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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 12, Episode 3 - Full Episode

May 23, 2019 / 43:18

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers the disappearances of Sneha Phillip, Diane Shawcroft, Jennifer Luth, and Star Palumbo, along with the investigations surrounding their cases.

Sneha Phillip vanished on September 10, 2001, just before the World Trade Center attacks. Her husband, Ron Lieberman, searched for her amidst the chaos, believing she may have been a victim of foul play rather than a casualty of the attacks. Evidence suggests she was last seen shopping near the World Trade Center, but her whereabouts remain unknown.

Diane Shawcroft and Jennifer Luth, two young women living in Arizona, disappeared after leaving a mini-mart. Their bodies were discovered months later in a remote area, raising questions about their last moments and the identity of the man seen with them before they vanished.

The episode also discusses Star Palumbo, who went missing after exhibiting signs of paranoia and erratic behavior. Her family fears she may have fallen into a dangerous lifestyle, and sightings of her after her disappearance add to the mystery of her fate.

Each case highlights the complexities of missing persons investigations and the lingering questions that haunt the families involved.

TL;DR

This episode examines the mysterious disappearances of Sneha Phillip, Diane Shawcroft, Jennifer Luth, and Star Palumbo, revealing complex investigations and unanswered questions.

Episode

43:18
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tonight on unsolved mysteries a woman is
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listed among the hundreds of missing
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following the terrorist attack on the
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World Trade Center she would be assumed
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dead if it weren't for one troubling
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fact she disappeared the night before
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the twin towers collapsed best friends
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his childhood
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Diane Shawcross and Jennifer Luth moved
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to a suburb of Phoenix Arizona and
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immersed themselves in the local singles
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scene two months later both would be
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dead
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authorities now need your help in
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finding their killer a divorced mother
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disappears under bizarre circumstances
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suspicion focuses on her estranged
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husband who is described by some as a
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loving father but by others as a
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sadistic psychopath and now he is a
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fugitive from justice a young beautiful
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girl becomes lost in the neon glitter of
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reading she leaves behind paranoid
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emails gruesome drawings and books on
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how to change your identity her family
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prays if someone in our audience can
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help start palumbo find her way home
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join me for these fascinating stories
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perhaps someone somewhere has at one
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vital clue that can solve a mystery
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perhaps as someone is watching perhaps
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it's you
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[Applause]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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everywhere you looked they stared back
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painful reminders of the human toll
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taken by the terrorist attack on the
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World Trade Center following September
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11th New York City was blanketed with
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homemade posters of missing loved ones
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[Music]
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joining the thousands of distraught
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family and friends canvassing the city
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was Ron Lieberman his wife a 31 year old
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physician of Indian descent named Sneha
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Phillip was last seen in the vicinity of
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the World Trade Center
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but Sneha story is drastically different
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from the other hundreds of people still
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listed as missing and presumed dead
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in fact snare Philip disappeared on
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September 10th 14 hours before the Twin
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Towers catastrophic collapse while she
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may have been caught in the World Trade
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Center disaster
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Sneha may have also succumbed to foul
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play her fate remains a mystery I think
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this is a very difficult situation
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because of the confusion with September
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11th that leaves every single
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possibility open I mean in our heads
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right now anything is possible only one
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year earlier Ronon Sneha were exchanging
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vows of everlasting love their future
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happiness seemed assured there are
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certain people that you meet in your
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life who just you connect with so
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strongly and right away we knew and
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basically inseparable since the first
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day we met the newlyweds shared an
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apartment in Battery Park City an
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exclusive neighborhood just four blocks
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from the World Trade Center
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at 11:15 a.m. on September 10th Ron let
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furries shift as a doctor at Jacobi
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hospital
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Sneha who was also a doctor at the next
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three days off kissed her I told her I
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loved it and I left luckily I left my
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keys at home so I went back and I got to
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kiss her again and that was the last
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time that I saw her when Ron returned at
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11:15 that night
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Sneha was not home but Ron felt there
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was no reason to be concerned my
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schedule is so crazy so sometimes she
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would feel uncomfortable staying by her
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cellphone at home and her brother lives
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very close by and her cousin also lives
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very close by so she would sometimes go
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spend the night with them and I thought
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well maybe she just decided to stop at
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her brother's house or her cousin
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the following morning Ron rose early and
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headed to work for an 8 a.m. meeting he
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expected Sneha to call him once she woke
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up
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September 11th began as a perfect day
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the weather was unseasonable warm and
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the sky a brilliant blue like Ron
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millions of New Yorkers what about their
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daily routines unaware that the entire
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world
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teetered on the verge of disaster there
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was an accident a plane hit the World
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Trade Center after the meeting that came
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outside and we saw the TVs were on and
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we saw the first plane hit so I
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immediately went and called home so now
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I figure I pick up the phone and there
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was just the message machine on I need
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you to call me let me know that you're
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okay I love you
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and then we learned that the second
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plane hit and now everyone realized that
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this is an attack and then when the
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buildings came down everyone was just
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you know people were crying but still
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trying to work and it was a very very
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emotional time I think for obviously for
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everyone I called back again about 10
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o'clock in the morning still just the
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message machine was on and then after
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that the phones went dead
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I was frightened for my wife because I
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could get in touch with her I was sad
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what happened devastated by the whole
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situation you know there's so many
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emotions everyone is in shock and
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where's my wife I don't know her on
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lieberman's personal nightmare coincided
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with one of the worst global nightmares
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in history
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imagine tried to find your wife in the
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chaos and confusion following the
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tragedy of the World Trade Center any
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evidences of what happened to Sneha
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Philip was most likely buried under 1.2
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million tons of rubble still Ron
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Lieberman pray the stea was simply lost
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in the turmoil enveloping New York City
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and that you would soon find her way
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home
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[Music]
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ron's hopes were based on Sneha spending
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the previous night with her brother or
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cousin
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but honey finally got through to them
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both said they had not seen or heard
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from Sneha in over 48 hours realizing
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that no one had spoken to her yet I
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realized that this is a serious
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situation at that point I decided you
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know I'm gonna try to get down to the
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apartment all roads into lower Manhattan
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were closed only emergency vehicles are
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being permitted through the barricades
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Ron hitched a ride in an ambulance and
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then made his way on foot to the
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apartment the scene down there was just
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chaos
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there was this more most scariest sights
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I've ever seen in my life as I start
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approaching my apartment building I
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started seeing trucks blown up fire
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engines turned upside down pieces of the
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building or what looked like the
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building on the ground also Ron's
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apartment in Battery Park City was
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chained shut he soon learned from a
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neighbor the snare was not in the
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building so now at this point I didn't
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know what to do and with all the chaos
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going on I thought well how am I gonna
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find her right now and I went back to my
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friend's place and I spent the night and
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that was a very difficult night I was by
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myself on the couch wondering where my
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wife was frightened that something awful
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happened
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the day following the attacks Rahn filed
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a missing-persons report with a NYPD we
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knew she was missing since Monday and
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when we told the detective if they just
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said okay we'll take your
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missing-persons report but that was
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lumped into the world trade center you
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got the feeling that the police were
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just completely overwhelmed and that
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they had very little time or effort to
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be able to put forth towards this the
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NYPD believes a snail was more than
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likely one of the many lost in the World
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Trade Center disaster but ron was
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convinced that she disappeared the night
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before he hired a private eye and
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launched an investigation of his own
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they would uncover several disturbing
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questions but one above all others had
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haunted Ron from the start
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where was Sneha on the night of
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September 10th ron discovered that an
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employee at the couple's apartment
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building remembered seeing stay of that
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evening at 5:15 p.m. he saw her leaving
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alone wearing a brown dress and sandals
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by tracing credit card receipts Brown
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found evidence that Sneha may have then
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gone shopping at a department store near
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the World Trade Center at 7:15 p.m.
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shoes lingerie and bed linens were
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purchased with Saez credit card but was
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a sniper who used a card or an imposter
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who had stolen it excuse me from what
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was purchased it sounded like it was her
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you know sheets for the beds and things
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like that's how we assumed it was her
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without proof yet Ron hoped to find that
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proof on the department store's
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surveillance video
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and for about two weeks I sat and
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watched this tape for about five hours a
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day you know frame-by-frame it's one of
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those stop action photos where I
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actually found my wife on the tape
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shopping alone after the department
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store Snares trail turns completely cold
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she leaves the store and then she just
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disappears there is not a trace of her
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nothing not a credit card transaction no
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money taken out of her account no emails
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no phone calls nothing how does that
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happen it's it's a complete mystery
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where did stay ago after leaving the
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department store she was carrying two
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large bags of merchandise but neither
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the bags nor the merchandise were found
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as snails apartment suggesting that she
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never made it back home near the
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department stores to the Millennium
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Hotel inside was a connoisseur bar and
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grill the private investigator hired by
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Ron theorized a snare could have stopped
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in for a drink is it possible that
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something happened here that ultimately
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led to her disappearance the Millennium
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Hotel was closed down after the attack
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frustrating Ron and the investigators
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efforts to see if she went there
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in fact the entire area was stea was
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last seen lay in ruins as a result any
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theory about what happened to her was
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virtually impossible to prove was Sneha
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a victim of random violence could she
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have left on her own accord to start a
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new life the question seemed endless any
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answers were surely destroyed along with
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the Twin Towers but then a mysterious
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clue emerged spinning the investigation
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into an entirely unexpected direction a
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clerk at the department store saw the
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missing flier of Sneha and stepped
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forward giving Ron ensnares family
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renewed hope from the shoe sales clerk
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told us that she remembers my wife and
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that she'd known her as somewhat of a
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regular customer and that she remembered
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her there that day and said that she was
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with another person an Indian woman and
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that she just said was her friend and
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then they said after she went to buy
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shoes that they were thinking about
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going to the lingerie area based on this
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new information Ron re-examined the
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department store surveillance tape two
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women are captured leaving the store
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together
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could this be Sneha and her companion
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so far all efforts to identify the
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mysterious woman have failed we have no
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idea who this person is and that she
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never existed in snazz past we've gone
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through her phone books we've gone
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through her email there is no like phone
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call even made to this person during
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that day she doesn't exist anywhere else
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I mean I it could be very possible to
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say I ran into her it could be an
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old-time friend is it possible the snare
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stated the unidentified woman's house on
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a night of September 10th if that was a
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case then Slayer could well have been
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heading home the next morning at the
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approximate time of the World Trade
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Center attack if Sanae was near the
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World Trade Center on the morning of
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September 11th knowing the kind of
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person she was
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it would just be instinctual with her to
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try to help and she would might have
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gone into the building or she might have
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helped people out it would have just
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been that's the kind of person she is
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she just cares about people if Slayer
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was inside the World Trade Center she
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had no chance of surviving
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but that scenario assumes as snare was
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alive the previous night the Spanish
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somewhere other than with ROM her family
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and all of her known friends she's never
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just spent a night out without informing
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us where she is informing a husband
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ratios it's never happened why would
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this night be any different so I mean I
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really think that something happened to
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her September 10th it's difficult to
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continue you know each day is the day
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that you that we suffer because we don't
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know you know sometimes I think she
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might just walk through the door or she
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might just call but it just each day
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doesn't happen and it's it's it's really
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torture
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[Music]
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the Cedar Creek Apartments outside of
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Phoenix Arizona a brutal heat wave
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passes through the region
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after graduating from high school
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Diane Shaw Croft 20 and her best friend
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Jennifer Luth 19 had left their homes in
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Colorado for the sunny suburb of
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Glendale Arizona they moved in with
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Diane's older sister Christine three
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young women living in a one-bedroom
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apartment soon led to tension when did
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you become mom I said no smoking maybe
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I'll just go then maybe you should they
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said they were gonna walk to the store
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to get cigarettes in a in a pump and
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that they would be back in a little
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while they didn't take anything with
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them and they never went anywhere
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without their makeup so that's what made
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me think they were coming right back
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Diane and Jennifer headed for the
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mini-mart two blocks away they never
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returned for the first time in their
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lives Diane shocked Croft and Jennifer
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Luth were living away from home girls
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began to explore the boundaries of their
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newfound freedom they were swept into an
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exhilarating whirlwind of late nights
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new friendships and lively parties but
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authorities now fear that Diane and
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Jennifer's carefree lifestyle may have
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ultimately put them in harm's way
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dinah and Jenny were very very close
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they were probably closer than most
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sisters when Jenny was a little more
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flirtatious diana was a little quieter
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and more shy but she's the woman
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basically took care of both of them I
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believe they were pretty open to just
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about anybody they like to hang out they
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like to have lots of friends but they
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like to go go go they wanted to be doing
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something all the time they didn't care
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if it was 3:00 in the morning or 3:00 in
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the afternoon on the day they
00:18:06
disappeared Diana and Jennifer was seen
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at a mini-mart at approximately 7:00
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p.m. hey girls Hey
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how are we doing according to the
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cashier the girls bought cigarettes and
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sodas but instead of going home they
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lingered outside the store
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[Music]
00:18:30
two hours passed the girls were still in
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front of the mini-mart when the cashier
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saw a man pull up in a blue truck
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they conversed for quite a while they
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got into the truck and then the truck
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drove off and that's the last time that
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anyone that knew we know of has seen
00:18:51
them alive I believe she knew this
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person because she would never ever get
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into a vehicle with strangers she just
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wouldn't do it she wasn't the kind that
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would hitchhike or do anything like that
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she was very careful and very cautious
00:19:09
three months later two men were hunting
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in a remote desert 100 miles north of
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Phoenix as they traversed a steep
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incline they came across a gruesome
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sight
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Diane Lynne shocked roughly on top of
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Jennifer su Luth both had been murdered
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even in death diana seemed to be
00:19:32
protecting her best friend because the
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investigation is ongoing police are
00:19:39
withholding the cause of death but the
00:19:41
location of the girls bodies offered
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several clues as to who the killer or
00:19:45
killers might be the area is extremely
00:19:53
isolated sixteen miles from the nearest
00:19:55
highway and accessible only by pickup
00:19:58
truck or four-wheel drive
00:20:02
we feel that this person is probably
00:20:04
been in this er er frequented this area
00:20:06
are certainly was aware of this area in
00:20:09
some way by their own forward driving or
00:20:12
hunting or at least some personal
00:20:15
knowledge of the area the deepness of
00:20:20
the ravine also raises another troubling
00:20:22
possibility they were both fairly
00:20:26
decent-sized girls so you would have had
00:20:28
to have handled each one of those so
00:20:31
either we had a very strong person our
00:20:32
we had more than one person possibly
00:20:34
that were involved and taking these
00:20:35
bodies out Jennifer was a strong girl
00:20:40
and she was a scrapper if she needed to
00:20:43
be it wouldn't be easy for one person to
00:20:46
overpower Jennifer alone but with two of
00:20:49
them it's it's just sort of an
00:20:51
conceivable to me that one person was
00:20:55
able to do that to two girls
00:20:59
the police investigation centered on
00:21:02
finding the mysterious man in the blue
00:21:04
truck believing that both girls knew
00:21:07
this man police delved into their
00:21:09
personal lives not in Phoenix Diane and
00:21:14
Jennifer had attended numerous parties
00:21:16
and night clubs
00:21:22
they had a lifestyle with a lot of males
00:21:26
involved in it they were a lot of male
00:21:29
friends and male relationships they were
00:21:31
involved in so many people's lives they
00:21:33
were involved in many strangers lives to
00:21:36
the point it could have been somebody
00:21:37
they just met what are you from Colorado
00:21:42
mr. really small town where it's like
00:21:45
zero degrees right now we're so happy to
00:21:47
be here I think both Ginni and Diana
00:21:50
were very naive and very innocent I
00:21:52
think like most night senior olds they
00:21:55
think they're invincible and can just
00:21:57
conquer the world
00:22:00
lots of people guys should come down
00:22:03
really and I think whoever got involved
00:22:07
with them knew that could read him like
00:22:09
a book and took advantage of them
00:22:13
there was one final strange twist to
00:22:16
this case
00:22:22
the families erected a shrine where the
00:22:24
bodies were found pictures of both girls
00:22:31
were placed at the foot of two wood
00:22:32
crosses police decided to occasionally
00:22:36
survey the site hoping for a morbid
00:22:38
visit from the killer
00:22:40
no one ever showed up at least while
00:22:43
authorities were at the scene on
00:22:48
September 29 2000 the tech t'v
00:22:51
discovered that both photos of the girls
00:22:53
had been removed from their frames only
00:22:58
police and the victim's family knew the
00:23:00
precise location where the girls bodies
00:23:02
had been found nothing else seemed to be
00:23:07
disturbed and it definitely raised
00:23:08
questions as to who would want the
00:23:12
pictures who would go to that much
00:23:13
effort to go back in as far as it is get
00:23:17
the pictures and take them hard to even
00:23:22
imagine who would be or why they would
00:23:24
do it unless is the perpetrator have the
00:23:28
killer return for a macabre souvenir of
00:23:30
his brutal act police can only speculate
00:23:35
no evidence that might identify the
00:23:38
murder has ever been found
00:23:41
search for Diane and Jennifer's killer
00:23:44
or killers continues authorities would
00:23:51
especially like to question the man who
00:23:53
was the last person seen with the girls
00:23:55
he may be driving a blue pickup truck to
00:24:10
friends a 44 year old Brenda Bowen
00:24:12
arrived at her rural Alabama home after
00:24:15
she fails to show up for a prayer
00:24:16
meeting earlier that morning but Brenda
00:24:21
is nowhere to be found
00:24:26
within hours the Shelby County Sheriff's
00:24:28
Office responds to the scene Brenda's
00:24:33
clothes were laid out on her bed as if
00:24:35
to Drey us after she got through there
00:24:38
her shower on her dresser was her
00:24:41
jewelry everything was laid out real
00:24:43
nice and lead
00:24:45
also they saw her curling iron was in
00:24:49
the on position in the bathroom but
00:24:52
there was no other signs that you know
00:24:54
brenda was there at all
00:24:57
brenda bowen lived a life most of us
00:24:59
would envy she was blessed with two
00:25:02
healthy teenage children a thriving
00:25:04
real-estate business and a sprawling
00:25:06
home in the beautiful Alabama
00:25:08
countryside her friends and family could
00:25:11
find no reason why she would suddenly
00:25:13
vanish when Brenda went missing it was
00:25:16
devastating to us I stayed at home I
00:25:19
thought she might call you know but
00:25:22
ain't my heart I knew but something had
00:25:24
happened to Brenda something bad the
00:25:28
only source of friction of Brenda's life
00:25:30
was her ex-husband Jerry Lee Bowen two
00:25:33
years earlier Brenda's long lasting
00:25:36
marriage to Jerry had abruptly fallen
00:25:38
apart they worked together for about 18
00:25:42
or 19 years and they'd work good
00:25:45
together but Jerry Jerry
00:25:51
got out and found a girlfriend he asked
00:25:55
her for divorcing Jerry you've agreed to
00:25:58
give Brenda complete and unencumbered
00:26:00
use of the house until your daughter
00:26:02
turns 19 Brenda you will give Jerry use
00:26:07
of the guesthouse in the back as his own
00:26:09
with the help of a divorce attorney
00:26:11
Jerry and Brenda separated on good terms
00:26:14
and even agreed to a very unusual living
00:26:17
arrangement Jerry would reside in the
00:26:21
guesthouse behind the main residence he
00:26:24
also gave Brenda the bulk of the
00:26:26
couple's assets
00:26:30
Jerry lived quietly in the shadow of his
00:26:32
ex-wife until he ran into financial
00:26:35
difficulties friend I'm asking for your
00:26:38
help here hello Jerry
00:26:41
you're asking me to live a lie it's only
00:26:44
a business arrangement
00:26:46
and he told her he was in financial
00:26:48
trouble and they had to get back
00:26:51
together he had to have some relief
00:26:53
benders answer was I'd have to think
00:26:56
about that year so you're not gonna help
00:27:01
me
00:27:01
I don't know Jerry can't we talk about
00:27:04
this in the morning
00:27:08
Jerry Jerry we can talk about it in the
00:27:12
morning
00:27:16
I'm gonna take you back to cohort
00:27:20
four days later brenda bowen vanished
00:27:27
anything you'll find I want bag I wanted
00:27:30
fire police began their investigation at
00:27:33
the bone holding Gerry bull was fully
00:27:36
cooperative and even offered his own
00:27:38
theory on what happened to Brenda as I
00:27:42
started to leave Gerry says well Don
00:27:45
what do you think happened to Brenda
00:27:46
well let's just hope she's on a beach
00:27:48
somewhere down in Florida tan in her
00:27:50
buns you're wrong
00:27:53
she's dead
00:27:56
I said well if she's dead where do you
00:27:57
think we could find her and Jerri looked
00:28:00
at me he says you could find her in
00:28:01
water somewhere that same night Brenda's
00:28:07
car was found stuck in the mud 43 miles
00:28:10
from her home
00:28:12
we found a personal item belonging to
00:28:15
Brenda that we found her purse we we
00:28:18
found this cellphone it was checkbooks
00:28:20
there so that told us that this was not
00:28:24
a robbery
00:28:24
that perhaps the car was left where it
00:28:27
was just as a decoy that Brenda would
00:28:29
not be found there
00:28:33
Brenda's own son raised an even more
00:28:36
troubling question about the car I was
00:28:39
wondering what position of the driver's
00:28:40
seat was in all the way back right yeah
00:28:44
it was all the way back well my mom
00:28:47
she's only five two
00:28:49
with a car seat completely pushed back
00:28:52
Brenda's feet could not have reached the
00:28:54
pedals but the strangest question of all
00:28:58
came out of Jerry Boone's own mouth when
00:29:00
he unexpectedly appeared at the crime
00:29:02
scene is that the car that belongs to
00:29:04
the woman is missing yeah
00:29:07
now this was his ex-wife's car
00:29:11
he knew whose car that was and it turned
00:29:14
out later to be a question that we felt
00:29:16
was very important to pinning down list
00:29:19
who was responsible for Brenda's death
00:29:22
Jerry was taken to the Shelby County
00:29:24
Sheriff's Office for an interview where
00:29:27
his behavior continued to raise red
00:29:29
flags he was not of any help to us
00:29:32
whatsoever he showed no concern for her
00:29:36
well-being
00:29:37
and doing the process the interview he
00:29:40
actually went to sleep but Jerry's
00:29:44
friends and family adamantly claimed
00:29:46
that he was in a state of shock and
00:29:48
overcome with worry for his former wife
00:29:51
Jerry was very concerned about her but
00:29:54
he was also upset that the police
00:29:56
thought it might be him he said often
00:30:00
that that he was innocent so there was
00:30:02
no way he was going to be pinned with a
00:30:04
murder they stripped him down they
00:30:08
checked him for any cuts or bruises or
00:30:11
bites or anything they didn't find a
00:30:13
scratch on him anywhere but they got in
00:30:17
his face and told him we know you did
00:30:19
something to her whatever happened her
00:30:21
we know you did it and we will prove it
00:30:24
and they had televisions from that night
00:30:27
Oh
00:30:29
manners zero doubt in my mind the Giro
00:30:32
and killed my daughter Brenda no doubt
00:30:36
but there was no evidence linking Jerry
00:30:39
borne to his wife's disappearance and he
00:30:42
was released several months later three
00:30:48
fishermen saw something floating in the
00:30:50
murky waters of the Coosa River it was
00:30:54
the body of Brenda bone bound and tied
00:30:57
inside a sheet the advanced state of
00:30:59
decomposition made it impossible for the
00:31:02
coroner
00:31:03
to determine the cause of death when
00:31:06
Brenda Bowens body surfaced she was for
00:31:09
lack of a better way of saying it
00:31:11
packaged in a certain manner around her
00:31:17
body was a green top sheet off of a bed
00:31:24
around that was a length of nylon rope
00:31:34
the sheet was positively identified as
00:31:37
coming from the Bowen home and there
00:31:40
were several curious aspects about the
00:31:42
rope it was tied with two specific nuts
00:31:46
a Boland and a slip and the ends had
00:31:49
been deliberately burnt the son asked to
00:31:54
look at the rope that was around his
00:31:58
mother's body and he looked at it and
00:32:00
tears filled his eyes he said I've seen
00:32:03
that same combination of knots from
00:32:05
Jerry Bowen dozens of times he said I've
00:32:08
never seen anybody else do it in
00:32:10
addition to that every time Jerry Bowen
00:32:14
cut a piece of nylon rope he would take
00:32:16
a cigarette lighter and burn the ends of
00:32:18
the knots the car seat the burned ends
00:32:23
of the rope it all starts pointing back
00:32:26
to Jerry Bowen
00:32:28
gerri born was arrested and tried for
00:32:31
the murder of his wife Brenda the case
00:32:33
against him was almost entirely
00:32:35
circumstantial except for one crucial
00:32:37
element Jerry could not account for his
00:32:40
whereabouts prior to 9:30 in the morning
00:32:42
of Brenda's disappearance a jury took
00:32:45
only six hours to decide his fate
00:32:47
guilty but the bizarre story of Jerry
00:32:50
Bowen did not end with his conviction
00:32:55
while awaiting sentencing Bowen was
00:32:57
released on bond the day of the hearing
00:33:01
Jerry's sister received a blunt letter
00:33:03
it read this may be a dumb move on my
00:33:07
part sis but I don't feel I should serve
00:33:09
time for a crime I didn't commit
00:33:11
therefore I am running when jr. was
00:33:15
convicted my thought was it's payday
00:33:18
when Jerry fled I felt like payday
00:33:22
evaporated and and it did the FBI
00:33:29
descended on Jerry's home looking for
00:33:32
any clues as to his whereabouts but no
00:33:36
one was prepared for what was found on
00:33:37
Jerry's computer thousands of violent
00:33:41
and sadistic pornographic images
00:33:45
jury is very polite respectful to others
00:33:49
but when he's back in his own secret
00:33:51
place within his own residents the
00:33:53
bizarreness of his behavior starts to
00:33:56
emerge when he's visiting websites of
00:33:58
women being abused tied up shackled and
00:34:02
tortured as well as a fascination for
00:34:04
pregnant women that are naked
00:34:08
[Music]
00:34:09
no other evidence was recovered from
00:34:12
Gerry's home that would lead detectives
00:34:14
to the convicted killer he has now
00:34:17
evaded capture for over a year he's
00:34:21
still on the roof and we can't have
00:34:24
closure until he's found and come back
00:34:28
to the Sheriff's Department reblogs I
00:34:30
hope they bring him in change
00:34:32
[Music]
00:34:40
[Music]
00:34:48
[Music]
00:34:59
in the early morning hours of April 26
00:35:02
2000 the young woman is spotted
00:35:04
wandering in a restricted area of the
00:35:06
reno-tahoe International Airport she
00:35:09
appears disoriented and frightened an
00:35:12
airport police officer is called he
00:35:16
finds a woman cowering near a truck
00:35:20
[Music]
00:35:24
the woman identifies herself a star
00:35:27
Palumbo
00:35:27
she then claims she's trying to find her
00:35:30
younger sister who was running loose on
00:35:32
the tarmac okay we searched the grounds
00:35:35
for your sister with the description
00:35:36
that you gave us she no what have you
00:35:38
found the airport police officer felt
00:35:41
there was a possibility the star story
00:35:43
was not true but he also believed the
00:35:46
star had no criminal intent for being
00:35:48
out on the runway he had no idea why she
00:35:51
was out there she gave no logical
00:35:52
explanation but instead of arresting her
00:35:55
he decided to release her
00:35:56
[Music]
00:36:00
star Palumbo was dropped off near a
00:36:02
hotel and disappears into the
00:36:04
kaleidoscope of blinding neon lights the
00:36:10
next day an illegally parked car is
00:36:12
discovered at the airport and why ran a
00:36:15
routine license check on to put an
00:36:17
impound sheet the register owner came
00:36:18
back to start Palumbo as I just go
00:36:21
through the vehicle during the impound
00:36:22
I found appeared to be loaded with all
00:36:25
her personal possessions also in the car
00:36:28
was Starr's cell phone and purse
00:36:30
including $600 in cash and star had left
00:36:34
behind other items that caused even more
00:36:36
concern copies of three emails sent to
00:36:39
the white house indicated the star felt
00:36:41
the government was trying to murder her
00:36:43
a morbid drawing depicted a woman who
00:36:46
looked like star bound and gagged and
00:36:48
finally there were two books on how to
00:36:51
change your identity star never showed
00:36:55
up to claim her car she has now been
00:36:57
missing for over a year there are two
00:37:02
very likely possibilities the first is
00:37:05
that she is suffering from some type of
00:37:07
either organically caused or
00:37:10
drug-induced psychosis and is a set
00:37:13
woman and doesn't know who or where she
00:37:15
is and the second possibility sadly is
00:37:18
that she's been the victim of a serious
00:37:20
crime and has either been murdered or is
00:37:23
in a position where she can't contact
00:37:24
her friends and family the mystery of
00:37:29
what happened to star palumbo began long
00:37:30
before the 25 year old woman vanished
00:37:33
star was once a vivacious brunette full
00:37:36
of hope and promise but authorities
00:37:38
believe that she tragically drifted into
00:37:40
another world of drugs and desperation
00:37:42
placing her life and imminent danger her
00:37:46
family is convinced as stars alive and
00:37:48
with your help for one day come home
00:37:53
star lived very happy childhood
00:37:56
and she's very dependable and she's very
00:38:00
trusting person she's a very happy
00:38:03
person sociable person and she really I
00:38:08
guess trusted people too much one year
00:38:12
prior to her disappearance star left her
00:38:15
home in Tucson Arizona and moved to Reno
00:38:17
Nevada she lived there with her
00:38:19
grandmother it was in Reno investigators
00:38:24
believed the star's life began to careen
00:38:26
off-course interviews the stars friends
00:38:29
there revealed a portrait of a troubled
00:38:31
woman who had lost her way
00:38:34
in this particular case star seems to
00:38:38
have fallen in with a very bad crowd and
00:38:41
had been involved in a more increasing
00:38:46
degree of drug use and specifically with
00:38:49
methamphetamine at a level that could
00:38:53
only be disastrous according to her
00:38:56
friends and the weeks leading up to her
00:38:58
disappearance stars drug habit costs
00:39:01
more than she could make as a cashier at
00:39:02
a pawn shop police believe it is
00:39:06
possible that the increasingly
00:39:07
distraught woman began to look for other
00:39:09
ways to make money there is an
00:39:13
indication that star had been dabbling
00:39:15
in prostitution in her phone books there
00:39:19
was reference to a number of men we
00:39:21
really don't have a good feeling for the
00:39:23
extent of the relationships with a
00:39:25
number of those men however certainly
00:39:28
prostitution is a high-risk occupation
00:39:31
and one of the factors that causes us
00:39:34
concern about what has befallen star in
00:39:37
her disappearance plan and Reno star
00:39:40
continued to call her mother on a weekly
00:39:42
basis and seemed in good spirits but on
00:39:45
the day she disappeared star made a
00:39:48
final phone call that took on an ominous
00:39:50
and paranoid tone
00:39:53
she would only talk to us for a little
00:39:56
bit she said that she felt somebody was
00:40:00
following her and when she talked on the
00:40:02
phone she thought maybe the phones were
00:40:04
tapped and somebody was listening and
00:40:06
she mentioned how something was going on
00:40:09
and she was afraid for her life and she
00:40:13
wouldn't discuss it anymore than that
00:40:15
according to her mother Starr expressed
00:40:17
a desire to turn her life around she
00:40:19
then talked about flying home to Tucson
00:40:22
and starting over I love you Gail
00:40:28
Palumbo has not heard from her daughter
00:40:30
since
00:40:35
following star's disappearance her
00:40:38
parents mounted a massive effort to
00:40:39
locate their daughter thousands of
00:40:42
fliers were distributed and stars
00:40:43
picture was posted throughout the state
00:40:45
of Nevada
00:40:46
it appears that those efforts have paid
00:40:48
off
00:40:50
Linda fields owner of a silver dollar
00:40:53
casino in Elko Nevada claims to have
00:40:56
seen star there a full eight months
00:40:58
after her disappearance miss fields
00:41:04
described seeing a young woman who in
00:41:08
her mind she was very certain was the
00:41:11
star palumbo who had come into the bar
00:41:13
one evening had looked frightened was
00:41:19
alone and that the young woman had
00:41:21
volunteered to her that her name was
00:41:24
star and that she was being chased or
00:41:27
was trying to escape from a pimp
00:41:31
Linda field says that star became
00:41:34
extremely agitated when a man peered
00:41:36
through the bars window a short time
00:41:39
after that star left the bar with
00:41:41
another young woman if the woman was
00:41:44
star then where did she go after leaving
00:41:47
the bar
00:41:48
maybe the ridi was somebody after her
00:41:51
could she have used the books found in
00:41:53
her car to change her identity and
00:41:55
escape it is this scenario the stars
00:41:58
family clings to I'd like to say
00:42:02
star that your mom and dad really love
00:42:04
you and no matter what you've done or
00:42:08
anything that we we should contact us
00:42:12
see if we could help you join me next
00:42:25
time for another fascinating edition
00:42:28
unsolved mysteries
00:42:30
[Music]
00:42:43
[Music]
00:43:05
[Applause]
00:43:06
[Music]
00:43:06
[Applause]
00:43:09
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 75
    Most emotional
  • 70
    Most dramatic

Episode Highlights

  • The Mysterious Disappearance of Sneha Phillip
    Sneha vanished the night before the Twin Towers fell, leaving her husband desperate for answers.
    “Where was Sneha on the night of September 10th?”
    @ 09m 39s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Tragic Fate of Diane Shawcross and Jennifer Luth
    Best friends Diane and Jennifer disappeared while exploring their newfound freedom in Arizona.
    “They never went anywhere without their makeup, so I thought they were coming right back.”
    @ 16m 53s
    May 23, 2019
  • Brenda Bowen's Sudden Vanishing
    Brenda's disappearance leaves her family and friends in shock, with no signs of struggle.
    “I knew something bad happened to Brenda.”
    @ 25m 24s
    May 23, 2019
  • Brenda's Disappearance
    Brenda Bowen vanished, leading to a complex investigation involving her ex-husband Jerry.
    “Four days later, Brenda Bowen vanished.”
    @ 27m 20s
    May 23, 2019
  • Jerry's Alibi
    Jerry Bowen's behavior during the investigation raised red flags for authorities.
    “He showed no concern for her well-being.”
    @ 29m 32s
    May 23, 2019
  • Star Palumbo's Disturbing Behavior
    Star Palumbo was found wandering an airport, disoriented and frightened, leading to her disappearance.
    “She appears disoriented and frightened.”
    @ 35m 04s
    May 23, 2019
  • Star's Final Phone Call
    On the day she disappeared, Star made a paranoid phone call expressing fear for her life.
    “She felt somebody was following her.”
    @ 39m 50s
    May 23, 2019
  • Possible Sightings of Star
    Eight months after her disappearance, a casino owner claimed to have seen Star Palumbo.
    “She was being chased or was trying to escape from a pimp.”
    @ 41m 11s
    May 23, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • It’s a complete mystery. Where did Sneha go?
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 12, Episode 3 - Full Episode
  • Each day is the day that we suffer because we don’t know.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 12, Episode 3 - Full Episode
  • I thought she might call, but something bad happened to Brenda.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 12, Episode 3 - Full Episode
  • I don't know Jerry, can't we talk about this in the morning?
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 12, Episode 3 - Full Episode
  • I don't feel I should serve time for a crime I didn't commit.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 12, Episode 3 - Full Episode
  • Star expressed a desire to turn her life around.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 12, Episode 3 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Unsolved Mysteries00:05
  • September 10th Disappearance00:18
  • Chaos of 9/1106:50
  • Brenda's Vanishing24:12
  • Separation Terms26:11
  • Suspicious Behavior29:27
  • Murder Trial32:31
  • Final Phone Call39:50

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 2 - Full Episode
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42:44
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 2 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 17 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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45:05
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 17 - Full Episode