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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 5 - Full Episode

May 23, 2019 / 48:12

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers the cases of Carson Prince, Helen Ruth, Frank Montenegro, and Will Hendrick. The stories involve a college student's tragic death, a medical scam, allegations against a beloved teacher, and the mysterious disappearance of a young man.

Carson Prince, a 19-year-old college student, was found dead after a violent struggle in a pickup truck. Witnesses reported seeing her fight for her life as the truck sped down the highway. Investigators are left with questions about her last moments and the identity of her attacker.

Helen Ruth sought alternative cancer treatment in the Dominican Republic, only to discover that the doctor she trusted was a conman. Despite her husband's warnings, she underwent treatment that could have been harmful. Fortunately, she returned home and remains cancer-free.

Frank Montenegro was a well-respected teacher who became embroiled in child molestation allegations. Investigators faced challenges corroborating the claims against him, leading to a complex case involving multiple victims and a community's trust.

Will Hendrick, a gay college student, vanished after a party in Moscow, Idaho. His friends and family are left searching for answers, with theories ranging from foul play to voluntary disappearance. The investigation reveals unsettling details about the night he went missing.

TL;DR

This episode covers the tragic death of Carson Prince, a medical scam involving Helen Ruth, allegations against Frank Montenegro, and Will Hendrick's mysterious disappearance.

Episode

48:12
00:00:05
tonight on unsolved mysteries a 19 year
00:00:12
old college students car becomes
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disabled along an interstate minutes
00:00:16
later in the full view of other
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motorists the same young woman finds
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herself in a life-or-death struggle 'she
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hurtles down the highway authorities
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need your help to find her attacker
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when Helen Ruth was diagnosed with
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cancer and Dave Cernan with hepatitis
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they began searching for a medical
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miracle
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they believe they found it in dr. Caplan
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jur a physician with an experimental
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remedy could the doctors treatment save
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their lives or would it turn out to be
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deadly he was a well-loved teacher from
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a selfless family man and a community
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icon in fact many considered him a hero
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who would have ever thought that Frank
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Montana would be charged with child
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molestation
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a small Idaho town is shaken by the
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mysterious disappearance of a young gay
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college student will Hendrick vanished
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one January night and hasn't been heard
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from since did he willingly walk away or
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is it possible he was a victim of crime
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join me these stories that have defied
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reason and explanation perhaps you would
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be the one to solve the mystery
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[Applause]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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a beautiful spring day outside Little
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Rock Arkansas
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routine lunch hour traffic was suddenly
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interrupted by an unfolding drama that
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was anything but routine a white pickup
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swerg erratically as it barreled down
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the highway inside a terrified female
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passenger struggled for her life with a
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male driver
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Franek 9-1-1 calls poured in
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but no one could come to her rescue
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horrified witnesses were powerless to
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stop what seemed inevitable the driver
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sped off without a moment's hesitation
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19 year-old Carson Prince was rushed to
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the hospital with massive head injuries
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as doctors tried to stabilize Carson's
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injuries Arkansas State Police
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investigators swung into action
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identifying and locating the driver of
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the white pickup truck became their
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number one priority but authorities and
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other puzzling questions related to the
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shocking broad daylight attack in Carson
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knew her assailant and if not but was a
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well-liked college student doing in his
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truck
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Carson prints grew up in Maumelle
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Arkansas a suburb of Little Rock she was
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the oldest of three Carson was a neat
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kid a very caring and giving young lady
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but she didn't expect anything in return
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she was very very funny Carson could
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always make you laugh even if she didn't
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feel like laughing inside however
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Carson's outlook changed dramatically
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when her parents divorced when she was
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13 I think Carson was struggling she
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wasn't where she was going and she kind
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of grew up in the middle of a 16-year
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divorce after coming to terms with her
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parents divorce Carson went on to earn a
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college scholarship to the University of
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Arkansas
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Carson was that friend who everybody
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adored she was the person that was you
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know more excited about your stories
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than you were she was she was selfless
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she was more into everybody else and she
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was herself
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during her sophomore year in college
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Carson left school and moved back home
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with her dad then came that ill-fated
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spring morning as I was heading out the
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door to go to work I passed by her
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bedroom and she said would you get me a
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glass of water
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you know how daughter can pull on your
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heartstrings I got our glass of water
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and came in and sat down beside her bed
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and she set up and we talked about what
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she was going to do during the day she
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was going to go to school pick up the
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forms for registering in the university
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there in Rock I like that idea I'll come
00:05:20
home early tonight we'll go and
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celebrate that okay
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[Music]
00:05:27
but Carsten and her father would never
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have that celebration dinner
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Carson's mother who was a county
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prosecutor was returning from lunch when
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she learned the dreadful news from her
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boss Susanne Carson's been in an
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accident she's at the hospital he's down
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there
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Donny we're gonna get Susanne down to
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the hospital co-workers immediately
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rushed Susanne to the emergency room she
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just got out of surgery
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Carson's divorce parents are brought
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together under the diarist of
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circumstances there were some spinal
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injuries and swelling of the brain the
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swelling doesn't go down we may lose her
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you could tell very early on it that
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Carson wasn't wasn't gonna pull through
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to her brother and I were there and it's
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very peaceful
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we stayed at Carson side throughout the
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day as she slowly slipped away
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[Music]
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nineteen-year-old Carson Prince died at
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10:30 that night
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investigators were already busy
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reconstructing the events leading up to
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Carson's death
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Carson's Ford Bronco was found alongside
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Interstate 430
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just half a mile from where her body was
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recovered the car's gas tank was empty
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strangely less than 30 minutes after
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leaving her house
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Carson seemed to be headed back home in
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the opposite direction of her errands a
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number of witnesses recalled seeing
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Carson after she pulled to the shoulder
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of the highway a gas station was within
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walking distance so Carson's apparent
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next move does not make sense to her
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parents there's something strange in the
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fact that she didn't leave her vehicle
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and walk a quarter of a mile to the gas
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station to get gas or to get help
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witnesses saw a young man with a white
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pickup truck stop near Carson's disabled
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vehicle he was holding a gas can
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although investigators have yet to find
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anyone who witnessed it
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Carson somehow got inside the truck I
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don't think Carson would have gotten
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into a truck with somebody she didn't
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know just because she was out of gas I
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have a hard time believing she get in
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the trunk with a stranger either she
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knew the person and she got in a vehicle
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with or the person 4-strand under threat
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of her life otherwise she wouldn't be in
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that vehicle
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motorists reported witnessing a violent
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struggle going on inside the truck's cab
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as a sped down the interstate at nearly
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70 miles an hour
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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Carson was being beaten Carson was
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fighting back trying to defend herself
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and that somehow the guy reached across
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the door was opened and and Carson was
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shoved out of the door and trying to
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hang on while the truck was speeding
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away and hung on as long as she could
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and then fell out and fell to her death
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and the driver continued which naturally
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and how what roll guys mind says okay
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well this you know obviously this guy's
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left the scene of an accident here where
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someone's critically injured so we got
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to find him this truck was described to
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us by the witnesses is not being a
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totally one it was more of a off-white
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or a cream type white color even
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unfortunately to this point authorities
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have been unable to locate the truck
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next came an investigation into all
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aspects of the college student's life
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authorities would learn that Carson had
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developed a stormy relationship with a
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young man of dubious character whom she
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had met while working at the local
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Country Club friends were concerned that
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Carson could not seem to break away from
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the turbulent affair the reasons that
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she wanted to be the theme I still don't
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know I don't know what she saw him
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because he just made her unhappy all the
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time I gotta go
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I told her I was like Carson this guy's
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not good for you he's not good for you
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at all you know all he does is make you
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cry he makes you upset he's not doing
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anything for you at all
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the young man was also no stranger to
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law enforcement yeah
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he was a suspected drug dealer yeah
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let's do this about 7:30
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it's believed Carson's boyfriend
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occasionally used her car when making
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deliveries I told her that if she were
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out with him and he got arrested she was
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gonna get arrested too
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whatever his fate was she was Sheeran
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she didn't seem to be too worried about
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that then the day before her death
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Carson unexpectedly showed up at her
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mother's home the prediction that had
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been made about her boyfriends arrest
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had actually come through
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Carson was upset because she believed
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her mother as a deputy district attorney
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could have been involved in her
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boyfriend's arrest and prosecution and
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at that point I got afraid I thought
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that he was outside the Bronco had
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pulled into the the carport lights on
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engine running I thought he might be
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gonna come to the door and hurt me
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blaming me for a prison sentence that I
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didn't even know anything about and I
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told her y'all need to leave it's just
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that's the last time I saw her a very
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strange coincidence that within 12 hours
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of her telling me that she's on the side
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of the road fatally injured
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so who killed Carson Prince al Carson's
00:12:08
boyfriend has been cleared of any
00:12:09
involvement in her death could it have
00:12:12
had anything to do with his drug dealing
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[Music]
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could she have been fleeing a stalker
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go ahead Carson merely run out of gas at
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the wrong moment I wish I had some
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answers I don't think there will ever be
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justice for Carson but I think there
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will be truth and I will settle for that
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Music]
00:13:06
[Music]
00:13:12
Hellen root packs her bags for a trip to
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Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic
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[Music]
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she is not headed for a tropical
00:13:22
vacation but is on a mission she
00:13:24
believes can save her life I had
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third-stage colon cancer and the whole
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right side of my colon was removed they
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wanted me to have six months of
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chemotherapy and I did chose not to have
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that and I looked was looking for an
00:13:45
alternative
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so Helen root and her husband William
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mortgage their home for the $40,000
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Helen needed for an experimental drug
00:13:54
therapy a friend had told him about a
00:13:56
doctor Keplinger in Santo Domingo who
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reportedly had an amazing treatment for
00:14:01
fighting cancer Dr Kaplan Gia's resume
00:14:05
was a long and impressive list of
00:14:07
medical schools including Harvard
00:14:08
University according to his brochure the
00:14:12
clinic in Santo Domingo was a
00:14:13
world-class facility there his remedy
00:14:17
the drug cocktail called mu stim didn't
00:14:20
need FDA approval Keplinger claimed mu
00:14:23
stim could fight many deadly diseases
00:14:25
including aids and hepatitis Helen was
00:14:31
glad to arrive in Santo Domingo but was
00:14:34
taken aback by the poor condition of the
00:14:36
facility I noticed that there was no
00:14:42
patients in the rooms
00:14:43
it was pretty old-fashioned looking kind
00:14:47
of dumpy
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and not certainly what I was expecting
00:14:51
to see within a few hours
00:14:55
Helen was relieved to finally meet the
00:14:57
doctor she'd heard so much about mrs.
00:14:59
rude mrs. Ruth oh nice to meet you
00:15:02
he looked very professional and very
00:15:05
caring and very concerned about my
00:15:08
condition and so I thought well finally
00:15:11
I'm going to get some good help here it
00:15:14
could become malignant although US
00:15:17
doctors had confirmed Helen to be
00:15:18
cancer-free Caplan jur said his reveal
00:15:21
of her file revealed a small tumor that
00:15:23
needed aggressive treatment Helen was
00:15:25
frightened but also confident she had
00:15:27
made the right choice to travel so far
00:15:29
from home you're in good hands because
00:15:32
of the degrees that he had because of
00:15:34
his background I thought I was in
00:15:37
excellent hands
00:15:40
until the next morning when she received
00:15:43
a phone call from her husband William
00:15:48
9:00 a.m. Saturday morning and it's my
00:15:51
husband on the phone almost hysterical
00:15:54
saying Helen you've got to come home
00:15:57
that man is not a doctor he's a crook we
00:16:02
have to get the money back tell him we
00:16:05
had a family emergency
00:16:06
I said Helen you got to get out of there
00:16:08
he's ripping us off say whatever you
00:16:11
have to say but don't take any
00:16:14
treatments get out of there come home as
00:16:16
quickly as you can
00:16:17
I'll try
00:16:23
but Helens husband discovered is a
00:16:25
Gregory Kaplan juror is not a doctor he
00:16:28
is a fugitive wanted by the FBI
00:16:31
Kaplan jurors an alleged con man accused
00:16:33
of scamming millions from investors non
00:16:35
suspecting patients willing to support
00:16:37
his cure-all drug mu stem the FBI
00:16:40
believes mu stem could contain a
00:16:42
combination of illegal steroids vitamins
00:16:45
and amphetamines Caplinger was a medical
00:16:51
imposter he had more phony credentials
00:16:53
than any other medical impostor in
00:16:55
history Kaplan Kerr is a conman because
00:17:00
he plays on the people that are dying he
00:17:03
plays on their families he gives them
00:17:05
that one last hope to live it takes
00:17:08
their money and provides very little
00:17:11
care he never went to any medical school
00:17:14
he got some of his papers by sending
00:17:18
money to British diploma mills that
00:17:21
simply issued them when they got his
00:17:25
money dr. Byrd has created an extensive
00:17:28
website dedicated to medical scams it is
00:17:32
there that a friend of the roots read
00:17:34
the disturbing truth about dr. Keplinger
00:17:36
and quickly called William when I heard
00:17:40
that he was a fraud I feared for her
00:17:41
life there she is down there all by
00:17:43
herself
00:17:44
I know boy how's she gonna handle this
00:17:46
she doesn't speak any Spanish she
00:17:48
doesn't know anyone and now her friends
00:17:52
are the enemy
00:17:55
I knew that I had to go to his office
00:17:59
and ask for my money back and now I'm
00:18:02
not talking to the doctor
00:18:05
Kaplan jur I'm talking to a crook he
00:18:13
said there's no emergency at home that's
00:18:16
more important Helen than your health I
00:18:20
can't say Helen insisted and by the next
00:18:28
day Keplinger agreed to return 20 of the
00:18:31
$40,000 payment she had made we figured
00:18:35
we would take that and be happy that we
00:18:38
got that so we thought 20,000 was better
00:18:40
than none
00:18:41
three years after Helens ordeal she
00:18:44
remains cancer-free but she is one of
00:18:46
the lucky ones there are dozens of
00:18:48
others who suffered at the deadly hands
00:18:51
of the doctor impostor usually in many
00:18:55
many cases they'd never make it out of
00:18:56
the Dominican Republic
00:18:58
most of them many of them died there
00:19:01
Linda and Dave Cernan also put their
00:19:03
faith in dr. Kaplan jur when it looked
00:19:05
like Dave had no other options they had
00:19:08
been married three years when Dave was
00:19:09
diagnosed with hepatitis C two years
00:19:12
later he needed a liver transplant but
00:19:14
finding a match in time wasn't likely so
00:19:17
they gambled with Linda's inheritance
00:19:19
and went to Santa Domingo the money that
00:19:26
we had to come up with you know was
00:19:27
worth every penny because Dave wanted to
00:19:30
live we would have done anything in
00:19:32
which we did do everything we could and
00:19:34
by going down there I felt like you know
00:19:36
it was an answer from God
00:19:38
Dave's treatment began immediately Dave
00:19:43
was hooked up to an IV for six to eight
00:19:44
hours a day and on alternating days he
00:19:48
received vitamins the other days was a
00:19:50
clearer liquid that we were told that
00:19:53
was the MU stim Dr Kaplan jure assured
00:19:57
us that Dave's chances of living were
00:19:59
very very good but instead of getting
00:20:03
better
00:20:03
Dave's help deteriorated rapidly I'm
00:20:06
getting very worried Dave isn't eating
00:20:09
he's too weak to walk or stand I don't
00:20:11
understand what's going on well with mu
00:20:14
stim things actually get worse before
00:20:16
they can get better
00:20:17
dr. Caplan jur reassured me that a lot
00:20:21
of times the patient will go downhill
00:20:23
before the drug really kicks in before
00:20:25
the vitamins really kick in before the
00:20:28
treatment really produces extravagant
00:20:30
results as the week's went by Linda was
00:20:35
shocked by the unsanitary conditions of
00:20:37
the clinic there was no water probably
00:20:41
80% of the time there was no electricity
00:20:43
probably 60% of the time there was
00:20:46
lizards crawling on the walls there was
00:20:48
roaches everywhere the conditions of
00:20:51
this world-renowned Institute was
00:20:54
appalling look I want to go home I want
00:20:59
to see John
00:21:01
like now although Dave hadn't been
00:21:03
strong enough to get out of bed for
00:21:05
weeks Linda was desperate to get him
00:21:07
home to see his son
00:21:10
mrs. Cernan can't stay here any longer
00:21:17
he was rather upset he said that you
00:21:20
have to give the treatment a chance to
00:21:22
work you have to stay and stick with
00:21:24
this it's still save Oh No I told him
00:21:27
that there was no way that there was any
00:21:29
kind of improvement it was just
00:21:30
deterioration we realized we had made a
00:21:33
mistake at this point and we were going
00:21:35
home and we left when we got to Santa
00:21:41
Domingo Dave was weak but he was walking
00:21:44
he was eating at the end of six weeks my
00:21:49
Dave could not stand he could not eat he
00:21:52
could not even talk to me he was too
00:21:54
weak to even hold a phone Dave Cernan
00:22:00
passed away just 24 hours after
00:22:02
returning to the United States I very
00:22:06
much believe dr. Caplan sure killed my
00:22:08
husband
00:22:10
[Music]
00:22:14
shortly after competing production on
00:22:16
this story
00:22:17
unsolved mysteries was informed that
00:22:19
after two years of evading law
00:22:21
enforcement
00:22:22
Gregory Keplinger has turned himself in
00:22:24
to Dominican Republic officials
00:22:26
outstanding warrants about Keplinger to
00:22:28
be immediately extradited to the US due
00:22:31
to a knee injury Keplinger was
00:22:33
transported in a wheelchair he spent two
00:22:37
days in the care and custody of the
00:22:39
Dominican authorities and then agents
00:22:41
from the Charlotte division flew down to
00:22:43
the Dominican Republic where they are no
00:22:47
more than a half hour took custody of
00:22:50
him put him in a in a plane and flew him
00:22:52
back
00:22:54
the FBI added cap enger' to their wanted
00:22:57
list after he fled during a 1999 trial
00:22:59
and shot at North Carolina where he was
00:23:02
convicted of money laundering in the MU
00:23:04
stem scheme Keplinger is also facing
00:23:08
indictment in Philadelphia 39 counts of
00:23:11
wire fraud related to the travel and
00:23:13
treatment of patients who went to his
00:23:15
clinic and Santo Domingo when you look
00:23:19
at the charges of wire fraud or you look
00:23:22
at the charges of mail fraud they may
00:23:25
not seem to reach that level of you know
00:23:29
why are you discharging this man with
00:23:31
simple fraud when in fact you know
00:23:34
people were dying and dying terrible
00:23:36
terrible deaths but it's a a surefire
00:23:39
way of putting this man in jail
00:23:43
Linda Cernan whose husband Dave died
00:23:46
soon after receiving treatments from
00:23:48
Keplinger
00:23:48
will be a key witness at Caplin jurors
00:23:51
pending fraud trial cap injure may not
00:23:55
be able to be tried as a first-degree
00:23:58
murderer but he did murder these people
00:24:00
because he knew that his drug was a
00:24:03
fraud in my eyes he is a murderer I'm
00:24:08
hoping that when he is sentenced and he
00:24:11
has given enough time that he can never
00:24:13
get on the streets again so that there's
00:24:15
no way he can do this horrible
00:24:19
thing to families again
00:24:21
[Music]
00:24:45
[Music]
00:24:48
by any measure he was a hero at the age
00:24:52
of 24 both the Frank Montenegro's
00:24:54
parents suddenly died leaving behind
00:24:56
Frank and five children under the age of
00:24:58
18 Frank's response was both unselfish
00:25:02
and noble he immediately gave up his
00:25:04
carefree life in San Diego and moved
00:25:07
back home to Hayward California to raise
00:25:09
his orphaned brothers and sisters
00:25:12
basically was kind of like an angel that
00:25:14
came in there and said you know it's
00:25:16
gonna be alright you'll stay together
00:25:18
and you don't have to worry about being
00:25:22
different places and you know not being
00:25:25
taken care of soon the story of Frank
00:25:30
sacrifice was national news numerous
00:25:33
newspapers and magazines proclaimed how
00:25:35
Frank's generosity should be a lesson to
00:25:37
us all
00:25:39
[Music]
00:25:41
to support his family
00:25:44
Frank taught special education at the
00:25:45
local elementary school he seemed to be
00:25:50
not only the perfect teacher but also
00:25:52
the perfect citizen an avid church-going
00:25:54
man the devoted family man and a
00:25:57
compassionate meant to order troubled
00:25:58
kids known affectionately as mr. Monty
00:26:04
everyone admired and trusted Frank
00:26:06
Montenegrin
00:26:11
then a mother of a boy in Frank's class
00:26:13
said she made an odd discovery I noticed
00:26:19
in his clothes a new pair of underwear
00:26:21
Billy
00:26:26
and I asked him where did you get these
00:26:29
and he said my teacher mr. Monty bought
00:26:31
him for me I thought that was strange
00:26:34
why would a teacher at school be buying
00:26:38
a student underwear I couldn't really
00:26:42
come up with sensible reason but I just
00:26:45
kind of kept it in the back of my head
00:26:46
and a year after this had happened my
00:26:50
son said he goes I forgot to tell you
00:26:52
something and I go what and he goes
00:26:55
remember my teacher mr. Monty the one
00:26:57
that bought me those underwear and stuff
00:26:59
and I said yeah what about him
00:27:01
he said well he raped me
00:27:08
honest kind-hearted even heroic these
00:27:13
were the words commonly used to describe
00:27:15
Frank Montenegro could somebody who
00:27:18
seemed to care so much for children be
00:27:20
harming them in such an unspeakable way
00:27:22
because false accusations have been made
00:27:24
in past cases of alleged child abuse
00:27:27
authorities were faced with a troubling
00:27:29
dilemma was Frank an upstanding citizen
00:27:32
or was he really a child molester in
00:27:35
disguise
00:27:41
[Music]
00:27:43
the allegation against Frank Montenegro
00:27:46
landed on the desk of Fremont California
00:27:48
police detective Teresa Martinez an
00:27:51
officer since the age of 22
00:27:53
Martinez became a detective three years
00:27:56
earlier and now worked on the sexual
00:27:58
assault unit Frank Montenegro the scene
00:28:01
is this huge icon in the community and
00:28:04
you can't ruin somebody's career because
00:28:07
one child says it happened and you can't
00:28:10
go into court and convict the guy for
00:28:12
child molester sexual assault when
00:28:15
there's nothing to cooperate in do you
00:28:17
know why you're here today yeah so you
00:28:20
know about good touch and you know about
00:28:22
bad touch
00:28:23
Martinez professional experiences with
00:28:26
children had shown that they sometimes
00:28:27
lie so she had to corroborate the boys
00:28:30
story she brought him to an interview
00:28:33
center for childhood sexual abuse
00:28:35
victims who are specialists questioned
00:28:37
the boy
00:28:38
Teresa watched on closed-circuit
00:28:40
television so as not to frighten the
00:28:42
child and where do you call that spot
00:28:57
what came out of that interview is the
00:28:59
victim said that all the students in his
00:29:01
class had seen what occurred when we
00:29:04
heard that everybody's opinion was okay
00:29:07
we know that's not true okay
00:29:10
despite her doubts detective Martinez
00:29:13
immediately interviewed all of the
00:29:15
children in the boys class they all
00:29:18
denied seeing anything
00:29:20
Martinez decided to re-interview the boy
00:29:23
herself why talk to the kids and not one
00:29:27
of them said they saw what happened I
00:29:28
want you to tell me the truth
00:29:31
did any of those kids see what happened
00:29:35
the boy admitted to lying about the
00:29:37
other students seeing the assault he
00:29:40
said he became scared during the initial
00:29:42
interview and thought this light would
00:29:43
stop investigators from questioning him
00:29:45
but he insisted there everything else he
00:29:47
had said was true
00:29:49
Frank Montenegro had attacked him this
00:29:55
kid was so believable
00:29:57
his demeanor wasn't one of being
00:29:59
untruthful and you know he just wasn't
00:30:02
lying and I believed them
00:30:08
this is mr. Martinez classroom detective
00:30:12
Martinez searched Frank's classroom
00:30:14
where the victim said the attack took
00:30:15
place as she made her way to the back
00:30:19
she found something you'd never expect
00:30:21
to see at an elementary school through a
00:30:30
nondescript door were two hidden rooms
00:30:32
separating them a two-way mirror there
00:30:37
should be no reason for a two-way mirror
00:30:38
between those two rooms I'm thinking why
00:30:42
would he need that and in my mind as an
00:30:45
investigator I'm thinking this guy's
00:30:47
probably filming Zach's the way the two
00:30:53
rooms are set up in the back if Frank
00:30:56
wants to do this with this child he can
00:30:58
shut those doors and even if somebody
00:31:00
walked into the classroom they wouldn't
00:31:03
be able to see what was going on the
00:31:07
following day detective Martinez
00:31:09
returned to the rooms
00:31:11
according to Martinez the two-way mirror
00:31:13
was now a regular pane of glass fearing
00:31:21
it Frank might have gotten wind of the
00:31:23
investigation and was possibly
00:31:24
destroying evidence
00:31:25
Martinez moved into high gear a search
00:31:28
warrant was immediately secured for
00:31:31
Frank's home and when we searched his
00:31:33
room we found gifts for smaller kids and
00:31:36
books about sex with younger kids now
00:31:40
we're starting to get some things that
00:31:42
are gonna help me corroborate the
00:31:44
profile of a child molester
00:31:47
Frank was not home during the search but
00:31:49
a female relative was detective Martinez
00:31:52
says the relative then made a disturbing
00:31:54
revelation she told me of an incident
00:32:04
involving another victim that was found
00:32:07
in Frank's bedroom naked after hearing
00:32:12
about the possible second incident of
00:32:13
molestation detective Martinez asked
00:32:16
Frank to come in for questioning and he
00:32:18
agreed he's always telling stories why
00:32:27
would he lie about something like this
00:32:28
we talked to him for close to four hours
00:32:31
and in that whole time he never denied
00:32:34
that he did anything that was always you
00:32:37
know it couldn't have been me not know I
00:32:39
didn't do it it was more very passive
00:32:42
very very clear to us that he wasn't
00:32:45
being truthful but it was still the word
00:32:48
of a little boy who had initially lied
00:32:50
against that of a well-respected teacher
00:32:52
and community leader and for allegations
00:32:55
of child abuse that is often not enough
00:32:56
to get in the restaurant stories
00:32:59
detective Martinez needed to corroborate
00:33:01
her victims testimony fearing it Frank
00:33:05
might run at any moment Martinez raced
00:33:07
to find the alleged second victim she
00:33:10
discovered that a neighboring Police
00:33:11
Department did have a complaint against
00:33:13
Frank involving a boy in his bedroom
00:33:16
detective Martinez immediately picked
00:33:18
the boy up from school for an interview
00:33:20
so he's going to talk to you about Frank
00:33:22
a little bit okay so I would come on
00:33:24
over here to the car his eyes started
00:33:26
tearing up and he looked as if oh my
00:33:28
gosh I am caught I need to talk I knew
00:33:33
that something had happened to that kid
00:33:35
being real truthful about what happened
00:33:37
okay detective Martinez says the boy
00:33:41
finally told his terrible secret
00:33:44
the stories he told me were probably
00:33:48
some of the most horrific stories I had
00:33:49
ever heard and to even picture in my
00:33:52
mind how this guy did these things to
00:33:54
this little boy it made me sick and it
00:34:03
broke my heart to see this little kid
00:34:05
who's a great little boy think that he
00:34:08
was bad when he wasn't bad at all
00:34:12
detective Martinez now have the
00:34:13
corroboration she needed to arrest Frank
00:34:16
Montenegro but it was too late
00:34:19
Montenegro was already long gone six
00:34:23
days after Frank was interviewed by
00:34:24
police a car rented and his name was
00:34:27
found abandoned in La Paz Mexico his
00:34:29
whereabouts are currently unknown but
00:34:32
police believe he has likely returned to
00:34:34
the United States it was hard for me to
00:34:37
believe that he did this I still had a
00:34:40
tendency like everybody else did to look
00:34:43
up
00:34:44
my heart has to go out to these children
00:34:47
that this has been done to because if
00:34:51
their innocence has been talking away
00:34:53
from I don't think just because he had a
00:34:56
close run-in with the law that that
00:34:58
would motivate him or scare him to stop
00:35:01
his actions that obsession is still with
00:35:05
him wherever he goes and I hate to think
00:35:09
that other kids are going through what
00:35:11
my son went through
00:35:14
[Music]
00:35:29
[Music]
00:35:40
[Music]
00:35:41
Moscow Idaho population 25 thousand is a
00:35:45
quiet cottage community in one of the
00:35:47
most conservative states in the country
00:35:49
the University of Idaho sits in his
00:35:52
picturesque rural setting making the
00:35:55
town a unique mix of cowboys and
00:35:57
academics little happens out of the
00:36:01
ordinary here so when a local university
00:36:04
student suddenly vanished Moscow was
00:36:06
shocked people don't disappear around
00:36:11
here murders don't happen you know I can
00:36:14
name them on on one hand in the last 20
00:36:17
years we don't expect it so it couldn't
00:36:20
have happened it didn't happen here on
00:36:23
an early January morning will Hendrick
00:36:26
mysteriously vanished without a trace
00:36:29
family and friends are desperate to know
00:36:31
if we'll met with foul play or just
00:36:34
walked away from his seemingly happy
00:36:36
life there are a few clues to lead
00:36:40
detectives in their search a 25 will
00:36:46
Hendricks seemed to have it all he was a
00:36:49
well-liked senior in a theater
00:36:50
department and had a good job on campus
00:36:53
he recently landed a small part in the
00:36:55
Hollywood action film some believer
00:36:58
disappears may be connected to the fact
00:37:00
that he was gay no one seems to know
00:37:03
what happened late one night in Moscow
00:37:05
to interfere with wills bright future
00:37:12
the evening began with hard work will
00:37:15
and his partner Jerry who'd been
00:37:17
together for five years were remodeling
00:37:20
their kitchen Katie's parties tonight
00:37:24
we're going will decided he wanted to go
00:37:27
to Katie's party I didn't want to go I
00:37:30
wanted to go to sleep and at about
00:37:33
midnight he said okay I'm gonna go and
00:37:36
I'll be home in a few hours I'll see you
00:37:38
in a few hours the last thing I told
00:37:40
will was I love you
00:37:43
and he said I love you back it was the
00:37:49
last weekend before school started and
00:37:52
everyone who was coming back into town
00:37:54
from Christmas break and it was a
00:37:55
perfect excuse for a party
00:37:59
[Music]
00:38:03
by the time Liv arrived two parties were
00:38:06
in full swing on the third floor were
00:38:09
Moscow locals mostly former athletes
00:38:11
from the town high school Katie's party
00:38:15
on the second floor was for her friends
00:38:18
from the college theater department
00:38:20
because of the two different worlds that
00:38:23
were kind of colliding that night my
00:38:26
concern was that there could be a
00:38:28
possibility for some sort of
00:38:30
confrontation sincewell has no problem
00:38:32
being open with how he is and with every
00:38:35
opinion throughout the night will was
00:38:43
preoccupied with another friend Karen
00:38:45
and the trouble she was having with her
00:38:47
boyfriend a local resident who was
00:38:49
attending the third floor party
00:38:56
will was very protective of his friends
00:38:59
and being as he was drunk it enhanced
00:39:02
him his concern naturally but he just
00:39:05
wanted to make sure she was okay there
00:39:07
were times when if he'd had a bit to
00:39:10
drink he'd get belligerent if somebody
00:39:12
yelled a slur at him he'd respond he
00:39:15
takes a babe by about 2:30 in the
00:39:19
morning Karen had gone home leaving
00:39:22
Katie to keep wil from putting himself
00:39:24
in an unpredictable situation with
00:39:26
Karen's boyfriend and the partiers on
00:39:28
the third floor I'm going upstairs and
00:39:35
then I thought I want to make sure that
00:39:38
Karen got home okay so I called her
00:39:41
house found out that she was okay if I
00:39:44
thought she was asleep and I walked back
00:39:45
outside onto the porch and what was gone
00:39:48
well well
00:39:54
Caty nudist wills car was still parked
00:39:56
out front and assumed he had gone
00:39:58
upstairs by the next morning the car was
00:40:03
gone it was about 11:30 12 o'clock when
00:40:07
I called Katie's and I said can you wake
00:40:10
will up and send him home we've got some
00:40:12
stuff to do today and she said well he's
00:40:14
not here he didn't stay here last night
00:40:16
and I started calling around to all the
00:40:18
theater students try and find out if
00:40:20
he'd gone to somebody else's house
00:40:22
continued drinking passed out on their
00:40:23
couch and nobody had seen him he called
00:40:28
about 7:30 Sunday evening and he was
00:40:31
concerned and I was immediately
00:40:33
concerned it was winter and my initial
00:40:37
concern was hypothermia when will hadn't
00:40:43
shown by Monday morning nearly 36 hours
00:40:45
after the party his friends combed the
00:40:48
city searching for him a big break came
00:40:53
when the search team found wills car
00:40:55
parked on a downtown street Gerry
00:41:02
examined the car and was surprised to
00:41:04
find it was unlocked and that will had
00:41:06
left his portfolio inside that portfolio
00:41:10
carried all of wills artwork his
00:41:13
drawings his makeup sketches everything
00:41:18
that was important to him was in that
00:41:20
portfolio and on the dash his work keys
00:41:23
from the University the keys that were
00:41:26
left there they never left his body he's
00:41:29
right here they were clipped to his belt
00:41:31
or they were at home because if you lost
00:41:34
the keys then he would have to rekey the
00:41:36
building we did go through the car with
00:41:39
a fine-tooth comb with our with crime
00:41:41
lab folks there weren't any blood or any
00:41:45
hair samples that weren't Wells there
00:41:48
wasn't anything in there that would
00:41:49
indicate that any kind of foul play
00:41:51
occurred at least in the car finding the
00:41:55
car had only raised more questions about
00:41:57
wills disappearance
00:41:59
some of his friends thought it possible
00:42:01
that we'll had left voluntarily to start
00:42:03
a new life we'll had a lot of
00:42:08
trepidation about school and I think he
00:42:09
shared that with me because we had that
00:42:12
in common sometimes you just get
00:42:14
overwhelmed and his comment was you know
00:42:16
I'd like to tour the country I just like
00:42:18
to take off someday like wow and not
00:42:21
tell anyone no I said you know not even
00:42:24
your parents you know what about what
00:42:26
about your commitments I just go I think
00:42:31
he took the car downtown and
00:42:33
intentionally parked it
00:42:35
he left his work keys he took his wallet
00:42:39
maybe he even hitchhiked out of town I
00:42:43
spent probably about a year hoping
00:42:47
praying that he had walked away because
00:42:50
the alternative was he was dead but
00:42:54
after nearly two years and still no sign
00:42:56
of will his friends and family fear the
00:42:58
worst
00:43:00
Kati believes it all goes back to her
00:43:02
apartment building that January night my
00:43:06
hypothesis I guess used to say is that
00:43:08
something happened and it got out of
00:43:10
control and it probably didn't mean to
00:43:13
happen but then whatever happened got
00:43:16
covered up simply because it was it
00:43:19
became so huge I could see that this
00:43:23
might have been a possibility good he
00:43:25
ran to somebody that didn't like gays
00:43:27
and they did him in we did interview all
00:43:33
the folks on the top floor and did not
00:43:35
get any indication from any of them that
00:43:38
they had done anything other than just
00:43:40
talked to well subsequent to our initial
00:43:44
contact with them those individuals on
00:43:46
the top floor took a polygraph and all
00:43:49
of them did pass the polygraph the gap
00:43:52
between 3:30 in the morning and then
00:43:55
finding the car at 11 o'clock on Monday
00:44:00
it's a whole it's a blank hole
00:44:05
gerri believes the car might hold the
00:44:08
most important clues to wills
00:44:09
disappearance when the police released
00:44:12
the car he discovered disturbing details
00:44:15
I found out that there was mud caked on
00:44:20
the inside wheel wells of the car so
00:44:23
there was no reason for mud to be caked
00:44:25
on the inside of the wheel wells and
00:44:27
then the other odd thing was that
00:44:30
somebody had moved the seat all the way
00:44:34
to its far back position indicating to
00:44:37
me that a large person may have been the
00:44:39
last person to drive wills cart grasping
00:44:43
for answers Gerry pursued a theory that
00:44:46
someone they both knew might have
00:44:48
crossed wills path early that January
00:44:50
morning two months prior to wills
00:44:55
disappearance Gerry had fired a van
00:44:57
driver who worked for his shuttle
00:44:59
service one morning he came in from his
00:45:04
shift demanding that the operations
00:45:07
manager go out and change a headlight
00:45:09
it's your van you own the van you fixed
00:45:12
the headlight he started yelling
00:45:16
screaming and ended it with a slur at my
00:45:21
sexuality [ __ ] I terminated him on the
00:45:25
spot I want you again he subsequently
00:45:31
went to work for a long-haul trucking
00:45:33
outfit and on the morning of wills
00:45:37
disappearance at approximately 4:30 5
00:45:41
o'clock in the morning he checked out a
00:45:43
refrigerated truck from the dispatch in
00:45:46
Lewiston 30 miles south of here
00:45:49
there is a coincidence there and that
00:45:53
the last time we'll was seen was about
00:45:56
the time this driver would have been
00:45:58
going to Lewiston
00:46:00
we have had a number of sightings across
00:46:04
the country that people call us up and
00:46:05
say hey we have seen will we have
00:46:07
checked each and every one of those
00:46:08
calls out and they have not proven to be
00:46:11
will we have checked out hundreds of
00:46:14
leads put in hundreds and hundreds of
00:46:16
hours on this particular case and as far
00:46:19
as absolute facts that we can lay down
00:46:22
on a piece of paper to show what may
00:46:25
have happened we are no closer than we
00:46:27
were on day one I don't know that it
00:46:31
that it's important to find him because
00:46:33
if he's dead and I believe that he is I
00:46:37
know where is that but I think having a
00:46:43
body can really definitely put some
00:46:48
closure
00:46:49
[Music]
00:47:08
[Music]
00:47:18
join me next time for more intriguing
00:47:21
true tales unsolved mysteries
00:47:24
[Music]
00:47:36
[Music]
00:47:59
[Applause]
00:48:00
[Music]
00:48:00
[Applause]
00:48:03
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most intense
  • 85
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  • 80
    Most heartbreaking
  • 75
    Most shocking

Episode Highlights

  • The Tragic Case of Carson Prince
    A young college student struggles for her life in a shocking attack.
    “Carson was being beaten... trying to defend herself.”
    @ 08m 43s
    May 23, 2019
  • Helen Ruth's Desperate Search for a Cure
    Helen travels to the Dominican Republic for an experimental treatment that turns out to be a scam.
    “I had third-stage colon cancer... looking for an alternative.”
    @ 13m 29s
    May 23, 2019
  • Frank Montenegro: A Hero's Sacrifice
    After losing his parents, Frank gives up his life to raise his siblings.
    “Basically was kind of like an angel... you don't have to worry about being different places.”
    @ 25m 02s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Allegation Against Frank Montenegro
    A teacher beloved by the community faces shocking allegations of abuse from a student.
    “Could somebody who seemed to care so much for children be harming them?”
    @ 27m 18s
    May 23, 2019
  • Detective Martinez's Investigation
    Detective Teresa Martinez uncovers disturbing evidence while investigating the allegations against Frank.
    “She found something you’d never expect at an elementary school.”
    @ 30m 19s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Disappearance of Will Hendricks
    A university student mysteriously vanishes, leaving friends and family desperate for answers.
    “People don’t disappear around here; murders don’t happen.”
    @ 36m 06s
    May 23, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • I wish I had some answers.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 5 - Full Episode
  • He plays on the people that are dying.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 5 - Full Episode
  • In my eyes, he is a murderer.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 5 - Full Episode
  • He said, well he raped me.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 5 - Full Episode
  • I still had a tendency like everybody else did to look up.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 5 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Life-or-Death Struggle00:19
  • Tragic Accident06:43
  • Community Dilemma27:20
  • Investigation Begins27:46
  • Second Victim Found33:10
  • Desperate Search40:45
  • Unanswered Questions41:59
  • Seeking Closure46:43

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

Related Episodes

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