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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 were about to see is not a news
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broadcast what happened to Amy billig a
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pretty 17 year old who vanished without
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a whisper in 1974 told that her daughter
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had been abducted by a renegade
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motorcycle gang Amy's mother infiltrated
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the dangerous biker world only to come
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up empty-handed time and time again then
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in 1992 new evidence surfaced that Amy
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Billy was still alive more than eighteen
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years after she disappeared
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in life Walter rice was a reclusive
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loner in death he became a beguiling
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mystery a man with no known heirs and an
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unclaimed estate of more than $140,000
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perhaps someone watching can solve the
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riddle of Walter rice it was a car of
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his dreams
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but Oliver Munson never imagined when he
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bought it that he'd become a key witness
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in the prosecution of a suspected auto
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thief
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however Oliver never testified just days
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before the trial he disappeared his
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family fears he became the victim of
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foul play also tonight we'll take you to
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Syracuse New York for a heartwarming
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reunion thanks to our viewers a woman's
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search for her past has finally come to
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an end joint perhaps you may be able to
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help solve on the street
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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thousands of people are reported missing
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every year most come home safely within
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a few days those who do not or
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eventually presume to be dead however in
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the bizarre case of Amy Billy who
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vanished in 1974 the passing years have
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produced a convincing chain of evidence
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that she is still alive
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tonight we join her family in their
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search one of the strangest and most
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provocative cases we have ever profiled
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Amy billig was 17 years old when she
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disappeared from her home in Coconut
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Grove Florida amy was an accomplished
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musician and singer who also wrote
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poetry that adhered to a strict
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vegetarian diet
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March 5th 1974 Amy came home from school
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at around noon as usual she planned to
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meet friends downtown for lunch before
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leaving she called her father Ned at
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work
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I had me I just got home from school I'm
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gonna be curtain taffy for lunch can I
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borrow two dollars Amy never did arrive
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at her father's business and she never
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showed up for her lunch date I started
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getting a little frantic when I hadn't
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heard from maybe by dinnertime and I
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told the friend that she had said she
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was going to be meeting and the girl was
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quite angry she said Amy never showed up
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we interviewed all of her family all of
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her friends all of her acquaintances we
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did a lot of canvassing of the
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neighborhood where she was last seen we
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did everything we could to try to find
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her you know we checked with hospitals
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and morgues and police departments all
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over the state and all over the country
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I remember the house is like a flurry of
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activity people were coming around
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there's a lot of people around the house
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trying to help out Manning the phones
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and there's so many telephone calls
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coming in the phones seem to be ringing
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off the hook MA 12 days after Amy's
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disappearance a frightened woman phoned
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with shocking news hello
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the anonymous caller claimed to be a
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member of a motorcycle gang known as the
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outlaws and she claimed that the outlaws
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had taken Amy
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during the nineteen seventies renegade
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biker gangs unnerved communities across
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the United States susan billig learned
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that a chapter of the outlaw is one of
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the most notorious gangs had indeed
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thundered through Coconut Grove about
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the time Amy disappeared
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we had to consider that maybe amy was
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abducted kidnapped taken away by their
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these bikers but it was always
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controversial with the police because
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these leads concerning the bikers were
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always vague and usually ended up
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nowhere however to the Billings the
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biker connection offered a ray of hope a
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family friend who had done legal work
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for the outlaws arranged for amy's
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parents to meet with two gang members I
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was frightened because I had never seen
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people like this before in my life and
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here they are in my living room I got a
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feeling of revulsion and hate and love
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at the same time I wanted them to give
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me information about my child and that
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was paramount I didn't care what they
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looked like these are pictures of my
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daughter she's missing thanks Tina
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no look look she's she's got brown eyes
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long brown hair is she's 17 and she's
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tall and thin they told me that these
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things do happen that the bikers will
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take girls and will sell them to one
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another so very little like a credit
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card or takes very little to buy a girl
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I was told that you would help me we'll
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take the picture if she's in the outlaw
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nation
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we'll let you know within two days what
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you know
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the two bikers promised to ask other
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gang members about Amy but they were
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never able to provide any information
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Amy
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could have been abducted and then sold
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from one individual to another the old
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lady is a way of making money they put
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her out making the money either topless
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dance and hooking
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ripping off credit cards anything that
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she can do to bring home the money too
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many bikers women or as they called them
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old ladies were nothing more than
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property susan was stunned to learn that
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if Amy had been abducted wouldn't have
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been the gangs first victim before I
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turned 13 I had been sold four times
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Jeana Andrew was abducted by bikers at
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the age of 12 she escaped five years
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later I mean I was sold for money
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I was traded for a motorcycle I was
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traded for leather chaps and that was
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like all I was worth pursues and billig
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the thought of her daughter in the hands
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of the bikers was unbearable but that
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was where the leads pointed and that was
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where she searched
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[Music]
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three months after Amy's disappearance
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her mother Susan tracked the outlaws to
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Orlando 160 miles away there she
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questioned dozens of people finally the
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manager of a convenience store told
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Susan that Amy had come in several times
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always escorted by at least two bikers
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how long though oh I don't know maybe a
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month or so she came in here a couple of
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times with some guys did she say
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anything to you
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no but I remember her because she was
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each time she came in she bought
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vegetarian vegetable soup and that stuck
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out in my mind vegetarian soup that's
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her
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a small but stunning detail Amy had been
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a committed vegetarian and Susan was now
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convinced that she had picked up Amy's
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train thank you very much do whatever if
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I see her again thank you hope you find
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her however another year and a half
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would slip by before Susan got another
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significant lead on january 9th 1976
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amy's 19th birthday
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a biker whom we will call Dave contacted
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Susan after seeing this picture in a
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newspaper they've claimed that he had
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actually owned Amy at one time he agreed
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to talk to Susan but only at his house
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and only if he drove Susan there
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I thought I might never see my husband
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again when I got in the back cup of the
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bike I thought I would never see Josh
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I'd never seen it again but I put it
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back in my head and I got on a bike and
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I went back he was very nervous about it
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he kept looking out the window to see if
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I had been followed just look at this
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picture and and tell me if that's her
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can you tell me about it can you
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describe her so I'll know that you know
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her yeah she when I first bought her she
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had lumps and was all drugged out and
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didn't talk
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he said she was quiet but she didn't
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speak to anybody that she was afraid of
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everybody
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he said she was like mute and the word
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kept coming up in descriptions of her
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through everything it was a scar down
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here most pertinent information that he
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gave me was that Amy had a scar and it
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was a scar that was hidden on her body
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that I had never divulged to the police
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or the press or anyone you've got to
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help me find her you're my last hope all
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right when I went into the joint I left
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her a white bike with a bro I gotta find
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him when you find them I've got to see
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her I've got to talk to her we'll see no
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no I have to see her I said we'll see
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let's go I wanted to kill him I wanted
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to tear pieces out of his skin but I
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didn't because it was important for me
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to relate to him on a one-to-one level
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otherwise I would never find Amy
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Susan could do little but wait while
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Dave made cautious inquiries finally he
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called with dramatic news Amy was with
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the outlaws in Tulsa Oklahoma some 1,200
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miles away
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Susan agreed to meet him there to press
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the search for Amy concerned about about
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her safety we were concerned about the
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investigation we didn't think it was a
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good idea but it was impossible ever to
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to try to discourage her from following
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up every lead no matter how dangerous
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she didn't care
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[Music]
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June 1976 Tulsa
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Amy had been absent now for more than
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two years in the moment Susan that long
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dreamed up seemed to be at hand dave
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told Susan that Amy will be delivered to
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the medic Tavern in the roughest part of
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town
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I was extremely excited I called home
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and I packed my bags at my hotel because
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I thought I'd have to run to the airport
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with her and we went to this dark bar
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where they were just bikers and people
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drinking drunk and everything and he set
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me down somewhere and and then he walked
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away from me
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few minutes after he walked away from me
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is when all hell broke loose in my bar I
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was afraid that I was going to be killed
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Susan is hustled outside whereas if by
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plan a taxi was waiting to whisk her
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back to the hotel if Amy had been
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anywhere near the bar Susan never caught
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a glimpse of her and Susan never again
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saw day although she learned that both
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his knees had been broken during the
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brawl of course at this point he didn't
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want to help me anymore but he did say
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to my attorney that the only information
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that he would give me is that he has
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heard that amy was possibly in Seattle
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at this point
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in November of 1977 Susan went to
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Seattle even though she had suffered a
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heart attack just two months earlier
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Susan began to frequent tawdry bars
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tattoo parlors and motorcycle shops they
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showed lots of photos to street people
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to shop owners to topless dancers and I
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said look there's no police involved
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it's just me I want my child back if you
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have any information please help me and
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you have to understand these people all
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have mothers and that's how I affected
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them several people recognized photos of
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Amy and they described her as always
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quiet as if she were mute but in the end
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Susan returned home empty-handed 18 more
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months would pass before news of Amy
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surfaced again
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it was a dead of winter in 1979 the
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fifth year of Amy's absence an anonymous
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male caller claimed amy was at a remote
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truck stop just outside Reno Nevada and
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that she desperately needed help the
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information was that I'm here now I know
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who Amy billig is I know she's been
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beaten up she's been drugged and she's
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here now at this truck stop and if you
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want her you come get her now because
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her life has could be in danger just
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respond we might get a find her FBI
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agents learned that a biker gang had
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indeed been at the truck stop briefly
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there was no way to verify whether Amy
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had been with them years past a decade
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still no word of Amy billig then in 1992
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a full 18 years after Amy disappeared
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Susan was contacted by Virginia's Snyder
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a private investigator in Florida music
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yes Snyder had stunning news from
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England halfway around the world that
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stirred hopes Amy billig might still be
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alive
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our British investigator had been
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working with Snyder on an unrelated case
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according to Snyder her colleague was in
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a post office and Falmouth in the South
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of England when he was approached by an
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American biker hey pops
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yes you look like you could use a little
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companionship I'm afraid I don't quite
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understand you look I got a girl for you
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it won't cost you much what do you say
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the investigator being a good
00:16:02
investigator engaged the man in
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conversation as far as I could gather to
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get as much information as he could
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about the girl that was being offered to
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him then of course he didn't buy her he
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wasn't interested and then he passed the
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information on to me it's very
00:16:18
interesting but do what kind of a
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counter shoot
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American cow English American girl Oh
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moister baby that's moist herb a New
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York was the birthplace of any big
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what's her name mean once again the word
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mute had surfaced in connection with Amy
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actually a photo girl she but surely it
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sounded like Amy and the fact that they
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called her mute really affected me
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because here all these years of my
00:16:55
search she had been mute had not talked
00:17:01
and here I was faced with the same
00:17:04
situation but in another country I
00:17:06
didn't know what to do
00:17:10
tragically one year after his strange
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encounter the British investigator
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passed away the tantalizing hints became
00:17:17
just another painful near-miss of the
00:17:19
endless search for Amy billing some
00:17:24
people speculate that Amy Billy would be
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dead but she's a young woman she would
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be in her late 30s if she survived the
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first four years there would be the
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hardest and I think she survived that
00:17:36
makes me believe she's still alive I
00:17:38
also feel that the information that we
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have from over there coincide so much
00:17:43
with the information about Amy over here
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that I believe she's still alive it's
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unlikely that she would be alive after
00:17:50
all these years unless she is making
00:17:53
them still making them good money she
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could still be doing something with
00:17:58
drugs or prostitution or dancing but
00:18:02
again I don't know the physical backbone
00:18:06
of a me Billy if she's a strong
00:18:08
individual and she has a strong will she
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could survive
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[Music]
00:18:33
when we return viewer tips bring about
00:18:36
an unexpected family reunion and the
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mystery of an enigmatic recluse left a
00:18:41
substantial estate that is still
00:18:43
unclaimed perhaps someone watching is
00:18:45
his heir in November of 1945 young woman
00:18:59
named Dorothy Johnson an 11 month old
00:19:01
daughter Ella cross-country train
00:19:03
heading to Utica New York beautiful
00:19:06
Dorothy was just 17 single and
00:19:09
struggling to make ends meet on the
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train she met a young sailor named
00:19:13
Donald Caffrey Donald who was on his way
00:19:21
to Omaha Nebraska proved to be patient
00:19:24
and sympathetic more than willing to
00:19:26
listen to Dorothy's troubles I'm sorry I
00:19:30
talked quite a bit to her and as we
00:19:35
started getting closer to Omaha why I
00:19:37
asked her if she would like to have me
00:19:39
take the baby home with me till she got
00:19:43
settled and could send for the baby or
00:19:45
maybe I could bring it to her and she
00:19:48
agreed on that
00:19:51
a few days later Dorothy wrote to Donald
00:19:54
as she wanted her baby back however when
00:19:57
circumstances prevented Dorothy from
00:19:59
returning to Omaha Donald and his wife
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adopted the infant and named her Sandra
00:20:04
when Sandra was a teenager she learned
00:20:06
the truth about her background and began
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to look for her birth mother I think she
00:20:13
got scared I think she wanted me but she
00:20:18
I don't think she had any help maybe
00:20:22
from her family to help her try to get
00:20:29
get back to me
00:20:33
on the night of our broadcast Sandra Lee
00:20:37
Nelson's long search came to a
00:20:39
bittersweet end a viewer called our
00:20:41
phone center with a sad news that
00:20:43
Dorothy Johnson had passed away in 1968
00:20:46
however Sandra was overjoyed to learn
00:20:48
that she had an uncle Mickey and to ask
00:20:50
Jan and Alice who had always wondered
00:20:53
about Sandra and were anxious to meet
00:20:55
her
00:20:58
a month later on December 28th 1993
00:21:01
Sandra and her husband Chet arrived in
00:21:04
Syracuse New York to receive a most
00:21:06
remarkable Christmas gift a house full
00:21:09
of relatives waiting to meet Sondra for
00:21:12
the very first time
00:21:13
[Music]
00:21:18
I didn't think I'd ever find anyone it
00:21:26
just gave me chills it just it just made
00:21:29
me feel real warm fight all gee what a
00:21:32
nice family this is Dean here Sandra her
00:21:39
new family began to compare notes on
00:21:41
Dorothy Johnson's life although Sandra
00:21:44
was unable to learn the identity of her
00:21:45
birth father she did discover that in
00:21:47
the early 1950s Dorothy had married a
00:21:50
man named Wayne Rogers Sandra now would
00:21:53
like to find Wayne Rogers in the hope
00:21:54
that she can fill in the remaining gaps
00:21:56
in her past
00:22:02
I'm getting little bits and pieces from
00:22:05
friends and relatives telling me a
00:22:08
little bit about her and which you know
00:22:11
these little things mean a great deal to
00:22:13
me I have found a family a wonderful
00:22:17
family that I never thought I'd ever
00:22:19
have this is the best holiday this time
00:22:28
in my life you would think that a
00:22:38
willing relative could always be found a
00:22:40
step forward and claim an inheritance
00:22:42
but every now and then even exhaustive
00:22:44
research will fail to turn up any heirs
00:22:46
whatsoever
00:22:47
tonight the case of a mysterious man
00:22:50
named Walter rice left a legacy of
00:22:52
unanswered questions and an estate worth
00:22:54
nearly one hundred and forty five
00:22:56
thousand dollars Walter rice lived alone
00:23:01
in a modest trailer on Oak Street in
00:23:03
McCormick South Carolina no one ever
00:23:07
came called the Walters seemed to prefer
00:23:09
it that way
00:23:10
[Music]
00:23:13
Walter rice was quite a mystery man
00:23:17
apparently he was just a reclusive
00:23:19
person he kept to himself he didn't he
00:23:22
didn't have anything to do with his
00:23:23
neighbors he never ventured out to meet
00:23:25
any of his neighbors on January 25th
00:23:30
1992 Walter took a cab home at for his
00:23:33
own car been wrecked in a traffic
00:23:34
accident sometime during the next week
00:23:37
Walter suffered a heart attack and died
00:23:39
before he could summon help
00:23:41
[Music]
00:23:47
incredibly a full year would pass before
00:23:50
Walters body was even noticed
00:23:52
the power company in the cable TV
00:23:54
company turned off service to his
00:23:56
trailer
00:23:56
eventually the post office began to
00:23:59
stamp his mail return to sender
00:24:01
in a bizarre improbable twist it was two
00:24:04
strangers who finally made the discovery
00:24:06
two strangers who Ward exactly on a
00:24:09
social call two people attempted to
00:24:13
break into the trailer they broke in the
00:24:16
front window and then went around to the
00:24:18
back door and his body was laying right
00:24:21
at the back door they were frightened
00:24:23
away after finding his body and sometime
00:24:26
later this could be a month or two later
00:24:28
they got a girlfriend of one of the
00:24:30
people who attempted to break in to call
00:24:33
the police department to notify them
00:24:36
that there was a dead body in the
00:24:37
trailer and Oak Street
00:24:40
Walter rice was 73 years old when he
00:24:43
passed away
00:24:45
judge kid took on the task of sorting
00:24:47
through Walters possessions
00:24:50
[Music]
00:24:51
I started looking through his papers all
00:24:54
of his effects in his trailer to
00:24:57
hopefully find something that would lead
00:24:58
me to a relative I spent some time on it
00:25:02
every day I became almost obsessed with
00:25:04
it it's been very frustrating not being
00:25:07
able to find a relative when at first I
00:25:09
thought it would be so easy initially I
00:25:14
didn't expect to find anything anything
00:25:15
made but after searching through water
00:25:18
Rice's personal effects papers bank
00:25:21
papers I found him to have an estate of
00:25:23
approximately a hundred and forty
00:25:25
thousand dollars that includes his lot
00:25:29
and trailer the judge began to piece
00:25:33
together the few known facts of waters
00:25:35
life pay stubs showed that from 1973 to
00:25:39
1983 Walter worked as a cook at the
00:25:41
Griswold in near Essex Connecticut mr.
00:25:44
rice you know it's 90s don't you yes I
00:25:46
know what tonight is Saturday night
00:25:50
during those 10 years water lifts
00:25:52
virtually without expense and a dorm for
00:25:54
hotel employees and authorities believe
00:25:57
this arrangement allowed him to amass a
00:25:59
small fortune in spite of his modest
00:26:01
wage
00:26:04
surprisingly none of Walter's co-workers
00:26:06
could tell judge kit very much about him
00:26:08
though they had worked side by side for
00:26:10
a decade it was interesting and I found
00:26:15
in his personal effects indications that
00:26:19
he had been to two different hospitals a
00:26:21
hospital in Augusta and also in
00:26:23
Abbeville only Augusta Hospital for
00:26:27
water listed in East J in his next of
00:26:29
kin however the name Jane rice appears
00:26:32
of no other official records at the
00:26:37
Abbeville Hospital Walter listed at
00:26:39
James Edwards but Edwards has proven to
00:26:42
be a neighbor not a relative
00:26:44
[Music]
00:26:48
Walter Isis born July 6 1920 in
00:26:51
Abbeville South Carolina to Edward and
00:26:53
Amanda Rice
00:26:54
he was a youngest of eight children
00:26:56
there is no record that Walter ever
00:26:58
marry than if he had no children any
00:27:00
nieces and nephews who survived him
00:27:03
would inherit his one hundred and forty
00:27:04
thousand dollar estate when we return a
00:27:18
schoolteacher is asked to testify
00:27:20
against an accused auto thief but just
00:27:23
before the trial he disappears without a
00:27:25
trace
00:27:29
[Music]
00:27:36
yeah buying cards polishing them up
00:27:42
tinkering until they run smooth and easy
00:27:44
cars with a passion of Oliver months a
00:27:47
schoolteacher from Baltimore Maryland in
00:27:51
January of 1983
00:27:53
Oliver acquired the car of his dreams a
00:27:56
fully loaded Datsun 240z
00:27:58
light yeah you have the title and
00:28:01
registration yeah you got my money
00:28:03
yep Oliver had no idea that
00:28:08
dennis.watson a man who sold in the car
00:28:10
was a ringleader of a sophisticated car
00:28:12
theft operation
00:28:14
Oliver slew 240z had been stolen three
00:28:17
months earlier a man on a proud owner of
00:28:20
a Z thanks joy all right all right
00:28:23
listen if you have any problem with it
00:28:26
over the next week or two a couple weeks
00:28:28
you give me a call you bring it over to
00:28:29
the shop but take care before okay
00:28:31
what's his garage was just a cover for
00:28:34
his Chop Shop where stolen cars were
00:28:36
dismantled and sold for parts are simply
00:28:38
resold with faked ownership papers
00:28:40
[Music]
00:28:44
for weeks authorities have been quietly
00:28:46
gathering evidence against Watson on
00:28:48
March 16th 1983 they decided to put him
00:28:52
out of business
00:28:59
[Music]
00:29:11
okay we're looking for registration
00:29:13
plates then plates and ownership
00:29:15
documents titles for vehicle police
00:29:17
recovered illegal titles partially
00:29:20
dismantled autumns can stolen vehicle ID
00:29:22
tags everything they needed to make a
00:29:25
case against dennis.watson v Maryland
00:29:27
plates one of the names have popped up
00:29:31
in the confiscated records was all over
00:29:33
months in we continue to check paperwork
00:29:37
we find that Oliver Munson has a Z card
00:29:39
we go out and the Z cars parked there
00:29:43
attempted to contact mr. Munson nobody
00:29:46
home at the house not knowing at that
00:29:48
time whether or not
00:29:50
Oliver Munson had bought this car or if
00:29:52
he was involved with dennis.watson and
00:29:55
as a result we took the car as evidence
00:29:57
until such time as we could continue an
00:29:59
investigation to determine what exactly
00:30:01
was his knowledge of the car Oliver
00:30:09
Munson was notified and later detective
00:30:12
Goodwin questioned him in person you
00:30:15
Oliver Munson yeah I'm detective Goodman
00:30:17
with former police ha laughs get it you
00:30:19
guys took my car wouldn't I
00:30:21
ticket to something no sir the car was
00:30:23
stolen a stolen vehicle oh no no I paid
00:30:26
for the car how much did you pay for
00:30:28
cars 1200 hours and some trades
00:30:31
[Music]
00:30:33
did Swanson finish Watson do you know
00:30:36
this dennis.watson have you ever dealt
00:30:37
with him before no I never met him
00:30:39
before my feeling was at that time and
00:30:42
still is that he had bought the car he'd
00:30:43
thinking that the car was in fact a
00:30:45
legitimate car so I had to go to court
00:30:48
yes sir you will have to go to court and
00:30:50
testify to the fact of how you got the
00:30:51
car according to Detective Goodwin
00:30:54
Oliver was nervous about testifying but
00:30:56
agreed knowing that he really had no
00:30:58
choice you have any questions you can
00:31:00
call me okay
00:31:06
nearly a year past Denis Watson's trial
00:31:10
was looming and Oliver was scheduled to
00:31:12
testify on February 16th 1984
00:31:16
three days before the trial
00:31:18
Oliver was seen just before he left for
00:31:21
work at around 8 a.m.
00:31:22
[Music]
00:31:24
Oliver turned onto Orpington Road and
00:31:27
simply vanished
00:31:28
[Music]
00:31:30
Oliver would rarely miss school and on
00:31:33
that particular Monday when he didn't
00:31:36
arrive some of the staff and the kids
00:31:39
start to worry that this is not a usual
00:31:42
practice for Oliver and maybe something
00:31:45
was you know occurring something was
00:31:46
wrong with him
00:31:49
Oliver's brother James telephone through
00:31:51
the night but got no answer the next day
00:31:55
he was worried enough to visit Oliver's
00:31:58
house himself when I went over to the
00:32:04
house I didn't have a sense of what was
00:32:06
going on I just thought maybe that he
00:32:09
was sick and I didn't know if he was
00:32:11
unconscious or whatever in the house I
00:32:13
know three days passed with no word from
00:32:18
Oliver months then Oliver's car was
00:32:22
found abandoned just a few blocks from
00:32:23
his home one tire was flat school papers
00:32:29
and the bagged lunch were on the front
00:32:31
seat but there was no evidence to
00:32:33
indicate what had happened to Oliver
00:32:35
months at that time I felt that there
00:32:40
was something wrong then the decision
00:32:43
was made here that we were looking at a
00:32:45
kidnapping or a homicide dennis.watson
00:32:49
became a focal point of the ensuing
00:32:51
investigation only then that police
00:32:54
discovered that this wasn't the first
00:32:56
time something had happened to a witness
00:32:58
in a case against dennis.watson
00:33:01
in 1973 a man named Clinton Glenn burn
00:33:05
to death from a vehicle that was
00:33:06
registered to Watson Glenn had been
00:33:09
scheduled to testify against Watson in
00:33:11
an armed robbery trial the very next day
00:33:15
based on the testimony of another
00:33:17
witness
00:33:17
Watson was indicted for Glenn's murder
00:33:19
however this key witness suddenly died
00:33:22
of a suspicious drug overdose
00:33:24
and the murder charges were dropped now
00:33:28
Oliver Munson had vanished but there was
00:33:31
no evidence to implicate dennis.watson
00:33:33
and he was never charged with a crime in
00:33:35
connection with the disappearance the
00:33:37
Munson investigation stalled until
00:33:40
police heard from a man named hilton
00:33:42
solomon solomon's car had been stolen
00:33:51
just hours before Oliver Munson
00:33:53
disappeared inside the car Solomon had
00:33:57
found a hat that would later be
00:33:59
identified as similar to one owned by
00:34:01
Oliver months Solomon took his car home
00:34:05
after it was released by Baltimore City
00:34:07
and several days later he decided to
00:34:09
clean the car while he was cleaning he
00:34:12
found several receipts from a video
00:34:15
store on these receipts was the name
00:34:19
Oliver Munson
00:34:23
we went down and looked at the car there
00:34:26
was ball rat brownish stain on the
00:34:28
carpet front right hand side of the
00:34:31
vehicle looked underneath of the seat on
00:34:35
in the brake by the track of the right
00:34:37
hand front seat I found a spent
00:34:39
cartridge case red smudges were also
00:34:43
found on one of the receipts tests
00:34:46
revealed that the stains were human
00:34:47
blood type o-positive
00:34:50
this finding strongly suggested that
00:34:53
Oliver had met with foul play but with
00:34:55
no records showing Oliver's blood type
00:34:57
and no other hard evidence the official
00:34:59
investigation ground to a halt as it
00:35:03
turned out
00:35:04
Oliver's disappears had no apparent
00:35:05
effect on the outcome of the trial
00:35:07
Watson pled guilty and was sentenced to
00:35:10
ten years in prison he was paroled in
00:35:12
1989 after serving half his term
00:35:16
meanwhile Oliver's friends and family
00:35:19
have spent year after painful year
00:35:21
without him it's been nearly 10 years
00:35:25
since Oliver disappeared and the kids at
00:35:27
school the ones who I keep in contact
00:35:30
with bill always asked that's one of the
00:35:32
first things and I just I don't know I
00:35:36
don't have any answer to give to him in
00:35:39
the last 10 years of my brother
00:35:41
disappearance it's been a burden on the
00:35:43
whole family today my mother's dot is
00:35:46
gone she wear it every day every night
00:35:48
she prayed and cried wondering about
00:35:51
where her first son is if anyone know
00:35:54
was seeing anything that day please
00:35:57
please help the family and to get the
00:35:59
burden off their chest
00:36:00
[Music]
00:36:05
next a woman who was given up for
00:36:07
adoption more than fifty years ago
00:36:09
needs your help to find her birth mother
00:36:21
during the Great Depression drought
00:36:23
transformed the fertile plains of
00:36:25
America's heartland into a desert
00:36:28
thousands of families were forced to
00:36:30
abandon their homes and roam the country
00:36:32
in search of jobs this is a story of a
00:36:36
young woman named Rosemarie Ledbetter in
00:36:38
the mid 1930s she and her family
00:36:41
apparently left Texas and joined the
00:36:43
faceless army of migrant farm workers
00:36:45
sure it's over there
00:36:48
in 1938 Rosa Marie found herself in
00:36:52
Pauls Valley Oklahoma for the cotton
00:36:54
harvest she was unmarried and working up
00:36:57
to 14 hours a day when she'd learned
00:36:59
that she was pregnant
00:37:00
thank you sure you're gonna be okay yes
00:37:02
I just think I need to sit here for a
00:37:04
little bit
00:37:05
[Music]
00:37:07
when Rosemarie could no longer work in
00:37:09
the field she packed her meager
00:37:11
belongings into a single suitcase and
00:37:13
hitched a ride to Oklahoma City alone
00:37:18
that would know where else to turn
00:37:20
she sought refuge in a shelter for unwed
00:37:22
mothers who called a home of redeeming
00:37:24
love on July 16th 1938 Rosemarie gave
00:37:31
birth to a daughter and placed her for
00:37:33
adoption today that daughter is a grown
00:37:38
woman who can sympathize with a
00:37:40
difficult decision
00:37:41
Rosemarie made more than fifty years ago
00:37:43
I don't think she had any choices and I
00:37:49
thank her for thinking of me and I had
00:37:55
parents that adopted me that I know they
00:37:59
also think
00:38:03
in August of 1991 meredith atkinson
00:38:07
accompanied by her husband returned to
00:38:09
the place of her birth looking for
00:38:11
information about her biological mother
00:38:13
i have many relatives that say why are
00:38:19
you trying to find out your parents
00:38:20
loved you and i said i know this but it
00:38:24
has nothing to do with them loving me i
00:38:28
need to find out for my own sake
00:38:32
madatha grown up in Oklahoma in Kansas
00:38:35
an only child doted upon by warm and
00:38:38
loving parents she never got the
00:38:42
slightest hint that there was anything
00:38:43
unusual about her background until 1990
00:38:46
when a relative revealed that Meredith
00:38:49
had been adopted
00:38:53
Meredith immediately tracked down her
00:38:55
original birth certificate she learned
00:38:57
that the name given to her at birth was
00:38:59
Mary Ann Ledbetter her father was listed
00:39:02
as unknown her mother's name was Rose
00:39:05
Marie Ledbetter
00:39:08
Meredith I'd like for you to keep in
00:39:09
mind that with adoption confidentiality
00:39:12
is always very important meaning in
00:39:14
Oklahoma Meredith was told estate laws
00:39:17
prevented the opening of adoption files
00:39:20
so today but a social worker did provide
00:39:23
Meredith was limited information I
00:39:25
believe it can give you a good feel for
00:39:27
your birth mother I found out that my
00:39:31
mother was Irish and German descent I
00:39:35
found out that she had one sister and
00:39:39
four brothers they were field workers
00:39:44
they had to move
00:39:46
and full of crops just trying to get by
00:39:50
and I thought about this I could see her
00:39:57
life and how rough it was and it it hurt
00:40:04
me to think that she maybe had a life
00:40:07
like this you may need it after you see
00:40:11
the surprise we got from Oklahoma today
00:40:14
Meredith and her husband returned to
00:40:16
their home in Arizona to continue the
00:40:18
search several months later
00:40:21
Meredith was elated when the home mailed
00:40:23
her a copy of a letter
00:40:24
Rosemarie had sent there a half a
00:40:26
century earlier Sunday August 25th 1940
00:40:33
dear Madam's I am been wanting to write
00:40:36
sooner but have never got around to it
00:40:38
I'm introduce myself I'm Rosemarie
00:40:42
Ledbetter I was with you all in 1938 my
00:40:46
baby girl Marianne was born July 16th
00:40:49
1938 I wonder if by any chance if you
00:40:53
could send me a picture of my baby girl
00:40:55
I would not ask or wish for anything
00:40:57
more I would appreciate it very much
00:41:01
Thank You mr. rose moving then better
00:41:06
I knew then that my mother was
00:41:10
interested in me she had been thinking
00:41:15
of me even after I was born I would like
00:41:20
to be able to look at her and tell her
00:41:25
mother I understand I know you had to do
00:41:30
what was best for you and that I'd like
00:41:34
to know you I'd like to get to know you
00:41:36
[Music]
00:41:39
as a direct result of our broadcast a
00:41:42
private investigator named Glenda Allen
00:41:44
contacted Meredith and volunteered to
00:41:46
take on the search just one month later
00:41:49
Meredith received the exciting news her
00:41:52
mother 78 year-old rosemary luck mer had
00:41:54
been found though she's been in failing
00:41:57
health for several years Rosemarie was
00:41:59
anxious to see her long-lost daughter in
00:42:06
September of 1994 Meredith and her two
00:42:09
children traveled from Arizona to
00:42:11
collude Oklahoma for the much
00:42:13
anticipated reunion
00:42:14
[Music]
00:42:22
Landis uncle water rose Marie's brother
00:42:25
answered the door yes Marianne I'm so
00:42:43
tickled I think that finding my mother
00:42:47
and seeing her in and her family has
00:42:50
brought closure to my life I needed
00:42:57
I needed this your even your even a
00:43:03
great-grandma do you know that yeah I'm
00:43:09
just tickled to death she's here yeah
00:43:14
this wish we was closer together we
00:43:15
could visit them more often you know but
00:43:17
I plan to go through there and visit her
00:43:19
and Eric's on them and I go to see my
00:43:22
brothers you know that way we kind of my
00:43:24
way up there might be a little out a bad
00:43:27
way but it'd be worth it
00:43:29
[Music]
00:43:31
it's like gaining a new family and you
00:43:35
know it's just like gaining new friends
00:43:37
too
00:43:40
I absolutely am going to be overjoyed to
00:43:45
write to them and talk to them and and
00:43:49
get to know them mother
00:43:59
[Music]
00:44:08
next week on unsolved mysteries in 1992
00:44:13
18 year old Andre Jones the son of a
00:44:16
local civil rights worker was arrested
00:44:18
at a routine police checkpoint in
00:44:19
Brandon Mississippi within 36 hours
00:44:23
Andres parents were informed that he had
00:44:24
been found hung in the shower stall of
00:44:26
his jail cell the death was ruled a
00:44:29
suicide but Andre Jones's family
00:44:31
believes he was murdered more than 60
00:44:35
years ago a pair of prospectors in
00:44:37
Wyoming happened upon the mummified
00:44:38
remains of a tiny human being x-rays
00:44:41
later revealed what appears to be a
00:44:43
fully developed skeleton just 17 inches
00:44:46
tall for some the mummy was proof that a
00:44:48
legendary race of supernatural beings
00:44:51
known as the little people actually
00:44:53
existed
00:44:53
the skeptics however are far from
00:44:56
convinced join me next time for another
00:44:59
intriguing edition unsolved mysteries
00:45:07
[Music]
00:45:29
[Applause]
00:45:33
[Music]
00:45:41
you
00:45:42
[Music]
