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tonight on unsolved mysteries they're
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all familiar with the incredible bond
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that exists between a dog and his master
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but the world of Medicine is beginning
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to recognize that that mysterious
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connection can sometimes define ordinary
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explanations as man's best friend have
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the ability to detect life-threatening
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illnesses but a vivacious college
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freshman without an enemy in the world
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as brutally slain her mother personally
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takes on the case to find her daughter's
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killer for the mothers undercover work
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of the local police department of mater
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18 year-old daughter a target for murder
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17 human bones are found spoon in a
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kentucky stream whose are they and how
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did they get there for forensic
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anthropologist dr. Emily Craig solving
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mysteries like this has made her one of
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the most renowned experts in her field
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when deputy Clark Jackson decided to
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investigate a steamer trunk he found by
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the roadside he was taken by surprise he
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had no idea that the contents would
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leave detectives on a 5-year search for
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a killer
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join me for these intriguing stories and
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more you may be able to help solve a
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mystery
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[Applause]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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before dawn want crisp September morning
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18 year old Bonnie Craig began her trek
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to school two days a week the University
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of Alaska freshman walked 45 minutes
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through the early morning darkness to
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catch the bus to campus bonnie was a
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diligent student who prided herself on
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arriving promptly for her 7 a.m. class
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but on this day bonnie would never make
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it to school later than afternoon
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another Anchorage college student was
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out shooting photographs from hiking
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trail in a public park when she made a
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grisly discovery the lifeless body of a
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young woman floating in McCue creek her
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remains were located at the bottom of a
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33 foot cliff in fairly shallow water it
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wasn't a place that you would normally
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hike along the stream to get to where
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she was so she could have been hiking
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and taken a misstep somewhere and
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slipped and fallen off of the cliff the
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following day the victim was identified
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as Bonnie Craig the medical examiner
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determined she had drowned but Bonnie
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had also suffered severe head injuries
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possibly resulting from a fall off a
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cliff at the time of Bonnie's death her
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mother Karen Campbell was on vacation in
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Florida she rushed home when she learned
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the tragic news
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they told me Bonnie had died in a hiking
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accident and I wouldn't believe it
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I still expected Bonnie to be coming up
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to me and apologizing and saying I'm
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sorry mom it wasn't me
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viewing her daughter's body was
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devastating for Karen however as she
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took a closer look Karen was stunned
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this is no hiking accident her knuckles
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were bruised and broken there was
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defensive wounds on her body and I knew
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that she had been attacked it was murder
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[Music]
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troubling questions had already begun to
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surface before Karen Campbell had viewed
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her daughter's body what was Bonnie
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doing anywhere near mchugh Creek Park on
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a school day and since she didn't drive
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how did Bonnie get there a distance of
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10 miles from where she was last seen
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even then authorities were slow to
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conclude that Bonnie had been murdered
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and what few Reed's investigators
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developed they kept to themselves but a
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frustrated Karen found on a lie and
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television reporter Maria Donny can tell
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me anything about cause of death
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anything like that not at this time it
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was really tough for the community to
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take because bonnie was a well-liked
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well-known young lady we talked with
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Karen several days after Bonnie's body
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was found at that time troopers still
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were not releasing much information one
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piece of information
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troopers didn't release was a result of
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a sexual assault examination which Karen
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learned of six months later I had
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originally asked if she had been raped
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and they told me no after fighting to
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get information from them they revealed
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to me that yes Bonnie was brutally raped
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and murdered the results of the autopsy
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showed that there was evidence of sexual
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activity we can't confirm whether it was
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a sexual assault or whether it was
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consensual sex such disputes were
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typical of Karen Campbell's relationship
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with police her frustrations with
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investigators soon motivated her to
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begin her own search for information
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about Bonnie's death everybody here in
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town put up signs flyers bumper stickers
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we wanted to make sure that until the
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crime was solved nobody was going to
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forget about it
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Karen Campbell was no stranger to
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investigations or criminals on several
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occasions she had performed risky
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undercover work as a reserve officer
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with the Anchorage Police Department
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wearing a hood and mask to conceal her
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identity Ken would not sign up me to
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point out those who had sold her drugs I
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was involved in what I thought was minor
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drug buys I had gone out five or six
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times and bought crack for the Anchorage
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Police Department okay you got a sec a
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few months into her investigation into
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Bonnie's death Karen learned that
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undercover work might have jeopardized
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the lives of those closest to her she
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was approached by an acquaintance who
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claimed to have information about
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Bonnie's murder at his request
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Karen promised to protect his identity
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this guy
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according to Karen the man told her that
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her family had apparently been targeted
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on the orders of a local drug lord after
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a sting she was involved in resulted in
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the arrest of several members of his
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organization anything but who told me
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that her murder was ordered by this drug
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lord because it was a message to the
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Anchorage Police Department to Lakoff
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ambani was murdered the day after the
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people that I identified as drug dealers
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were released from jail
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despite the precautions taken to protect
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her identity during the bus it would not
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have been difficult for the accused to
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learn who had fingered them criminals
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always are supposed to know who their
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accusers are and so my name appears to
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be about ten times in each page of the
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indictment when Karen relayed what the
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informant had told her to the lead
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investigator on Bonnie's murder she was
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not satisfied with his response he said
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this was a retribution killing for the
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undercover work I did with the Anchorage
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Police Department wait
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his source when I gave him all the
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details he just kept asking where are
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you getting this information I said it
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was from somebody who did not want to be
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identified this is not their mo you know
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we're investigating this are you gonna
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help me here who's your source and I've
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got to reveal my source to you these
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leads and I told him I wouldn't reveal
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my source he told me well then you're
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hindering your daughter's investigation
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and I'm not going to investigate this
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lead and to this day I don't know what
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they've done and probably will never
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know what they've done as far as
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investigating that lead the fact that
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she feels that we may not have
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investigated thoroughly enough or
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followed up on her confidential
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informants lead
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I don't believe to be true we followed
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up all the leads and if she believes
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that we haven't it might just be that we
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haven't filled her in on every single
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thing that we've done almost a full year
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to Bonnie's murder the case took an
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unexpected turn when Karen was contacted
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by one of Bonnie's college instructors
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hello yes she really felt that there was
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this one particular student that may
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have been involved in the murder
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according to Karen the instructor told
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her that her suspicions stem from
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reading the students class journal and
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the references he made to the date of
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Bonnie's murder September 28th Karen
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believes certain entries in the journal
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could be significant his journal was
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incredibly violent filled with anger and
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there was two incidents where he
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specifically said that September 28th
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was going to be a very tough day that he
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was going to be put to a test
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[Music]
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the instructor told Karen that on the
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day bonnie was murdered the student in
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question was absent his class this
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morning I'm sorry I just overslept there
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was supposed to be papers handed in that
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day and that student brought it to the
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teacher later on in the afternoon
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you ever slept the whole this I'm sorry
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he was wet like he had just gotten out
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of a shower and she said it smelled like
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he had just poured a whole bottle of
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Cologne on himself
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after the murder his journal became more
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peaceful there wasn't the anger yet he
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knew that there was a student that had
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just died and there was no references to
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Bonnie's murder detectives investigated
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the student but soon ruled him out as a
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suspect
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DNA evidence recovered from Bonnie at
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the scene did not match DNA evidence
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collected from the student at the
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college I immediately told them that
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didn't seem right to rule him out
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because of DNA because there could have
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been more than one person if there was
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two people it didn't have to be his DNA
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Karen did some sleuthing of her own and
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uncovered more disturbing information a
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particular student did have a assault
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charge against him and he had been
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bailed out of jail by a young man who
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had been involved in another murder I
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found it very surprising when I when I
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saw the bail slip who bailed this
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student this potential suspect out of
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jail the student and several other of
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his friends were involved in a fatal
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shooting here several years ago it
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doesn't sound like the type of group
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that a student who was up and up would
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have been involved with I do believe
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that he could have been the murderer and
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I'll probably never rule him out
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despite their disagreements both Karen
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and investigators do agree on one thing
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the key to this mystery might rest with
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Bonnie's routine a young lady who was a
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neighbor of hers who was a paper
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delivery type person saw her around 5:20
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walking down her street another
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gentleman who had seen Bonnie a couple
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of days prior in the area of the bus
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stop saw her again that morning and that
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was about the last time that we have a
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confirmation of anybody definitively
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seeing Bonnie alive was around 6:20 that
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morning could someone have been lying in
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wait for Bonnie Craig one neighbor
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reported seeing an unknown car idling in
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front of Bonnie's home early that
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morning and an anonymous caller to the
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police Crime Stoppers line claimed to
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have seen Bonnie that morning at the bus
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stop talking to two men in a vehicle
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Karen Campbell intends to do everything
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she can to keep the investigation alive
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until the crime is solved it just keeps
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going through your head that's somebody
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else's child will end up murdered and
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raped also so until this crime is solved
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you can't give up
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[Music]
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[Music]
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I told you before you had no right to
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take that money out of our town a bitter
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argument erupts on the streets of
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Covington Kentucky Diane washer and her
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husband Jimmy are added again a night of
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drinking has inflamed their already
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turbulent relationship your name and my
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name Diane wash when Jimmy washed her
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that evening were fighting over money
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and fighting over the fact that she had
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just received a ten thousand dollar SSI
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settlement due to her bad back
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as he approached her and they got into
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an argument she struck him with the
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phone on the pay phone called 9-1-1 and
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at by the time covington police got
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there jimmy washer had already left yeah
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they'd offer diane washer a ride she
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refused walked on down the street and in
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essence they they were the last ones to
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see her alive
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Diane inexplicably disappears the police
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immediately turn a suspicious eye on her
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husband Jimmy Jimmy washer was my number
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one suspect
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primarily because he hadn't reported her
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missing and I had asked mr. washer if he
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would consent to taking a polygraph in
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reference to his wife yes did you cause
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the death of Diane washer no the test
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was ruled inconclusive some of what he
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was answering was truthful some wasn't
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and there wasn't enough credibility to
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his answers to totally erased mr. washer
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as a suspect the investigation into
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Diane's disappears reaches a dead end
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her case is relegated among the many
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unsolved missing person cases on file in
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Kentucky's police departments
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three years pass outside of Covington
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sheriff's deputies searching for an
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illegal marijuana field make a grisly
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discovery a partially crushed human
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skull the seven other bone fragments are
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strewn throughout the creek bed whose
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bones are they and how did they get
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there for the answers the Covington
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police looked to dr. Emily Craig she is
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one of the foremost experts in forensic
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anthropology the science of identifying
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even the most badly decomposed human
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remains when the dead hold the key to a
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perplexing crime dr. Craig is often
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called upon to unravel the evidence I
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was able to determine that the bones
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hadn't been there that long the end of
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the long bone still had some remnants of
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soft tissue and the bones had kind of a
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greasy feel which indicates the
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post-mortem interval really hasn't been
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that many years
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and my initial estimate of the time
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since death was between 12 and 36 months
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[Music]
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once I got a good grasp of the crime
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scene and could see what a complex
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problem we had we decided to set up an
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additional search and recruit
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anthropology students from the area we
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did a line search of the area we started
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on the where the bones had been found
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and basically worked upstream
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complicating dr. Craig's effort was that
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the search area was where the county
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dumped its roadkill the stream was
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littered with the bones of dozens of
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animals still the search team was able
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to distinguish a total of 17 human bones
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among them once we got all the evidence
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back to the lab then we were able to get
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a better biological profile of the
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victim the sex she was female the race
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she was white I was able to get a good
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estimate of her height just a little
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over 5 feet tall and I also was able to
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determine from the bones of the skull
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that she had sustained massive head
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trauma at the time of death
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[Music]
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there was one particular bone that was
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intriguing and that was a bone from her
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lower back this particular bone showed a
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lot more arthritis some bony lipping and
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changes that were just not consistent
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with the rest of the skeleton so I was
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able to offer an opinion that this
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individual suffered from back pain from
00:19:01
their missing-persons files police found
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a match for the profile dr. Craig had
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assembled it was Diane washer a
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Covington woman who disappeared three
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years earlier her medical records
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indicated that shortly before she
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vanished she injured her back in a
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traffic collision when they called me
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and said they found the remains of my
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mom I totally went into shock I I mean I
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kind of knew she was dead by that point
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but like I said I carried on hope it did
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give me some sort of relief to know that
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my mother was dead and being able to
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barrier was great
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it did help a lot dr. Craig's findings
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sparked new public awareness of Diane's
00:19:48
case as police hoped an informant step
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forward but to their surprise he did not
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finger their prime suspect Diane's
00:19:57
husband Jimmy instead he said a local
00:20:00
house painter
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Larry Freeman was responsible for
00:20:03
Diane's death when police brought in
00:20:08
Larry Freeman for questioning
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he confessed he said he and Diane had
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gotten drunk together then went
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joyriding while driving he lost control
00:20:17
of his car and Diane was ejected from
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the passengers door when the vehicle
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finally came to a stop he went back to
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her solid her hair was blood-soaked and
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realized he had probably killed her it
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was at that point that he took her down
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to an area where he was raised where he
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felt comfortable and threw her into the
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creek
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Larry Freeman was convicted of
00:20:41
manslaughter and is now serving a
00:20:42
20-year sentence the mystery is one of
00:20:45
hundreds dr. Craig has helped solve the
00:20:47
despite her expertise other cases remain
00:20:50
too difficult to crack perhaps you can
00:20:54
help dr. Craig pieced together one of
00:20:55
the most perplexing of her career it
00:21:01
began when two teenagers were returning
00:21:03
from exploring caves in Barron County
00:21:05
Kentucky in the debris of a roadside
00:21:11
dump they discovered fragments of a
00:21:13
human skeleton the County Coroner called
00:21:17
dr. Craig to the scene at this scene
00:21:24
basically all we had when we first
00:21:26
started was a pair of red jeans with the
00:21:30
human leg bones still inside okay
00:21:36
see another arm bone and shin bone dr.
00:21:42
Krieg I think I found the skull
00:21:45
ultimately we were able to recover
00:21:47
almost the entire skeleton the skull is
00:21:51
the best indicator of race and sex you
00:21:54
look at the brow Ridge you look at the
00:21:56
nose you look at the chin the cheeks
00:21:58
just the general shape dr. Craig's
00:22:01
analysis of the skull would later
00:22:03
determine that the victim was a white
00:22:05
female in her early 40s and cut marks on
00:22:09
one of the bones indicated she may have
00:22:12
been stabbed to death that red stuff you
00:22:25
know it looks like a denim red jeans
00:22:28
dr. Craig hoped that the victims clothes
00:22:30
would yield additional clues she hoped
00:22:34
they might match the clothes indicated
00:22:36
in one of the local police's
00:22:37
missing-persons files when I got these
00:22:42
remains back to the lab I was able to do
00:22:44
a very detailed study and within a very
00:22:48
short time I found a file that almost
00:22:51
exactly matched age race sex height time
00:22:55
since death were indicative but
00:22:59
absolutely positive were the fact that
00:23:03
this victim was wearing red jeans white
00:23:06
tennis shoes and a button-down blouse
00:23:08
the file was at a 42 year old Nancy
00:23:11
daddy's minute before she disappeared
00:23:14
she had lost custody of her five
00:23:16
children in a bitter divorce heartbroken
00:23:19
she had come to Kentucky seeking a fresh
00:23:21
start
00:23:23
Nancy had vanished on a September night
00:23:25
two years earlier after her car had
00:23:27
broken down in Bowling Green Kentucky
00:23:30
she was planning on traveling high 65
00:23:33
North to meet a male friend of hers in
00:23:36
the in Annapolis Indiana area we did a
00:23:40
lot of background check
00:23:41
on this individual we was able to verify
00:23:43
that it was not possible that he would
00:23:47
be a suspect as far as this case is
00:23:49
concerned the hillside were Nancy's
00:23:53
remains were found was 30 miles from
00:23:55
where she was last seen the Barron
00:23:58
County authorities have no suspects but
00:24:00
believe only someone familiar with this
00:24:02
area of Kentucky would choose to place
00:24:05
her body there identifying the victim is
00:24:09
the first step in solving the crime
00:24:11
we've done this first step now we have
00:24:15
to find out who did it
00:24:16
[Music]
00:24:30
[Music]
00:24:38
[Music]
00:24:46
[Music]
00:24:48
dogs have been domesticated for
00:24:50
thousands of years and man continues to
00:24:53
rely on our canine companion sense of
00:24:55
smell whether finding someone who's lost
00:24:58
tracking a fugitive or sniffing out
00:25:00
explosives to strengthen accuracy of a
00:25:03
dog's nose is legendary if you were to
00:25:06
take a gigantic football stadium that
00:25:09
NFL teams play in and fill the entire
00:25:11
stadium with yellow tennis balls and had
00:25:13
one white tennis ball they can smell the
00:25:16
one white tennis ball in an entire
00:25:17
stadium using this powerful sense of
00:25:23
smell is it possible a dog that actually
00:25:25
diagnosed life-threatening illnesses for
00:25:28
these family pets possess hidden medical
00:25:30
talents you're about to meet two
00:25:33
incredible dogs whose owners offer
00:25:35
persuasive evidence that man's best
00:25:36
friend may be able to save lives in
00:25:38
mysterious ways hey got your lots of
00:25:44
working right now Nancy best seemed to
00:25:47
have it all in addition to being the
00:25:49
mother of three children
00:25:50
Nancy ran a thriving coffee business and
00:25:52
Garberville California in fact business
00:25:55
was going so well she had recently
00:25:57
opened a new shop
00:26:03
despite Nancy's hectic lifestyle her
00:26:06
beloved dog Mia was never far from her
00:26:08
side she'd acquired the yellow lab as a
00:26:10
puppy the friend of mine saw the dogs
00:26:14
and called me and me it was the first
00:26:18
dog that ran up to me at the time I
00:26:19
didn't know if I wanted a boy or a girl
00:26:21
until she came up to me and I fell in
00:26:24
love with her instantly yes and you were
00:26:26
such a good dog
00:26:27
Nancy's mornings were spent running the
00:26:29
coffeehouse but about one o'clock each
00:26:35
afternoon that's he set aside an hour
00:26:37
just for herself and Mia I would drive
00:26:41
home and lay on the couch and take a nap
00:26:43
before I have to pick up my daughter
00:26:45
from school so I can recharge my
00:26:47
batteries for the rest of the day then
00:26:50
one afternoon out of the blue Mia began
00:26:53
acting strangely she came up and started
00:26:57
sniffing and licking at my breast and
00:27:00
because she was eight months pregnant I
00:27:02
thought maybe she was kind of wigging
00:27:04
out or maybe smelled food from the Java
00:27:06
joint so I didn't pay any attention to
00:27:10
it I just went and told her to lay down
00:27:14
[Music]
00:27:19
but Mia was persistent the following
00:27:22
evening as Nancy was struggling to fall
00:27:24
asleep
00:27:25
Mia began tugging at the bed covers she
00:27:29
started biting my shirt away like a dog
00:27:31
bites fleas little tiny nibbles and was
00:27:33
trying to pull my shirt away from my
00:27:35
from my body I was starting to get upset
00:27:40
with her desperate for her much-needed
00:27:43
sleep
00:27:44
Nancy banished Mia to the backyard the
00:27:52
following day during Nancy's afternoon
00:27:54
break
00:27:55
Mia repeated the same behavior but this
00:27:58
time Nancy finally received me as a
00:28:00
parent message
00:28:01
Mia jumped up on my lap while I was
00:28:04
sitting up and over their nose into my
00:28:06
chest and the force of the pressure of
00:28:08
her nose made me rub it because it hurt
00:28:10
and when I rubbed it is when I felt the
00:28:12
lump Nancy was stunned to discover a
00:28:16
lump in one of her breasts I had had a
00:28:19
negative breast exam by a physician just
00:28:22
four months prior
00:28:23
there was no cancer in my family I was
00:28:26
39 not old enough for a routine
00:28:28
mammogram so I was thinking this
00:28:30
couldn't be cancer but the lump felt
00:28:32
very odd it was quite large
00:28:39
medical tests showed Nancy had what
00:28:41
appeared to be a cancerous tumor in her
00:28:43
breast
00:28:43
the subsequent lumpectomy confirmed her
00:28:46
worst fears
00:28:47
Nancy had been stricken with a stage 2
00:28:49
invasive ductal carcinoma an aggressive
00:28:52
form of breast cancer in the midst of
00:28:57
her health concerns Nancy couldn't help
00:28:59
thinking about me as unusual recent
00:29:01
behavior
00:29:02
I remembered the days prior where she
00:29:08
was sniffing and licking at the spot it
00:29:10
was like she was anxious to come in and
00:29:11
say you know would you listen to me when
00:29:14
I first heard about Nancy best case I
00:29:16
talked to an oncologist at the Mayo
00:29:18
Clinic about that and one of the things
00:29:19
that we surmised there was that there
00:29:21
was a certain smell that was being
00:29:24
secreted the type of tumor that she had
00:29:25
in her breast may have had a certain
00:29:27
kind of an odor you have to remember
00:29:28
this kind of breed a dog is actually
00:29:30
used for hunting you know they have a
00:29:31
very sensitive nose Nancy underwent a
00:29:38
partial mastectomy months of
00:29:40
chemotherapy and radiation therapy
00:29:42
followed she has been cancer-free since
00:29:45
2000 the doctor believes that had this
00:29:48
cancer not been detected at this time
00:29:50
within six months it could have entered
00:29:52
my lymph nodes and I would have died
00:29:55
needless to say the experiences forged
00:29:58
an even stronger bond between Nancy and
00:30:00
her remarkable dog Nia I'm not the kind
00:30:04
of person that believes in flying
00:30:05
saucers but I do believe that miracles
00:30:08
happen and things happen for a reason
00:30:09
and there was a reason that I got Mia
00:30:12
there was a reason she became part of my
00:30:14
life and I believe that because of her
00:30:17
I'm alive today
00:30:18
and I love her
00:30:21
[Music]
00:30:27
if it's possible for a dog to sniff out
00:30:29
an early cancer diagnosis
00:30:31
are there other unexplainable and even
00:30:33
more profound life-saving powers a pet
00:30:36
can offer its master
00:30:38
Darlene were Meyer of Spokane Washington
00:30:40
believes her dog shadow is the most
00:30:43
vital prescription she's ever received
00:30:46
he was the best medicine that I could
00:30:51
have ever taken if it was in a pill form
00:30:53
he'd be a miracle drug in 1991 Darlene
00:31:00
was diagnosed with diabetes which
00:31:01
triggered a series of medical setbacks
00:31:04
while recovering from subsequent
00:31:06
open-heart surgery Darlene suffered a
00:31:09
stroke for a time she lost her ability
00:31:12
to speak
00:31:13
[Music]
00:31:18
by 2001 she had recovered her speech
00:31:21
that struggled with an awkward stuttered
00:31:23
while attending a family reunion the
00:31:25
anxiety of being in a crowd made that
00:31:27
stutter even worse I was so nervous I
00:31:31
couldn't talk again and this little
00:31:35
schnauzer named Maggie came up to me and
00:31:38
started licking my hand I started
00:31:40
petting her she got in my lap and I
00:31:45
noticed as long as I sat and started
00:31:47
petting her I could talk so much easier
00:31:53
it was phenomenal so phenomenal that as
00:31:57
soon as she returned home
00:31:58
Darlene scheduled an appointment with
00:32:00
her neurologist he's like yeah I know
00:32:05
about dogs I know how they can help
00:32:08
there's been lots of studies done so he
00:32:12
wrote a written prescription for a dog
00:32:18
so on doctor's orders Darlene adopted a
00:32:21
Schnauzer of her own and shadow became a
00:32:23
member of her family the bond between
00:32:30
Darlene and shadow quickly grew and
00:32:32
while petting shadow daddy's speech
00:32:35
significantly improved to the amazement
00:32:37
of her doctor we don't fully understand
00:32:41
why dogs have such an effect on people
00:32:45
but in Darlene's case she felt very calm
00:32:50
dog perhaps you know paying attention to
00:32:53
the to the animal heading and the
00:32:56
sensory effects of that could be
00:32:58
actually just putting her more into a
00:33:00
meditative trance
00:33:01
[Music]
00:33:05
a short time after adopting shadow
00:33:08
darlene learned what an extraordinary
00:33:10
animal he was as Christmas nears dotty
00:33:16
spent hours baking holiday cookies when
00:33:23
a wave of exhaustion hit her she knew
00:33:26
she needed to get off her feet
00:33:27
Darlene quickly dozed off but shadow was
00:33:32
alarmed by something and would not allow
00:33:34
Darlene to sleep he starts spying at me
00:33:40
he wouldn't leave me alone i sat up in
00:33:43
the room just spun uncertain why shadow
00:33:49
was upset
00:33:50
Darlene checked the glucose level of her
00:33:52
blood it was dangerously low if a
00:33:58
diabetics blood sugar level falls too
00:34:00
low they can trigger unconsciousness or
00:34:02
even a coma
00:34:04
Darlene's ever-present canine companion
00:34:07
and somehow diagnosed her medical
00:34:09
dilemma before Darlene was even aware of
00:34:11
it and he continues to provide her with
00:34:13
medical alerts to this day
00:34:17
Shadow has helped Darlene in in many
00:34:20
different ways not only in her safety as
00:34:23
far as being able to detect the low
00:34:25
blood sugar but also it just in her
00:34:27
general life
00:34:28
Darlene now is able to walk without a
00:34:31
cane she's able to function than do the
00:34:34
things that she wants to do on a daily
00:34:35
basis the lives of Darlene were Mayra
00:34:39
Nancy best were saved by the mysterious
00:34:42
powers of their dog the ability of these
00:34:46
dogs to detect a seizure or detect
00:34:48
cancer it's probably equal parts their
00:34:51
incredible sense of smell their
00:34:53
incredible ability to read body language
00:34:55
and then kind of what I call not just a
00:34:58
sixth sense but a sixth sense and that's
00:35:00
that ability to know when something's
00:35:02
just not quite quite right and then the
00:35:04
ability to draw near to help them
00:35:08
we shouldn't be so amazed that pets are
00:35:11
able to do this we should be amazed on
00:35:13
the amount that we don't know that
00:35:14
they're able to do an off duty Park
00:35:27
Ranger was heading out of Harpers Ferry
00:35:28
historic park in Virginia at about 11
00:35:31
p.m. when something caught her eye near
00:35:34
the trash bin was a large steamer trunk
00:35:37
alone and without a radio she decided to
00:35:40
postpone investigating until she
00:35:42
returned to work the next morning it
00:35:46
would be hours later when deputy Clark
00:35:48
Jackson was making his rounds through
00:35:50
the National Park that the contents of
00:35:52
the trunk would be revealed I saw the
00:35:55
black trunk just sitting right there
00:35:57
right past the barricade and that's when
00:35:59
I got out wonder Neath the barricade bye
00:36:05
nudge that with my foot and notice it
00:36:07
was very heavy
00:36:15
I've lifted the top of the trunk off and
00:36:20
there was a duffel bag in it so in zip
00:36:22
the duffel bag and there was another
00:36:24
duffel bag in it and it was a fleeting
00:36:26
moment in the back of my mind where I
00:36:28
said what be strained if there was a
00:36:29
body in this bag
00:36:32
[Music]
00:36:37
and unzip the second duffel bag and
00:36:40
there was a body in the second duffel
00:36:42
bag I couldn't believe I found a body
00:36:45
it's deputy Jackson we said overlooked
00:36:49
officer Jackson immediately called for
00:36:52
backup
00:36:53
I turned my LE lights on and takedown
00:36:56
lights on just to give me a little more
00:36:59
light I didn't know if someone was
00:37:01
watching me in the woods it made me feel
00:37:04
a bit more comfortable having some
00:37:05
security with those lights over the next
00:37:11
several hours authorities conducted a
00:37:13
complete search of the area crime scene
00:37:16
specialist photographed the site
00:37:17
including a body of an elderly man
00:37:19
inside the trunk detectives were called
00:37:25
in to investigate a quest to identify
00:37:28
the body began the trunk with his human
00:37:35
remains was wrapped and taken to the
00:37:37
coroner's office
00:37:40
[Music]
00:37:47
when he was taken to the morgue and
00:37:49
removed the position he was in his knees
00:37:52
were up against his chest and he was
00:37:54
folded into the duffel bag placed into
00:37:57
this trunk which is only 31 inches long
00:38:00
and 15 and 15 and a half inches high
00:38:02
this is a steamer trunk he appeared to
00:38:25
be tremendously underweight turned out
00:38:28
he did weigh 111 pounds and was 5 foot 7
00:38:31
a very scrawny stubble beard somewhat
00:38:36
unkempt and emaciated looking the corner
00:38:43
would soon discover large doses of a
00:38:45
tranquilizer in the man's system and
00:38:47
that he died from strangulation
00:38:51
who is the underly man found on the
00:38:54
steamer trunk and who killed him these
00:38:57
key questions and mystified detectives
00:39:00
for more than five years according to
00:39:02
experts that is possible a man as one of
00:39:04
thousands of elderly victims whose
00:39:06
murders go undetected and those killers
00:39:09
go unpunished every year the reason the
00:39:13
offenders are relatives care providers
00:39:15
or even their own children when people
00:39:20
get to a certain age they are expected
00:39:24
to die in those deaths do not raise any
00:39:26
eyebrows the senior population is a
00:39:29
fastest growing sector in the nation as
00:39:32
they become infirm they are often cared
00:39:34
for in nursing facilities or by
00:39:36
relatives America's top authority and
00:39:39
abuse of the agent believes over 3,000
00:39:41
elderly people are murdered every year
00:39:44
perhaps this is the case with men in the
00:39:47
trunk because he was generally unkempt
00:39:50
and appearing to be uncared-for relief
00:39:53
of burden homicide may be applicable
00:39:56
here that is someone simply got tired of
00:39:59
caring for the man and decided it was
00:40:01
time for him to die
00:40:08
the second category that might be
00:40:10
involved here is murder for profit where
00:40:13
someone has gained control of him really
00:40:16
doesn't care about him because obviously
00:40:18
it was not well cared for but it was
00:40:20
simply keeping him around for a while to
00:40:23
make sure that they had gained absolute
00:40:25
control of all of the assets financial
00:40:28
assets that could be gotten control
00:40:35
detectives speculated as to the motive
00:40:37
behind leaving the trunk in the open
00:40:39
near the trashcan
00:40:43
that man was put out near a trash dump
00:40:48
or where trash was thrown away so it
00:40:52
might well be that the offender in this
00:40:56
particular case thought that he might
00:40:59
the man in the trunk might simply be
00:41:02
picked up by a trash truck and taken to
00:41:05
a landfill
00:41:06
unlike the victim in the trunk most
00:41:09
murders of the elderly are disguised as
00:41:11
a death by natural cause
00:41:13
authorities aren't as likely to be aware
00:41:15
of foul play
00:41:16
unless an autopsy is conducted 1% or
00:41:21
less of elder deaths are subjected to a
00:41:24
post-mortem examination absent bullet
00:41:28
holes knife wounds karate obvious signs
00:41:32
of trauma those cases are immediately
00:41:35
concluded to be natural deaths so there
00:41:40
are very very few post-mortem
00:41:41
examinations conducted over the airplane
00:41:43
in the case of John Doe detectives hoped
00:41:46
an autopsy would lead not only to clues
00:41:48
about how the victim died but more
00:41:51
importantly to who he may be the hardest
00:41:54
part of this investigation has been
00:41:56
getting him identified and were stymied
00:42:00
the whole rest of the investigation is
00:42:03
timing because we cannot get him
00:42:05
identify identifying the victim could
00:42:08
lead police to his killer so the body
00:42:11
became their key piece of evidence his
00:42:14
dental records have been entered into
00:42:16
the National Crime Information computer
00:42:18
his fingerprints were taken and we had
00:42:20
them the manual search by the FBI
00:42:25
yielded negative results at one point
00:42:29
detectives were hopeful they could name
00:42:31
the man by tracking the serial number
00:42:33
found on a micro valve implanted in his
00:42:35
heart during a previous surgery the
00:42:39
micro valve flexible ring came with a
00:42:43
little 3 by 5 card for the physicians to
00:42:46
fill out
00:42:47
the serial number was on the card once
00:42:51
they used it they were supposed to send
00:42:53
the cards back in this way of tracking
00:42:56
unfortunately not all physicians
00:42:58
returned the cards and no match could be
00:43:00
found because detectives efforts have
00:43:04
been stalled they have asked us to show
00:43:06
you the only photo available of the
00:43:08
victim one taken during his autopsy
00:43:10
although difficult to view it is
00:43:13
considered by authorities to be the best
00:43:15
hope for a positive identification this
00:43:20
photo was taken of the deceased in the
00:43:22
coroner's lab the FBI also commissioned
00:43:26
this computer enhanced picture of the
00:43:28
victim officials hope they will spark
00:43:31
someone's memory the most bothersome
00:43:34
part of the case is that someone has for
00:43:38
the last five years got away with this
00:43:40
so far and that they could do it again
00:43:44
the hardest thing about this is I
00:43:46
suppose then is that it's really typical
00:43:50
of what is occurring in too many areas
00:43:53
of the country and that is that even our
00:43:56
elderly have become a throwaway item in
00:44:01
our society
00:44:04
[Music]
00:44:14
[Music]
00:44:22
[Music]
00:44:28
[Music]
00:44:33
for every mystery there is something
00:44:36
somewhere who holds the key join me for
00:44:39
the next edition of unsolved mysteries
00:44:42
[Music]
00:44:55
[Music]
00:45:06
[Music]
00:45:17
[Applause]
00:45:18
[Music]
00:45:19
[Applause]
00:45:21
[Music]
