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Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 12

March 09, 2017 / 42:52

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers three main cases: the abduction of Angela Hammond, the search for buried treasure at the Alamo, and the mysterious disappearances of women linked to Robert Weeks.

The first segment focuses on Angela Hammond, a 20-year-old woman who was abducted while talking to her fiancé, Rob Schaefer, on the phone. Rob describes a suspicious green pickup truck and a dirty-looking man who approached Angie before she screamed. Despite extensive searches, Angela was never found, and authorities connected her case to two other unsolved cases in Missouri, suggesting a possible serial killer.

The second story investigates the legend of buried treasure beneath the Alamo, linked to a group of frontiersmen during the Texas Revolution. Treasure hunter Frank Busher, guided by psychic Maria Gomez, believes a fortune in silver and gold remains hidden. Although ground-penetrating radar indicates anomalies, no treasure has been found, leading to ongoing speculation about its existence.

The final segment details the disappearances of Cynthia Jabor and Carol Anne Riley, both last seen with Robert Weeks. Both women intended to end their relationships with him on the night they vanished. Weeks was later arrested and linked to their disappearances, but their bodies were never recovered.

This episode highlights the unresolved nature of these cases, inviting viewers to assist in finding answers.

TL;DR

Angela Hammond's abduction, Alamo treasure legend, and Robert Weeks' victims are featured in this episode.

Episode

42:52
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[Music]
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next on Unsolved
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Mysteries a young man is talking to his
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fiance when she is
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abducted he tracks her down but is it
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too
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late is there a fortune in silver and
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gold buried beneath the Alamo one
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treasure hunter is determined to find
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out she seemed like family a financial
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adviser who even baked for her clients
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but could she be trusted with their
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hard-earned
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money and it seemed like a romance that
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would last could her lover have been her
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[Music]
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killer whether it's murder Larsen or
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foul play sometimes these cases are
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solved thanks to you I'm Dennis finina
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and this is Unsolved Mysteries
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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he
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Clinton
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Missouri a quiet farming town in the
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heart of America normally this peaceful
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region feels insulated from Big City
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crime but that sense of security was
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shattered after a popular young
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woman was abducted and possibly
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murdered and Angela Hammond was an
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outgoing 20-year-old known to everyone
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as
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Angie her fiance Rob Schaefer was a star
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athlete in high
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school when he gave Angie a diamond
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engagement ring he promised to always
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take care of
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her I'll give you a call later okay
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great on a warm spring evening Angie
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dropped Rob at his house and said that
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she would call him in a few
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hours that was about 10:00
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I was going to meet her back up town as
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soon as my mom got home I was watching
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my little brother at the
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time and she called later on that
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night as promised Angie later called Rob
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from a pay phone in the center of town
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about seven blocks from his house while
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we were talking on the phone she
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mentioned to me about a truck circling
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around the block keep circling around
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the block an older model green Ford
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pickup truck do you recognize a truck
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no he's probably not from around here
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maybe he's just lost I guess so anyway
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Angie was unconcerned until the truck
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parked by the phone
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booth uh Rob he's pulling up next to the
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phones what's the driver look like he's
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kind of dirty looking he's got a
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mustache beard and glasses and he's
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wearing overalls and he's coming to the
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phones the truck is a light model green
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pickup truck with the one of those
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decals that covered the whole back
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window it looks like a leg scene with a
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fish jumping out of water what's he
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doing now
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Angie he used the phone next to her got
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back in his truck and looked at
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something with a flashlight and he was
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looking for
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something I had her turn around and ask
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him if he needed to use phone maybe the
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other phone was broke and he said no he
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just going to try again in a minute no
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maybe I should come down there oh Rob no
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I'm sure it's okay we just talked about
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other things we weren't too worried
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about it and that's when I heard her
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scream on the
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phone I ran out of the house just
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dropped the phone I didn't hang the
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phone back up when I heard a scream the
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only thing went through my mind is
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getting up there and finding out what
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the hell's going on I saw a pickup truck
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going past me and then somebody yelled
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out the window
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Robie that's how I knew it was them
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[Applause]
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as Rob chased the pickup through
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downtown he didn't realize that when he
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threw his car into reverse the
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transmission had been severely
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damaged I chased him about 2
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miles the transmission failed it uh it
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started dying as I was making my turn to
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the right
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[Music]
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all us all was break CL and
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dust well I blamed himself for it
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because he always told her he'd be there
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to take care of her and he tried he did
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everything that could be done you know
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nobody blames him but I think he thinks
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that people blame
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him the beginning is the
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hardest because you know you were close
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enough to get
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him but she just didn't get the job done
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and you still wake up at night wondering
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where she's at wondering what happened
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wondering if anybody's still
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looking you just wonder all the
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time Angie's kidnapping sent shock waves
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through the town the police and citizens
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searched far and wide by both air and
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land but found nothing the best hope for
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cracking the case rested on locating the
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pickup
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truck we had from the Missouri State
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Highway Patrol that did a computer
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search on all registered vehicles to
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their help we had like 1,600
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possibilities that we had to look after
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checking wherever these trucks are at on
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as far as color and if they had any
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mural in the back window uh with no
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success the police based their
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investigation on Rob Schaefer's
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testimony but when no Witnesses could
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back up his story Rob himself became a
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suspect I think you know it was natural
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that people wondered you know did the
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boyfriend do it type thing but my
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feeling I've known the kid all his life
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and I never doubted for a minute that he
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had anything to do with
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it within a week Rob was
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cleared shortly after police connected
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Angie's abduction to two other unsolved
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cases within a 100 miles of Clinton the
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first had occurred 3 months earlier near
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Max Creek Missouri listen I'm getting
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ready to close up but there's a man
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that's been hanging around outside for a
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while now and I'm 42-year-old Trudy
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Darby was working alone in a convenience
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store she called her son to report a
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suspicious man loitering outside Trudy's
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son hurried to the store but found it
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deserted 2 Days Later Trudy Derby was
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found on a riverbank 10 mi from the
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store she had been fatally shot twice in
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the
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head about a month later 30-year-old
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Cheryl an Kenny was reported missing a
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neveda Missouri roughly 70 mi from where
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the body of Trudy Darby had been
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found Cheryl an Kenny had also vanished
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from a convenience store where she
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worked she has not been seen
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since then less than one month after
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that Angie Hammond was abducted
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if Angela is found it might provide that
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link if they are related and maybe that
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be a connection uh to Trudy Derby how
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she was
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murdered authorities now suspected that
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a serial killer was on the loose in West
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Central
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Missouri if anybody out there sees
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anything you know if they could put
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their themselves in our place and know
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how we feel you know how heart-wrenching
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it is that she was taken even if the guy
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that took her sees this if he would just
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call and let him know what he did with
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her before she disappeared Angie
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described her abductor as a filthy
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bearded man who wore glasses and
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overalls he was driving a late 1960s or
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early 1970s two-tone green Ford pickup
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truck the back window was completely
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covered by a decal of a fish jumping out
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of water which may look like
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this a reward is being offered for leads
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in this case if you have any information
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please log on to our website at
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unsolved.com
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next the search for a treasure of silver
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and gold that may be buried beneath the
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legendary Alamo
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Remember the
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Alamo the famous battlecry was
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immortalized in
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history but for some the full story of
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the Alim has yet to be
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told Legend has it that in the shadow of
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the alamo's Old Mission a treasure
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remains buried a secret which dates back
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to
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1836 the year of the f famous
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battle that January a group of rugged
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frontiersmen made their way across
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southern Texas by some accounts they
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were loaded down with a fortune in
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silver and
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gold the legendary Sans SAA treasure
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said to be worth millions of
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dollars the men led by Colonel Jim Buie
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were headed for the Alamo the treasure
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was intended to finance the Texas
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Revolution for independence from Mexico
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two months later buoy and 188 other men
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including Davey Crockett made a
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courageous stand against 6,000
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well-trained Mexican troops at the
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alamoo not one of the Defenders lived to
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tell the tale however the legend of the
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treasure did
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survive professional Fortune Hunter and
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historical researcher Frank busher first
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heard about the treasure at the Alamo
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during a trip to Mexico
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he was introduced to Maria Gomez a
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respected museum curator who also had a
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reputation as a
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psychic did you know that there is a
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treasure buried at the Alamo I never
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heard of any treasure surrounding the
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Battle of the Alamo it is just a valiant
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battle that was lost then she went on to
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describe it as gold
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coins uh artifacts silver artifacts
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religious artifacts Frank was told that
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some of the treasure had been removed by
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Mexican soldiers but that most of it
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still remained hidden at the AL she's
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going to draw you a
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map this is Maria's map she predicted
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that the treasure would be found here at
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the bottom of an old well even though
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Maria said that she had never been to
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the Alamo she had indicated the spot
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where a well was duck just before the
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siege the well was in the the plaza
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which was surrounded by 12T tall stone
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walls it was Within These Walls that the
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Texans held out for a full 13 days The
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Defenders put down one Advance after
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another but in the end 189 men could not
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hold off 6,000 Mexican
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soldiers Frank believed that in a final
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desperate act Jim Buie ordered the
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treasure to be hidden at the bottom of
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the well
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hand it down to me this really is the
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First Bank of Texas the first catch of
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precious metals that would have bought
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them the arms and uniforms they
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needed the only way they preserve it is
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to all stick together and fight the
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battle out to whatever outcome it had
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the reason why it's remained there is
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because everybody
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died Frank believes that the treasur is
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located beneath the road in front of the
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chapel but to many native Texans his
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theory doesn't hold
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up the people of the Almo I don't think
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they were guarding a treasure when your
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life is on the line like it was in the
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battle with General santiana I don't
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think you're thinking about silver or
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gold
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Bon I think you're thinking about your
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life and I don't think you would be
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polluting your water well because you
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don't know how long your siege is going
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to
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be despite the controversy Frank was
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determined to prove his point he
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obtained permission to survey the area
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with ground pedit trting radar okay we
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got a
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void so we've got a nice little area
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there about 3 to 4 M down looks to be
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maybe a covered over syst that's all
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strictly conjectured but uh this is a a
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very good looking
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Target to their trained eyes the radar
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display showed several irregularities
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beneath the surface the largest which
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Frank believes to be the sight of the
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well is in the exact location where
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Maria Gomez predicted the treasure would
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be found it kind of brought all my
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research to fruition at that point
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because I knew with the map her story
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and then plugging it into Texas history
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that I was on a hot Trail and any
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disension that I had within my own mind
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about whether I should follow this any
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further was gone the anomalies could be
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caused by many things I think it could
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be debris equipment left by the Texans
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it could be something several years
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later that was deposited there and I
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think that probably that could be part
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of what they're picking up out
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there Frank spent three and A2 years
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acquiring the necessary permits and
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financing to excavate the site the
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archaeology department at St Mary's
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University agreed to oversee the project
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here for Project Director Thomas gjn
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anything that turns up during the
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excavation will have historical
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value whether it's treasure as in gold
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and silver and that sort of thing or
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whether it is materials that were thrown
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into the well during the battle
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materials that were thrown into the well
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during the cleanup after the battle
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doesn't make any difference to us while
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we're looking at it in a historicals
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perspective whatever it is it's a time
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capsule the plans call for Excavating a
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15x 15 ft area directly above above the
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well a work crew needed to First remove
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3 ft of Flagstone and roaded to reach
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the top of the Fillin
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well I'm interested in what he finds and
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if it's a treasure that'll be very
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exciting if it's a cannon ball a part of
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a cannon that'll be interesting to know
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about it'll be another part of History
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what we do know about that ground is it
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hasn't been Disturbed since the battle
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and we have a time capsule down there no
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matter what it is and it is a treasure
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no matter what it
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is 4T beneath the surface of the
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courtyard the team began to find
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artifacts fragments of Native American
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pottery the bones of butchered animals
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and primitive cooking utensils each
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Relic had to be carefully Unearthed and
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properly
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cataloged while we haven't been able to
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move as quickly as we ever originally
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intended to the reason is very good
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reason because we found something no one
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expected to find here and that's intact
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18th century
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materials these items are a valuable
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treasure in themselves rare artifacts
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that help piece together a history of
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the Alamo from the 1750s up to the final
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battle nearly a century later here we
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have grape shot we think this is from
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the actual battle we also have this that
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looks like it is the uh headpiece to a
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Mexican soldier's
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hat would signify his unit and that sort
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of thing and this may well be part of a
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saber from the
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battle as the archaeologist inch closer
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and closer to the irregularities picked
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up by radar the discoveries they had
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already made gave them hope but optimism
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soon turned to disappointment they found
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no sign of the
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treasure yet some remain convinced that
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the gold and silver still exist
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somewhere beneath the Alamo
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and for them the search will
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continue next a woman agrees to see an
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ex-boyfriend one last time and is found
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[Music]
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murdered in a quiet neighborhood in
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Tampa Florida Erica Richardson is
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excited and a bit nervous about her
00:17:58
first first date with John FIA thank you
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Erica is shy and hasn't dated much FIA
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has a reputation as a ladies man but
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that night she and FIA hit it
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off when I first saw them together they
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look nice and I thought that you know
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they would make a nice
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couple John FIA swept Erica off her feet
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and the two became Inseparable although
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some family and friends thought the
00:18:29
relationship was moving too fast Erica
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was convinced that John was her Mr Right
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she was
00:18:36
wrong okay
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honey I am off to the mall and I will be
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back in about a couple of hours okay
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yeah to the mall the trouble started not
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long after FIA moved in with Erica but
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why not she's a good friend of mine I
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could see that he was wearing a
00:18:53
mask I discovered him to be a jealous
00:18:56
mean controlling
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person he was just too possessive he
00:19:02
wanted Eric all to himself don't be so
00:19:05
paranoid and jealous I am not Not only
00:19:08
was he possessive he wanted to isolate
00:19:11
her not only from her family but from
00:19:15
friends
00:19:17
too over the next several months the
00:19:19
relationship continued to
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unravel
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okay Pharmacy what took you so long to
00:19:27
get to the phone girl John you cannot
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continue to call me here at work like
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this we FIA had wild mood swings and
00:19:33
frequently called Erica at work accusing
00:19:36
her of being unfaithful I have to go
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okay thank you FIA moved out of the
00:19:45
house but his erratic Behavior continued
00:19:49
who was that he began showing up at
00:19:51
Erica's work unannounced harassing and
00:19:54
threatening her what are you doing here
00:19:55
trying to get smart with me Erica was
00:19:57
really afraid of John because of the
00:20:01
threats what he said he would do to
00:20:05
her Erica filed a restraining order
00:20:08
still FIA showed up at her house at all
00:20:12
hours finally with the help of her
00:20:14
father She Found the courage to call the
00:20:16
police and have him
00:20:18
arrested despite the threat of jail time
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FIA continue to stalk
00:20:25
Erica so I'm just going to go home
00:20:26
tonight one Saturday a few weeks Before
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Christmas Erica met her mother at a
00:20:31
local mall to do some
00:20:33
shopping hey babe come
00:20:37
here don't worry M I can handle it
00:20:41
okay I miss you you miss me and I just
00:20:45
want to talk that's all Erica's mother
00:20:46
didn't hear much of the conversation but
00:20:49
she wasn't surprised when her daughter
00:20:51
agreed to meet with FIA that afternoon I
00:20:54
don't know well John was the type person
00:20:58
that he could sweet talk a lady and he
00:21:01
made promises that you know things were
00:21:03
going to get better he was going to do
00:21:06
better and of course she took him at his
00:21:11
word Sunday came and went and imagene
00:21:14
heard nothing from
00:21:16
Erica I didn't hardly sleep that night
00:21:19
thinking about it Monday morning I
00:21:22
called Erica's house and I didn't get an
00:21:26
answer so I called her
00:21:29
job she had not shown up at the pharmacy
00:21:32
and she hadn't called in concerned
00:21:34
imagine went to Erica's
00:21:37
house John's pickup truck was in the
00:21:41
driveway I went to the
00:21:45
door and that's when I looked in the
00:21:49
window and nothing seemed to have been
00:21:53
Disturbed I started to my car and
00:21:56
something told me to go
00:21:59
back Erica and I looked through another
00:22:03
window and that's when I saw a knife and
00:22:09
blood and I knew then something had
00:22:12
happened to my
00:22:14
daughter minutes later police confirmed
00:22:17
imagine's worst fears Erica had been
00:22:21
stabbed to
00:22:24
death Erica was my daughter my friend
00:22:29
she was successful she was bright she
00:22:32
was caring loving she was just a
00:22:37
daughter that any mother would love to
00:22:40
have when I lost Erica I lost part of
00:22:46
me there were some articles that were
00:22:49
strown about the home which were
00:22:51
indicative of a struggle uh there were
00:22:53
no items of value that appeared to us at
00:22:56
that point in time missing from the home
00:22:58
uh indicating to us that someone maybe
00:23:00
she knew might have been in the
00:23:03
home we found of course Erica
00:23:05
Richardson's blood but we also found the
00:23:08
blood of a second party mixed in with
00:23:11
her
00:23:11
blood detectives suspected the blood of
00:23:14
the second party belonged to FIA but
00:23:17
they couldn't prove it without a sample
00:23:19
of his DNA fia's fingerprints were all
00:23:22
over the crime scene but that wasn't
00:23:24
considered evident since he had lived in
00:23:26
the same house there was one solid lead
00:23:30
an eyewitness reported seeing FIA
00:23:33
driving Erica's 1992 Honda a short time
00:23:37
after she was
00:23:39
killed we issued the warrant for his
00:23:42
arrest based on those facts the vehicle
00:23:44
was ultimately located on December 23rd
00:23:47
in Lafayette Louisiana where he has a
00:23:50
lot of family and
00:23:52
friends detectives questioned fia's
00:23:55
family but they insisted that they
00:23:57
hadn't seen him in several weeks weeks
00:23:59
today John FIA is still on the Run he is
00:24:03
wanted for Grand Theft Auto and unlawful
00:24:06
flight to avoid prosecution and he
00:24:09
remains the number one suspect in the
00:24:11
murder of Erica
00:24:16
Richardson
00:24:18
update John FIA has been found but not
00:24:22
in a manner anyone
00:24:25
expected FBI and state authorities
00:24:27
matched the D from the Erica Richardson
00:24:30
crime scene to that of an unidentified
00:24:32
body in a Louisiana morg the corpse
00:24:36
known as John do a
00:24:40
98-71 had been pulled from a local River
00:24:43
4 months after Erica was murdered
00:24:46
however another 10 years would pass
00:24:49
before DNA technology allowed the match
00:24:52
to finally be made the dead man was John
00:24:56
FIA authorities are convinced that FIA
00:24:59
killed Erica Richardson and they have
00:25:02
now closed that case however FIA himself
00:25:06
was murdered and his case remains
00:25:10
open if you have any information about
00:25:13
the death of John FIA please log on to
00:25:16
our website at
00:25:18
unsolved.com
00:25:19
[Music]
00:25:23
next she seems like a cute little old
00:25:26
lady but she's really a Hunning
00:25:34
[Music]
00:25:37
crook you know most of us consider
00:25:40
ourselves pretty decent judges of
00:25:42
character we think we'd know a crook if
00:25:45
we saw one but Connors come in all
00:25:48
shapes sizes and
00:25:52
[Music]
00:25:54
ages Beverly Hills California
00:25:58
morning everybody come on on Katie for 2
00:26:01
years this grandmotherly con artist ran
00:26:04
what appeared to be a successful
00:26:07
investment business got but she was
00:26:10
hiding illegal activities behind a mask
00:26:12
of southern hospitality and homemade
00:26:16
fruitcake this devious Criminal made off
00:26:19
with $3 million of her Investor's
00:26:22
money you couldn't help but like her and
00:26:26
when you looked at the woman she was so
00:26:28
smooth and trusting and very soft cell
00:26:32
that you thought of as Almost Family she
00:26:35
never lost her touch in the kitchen I
00:26:37
mean I'm not a big fruit cake lover but
00:26:40
they were delicious to be honest with
00:26:41
you as you see this carpeting is so
00:26:44
beautiful isn't it Gert puit claimed
00:26:47
that her investment opportunities came
00:26:49
from special connections with carpet
00:26:51
factories and textile mills in the South
00:26:54
and we have pre-old a large order to
00:26:57
Hotel change what impressed me the most
00:26:59
was that although the return seemed
00:27:02
almost too good to be true gertude
00:27:05
seemed like such a loving sincere person
00:27:08
that it was a
00:27:10
legitimate investment and that she could
00:27:13
do no harm to her investors well of
00:27:15
course you should give it some thought I
00:27:18
think it would be nice if you would talk
00:27:19
to Cecil about a little
00:27:22
more ger took good care of her clients
00:27:26
she often hired limousines to bring them
00:27:28
to her Posh office one investor was a
00:27:31
woman will call Mna hi hi I'm m p
00:27:37
selected a really magnificent outlay for
00:27:41
just selling carpets I mean this was two
00:27:43
stories
00:27:44
high well my first impression of Gert
00:27:47
was that she was standing there sizing
00:27:49
me up Mrs Pon how nice to meet you and
00:27:54
then because she was so cordial she was
00:27:56
Southern and warm that I forgot all
00:27:59
about the fact that I was being sized up
00:28:02
and just entered into her world of how
00:28:05
bright she was and how able she was I
00:28:07
have a wonderful business opportunity
00:28:09
for you have you I originally invested
00:28:12
about
00:28:13
20,000 but as I watched the operation
00:28:16
from the balance sheets that were coming
00:28:18
out monthly and and watched the fact
00:28:20
that people were getting their interest
00:28:22
I invested more and this is my secretary
00:28:25
Jennifer well gerud really was the
00:28:28
office handling the customers handling
00:28:30
the money and Harold was in his office
00:28:33
but what he was doing I never
00:28:36
knew gertrud's 40-year-old son Harold
00:28:39
was her partner in the business but he
00:28:41
had very little contact with the clients
00:28:44
he was described as a bad-tempered
00:28:45
unfriendly man much different than his
00:28:48
Sweet Southern
00:28:50
mother even though I was gertude and
00:28:53
Harold's Banker for 2 and 1/2 years I
00:28:56
never really met Harold for almost the
00:28:59
first year and a half he was the kind of
00:29:01
a person who you would not have trusted
00:29:06
or bought a car from you might
00:29:08
say mner had already invested
00:29:12
$100,000 before she became suspicious
00:29:15
that something was wrong that check you
00:29:18
gave me it bounced I just came from the
00:29:20
bank they said insufficient funds I
00:29:21
don't believe that well I do I just came
00:29:23
from the bank I know what to have yet
00:29:25
sick as I was inside was still playing
00:29:29
it like a friend which I thought she
00:29:33
was Merna just could not believe that
00:29:36
this charming woman could be conning her
00:29:38
but instead of pressing the issue she
00:29:40
ended up taking home a fruit cake and
00:29:43
accepting a lunch date thank you a we
00:29:46
put you to some trouble so how about
00:29:48
lunch next
00:29:50
week but Mna wasn't the only investor to
00:29:53
receive a bad check the office was
00:29:56
flooded with dozens of angry recalls
00:29:58
Gertrude and Harold were conveniently
00:30:03
unavailable finally an employee named
00:30:05
Cecil trell secretly contacted the Pro's
00:30:08
accountant Cecil had discovered that the
00:30:11
financial statements Gert was showing
00:30:13
investors were completely different than
00:30:16
the accountants
00:30:17
records well Steve that can only mean
00:30:19
that statements are fraudulent it was at
00:30:22
that particular period of time I knew
00:30:25
that there were serious problems and I
00:30:27
just didn't know where they had been
00:30:28
stashing money okay I'll get back to
00:30:30
here bye so at night sometimes between
00:30:34
the wee bitty hours of 1 and 3 I made
00:30:36
midnight
00:30:37
raids I found every cancelled check
00:30:40
every statement that had been paid
00:30:42
everything that I could remove out of
00:30:44
that
00:30:45
office and by the end of the time I had
00:30:48
about four cardboard boxes full of
00:30:51
stuff because Cecil's friends and family
00:30:54
also invested money with the prits he
00:30:56
confronted Harold with his evidence
00:30:58
Harold I've got enough evidence to prove
00:31:00
that this whole company's a phony he
00:31:02
told me all of the people had done
00:31:04
nothing but made Investments and there
00:31:06
was a risk to be made and I looked at
00:31:08
him and I said to him I said Harold they
00:31:12
made an investment on a pack of lies
00:31:14
that you have presented to them and
00:31:16
that's called
00:31:18
fraud Cecil reported Harold and gertrud
00:31:21
to the police but by then both had
00:31:23
disappeared taking their Investor's
00:31:25
money with them
00:31:28
eventually the FBI Tracked Down Harold
00:31:30
and brought him to trial none of the
00:31:32
Investor's money was ever recovered and
00:31:35
sweet motherly Gertrude was nowhere to
00:31:38
be found it was really amazing that
00:31:41
Gertrude would leave Harold behind to
00:31:43
take the rap everybody thought that
00:31:46
Harold was a little bit of a hard
00:31:48
character but Gertrude still was the
00:31:51
sweet loving mama and when she failed to
00:31:54
show up and became a fugitive every body
00:31:58
was surprised I've read every one of the
00:32:00
letters that came into based on the
00:32:02
testimony of 10 victims Harold was
00:32:04
convicted on 20 counts of male fraud he
00:32:07
was sentenced to 8 years in prison and
00:32:09
was released after serving 51 months but
00:32:12
his mother remained a wanted
00:32:15
[Music]
00:32:17
fugitive
00:32:20
update ger Brit was captured in
00:32:23
Bakersfield California just minutes
00:32:26
after the story air
00:32:28
the FBI received several calls from
00:32:30
viewers who recognized puit 5 days later
00:32:34
she was arrested at a residence where
00:32:36
she was working as a live-in housekeeper
00:32:39
under the assum named Martha gray Gert
00:32:42
puit pleaded guilty to seven counts of
00:32:45
male fraud she was ordered to pay
00:32:47
restitution to her investors and
00:32:49
sentenced to 8 years in prison gerud
00:32:53
puit has since passed away
00:32:59
[Music]
00:33:00
coming up three different women
00:33:02
disappear after a dinner date with the
00:33:05
same
00:33:10
[Music]
00:33:13
man on a previous broadcast We examined
00:33:16
the case of Annie Lori Haron wife of
00:33:19
Robert Haron senior one of the
00:33:22
wealthiest men in
00:33:24
Mississippi one afternoon a kidnapper
00:33:26
abducted Annie L from her home in
00:33:28
Jackson and left behind a bizarre Ransom
00:33:32
John you need to take a look at this it
00:33:34
demanded that her husband Robert paid
00:33:36
money to 12 people all had been sued by
00:33:40
a company that he
00:33:43
controlled neighbors said that they saw
00:33:46
a suspicious white van with Florida
00:33:48
license plates driving by the Heron home
00:33:51
just before the kidnapping Robert Heron
00:33:54
held a press conference and made a
00:33:56
personal plea to the kidnappers
00:33:58
for his wife's safe return my children I
00:34:02
appeal to whomever has my wife that they
00:34:05
may say that she may be safely returned
00:34:07
to us thank
00:34:10
you 8 Days Later Robert received a
00:34:13
letter postmark Atlanta Georgia he
00:34:16
recognized the handwriting as his wife's
00:34:19
Bob if you don't do what these people
00:34:21
want you to do they are going to seal me
00:34:24
up in the cellar of this house with only
00:34:26
a few jugs of water
00:34:28
please save
00:34:30
me Robert sent out checks totaling
00:34:33
nearly $1 million to the people named on
00:34:36
the kidnapping
00:34:37
list he never again heard from the
00:34:41
kidnapper or from his
00:34:45
wife
00:34:47
update Newton Alfred win was arrested by
00:34:50
the FBI in Florida on charges related to
00:34:53
the Abduction of Annie Lorie Haron wi
00:34:56
was a lawyer who had business dealings
00:34:59
with Robert heren and was one of the 12
00:35:01
people named in the ransom note less
00:35:04
than one month before the kidnapping W
00:35:07
had purchased the van which matched the
00:35:09
description of the vehicle seen in the
00:35:12
Heron neighborhood a Florida woman also
00:35:15
told police that 16 days after Annie
00:35:18
Lori was kidnapped wi paid her
00:35:21
$500 to fly to Atlanta and mail a letter
00:35:25
she identified the letter as the same
00:35:27
one Robert Harren received from his
00:35:30
wife Newton Alfred win was convicted of
00:35:33
conspiracy to kidnap extortion by mail
00:35:36
and perjury he was sentenced to 19 years
00:35:39
and 7 months in prison and has since
00:35:42
been
00:35:43
released Annie Lori has never been found
00:35:46
Robert Haron has since died however his
00:35:50
family continues to hope that the case
00:35:52
will someday be solved if you have any
00:35:55
information about the kidnapping of
00:35:57
Annie Lori Heron or what might have
00:36:00
happened to her please log on to our
00:36:02
website at UNS south.com
00:36:09
in Las Vegas Nevada real estate agent
00:36:12
Cynthia Jabor plans to have dinner with
00:36:14
her boyfriend she intends to end their
00:36:17
six-year
00:36:20
relationship that evening Cynthia
00:36:25
disappears 5 years later in San Diego
00:36:28
California Carol Anne Riley has a dinner
00:36:31
date with her
00:36:35
boyfriend like Cynthia Jabor Carol also
00:36:38
intends to end the
00:36:40
relationship that evening Carol
00:36:44
disappears in Las Vegas Cynthia's dinner
00:36:47
date was with this man Robert weeks
00:36:50
Carol vanished after having dinner with
00:36:52
this man Robert
00:36:54
Smith Smith and weeks are one and the
00:36:58
same
00:37:00
person Cynthia Jabor was last seen at
00:37:02
10:30 p.m. in the lobby of this Los
00:37:05
Vegas condo where Robert weeks lived it
00:37:08
was the night Cynthia planned to tell
00:37:10
weeks that their romance was over the
00:37:14
relationship between Bob weeks and
00:37:16
Cynthia had been an on and off Affair
00:37:19
for the last 6 years and she always said
00:37:22
she would never marry him my husband
00:37:25
always said he has Shifty eyes and he
00:37:27
did his eyes were very cool and
00:37:30
calculating and Cynthia always said I
00:37:33
can handle Bob don't worry I can handle
00:37:37
Bob hello you res of when Susan didn't
00:37:42
hear from Cynthia for 2 days she became
00:37:45
worried and called her apartment no one
00:37:49
answered with the help of a locksmith
00:37:51
and a security guard she forced her way
00:37:54
into Cynthia's apartment
00:37:57
let me go first the whole experience was
00:38:00
a very very strange and Eerie feeling
00:38:03
for me Cynthia Cynthia are you here on
00:38:08
the one hand I knew I had to do it and
00:38:10
on the other hand I was very afraid that
00:38:13
Cynthia may be
00:38:18
murdered what went through my mind was
00:38:21
that she was either with Bob weeks in
00:38:24
Northern California and on a whim maybe
00:38:27
she had left and not told anybody or he
00:38:31
he had done something to
00:38:33
[Music]
00:38:34
her 5 years later in San Diego the same
00:38:38
thing happened on the day that she
00:38:40
disappeared Carol Anne Riley spoke to a
00:38:42
friend about her dinner date with Robert
00:38:44
Smith and said that she planned to end
00:38:46
the relationship that evening she had
00:38:49
just decided he was not the kind of
00:38:51
person she was interested in being
00:38:52
acquainted with and to have to tell him
00:38:54
that she didn't want that that she in
00:38:56
fact was leaving town that she in fact
00:38:58
was getting married to someone else she
00:39:00
was just afraid would be an awkward
00:39:01
difficult thing to explain to
00:39:05
him when they couldn't reach Carol by
00:39:08
phone her family and friends hired a
00:39:10
private investigator 2 days later he
00:39:13
searched her
00:39:15
apartment as I walked through Carol's
00:39:17
apartment I felt some
00:39:19
uncertainty all along the family had
00:39:21
been asking if I felt that Carol was
00:39:23
dead and it was unpleasant for me to
00:39:26
have to tell them that I did in fact
00:39:28
feel that Carol was
00:39:30
dead there were other similarities in
00:39:33
the two
00:39:34
cases 6 days after Cynthia vanished her
00:39:38
car was found in a Las Vegas hotel
00:39:40
parking
00:39:41
lot a few days after Carol disappeared
00:39:45
her car was found in the parking lot of
00:39:48
a San Diego hotel more evidence was
00:39:51
found in Robert weeks's Personal Diary
00:39:54
Cynthia had been dating a man named AR
00:39:57
and weeks wrote quote Cynthia aren dead
00:40:01
for sure Cynthia art dead damn
00:40:07
you but Cynthia and Carol weren't
00:40:09
weeks's only victims earlier his wife
00:40:12
Patricia had disappeared just a few
00:40:15
weeks after she filed for divorce like
00:40:18
the others her abandoned car was also
00:40:21
discovered in a parking lot when I found
00:40:25
out who Robert Smith really was was and
00:40:27
that other people in his past had
00:40:29
disappeared my first reaction was the
00:40:32
son of a gun has done it again I was
00:40:35
just like horrified that he's gotten
00:40:38
away with it one more
00:40:40
time when weeks was questioned by police
00:40:43
in San Diego he claimed that the women
00:40:45
had canceled the dates and that he had
00:40:47
no idea what happened to them because no
00:40:50
bodies were found the police could not
00:40:52
charge him with murder weeks immediately
00:40:55
disappeared and a warrant was issued Ed
00:40:57
for unlawful flight for other crimes in
00:41:02
Nevada
00:41:04
update the day after this story aired
00:41:07
Robert weeks was captured in Arizona his
00:41:10
girlfriend turned him in after she saw
00:41:12
our
00:41:13
broadcast viewers also called a
00:41:15
television station in Tucson saying that
00:41:18
they recognized weeks as a local
00:41:20
businessman named Charles
00:41:23
Stenberg he was running a company called
00:41:26
snuff it with made
00:41:28
ashr his business partner was
00:41:31
interviewed shortly after the arrest he
00:41:34
said I haven't told anybody this yet but
00:41:37
I watched that program and I said what
00:41:40
he said yeah he said I watched it but I
00:41:42
didn't figure any of my friends would be
00:41:45
watching weeks was brought back to
00:41:47
Nevada on a prior embezzlement charge
00:41:50
shortly thereafter he was indicted on
00:41:52
two counts of murder he was sentenced to
00:41:56
life without the possibility of parole
00:41:58
and later died in prison his victim's
00:42:01
bodies were never found police supect
00:42:05
that he hid them in one of the many
00:42:07
abandoned Minds in Nevada
00:42:23
[Music]
00:42:29
[Music]
00:42:40
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 75
    Most dramatic
  • 75
    Biggest twist

Episode Highlights

  • Angie's Abduction
    A young woman is abducted while talking to her fiancé on the phone.
    “I heard her scream on the phone.”
    @ 04m 04s
    March 09, 2017
  • The Search for Treasure at the Alamo
    Legend has it that a treasure remains buried beneath the Alamo, dating back to 1836.
    “Did you know that there is a treasure buried at the Alamo?”
    @ 11m 15s
    March 09, 2017
  • Erica Richardson's Tragic Murder
    Erica Richardson is found murdered after agreeing to meet her ex-boyfriend one last time.
    “Erica had been stabbed to death.”
    @ 22m 21s
    March 09, 2017
  • John FIA's Mysterious Death
    The murder case of Erica Richardson leads to the discovery of her ex-boyfriend's body.
    “Authorities are convinced that FIA killed Erica Richardson.”
    @ 24m 59s
    March 09, 2017
  • The Deceptive Charm of Gertrude
    Gertrude Puit, a grandmotherly con artist, swindled investors out of millions while maintaining a facade of warmth and hospitality.
    “You couldn't help but like her.”
    @ 26m 22s
    March 09, 2017
  • Cecil's Discovery
    Cecil Trell uncovered the fraudulent financial statements that revealed Gertrude and Harold's scam, leading to their downfall.
    “They made an investment on a pack of lies.”
    @ 31m 12s
    March 09, 2017
  • The Disappearance of Cynthia and Carol
    Cynthia Jabor and Carol Anne Riley both vanished after dinner dates with Robert Weeks, who had a troubling history.
    “Cynthia aren't dead for sure.”
    @ 40m 01s
    March 09, 2017

Episode Quotes

  • I ran out of the house just dropped the phone.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 12
  • If anybody out there sees anything...
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 12
  • She was successful, she was bright, she was caring, loving.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 12
  • When I lost Erica, I lost part of me.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 12
  • They made an investment on a pack of lies.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 12
  • Cynthia aren't dead for sure.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 12

Key Moments

  • Abduction04:04
  • Treasure Hunt11:15
  • Murder Case22:21
  • Unsolved Mystery24:59
  • Southern Hospitality26:12
  • Fraud Uncovered30:11
  • Captured at Last32:23
  • Life Sentence41:56

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 8, Episode 7
March 09, 2017
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42:31
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 8, Episode 7
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 21
March 09, 2017
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42:55
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 21
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 13
March 09, 2017
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42:51
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 13
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 2, Episode 21
March 09, 2017
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42:54
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 2, Episode 21
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 1, Episode 15 - Full Episode
March 09, 2017
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42:49
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 1, Episode 15 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 4, Episode 8
March 09, 2017
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42:42
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 4, Episode 8
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 12
March 09, 2017
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42:53
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 12
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 15
March 09, 2017
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42:54
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 15