps even predicatively,

the intruder had found a blind
spot in the Wacker's stakeout.

I never saw it
come from anywhere.

NARRATOR: The scrawl
was all too familiar.

The note read simply,
get the message.

Oh my-- here.

Come on.

Let's go in the house.

NARRATOR: Violent assaults,
threatening notes,

unnerving calls, nearly
10 years of harassment.

Who is behind the play
on the Wacker household?

Could it be an embittered
neighbor, a family

member, a total stranger?

The Wackers remain as
mystified today as when

their troubles first began.

The sooner he's caught, the
better off a lot of people

are going to be, because if he's
not harassing us or threatening

us, he'll probably be
doing it to somebody else

to get his kicks.

I think that's what
it boils down to.

He gets a heck of a
big kick out of it.

NARRATOR: Next,
authorities need your help

to find a deadly arsonist.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: September 29, 1988--

arson investigators sift
through the ashes of a burned

out home in South Oakcliff,
a section of Dallas, Texas.

Five children had died
as a result of the fire.

And the authorities
wanted to know why.

The house belonged to a
woman named Molly Jordan.

The victims were her
great granddaughter,

2-year-old Jasmine, and four
of her grandchildren, Jamal 6,

Erica 9, Bernard
16, and 18-year-old

Dimitra, Jasmine's mother.

September 28 seemed, at
first, like any other day

in the Jordan household.

By 3:30 that afternoon, the
kids were all home from school.

Their grandmother, Molly
Jordan, was about to leave.

Molly worked back to back
eight hour shifts as a nurse

to support the six children.

Molly's jobs would keep
her away for some 16 hours

until 7:00 the next morning.

But she carried a
beeper so the kids could

reach her directly at any time.

Around 3:00 AM, Ketrick
Jordan, then 10 years old,

awakened to the
sound of his brother

Bernard talking to someone.

Bernard had apparently
become deeply involved

with a local drug dealer.

I was walking to
the refrigerator.

And I saw him.

I saw the drug dealer and
Bernard talking about,

where's my money?

And Bernard said, I don't know
what you're talking about.

Bernard.

Ketrick, get back to bed.

But--

And don't come back out.

NARRATOR: The
brief exchange left

Ketrick shaken, afraid to
go back to his own bedroom.

So I went into
my sister's room.

And I went to bed.

It seemed like I
didn't sleep that long.

But it seemed like about
five minutes later,

he busted into the door,
and the house was on fire.

-The house is on fire!

The house is on fire!

[screaming]

He told me to start
busting out windows,

and stuff to try to get air
coming through the house,

because we couldn't go
through the front door.

NARRATOR: The only hope of
escape was through the windows.

But the safety releases for
the burglar bars inexplicably

jammed, and refused to budge.

I saw my sister Erica
laying on the bed crying.

And I tried to save
her so she can get air.

But she was in such a panic.

And then my sister, she
was bursting out windows.

And she cut herself real bad.

And she got into a panic.

And I looked over to my
little brother Jamal.

And he was already dead.

And I looked over
to my niece, Jas.

She was already dead.

NARRATOR: By the time
firemen arrived, flames

had engulfed much of the house.

All six children were trapped.

Repeated attempts to break
down the front door failed.

Inside, a coach had been
propped against the door,

holding it closed.

The burglar bars doomed any
chance of a quick rescue.

And precious minutes dribbled
away, as firefighters fought

their way through the iron.

10 minutes later,
the bars gave way.

Firemen didn't know if anyone
was still alive inside.

While parts of the
house continued to burn,

they began searching
for survivors.

They found Ketrick Jordan first.

Ketrick was burned over
more than 75% of his body.

Dimitra Jordan was
also pulled out alive,

but she would die the
next day at the hospital.

The bodies of the
other four children

were found huddled together,
lifeless at the foot

of the barred window.

At that very moment,
Molly Jordan was

rushing home from the hospital.

She had been called by a
relative, who said only,

the children are all gone.

When I got about a mile
or so from the house,

one ambulance passed me.

They were just
screaming and going.

Then I started feeling
sick at the stomach.

Then I was thinking,
well, it didn't

have to come from my house.

There's a lot of houses.

But when I got
within a few blocks,

it was another one passed
me screaming and hollering.

And I just got real
sick to the stomach,

heart went to beating
fast, and all this.

It seemed like I
couldn't breathe.

I couldn't walk.
I couldn't stop.

I couldn't talk.

Just everything left
my body it seemed like.

NARRATOR: Once the
flames were extinguished,

arson investigators easily
determined that the deadly fire

had been deliberately set.

In the main living room,
we found a gasoline can that

had been there during the fire.

And later on during
the investigation,

we actually did find
samples of flammable liquid

that had been poured on
the floor and set on fire.

NARRATOR: Investigators
soon pieced

together what they
believe are the events

that led up to the fire.

The drug people had come to
seek payment from Bernard,

wanted him to come outside.

He did not come outside.

They set the house on fire
to get him to come outside.

But, unfortunately,
the whole family

got caught in the burglar
bars, and didn't come out.

So we have an act of arson
that resulted in five murders,

and one severe injury.

NARRATOR: Police now
believe Bernard piled up

furniture in a desperate attempt
to keep the assailants out

of the house.

Instead, both the couch
jammed against the front door

and a love seat wedged behind
the hallway door trapped

the children in the house.

The arsonist probably
entered through this window,

one of two not
equipped with bars.

He worked quite hard
to try to find who

was responsible for the fire.

We did come up with one
name, one of the individuals

supplying drugs to Bernard.

His name was Curly,
the nickname Curly.

He was a black male,
about 5' 10" in height,

weighed about 160 pounds.

We never have found Curly,
or any of his friends.

But Curly is known to have
bragged about setting the fire.

NARRATOR: Three days
after the tragedy,

some 2,000 people gathered at
Carver Heights Baptist Church

to mourn the loss of the
five Jordan children.

In the five years since, Ketrick
Jordan, the lone survivor,

has endured a dozen
operations, including

the amputation of both legs.

Ketrick is now 16.

Prosthetic limbs have
allowed him to walk again.

After the fire, an
outpouring of contributions

from the community
enabled Ketrick

and his grandmother
to move to a new home

in a different part of Dallas.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Do you
believe in angels?

Here are the incredible
stories of two women

who believed
celestial intervention

saved them from certain death.

In California,
police are searching

for an unknown
witness who may have

vital information about the
murder of a deputy Sheriff.

And two poignant
stories of lost love--

in one, a woman
battling a fatal illness

hopes to find her
long lost sister.

In the other, Brenda Abby's
search for her birth parents

has taken her into
the unfamiliar world

of the traveling carnival.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Do angels
dwell among us?

More than 1,000 years
ago, St. Augustine

wrote that every visible
thing in this world

is put in the
charge of an angel.

Even today, most of us
hope those words are true.

You're about to meet
two women, both of whom

are certain that
they were placed

in the charge of
a guardian angel

just when they needed it most.

Consider first the
case of Janie Shamal.

Her story begins in 1976.

Janie had just turned 14, when
her brother and sister-in-law

took her on a Western vacation.

They traveled in a camper
with another family,

and visited all the usual
tourist attractions.

However, one stop stands out.

In the painted desert,
something amazing

happened, something Janie, who
is now 31, will never forget.

I had gotten a new
camera for the trip.

And I was curious to get
some good photographs.

And I can remember leaning
up against the guardrail,

focusing the camera,
and thinking, you know,

if I just got on this other
side of this guard rail

down there a little
bit, it would

be a much better photograph.

As nearly as anyone can figure,
just at that same moment,

Janie's mother surely, who
had stayed home in Michigan,

was sitting down to read her
Bible, as she did every day.

I really felt that I
was led by the Holy Spirit

to read psalm 91.

And I began sobbing,
just sobbing, because I

knew Janie was going to die.

I didn't know why or how.

But I knew she was going to die.

[shouting]

- She's gone over the edge!
- Where did she go?

Right over the railing.

I can't see her anymore.

Suddenly, I just stopped.

I just stopped.

And I can remember thinking,
I'm so glad I stopped,

and thinking, what stopped me?

I was afraid.

I was scared that there
was no way I was going

to get back up to the top.

I could not see the top.

I couldn't hear my
family yelling for me.

I knew I had to be very careful,
or I would start falling again.

As soon as I had this feeling
that Janie was going to die,

I began pleading with the Lord
too, please, don't let her die.

And that would be more
than what I could bear.

I continued to read psalm 91.

It said, and he shall give His
angels charge over thee to keep

thee in all thy ways.

And they shall bear
the up in their hands,

lest your foot dash
against a stone.

And then a peace just came
over me, because I believed it.

Janie?

Alfred, it's Janie!

She's back!
Janie!

You're all right.

Janie, what happened?

I don't know.

I fell a long ways.

I don't even remember
coming back up.

At least you're all right.

I was afraid I was going--

I know I did not
climb up myself.

Something strange had happened.

But I just kind of was
glad I was back up there.

We had talked among ourselves
about calling her mother.

And we decided that she
could call her mother,

but not to say anything
about her fall,

mainly because we didn't
want to upset Shirley.

And we were so far
away from home.

Tell me all about your trip.

NARRATOR: But,
inevitably, once Janie

was back home in Michigan with
her mother, the truth came out.

And here's where I
stepped over the guardrail,

and I fell down the slope.

You what?

I just want to get
a better picture.

So I climbed over the rail.

And I slipped.

And I said, what
are you talking about?

And she said, oh, she
wasn't supposed to tell.

When did this happen?

When we were in Arizona.

You remember that night I called
to tell you everything was OK?

Well, it happened that morning.

When Janie was
telling her story,

I really realized
the whole magnitude

of what had happened to me.

Then I knew that verses 11 and
12, that the angel shall bare

thee up in their hands,
lest your foot dash

against the stone, that
they were the ones that

brought her back to the top.

When I heard my mother's story
of what had happened that day,

and her feelings that
I was going to die,

I realized then that
it was her prayers that

had sent the angels
that had made me stop,

and had brought me to
the top of the canyon.

How do you explain what
happened to Janie Shamal?

Even though Janie neither
saw nor heard anything

to confirm it, she is
thoroughly convinced that she

was rescued by an angel.

Estella Vera of
Riverside, California

reports an even more
dramatic experience.

Estella believes not only
that an angel saved her,

but that she actually
saw him do it.

On Saturday, March 30th,
1991, Estella and her two

grown children were
on their way home

when they spotted an ice
cream truck being robbed.

Estella's daughter ran
to call the police,

while her son rushed to help
the ice cream truck owner.

He and another and
were already grappling

with the large,
musclebound assailant.

[shouting]

I knew there was absolutely
nothing I could do.

And I saw my mother in
the path of his van.

Mama!

I knew she was in
between the two.

So I think instantly,
I thought she was dead.

NARRATOR: Estella's left leg
had been severed below the knee.

And she had suffered
cardiac arrest.

At the hospital, Mingo
and his father kept vigil.

What did the doctor say?

The first time I saw my
mother after the incident,

I could not recognize her.

Her face was completely swollen.

And we were just
waiting for any word

whether or not she
would even survive.

NARRATOR: Estella drifted
in and out of consciousness

for the next several days.

Finally, she awoke.

He's OK.

He's right here.

It's good to hear
your voice, Mom.

Did you see the
man by the trunk?

Don't worry, Mama.

He's in jail.

No, the other man,
surrounded by light,

in front of the truck.

Was this some dream, Estella?

No, he was standing
by the truck.

My father and I looked at
each other kind of puzzled,

and possibly looking
at her as if she

may have dreamt
something within the time

she was in the hospital.

NARRATOR: But Estella insisted
she had not been dreaming.

The story she tells
is truly astonishing.

I remember just looking at
this truck coming so fast.

And just with all my
heart, I said to God, God,

please don't let me die.

And then I started reciting
psalms that I know.

I said the angel
of the Lord takes

care of those that loves him.

And then I look again.

And the truck is
right in front of me.

And I could see
the robber's face.

He looks so angry.

You could see those eyes.

He was desperate.

I look again.

And now, in front of the truck,
there is this beautiful person.

He looks so peaceful,
so beautiful.

He has the most beautiful smile.

You could see him,
like in slow motion.

Immediately, I forgot
about the ice cream truck.

I forgot about everything
that was happening.

All I remember was
this beautiful face.

And then I grab his hand.

I put my face over his hand.

And I would go on like this.

And I remembered,
a couple of times,

I opened my eyes
to look at his face

to be sure that he was there.

And I could see him right
over there looking at me

with a big smile.

I believed her.

She was very sincere, very
excited, very sure of the fact

that the angel was there.

I felt possibly a little
doubtful myself, because nobody

else saw anything.

But you can see it in her
eyes that it was true.

I cannot really explain
this beautiful experience.

I have no doubt in my heart that
God sent an angel to save me.

I ask everyone if they saw
this beautiful person pulling

me to the side and helping me.

Nobody knew what I
was talking about.

But I knew that it
was true, that God

sent an angel to save me.

Remarkably, Estella
Vera feels no bitterness

about the accident.

And with the aid
of a prosthesis,

Estella has already
been able to walk again.

Are there angels among us?

No matter what anyone
else may think,

Estella Vera firmly believes she
is alive today because she was

visited by a guardian angel.

When we return, a woman
fighting a deadly disease

needs your help find
her long lost sister.

And police believe
a mystery witness

holds the key to identifying
a cold-blooded killer.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: For Diane Hamline
of La Crucenta, California,

every day is a
race against time.

The rare and often
fatal blood disease

she has been fighting
since 1986 has finally

reached the crisis point.

Diane, how are you doing?

Hi, doc.

This procedure is going to
take about five or 10 minutes.

You may be a little
uncomfortable

before the biopsy is done.

How uncomfortable?

It's going to hurt.

But it won't take long.

Diane has a relatively
unusual blood disorder, normally

considered to be an incurable
illness, now potentially could

be cured by the utilization of
a bone marrow transplantation,

fraught with a lot
of dangers though,

and a lot of potential
complications,

so not something to
be taken lightly.

NARRATOR: In all the world, this
woman, Diane's younger sister

Marilyn, is the only potential
bone marrow donor who

offers any chance of success.

But Diane has no idea
where Marilyn is today.

She hasn't even talked to her
sister in more than 20 years.

I feel I'm asking
a lot of my sister

to do this bone marrow for me.

But even if she doesn't agree
to a transplant, if she says,

I don't want to do
this, I would still

like to make peace with her.

She's my sister.

NARRATOR: Diane is three
years older than Marilyn.

They grew up in Los
Angeles during the 1940s.

We were post-war babies.

And we came from
a lot of poverty.

There wasn't any money.

And our mother and father
had to work long hours.

We were like most children.

We fought, and
bickered, and didn't

want to do the housework.

You know, you do that.

No, you do that.

I don't think it hurt us.

But I think that
she resented that.

NARRATOR: Diane and Marilyn's
parents separated in 1954.

Ultimately, Marilyn went
to live with her father.

After my sister
moved in with my dad,

I saw my sister maybe,
like, once a month.

But as time went on, it
became more infrequent.

And I just think because
she went with dad

and I went with mom,
that we separated.

I mean, we just lost our--

we didn't do our activities
or anything together anymore.

NARRATOR: Years passed
with little contact.

In 1965, Diane visited her
sister at the restaurant

where she worked.

This place never stops.

So how are you doing?

Well, met a new guy.

Yeah?

NARRATOR: Marilyn
said she was in love.

She planned to marry a man
who had several children

from a previous marriage.

Crazy about him.

NARRATOR: Neither
sister realized

the brief visit would be
the last time they would

see each other face to face.

Eight years later, they did
speak briefly on the phone.

Marilyn told Diane that she had
a little boy named Billy Joe.

Billy Joe?

That's good.

NARRATOR: The sisters talked
about getting together.

But time drifted by, and
they never spoke again.

Bye-bye.

NARRATOR: In January
of 1994, Diane

hired private
investigator Marilyn

Ganell to find her sister.

Well, it's like a
needle in a haystack,

because without a
name, you have nothing

to pin your investigation on.

We have tried certain things
with the use of her maiden name

and her first married name.

And, of course,
her maiden name is

Jones, which makes it
extremely difficult.

There's no paucity
of Jones available.

How are you?

How are you, doctor?

Good.

NARRATOR: With
every passing, day

Diane's treatment become
less and less effective,

her search more and more vital.

In the morning.

Any bleeding, easy bruising?

I'm having more bruising now.

NARRATOR: Diane is
an unusual person.

She has a very strong will.

She's very optimistic.

She's really, so to
speak, already beaten

the odds by getting this far.

I think I'm still here
after all these years

is because I don't think that
my life should be over with yet.

You know, I had a
daughter to finish

raising to go to college.

And I'd like to see her get
married and have babies.

And I just don't feel like
checking out of here yet.

But I think I'm
going to pretty soon

if I don't do something fast.

When we broadcast
Diane's story,

a private investigator from
Denver, Colorado, Robin Lee,

was watching.

She was touched
by Diane's plight,

but assumed we would
get the clues we needed.

We didn't.

As luck would have it,
Robin was also watching when

the segment re-ran in June.

This time, she decided to
volunteer her help in tracking

Marilyn Down The result was
one of our most unusual solves

ever.

I contacted the show, got
a little more information,

started out with
the sister's name.

Marilyn Jones was
her maiden name,

started with that and
the date of birth,

and went on from there.

And it took me about
three days to find her,

three working days, if you
don't count the 4th of July

holiday in between.

And I think it's great
that they're back together.

NARRATOR: On August 13th,
1994, Marilyn and Diane

met face to face for the
first time in 30 years.

It's so good to see you.

Once we hugged, it was
like it hadn't been 30 years.

It had been just a short time.

I guess maybe that's
why I feel comfortable,

is because I can feel the love.

And when you feel that
love, you feel comfortable.

You haven't changed a bit.

Oh no.

I get cuter with age.

Yes, you do.

I think I'm still
in shock, you know?

It's still like,
I'm not here yet.

It's just a dream, you know?

But it's a great dream.

And we have a lot of
catching up to do.

And we'll be
together forever now.

We're going to have a
lot of fun together,

enjoy the time we have.

Isn't that beautiful?

NARRATOR: Coincidentally,
the day of the reunion

was Dianne's 53rd birthday.

And Marilyn had not forgotten.

And my name is spelled right.

This is the best gift I've
ever had in my whole life.

This is the best gift
ever, is to have my sister,

and to have my family
for my birthday.

It'll be the best birthday
I've ever had in my whole life.

NARRATOR: On the
day of the reunion,

Marilyn's fondest wish was
to prove a compatible bone

marrow donor for her sister.

Do I have to go to the movies?

To the movies, we have
go all the way to Canada.

[laughter]

I want more than anything
to have this work with Dyann.

But even if it
doesn't, we're going

to take full
advantage of however

long we do have together.

We can make a week
seem like an eternity.

As it turned out,
a series of tests

showed Marilyn's bone marrow
would not work for Dyann.

But there is a ray of hope.

Doctors are now moving on to
a new experimental therapy

for Dyann's blood disorder.

In the meantime,
she and Marilyn are

making the most of
their precious, newly

kindled relationship.

[music playing]

January 24th, 1987,
a deputy Sheriff

named Charlie Anderson
was gunned down

in his Burbank, California home.

The next day, an
anonymous witness

phoned the Burbank
Police, claiming to know

the identity of the killer.

But the caller,
obviously nervous,

hung up before revealing
any information.

He never called back.

Authorities hope that
tonight, seven years later,

this mystery witness will
finally come forward, and solve

the murder of Charlie Anderson.

Charlie Anderson was
a 14-year veteran

of the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department.

He distinguished himself as a
highly skilled driver, teaching

hundreds of officers
how to handle

themselves in their vehicles
in dangerous situations.

Charlie was probably one
of the most talented drivers

that I've ever met.

It was a natural
talent tell for him.

Charlie was able to get
along with everybody.

He was serious on the job.

But he had a good sense
of humor when he was

around the rest of the staff.

NARRATOR: By all
accounts, Charlie Anderson

was also a dedicated
father, never

too busy to spend evenings and
weekends with his two sons.

Charlie didn't seem to
have an enemy in the world

until the early hours
of January 24th, 1987.

Charlie's wife Beth told police
that around midnight, she,

Charlie, and their two young
sons returned home from a visit

to her parents.

Oh, he's out like a light.

Well, I'll bring him upstairs.

And then I'll come back
for you and the babies.

They arrived home.

And because Mrs. Anderson was
suffering from a back injury,

her husband offered
to go inside the house

with her oldest boy first.

He asked her to wait in the car.

And she did so.

Charlie Anderson went in the
house with the oldest son,

and we believe
took him upstairs.

A few moments
later, Mrs. Anderson

heard what sounded like
backfires from where

she was parked in the driveway.

She was still seated in the car.

Because the sound was unusual,
she walked to the house

and called in to see if
there was anything wrong.

Charlie?

Charlie?

Honey, are you up here?

Charlie?

Honey?

Charlie, can you hear me?

She ran downstairs,
picked up her younger son,

and ran a next door
neighbor's house.

Help!

Help!

Initially, the detectives
believed that the house was

being burglarized,
and that Mr. Anderson

had interrupted the
burglary, and had

confronted the suspects.

One of the things that was
not consistent with a burglary

was the suspect had very
carefully moved items.

Normally, in a burglary, the
suspects, or the burglars,

are working very quickly,
they'll pull out a drawer,

and dump the entire
drawer, just to examine

all the contents at once.

What the investigators found
was that the drawers had been

either pulled out partially,
or carefully pull out,

and maybe one item removed.

And they felt that that was
inconsistent with most burglary

scenes that they had seen.

NARRATOR: There were
other telltale signs

that the burglary
had been staged.

While they had
selected certain items

and placed them together
to be taken from the house,

they had overlooked other items
that were much more valuable

that were in plain sight.

This led to a second theory that
this might have been someone

that, perhaps, knew
Deputy Anderson that

confronted him and shot him.

NARRATOR: Charlie's
sister Trish believes

that is exactly what happened.

She was at the scene that
night, called by a neighbor.

But what really surprised
me was the look on his face.

He had a look, a
wide-eyed look, as if he'd

been shocked or betrayed.

It's something that
lingers with me today.

NARRATOR: Was Charlie
Anderson ambushed by someone

he knew, someone who dressed
up a cold-blooded murder

to look like a random
burglary gone wrong?

In the end, evidence at the
crime scene was ambiguous.

The only identifiable
fingerprints were

all from members of the family.

Police were left with a murder
victim and virtually no leads

until the mysterious
phone call one day later.

What you are about to
hear is a reenactment

of that conversation,
taken directly

from police transcripts.

Burbank Police Department.

May I help you?

MAN: Yes, may I speak to the
officer in charge, please?

Sure, regarding
what type of incident?

MAN: This is some information
that might lead to the killer

that shot the deputy Sheriff.

OK, wait a minute.

Hang on just a second.

At that time, the
investigator handling the case

was in the station.

And he was called
to the dispatch area

so he could speak with the
person that had called in.

MAN: I know who
did the shooting.

OK, the watch
commanders on his way

down here to answer
the phone, OK?

MAN: I can't wait too long.

OK, here's the detective
handling the case right now.

Hang on, just a second.

Hi there, what
can I do for you?

MAN: Is this being recorded.

Yes, it is.

MAN: I can't speak to
you if this is recorded.

OK, why don't I give you
the number of my office

where it is not recorded?

I'm not going to lie to you, OK?

MAN: I don't like recordings.

The man on the line
was very, very nervous.

He was very concerned about
his voice being taped,

about the call being traced,
or in any way the police

identifying who he was.

MAN: I'm not playing around.

NARRATOR: The call could not be
routed to an unrecorded line.

The detective had
to ask the witness

to hang up and call again.

OK, well as I
said, you're going

to have to give me
about two minutes

to get back to my office.

MAN: All right.

OK.

NARRATOR: The man
readily agreed.

But the phone call never came.

On January 31st,
1987, Charlie Anderson

was laid to rest with the full
honors reserved for officers

killed in the line of duty.

Since then, lack of evidence
has dragged the investigation

to a standstill.

Seven years after the
murder of Charlie Anderson,

authorities are still searching
for the unidentified caller.

We feel it's
very, very important

to locate this
caller, because he

was concerned enough to call
us right at the beginning

of the investigation.

He has never been identified.

And we're very, very
interested in speaking

to him to find out what he
does know about this case.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Next, a woman's
search for her birth parents

draws her into the exotic
world of a traveling carnival.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: For most of us,
a night at the carnival

offers thrills, chills, and
an old-fashioned good time.

But for Brenda Abbey, a
45-year-old mother of three

from Chester,
Virginia, this frenzied

magic promises much more--

the solution to her own
personal, unsolved mystery.

Brenda was adopted as an infant.

She knows little about
her biological parents,

except their names, and that
they worked for the Setlin

and Wilson Traveling
Carnival almost 50 years ago.

Every time I hear the news
that there's a carnival,

I will go.

And I go up to every
booth, every concession.

I go up to every person that's
employed by that carnival.

And I look at them, just
to see if I can find

somebody that looks like me.

NARRATOR: In April
of 1949, Brenda

was adopted by Sam and Thelma
Zimmer of Petersburg, Virginia.

When she was 16,
Brenda found out

that her birth parents
had been with the Setlin

and Wilson carnival.

In 1983, Brenda developed
a serious health problem.

Because of her acute need
for a family medical history,

Virginia officials
released a copy

of Brenda's birth certificate.

Her biological
parents were Elizabeth

Hanson and Walter Dean Perry.

Brenda was stunned to
learn she had two siblings.

But for Brenda's search,
the most important clue was

her birth father's occupation.

My father was a representative
of the Midget Review.

Possibly, my father
was a barker,

where he goes out there.

And he tries to get
people to come here to see

the midgets and their show.

You're going to
regret it tomorrow.

This show stars--

NARRATOR: The pieces of the
puzzle were falling into place.

Brenda set out to
find everything

she could on the Setlin
and Wilson Carnival.

I looked in the
newspapers back in 1948.

And I did come across
the announcements

of Setlin and Wilson.

And I found a group
of midgets that

were called Singers Midgets.

And I know the whole library
heard me, because I said

I found them, I found them.

Finally, Brenda Abbey
had a tangible clue.

And it led straight to
the carnival circuit.

Last month, we joined
Brenda in Virginia

to experience her
search first hand,

the excitement of
each promising lead,

and the heartache of near
misses and dead ends.

How long have you
been with the carnival?

NARRATOR: Brenda visits every
carnival that passes within 200

miles of her home town.

Are they with the carnival?

No, nobody but me.

I'm the black sheep.

NARRATOR: Old-timers like Joe
Stevenson, a 60-year veteran

of the carnival,
offer rare glimpses

into a strange and exotic world.

Do you remember if this woman
had been pregnant at the time?

We made up a language,
just vowels switched around.

Like you got here, light liz
light, keyazamera, camera, Joe,

Jee-zo.

I could say loozooki izat mezan.

You don't know
what I'm speaking.

I said, look at that man.

We're speaking what
is known as carny.

Well, I worked sometimes
as the alligator girl.

I worked as the world's
strangest mother.

And I had to go up on a
stage, and talk to the public.

A lot of them had
to live in wagons,

and underneath wagons,
and things like that,

in the old days.

They don't do that today.

But they used to have
to do it, because they

didn't make enough.

Hopefully, I'm going
to ring a bell one

day with one of these people.

And they're going to know my
parents, simply by what I tell

them about the Midget Review.

They might remember somebody.

But this is what I do.

I keep hoping that somebody in
the carnival that's old enough

to remember will remember.

They're the original Singer
Midgets, because he's Carl.

I remember him.

He was the tuba
player in the band.

They had the smallest
midget in the world.

What was her name?

Do you remember?

They never brought
her out on the front.

You paid extra.

Yeah, she's right there.

That was Margie.

Margie, that's it.

This is the group I tell
you about that had the cook.

And she remembered the
lady's name like I do.

But the only thing we know--

NARRATOR: For a
brief instant, Brenda

thought Joe and the
others had actually

known her birth mother.

Was she 20, 24?
Was she young?

She was a woman
then, wasn't she?

She was old.

He doesn't feel that she
could have been my mother,

because her age
would have made her--

he said, he was just joking,
he said 2,000 years old by now.

So it definitely could
not have have been mother.

My mother was supposedly
24 when she had me.

But Joe said that,
quite possibly,

it might be Mama Li's daughter.

But there, again, who knows?

And that's another avenue
I'll have to travel.

It was a Singer's--
MAN: Let me ask you first.

What year were you born?

That would have been on
the birth certificate.

OK, 1949.

NARRATOR: Brenda didn't
cover one exciting lead--

the phone number
for a man named Ward

Hall, a prominent booking agent
for east coast carnival side

shows.

We were there when
Brenda called him.

Ward Hall knew carnival people
going back some 50 years.

But he had never heard of
Brenda's birth parents.

I really thought
he was my answer.

I really did.

I had a lot of faith
in that phone call.

And I'm a little disappointed.

I really am, not
because he couldn't

give me the answer I wanted.

But just because
he didn't have it.

We're going over to the
Department of Social services

in Richmond.

And over there, they have
identifying information.

NARRATOR: Just before
we travel to Virginia,

a judge had granted
Brenda access

to her sealed adoption papers.

We were not allowed to
film in the archives.

But our cameras were on
hand when Brenda emerged.

The documents finally revealed
where her birth parents

had gone after the adoption.

I got it.

Alaska.

And it's all the
identifying information

filled in, everything.

And there's two different names.

I've got a WL Perry.

And then I have a WD Perry.

They say it could be
a typographical error,

but maybe not.

They're just not sure.

NARRATOR: Despite the
information in the adoption

records, it turns out that
the Setlin and Wilson Carnival

never once traveled to
Alaska, nor has Brenda

found any evidence that
her biological parents

moved to Alaska on their own.

Perhaps the next
carnival will yield

the clue that finally leads
Brenda to her birth parents.

I want to find my parents
and my siblings more

than anything in the world.

I want to tell my
mother before she dies,

I don't think she
did anything wrong.

I think she did
what she had to do.

And I really can understand it.

I have a heart big
enough to understand it.

NARRATOR: Update--
during a search

that spanned 30
years, Brenda talked

with countless old timers.

Each had a story to tell, and
some even offered suggestions.

But not one claimed
to know Elizabeth

Hanson or Walter Perry.

Inevitably, as each carnival
was packing up and hitting

the road, Brenda Abbey
was left behind, no closer

to finding her birth parents.

It seemed she might
finally be out of options

until the night
of our broadcast.

The response was far greater
than even Brenda had hoped for.

Not only did her birth mother
called our phone center,

but so did a sister, and a
brother, then another sister.

Additional calls were
logged in from friends

of still more siblings.

Brenda Abbey was saddened
to learn that her birth

father had died in 1959.

But she was thrilled
to discover a total

of 11 brothers and sisters.

One of them, Martha Oak, of
St. Clair Shores Michigan,

hosted a reunion
in August of 1994.

Although Brenda's birth
mother was unable to attend,

Brenda finally met four of her
long lost brothers and sisters

face to face.

As hostess for the
celebration, Martha was

the first to welcome Brenda.

Hi, Brenda.

How you doing?

NARRATOR: A brother,
Thomas Chillag,

flew in from Louisiana,
1,000 miles away.

Another sister,
Susan Donar, came

in from Port Clinton, Ohio.

Brenda's brother,
Frank Smith, grew up

in Greenwood, Mississippi.

Like Brenda, he never imagined
he had so many siblings.

I did my own search, and
kept running into dead ends,

and finally gave up.

And when I found out about
this, it was incredible.

It's amazing.

It's unbelievable,
totally unbelievable.

It's funny to actually
walk up to people,

and touch their skin,
and know they're related.

NARRATOR: The get together
in Michigan promises

to be just the first of many.

Plans are already underway
for the next reunion.

These are my flesh and blood.

And it's something nobody
can take away from me.

That's right.

And it's such a great feeling.

It was worth the 30 years
that it took me to do this.

[music playing]

In just a few weeks,
an exciting new season

of "Unsolved
Mysteries" will begin.

Here's a sampling.

In the late 1960s, thousands
of curiosity seekers

flocked to see the Iceman.

Was it a hoax, or perhaps a
prehistoric cousin of man?

Novelist Agatha Christie
was a queen of mystery.

But how many of us know that in
1926 Agatha took center stage

in her own real life mystery?

21-year-old Tommy Burkett died
in 1991, an apparent suicide.

Now, his parents have pieced
together a shocking scenario

of murder and intrigue.

From the realm of
the unexplained,

a bolt of lightning
sends a young man

on an incredible journey to
the brink of death and back.

And follow a team of
real life ghostbusters,

as they track down an
elusive spirit in a haunted

hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Join me, starting
later in September,

for four special Sunday
broadcasts, and then in October

during our new time,
Fridays at 8:00.

[music playing]