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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 18 - Full Episode

May 16, 2019 / 44:20

This episode covers the unsolved murders of Mickey and Trudy Thompson, the mysterious disappearance of George J. Stein, the escapes of Michael Wade Mohan, sightings of Bigfoot near Pikes Peak, and the unsolved murder of Joyce McLain.

Mickey Thompson was a renowned auto racer who, along with his wife Trudy, was murdered in 1988. Witnesses reported seeing two men fleeing the scene on bicycles. The investigation revealed that Mickey had received death threats prior to the incident, leading to speculation about a contract killing.

George J. Stein opened multiple bank accounts in the Midwest but vanished without a trace. Investigators theorize he may have been a traveling salesman or a notorious bank robber. His unclaimed fortune has led to numerous inquiries from potential heirs.

Michael Wade Mohan, a convicted robber, escaped custody multiple times, showcasing his ability to evade law enforcement. His daring escapes included stealing a police officer's gun and fleeing in a stolen vehicle.

In Colorado, residents reported sightings of a creature resembling Bigfoot, with physical evidence supporting these claims. Lastly, the murder of 16-year-old Joyce McLain remains unsolved, leaving her community in search of justice.

TL;DR

The episode covers five unsolved mysteries, including the murders of Mickey and Trudy Thompson and sightings of Bigfoot in Colorado.

Episode

44:20
00:00:03
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 are about to see is not a news
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broadcast tonight the story of auto
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racing legend and self-made millionaire
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Mickey Thompson he and his wife were
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gunned down but police believe was a
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contract killing 50 years ago the
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mysterious George J Stein opened ten
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savings accounts across the Midwest
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disappeared his unknown heir stand to
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inherit a fortune
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Michael wave Mohan the convicted armed
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robber is a modern-day Houdini escaping
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from custody on three different
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occasions recently 12 residents near
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Pikes Peak Colorado claim to have seen
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evidence of a bizarre creature half-man
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half-ape legend of Bigfoot to be more
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than a myth cheerleader Joyce McLain was
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brutally murdered eight years ago
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friends and neighbors in her Maine
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hometown are desperate to find the
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killer
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tonight five stories each a unique and
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compelling mystery perhaps someone
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watching can help solve them perhaps
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that someone is you
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[Music]
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Mickey Thompson was a legend in the
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world of auto racing cars were Mickey's
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life and they propelled him to success
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beyond his greediness among his many
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innovations with the slingshot dragsters
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but in 1960 his home-built challenger
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was the first car to break for 400 miles
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per hour
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Mickey was also a pioneer in promoting
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off-road racing yeah I think a good
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description of my dad was he was flat
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out all the time and I mean he was pedal
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to the floor and he did that's the way
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he spent his life he loved to go fast
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and he loved racing
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I think the businesses were a way to
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help him continue to race
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Mickey's obsession with speed drove him
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far sometimes too far in the mid
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seventies a speedboat acts that have
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paralyzed him from the waist down
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doctors felt he would never walk again
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Mickey proved them wrong with death
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constantly at his shoulder he looked to
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the support of his wife Trudy Mickey's
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and Trudy's daily routine was just about
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twice as frantic as anybody else they
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did not work an eight-hour day they
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worked at least a 16-hour day they had a
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goal and they were trying to achieve it
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and they liked working and they enjoyed
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it and that was their whole life it was
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a fun thing to work hard and they really
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worked hard
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during the 80s Mickey developed an
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extremely profitable Stadium racing
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venture his business style was similar
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to his hard-driving racing tactics
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Mickey told family members that he had
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received death threats
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Mickey talked to me and said that he was
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tremendously concerned he said he was
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afraid that an individual was going to
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hurt his baby meaning his wife Trudy and
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I responded Oh Nick you don't really
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think so do you and he says I'm telling
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you he's absolutely absolutely capable
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of it Mickey and Trudy lived in Bradbury
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California an affluent rural community
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located near Los Angeles at 6 a.m. on
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March 16th 1988 the pastoral quiet of
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Bradbury was broken by the sound of
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gunfire
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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the shots came from Mickey Thompson's
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hole at the bottom of the driveway
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sheriff's found children lying dead
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rusting back up a few yards away near
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the garage
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Vicki Thompson was also found dead
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precision and cold-blooded nature this
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double homicide convinced investigators
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that this was no amateur killing for
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this reason Mickey Thompson's friends
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and family have put up 260 thousand
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dollars in reward money they hope this
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huge sum would inspire someone to come
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forward with the identity of the killers
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so far no one has provided any
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information
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during their crime-scene investigation
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sheriff's found few clues and he rolled
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up here with all the jewelry in the body
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they did discover that Trudy Thompson
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was wearing over $70,000 worth of
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jewelry she and her husband were
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carrying $4,000 in cash
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robbery seemed an unlikely motive it
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doesn't make any sense to us that a
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person would have passed up such obvious
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pieces of jewelry it wasn't like a ring
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or a bracelet that was hidden by gloves
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or a long blouse or something it was
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quite obvious and it just doesn't make
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sense to us why somebody wouldn't have
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taken it this just wasn't a random crime
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it was well-planned
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the only other unusual clue that was
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found at the crime scene was a stun gun
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we found a plastic stun gun and we
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cannot say that this ever belonged to
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the two victims we've talked to all
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their friends and they say they never
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owned one and we just don't believe it
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was theirs we don't really know why the
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suspects would bring it to the location
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it would only be speculation on why that
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morning the gunshots had killed Mickey
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and Trudy were heard by a witness he
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believes he saw the killer's escape well
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my wife and I were asleep in bed it was
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about 6 o'clock in the morning when we
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heard the shots we literally jumped
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straight out of the bed and I ran over
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to the window to see where the shots
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were coming from my wife got on the
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phone and dialed 911 and told the police
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that their shots coming from the
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Thompson residence there was probably
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about 15 seconds of silence and at that
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time we heard Mickey screaming please
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don't hurt my wife please don't hurt my
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wife the next thing we heard is another
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series of shots and silence again after
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the second series of shots and I saw two
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black men on ten speed bikes pedaling as
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fast as I could to get out of here
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[Music]
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several neighborhood residents spotted
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the men riding down a nearby road others
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recalled seeing the men in the week's
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previous to the killings these witnesses
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provided investigators with descriptions
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of the suspects two black males dressed
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in jogging suits between 20 and 30 years
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of age approximately 6 feet tall
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weighing 185 to 200 pounds
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[Music]
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based on our intimate knowledge of
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Mickey and Trudy's daily routine
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Mickey's sister Colleen has developed
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her own theory as to how they were
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ambushed and murdered
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you could almost set a clock by making
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Trudy's behavior they would leave around
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6 o'clock every morning it would be easy
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for somebody to know what their daily
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routine was and I'm sure the people that
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killed making knew exactly what time
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they left because they left about
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daylight every morning
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[Music]
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my belief is that when Trudy got in the
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van and backed it out the people that
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murdered them were waiting in the bush
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and make you just didn't have a chance
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he walked right into where they were
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it's been stated that Mickey was yelling
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just don't hurt my wife don't hurt my
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wife and I'm sure he told her to get out
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of there to run after he was hit and she
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didn't make it
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[Music]
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investigators found it odd that the
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killers would ride to the crime scene on
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bicycles the gunmen also failed to use
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silencers on their weapons
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detective Griggs believes one
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explanation might be that the killers
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plan to abduct Mickey and Trudy before
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killing them
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intending to make their escape in the
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Thompson's van possibly they planned
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because of the stun gun and no silencers
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to maybe bring them back in the house or
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take them somewhere away from the
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location where they could do it and the
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lack of silencers wouldn't make any
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difference almost a year has passed as a
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double homicide
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Mickey's son and sister want to know not
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only who killed Mickey and Trudy but who
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may have ordered it done I want to see
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this person or persons brought to
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justice in the very very worst way and
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I'm gonna do anything I can with
00:10:41
whatever it takes there is something
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inside of you that says yes I do want
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those people punished it was just a very
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cowardly thing to do after 13 years of
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investigation police arrested Thompson's
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former business partner Michael Goodwin
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we do believe that mr. Goodwin
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orchestrated the murders we believe he
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planned the murders and we believe that
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his motive was based on a personal
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vendetta along with financial gain there
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is simply no evidence nor has there ever
00:11:14
been that implicates Mike Goodwin of the
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murders that the key innuendo or motive
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has always been the alleged civil
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dispute between Mike Goodwin and Mickey
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Thompson Mike negotiated a settlement
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with Mickey Thompson there are
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third-party witnesses that confirm that
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there was no motive to kill Mickey
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Thompson
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sheriff's investigators claimed that an
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eyewitness recently came forward and
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identified Michael Goodwin as a man seen
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sitting in a station wagon in the
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Thompsons neighborhood spying on them
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with binoculars several days before the
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murders we've taken his exact
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description of where he says he saw the
00:11:50
vehicle and mr. Goodwin and we've
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basically re-enacted it it's almost
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hilarious he would not be able to see
00:11:57
Mickey and Trudy Thompson's home from
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their that the charges against Mike
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Goodwin are entirely meritless there's
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there's no evidence and that's just not
00:12:06
my viewpoint no charges were filed for
00:12:09
13 years in this case and there's a
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reason for that the district attorney
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didn't file charges because there was no
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evidence against Michael Goodwin
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[Music]
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when we return the case of Michael Wade
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Mohan a man that prisons cannot hold
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after three successful escapes he is
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still on the run he's at a very definite
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threat to anybody you know any citizen
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anywhere New Year's Eve 1983 Fountain
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Valley California after being called to
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the scene of a reported burglary police
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became involved in a high-speed chase
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with the suspects the chase ended in the
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parking lot of a condominium Carlton
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Officer Kevin Arnold took off after one
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of the two suspects I've been involved
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in in other vehicle new pursuits and
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other foot pursuits I've arrested
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burglary suspects before work
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yeah just everything is supposed to go a
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certain way to chase him and tell him to
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get down on the ground and gets on the
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ground and we handcuff him and that's
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the end of the problem this one all of a
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sudden he wasn't obeying my commands
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we're struggling over the gun and I
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realized that he's trying to kill me in
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order to avoid being shot
00:14:02
Arnold tried to empty his revolver into
00:14:04
the air five out of six shots were fired
00:14:09
artal then reached for his second
00:14:11
service revolver he fired five shots at
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his adversary the man survived his name
00:14:19
was Michael Wade Mohan when they checked
00:14:22
their records police discovered that
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Mohan had five pages of previous
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convictions he was known as a master of
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disguises and often used them to escape
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capture right after his arrest in Orange
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County on New Year's Eve 1983 Mohan
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remained in police custody for a year
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while he awaited trial he underwent
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physical therapy at a local hospital
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outside of jail for the six bullet
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wounds sustained during his struggle
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with officer Arnold well one day when he
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was going to therapy there was a nurse
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that was talking to someone else and she
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made a mistake by saying out loud that
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he was gonna be coming again on a
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certain day and of course Mohana is a
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type of person that would file that away
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for future use On January 17th 1985 the
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date the nurse had mentioned Mohan
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arrived at the hospital
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as they got to the back door of the
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therapy building Michael started to walk
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in and as he walked in he stumbled and
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fell forward don't move or I'll shoot
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about handcuff yourself when he came up
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he had a gun and of course he got the
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drop on deputy fighting once he had the
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deputy handcuff himself he took his
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second set of cuffs moved him down the
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hall and used that set of cuffs to cuff
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him to a firefight ulis yeah
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as Mohan was leaving the building he
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told the deputy to stay there and not to
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make any noise it was his lucky day and
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at that point he backed out of the door
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we ran to a waiting pickup truck for his
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wife here and was waiting in the parking
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lot
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jumped in the truck and they drove when
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be good escape during the course of the
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follow-up investigation it was our
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conclusion that it was Shirin Mohan that
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had been driving the truck we also felt
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that she was the one that planted the
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gun and when we took her into custody a
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couple of days later we arrested her for
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aiding and abetting he and she
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eventually pled guilty
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Sharon Shah Mohan was sentenced to three
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years in jail for her involvement in the
00:16:46
escape she has since been paroled and
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authorities believe she has rejoined her
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husband one week after his daring escape
00:16:55
Mohan surfaced in Mesa Arizona and again
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became involved in a high-speed chase
00:17:00
with police
00:17:02
[Music]
00:17:05
at speeds sometimes exceeded 100 miles
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per hour
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Mohan led police on a two-hour chase
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humans were in pursuit and still Mohan
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kept ahead of them
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a helicopter joined in the hut police
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believe that Mohan deliberately
00:17:29
prolonged the dangerous chase hoping the
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helicopter would run out of fuel he
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didn't count on a second chopper taking
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over from the first
00:17:39
the chaise covered so many miles that
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eight different police departments were
00:17:43
involved finally a barricade was set up
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the chase came to an end
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[Applause]
00:18:09
once again Mohan was under arrest as he
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was taken into custody police were
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surprised how friendly he seemed unusual
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behavior for a man who is facing a
00:18:22
serious charge during his interrogation
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Mohan maintained a false identity
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enhancement class but made little effort
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to hide the fact that he was lying first
00:18:32
of all I don't really know you what's
00:18:34
your name
00:18:34
Claude banks tilman banks a family name
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not some money name that's a good name
00:18:41
as we began the interview here it got to
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the point where we kind of realized
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between the two of us that he he wasn't
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who he really said he was and he had
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kind of a smirky attitude with him that
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my name is Claude Tillman until you find
00:18:57
out differently the following morning as
00:19:02
Detective Ryan was leaping through some
00:19:04
newly arrived wanted posters he came
00:19:06
across one identifying Michel Mohan he
00:19:09
realized that this was the face of the
00:19:11
man they knew as Claude Tillman's
00:19:13
sure do you put these in here today yeah
00:19:17
this is the guy this is Tillman the guy
00:19:21
had talked about yeah at that moment
00:19:26
unbeknownst to the authorities there
00:19:28
Corey was shackled to seven other
00:19:30
convicts two of them women on his way to
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the Tempe courthouse after Mulhouse
00:19:36
preliminary hearing I drove the inmates
00:19:39
over to the Tempe Justice Court
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I had one inmate that had to go in there
00:19:45
for a preliminary hearing I parked in
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front of the court secured the van took
00:19:49
the prisoner inside I was inside
00:19:51
approximately ten minutes during those
00:19:55
ten minutes mohan under the compass
00:19:57
kicked out a window in the front of the
00:19:58
van
00:19:59
an escape by running towards the crowded
00:20:01
campus of Arizona State University well
00:20:07
apparently our investigators in talking
00:20:09
to the people in fan that at state the
00:20:12
two young ladies related that Mohan and
00:20:15
his accomplice had planned on jumping me
00:20:17
taking my gun and killing me
00:20:19
thereby giving them a gun an ammunition
00:20:21
to effect their escape but the young
00:20:24
ladies have been given a release that
00:20:26
day they're due to be released that
00:20:27
evening and they pleaded with Mohan to
00:20:29
attempt to kick out the licks on glass
00:20:31
as opposed to kill me and fortunately he
00:20:33
tried that and did work for him
00:20:43
Mohan and his accomplice Jeffrey lesli
00:20:46
stone a truck from an auto mechanic and
00:20:48
drove away to freedom update Mobile
00:20:56
Alabama within minutes after the story
00:20:59
first aired the local FBI office
00:21:00
received a call from a viewer who
00:21:02
reported that she recognized Michael and
00:21:04
Sharon Mohan the tipster that called in
00:21:08
indicated that she had seen Mohan and
00:21:11
his wife in Mobile
00:21:14
and that they were using an assumed name
00:21:17
of Steve and Mary Bostwick at first I
00:21:22
didn't think it was him and then I
00:21:25
noticed her immediately there was no
00:21:28
doubt then when they shot back on his
00:21:31
photographs
00:21:32
I knew went beyond a doubt the caller
00:21:37
told authorities that Mohan and his wife
00:21:39
are living in a trailer located behind a
00:21:41
house just outside of mobile the FBI
00:21:43
staked out the trailer now in April the
00:21:47
19th two individuals a man and a woman
00:21:50
who fit the description and Michael
00:21:52
Mohan and Sharon on the part of that
00:21:55
area and proceeded to the community of
00:21:59
Prichard Alabama and they
00:22:02
went to the auto parts store and after
00:22:06
mr. Mohan came out of the auto parts
00:22:09
store he was arrested along with his
00:22:12
wife Sharon Mohan
00:22:16
on July 7th Michael weight Mohan was
00:22:18
returned to Orange County California and
00:22:20
is currently in custody awaiting trial
00:22:24
Sharon Mohan has returned to a northern
00:22:26
California Correctional Facility for
00:22:28
violating her parole
00:22:31
[Music]
00:22:43
coming up next in the mountains of
00:22:45
Colorado 12 reliable witnesses claimed
00:22:48
we've seen evidence of a mysterious
00:22:49
creature the indians call sasquatch
00:22:51
which the world knows as Bigfoot
00:22:54
[Music]
00:23:04
Pikes Peak Colorado 100,000 acres of
00:23:08
dense wilderness around this majestic
00:23:10
mountain for centuries this forest has
00:23:12
been a sanctuary for Bobcat black bear
00:23:15
and mountain lion but recently there
00:23:17
have been reports of a different kind of
00:23:19
animal roaming the woods basically
00:23:22
looked like a big man or a big shape
00:23:25
coming toward us and we turn around and
00:23:26
start running it had long hair hanging
00:23:30
off its arms and his legs
00:23:31
it had a small tour sole but long legs
00:23:33
and long arms whatever these creatures
00:23:35
are I believe they're more human than
00:23:37
ape I believe that possibly there may be
00:23:41
a group of anywhere between 7 and
00:23:44
possibly 10 a small band of these
00:23:46
creatures living here in the Pikes Peak
00:23:49
region for hundreds of years strange
00:23:52
ape-like creatures of a scene across the
00:23:54
western United States the Indians call
00:23:56
them sasquatch today they are known by
00:23:58
the name Bigfoot until recently many
00:24:01
share the prevailing belief that these
00:24:03
sightings are either hoaxes in the
00:24:04
misidentification of common animals but
00:24:07
today in Colorado new physical evidence
00:24:09
seems to substantiate the numerous
00:24:11
eyewitness reports suggesting that
00:24:13
perhaps just perhaps there really is a
00:24:17
Bigfoot
00:24:20
on the morning of March 27th 1987 local
00:24:24
resident Dan messiahs son discovered a
00:24:26
set of mysterious tracks in the newly
00:24:28
fallen snow though Dan has spent much of
00:24:36
his life in the outdoors he didn't
00:24:38
recognize the tracks on examination of
00:24:44
the footprints I determined that it was
00:24:46
something very strange and related to
00:24:49
the past foot footprints we had seen
00:24:51
around our Holly the next night on a
00:24:53
hunch my son and I stayed up late
00:24:55
downstairs we watched television and
00:24:58
every 15 or 20 minutes I kept going to
00:25:01
my window at quarter of twelve I went to
00:25:05
my window a few seconds later I could
00:25:07
see two large creatures running down the
00:25:09
road one of them was a small one which
00:25:13
was about five foot five six five foot
00:25:15
seven and the other creature was about
00:25:18
six foot maybe six foot two and other
00:25:23
than the hair which appeared to be
00:25:25
covered they're covering their body they
00:25:27
looked just like human beings
00:25:32
the next day dan took pictures of the
00:25:35
tracks these are the actual photographs
00:25:40
the large set is almost a foot long and
00:25:45
the smaller set is eight inches in
00:25:47
length animal physiologist Vaughn
00:25:52
Langham pleased that this plaster
00:25:54
replica fits the foot that made the
00:25:55
Colorado tracks that might be North
00:25:58
American there's no way for us to
00:26:00
identify a foot like this the print
00:26:03
itself does not fall into any of the
00:26:05
normal grizzly bear bear North American
00:26:08
species classifications the the foot the
00:26:12
way it is is now been presented is is a
00:26:16
primate foot if there is an unknown
00:26:19
bipedal hominid like creature living in
00:26:23
the Pikes Peak region it would be the
00:26:26
discovery of the century Dan messiahs
00:26:30
nocturnal sighting was featured in a
00:26:32
number of local papers he was contacted
00:26:35
by 12 other witnesses Wood had a similar
00:26:37
encounter
00:26:40
one summer afternoon in 1978 Jeremy
00:26:44
Swisher and five companions came face to
00:26:46
face with an extraordinary creature
00:26:48
while hiking near the Pikes Peak area we
00:26:52
came around the base of this big rock
00:26:53
and we saw this it looked like an
00:26:56
individual it had turned around and it
00:26:59
was coming toward us he started to chase
00:27:01
us it looked like a fairly good-sized
00:27:03
man it was around 6 foot tall that's the
00:27:06
shape of it the arms might have been a
00:27:08
little bit longer than normal the run
00:27:12
was more or less like that of a an
00:27:14
athlete a man of some sort he was right
00:27:17
across the road from us and that scared
00:27:19
us enough to take take off the rest of
00:27:21
the way home
00:27:25
for years eyewitnesses have claimed
00:27:27
who's seen a creature like Bigfoot
00:27:28
particularly in the Pacific Northwest
00:27:31
the recent sightings in Colorado have
00:27:33
all occurred in the newly populated area
00:27:35
close to the boundaries of the pike
00:27:36
National Forest some of these witnesses
00:27:39
prefer to remain anonymous
00:27:45
I'm positive and I saw some type of
00:27:48
creature what's the strangest thing I've
00:27:52
ever seen in my life it wasn't a bear it
00:27:54
wasn't like anything I've ever seen
00:27:56
before
00:27:57
[Music]
00:28:01
I had a fear in me I got out of the
00:28:03
truck and it passed me I said I got
00:28:05
behind a been clear enough distance
00:28:07
because I wasn't about to go tackle it
00:28:10
or anything but it was it seemed to have
00:28:15
the figure of a human being except it
00:28:17
had hair everywhere on spot I didn't see
00:28:19
the face at all that had had hair
00:28:21
covering its body in early August 1988 a
00:28:29
cabin was broken into by a large animal
00:28:34
when the owner rushed to the back porch
00:28:36
the intruder had vanished but the cabin
00:28:38
door had sustained considerable damage
00:28:44
the next morning two boys found that
00:28:47
whatever had broken in and left Tufts of
00:28:49
hair snagged in the screen door we sent
00:28:52
this hair to a diagnostic laboratory at
00:28:54
the University of California at San
00:28:55
Francisco this laboratory is one of the
00:28:58
world's leading centers for analysis of
00:29:00
this type I've tested these hairs for
00:29:03
all the major groups of mammals that
00:29:05
have large specimens like you know deer
00:29:08
bear and so forth and it only reacts
00:29:10
with the primates and of the primates it
00:29:13
only reacts with hominoids and there are
00:29:16
only five hominoids human chimpanzee
00:29:18
gorilla orangutan and Gibbon and I've
00:29:21
eliminated all of those except human and
00:29:23
chimpanzee so it's some large animal
00:29:26
closely related to human and chimpanzee
00:29:29
are one of those and it's hard to see
00:29:31
how that could have escaped detection
00:29:32
over thousands of years
00:29:36
biological artist Carol miracle was able
00:29:39
to create a composite from four
00:29:40
eyewitnesses he showed a huge hairy
00:29:43
humanoid creature that closely resembled
00:29:46
other descriptions of Bigfoot is it
00:29:49
possible that this legendary creature
00:29:51
might exist for centuries people have
00:29:55
reported encounters with Bigfoot it
00:29:57
could be that these reports are hoaxes
00:29:59
the products of overeager imaginations
00:30:01
but there is a remote chance that a
00:30:03
handful of these creatures do exist
00:30:05
hidden away in the vast unexplored
00:30:07
wilderness of Colorado in the Pacific
00:30:09
Northwest
00:30:10
until hard physical evidence appears
00:30:12
skeptics will continue to doubt the
00:30:14
validity of these sightings but skeptics
00:30:16
have occasionally been wrong
00:30:27
November 12 1936 and a bank located in
00:30:31
Ripon Wisconsin a man named George J
00:30:33
Stein opened up a savings account for
00:30:35
120 dollars Stein left no social
00:30:41
security numbers on fire and no home
00:30:43
address between 1936 and 1952 George J
00:30:49
Stein opened dozens of bank accounts
00:30:51
primarily in savings and loans
00:30:53
throughout the Midwest but Stein never
00:30:59
returned to reclaim his fortune today it
00:31:02
totals in excess of one hundred and
00:31:04
thirty thousand dollars why would a man
00:31:08
deposit thousands of dollars and never
00:31:10
come back there are many similar
00:31:12
unclaimed bank accounts around the
00:31:14
country but fewer as large and as
00:31:15
mysterious as those opened by one George
00:31:17
J Stein two investigators have developed
00:31:20
theories as to who Stein was one
00:31:23
believes he was a traveling salesman the
00:31:25
other notorious bank robber if someone
00:31:28
can unravel this mystery and prove that
00:31:30
they are related to George J Stein they
00:31:32
would inherit over 130,000 dollars
00:31:37
Stein's deposits were scattered across a
00:31:39
Midwest there were three accounts in the
00:31:42
states of Minnesota and Indiana and at
00:31:44
least one in each of the states of Iowa
00:31:46
and Illinois and five in Wisconsin there
00:31:50
is also a possibility of a Stein account
00:31:52
in Texas investigator Tom Becker became
00:31:56
interested in one small deposit made in
00:31:58
Indianapolis
00:32:00
[Music]
00:32:04
but finally in desperation I thought
00:32:07
well let's check this little diddly
00:32:09
hundred $85 cow maybe we'll come up with
00:32:11
something also this was the only one
00:32:14
that I could find where he gave an
00:32:16
address other than general delivery or
00:32:19
YMCA or on the account of might say
00:32:22
address unknown
00:32:23
he gave an address of 505 Washington
00:32:26
Street Indianapolis this address turned
00:32:30
out to be inland jobbers a company that
00:32:32
made men's hats gloves and other
00:32:34
accessories earlier Tom had found a
00:32:37
physical description of the elusive
00:32:39
Stein and he was able to match it with
00:32:41
descriptions of a traveling salesman
00:32:42
named Ralph Barnett Barnett sales
00:32:47
territories overlapped the towns from
00:32:49
which many of Stein's deposits were
00:32:51
mayor in short how much you want for him
00:32:53
$40 good so as he acquired more money
00:32:59
than he needed for living expenses my
00:33:01
theory is he would yell it to one of
00:33:03
these savings of laws and checking the
00:33:06
records I can't find any case where he
00:33:08
dealt with true savings and loans at the
00:33:11
same time and I think this had to do
00:33:13
with the $5,000 insured limit he didn't
00:33:17
want too much in any one Savings and
00:33:18
Loan my own theory on this is that
00:33:23
Barnett or whoever George J Stein was I
00:33:26
could say eventually met an unfortunate
00:33:29
and maybe a heart attack baby was
00:33:31
murdered who knows and as he disappeared
00:33:35
very suddenly he'd never been to
00:33:36
withdraw on any of these accounts so
00:33:38
obviously when he stopped it was a
00:33:40
sudden end because nobody deposits money
00:33:43
without the intention of ever
00:33:45
withdrawing it genealogist Frances Cole
00:33:49
has a different theory when she combed
00:33:51
through all of Stein's deposit records
00:33:53
she discovered a return address written
00:33:54
on one of his deposit envelopes the name
00:33:58
was EDA and one day while checking
00:34:01
through some newspapers from 1903 she
00:34:03
discovered just who ed PHA may have been
00:34:06
a man named EDA had robbed a post office
00:34:12
with his
00:34:13
and it was post office up in superior
00:34:16
Wisconsin in October of 1903 in superior
00:34:22
Edie Fay masterminded a daring post
00:34:25
office robbery absconded with over
00:34:27
fifteen thousand dollars in spam and
00:34:29
cash ed Fay was clever but not clever
00:34:54
enough shortly after the post office
00:34:56
robbery he was arrested he had a
00:35:01
reputation for being very very slick and
00:35:04
well-educated and could get away with
00:35:07
almost anything and he boasted that
00:35:09
there was no jail that could hold him no
00:35:19
Ginny did home with an accomplice fan
00:35:22
Janu his escape
00:35:24
then vanished to this day nobody knows
00:35:28
where he went well that was in 1904
00:35:32
and he was 28 or 29 in the 1939 s and
00:35:37
40s he would have been about in his 60s
00:35:40
early 60s my theory is that he may have
00:35:44
decided he needed the money
00:35:46
he couldn't spend it as it was and he
00:35:49
may have been known as Eddie Faye in
00:35:51
that area where he mailed it from and
00:35:53
the only way to do was to change his
00:35:55
identity so that no one would ask where
00:35:58
had faked out all that money and then
00:36:01
become somebody else and also have his
00:36:05
bank accounts all in somebody else's
00:36:06
names was George J Stein the notorious
00:36:10
gentleman robber Edie Faye or was he a
00:36:12
mild-mannered haberdashery salesman
00:36:15
named Ralph Barnett regardless of his
00:36:17
identity any legitimate heirs could
00:36:20
collect over 130,000 dollars but they
00:36:23
would first have to prove they were
00:36:24
related to Stein and provide a signature
00:36:27
matching Stein's handwriting that was
00:36:29
written during the period of time when
00:36:31
Stein made his many deposits so far
00:36:34
there have been five applicants but no
00:36:36
successful claims
00:36:38
[Music]
00:36:44
eight years ago the milk town of East
00:36:46
Millinocket Maine was safe and secure
00:36:48
the last place you'd expect a brutal
00:36:51
murder to occur children played outside
00:36:54
with no fear it was a peaceful small
00:36:57
town and a close-knit community at 2600
00:37:00
Souls the sense of security was
00:37:03
shattered on August the 8th 1980 on that
00:37:07
day Joyce McLain a spirited and
00:37:09
promising 16 year old was brutally
00:37:12
murdered in the woods behind the high
00:37:13
school soccer field her murder has not
00:37:17
been solved and the town will never be
00:37:19
the same again it's just something in a
00:37:23
little town like this that you don't
00:37:25
forget it's there all the time I mean
00:37:27
here we are eight years later and and
00:37:29
people in the community there's not a
00:37:31
day that goes by that her name isn't
00:37:33
mentioned mainly because she was such a
00:37:35
bright beautiful young girl so talented
00:37:38
she made such a mark on this town the
00:37:41
population of East Millinocket is only
00:37:42
2600 yet over 6,000 signatures were
00:37:46
collected on this petition that was sent
00:37:47
to us argent Lee requesting that we tell
00:37:49
Joyce's story the town's people feel
00:37:52
that unsolved mysteries is their last
00:37:54
chance to find Joyce's killer they know
00:37:56
that nothing can bring her back but they
00:37:58
refused to accept the intrusion of
00:38:00
senseless violence into their town and
00:38:02
into their lives Joyce McLain was a kind
00:38:07
of teenager that would make any family
00:38:08
or any hometown proud
00:38:11
she was born in East Millinocket 1963
00:38:15
and 19 months later her little sister
00:38:17
Wendy came along
00:38:20
Joyce displayed extraordinary musical
00:38:22
talent at an early age and later on
00:38:25
played in the school orchestra and
00:38:26
composed music of her own Joyce was an
00:38:31
honor student a cheerleader and an
00:38:33
officer of the student body she was
00:38:36
popular and well-loved
00:38:38
Joyce's mind was filled with thoughts of
00:38:42
what kind of a future she was going to
00:38:45
have she was heading into her new step
00:38:47
in life she was getting her driver's
00:38:49
license she was gonna turn 17 years old
00:38:51
she had a big party planned at the beach
00:38:54
with a big band and lots of friends and
00:38:57
family was going to be there I believe
00:39:02
that it was a growing up time
00:39:04
[Music]
00:39:08
on Friday August the 8th 1980 Joyce went
00:39:11
jogging at 7:30 you leave me that Friday
00:39:15
was the last time Joyce was seen alive
00:39:19
Joyce had a route that took her out
00:39:21
around the town and behind skank high
00:39:24
school and the last time she was seen is
00:39:26
turning the corner going down to the
00:39:28
softball field in the soccer field where
00:39:30
she usually did a number laps we have
00:39:34
witnesses that say this happened roughly
00:39:36
between quarter of 8 and 8 o'clock in
00:39:38
the evening
00:39:40
two days later Peter larlie one of the
00:39:43
volunteers searching for Joyce found her
00:39:45
body in the woods behind the high school
00:39:48
I saw a Joyce she wasn't moving her body
00:39:52
would look like it had been beaten I
00:39:56
knew that she wasn't alive I started
00:39:59
screaming her name and after that I
00:40:02
turned around home and called the police
00:40:04
her know it to be a big part in my life
00:40:09
feel it that's really heartening
00:40:13
I never expected what happened at all no
00:40:21
one knows exactly what events led up to
00:40:23
the death of Joyce McLain the last time
00:40:25
she was seen Joyce was jogging towards a
00:40:28
soccer field that particular Friday
00:40:31
night there were groups of kids out
00:40:32
there padding there was also a softball
00:40:34
tournament in town which brought another
00:40:36
three to five hundred people behind that
00:40:39
field wish she would have been jogging
00:40:41
and they would be playing softball right
00:40:43
up until dusk that evening
00:40:49
the field was a popular hangout and one
00:40:52
theory is that local boys were drinking
00:40:54
there it is possible that when they saw
00:40:59
Joyce approaching they began harassing
00:41:01
her people close to the case feel that
00:41:04
Joyce might have been led into the woods
00:41:06
against her will and that some of the
00:41:08
boys in the group that tormented Joyce
00:41:10
tied her up intending to attack her
00:41:11
sexually instead they murdered her a
00:41:16
second theory is that Joyce's attackers
00:41:19
might have been day laborers at the
00:41:20
local paper mill the mill had just taken
00:41:23
on 300 workers who were not local
00:41:25
residents eight years after Joyce was
00:41:30
murdered her case remains unsolved her
00:41:32
death was a devastating blow to her
00:41:34
family and of the town of East
00:41:36
Millinocket
00:41:39
before she was murdered all of us kids
00:41:42
would all go out walking around like six
00:41:45
o'clock we're all out on the street and
00:41:47
after she was martyred it all changed
00:41:51
the parents were real you know where are
00:41:54
you going what time you gonna be home
00:41:56
and people never even lock their doors
00:41:59
around here people started locking up
00:42:01
their houses and I mean everybody was
00:42:02
just in a panic it was like it's
00:42:05
something you least expect around here
00:42:07
can you imagine living in a town where
00:42:10
people are aware that these killers have
00:42:13
never been found they may very well be
00:42:16
still walking our streets the town is
00:42:20
it's been like a pressure cooker just
00:42:22
ready to explode
00:42:27
I'll lead your anniversary of Joyce's
00:42:30
death the town held a candlelight
00:42:32
memorial ceremony they want to keep
00:42:35
Joyce's memory alive and they want to
00:42:38
keep alive the hope that her murderer
00:42:40
will one day be found
00:42:42
I believe that Joyce's murder is
00:42:49
solvable and I believe out there someone
00:42:53
has just the tiniest bit of information
00:42:56
they may not even know it they could
00:43:00
come forward and it could be solved
00:43:06
[Music]
00:43:19
for every mystery there is someone
00:43:21
somewhere who knows the truth perhaps
00:43:24
that someone was watching perhaps
00:43:26
[Music]
00:43:53
[Applause]
00:43:57
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 75
    Most heartbreaking
  • 70
    Most dramatic
  • 65
    Most intense

Episode Highlights

  • The Legend of Mickey Thompson
    Mickey Thompson, a racing legend, was tragically murdered in 1988. His family seeks justice.
    “Mickey was a legend in the world of auto racing.”
    @ 02m 14s
    May 16, 2019
  • The Mysterious Double Homicide
    Mickey and Trudy Thompson were killed in a well-planned attack, leaving behind unanswered questions.
    “This just wasn’t a random crime; it was well-planned.”
    @ 06m 31s
    May 16, 2019
  • The Enigmatic Bigfoot Sightings
    Witnesses in Colorado claim to have seen evidence of Bigfoot, challenging previous beliefs.
    “Perhaps just perhaps there really is a Bigfoot.”
    @ 24m 17s
    May 16, 2019
  • The Pikes Peak Encounter
    In 1978, hikers encountered a creature resembling Bigfoot, sparking intrigue and fear.
    “It looked like a fairly good-sized man.”
    @ 27m 03s
    May 16, 2019
  • The Unsolved Murder of Joyce McLain
    Joyce McLain, a promising teenager, was brutally murdered in 1980, leaving her town in shock.
    “Her murder has not been solved and the town will never be the same again.”
    @ 37m 17s
    May 16, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • He loved to go fast and he loved racing.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 18 - Full Episode
  • Please don't hurt my wife!
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 18 - Full Episode
  • It was just a very cowardly thing to do.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 18 - Full Episode
  • It looked like a fairly good-sized man.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 18 - Full Episode
  • I knew that she wasn’t alive.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 18 - Full Episode
  • I believe that Joyce's murder is solvable.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 18 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Unsolved Mysteries00:03
  • Mickey Thompson's Legacy00:21
  • Witness Accounts00:50
  • Tragic Murder00:58
  • Bigfoot Evidence22:43
  • Bigfoot Sighting26:46
  • Joyce's Murder37:07
  • Community Vigil42:30

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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49:01
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 2, Episode 13 - Full Episodes
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 13 - Full Episode
May 16, 2019
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49:15
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 13 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 9 - Full Episode
May 22, 2019
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50:56
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 9 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 6 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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01:29:02
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 6 - Full Episode