00:00:04
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Next on "Unsolved Mysteries,"
00:00:06
for more than 30 years
strange formations
00:00:10
have appeared in the wheat
fields of southern England.
00:00:14
Does new evidence to explain
these mysterious crop circles?
00:00:19
A quarter of a million
dollars worth of platinum
00:00:22
is stolen from a factory and
the security guard is missing.
00:00:31
Two investigators develop
different theories when a woman
00:00:34
dies in a mysterious car fire.
00:00:38
Was it a tragic accident, or
was it cold-blooded murder?
00:00:43
And [inaudible] family man
turns out to be running
00:00:46
a million dollar drug ring.
00:00:52
Five compelling cases, some
just waiting to be solved,
00:00:56
and maybe you hold the key.
00:00:59
I'm Dennis Farina and this
is "Unsolved Mysteries."
00:01:02
[theme music]
00:01:43
50-year-old Dale [inaudible]
worked at the Corning
00:01:47
Glassworks plant for
27 years as a security
00:01:50
guard and maintenance man.
00:01:53
One night at 11:00 PM, he
began his usual weekend shift.
00:01:58
Before the night was over,
$250,000 worth of platinum pipe
00:02:04
was stolen and Dale
Kerstetter had vanished.
00:02:10
Pound for pound, platinum
is one of the most valuable
00:02:13
commodities in the world.
00:02:15
After Dale Kerstetter
and a fortune in platinum
00:02:18
disappeared, police
began to wonder--
00:02:20
was he a robbery victim or
was he the robber himself?
00:02:27
By all accounts, Dale
was an ordinary man
00:02:29
who was loved by his family
and respected by his employer.
00:02:34
He was very compassionate,
honest, liked to have fun,
00:02:39
loved the outdoors.
00:02:41
He's just a great father.
00:02:43
I mean, there wasn't a kid
in the world that wouldn't
00:02:46
want to have him as their dad.
00:02:48
He was very
faithful to everybody
00:02:51
and he hated a lie,
never believed in lying.
00:02:57
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
On Sunday morning,
00:02:59
security guard John
Lindquist arrived at 7:00 AM.
00:03:03
He expected to find Dale
waiting to be relieved.
00:03:07
He was usually sitting
right inside the door.
00:03:11
He wasn't there, so I
walked into the cafeteria
00:03:16
and I see his lunch pail
sitting on the table.
00:03:20
I happen to pick
up the newspaper
00:03:23
and there the keys were.
00:03:25
So I looked in his lunch pail
and I see everything is there,
00:03:29
he hadn't eaten.
00:03:31
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Later Sunday
00:03:32
morning, Dale's pickup truck was
found in the plant parking lot.
00:03:36
Police were called
to investigate.
00:03:39
A number of clues
suggested that Dale
00:03:41
did not disappear voluntarily.
00:03:44
His keys were still
in the ignition
00:03:47
and he left behind a full
carton of cigarettes,
00:03:50
an empty gun holster from
his 22-caliber pistol,
00:03:53
and his daypack. pack.
00:03:58
That afternoon, the
sheriff's K-9 unit
00:04:01
was brought in to
track Dale's movements
00:04:03
through the huge plant.
00:04:10
The dog led police
to the second floor,
00:04:12
to the plant's glass furnace,
also known as the tank.
00:04:17
The tank contained the
valuable platinum pipe,
00:04:20
but the area was not part
of Dale's normal rounds.
00:04:24
Although the dog found
Dale's scent near the tank,
00:04:27
he was nowhere in the building.
00:04:32
Video from the plant security
camera was examined next.
00:04:37
A plant manager, Patrick Foley,
was disturbed by what he saw.
00:04:42
We have recreated the key
sequences found on the tapes.
00:04:48
The first thing I saw was
a masked man in the back
00:04:52
of the plant in one area.
00:04:57
When I saw the masked man on
the tape, I was very alarmed.
00:05:02
At first, I thought, well,
obviously, this person there's
00:05:04
been some foul play, Dale's
involved in foul play
00:05:07
and he probably is missing.
00:05:11
And then Dale Kerstetter came
back and met this masked person
00:05:15
in the back of the plant.
00:05:17
I guess I would say I had a very
empty feeling in my stomach.
00:05:20
I said, what on Earth?
00:05:22
Then as I continued
to review the tapes
00:05:24
and I saw the masked
person come back out
00:05:26
and go up to the tank area,
then I was extremely anxious
00:05:31
because at that time I realized
that not only did we have
00:05:33
a missing employee, there was
a good possibility that we had
00:05:37
missing platinum in the plant.
00:05:40
Whoever removed the
platinum from the tank
00:05:43
was extremely familiar with the
plant, everything in the plant.
00:05:47
They knew exactly where to go.
00:05:53
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The police
00:05:54
could not tell if
Dale was being coerced
00:05:57
or if he was part of the heist.
00:05:59
At one point, he looks
directly into the camera.
00:06:04
Was he signaling
for help, or was he
00:06:06
cooly flaunting his crime?
00:06:09
If he was involved,
why would he
00:06:11
willingly walk in
front of a camera
00:06:13
knowing that it was there?
00:06:15
He knew the camera was there.
00:06:16
Why wouldn't an attempt have
been made to cover the camera?
00:06:20
It just doesn't make sense.
00:06:21
The fact that he did
everything in front of cameras
00:06:23
was once again just Dale
Kerstetter just saying to us,
00:06:26
look, here I am.
00:06:27
I'm taking your plant and there
isn't a thing you can do about.
00:06:30
If he had planned on
taking off anywhere,
00:06:33
why would he bother
packing lunch?
00:06:34
I mean, just a whole
carton of cigarettes
00:06:36
and he smoked all the time--
00:06:38
I mean, he would have
taken his cigarettes.
00:06:42
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Wendy
believes that her father was
00:06:44
an innocent victim,
that he heard or saw
00:06:46
something that
attracted his attention
00:06:49
and then he went to investigate.
00:06:55
She believes a thief may
have murdered her father.
00:07:01
One camera showed the intruder
wheeling out a heavy bag.
00:07:06
There's a very
good possibility
00:07:08
that bag could
contain the platinum
00:07:11
and there's a very
good possibility
00:07:12
that bag could contain the
body of Dale Kerstetter.
00:07:16
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Another theory
00:07:18
places Dale at the center of a
bold and premeditated robbery.
00:07:23
Dale was happy
as a trades worker.
00:07:26
Unfortunately, prior
to this incident
00:07:27
he had just been
cut out of the trade
00:07:29
shop, which entailed about a
$5,000 to $7,000 cut for him.
00:07:34
He was not a happy person
at the time of his death.
00:07:38
Through our investigation, we
determined that Dale Kerstetter
00:07:41
was approximately
$30,000 to $40,000
00:07:44
in arrears on various payments--
00:07:47
trailer payments,
vehicle payments,
00:07:49
and different bills which he
had owed throughout the area.
00:07:54
He had children that
could take care of him,
00:07:57
I was in a financial
position to take care of him.
00:08:00
He had stock in Corning,
he had money invested.
00:08:03
If it got to the point where
he really needed money,
00:08:06
there were too many ways he
could have obtained the money
00:08:09
legally.
00:08:11
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Dale's family
00:08:13
wants to know if he is alive.
00:08:15
Whether he committed the crime
or not, they want the truth.
00:08:20
He had six kids,
two grandkids.
00:08:23
To do something like that
and not call any of them,
00:08:27
just take off and never
talk to your kids again--
00:08:32
I just-- I just
can't believe it.
00:08:39
I don't care whether
he was involved.
00:08:40
That's not going to make
me think any less of him
00:08:43
or love him any less.
00:08:44
What I want to know
is what happened.
00:08:46
Was he involved, did he get away
with it, is he dead somewhere,
00:08:50
was he abducted?
00:08:51
I don't think
he'd do it unless he
00:08:53
planned on coming back someday.
00:08:55
If he's alive, which I think
he is, he's either in Canada
00:08:59
or I'd say in Australia.
00:09:01
And I figure in seven years,
when the statute of limitations
00:09:04
is up, he'll come back
Scot free and then
00:09:07
we'll be able to touch him.
00:09:09
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Dale Kerstetter
00:09:10
is five feet, four inches
tall and weighs 130 pounds.
00:09:14
He has blue eyes, brown and gray
hair, and receding hairline.
00:09:19
If you have any information
about this case,
00:09:23
please log onto our
website at unsolved.com.
00:09:29
Next, when a woman
dies in a burning car,
00:09:32
two respected investigators
disagree on the cause of death.
00:09:45
New Rockford, North Dakota.
00:09:49
This is ridiculous.
00:09:51
We don't know where our son is.
00:09:53
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
At 2:30 in the morning,
00:09:55
Kathy Bonderson has an
argument with her husband
00:09:58
about their teenage son.
00:10:00
- You go look for him then.
- OK.
00:10:01
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
He was out late
00:10:02
again without permission.
00:10:04
I hope you have a heck of
a lot better luck than I did.
00:10:07
As As a night nurse, Kathy
has never missed a shift,
00:10:11
but tonight she is so concerned
that she calls in sick.
00:10:16
Around 2:45 AM, her
son is on his way home
00:10:19
with his girlfriend when
he sees his mother's
00:10:22
car heading out of town.
00:10:24
That's my mom's car.
00:10:26
Jeez, I hope she didn't see me.
00:10:28
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
And then he spots another car
00:10:30
following close behind.
00:10:32
He assumes his mother
is driving her own car,
00:10:35
but in fact, he
can't clearly see
00:10:37
the driver in either vehicle.
00:10:41
[sirens]
00:10:45
An hour later, on a
lonely road, a car
00:10:48
is burning out of control.
00:10:51
The heat is so intense
that 15 minutes
00:10:55
pass before firefighters can
get close enough to look inside.
00:11:00
When they do, they find
a body on the floor
00:11:03
of the passenger side.
00:11:07
The victim is later identified
as 35-year-old Kathy Bonderson.
00:11:15
Daybreak, the car is
finally cool enough to pull
00:11:18
Kathy's body from the wreckage.
00:11:20
The local sheriff, Edward
Allmaras, investigates.
00:11:26
E.J. ALLMARAS (VOICEOVER):
As I remember it,
00:11:27
the firewall was
completely burned,
00:11:32
the steering column, the
dash, the front seat.
00:11:37
The only thing that
was left was the steel.
00:11:41
Listen, I'd like
to have you have
00:11:43
the boys flush it
out so if there's
00:11:45
any fragments of the fire--
00:11:46
The fire had to start
up front someplace.
00:11:50
There could have been a short,
a wire pinched or something,
00:11:52
because that car was doing
some bending also when
00:11:55
it went across those tracks.
00:11:57
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Sheriff Allmaras
00:11:58
believes that Kathy
lost control of her car
00:12:01
before reaching the
railroad crossing
00:12:04
and then bounced
across the tracks.
00:12:06
The car made an abrupt
turn as if it was trying
00:12:11
to avoid something,
then straightened
00:12:13
up and went across the tracks.
00:12:15
There were marks on the
tracks which showed us
00:12:18
that the car had very
definitely went over
00:12:21
the tracks at the crossing.
00:12:24
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Allmaras is convinced
00:12:25
that when Kathy hit the
tracks at high speed,
00:12:28
it sparked the fire
and threw Kathy
00:12:30
to the floor in the
passenger's side of her car.
00:12:35
Sheriff Allmaras was convinced
Kathy Bonderson was the victim
00:12:39
of a tragic accident.
00:12:41
But then a state
investigator offered
00:12:43
a more disturbing theory, that
Kathy Bonderson was murdered.
00:12:52
The day after the fire,
Captain William Byram
00:12:55
of the highway patrol
visited the scene
00:12:58
to file a routine report.
00:13:02
It was an unusual case.
00:13:04
It didn't seem to have
the same characteristics
00:13:09
that a normal
accident would have.
00:13:12
Granted, I arrived
24 hours later,
00:13:14
but I could not
distinguish any marks where
00:13:18
a car had left the roadway.
00:13:21
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Byram did
00:13:22
find the same
marks on the tracks
00:13:24
that Sheriff Allmaras believes
were made by Kathy's car,
00:13:28
but he came to a
different conclusion.
00:13:31
The marks I found
were a reddish color.
00:13:35
We talked with the
firemen, and the hoses
00:13:38
that were used that night
were a red rubber hose
00:13:42
and they had been in and around
that area, drug the hoses
00:13:45
over the tracks.
00:13:47
I felt that what
I was looking at
00:13:48
was something that had
been put there by them.
00:13:53
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The next day,
00:13:54
Byram and the state
fire marshal took
00:13:56
a close look at Kathy's car.
00:13:59
I see that it's
totally burned,
00:14:02
but I see absolutely no damage
structure-wise from impact,
00:14:09
which is normal to find in
this type of an accident.
00:14:14
But I couldn't find any.
00:14:15
I found none, zero.
00:14:22
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Surprisingly,
00:14:23
even after such an
intense fire, the gas tank
00:14:26
was still half full.
00:14:29
WILLIAM BYRAM (VOICEOVER):
The fuel line from the tank
00:14:31
itself to the
carburetor was intact--
00:14:35
no cracks, no dents,
no damage whatsoever.
00:14:39
It doesn't appear that
we had any impact on--
00:14:42
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Based on the evidence,
00:14:43
the fire marshal came to
his own chilling conclusion.
00:14:48
It appeared the fire started
in several different areas,
00:14:52
which would not be normally
found in an accidental fire.
00:14:55
There's no question in my mind
the fire was not an accident.
00:15:00
This fire was intentionally set.
00:15:03
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Three weeks later,
00:15:05
Captain Byram
requested that Kathy's
00:15:07
body be exhumed for an autopsy.
00:15:10
Sheriff Allmaras objected.
00:15:12
Byram threatened to
obtain a court order.
00:15:15
Sheriff Allmaras backed off.
00:15:18
One of the very important
facts from the autopsy
00:15:22
proved that Kathy Bonderson was
dead before the fire started.
00:15:28
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): According
00:15:30
to the pathology report,
there was no carbon monoxide
00:15:33
in Kathy's lungs, which
means that when the fire
00:15:37
started she was already dead.
00:15:40
Tests conducted on
Kathy's clothing,
00:15:42
as well as the
vehicle's carpeting,
00:15:44
revealed traces of gasoline.
00:15:49
In addition, an
empty gas container
00:15:51
was found only 300 yards from
where the car had burned.
00:15:56
But for Sheriff
Allmaras, it still wasn't
00:15:59
enough to change his opinion.
00:16:02
There has been
no proof offered.
00:16:04
Nothing in my
investigation brought up
00:16:07
anything that even
would give you
00:16:09
an inkling that this
might be a homicide,
00:16:13
rather than a car accident--
00:16:15
nothing.
00:16:16
There are too many
other facts leading
00:16:20
me to believe that it
was not an accident,
00:16:26
and I have to work with facts.
00:16:29
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Captain Byram
00:16:30
is convinced that Katy
Bonderson was murdered
00:16:33
and that her car was
set on fire to make
00:16:36
it look like an accident.
00:16:39
But the question remains,
who killed her and why?
00:16:47
Update-- 18 years
after Kathy's death,
00:16:52
the North Dakota Bureau
of Criminal Investigation
00:16:55
reopened her case.
00:16:57
They scheduled an interview
with Kathy's husband, Robert
00:17:00
Bonderson, but before the
meeting could take place
00:17:04
he committed suicide.
00:17:07
Based on new interviews and
a review of the evidence,
00:17:11
authorities
concluded that Robert
00:17:12
Bonderson murdered his wife.
00:17:17
The case was finally closed.
00:17:22
Coming up, crop
circles in England--
00:17:25
could these elaborate
formations be a hoax
00:17:29
or a supernatural phenomenon?
00:17:41
The county of Wiltshire,
southern England.
00:17:45
Charity Down, a farm
two hours from London.
00:17:52
On a foggy spring
morning, Chris Wood
00:17:55
drives his tractor through
one of his wheat fields
00:17:58
and find something that
he has never seen before.
00:18:04
A huge circle has
appeared in the wheat.
00:18:08
It's really amazing
how the actual crop
00:18:11
was laying on the ground.
00:18:13
And it was so perfect, really.
00:18:16
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The crop circle that Chris
00:18:18
found has never been explained.
00:18:22
In the following years,
more than 750 large circles
00:18:26
have formed overnight
in random fields.
00:18:30
The question is, how
did they get there?
00:18:33
The most wonderful
thing about it
00:18:35
is when you actually go out
the night before to look
00:18:39
for a circle and
there's nothing there,
00:18:41
it's just a lovely
field of growing corn,
00:18:43
and then the following
morning when you get up early
00:18:45
in the morning in the
first light of day
00:18:48
and suddenly there
is the circle.
00:18:51
You just can't believe it.
00:18:53
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The
crop circles are pressed down
00:18:55
in a swirling pattern
that runs both
00:18:58
clockwise and counterclockwise.
00:19:02
The crop is not damaged.
00:19:04
It continues to grow and
can be harvested normally.
00:19:07
Strangely, no footprints or tire
tracks leading up to this site
00:19:12
have ever been found and the
circus display a wide variety
00:19:17
of shapes and patterns.
00:19:20
We've got a flare here,
a radial flare here.
00:19:23
That's right.
00:19:24
And that seems to be the heart.
00:19:26
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Pat Delgado and Collin Andrews
00:19:28
have spent 10 years
trying to figure
00:19:30
out what's really happening in
the wheat fields of England.
00:19:35
Now it's beginning to show.
00:19:37
We have invited many
professional scientists
00:19:42
of various disciplines to
help us in this investigation.
00:19:47
And quite rightly so, they
start off with considering
00:19:50
that it could be a hoax.
00:19:52
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Dr.
Archibald Roy has been studying
00:19:55
crop circles since 1980.
00:19:59
I think that it's very
reasonable for a person
00:20:01
to say, look, these
are hoaxes because they
00:20:03
look so artificial.
00:20:05
But I don't think that
the hoax theory can
00:20:08
be held very strongly
because there
00:20:09
are so many of these circles.
00:20:12
Now in eight or nine
years, about 700--
00:20:15
250 this year,
this summer alone.
00:20:19
The amount of time
that would have
00:20:21
to be spent by a very big team
of people making those circles
00:20:25
is getting quite enormous.
00:20:27
I simply don't see
the hoax theory
00:20:30
as a very strong contender.
00:20:34
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
As part of a television
00:20:36
experiment, British
troops attempted to create
00:20:39
an artificial crop circle.
00:20:42
In all instances
where something
00:20:44
mechanical was used to flatten
the crop, you will damage it.
00:20:48
And we can walk into
a circle and very,
00:20:51
very quickly determine
whether it's hoaxed
00:20:55
and that is
mechanically made, or it
00:20:58
is a naturally created one.
00:21:01
When we examine a
naturally made circle,
00:21:04
the portion of plant that
just comes out of the ground
00:21:07
must be softened, bent over,
and then hardened up again.
00:21:12
So not only is a mystery
in the circle itself,
00:21:17
but what is it that is
softening the plant,
00:21:21
bending it over, and
then hardening up again?
00:21:24
This is a real mystery.
00:21:26
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): If the crop
00:21:27
circles are not a hoax, then
who or what is making them?
00:21:33
There are no
underground formations
00:21:35
like sinkholes or
rocks that might
00:21:37
give shape to the patterns.
00:21:41
Some have suggested
that whirlwinds
00:21:43
could have created them.
00:21:46
But after careful
study, there is
00:21:48
no evidence that crop
circles are the result
00:21:51
of any natural force.
00:21:53
There's got to be an
intelligently manipulated
00:21:57
inexplicable energy
used here, and we don't
00:22:00
know the first thing about it.
00:22:02
But it's there.
00:22:07
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Sometimes the appearance
00:22:09
of crop circles can be linked
to sightings of bright lights
00:22:12
in the night sky.
00:22:15
One such sighting took
place when Pat and Jack
00:22:18
Collins were driving
through a stretch
00:22:20
of farmland near Stonehenge.
00:22:23
We'd been out in the
evening and on our way back,
00:22:27
about 11 o'clock at night, we
saw this circle with lights
00:22:35
all the way around the edge.
00:22:37
He said, ooh, look at that.
00:22:39
I said, good gracious.
00:22:41
I said, whatever can it be?
00:22:42
And so we said, it couldn't be
a flying saucer or anything.
00:22:49
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Collin Andrews
00:22:50
believes the lights
can be connected to two
00:22:53
different sets of crop circles.
00:22:55
The same night as they saw
this extraordinary clustering
00:22:59
of lights over that
site, a quintuple set
00:23:03
appeared in a field
just a few miles
00:23:06
to the east near Alresford
and the same kind of formation
00:23:10
was found just a few days
later in a very remote spot
00:23:13
south of Andover.
00:23:14
And the alignment
of those two sites
00:23:17
took us directly over
the top of the Collins'
00:23:20
particular sighting.
00:23:23
I haven't the faintest idea
what is causing these circles.
00:23:27
I find them a most intriguing
and entertaining mystery.
00:23:33
A lot of the circles
appear in the vicinity
00:23:35
of the great megalithic
monuments of southern England.
00:23:38
Now, if these circles have been
appearing for let's say 5,000
00:23:42
years, then they would
have been appearing
00:23:44
in the wheat fields
and corn fields
00:23:47
of the megalithic farmers.
00:23:49
What would they
have made of them?
00:23:50
Would they have said, these
are signs from the gods?
00:23:53
Perhaps we should
build monuments
00:23:55
which mimic these circles.
00:23:57
And so they would build
things like Stonehenge.
00:24:00
It's an intriguing possibility.
00:24:04
We haven't actually seen one
of these this year, and this--
00:24:07
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Hoping
00:24:08
to solve the mystery,
more than 50 researchers
00:24:11
descended on a farm
where many crop
00:24:14
circles have been discovered.
00:24:16
They surrounded a field with
audio and video equipment.
00:24:21
There's a terrible noise just
as you stand in the center.
00:24:24
Are you getting noise
here very, very badly?
00:24:26
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Although no crop
00:24:27
circles formed, the study did
record one significant event.
00:24:34
What happened was that Pat and
myself were being interviewed
00:24:37
in the largest circle we'd
ever seen when the sound man
00:24:41
detected an electronic
warbling noise which
00:24:45
came onto the sound equipment.
00:24:48
And Pat, who was stood just
off the center of the formation
00:24:52
inside the circle,
could actually
00:24:54
physically feel an energy
field right alongside him.
00:24:58
When he stepped into that
energy field, with noise
00:25:01
pick right up.
00:25:02
And when Pat stood out of
the barrier, it diminished.
00:25:07
It was very extraordinary.
00:25:09
It is very significant.
00:25:11
We do now have a noise
component associated
00:25:15
with this extraordinary
phenomenon.
00:25:18
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Since we originally
00:25:19
aired this story, hundreds
of new crop circles
00:25:22
had been reported--
00:25:24
not just in England, but
in the United States,
00:25:27
Canada, and Australia, as well.
00:25:30
These new formations
have become more
00:25:32
elaborate and greater in size.
00:25:35
One of the most
interesting appeared
00:25:37
in the English countryside.
00:25:39
It is the largest
crop circle recorded
00:25:41
to date and Collin Andrews is
convinced it cannot be a hoax.
00:25:48
We're looking at a marking
which was about 1/8 of a mile
00:25:52
long.
00:25:53
Now, if you consider that
under controlled conditions,
00:25:56
it takes a team of 12
people to create something
00:25:59
like a 100-foot diameter circle,
a straightforward simple circle
00:26:04
takes something like six hours
for them to construct this,
00:26:07
we are looking at a huge team
of people working that night
00:26:11
in the hours of
darkness which are only
00:26:13
seven hours at this
time of the year
00:26:15
in a location which can be seen
from vantage points all around.
00:26:21
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Botanists
00:26:22
have studied the cells
of plants collected
00:26:24
from inside the crop circles.
00:26:27
When these plants
cells were compared
00:26:29
with samples collected
outside the circles,
00:26:32
the scientists were amazed.
00:26:35
The plants taken from
outside the circle
00:26:38
had clouded crystals
in erratic patterns.
00:26:41
The samples taken
from inside the circle
00:26:44
had distinctive clear crystals
with a defined pattern.
00:26:49
I think the
discrepancies are caused
00:26:51
by some supernatural force
which is being applied
00:26:57
to that particular
part of the ground
00:27:01
which produces these patterns.
00:27:04
We have here a structure of
a plant which has changed.
00:27:07
Human feet cannot do that.
00:27:09
The downwash from a
helicopter cannot do that,
00:27:13
nor can a stationary whirlwind.
00:27:15
So we're looking here at major
clues in the last few months
00:27:18
of this year.
00:27:20
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The physical evidence
00:27:22
of plant cells supports
the theory that crop
00:27:24
circles may not be a hoax.
00:27:31
Update-- two men
from Southampton,
00:27:34
England confessed to creating
the crop circles as a prank
00:27:38
after a night of
drinking at a local pub.
00:27:41
However, crop circle
believers refute these claims
00:27:45
and suggest that the
designs are far too
00:27:48
complex and perfectly
executed to be the work
00:27:52
of a couple of hoaxers.
00:27:55
So are these strange
complex patterns the product
00:27:59
of some unknown
intelligence, or are
00:28:01
they just good-natured pranks?
00:28:03
Whatever the answer
is, crop circles
00:28:05
remain an unsolved mystery.
00:28:10
Next, Neal Gott--
nice guy, family man?
00:28:15
Wrong.
00:28:16
He's actually the boss of
a million dollar drug ring.
00:28:29
North Benton, Ohio.
00:28:32
Neal Gott certainly
seemed like a normal guy.
00:28:36
Good luck, darling.
00:28:37
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
He and his wife,
00:28:38
Terry, have lived in this
small town for a little more
00:28:40
than four years.
00:28:43
The Gotts on the
surface appeared
00:28:45
to be a very legitimate couple.
00:28:47
He was a mechanic who had a
place called Lake Park Auto.
00:28:52
She had a cleaning business
where she cleaned houses.
00:28:55
They had a
two-year-old daughter,
00:28:56
Heather Gott, that
was a very attractive
00:28:58
blonde-headed little girl.
00:28:59
And everything
appeared to be normal
00:29:01
unless you lived
in the community
00:29:03
and had heard some of the rumors
or unless you were an FBI agent
00:29:07
and you had access
to what we knew.
00:29:12
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): What the FBI
00:29:13
knew was that Neil
Gott was making
00:29:15
an awful lot of phone calls to
a drug dealer in Akron, Ohio.
00:29:22
Flip around, you
know what I mean?
00:29:23
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The FBI
00:29:24
listened patiently until
Gott placed an order
00:29:27
for eight ounces of cocaine.
00:29:30
DRUG DEALER (ON
PHONE): Eight of them?
00:29:31
NEIL GOTT (ON PHONE): Yeah.
Give me an eight-pack.
00:29:36
When he made the buy,
the FBI was waiting.
00:29:42
But agents didn't take
Gott into custody.
00:29:46
Instead, they bet
on a risky plan.
00:29:50
We wanted the
cocaine, but we were not
00:29:52
going to arrest Neil
Gott because we wanted
00:29:54
to continue our
investigation till we
00:29:56
got everybody in his network.
00:30:01
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Neil Gott did not disappoint.
00:30:04
He went straight home
and called his buyers
00:30:06
and told them there
would be no more cocaine.
00:30:10
Now the FBI had the
names of Gott's drug ring
00:30:13
and a hunch that he was
hiding something else.
00:30:18
We became suspicious
of other areas
00:30:21
of Neil Gott's activities.
00:30:22
For instance, he had rented
a barn in Homeworth, Ohio.
00:30:26
And in this barn, which was
supposedly empty or being used
00:30:29
for occasional auto repairs,
we looked at electric bills
00:30:32
in the neighborhood of
$1,800 to $1,900 a month.
00:30:36
Whereas in that
type of building,
00:30:38
the electric bill
shouldn't be over $50.
00:30:40
And that was our
clue that they were
00:30:41
probably growing
marijuana hydroponically
00:30:44
in that property.
00:30:47
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The
FBI moved in on Neil and Terry
00:30:49
again.
00:30:57
His indoor growing operation
was everything we expected
00:31:00
and much more.
00:31:01
It was a very sophisticated
operation with expensive strobe
00:31:05
lights, which are heating
lamps; expensive timers;
00:31:09
irrigation piping and tubing
for all these various plants;
00:31:14
grow packs.
00:31:15
Everything a
successful marijuana
00:31:17
operation for an indoor
grow needed, Neil Gott had.
00:31:21
Inside with that kind of
secrecy, in normal cases
00:31:24
you can harvest at a
minimum four times a year.
00:31:28
Your minimum harvest would
be in the neighborhood
00:31:29
of $75,000 to $100,000.
00:31:33
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
In addition to the marijuana,
00:31:35
agents also found
high-powered rifles,
00:31:37
handguns, and explosives.
00:31:42
This time, Neil and
Terry Gott were arrested.
00:31:47
FBI agents arrested every
member of the Gotts'
00:31:50
drug ring, another 20 people.
00:31:52
The Gotts were able to
post bail and were let go.
00:31:55
On their arraignment
date, most of the suspects
00:31:57
showed up in court--
00:31:59
everyone but Neil
and Terry Gott.
00:32:03
The day before their
indictments were handed down,
00:32:05
the Gotts had packed
up their belongings.
00:32:07
They left town,
they left the state,
00:32:10
and disappeared without a trace.
00:32:14
Neil Gott ended
up in Florida--
00:32:16
at least, that's where he
dropped the U-Haul truck.
00:32:19
We believe the Gotts are
still in the United States.
00:32:22
Neil Gott is a powerboat
enthusiast, the kind
00:32:25
of cigarette type boats.
00:32:26
He enjoys that kind of activity.
00:32:28
So we feel wherever he is,
he's probably engaging in that.
00:32:31
He's a truck driver and he's
also an accomplished mechanic.
00:32:34
But what Neil Gott
does best is he
00:32:36
grows dope, marijuana
specifically.
00:32:38
So we definitely feel he's
engaged in that activity.
00:32:43
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Update--
00:32:45
thanks to a tip from one of our
viewers, Neil and Terry Gott
00:32:49
were arrested by the FBI
in Lake County, Florida.
00:32:53
Agents found them
with over $1 million
00:32:55
worth of marijuana and cocaine.
00:33:00
Each was convicted on
a single drug charge.
00:33:03
Both served time
in a federal prison
00:33:06
and have since been released.
00:33:11
Next, do adopted children
and their birth families
00:33:15
share psychic connections?
00:33:26
Don Larkin grew up knowing
that he had been abducted,
00:33:30
but it wasn't until
he was 44 years
00:33:33
old that he finally located his
birth mother, Betty Landers.
00:33:38
When Don approached his mother's
house for the first time,
00:33:42
he noticed the
knickknacks hanging
00:33:44
in the window, a
carved hummingbird
00:33:48
and a crystal prism.
00:33:49
Don had only seen these items
together in one other place,
00:33:55
in the front window
of his own home.
00:33:59
It really startled
me to see somebody
00:34:02
else have something like that
in the window of their house.
00:34:06
And I just thought,
well, she must
00:34:08
be a pretty neat
lady because she
00:34:10
picked the same stuff I did.
00:34:13
Coincidences
that are very rare,
00:34:15
such as Betty and Don's
both having hummingbirds
00:34:19
and crystals in their front
windows of their houses,
00:34:21
are almost impossible to explain
by the traditional cause-effect
00:34:25
genetic relationship.
00:34:26
That's a very good
example of one
00:34:28
that is probably
due to some unknown
00:34:31
spiritual psychic connection.
00:34:34
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Many believe
00:34:35
that the same bond exists
between separated brothers
00:34:39
and sisters.
00:34:41
Lorelei Smith was
the only daughter
00:34:43
of her adoptive parents, and
yet even as a four-year-old,
00:34:48
she sensed that somewhere
she had a sister.
00:34:51
Yes, I do.
00:34:52
I was so firm about
it one of the teachers
00:34:56
felt it necessary to
contact my parents.
00:35:01
I was told at the time not to
continue with this illusion
00:35:06
or fantasy, but I
apparently still
00:35:08
kept insisting I had a sister.
00:35:11
But I still don't
think you have a sister.
00:35:13
Yes, I do.
00:35:14
She has curly blonde
hair and she's pretty.
00:35:18
At that time in 1959, Lorelei
did, indeed, have a sister,
00:35:21
Lori, then one and
a half years old.
00:35:24
And we were living in Alaska
and Lorelei was in New Mexico.
00:35:28
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Lorelei Smith and her sister,
00:35:30
Lori Stiffler, learned that
they had much more in common
00:35:34
than just their first names.
00:35:36
Both owned horses
and both played
00:35:38
the flute and the guitar.
00:35:40
And they had each
learned sign language,
00:35:44
even though neither one
knew a single deaf person.
00:35:48
I believe that the
most common explanation
00:35:50
for these coincidences
is probably genetic.
00:35:54
But there are coincidences
that the genetic attachment,
00:35:57
the genetic cause
simply can't explain.
00:36:00
And then I think we have
to look to a spiritual,
00:36:02
a telepathic, a psychokinetic
type of explanation,
00:36:07
difficult as that may be to do.
00:36:09
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Elizabeth
00:36:10
Bersanetti grew up
with her adopted family
00:36:13
in southern California.
00:36:15
For as long as she can remember,
Elizabeth was drawn to anything
00:36:19
and everything French.
00:36:22
I was just obsessed
with the language.
00:36:25
I wanted to be
those people that I
00:36:27
saw in the films, the
Parisians walking along,
00:36:30
the students studying
at the Sorbonne.
00:36:32
I wanted that identity,
I wanted to be French.
00:36:37
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Elizabeth began to have
00:36:39
a series of disturbing dreams.
00:36:42
A shadowing movement
always appeared
00:36:44
and Elizabeth soon
came to believe
00:36:46
that this was her birth mother.
00:36:48
ELIZABETH BERSANETTI
(VOICEOVER):
00:36:49
My mother was being told
that she didn't have very
00:36:51
long to live, that
she had cancer
00:36:52
and that it was going to
progress at a very rapid rate.
00:36:58
There was a lot of sadness,
I felt, from the dream.
00:37:01
She was obviously
varied gravely ill.
00:37:04
And to me, that said
that she was dying.
00:37:12
In late August, I woke
up with almost the fact
00:37:16
that my mother was dead, I
was never going to meet her.
00:37:19
It was over, I was
never going to see her.
00:37:22
I was too late.
00:37:23
It was on me the whole day
and all the days after that
00:37:27
that I had missed her.
00:37:30
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The dream inspired Elizabeth
00:37:32
to search for her birth mother.
00:37:34
Her adoptive mother provided
information that helped
00:37:38
get her started.
00:37:39
I guess all the
waivers are in.
00:37:42
All the waivers are in?
00:37:43
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
When she contacted the adoption
00:37:45
agency, she found out
that just a few months
00:37:48
earlier, her birth mother
had also requested a reunion.
00:37:53
Could I have her name?
00:37:55
Nicole Roland and
she's French-Canadian.
00:38:02
Bonjour.
00:38:03
I'm looking for
Nicole Roland, please.
00:38:06
WOMAN'S VOICE (ON
PHONE): Who is this?
00:38:09
I'm an old friend of
hers from Los Angeles.
00:38:13
WOMAN'S VOICE (ON PHONE): I'm
afraid I have bad news for you.
00:38:16
Nicole has passed away.
00:38:20
When?
00:38:22
WOMAN'S VOICE (ON
PHONE): Last August.
00:38:24
It was devastating.
00:38:25
And I said, did she
die on August 28?
00:38:27
And she said, yes.
00:38:28
And she just broke
into tears and said,
00:38:30
how would you know that?
00:38:32
All I could think of was
that my dreams were true,
00:38:34
that I had this strange
connection to her,
00:38:37
I had known when she was sick
and I had known when she died.
00:38:43
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Elizabeth
00:38:44
soon discovered that
Nicole Roland had lived
00:38:47
the life she had dreamed of.
00:38:50
Her mother taught college
French and earned her degree
00:38:53
at the Sorbonne in Paris.
00:38:55
It seems that me and my birth
mother had a lot in common
00:38:58
and would have had a
lot in common had we
00:38:59
been able to know each other.
00:39:02
It appears that we were living
at times a parallel life--
00:39:06
doing the same things,
being in the same
00:39:07
places, and interested
in the same subjects.
00:39:15
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Although Elizabeth was never
00:39:17
able to meet her
birth mother, she
00:39:19
did find a whole new family.
00:39:22
She flew to Canada to
meet her half sister
00:39:25
and a house full of her
mother's friends and relatives.
00:39:29
During the visit,
Elizabeth found
00:39:31
even more links to her mother.
00:39:34
Can I draw with you?
00:39:35
Sure.
00:39:36
OK.
00:39:37
Let's make it turquoise.
00:39:39
I went to all the crayons and
I selected a turquoise crayon,
00:39:41
which is sort of odd,
I thought, but it
00:39:44
was an unconscious thing.
00:39:45
And I started drawing this
house and I had never drawn
00:39:48
a house like this in my life.
00:39:50
The door was on the
wrong side, the garage
00:39:54
was on the wrong
side of the door,
00:39:57
and it had little weird
dormers and turquoise trim.
00:40:01
I just remarked even
while I was drawing,
00:40:02
oh, this is a strange house.
00:40:03
And well, it's a
house, here it is.
00:40:06
John, look at this.
00:40:08
The room got very quiet.
00:40:11
Everybody seemed
to be staring at me
00:40:12
and I felt very uncomfortable.
00:40:15
Elizabeth, why did
you draw this house?
00:40:18
I don't know.
00:40:20
Really, you don't know?
00:40:23
No.
00:40:24
How is it?
00:40:25
Nice.
00:40:26
The day after I
did the drawing,
00:40:28
my sister took me to the
house that she had lived
00:40:29
in with my mother and it was
the house that I had drawn,
00:40:34
the same little odd house
with the peaked roof
00:40:37
and the turquoise trim and
the garage on the wrong side.
00:40:42
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Just before leaving Canada,
00:40:44
there was one final event
that confirmed her connection
00:40:48
with her birth mother.
00:40:50
She would be so proud.
00:40:54
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): A friend
00:40:56
of Nicole's gave Elizabeth one
of her mother's favorite books,
00:41:00
a collection of poems
by a German writer.
00:41:03
It was your mother's
favorite book.
00:41:06
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
That same poet was
00:41:07
also one of her own favorites.
00:41:10
In fact, Elizabeth brought the
same book with her to Canada.
00:41:15
Merci.
00:41:16
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): When we
00:41:17
begin to look at
the connections that
00:41:18
seem to occur across
both time and space,
00:41:21
we run into the inability of
our current knowledge system
00:41:24
to explain things like this.
00:41:26
But they happen so
frequently that there must
00:41:29
be some reality behind them.
00:41:32
Maybe I am looking
for a connection
00:41:33
to her that's deeper and more
rooted than it might have been.
00:41:38
But I tend to think that
what I feel is very true.
00:41:44
She couldn't give me the
legacy of knowing her
00:41:47
or of having shared
things with me,
00:41:51
so she shared things
with me in another way.
00:41:58
Elizabeth's father was
a young medical student
00:42:00
from Mexico City.
00:42:02
If you can help
reunite this family,
00:42:03
please log on to our
website at unsolved.com.
00:42:09
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