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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 2 - Full Episode

May 23, 2019 / 45:58

This episode covers the mysterious cases of bank robber Jose Antonio Gonzales, the death of Danny Williams, and the disappearance of pilot Frederick Valenti.

The episode begins with the story of Jose Antonio Gonzales, a convicted bank robber whose true identity remains unknown. After a robbery in Anchorage, Alaska, Gonzales was arrested but provided false information about his background, leading to further intrigue about his life.

Next, the episode shifts to the tragic case of Danny Williams, who was found dead in his home. Initially ruled a suicide, his father, Larry Williams, believes his son was murdered. Evidence presented by a private investigator suggests foul play, including conflicting blood types found at the scene.

The final segment focuses on Frederick Valenti, a pilot who vanished during a flight in Australia in 1978. His last radio transmission described a mysterious light, leading to speculation about a UFO encounter. Despite extensive searches, no trace of Valenti or his aircraft was ever found.

Throughout the episode, the stories highlight the complexities and unresolved questions surrounding these cases, leaving viewers with lingering mysteries.

TL;DR

The episode discusses unsolved cases involving a bank robber, a suspicious death, and a missing pilot linked to UFOs.

Episode

45:58
00:00:00
[Music]
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this program is about unsolved mysteries
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whenever possible the actual family
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members and police officials have
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participated in recreating the events
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what you were about to see is not a news
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broadcast this man calls himself Jose
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Antonio Gonzales but that is a known
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alias
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he is a convicted bank robber and the
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man without a past since his arrest in
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1990 Gonzales has refused to reveal his
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true identity or any other detail about
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his shadowy life on June 30th 1991 Larry
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Williams walked into his son's house and
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into a nightmare Danny Williams was dead
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from a single bullet wound to his
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forehead
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at first glance an obvious suicide but
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Larry Williams has collected convincing
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evidence that indicates his son may have
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been murdered in 1978 a young pilot
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named Frederick Valenti took off from
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Moorabbin Airport in Australia 47
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minutes later a frantic Valletta kraid
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you that he had encountered a bizarre
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light source then the radio
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transmissions abruptly ceased and the
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plane vanished as if plucked from the
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sky join me for another edition unsolved
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mystery
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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Anchorage Alaska December 11th 1990 at 3
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p.m.
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two bank employees arrived at a local
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mall to restock an automated teller
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machine
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the security guard took the cash into a
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small secluded room behind the machines
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while the teller went outside to
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reprogram the ATM open the door don't
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turn around
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do exactly what I say and you won't be
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hurt do you understand yes open the door
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put your hands above your head into the
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room you over here you open the vault
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turn around there was nothing about this
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robbery that could have happened that
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this individual wasn't prepared to
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handle he knew the entrance in' into
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this back room back hallway in order to
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get into the teller machine he knew that
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no one could see him from there he knew
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exactly what it took in order to open up
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the machine where the money was stored
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inside a machine and also instructed to
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tell her to take a video tape out of the
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video machine so as not to be caught on
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film now the robber also had a small
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smile on his face
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which the guard thought was a little
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peculiar the guard believed that this
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robber was very relaxed I know what your
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name is I know where you live
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do you understand both of you silent for
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five minutes the FBI believe the robbery
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was an inside job even though the two
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employees had not recognized their
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assailant suspicion immediately fell on
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a former security guard in Jose Antonio
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Gonzales who was already being
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investigated in connection with a
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similar robbery but Gonzales had
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conveniently disappeared
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[Music]
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two days later in Redmond Washington
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1,500 miles south of Anchorage a postal
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worker noticed a partially open package
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oh wait a minute this one's torn what
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about it looks like a gun in there
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the address is on the top of the box was
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an address to a gentleman named Jose
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Antonio Gonzalez in Redmond Washington
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the return address was Anchorage Alaska
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a second box was later found in the same
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shipment also addressed to Jose Antonio
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Gonzalez
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postal inspectors obtained a warrant to
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search both boxes and discovered a small
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Arsenal 38 loaded [ __ ] load it as well
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beretta money the postal inspectors also
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found cash sixty-five thousand five
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hundred and forty dollars the exact
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amount
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taken in the Anchorage ATM - make sure
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he gets in 1849 and we'll just wait for
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him postal inspectors set up what they
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call a control delivery in essence a
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sting operation on December 14th 1990
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just three days after the robbery Jose
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Gonzales stepped right into their trap
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[Music]
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thank you very much
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[Music]
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[Music]
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back away from the car
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down your knees gonzolas was charged
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with armed bank robbery and tare counts
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of illegal transportation of firearms
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using the u.s. mail once in custody
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gonzales was cooperative perhaps too
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cooperative without prompting he told
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authorities his life story born in
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Puerto Rico graduated from Knickerbocker
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High School in New York City attended
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West Virginia University Gonzales then
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rattled off his social security number
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his date of birth and other vital
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statistics thank you this man was almost
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too good with his background everything
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was right there on the tip of his tongue
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from where he went to high school to
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where he was brought up unfortunately
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nothing Gonzales said was true here
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there was no Knickerbocker high school
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and no one named Jose Antonio gonzales
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had ever attended West Virginia
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University his social security number
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did seem legitimate until the FBI
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discovered he had two of them one
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belonged to a boy who was 11 years old
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it was clearly fraudulent but the other
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had been issued Jose Antonio Gonzalez
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born in 1950 tough Puerto Rico we
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located a birth certificate in Puerto
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Rico under the name that he said he is
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Jose Antonio Gonzalez
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but then 11 days later after the birth
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of Jose Antonio Gonzalez that child died
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of tetanus and we have the death
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certificate so we know who he is not we
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don't know who he is under interrogation
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the dishonest continued to embroider the
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facts is already elaborate background
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became more and more exotic you've been
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in the service yes I have LaBranche
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French Foreign Legion French Foreign
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Legion
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yes mr. Gonzalez indicated that he would
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a former French Foreign Legion errant
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that he'd been in the Legion for
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approximately five years he's seen
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action in Chad and Beirut he claimed to
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be a martial arts expert and an expert
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with various types of weapons and Zola's
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was full of surprises while he was
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awaiting trial the authorities
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discovered that he was fluent in at
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least four different languages
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t-today somebody in that town here we
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have an individual who speaks apparently
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rights and is very functional in English
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Spanish French and some type of a
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Croatian dialect but he converse with
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these people freely
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very easily the man was not your
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run-of-the-mill
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bank robber the more we kept digging
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into this gentleman's background the
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more mystery surrounded him on October
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15 1992 the enigmatic mr. Gonzalez was
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convicted of armed bank robbery and sent
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to the Sheridan federal penitentiary in
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Oregon but even with gonzales safely
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behind bars the case continued to
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fascinate investigators the only
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possible key to the prisoners true
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identity they were two mysterious women
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both of whom vanished before they could
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be questioned all right can help you yes
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I'm used to pick up the car for Jose
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Gonzalez after Gonzales was arrested his
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car was impounded by the Redmond police
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the next day a woman showed up the
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claimant did that from his attorney yes
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I don't understand he asked me to come
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and pick up his car there a problem yes
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ma'am I need what's called an
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authorization for release and you can
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get that from his attorney I cannot get
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the car at all without the authorization
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according to the police the woman was an
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intimate acquaintance and possibly an
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accomplice of Gonzales she went by the
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name Nadine cast oh no and Gonzalez for
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at least three years before he went to
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prison
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she has always been around mr. Gonzales
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at times she has introduced mr. Gonzales
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as a brother as a lover and as a friend
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she's never worked that we can find
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always drove very expensive cars always
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dressed in very expensive clothes
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Nadine appears to be the person who
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arranges for and acquires identification
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for mr. Gonzales she's always there
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almost like somebody that looks over him
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and has the documentation that he would
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need she has disappeared
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absolutely disappeared as far as we know
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in the United States
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Nadine Kirsten is five feet five inches
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tall weighs around 125 pounds and has
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dark hair and eyes she is a French
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national who has lived in London and the
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United States she sometimes uses the
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last names of go tom at cartel another
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woman who police believe might also be
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an accomplice has been positively
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identified Brenda Penn injure was
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Gonzalez's girlfriend at the time of the
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robbery
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a few days after Nadine's unsuccessful
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attempt to pick up the car
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Brenda Penn injures showed up at the
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impound lot with all the right papers
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the FBI anticipating her arrival and
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asked the impound lot attendant to serve
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her with a subpoena is that Brenda Penn
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injure that's right I've been asked to
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give this piece what is it that's a
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subpoena so you'll come before the grand
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jury incredibly just three days later
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the car would be found 2,400 miles away
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in a parking lot at the Newark New
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Jersey Airport we have to this day never
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located miss pett injure we've talked to
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her mother we've talked to everyone that
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we could knew that had contact with her
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and there has been no contact that we
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can verify since that day three days
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after she picked up the car she's gone
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we don't know where she's at and we
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don't know her fate Brenda Penn injure
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is 5 feet 9 inches tall weighs 145
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pounds and has blond hair and blue eyes
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update the mystery robber has been
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identified thanks in part to a viewer
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tip his nameis needle rods if kovitch 27
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year old Yugoslavia national who was
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apparently born in France after the
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broadcast
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authorities also located in questions of
00:13:11
kovitch his two female friends neither
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has been charged with any wrongdoing in
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this case as for the mysterious if
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kovitch investigators are still hoping
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to discover more about his shadowy past
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next the dramatic account of a young
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Titus close encounter a most mysterious
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kind October 21st 1978 619 p.m. the
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continent of Australia a single-engine
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Cessna 182 lifted off from robben
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Airport just south of Melbourne the
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pilot was 20 year old Frederick politic
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Valente had been flying for two years
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accumulating more than 150 hours of solo
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time he had dreams of one day becoming a
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commercial airline pilot poletik flight
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plan called for a 40-minute trip west
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along the Australian coast at Cape Otway
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he would head south for a half hour run
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over a bass strait to King Island it was
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a routine followed on several occasions
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but this flight would be anything but
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routine
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it was a fairly normal exercise he had a
00:14:46
an appropriate instrument writing for
00:14:48
the trip it was a very straightforward
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flight and I mean I could see no reason
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why it shouldn't have been concluded
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successfully what happened three course
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air into that flight I think will be one
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of the great mysteries of Australian
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aviation Juliet it's really known
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traffic below 5,000 Delta Sierra Juliet
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no 9 traffic Delta Sierra Juliet this
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used to be a large aircraft below 5,000
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says just over halfway through his
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flight Belletti had been in contact with
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a flight service centre on the ground
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evidence mounted that something was not
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quite right the following recreation was
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based on the transcript of a Lennox
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exchange with an air traffic controller
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it seems to me like some sort of landing
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lights as it gets closer it could be one
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or two lights I don't know
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[Music]
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so when this is Delta Sierra Juliet
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penny crafts just passed out me at least
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a thousand feet above Roger and it it is
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a large aircraft to confirm Israeli Air
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Force aircraft in this vicinity Delta
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Sierra Juliet no known aircraft in the
00:16:20
vicinity
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Delta Sierra Juliet seems Aries places
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for a game up here he's traveling on
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with me of two and three times its
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speeds I cannot identify
00:16:30
[Music]
00:16:35
can you describe the aircraft as it
00:16:42
passes by it's a long shape he wasn't to
00:16:46
the point where he was panicking but he
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was genuinely concerned by what he saw
00:16:55
you know he with what he saw he was he
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was worried he sounded confused then as
00:17:03
he described what the aircraft was doing
00:17:06
you know I became a little bit concerned
00:17:08
to this thing she's stationary what I'm
00:17:13
doing now is orbiting and this thing's
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just orbiting on top of me like it's
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shiny all over
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[Music]
00:17:28
it's just disappeared don't mean you
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would know it sort of aircraft I've got
00:17:34
up here would you see some sort of
00:17:36
military aircraft or what is the
00:17:40
aircraft still with you
00:17:42
Delta Sierra Juliet L Percy from
00:17:46
Southwest don't to Sierra Juliet it's
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not bringing it it's not an aircraft
00:18:12
suddenly an unidentifiable click
00:18:14
Illinois's came over the radio the sound
00:18:18
lasted 17 seconds then silence Delta
00:18:22
Sierra Juliet this is Melbourne
00:18:26
I had extreme doubt as to his safety but
00:18:30
come in please flying a single-engine
00:18:32
airplane over water lost communication
00:18:34
in such strange circumstances I put an
00:18:38
alert face on the airplane and once that
00:18:40
had elapsed we then went to the distress
00:18:43
phase stage and that was the
00:18:45
commencement of the search about 11:30
00:18:49
or midnight for the cuisine and harm and
00:18:54
they we heard on the radio that an
00:18:56
aircraft went missing and then two
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policemen call at the door and I
00:19:02
verified the East I said then that the
00:19:05
aircraft will presumably was your son
00:19:09
it's an extended search and we don't
00:19:13
know what's happened to him
00:19:16
for four days a flotilla of search
00:19:19
vessels crisscross Bass Strait there was
00:19:22
absolutely no signed a poletik or his
00:19:24
aircraft no evidence to suggest there it
00:19:27
even been a crash all that remained was
00:19:30
a final baffling radio transmission it's
00:19:35
hovering and it's not an aircraft
00:19:38
these were Frederick Valentich final
00:19:40
haunting words oars which inevitably led
00:19:44
to speculation if the young pilot had
00:19:46
encountered a UFO however was nothing
00:19:49
more than speculation until a witness
00:19:52
came forward with a startling first-hand
00:19:54
account
00:19:59
around the time of filete experence the
00:20:01
eyewitness and his family were returning
00:20:04
from an afternoon Audi when they noticed
00:20:05
unusual activity in the sky
00:20:10
[Music]
00:20:13
that's a play I can say the planets the
00:20:16
boy thought about the play
00:20:18
the witness has asked that we not reveal
00:20:20
his identity
00:20:24
I dabbed up on a star this lawn green
00:20:26
light better thousand to 2,000 feet
00:20:29
above the aircraft so we sat there and
00:20:32
watched it for a few seconds and the
00:20:35
green Lord got closer to the plane I
00:20:37
said that line is coming down pretty
00:20:41
stable sirs in the 45-degree angle I
00:20:43
said I think it's gonna crash
00:20:51
the eyewitness account appeared to
00:20:54
support the theory that Belletti had a
00:20:56
run-in with a UFO
00:20:57
however the witness did not actually see
00:21:00
the aircraft crash in the Bass Strait
00:21:01
the only certainty was that poletik had
00:21:04
vanished then six weeks later an amateur
00:21:08
photographer came forward with evidence
00:21:10
as some believe confirmed the presence
00:21:12
of a UFO over Bass Strait on the evening
00:21:17
of the flight ROI manifold had been
00:21:19
setting up to shoot a sunset at Cape
00:21:21
Otway almost directly under the Lenox
00:21:24
flight path everything was gone and done
00:21:28
the normal thing you know he just had
00:21:30
the camera on automatic exposure and I
00:21:34
took these six photographs of the Sun
00:21:38
disappearing into the into the sea one
00:21:44
developed the last amount of false
00:21:46
photographs displayed a peculiar blemish
00:21:50
observed this mark only the print that
00:21:54
looks like a developing error or
00:21:56
something you know they've mocked it up
00:21:57
and I said there's just a minute that
00:21:58
was taken that night I took that son
00:22:01
says exactly the North that this guy
00:22:04
disappeared
00:22:06
[Music]
00:22:07
a leading Australian photo lab found
00:22:09
neither dirt nor damage on the negative
00:22:12
determining of a strange mark was
00:22:14
actually in the picture the film was
00:22:16
later sent to the United States for
00:22:18
computer analysis by a team of UFO
00:22:21
researchers they claimed that the plot
00:22:23
was actually a solid metallic object to
00:22:26
them it appeared to be enveloped in a
00:22:28
cloud of exhaust situated about a mile
00:22:31
from the camera however a second more
00:22:34
recent analysis concluded that the spot
00:22:36
is an all probability a developing error
00:22:39
even so Roy manifold is inclined to
00:22:43
believe the photograph does show
00:22:44
something of consequence unfortunately I
00:22:49
didn't see it now I didn't hear anything
00:22:52
that particular not to either first time
00:22:54
if it's something on any of more pretty
00:22:56
than dog tons of thousands of
00:22:57
photographs and without any incidence of
00:22:59
any anything like that on them
00:23:05
skeptics tend to dismiss the photograph
00:23:07
as just another far-fetched effort to
00:23:09
prove the existence of visitors from
00:23:11
outer space but even for those who are
00:23:14
not prone to believe in UFOs the events
00:23:16
of October 21st 1978 continue to defy
00:23:20
explanation
00:23:23
there's been no recovery of any wreckage
00:23:27
of course he he has gone so we're left
00:23:34
with an open case which sounds very much
00:23:40
like he did encounter something very
00:23:43
mysterious and there's no other
00:23:46
conclusion that I can come to other than
00:23:50
that it is hard I'm very sentimental on
00:23:55
keeping everything that they was belong
00:23:57
to he may be the mother car they was
00:23:58
driving to the airport I'm still driving
00:24:02
I believe that my son it possibly one
00:24:07
died will come back and this is a dream
00:24:11
that might come true one died 15 years
00:24:17
of passes Frederick Valletta crew off to
00:24:20
his uncertain fate however the questions
00:24:23
raised by his mysterious disappearance
00:24:24
are just as disturbing today
00:24:27
what exactly did let exceed the minutes
00:24:31
before radio contact was lost his things
00:24:34
is stationary but was a brilliant green
00:24:38
light seen hovering over the Cessna and
00:24:40
in that same light somehow over power
00:24:43
let explain as it vanished from view
00:24:49
perhaps the secret of Frederic quality
00:24:51
does lie many fathoms beneath Bass
00:24:53
Strait or perhaps it lies far from our
00:24:56
planet light-years beyond our
00:24:59
understanding
00:25:05
[Music]
00:25:13
December 22nd 1991 juice Creek South
00:25:16
Carolina
00:25:22
at 10:30 p.m. a speeding car with three
00:25:26
men inside was pulled over on a desolate
00:25:28
road leading to the local marina I
00:25:32
approached the vehicle on a driver's
00:25:34
side said good evening that I see your
00:25:37
license and registration and at that
00:25:40
point I got virtually no response maybe
00:25:45
he didn't hear me so I asked him again
00:25:47
sir could I see your license and
00:25:49
registration please I stole Bentley's
00:25:55
the person in the back seat said
00:25:58
something in a foreign language which I
00:26:01
think was Spanish the driver then
00:26:05
responded by reaching across to the bug
00:26:07
box and filling out a what turned out to
00:26:10
be a passport I told him just slow it
00:26:17
down be careful I never got any response
00:26:21
from him he never said yes or thank you
00:26:24
the two guys in the front seat never
00:26:27
spoke a word
00:26:33
the next morning officer Bollinger was
00:26:36
surprised to learn that the two men in
00:26:38
the front seat of the car he had stopped
00:26:40
were supposedly missing at sea the focus
00:26:43
of an intense month-long search by the
00:26:45
Coast Guard
00:26:47
the men were French sailors 37 year old
00:26:51
Evy Manuel pan and 24 year-old Laura F
00:26:55
na hired a convoy a French made sailboat
00:26:58
to new owners in October of 1991 they
00:27:04
had embarked on a 2,500 mile voyage from
00:27:07
Annapolis Maryland to Guadeloupe in the
00:27:09
West Indies their vessel was a
00:27:11
state-of-the-art Antigua catamaran worth
00:27:14
$200,000 the boat was perhaps the most
00:27:18
sophisticated of this kind strapped to
00:27:21
the gills with high-tech radar a
00:27:23
satellite tracking unit and electronic
00:27:25
navigational equipment the Antigua's
00:27:29
unique construction made it unsinkable
00:27:31
and virtually undetectable to radar a
00:27:33
perfect vessel for transporting weapons
00:27:36
or drugs
00:27:39
Edie Manuel and Laurel planned to sail
00:27:42
down the Chesapeake Bay around Cape
00:27:45
Hatteras and parallel to the east coast
00:27:47
of the US for jumping to their final
00:27:50
destination
00:27:51
Honolulu when the Antigua failed to
00:27:55
arrive on schedule the Coast Guard was
00:27:57
notified we searched for a little over
00:28:00
two weeks we also alerted all the
00:28:04
cutters and aircraft who searched
00:28:05
throughout the Caribbean every day for
00:28:06
other things never saw one sight of the
00:28:10
vessel it never showed up have never
00:28:11
seen a sense however the Coast Guard did
00:28:16
discover that the Antigua was sighted a
00:28:18
number of times several miles off course
00:28:20
in the Intracoastal Waterway the
00:28:23
waterway is a protected inland passage
00:28:26
which stretches from New England through
00:28:27
Florida nobody can explain what the boat
00:28:30
was doing there
00:28:36
in December of 1991 two of evie Manuel's
00:28:40
friends flew from France to South
00:28:42
Carolina to launch their own
00:28:43
investigation
00:28:45
jean-yves la lien act and Isabel CTL
00:28:48
began by retracing the catamarans route
00:28:51
their first stop was a bridge 90 miles
00:28:54
north of Charleston South Carolina 94 37
00:29:08
sure the bridge tend to remember seeing
00:29:13
the two missing sailors surprising he
00:29:16
also revealed there was a third man on
00:29:18
the boat
00:29:21
third person was not supposed to be on
00:29:24
board the fact that they did not contact
00:29:27
they capped Greg Flint as a local
00:29:29
yachtsman who helped in the search plans
00:29:31
or that there was someone else aboard or
00:29:33
that they had any trouble indicates that
00:29:35
something something happened that had
00:29:40
not been planned for the mysterious
00:29:44
third passenger was sighted by at least
00:29:46
five different witnesses each reported
00:29:49
that the man did not seem threatening
00:29:51
leading to rumours and perhaps one or
00:29:54
both of the Frenchmen had been involved
00:29:56
in stealing the boat but their families
00:29:59
and friends vehemently dismissed that
00:30:01
scenario say fine Schoenberg a semester
00:30:07
so truly even manual is not the type of
00:30:10
person who would do something like that
00:30:12
he was training someone he didn't know
00:30:14
beforehand and felt responsible both for
00:30:16
the boat and for long it's impossible
00:30:19
that if a manual would have involved
00:30:20
Lohani some dangerous adventure even if
00:30:23
it meant making enormous sums of money
00:30:29
jean-yves is convinced that the stranger
00:30:31
perhaps aided by an armed hidden
00:30:33
accomplice hijack the Antigua but did
00:30:36
not know how to sail it the tapas
00:30:39
because she scenario vanilla but if the
00:30:41
purpose was simply to steal the boat
00:30:43
they would have just killed Eva Manuel
00:30:45
and no harm from them of aboard that
00:30:47
must have been a reason for keeping them
00:30:50
alive and logically that seems to be
00:30:52
just to keep the boat though is
00:30:53
preferable says battle-ax
00:30:56
Eva man will pass Laura
00:30:59
Erina were last seen on the boat 30
00:31:01
miles south of Charleston South Carolina
00:31:03
five weeks later they were pulled over
00:31:06
in the speeding car
00:31:07
as the man in the backseat the
00:31:09
mysterious third passenger perhaps even
00:31:12
Manuel and Laura were being held against
00:31:15
their will
00:31:16
or perhaps note seems unlikely they
00:31:20
fooled everyone and made off with a two
00:31:22
hundred thousand dollar prize next a
00:31:28
father embarks on a desperate quest to
00:31:31
prove to authorities that his son did
00:31:33
not commit suicide
00:31:34
[Music]
00:31:45
Sunday June 30th 1991
00:31:48
Galesburg Illinois longtime residents
00:31:53
Larry and Louis Williams had finally
00:31:54
given in to two days of worry if he
00:31:58
doesn't answer the door I'm gonna go
00:32:00
inside they had been trying to reach
00:32:02
their 23 year old son Danny since early
00:32:04
Saturday morning
00:32:09
[Music]
00:32:11
daddy this is your dad I kept calling
00:32:16
Danny's name saying Danny this is your
00:32:18
dad that's me coming him because he did
00:32:20
have a gun in the house for protection
00:32:21
and I didn't want to be in a situation
00:32:23
where he was asleep and shot his own dad
00:32:28
[Music]
00:32:30
my first thought in looking at him is
00:32:33
that he was not alive he was sitting on
00:32:35
the couch in an upright position with a
00:32:37
bullet in his head and a gun in his lap
00:32:40
so the comment that I made as I went
00:32:43
through the door who then don't let
00:32:46
don't let this be what it looks like
00:32:49
Danny Williams as Larry and Louis's
00:32:52
youngest son for two years Danny had
00:32:55
managed distribution for the family's
00:32:57
multi-million dollar apparel
00:32:58
manufacturing company he had recently
00:33:01
bought his first house the house where
00:33:03
he died Larry Williams calls a Galesburg
00:33:08
Police meter semi-automatic pistol the
00:33:12
position of the body the type of wound
00:33:14
the absence of any specific evidence of
00:33:18
foul play
00:33:19
indicated to us that the gunshot wound
00:33:24
could have been self-inflicted
00:33:26
and caused us to classify the case as a
00:33:29
as a suicide I grew up in the south
00:33:32
handling guns I know how guns operate
00:33:34
I've shot every kind of tourism and it
00:33:36
would be almost impossible for an
00:33:38
individual to have shot themselves and
00:33:41
have a bullet or a gun laying in their
00:33:43
lap in the position this was it just
00:33:45
wasn't natural convinced that his son
00:33:49
had not committed suicide Larry Williams
00:33:52
hired a private detective Mike turn
00:33:54
quest the time of Danny's death had been
00:33:56
estimated to be 2:30 a.m. on Saturday
00:33:59
but turn quest immediately found a
00:34:02
neighbor who said she had seen Danny
00:34:04
several hours later at approximately
00:34:06
10:30 a.m. mrs. sayers
00:34:10
investigator and I'm working on the
00:34:13
death of Danny Williams I should but I
00:34:15
watch everybody's business
00:34:17
it was Saturday morning that I saw Danny
00:34:19
get in the car with this woman so
00:34:22
naturally being nosy as I am I looked
00:34:25
over real good she had dark hair she
00:34:30
would have been between 25 and 30 the
00:34:34
police knew that Danny whose license had
00:34:36
been revoked was picked up by his mother
00:34:38
on Friday the day before he died they
00:34:42
believed mrs. sayers had her days mixed
00:34:44
up no it was not Friday it was Saturday
00:34:48
and the lady in the blue car was too
00:34:54
young to have been his mother several
00:34:59
witnesses had also noticed activity at
00:35:01
Danny's house on Sunday a full 24 hours
00:35:04
after the estimated time of death one of
00:35:07
the people later seen outside the house
00:35:09
was a young man with curly brown hair
00:35:11
approximately five feet four inches tall
00:35:14
the eyewitness testimony can easily be
00:35:18
mistaken as as simple as that they may
00:35:21
have seen some activity there but it's a
00:35:22
distinct possibility that the days may
00:35:25
have been confused as to when they were
00:35:27
seeing that that movement Danny's father
00:35:32
claims as some of the physical evidence
00:35:34
turned up by the police themselves
00:35:35
seemed to argue against suicide the
00:35:39
bullet which they believed had killed
00:35:40
Danny exited through his head and lodged
00:35:43
in the wall curiously when the police
00:35:45
removed the bullet there was only one
00:35:47
small spot which appeared to be blood on
00:35:50
the paneling with the head being that
00:35:53
close to the wall you most certainly
00:35:55
would expect to find large or massive
00:35:57
amounts of blood splatter either at or
00:36:00
near the back of the couch and and most
00:36:02
certainly on the back wall we don't
00:36:05
necessarily agree that there would have
00:36:06
to be a large quantity of blood behind
00:36:10
him the theory that there would have to
00:36:14
be a large amount of blood is based on
00:36:17
in some cases based on what's seen in
00:36:20
the movies and what's seen on on
00:36:21
television and that's
00:36:22
necessarily consistent with what happens
00:36:24
in fact Larry Williams next brought in
00:36:29
an independent forensic scientist mark
00:36:31
Posey to determine whether someone else
00:36:33
had been in the house when Danny died I
00:36:36
had this feeling that I was gonna go out
00:36:39
see the house see a typical messy scene
00:36:43
and tell Larry then I think your son
00:36:46
commits suicide from the pictures that
00:36:49
Danny it did look like you can take one
00:36:52
in the forehead so I could go with a
00:36:55
suicide possibly or an execution when we
00:36:57
get to the house and there's a lack of
00:36:59
evidence to support the suicide oh hey
00:37:03
Larry but bosey use a laser luminescence
00:37:07
scanner to search out organic matter
00:37:08
including blood which might not be
00:37:10
apparent to the naked eye he discovered
00:37:13
evidence of blood in several places even
00:37:16
on the television set take a look at
00:37:19
that splatter pattern all over the TV
00:37:21
set if Danny just shot himself sitting
00:37:25
there you definitely would not have a
00:37:27
pattern at all behind the TV set and
00:37:30
there's nothing in the kid Danny got up
00:37:32
after shooting himself and walked around
00:37:34
so someone else obviously dropped the
00:37:36
blood droplets everywhere else that we
00:37:38
found I have to take swabbing of that
00:37:41
ran back to the lab you know tight and
00:37:43
the blood found on and behind the
00:37:45
television they're still awaiting tests
00:37:46
by a forensic scientist who specializes
00:37:48
in blood pattern analysis however
00:37:51
samples found in other parts of the
00:37:53
house have been typed Danny Williams
00:37:56
blood was Type B mark bosie found Type B
00:37:59
and type O blood in the den where
00:38:02
Danny's body was
00:38:04
oddly Busey also found type old blood in
00:38:07
the bathroom and inside the pocket of
00:38:10
Danny's jeans it is not possible that
00:38:14
all the blood in the room came from
00:38:15
Danny it's an impossibility
00:38:17
this evidence suggests to me that two
00:38:20
people in the room were bleeding two
00:38:24
separate individuals the official police
00:38:29
positions at the alleged Type O blood
00:38:31
samples had been compromised when the
00:38:33
crime scene was cleaned according to the
00:38:36
Illinois State crime lab the adulterated
00:38:38
samples could not be typed definitively
00:38:40
I would begin to question the procedures
00:38:43
if they claimed that they did not find
00:38:46
Type O blood on the evidence I could
00:38:48
guarantee you'd send that same evidence
00:38:50
to five different independent
00:38:51
laboratories that have no idea what this
00:38:53
case is about they have no idea that
00:38:56
this was a murder or suicide or anything
00:38:58
and they will come back the type B blood
00:39:00
and type O blood the police also point
00:39:05
out that there was no way to determine
00:39:07
how long the alleged Type O blood had
00:39:09
been there further they say that mark
00:39:11
Posey samples taken six weeks after
00:39:14
Danny's death were not fresh enough to
00:39:16
type I don't know why they would argue
00:39:19
with the point King Tut was typed for
00:39:22
blood and he's how many thousands of
00:39:24
years old the independent lab feels very
00:39:28
confident in their results they have
00:39:33
provided those results to mr. Williams
00:39:34
and that's contributed to his concerns
00:39:37
about the finding of suicide we feel
00:39:42
just as strongly about the results of
00:39:44
the Illinois State Crime Lab that there
00:39:46
was no evidence of a Type O blood in
00:39:49
that home mark boses investigation
00:39:53
appeared to turn up a piece of evidence
00:39:55
which had been previously overlooked
00:39:57
which supported the theory that the
00:39:59
blood of two different people was shed
00:40:01
in Danny's house mark was processing the
00:40:08
room he opened the couch up and a shell
00:40:10
casing fell out later tests showed that
00:40:13
the shell did come from Danny's gun it
00:40:15
had been recently fired
00:40:16
so there were two shells found on the
00:40:19
couch that came from Danny's got okay
00:40:23
now we tried to analyze this and decide
00:40:25
well did Danny shoot someone did someone
00:40:28
else you to Danny's gun and shot and and
00:40:30
shoot him from the scene photos I saw
00:40:33
Danny's gun was laying on his lap his
00:40:35
hand was laying on top of the gun just
00:40:37
as if he shat and then set it back down
00:40:42
it's a little inconsistent with a
00:40:44
suicide okay Larry I set up the right
00:40:49
here in line with the bullet path and
00:40:51
through the wall
00:40:51
now I'm gonna get down and try to get my
00:40:54
head in line with the bullet path in the
00:40:57
wall how am i doing
00:40:59
oh you're low enough but you got to
00:41:00
point the gun more toward the wall
00:41:07
pulling the weapon in this manner okay
00:41:11
how am i it's through my head and it can
00:41:17
be squeezed off but you would fall over
00:41:19
on the floor the body would have gone
00:41:22
forward nobody would have moved back
00:41:25
into the position it was in the gun
00:41:27
probably would not have been in his lap
00:41:29
it probably would be on the floor at a
00:41:31
coffee table
00:41:32
our investigation indicated that the
00:41:35
position of the hole in the wall was
00:41:37
consistent with the way the body was
00:41:39
found primarily based on the fact that
00:41:42
we again can't say specifically how the
00:41:45
individual was sitting and exactly where
00:41:49
on the couch he was sitting at the time
00:41:51
the weapon was discharged
00:41:54
[Music]
00:41:56
marcozzi has come to believe that Danny
00:41:58
was probably not shot in the den one
00:42:01
theory is that there was an altercation
00:42:02
somewhere else during which Danny's
00:42:05
blood and another persons was spilled
00:42:07
perhaps that person took Danny's keys
00:42:10
out of his pocket leaving behind a trace
00:42:12
of Type O blood
00:42:14
finally the crime scene was arranged to
00:42:17
make Danny's death looked like a suicide
00:42:21
we can advance theories all day long
00:42:24
everyone can but the factual data that
00:42:27
we've gathered we feel comfortable with
00:42:31
he picked up a gun according to the
00:42:34
police there was one final fact to
00:42:36
support the suicide ruling they say that
00:42:39
Danny Williams's girlfriend described an
00:42:41
argument which had also resulted in a
00:42:43
shooting incident six months before
00:42:46
Danny's death he had placed a weapon a
00:42:49
hand gun to his head she then turned and
00:42:52
started to leave the room and heard the
00:42:54
weapon discharged and found that he had
00:42:56
discharged the weapon into a wall so
00:42:59
apparently he had considered this act
00:43:03
before he had discussed this act before
00:43:05
and had taken I think what would have to
00:43:09
be considered a substantial step towards
00:43:11
that act by the discharge of the weapon
00:43:12
during the argument what it appears it's
00:43:15
happened as they have come up for the
00:43:17
conclusion and then have gone to a great
00:43:19
degree of effort to try to support their
00:43:21
theory that they put together and they
00:43:24
put as much effort into the fire trying
00:43:25
to find out what the truth wasn't what
00:43:27
happened they would be working along the
00:43:29
same lines at the families today thank
00:43:35
this is your dad the investigators crime
00:43:39
labs and what have you that I've had
00:43:41
working on this from the beginning as
00:43:43
soon as they went into the house saw
00:43:45
evidence that was in there then is still
00:43:48
there now were convicted I was it was
00:43:51
called Letterman in this most perplexing
00:43:54
case one issue has never been addressed
00:43:56
if Danny Williams was murdered who
00:43:59
killed him and why questions even his
00:44:03
father has been unable to answer
00:44:12
[Music]
00:44:26
next week unsolved mysteries travels to
00:44:29
Russia to investigate the fascinating
00:44:32
mystery of Anastasia she was a beautiful
00:44:35
teenage daughter of a lasses are of
00:44:37
Russian nicholas ii history holds that
00:44:40
the entire imperial family was executed
00:44:42
in the aftermath of the Bolshevik
00:44:44
Revolution but years later a woman named
00:44:47
Anna Anderson turned up in Germany
00:44:49
claiming that she was Anastasia and many
00:44:52
believe she had the evidence to proven
00:44:53
her incredible claim sparked a 35 year
00:44:56
court battle for the Tsar's legacy of 80
00:44:59
million dollars join me next time for
00:45:03
this intriguing journey to turn of the
00:45:05
century Russia and more on unsolved
00:45:08
mysteries
00:45:12
[Music]
00:45:35
[Applause]
00:45:38
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 75
    Most heartbreaking
  • 75
    Biggest twist
  • 70
    Most dramatic

Episode Highlights

  • The Enigmatic Jose Antonio Gonzales
    A man with a shadowy past and a history of bank robbery.
    “He is a man without a past.”
    @ 00m 27s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Vanishing Act of Brenda Penninjure
    After picking up Gonzales' car, she disappears without a trace.
    “We have to this day never located Miss Penninjure.”
    @ 12m 23s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Mysterious Disappearance of Frederick Valentich
    A young pilot vanishes during a routine flight, leaving behind haunting questions.
    “The questions raised by his mysterious disappearance are just as disturbing today.”
    @ 24m 24s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Mysterious Third Passenger
    Witnesses reported a third man aboard the Antigua, raising questions about the sailors' fate.
    “Something happened that had not been planned for.”
    @ 29m 31s
    May 23, 2019
  • Danny's Death: A Family's Nightmare
    Larry Williams discovers his son Danny dead with a gunshot wound, sparking a quest for truth.
    “My first thought in looking at him is that he was not alive.”
    @ 32m 33s
    May 23, 2019
  • Blood Evidence Raises Doubts
    Forensic analysis reveals multiple blood types at the scene, suggesting foul play.
    “This evidence suggests to me that two people in the room were bleeding.”
    @ 38m 20s
    May 23, 2019
  • Unanswered Questions
    The investigation into Danny's death leaves lingering questions about murder versus suicide.
    “If Danny Williams was murdered, who killed him and why?”
    @ 43m 59s
    May 23, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • This individual wasn’t prepared to handle this robbery.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 2 - Full Episode
  • We have to this day never located Miss Penninjure.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 2 - Full Episode
  • The questions raised by his mysterious disappearance are just as disturbing today.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 2 - Full Episode
  • Who then don't let this be what it looks like?
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 2 - Full Episode
  • It just wasn't natural.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 2 - Full Episode
  • If Danny Williams was murdered, who killed him and why?
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 2 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Unsolved Mysteries00:03
  • Bank Robbery00:14
  • Vanished Without a Trace12:23
  • Mysterious Disappearance24:24
  • Search for the Antigua28:16
  • Third Man Revealed29:16
  • Danny Found Dead32:33
  • Blood Evidence Discovered37:13

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 9 - Full Episode
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45:28
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 9 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 4, Episode 8 - Updated Full Episode
March 16, 2022
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45:17
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 4, Episode 8 - Updated Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 4, Episode 17
March 09, 2017
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42:53
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 4, Episode 17
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 11 - Updated Full Episode
July 18, 2022
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42:59
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 11 - Updated Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 20 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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44:14
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 20 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 2, Episode 15
March 09, 2017
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42:53
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 2, Episode 15