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[Music]
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next on Unsolved
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Mysteries in the Persian Gulf a tragic
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mistake the US Navy Downs an Iranian
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airliner hundreds
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perish was this car bombing months later
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an act of
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Revenge in the rugged mountains of the
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Sierra Nevada a man's mysterious Vision
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guides Rescuers to a missile
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woman a Small Town Hero disappears but
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not before he scams $3 million out of
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unsuspecting
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neighbors a family searches for their
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missing son who was sent to America
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after World War
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Two join me for these five stories of
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crime deceit and Foul Play I'm Dennis
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finina and this is Unsolved Mysteries
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[Music]
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he
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the Persian
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golf summer
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1988 the Persian golf swarms with US
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Naval vessels and
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aircraft just 3 months earlier an
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American ship had been badly damaged by
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an Iranian
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mine the Navy's goal is to protect us
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oil tankers from increasingly hostile
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Iranian
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forces the centerpiece of the naval
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presence was the USS Vincent a cruiser
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fully armed with surface to- a missiles
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the captain was Will
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Rogers the date July 3rd started out in
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a benign fashion I received a radio call
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that the USS Montgomery was uh having
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some difficulty with Iranian
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revolutionary guard small craft uh we
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were directed by higher authority uh to
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uh develop a tactical picture and relay
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this information
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back to
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Bahrain a Navy film crew happened to be
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aboard the
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Vincent and recorded the events of the
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day the vinc sense dispatched a
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reconnaissance helicopter it is
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immediately attacked by Iranian gun
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bolts Captain Rogers sought and received
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permission to return
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fire what ensued was a rather violent
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service engagement between myself USS
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Montgomery and about seven small
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high-speed craft
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at almost the same moment an
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unidentified aircraft showed up on the
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ship's radar screen the plane appeared
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to be gathering speed and coming
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straight toward the
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Vincent we commenced to issue radio
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warnings asking it to divert from its
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course heading directly at us received
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no
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response in the meantime the surface
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engagement continued when the aircraft
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had closed to about 12 nautical miles
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the decision had to be made and I chose
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to uh to engage it with
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missiles the plane was destroyed but
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then news came in over the radio about
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an Iranian passenger plane which had yet
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to arrive at its
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destination it became obvious to us that
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something was badly wrong what the uh
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pieces of the puzzle begin to add up to
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was this overdue airliner uh was the uh
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the result of the missile engagement
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that we in fact had destroyed a civilian
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airlin the men aboard the Vincent had to
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face the difficult fact that they were
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responsible for the death of innocent
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civilians
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290 passengers aboard a commercial
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Iranian Airlines flight were
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dead their baggage and personal effects
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created an eerie wake in the Blue Waters
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of the
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gulf the Downing of Iranian airflight
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655 was a tragic error the flight was
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not running at its scheduled time and
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its pilot ignored calls to identify
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itself but some in Iran said the nation
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would not forgive and claimed the right
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to
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revenge in San Diego California Captain
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Roger wife Sharon was awakened by a
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phone call at 1: in the
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morning there was a man on the other end
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of the phone with a Mid Eastern accent
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hello yes yes yes it is he wanted to
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know if this was the home of Captain
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Rogers who is this and then he said are
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you the wife of the
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murderer who is this my worst nightmare
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was coming
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true at this point with someone calling
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me I thought possibly they know where
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our home is they know where I
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live um and possibly someone's in the
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city needless to say I didn't sleep the
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rest of the
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night the naval investigative service
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was called in to secure the Rogers home
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agents checked the mail and monitored
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incoming calls there were no more phone
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threats but but agents advised Sharon to
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always keep her car locked in the garage
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when she was at
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home 10 weeks later in October the USS
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vincens came home Sharon Rogers was at
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the dock to welcome her husband even
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after his return safety precautions such
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as keeping both cars in the garage
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continued until one night months later
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they arrived home late from a Navy
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meeting we were very very tired we
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decided not to put the cars in the
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garage it was the first night since July
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3rd that we had not parked the cars in
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the garage and the only night the only
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time at 7:00 the next morning Captain
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Rogers used his wife's van to run an
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errand
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will came back uh to the house we
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exchanged a few words um it was time for
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me to go uh to work got into the van
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pulled out of the driveway took my
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normal route to school everything seemed
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fine pulled up at a red light and it was
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then that I heard the
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[Music]
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explosion I knew that if if I'd ever do
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anything right I'd better do this one
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right because I realized I didn't have
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many seconds left before I could get out
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of that van
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alive Sharon threw open the driver's
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side door but forgot she had her seat
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belt
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[Music]
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on I jumped from the cab of the van then
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I ran to the curb where a construction
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worker placed me in the cab of his truck
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put his ret around me about that time a
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policewoman approached me I told her who
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I was that I was the wife of the captain
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of the vincin she immediately called a
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halt to
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everything and uh told everyone to move
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away get away she then began calling in
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the naval investigative service the
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FBI everyone
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else an FBI investigation revealed that
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a large pipe bomb had been strapped
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underneath the
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van Sharon Rogers was extremely lucky
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the blast from the bomb went up just
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behind her seat through the roof of the
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van and out to the right side of the van
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uh the bomb was uh definitely designed
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to kill someone it was not a prank was
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placed underneath the vehicle located
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just behind where the driver's seat
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[Music]
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was the FB I learned that 2 months
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before the bombing a stranger had been
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asking questions on the Rogers Street
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Excuse me yes would you happen to know
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which house the captain lives I'm sorry
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I don't think I can help you with
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that thank you very much you b a second
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man waited for him in the passenger seat
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of a BMW that had California license
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plates the BMW was an unusual color
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known as bronet beige
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I think we both fervently hope in the
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arrest and conviction and ultimate
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imprisonment of the people responsible
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for the attempt on Sharon's
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life they need to be imprisoned and we
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have to send a very strong message to
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terrorism that you're just not going to
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win here in the United
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States the FBI has produced this
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composite sketch of the man who spoke to
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the neighbors he was thin 5'9 in tall
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with dark eyes and hair and a receding
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hairline if you have any information
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about this case please log on to our
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website at uno.com
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[Music]
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next she is lost alone and facing death
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in the high Siera then A cowboy rides to
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the rescue Guided by a mysterious vision
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the Sierra Nevada
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mountains its Wild Beauty attracts many
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people to its rugged
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Trails like Millie McGregor despite a
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mild heart condition she wouldn't think
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twice about an all day 10mile
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Trek but when milie McGregor set out one
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Labor Day weekend she never expected
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that she would take a wrong turn and her
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hike would become a life or death
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[Music]
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ordeal it seemed like it started off
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good had a good trail and a ways back
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that trail split off to two places and
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I'd picked out the one I thought I
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should go
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on I was probably several hours maybe
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more like 3 hours beginning to climb and
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I got chest pain
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perhaps it was the altitude perhaps the
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exertion but for some reason Millie's
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heart medication made her
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disorient before she knew it she was
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lost the beautiful scenery was now a
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terrifying
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maze as the sun went down Millie
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realized that she would be spending the
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night
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alone in the wild I was kind of relieved
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knowing that I didn't have to hike
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anymore I was worried that my husband
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would be worried that first night it it
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was terrible I didn't get get sleep at
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all that first night I walked the floor
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and watch try to watch the TV and I
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couldn't do
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that search and rescue team sprang into
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action early the next
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morning but after an entire day in the
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wilderness there was not one single
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clue Millie faced a second night in the
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bitter cold
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I know the first night I spend a lot of
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time praying that my husband wouldn't
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worry the next night when I was still
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there and I was cold and I was thirsty
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and I started praying for myself that I
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would get out of
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there the next day additional search
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teams were recruited from neighboring
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counties helicopters equipped with
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infrared sensors searched from the sky
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by the end of the second day we still
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have no clue no Footprints no drop
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clothing no hits from the
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dog there was no sign of
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mild with an army of Searchers at work
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no one counted on a softspoken cowboy
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named Randy Spears to ride to the rescue
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Randy lived in the area however Randy
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was so busy that week that he didn't
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know that a woman was lost in the
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mountains
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until the evening of the second day of
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searching there's a lady that's lost
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yeah Randy told us that he never ever
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had any kind of psychic or ESP
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experience but then somehow in his
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Mind's Eye he saw a silhouette of a
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Sierra Peak located 50 mi from his
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Ranch he just knew with absolute
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certainty that he would find Millie on
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the Mountain's Southern Slope I don't
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know where she's at yeah just
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flashed like big screen TV was like I
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got this picture of a mountain with my
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hand in front of it and I said I know
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right where she's at it was something
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you didn't mess with you know you didn't
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doubt him there was a real strong
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feeling around
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him it was past midnight when Randy and
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his friend Frank Smith headed for the
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mountains Randy just looks up there and
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he goes she's right up there he put his
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hand up there and just pointed go to her
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exactly in a certain area on the side of
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that
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mountain he goes she's right there she's
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right there at about that same time
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Millie was stealing herself for a third
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night of withering
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cold that night I gathered up pine
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needles and just kind of uh put them all
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around when I couldn't I even put some
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in my hat helped keep my head warm I had
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an extra pair of socks so I put those on
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my
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hands course the night was very very
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long was like minute by minute you know
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the moon come up and you watch and watch
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and pretty soon the moon goes down and
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then it gets colder when the moon goes
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down it got
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dampish and uh it was cold real
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[Music]
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cold the next day Randy and Frank were
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up at the crack of dawn their first stop
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the Search Command
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Center it was a little strange because
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they all kind of looked at us like who
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are these guys because we didn't have
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the orange vests and all the Fancy
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Search gear that they had just a couple
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scruffy looking Cowboys with lonee
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mules it was a job and it was just an
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something that uh we were going to do
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there was absolutely no no guessing or
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anything he he knew where she was at and
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going to go get
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her by now Millie hadn't seen food or
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water for 3
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days I was not real strong at that time
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I was shaky and it was like every step I
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prayed and I kept picturing in my mind a
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glass of cold water and a
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bathtub Randy said that after writing
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for 45 minutes he sensed he and Frank
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were getting close to Millie they
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separated to cover a wider
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area Randy just kept going and I watched
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him go up man he was just on a light
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beam just
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straight I was kind of thinking now what
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do I do and I saw Randy coming up on the
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[Music]
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mule
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help
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help and it was spectacular must be the
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lady the it was just like he appeared
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there like magic just unbelievable
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oh I really needed that thanks a lot
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good to see you I was amazed that she
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was after 3 days up there in that cold
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weather to see her standing up I know 3
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days out with myself out there would
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have darn sure have been tough and for a
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lady she has she has a a lot of
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spirit thanks to ry's Vision Millie was
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now headed down the mountain to
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safety at the command center the site of
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Millie created quite a
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reaction most of the guys kind of stood
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around speechless thinking that that
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can't be mild we're still looking for
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her we have a million dolls with her
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equipment out there and resources and
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she's coming back to camp on the back of
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a
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mule I probably looked like I was
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hundred years
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old but it felt great
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I don't know why it happened and why
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Randy was picked or and Frank too and I
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pray for them because I think God used
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them I don't know any other way of
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explaining it I'm not even going to try
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cuz that's that to me feels
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right coming up a young woman brings her
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boyfriend home for the holidays a week
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later she's found dead and the boyfriend
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has
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vanished Dallas
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Texas we recently told you the story of
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Dennis Dew who murdered his ex-wife in
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Michigan and
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[Music]
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fled at around 8:30 on the night of our
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broadcast a woman we'll call Mary
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arrived at her home outside Dallas Texas
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her boyfriend Hank Queen was at home
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watching the show Mary still can't
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believe what happened
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next his van was parked in the driveway
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which was out of the ordinary because he
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usually kept it inside the
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garage hi hi it's good you got there he
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told me that his mother was very ill and
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then he needed to make an emergency trip
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home I was sure that something else must
00:19:29
really be going on but I didn't know
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what a man suspected the brutal murder
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of his
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ex aren't you going to give me a hug he
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just gave me a little peck of a kiss and
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I gave him a big hug and said goodbye to
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him I realized that something was
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troubling him and I knew I would never
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see him
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again later that night Mary was shocked
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to learn that her boyfriend's name was
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not Hank
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Queen it was really Dennis Dew and he
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had just been featured on Unsolved
00:20:08
Mysteries the broadcast described how
00:20:10
Dennis De Pew arrived at his ex-wife
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Marilyn's home to pick up their children
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for a scheduled
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visit Dennis erupted into a violent rage
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he accused Marilyn of destroying his
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life and turning their children against
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him
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M we're going to the hospital you kids
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stay
00:20:32
here the next day Marilyn's body was
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discovered in a roadside ditch only 9
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miles from her home she had been shot
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once in the back of the head it was so
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brutal and premeditated that it makes
00:20:47
you so angry if she hadd been killed in
00:20:49
an automobile accident you could get
00:20:52
over that but not
00:20:56
this there was no sign of Dennis Dew for
00:21:00
over a
00:21:02
year alone until the night of our
00:21:07
broadcast looking back on it now I'm
00:21:10
sure he was
00:21:12
watching I think that he was
00:21:14
deliberately keeping my uh attention
00:21:18
distracted in the kitchen so that I
00:21:20
wouldn't see the segment and so that he
00:21:22
could
00:21:27
leave after the broadcast a viewer who
00:21:30
knew Hank Queen and Mary provided the
00:21:32
plate number of the
00:21:34
van police then spot at the puke
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Crossing into
00:21:39
Louisiana he led police on a 15m
00:21:42
highspeed chase breaking through two
00:21:45
barricades before he was
00:21:48
stopped I told the deid if the van
00:21:52
refused to stop to shoot a tire off over
00:21:54
the front tire and they missed the front
00:21:57
tire but they got both back
00:22:00
on he traveled about half a mile and
00:22:04
just wouldn't go any further and he
00:22:06
stopped thew fired two shots through his
00:22:09
windshield and another through his open
00:22:12
window then he turned the gun on himself
00:22:15
and took his own
00:22:18
life it was a funny feeling to realize
00:22:21
that uh the night before that you had
00:22:23
been watching this man that he was
00:22:25
wounded uh for murder someplace and then
00:22:28
uh you walk up to the van and you
00:22:29
recognize him as being the person that
00:22:31
was on onav mistress it's a funny
00:22:33
feeling but I think he intended to die
00:22:36
whether he had to do it by his own hands
00:22:38
or where he can get us to kill
00:22:47
him Kissam
00:22:50
Florida a Lakeside Resort town about 10
00:22:53
Mi south of
00:22:55
Orlando One Summer 22-year-old Paula
00:22:59
ASC and her boyfriend Jerry
00:23:02
gervasoni arrived from New Jersey to
00:23:05
visit Paula's mother
00:23:07
Barbara they stayed there about one week
00:23:11
Paula was as happy as a l the two of
00:23:14
them were I mean they were very happy
00:23:16
gol
00:23:17
lucky during the visit Paula and Jerry
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slept in Barbara's bedroom while she
00:23:22
slept on a couch so do you guys have any
00:23:25
plans four nights after they arrived
00:23:28
Paula and Jerry decided to leave for a
00:23:30
short Excursion to another part of
00:23:32
Florida okay
00:23:34
sweetie well I got up the next morning
00:23:37
and I thought I heard them
00:23:40
up and I didn't know whether they were
00:23:43
or not so I didn't
00:23:45
bother to say
00:23:48
[Music]
00:23:52
goodbye maybe if I had you know things
00:23:55
would have been different
00:23:58
how long's it been this way you know but
00:24:00
when over the next 5 days an odd
00:24:04
disturbing smell began to spread through
00:24:06
Barbara's mobile home I made sure to
00:24:08
took out all the trash and the garbage
00:24:10
well on Saturday morning I got up and by
00:24:16
now the odor had really become strong to
00:24:19
the point where I had to search around
00:24:21
to see what was causing this she
00:24:24
searched the entire trailer and found
00:24:27
nothing the last place she looked was in
00:24:30
her own
00:24:37
bedroom hidden under the bed wrapped in
00:24:40
a bamboo curtain was Paula's
00:24:44
body at first
00:24:47
I I wasn't sure of what I
00:24:50
seen
00:24:54
and just didn't expect it
00:24:59
I I had to stop and think is this real
00:25:03
or am I seeing
00:25:06
things Paula had been strangled to death
00:25:09
and left under the bed for nearly a
00:25:12
week the prime suspect was Jerry gervon
00:25:16
but he had dropped from
00:25:18
sight less than a month later
00:25:21
authorities got their first break when
00:25:23
they questioned a friend of
00:25:25
Jerry's just 3 days after the murder he
00:25:28
picked up Jerry at the Newark New Jersey
00:25:31
airport he claimed that Jerry
00:25:33
practically confessed to killing Paula I
00:25:36
don't know what happened I just freaked
00:25:37
out I lost it over what I need some
00:25:41
quick cash so I swipe the old lady's
00:25:45
paycheck what are you doing nothing are
00:25:48
you trying to rip her off no then let me
00:25:50
see what's in your pocket no let me see
00:25:53
what's in your pocket get out show me
00:25:55
you liar shut
00:25:58
I believe that Jerry has decided that
00:26:01
we're no longer looking for him he's
00:26:03
able to roam the streets freely without
00:26:06
uh worry of being
00:26:09
arrested
00:26:11
update Jerry gervon was arrested in
00:26:14
Canada where he had been living under
00:26:17
the assumed name Gordon McIntyre when
00:26:20
our program aired his former landlord
00:26:22
recognized him and immediately called
00:26:26
authorities I come home and sit down to
00:26:28
dinner about 9:30 qu to 10: and uh flip
00:26:32
on the TV and there was his black and
00:26:34
white photo of gord McIntyre my
00:26:38
tenant gervon was extradited to the
00:26:41
United States and later tried in
00:26:45
Florida he was convicted of second
00:26:48
deegree murder and was given a 177e
00:26:52
sentence he was released after serving 6
00:26:55
years
00:26:59
[Music]
00:27:01
next two men vanish after cheating
00:27:04
friends and neighbors out of nearly $3
00:27:17
million Medford
00:27:20
Oregon Lorraine Rondo who was recently
00:27:23
widowed invested the
00:27:25
$100,000 left by her husband it was all
00:27:28
the money she had and she trusted it to
00:27:30
a man named Steven
00:27:34
Cox a drunk driver left Michelle wit
00:27:37
disabled for Life the insurance company
00:27:40
awarded her
00:27:42
$75,000 Michelle invested her money with
00:27:45
the same man Steven Cox and there were
00:27:50
others 200 others and I am one of the
00:27:53
investors who invested with Steve Cox in
00:27:56
excess of $100,000
00:27:58
together they gave Cox over $35
00:28:01
million now Steven Cox is gone and so is
00:28:05
all that M so we can get our money
00:28:08
back Steven was a local boy captain of
00:28:11
his high school football team Letterman
00:28:14
on the basketball team and named to
00:28:16
Oregon's All State baseball team he went
00:28:19
to college in Oregon and after he
00:28:21
graduated married his college sweetheart
00:28:24
Deborah they settled in Medford I didn't
00:28:26
believe it no Cox started his own
00:28:29
company SD Cox
00:28:33
Investments when he first began he had
00:28:36
had some luck uh with commodities with
00:28:39
other Investments gold and silver and
00:28:41
other things and he really wanted to
00:28:44
make money for other people at the same
00:28:46
time he made money for himself look at
00:28:47
it right now good morning Michelle Hi
00:28:50
how are you fine St Cox attracted
00:28:52
clients by offering a rate of return as
00:28:54
high as
00:28:56
25% for their cash investors received an
00:28:59
IOU in the form of a promissary note a
00:29:03
the
00:29:04
$75,000 was invested and for 3 and 1/2
00:29:08
years I got a monthly payment of
00:29:11
$1,250 he seemed to know what he was
00:29:15
doing and I'm sure he did know what he
00:29:17
was
00:29:19
doing hey hey good to see you business
00:29:23
doubled then tripled Cox brought in a
00:29:25
partner Eugene Richmond who was an old
00:29:28
friend well you know i' had known Steve
00:29:30
since you know we were in grade school
00:29:32
together I mean he was always somebody I
00:29:33
looked up to you know the high school
00:29:35
quarterback of the football team and you
00:29:37
know just just that typical guy that
00:29:39
everybody wanted to know and be around
00:29:41
basically whatever Steve Cox asked me to
00:29:44
do it's a nice house she here oh thank
00:29:48
you Eugene Richmond was the one that
00:29:51
went out and got people to invest their
00:29:54
money I'm confident that I told every
00:29:57
investor that their money is at risk I
00:29:59
would have investors ask me what happens
00:30:01
if es Cox goes belly up and I would sit
00:30:04
right in my chair and look them straight
00:30:05
in the face and I'd say you're going to
00:30:07
lose your money well Eugene Richmond is
00:30:10
a liar then because he never
00:30:13
did never told us that not me never told
00:30:17
me that if she was not aware that her
00:30:19
money was at risk then either I failed
00:30:21
in my job to tell her that or like a lot
00:30:25
of people they didn't want to hear it
00:30:28
Eugene Richmond never told me that that
00:30:30
my money was unsafe in any way that
00:30:33
everything was secured they had money
00:30:35
laid aside that they could pay off any
00:30:37
one of us definitely the cracks first
00:30:39
after only a year in business SD Cox
00:30:42
Investments seem to be a big success
00:30:45
yeah I can do it the firm bought a
00:30:47
restaurant a neighborhood bar a video
00:30:49
arcade two jewelry stores and an
00:30:52
inventory of gems worth hundreds of
00:30:54
thousands of
00:30:56
dollars when you have a situation where
00:30:59
a local businessman looks successful and
00:31:01
other people are going to the bank with
00:31:03
the checks they're making the deposits
00:31:06
that will get around that facade Works
00:31:09
people see the Porsche drive by and
00:31:10
their heads turn people see the Mercedes
00:31:12
drive by and they think that guy's
00:31:13
successful they don't realize that maybe
00:31:16
that guy is is not making 's
00:31:20
meat and he's two payments behind on the
00:31:22
Porsche what happened is is Steve Cox
00:31:25
had some luck at the very beginning he
00:31:27
had some Good Fortune he made some money
00:31:30
and as he continued to pay 22 or 25%
00:31:33
interest he had to get more and more
00:31:35
people involved at the bottom in order
00:31:38
to be able to do that it's like a
00:31:40
pyramid scheme there's nothing to back
00:31:42
up his promises to pay back this money
00:31:45
that's a house of Cs eventually it has
00:31:47
to fall look what do we need to do to
00:31:49
turn this thing
00:31:50
around thanks for sticking one Friday
00:31:53
Eugene Richmond told his employees that
00:31:55
he and Cox would be out of town on
00:31:58
business through
00:32:02
Monday that weekend Cox cleaned out
00:32:05
their office safe taking over
00:32:07
$200,000 in gold silver jewelry and cash
00:32:12
he also took the financial
00:32:14
records then Cox and his wife emptied
00:32:17
their house and packed their belongings
00:32:19
into a rented
00:32:21
truck along with Eugene Richmond they
00:32:24
snuck out of Medford
00:32:30
10 months later the police had a
00:32:33
surprised visitor Steven Cox's wife
00:32:36
Deborah returned to Medford and agreed
00:32:38
to cooperate with the police what was
00:32:41
your position with SD Cox's investment
00:32:43
she wasn't actually wanted as far as
00:32:46
being a fugitive we did want to talk to
00:32:48
her but there were no criminal charges
00:32:51
pending within a week Eugene Richmond
00:32:54
also surrendered but he revealed nothing
00:32:57
helpful to the investigation how much
00:32:59
money did you have to live on and how
00:33:01
much did you take with you Sergeant
00:33:03
Sweeney concerning that matter we're not
00:33:04
answering those questions today the
00:33:07
police had enough evidence to charge
00:33:09
Eugene Richmond with racketeering he
00:33:11
pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15
00:33:14
years he was released on parole Less
00:33:16
Than 3 years
00:33:18
later Steven Cox however was still
00:33:21
missing Steve every day has to wonder if
00:33:25
somebody's going to see him it's a small
00:33:26
world
00:33:31
update after 4 years on the Run Steven
00:33:34
Cox was finally arrested in Lake me
00:33:37
Nevada 25 Mi southeast of Las
00:33:40
Vegas he had settled in Boise Idaho
00:33:43
using an
00:33:45
alias after a story aired on Unsolved
00:33:48
Mysteries he took
00:33:51
off 5 days later Cox checked into the
00:33:54
lake me Lodge
00:33:56
Motel he was not a normal guest he
00:33:59
stayed in his room all day long he would
00:34:01
only leave at night very seldom did he
00:34:04
leave in the
00:34:05
daytime and we noticed that the license
00:34:08
plates were not the same as he had put
00:34:10
down on his registration
00:34:13
card one day when I was out on the
00:34:15
grounds I saw the guest come out of his
00:34:18
room instead of putting his trash and B
00:34:21
in front of his room he took it up to
00:34:22
number 35 which was several doors away
00:34:25
and when I went to empty the trash out
00:34:27
of that Ben I found the crumpled up
00:34:30
letter and like any curious female I
00:34:32
read the
00:34:33
letter when I read the letter I saw the
00:34:36
part that said something about the
00:34:38
Unsolved Mystery Show being a
00:34:41
bombshell I showed the letter to my
00:34:43
husband Harold and between the two of us
00:34:45
we decided it was time definitely to
00:34:47
call the Rangers and tell them about the
00:34:50
guest the next morning Park Rangers
00:34:53
spotted Cox's car and pulled them over
00:34:55
in the parking lot of a casino
00:34:58
after we made the traffic stop he
00:35:00
produced identification a driver's
00:35:01
license issued to a Robert Davis and we
00:35:04
checked that name and uh date of birth
00:35:07
through the ncic computer and found that
00:35:09
it was an alias used by one Steven Cox
00:35:11
and that there was a warrant for Mr Cox
00:35:14
at that point we placed him under arrest
00:35:17
when we looked in the passenger
00:35:19
compartment of the vehicle and in the
00:35:20
trunk we found luggage filled with
00:35:22
jewelry rings necklaces collector type
00:35:25
baseball cards some gold coins silver
00:35:27
coins and I was really very curious to
00:35:30
know why he had it in the vehicle and if
00:35:32
in fact this was the stuff that he was
00:35:33
wanted for taking in the first
00:35:36
place Steven Cox was exteded back to
00:35:39
Oregon where he was sentenced to 20
00:35:42
years for racketeering and securities
00:35:45
fraud the valuables in his possession
00:35:47
were found to be worth close to a
00:35:50
million they were used by the courts to
00:35:52
pay back part of what he had stolen from
00:35:54
his investors in meton he was Paro after
00:35:58
serving 2
00:36:01
years next at the age of five a World
00:36:04
War II Refugee gets a new life in
00:36:08
America will he ever see his family
00:36:20
again Plymouth
00:36:24
England after World War II refugees from
00:36:27
the Eastern Europe searched for a better
00:36:29
life in the
00:36:30
west a Polish couple Helena and a poiner
00:36:34
Kowski sent their sent Christopher off
00:36:36
to America to live with another
00:36:40
family Christopher was only 5 years
00:36:44
old he would never see his parents
00:36:51
again Helena had spent 6 years in a
00:36:54
German p camp
00:36:58
near the end of the war she escaped she
00:37:01
was crossing the border into Austria and
00:37:04
then would you like a ride to the
00:37:06
town you look very tired she decided
00:37:09
that she would let this man help her and
00:37:12
he took her to where all the Polish
00:37:14
people were looked after her did things
00:37:17
for her that nobody had done for her
00:37:20
since the war had been going on her
00:37:23
heart was beginning to to come alive
00:37:27
again
00:37:28
something it hadn't done since the war
00:37:30
had
00:37:31
happened I am
00:37:34
apoll Helena and he asked her to marry
00:37:37
him and so she said
00:37:40
yes Helena began a new life with
00:37:43
apolinary Kowski they stayed on in
00:37:46
Austria even after the war was over
00:37:49
there they adopted an infant and named
00:37:52
him Christopher
00:37:58
within a month the Kowski joined
00:38:00
thousands of War survivors in refugee
00:38:03
camps in England their daughter Michelle
00:38:05
was born Christopher finally had a
00:38:08
sister to play
00:38:10
with my only memory of Christopher is uh
00:38:14
a real happy memory he would run around
00:38:17
me hide behind me and all of a sudden
00:38:19
he'd come around to the front and he go
00:38:21
boo and I'd laugh and I'd laugh and I
00:38:24
can still remember to this day the
00:38:25
giggles
00:38:28
next please like so many other refugees
00:38:31
Helena and apollinary dreamed of a
00:38:33
better life for themselves and their
00:38:35
children they applied for visas to the
00:38:37
United States but faced a long
00:38:41
wait another polish family living in the
00:38:44
camp had just gotten their visas oh
00:38:47
congratulations my they offered to take
00:38:50
Christopher with them he will play with
00:38:52
my children and he will go to school and
00:38:54
soon you will be going to America
00:38:56
yourself the decision was made
00:38:59
Christopher would go on ahead of his
00:39:01
family so he could start the first grade
00:39:03
in the United States I'm missing Mama I
00:39:07
miss you too Christopher my mother
00:39:09
didn't really want to send him with
00:39:10
somebody else but my father kept saying
00:39:14
you know education education he's going
00:39:17
to get a good education he's going to be
00:39:19
able to start school so it was easier
00:39:22
for
00:39:24
him you are but my mother I guess being
00:39:26
a woman
00:39:28
it just tore at her
00:39:29
[Music]
00:39:31
heart eventually Helena and apollinary
00:39:34
chose not to move to America but the
00:39:37
family who had taken Christopher refused
00:39:39
to send him back to England yes they are
00:39:42
don't they don't send Christopher back
00:39:44
my parents got a letter back from the
00:39:46
family uh in the United States saying
00:39:48
that uh Christopher had already settled
00:39:50
in school had made friends and they
00:39:53
weren't going to send him back I do
00:39:55
something I do something Helena and a
00:39:58
poiner immediately went to the refugee
00:40:00
Camp's polish Council they cannot do
00:40:02
this to us he was sympathetic but all of
00:40:04
Christopher's adoption records had gone
00:40:07
to the United States that made it nearly
00:40:10
impossible to bring the boy
00:40:13
back Michelle moved to the United States
00:40:15
as an adult after apollinary died Helena
00:40:19
finally came to America
00:40:22
herself Helena's dying wish was that her
00:40:25
children would someday be reunited
00:40:31
update the night of our broadcast
00:40:33
millions of viewers watched Unsolved
00:40:36
Mysteries one of them was Christopher's
00:40:38
sister from his American Family she
00:40:41
called Christopher and he called
00:40:45
us a month later Christopher traveled
00:40:48
from his home in New York to Michelle's
00:40:50
home in
00:40:54
Texas as I was waiting for Christ for to
00:40:58
come and I was looking out in the window
00:41:01
I was wanting my mom to be here and
00:41:03
wishing that she was here because she
00:41:05
had dreamed of
00:41:07
this
00:41:09
hi a long
00:41:12
time you did
00:41:14
it I can't believe
00:41:20
it I can't describe it it's it's too
00:41:23
much for
00:41:25
words all these years
00:41:28
wondering
00:41:30
hoping and it's finally come
00:41:33
true is I never expected it to really
00:41:37
happen but I always dreamed that maybe
00:41:40
one day my turn will come and I would
00:41:43
find my brother but dreams I guess they
00:41:48
do come true D how you doing after 44
00:41:52
years Michelle and Christopher were
00:41:55
finally reunited
00:41:57
they also experienced the joy of meeting
00:42:00
each other's children and
00:42:03
grandchildren Helena's dying wish was
00:42:06
fulfilled
00:42:22
[Music]
00:42:41
[Music]
