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[Music]
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this program is about unsolved mysteries
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whenever possible the actual family
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members and police officials have
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participated in recreating the events
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what you are about to see is not a news
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broadcast just two months ago a
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kind-hearted truck driver in Virginia
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treated a young homeless man to a hot
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meal incredibly this chance encounter
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has now become a key piece of evidence
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in the strange case of 28 year old John
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cheeky cheek a Memphis businessman
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mysteriously dropped from sight in
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December of 1993
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just days before finalizing a deal that
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would have made him a millionaire now
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his family needs your help to fight Earl
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and Donna Chuck backs scrimped and saved
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for years to build a log cabin home of
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their own but when they handed over
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their life savings to a smooth-talking
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contractor named Mark Mitchell the chat
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box never guessed that they'd become the
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latest victims of a lucrative million
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dollar scam in 1917 three peasant
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children and Fatima Portugal claimed
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they were visited several times by a
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vision of the Virgin Mary
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during the controversy that followed
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they revealed that the Virgin would make
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one final appearance and perform on
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great miracle many of the 70,000
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religious pilgrims who came for the
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occasion were not disappointed tonight
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we'll take you to Portugal to
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investigate the fabled miracles of
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Fatima
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[Music]
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join to these intriguing new stories and
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more another edition on songs
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in
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Mexico City has visited each year by
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millions of Catholic Gogol's according
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to legend it was on this very spot that
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the Virgin Mary Mother of Jesus Christ
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appeared to a Christian convert in 1531
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Catholic authorities have judged the
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vision to be a miracle worthy of belief
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millions also make the pilgrimage to the
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Basilica at Lourdes France where
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Catholic tradition says the Virgin Mary
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appeared in 1858 and then there is
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Fatima Portugal it was here in 1917 that
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many believe the Virgin Mary made her
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most dramatic appearance seen by three
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peasant children 10 year-old Lucia
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Santos and her two younger cousins just
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seem to have that Francis Kumar - their
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extraordinary account began in the quiet
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solitude of rural Portugal where the
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following scenes were filmed May 13th
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1917 a sunsha the small farming
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community of family Lucia son - she and
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her cousins had taken their sheep to an
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area known as a Cove area land owned by
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Lucia's family as a flock grazed the
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children began to play
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he stopped orbiting Ghana for cinema
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period the are both the room Jenna
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didn't they were building a little wall
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around a tree you know when there was a
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flash of light in thon lesibians and
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Lucia thought the flash was a sign of
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rain now sue when she thought that he
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was lightning so she said let's go home
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so we don't get caught by the rain the
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children glimpsed a second flash of
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lightning which heralded something far
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greater than a rainstorm no chessmen
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according to Lucia the glowing figure
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said she had come from heaven and that
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she would not harm them your cake wasn't
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sealed get him but a blue screen has a
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key says Mr secatur 2003 Ashton
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Rogers did I guess only okay
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yet the move-up yourself first you just
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see them the lady told you see that she
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and her two cousins would be called a
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heaven she then asked the children to be
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her messengers and warned them that in
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doing so they would endure great
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hardships second acceptance the
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astonishing visitation was over but
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Lucia santosh and her cousins had become
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the key figures in an episode that is
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now regarded as one of the great
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miracles of Catholicism six times Lucy
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would claim the Virgin Mary appeared to
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them on the sixth occasion tens of
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thousands were on hand for a final
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dazzling spectacle not everyone however
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was inspired by the rumors of a miracle
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Lucy's mother was in fact furious that
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her daughter's involvement by ABC series
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just internal freaky I was to go meet
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her mother punished or every now and
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again in quantum shoe Almar to Lucy as
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cousin was then a young boy it wasn't
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that her mother was bad but she wanted
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to have her daughter to say that this
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was a lie but Lucia kept saying how can
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I say it was a lie if I actually saw her
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Valusia Santosh the suffering predicted
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by the lady had begun but even in the
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face of her family's hostility
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Lucia returned with her cousins to the
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Cova area On June 13 they were joined by
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some 50 villagers drawn by rumors of the
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impending visitation once again the
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three children said the lady from heaven
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appeared to them as in the first
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visitation only Lucia spoke to the
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vision Lucas
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although some claimed that an unusual
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cloud of light was visible no one else
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saw the lady from heaven deep seeded to
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make losses hospital sale
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[Music]
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the difference is whoever's in live
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mr. fish come as a hotel
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when news of the second episode reached
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Lucy's mother she was still outraged to
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find her daughter involved in what she
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regarded as a hoax to [ __ ] she her
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mother said you're going to go to the
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priest and you're going to confess to
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him in front of the altar in the church
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that you lied in an act of startling
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disobedience for the timing slips
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ten-year-old Lucia Santos
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refused to discuss the lady from heaven
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with Fatima's parish priest Father
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Emmanuel for her
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[Music]
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[Music]
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no but ask session worthless on sim
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father fajita found himself on a
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politically delicate position campaign s
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the government saw the Catholic Church
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is a bitter rival for the public's
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loyalty fajita feared any endorsement of
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Lucia's claims will be taken as an
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attempt to boost the church's influence
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and would bring the wrath of the
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politicians upon him the church for
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example could be taken over by the
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government in the sense that the
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government would seize all of the church
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property in Portugal there was the
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possibility of the government physically
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removing bishops imprisoning them or
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sending them out of the country that was
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done with some bishops not all so there
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are many things that the government
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could do well obviously for a 10 year
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old child be the word of a priest was an
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important thing to hear Lucia left the
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church with a very big problem at you
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she had to admit that maybe the demon
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had got into her that Villa this was an
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illusion created by the devil the
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Potomac met perhaps her mother was
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riding my that she hadn't really seen
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anything at all in her memoirs which she
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began writing when she was 28
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Lucia santosh described her tortured
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internal debate as I heard people say
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that the
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always brings conflict and disorder I
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began to think that truly ever since I
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had started seeing these things
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our home was no longer the same for joy
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and peace had fled what anguish I felt
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[Music]
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July 13th 1917 the appointed day for the
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third appearance by now word of the
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miraculous visions had spread pilgrims
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clogged the road leading to the Cova and
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many besieged Lucia to intervene with a
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lady from heaven on their behalf at
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12:00 noon the lady once again appeared
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at once again only to the three children
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cream Tsubaki
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for photo Malaga 2002 kaydee Brussels to
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Paris
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the lady reminded Lucia to return at
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noon on the 13th day of each month she
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also promised that on her sixth
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appearance she would perform a miracle
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for all to see and believe the lady from
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heaven then invoked a terrifying vision
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of Hell which Lucia would later describe
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in her memoirs plunged in this fire were
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demons and souls in uniform and shrieks
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and groans of pain and despair which
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horrified us and made us tremble with
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fear
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[Music]
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Lucia claims a specter of hell was the
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lady's warning that God was offended by
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recent events in Europe world war one
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was then in his third relentless year
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the lady predicted that the war would
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soon end only to be replaced by a more
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serious threat Russia
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Lucia knew nothing of that nation or its
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revolution but she claimed the lady Dean
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Russia and offense to God
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many believe these words anticipated the
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rise of an atheistic government the
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Communists according to Lucia the lady
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promised another destructive war if
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Russia was not restored to faith
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Lucia said the lady from heaven made one
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other pronouncement but was adamant that
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Lucia keep it a secret
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one month later Lucia's will would be
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severely tested
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August 13th the day of the fourth
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appearance a local government
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administrator
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Arturo Santos offered to personally
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escort Lucia
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and to the cove
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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the abductions a stunning turn of events
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Lucia and her cousins were whisked away
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to an uncertain fate that a government
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prison some nine miles from Fatima the
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administrator was convinced the children
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were perpetrating a hoax at the behest
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of the church and he was certain he
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could coax a lady's secret if there was
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such a thing from young Lucia Nativity
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I'll tell you at the allows for an
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estate of Rivera was its approach where
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you tell me
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[Music]
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[Music]
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and our in the produces the container
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- screams - March guess different
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dissipation kills
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[Music]
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you're privy to you notice new technical
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data the torment lasted for three days
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all the while the children's families
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and angry villagers clamored at the
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walls
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finally the administrator had no choice
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but to admit his failure he allowed the
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children to return home according to
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Lucia Santosh the lady from heaven
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appeared a fourth time and a fifth is
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scheduled as the date for the sixth
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appearance approached excitement built
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to a fever pitch October 13th 1917 the
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day of the long-awaited miracle dawn wet
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and miserable thousands descended on
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Fatima they will humored crowd milled
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impatiently outside of Lucia's home
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there were even mutterings of reprisals
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against Lucia if no miracle took place
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these photographs show some of the
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estimated 70-thousand on lookers who
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gathered that day many had come from
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hundreds of miles away
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soon after Lucia arrived at the Cove
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area a torrential downpour had come to
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an end
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the huge crowd included both the
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carriers and the faithful shepherds and
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servants mingled with the nobility also
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in attendance were sceptical reporters
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from the major newspapers the local
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priest fearing a public fiasco that
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would embarrass the church was among the
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most vocal of the doubters George
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yeah pastor to media let's get us out of
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a shadow what some sickly kid the unruly
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crowd grew silent as Lucia began to
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speak although to the onlookers she
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appeared to be talking at a thin air but
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English quizzes paribas eat
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[Music]
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the corridors the wins Yokoso losers
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the best producer scouts
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and then put also
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[Music]
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according to many eyewitness accounts
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the Sun began to anjali ribbons of
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multicolored lights shooting across the
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heavens then suddenly the Sun seemed to
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fall
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[Music]
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later many eyewitnesses would say that
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they feared being scorched the crowd
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watched dumbstruck as a son abruptly
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reversed course and returned to his
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rightful place in the sky the miracle of
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the Sun and Fatima is certainly the most
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spectacular physical manifestation
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physical miracle that has been
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associated with our lady she had to
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manifest her presence in a grand manner
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in a very convincing and spectacular
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manner because it was important that
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people all over the world should believe
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what she had said the awesome celestial
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displays supposedly lasted for 12
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minutes accounts from within a 600
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square mile area around Fatima
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substantiate at many of the first-hand
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descriptions but incredibly some
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eyewitnesses at the Cova claim they saw
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absolutely nothing out of the ordinary
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still history is favored the more
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spectacular accounts Avellino de almeida
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the editor of a government control
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newspaper came to Fatima a confirmed
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skeptic and left a believer at the hour
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foretold the rain ceased to fall the
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dense mass of clouds parted and the Sun
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began to whirl around in a while and
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violent dance with such lovely glowing
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colors passing successively over the
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sun's surface
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in years to come the events of October
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13 would be the subject of considerable
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debate some dismissed the spectacle as a
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textbook case of mass hysteria but many
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found the eyewitness accounts to be
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credible that word spread across Europe
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and around the world today a basilica
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stands for lucia under cousins claimed
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to have seen the lady from heaven in
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1930 the catholic church recognized the
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offense at Fatima as a miracle worthy of
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belief Jacinta and Francisco Martin did
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not live to witnesses official
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confirmation both died during a
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worldwide influenza epidemic within
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three years of the visions many believed
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it was a fulfillment of the Virgin's
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promise that they would soon be called
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to heaven
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[Music]
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over the decades
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Fatima's call to the faithful has grown
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ever more powerful the tide of pilgrims
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are swelled from the thousands who
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joined Lucia in 1917 to several million
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in recent years even those who remain
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skeptical of miracles puzzled over the
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mystifying events at Fatima and the
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ten-year-old girl who many believe was
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chosen to be God's messenger while there
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were some who admired me and considered
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me a saint
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there were always others who called me a
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hypocrite and a sorceress they are all
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mistaken I am NOT a saint and I am NOT a
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liar only God knows what I am
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many believeth the lady from heaven
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predicted some of the most important
00:19:37
events of the 20th century the end of
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World War one the onset of World War two
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the rise and fall of communism in Europe
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even the assassination attempt against
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Pope John Paul the second which took
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place on May 13 1981 sixty-four years to
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the day after the appearance of the
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first vision to the sceptical is all
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simply coincidence to the faithful it is
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proof that a miracle did occur at Fatima
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when we return a family's dream of
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building a home is snuffed out by a
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smooth talking con artist
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well kids let's get up here and look at
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the view all right
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marks it is hard to imagine a more
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beautiful setting for a hole than this
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meadow in Steamboat Springs Colorado 200
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miles northwest of Denver it was here on
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six acres of land that Earl and Donna
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chuck legs planned to build their dream
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home several years had scrimped and
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saved until they finally had enough to
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begin construction modern-day log cabin
00:20:53
similar to this one selves and their two
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children but in 1991 the chat VAX hopes
00:21:01
came crashing down
00:21:02
shattered not by accident or act of God
00:21:05
but by the deeds of this man a
00:21:07
sophisticated con on his to call himself
00:21:09
Mark Mitchell
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[Music]
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girl here's an ad about a log home
00:21:15
company that needs funds in April of
00:21:18
that year Earl and Donna
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Astrid an innocent-looking newspaper ad
00:21:22
and talked to the owner of Colorado log
00:21:25
horns mark Mitchell well you know
00:21:27
they're a word kind of a young business
00:21:29
but we do have a couple of clients up
00:21:30
there in Breckenridge I could it seemed
00:21:32
like a great opportunity for us because
00:21:35
the company supposedly was growing which
00:21:37
is one of the reasons that we really
00:21:39
started going with this company instead
00:21:42
of a more established company somewhere
00:21:44
else
00:21:46
Mitchell's plan was simple the chat VAX
00:21:49
would invest $25,000 in his growing
00:21:51
business in return Mitchell will give
00:21:55
them a large discount on the
00:21:56
construction of their log cabin twenty
00:21:58
five thousand plus the twenty five
00:22:00
thousand dollar investment would be
00:22:02
returned with interest on our
00:22:03
twenty-five thousand dollars off the
00:22:05
price your home
00:22:11
in early May an architect and a salesman
00:22:14
from Mitchell's office came up to
00:22:16
inspect the chatbox property they looked
00:22:20
at different views from our property and
00:22:23
kept using the word stunning they could
00:22:25
build us a stunning home if you're ready
00:22:28
to go with this girl I have a contract
00:22:30
with me right here well you know we've
00:22:33
got the money down at the bank and after
00:22:35
the chat box attorney approved the
00:22:37
country Earl and Doug would handle over
00:22:39
a 25 thousand dollar deposit to
00:22:41
Mitchell's sesemann we had been saving
00:22:45
money and living very frugally from the
00:22:49
moment we got married so when we gave
00:22:52
them the $25,000 that was our whole
00:22:56
dream all right now this is my copy
00:22:59
that's your home that's mine okay come
00:23:02
on I'll buy you lunch okay it seemed
00:23:07
like we'd been waiting for such a long
00:23:09
time and and it was all coming true and
00:23:13
they said it was real and we believed
00:23:15
them
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the log yard at Mitchells Denver
00:23:25
headquarters gave every appearance of
00:23:27
legitimacy workers process hundreds of
00:23:33
lawns and the shells of cabins were
00:23:35
carefully preassembled supposedly each
00:23:38
shell would later be taken apart trucked
00:23:41
to a building site and reassembled on a
00:23:43
concrete foundation laid by one initials
00:23:45
group
00:23:50
but after eight weeks it was absolutely
00:23:52
no progress at Earl and Donna's property
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the critical job of measuring and
00:23:57
pouring the foundation had yet to begin
00:23:59
the chaat facts made the four-hour drive
00:24:02
to Mitchell's log yard in Denver to see
00:24:04
for themselves what was wrong
00:24:06
[Music]
00:24:09
temporarily however mark Mitchell was
00:24:13
able to lay their anxieties to rest they
00:24:20
had started our shell and it seemed to
00:24:23
have all the basic things that were in
00:24:26
our plans and Earl measured it and the
00:24:29
kids you know we took pictures of
00:24:30
ourselves inside of it
00:24:33
and
00:24:34
whoa just seemed real exciting you know
00:24:37
it seemed like it was really happening
00:24:38
down so of course then we were we were
00:24:41
backed up but weeks more passed without
00:24:46
any construction of the property it took
00:24:50
a siege of phone calls for Earl and
00:24:52
honor to convince Mitchell to dispatch a
00:24:54
work group
00:24:58
they sent an excavator up and we pound
00:25:02
it in the nails and measured where the
00:25:04
corners of the house were and stood in
00:25:07
the spot where the living room was going
00:25:09
to be and imagined our view this is the
00:25:11
foundation so where you'll be the first
00:25:13
floor will be up here with the windows
00:25:14
will be here we were starting to think
00:25:15
well it's not gonna be done by Christmas
00:25:18
but it might be done by March we still
00:25:20
really didn't believe that it wasn't
00:25:24
going to happen
00:25:27
sorry I have to keep you waiting please
00:25:29
come and have a seat on October 1st the
00:25:33
bitter reality finally hit Earl and
00:25:35
Donna they had applied to their local
00:25:37
bank for a construction and were stunned
00:25:40
to discover that the request had been
00:25:42
denied well I'm afraid the news isn't
00:25:45
good
00:25:45
now it has nothing to do with you - the
00:25:49
problem is with the Builder it appears
00:25:51
this man is in some serious trouble he
00:25:53
has been taking deposit money just as he
00:25:55
did yours and then has not started
00:25:57
construction on the homes at
00:26:00
matter-of-fact mark Mitchell is not even
00:26:03
his real name
00:26:03
it's Wade Mitchell Parker I'm awfully
00:26:07
sorry I wish there was something more
00:26:09
that I could do at that point he could
00:26:11
find it I felt nauseous I mean I
00:26:15
suddenly just was sick feeling as though
00:26:20
we were going to lose all the money that
00:26:23
we had given to mark Mitchell
00:26:29
on October 5th 1991 Don under once again
00:26:33
drove to Colorado log homes where they
00:26:35
had a 10:00 a.m. appointment with a man
00:26:37
they now knew as Wade Mitchell Parker he
00:26:41
showed up more than two hours late hey
00:26:44
I've been waiting for it almost two and
00:26:46
a half sorry
00:26:47
get to a bowl and I'm sorry my secretary
00:26:48
you gonna call this boy we left home III
00:26:50
tried I'm sorry just got miles to get
00:26:53
down here I know what I'm sorry let's go
00:26:54
inside and we'll talk about what I got
00:26:56
yeah well you know nothing's been ever
00:26:58
with our log show yeah we we got what's
00:27:00
going on around welljust
00:27:02
Earl just a little hang up if we go and
00:27:04
sit down and cool off a little make a
00:27:06
couple phone calls we'll get your money
00:27:07
out here to you we'll get it all done
00:27:10
no no I don't have our money no I didn't
00:27:13
I know but let's wait Parker agreed to
00:27:15
refund Earl and Donna's deposit claiming
00:27:18
to be short of cash he gave them a
00:27:20
promissory note essentially a $25,000
00:27:23
IOU
00:27:25
[Music]
00:27:28
what this just please we are still
00:27:31
trying to be nice about it but I think
00:27:34
deep down inside are you really probably
00:27:37
we were never gonna see her - all
00:27:41
wrapped up that'll be the end of it we
00:27:42
finished up the meeting and we left and
00:27:44
that's that's the last time we ever saw
00:27:47
him I spoke to him maybe three or four
00:27:51
types after that on the telephone but we
00:27:53
never saw him again
00:27:54
[Music]
00:27:59
within the month Wade Mitchell Parker
00:28:02
declared bankruptcy and disappeared the
00:28:05
chat box never received a dime and they
00:28:08
soon discovered that they were not the
00:28:10
only people taken in by the con man
00:28:16
in November of 1991 the chaat facts
00:28:20
joined more than 30 at Parker's other
00:28:21
victims at a meeting organized by
00:28:23
Colorado authorities as a group their
00:28:27
total loss exceeded 1 million dollars
00:28:34
and I got my plans and I guess those
00:28:37
probably were worth about $1,000 and I
00:28:41
lost $9,000 I expected to have a log
00:28:44
home for mark I'd expected to have my
00:28:47
$20,000 back and I expected all of this
00:28:49
to happen within a very expedient amount
00:28:52
of time and it didn't happen so I lost
00:28:55
almost $25,000 and I don't have a log
00:28:57
home what did he tell you about the land
00:29:00
and Bennett when we finally came to
00:29:03
terms with the fact that we lost the
00:29:05
money we felt stupid we just felt like
00:29:08
we had done a stupid thing and when we
00:29:11
realized that lots of big-time people
00:29:15
not just the naive young couple with two
00:29:18
small children a lot of big-time people
00:29:21
lost a lot of money too we didn't feel
00:29:24
quite so stupid
00:29:27
a number of people have asked us whether
00:29:30
we think that Wade Mitchel Parker was
00:29:32
just a bad businessman or whether we
00:29:34
think he was a con person from the very
00:29:35
beginning some of the transactions he
00:29:40
made are just plain crooked there's no
00:29:42
other explanation for what he did also
00:29:45
we haven't been able to find the money
00:29:46
and we think has got to be out there
00:29:48
somewhere
00:29:48
the fact that we haven't been able to
00:29:50
find it and that Parker fled during the
00:29:52
bankruptcy proceedings is a real
00:29:54
indication to us that this was a con
00:29:56
from the beginning
00:29:57
[Music]
00:30:03
some of Parker's wealthier victims have
00:30:05
been able to absorb their losses write
00:30:07
them off as business expenses but for
00:30:10
Earl and Donna chat facts and many
00:30:12
others likely dream of owning a home has
00:30:15
been snuffed out perhaps forever I don't
00:30:19
think that you ever want to give up on a
00:30:20
dream and I think that in a way we were
00:30:23
realizing that we might have to give up
00:30:28
on that dream we might never ever get
00:30:30
another opportunity to give someone
00:30:34
money to build us a home
00:30:37
update on August 11th 1994 Wayde
00:30:41
Mitchell Parker was arrested in Cobb
00:30:43
County Georgia's some 1,300 miles from
00:30:45
Colorado there Parker was using two new
00:30:48
aliases
00:30:49
Ronald Andersen and Larry wiener but
00:30:52
information developed from our program
00:30:54
helped reveal his true identity on
00:30:59
September 26 1994 Wade Mitchell Parker
00:31:03
was arraigned in Colorado on fraud and
00:31:05
theft charges
00:31:06
our cameras are not allowed inside the
00:31:08
courtroom
00:31:09
however Earl and Donna chat bags made
00:31:11
sure they were on hand to see justice
00:31:14
done if he'd been an honest man we'd be
00:31:18
living in our home right now in raising
00:31:21
our children I think that anybody who
00:31:25
has been ripped off this way could take
00:31:29
heart from this you know knowing that
00:31:31
with enough perseverance they may get
00:31:34
their guy
00:31:36
certainly gave me a lot of a lot of
00:31:40
heart when I was beginning to lose hope
00:31:42
[Music]
00:31:53
next a family is reunited thanks to you
00:31:57
our viewers
00:31:58
[Music]
00:32:08
bill O'Neil of Santa Monica California
00:32:11
was always told he was just a baby when
00:32:13
his father died but throughout his
00:32:16
childhood bill was plagued by the
00:32:18
nagging suspicion that he was somehow
00:32:19
different from his older brothers and
00:32:21
sisters that was the only one with hazel
00:32:25
eyes and everybody else had these bright
00:32:28
blue eyes my skin was more like an olive
00:32:31
skin where they were fair-skinned not
00:32:34
that anything was ever said to me or
00:32:37
anything like that that was different
00:32:39
than anybody else like my mom didn't
00:32:41
treat me any different just a feeling
00:32:45
inside like something was lost years
00:32:49
later Bill's suspicions were confirmed
00:32:51
when he discovered that his father Hugh
00:32:53
Paul O'Neill had in fact died two years
00:32:55
before bill was born when bill
00:32:58
confronted his mother she told him
00:33:00
everything
00:33:02
bill learned that in November of 1958
00:33:05
Paul O'Neill was a patient at Chicago's
00:33:07
VA hospital there Bill's mother met a
00:33:10
friend of Paul's named Jim Burke a
00:33:12
divorced father of four sadly within a
00:33:17
month Paul O'Neill would die
00:33:21
nice very nice
00:33:24
before long Jim Burke became a familiar
00:33:27
presence in the O'Neal household two
00:33:30
years later bill was born his mother was
00:33:33
pregnant again when the relationship
00:33:35
with Jim Burke ended bill was stuck when
00:33:38
his mother also told him that his
00:33:40
younger sister who he thought was dead
00:33:42
had actually been put up for adoption
00:33:46
in 1990 Bill O'Neil was reunited with
00:33:50
his sister Karen Althouse together they
00:33:52
set their sights on one final goal
00:33:54
finding their natural father Jim Burke
00:33:58
[Music]
00:33:59
on the night of our broadcast a woman
00:34:02
named Eileen Esler of New Lenox Illinois
00:34:04
called our phone center and identified
00:34:07
herself as one of Jim Burke's four
00:34:08
children from his previous marriage
00:34:11
Dillon karen was saddened to hear that
00:34:13
their father had passed away in 1988 but
00:34:16
they were overjoyed that Eileen and
00:34:18
another half-sister Sheila and Hoskins
00:34:20
were anxious to meet them
00:34:25
a week later bill O'Neil carry an old
00:34:27
house and their families gathered at
00:34:29
Karen's house to await the arrival of
00:34:31
Eileen and Sheila and I felt a
00:34:46
connection of a definite connection like
00:34:49
when I reached out to hug them I don't
00:34:53
know I didn't I honestly to be honest
00:34:56
I just I didn't feel like I was gonna be
00:35:00
as emotionally tied as I felt ditto
00:35:07
prashila Ann and Eileen the bond was
00:35:10
just as strong as soon as I saw bill as
00:35:16
soon as I saw his face there was
00:35:18
absolutely no doubt in my mind that he
00:35:21
was a brother no doubt I felt wonderful
00:35:23
I mean I was like Sheila I wanted to
00:35:26
touch him I just wanted to touch him to
00:35:29
have a baby brother and baby sister I
00:35:32
know they're not there's so much we are
00:35:37
later that afternoon buildin Karen sat
00:35:41
down with her new sisters to learn about
00:35:43
their father Jim Burke what I've
00:35:47
wondered all my life who were my parents
00:35:49
do I have more family did I have
00:35:52
brothers and sisters things like that
00:35:54
and it's exciting to finally see them to
00:35:57
touch them to to get to know them
00:36:01
the reunion was especially poignant for
00:36:03
bill O'Neil his lifelong feelings of
00:36:06
isolation were replaced with a new sense
00:36:09
of belonging I just I figured hey we'll
00:36:14
get together with them and you know get
00:36:20
some pictures get some more information
00:36:21
about our dad but it wasn't like that it
00:36:24
wasn't like that at all
00:36:25
it was more it's just a inside warm
00:36:31
feeling but everything was now
00:36:34
completely for Bill Karen Eileen and
00:36:43
Sheila and this was just the first of
00:36:45
many gatherings to come bill and Karen
00:36:48
have since met one of their
00:36:49
half-brothers and next March they hope
00:36:51
to meet another at a family wedding in
00:36:52
Illinois also attendance will be a
00:36:55
grandmother and aunt and 12 cousins
00:37:07
John cheeks seemed destined for success
00:37:10
at 26 fresh out of business school he
00:37:13
had been hired as a chief financial
00:37:15
officer of one of the larger real estate
00:37:17
companies of Tennessee by the age of 28
00:37:21
John had purchased this home in a
00:37:23
comfortable part of East Memphis at work
00:37:25
he was engineering the deal of a
00:37:27
lifetime for months John had helped lay
00:37:33
the groundwork to take his company
00:37:35
public
00:37:36
he had logged countless 18-hour days and
00:37:38
flown thousands of miles to talk with
00:37:40
investors around the country and
00:37:42
overseas by December of 1993 the complex
00:37:48
plan was on the verge of completion
00:37:50
millions of dollars were at stake if the
00:37:53
deal was successful the company would be
00:37:55
thrust into national prominence
00:37:56
literally overnight
00:37:59
John was a very proud of his
00:38:02
accomplishment of getting this job and
00:38:04
he worked very hard non-stop almost to
00:38:08
see that his duties were fulfilled and
00:38:11
that every eye was dotted and every T
00:38:14
was crossed in their wildest dreams
00:38:18
John cheeks family and friends never
00:38:19
imagined he would end up the focus of an
00:38:22
anguish search his face peering out from
00:38:24
thousands of fliers plastered around
00:38:26
their hometown of Memphis Tennessee but
00:38:31
on December 2nd 1993 John cheek did not
00:38:34
show up for work at company headquarters
00:38:36
surprised quickly turned to concern I
00:38:40
thought possibly that maybe he was just
00:38:43
tired and he might be somewhere resting
00:38:46
at least that's what we were all hoping
00:38:48
that's what had happened but it was out
00:38:50
of character and then as the day went on
00:38:52
and then that night when no one had
00:38:56
heard from John we began to know that
00:38:59
something terribly was wrong early the
00:39:03
next morning John's car was discovered
00:39:05
it had been abandoned on Interstate 55
00:39:08
where the highway crosses over the
00:39:10
Mississippi River
00:39:11
twelve miles from John's hole there was
00:39:15
no signs of foul play on the car the car
00:39:17
was checked everything appeared to be
00:39:19
intact the cheek family examined a car
00:39:23
also and it appeared to be just the way
00:39:25
John would have left it police theorized
00:39:30
that John cheek had taken his own life
00:39:31
by leaping into the Swift waters of the
00:39:33
Mississippi however extensive searches
00:39:37
of the river and his banks failed to
00:39:38
locate his body to those who knew John
00:39:42
suicide seemed out of the question from
00:39:44
the start we didn't believe that that he
00:39:48
could be normal right up until 11:00
00:39:51
p.m. one night and then all of a sudden
00:39:55
to jump off the bridge next day so we
00:40:01
were just left with the same position we
00:40:03
are right now that it was just some big
00:40:05
mystery had happened to him and we
00:40:06
didn't know what
00:40:09
two months passed with no leads no word
00:40:12
from John no reason to believe he was
00:40:14
even alive until February 14th 1994 on
00:40:22
that day a trucker named Ron Jackson
00:40:24
rolled into West Memphis Arkansas over
00:40:28
the years Jackson has seen hundreds of
00:40:30
missing person fliers at truck stops all
00:40:33
across the country but now he was
00:40:35
stunned to find himself staring into the
00:40:37
face of someone he recognized a young
00:40:39
man he had befriended just the day
00:40:41
before he never really expected to jump
00:40:46
right already and say hey I know this
00:40:47
person hey I had breakfast with this
00:40:49
person the other morning so that was
00:40:51
added to my surprise of seeing this
00:40:53
poster and this identity was so strong
00:40:55
and it just kind of grabbed hold me and
00:40:57
shook me like this is the individual
00:40:58
period it was in Ruffin Virginia some
00:41:03
700 miles east that Ron found a young
00:41:05
drifter is sleeping inside a truck stop
00:41:08
breakfast yet no problem let's go I'm
00:41:14
buying you breakfast my first impression
00:41:16
of this man when I saw him as if he was
00:41:18
not homeless people he was not street
00:41:21
people in the conversation there was no
00:41:23
Street lingo he was clean and the white
00:41:27
shirt was so white it looked like had
00:41:29
just come out of the laundry okay the
00:41:32
young man didn't volunteer his name he
00:41:35
spoke only of an Arkansas homeless
00:41:37
shelter that had recently taken care of
00:41:39
him I didn't press them he just was
00:41:44
rambling on in the cafeteria line sight
00:41:49
we'd have to say that he was deathly not
00:41:51
a hundred percent in all mental
00:41:55
capabilities
00:41:57
we have a good breakfast we had in
00:42:01
Richmond
00:42:04
Ron and The Drifter were headed love as
00:42:06
it directions outside the cafeteria they
00:42:10
parted ways well there were several
00:42:16
things about the encounter that made us
00:42:18
feel optimistic that it was a positive
00:42:21
identification for John and the first
00:42:24
was was the white shirt and tie because
00:42:26
that would be typical for him to be
00:42:29
wearing that because that's what he wore
00:42:31
every day he also mentioned the fact
00:42:34
that he used very correct English and
00:42:36
sounded like he was well educated person
00:42:38
which was obviously correct for John's
00:42:43
parents the clincher was Jackson's
00:42:45
description of the man's shoes their son
00:42:48
had had just such a pair of slip-on
00:42:49
moccasins a pair that was now missing we
00:42:54
knew that John had a pair of shoes like
00:42:56
this we had not mentioned that to anyone
00:43:00
up until this point in time he was a
00:43:02
very emotional a bit of information in
00:43:06
immediately my thought was we've got to
00:43:08
find him quick and get him home he's
00:43:11
wandering around not knowing who he is
00:43:15
no one can be sure why John cheek
00:43:17
disappeared but his father believes John
00:43:20
suffered a sudden episode of stress
00:43:22
induced amnesia known as the fugue state
00:43:25
get sort of a self-preservation
00:43:28
mechanism if something in their past has
00:43:30
become so stressful that they can't
00:43:32
stand it any longer then that's how they
00:43:34
deal with it I just block it all out and
00:43:36
you're no longer John cheek and you're
00:43:38
no longer a financial officer and you no
00:43:40
longer putting together a big deal since
00:43:45
Ron Jackson's sighting in February of
00:43:47
1994 there has been no further word of
00:43:50
John cheek
00:43:51
John has brown hair blue eyes and stands
00:43:55
six feet tall before disappearing he
00:43:57
weighed 150 pounds John cheek is 28
00:44:01
years old
00:44:02
there's a hole in my heart and I'm
00:44:05
hoping that all of this publicity will
00:44:08
find someone that can fill that void and
00:44:11
a mother never gives up
00:44:22
join me next time perhaps you may be
00:44:26
able to help solve a mystery
00:44:29
[Music]
00:44:50
[Applause]
00:44:53
[Music]
00:45:02
you
00:45:02
[Music]
00:45:13
[Music]
