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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 8 - Full Episode

May 23, 2019 / 45:47

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers three main stories: Stephen Michalak's UFO encounter in 1967, the mysterious disappearance of AJ Bro in Louisiana, and allegations of corruption at Frontera prison in California.

Stephen Michalak, an industrial mechanic, recounts his extraordinary encounter with a UFO in Manitoba, Canada, in 1967. After witnessing a strange craft, he experienced severe burns and mysterious symptoms that doctors could not explain. Despite skepticism, Michalak remains convinced that he saw something otherworldly.

The episode also investigates the case of AJ Bro, a well-known figure in Houma, Louisiana, who vanished in 1991. His car was found abandoned, and despite numerous sightings reported by locals, his fate remains unknown. Family members suspect foul play, as Bro had recently overcome a drinking problem.

Finally, the episode discusses allegations of corruption at Frontera prison in California, where former guards claim drug trafficking and cover-ups related to the deaths of a guard and an inmate. The investigation reveals troubling accounts of intimidation and threats faced by whistleblowers.

Each story highlights the enduring mysteries surrounding these cases and the impact on the families involved.

TL;DR

Stephen Michalak's UFO encounter, AJ Bro's disappearance, and corruption at Frontera prison are featured in this episode.

Episode

45:47
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this program is about unsolved mysteries
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whenever possible the actual family
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members and police officials have
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participated in recreating the events
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what you were about to see is not a news
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broadcast by his own admission Stephen
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Michalak is an ordinary man who leads an
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ordinary life but in 1967 Michalak
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claims that his life was turned upside
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down when he had an extraordinary
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encounter with a mysterious flying craft
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for many years aged a bro was a fixture
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in the small community of Houma
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Louisiana and suddenly in 1991 he simply
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vanished a mysterious note sent to the
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police suggested that he had
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accidentally killed himself while
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drinking but at least three eyewitnesses
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are positive they saw bro in the weeks
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after he disappeared
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California's Frontera prison is one of
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the largest women's Penitentiary's in
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America but over the past decade the
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deaths of a prison guard in an inmate
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that led to controversial allegations of
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corruption inside the prison walls
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join me for these intriguing stories and
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a heartwarming update on another edition
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of unsolved mysteries
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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every year there are thousands of
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reports of unidentified flying objects
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as a rule people who admit to having an
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encounter with a UFO open themselves to
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ridicule and derision some will call him
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crazy
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others will openly accuse them of
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concocting a hoax
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in this story the person involved is
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simple unassuming man who is always
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skeptical about UFOs until he had his
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own close encounter
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Stevan Michalak and his wife came to
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Manitoba Canada from Poland after the
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Second World War
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Stephen found work as an industrial
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mechanic in a cement plant life was
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happy and uneventful for nearly 20 years
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[Music]
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Stephen was an amateur Rock County spent
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every spare moment in the beautiful
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natural woodlands of Manitoba I love
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nature I love birds animals and and also
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I have interest in nature's or rocks and
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isn't that every weekend in the long
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weekend I usually travel go to the out
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in the country and snooping in the indie
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rocks on May 20th 1967 Stephen was
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prospecting approximately 100 miles east
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of Winnipeg suddenly he was distracted
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when a flock of geese in the pond below
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kicked up an unusual racket
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looking on the three I notice a two
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cigarette like shape things with the
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hump in the middle so the hair is that
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one stay in the air and the other one is
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coming down down down
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[Music]
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I start looking for marks I never see a
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where or NASA or somethingö written on
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it no nothing I didn't see anything on
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it but still I was thinking that
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probably experimenting vehicle from
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United States Steven michalak says that
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he made this sketch of the strange craft
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just after he saw it land
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I do remember one description that he
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gave at the time he said that the skin
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of the craft the outside of the craft
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was flawless there when San Michalak was
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10 years old in 1967 no nothing it was
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as though you had milled out of a solid
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block of steel this disc this saucer
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with the don't wanta Steven Michalak
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told his son but after a few moments the
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door of the craft slowly opened
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[Music]
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when the gate opened there was a tiny
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shrieky talked like like a kids in
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problem or something thinking of us eh I
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said okay Yankee boys thanks to me you
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are in trouble you got travels I'll help
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you when his English received no
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response Stephen tried Russian then
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polish and finally German boy
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sprechen sie Deutsch relay
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obviously had our sacred the hell fit in
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beat their comments ahead hours
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he fed her hands Benny Stephen says that
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as he drew near the door the light was
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so bright he had to snap down the visor
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on his safety goggles
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[Music]
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after a few moments the door suddenly
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shut
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[Music]
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according to Steven the craft rotated
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counterclockwise knocking my backwards
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and setting his shirt on fire after
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igniting with the fire the craft lifts
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up 30 to 40 feet in vanished
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and then I decided I said now is the
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time for me to buzzer from here go out
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so I start going he started feeling
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strange and threw up several times at
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the same time he was experiencing spots
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in front of his eyes which could be
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after-effects from the brilliant lights
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emanating from what appeared to be ducts
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or ports in the top of the alleged craft
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when Stephen checked his compass trying
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to find his way southeast to the road he
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says a needle went haywire disoriented
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and badly burned Stephen took his best
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guess at the direction nine hours later
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he finally arrived back home in Winnipeg
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or his story made local headlines and
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apparently left doctors baffled at that
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point in time the diagnosis if you can
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call it that was burns and sure they
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were burns yes heat caused burns what
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they couldn't diagnose and didn't have a
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clue about was what appeared below the
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chest on the abdomen the exact same
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pattern of holes that was on the grid on
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the side of the craft in the same order
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in the same rows in the same number
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appeared as red spots on his lower
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abdomen red dots
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Stephen was released from the hospital
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but he says his symptoms worsened the
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nausea continued and his body seemed to
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emit a sulfuric stench there was this
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sulfurous own electric burning motor
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stink about him is like he's carrying an
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aura the smell wherever he walked and he
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got close to you you could you could
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smell this not baths showers wouldn't
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take it out that lasted for weeks I
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remember seeing him in bed
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constantly tired nauseous headache he
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not feeling well losing a lot of weight
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Stephen McCulloch was tested for
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radiation poisoning the results were
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negative yet no one could explain the
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source of the strange burns on his torso
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the physicians were actually unable to
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determine many of Michael X ailments
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they knew for example he was physically
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thermally burned his chest was burned
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and singed but the pattern lower down on
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his chest was very very unusual it was
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eventually determined that it was a
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chemical burn not a radiation burn
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although he did have some symptoms that
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might have suggested that some people
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that some sort of radiation effects
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might have been involved
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on June 30th six weeks after the
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encounter Stephen and a friend went
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looking for the site after several hours
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they found a burned-out circle with a
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radius of more than 15 feet on this
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barren patch of rock was a circular
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roughly circular ring of vegetation dead
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pine needles dirt leaves that sort of
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thing the rock had been swept clean
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except for this ring which was
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surrounding this area they also noticed
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that a few of the trees appeared to have
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dead branches as if something had either
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come in and touched them or brushed by
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them with an intense heat or some other
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effects within days a team of experts
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from the United States working in
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cooperation of the Royal Canadian Air
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Force converged on the site they took
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measurements catalogues soil samples and
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check for radiation the levels appeared
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alarmingly high and the Health
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Department considered quarantine in the
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area later however they discovered that
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the high levels were caused by a vein of
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radium which ran under the entire region
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meanwhile Stephens burns which had
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appeared to be healing suddenly flared
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up again according to Stephen his
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doctor's remained mystified after every
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three months my burns from legs and here
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were coming back showing up again and
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burning and burning and vomiting
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anything to eat Bongo goes to this day
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you couldn't if he let you can press
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into his skin and feel subcutaneous scar
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tissue in the form of those burns on his
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chest which he playfully calls his
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buttons and that's there you cannot deny
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this this is there
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these cracks on may 19th 1968 one year
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after Steven mikkel acts close encounter
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he and a friend returned to the site
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just about Center a little north of
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Center the Geiger counter rose very very
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dramatically at that point within an
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18-inch section of the crack they
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scooped out a hole almost half a jar
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full of what appeared to be molten rock
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or molten metal of some sort
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subsequently we found out what it was
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but at that time it was unclear but it
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was quite radioactive according to Ed
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Barker an analysis revealed that the
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material was an extremely pure grade of
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silver that is difficult to obtain it
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had been coated with pitchblende or
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which contains both uranium and radium
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this is what we found three identical
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bars of what appear at first glance to
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be silver alloy of some sort they were
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obviously manufactured somehow it was
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considerably radioactive and now it's
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perfectly safe to handle this is one of
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the biggest mysteries one of the biggest
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puzzles and skeptics have pointed to
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this as the reason why the case should
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be discounted why would particles and
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metal fragments of this size and
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radioactivity have been missed by all
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previous investigators and this is one
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mystery that we don't have definite
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answers to this day by someone ed Barker
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believes a silver was planted by someone
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who may have wanted to lend credence to
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Steven michalak story planted on the
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same saying that I do not believe
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Miculek did had anything to do with this
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but I do believe that it was planted I'd
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like to think that one day we'll get a
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letter from the US government and it'll
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say we have the to craft in a hangar
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over here and we were experimenting with
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them at the time sorry
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and I'd want to go and see them and I'm
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sure dad would too and that would be
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great
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what would be worse is to have this
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thing dragged to a point and dragged on
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where it's never explained
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today Stephen michalak is 76 years old
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he and his wife continue to live in
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Manitoba Stephen still is not sure what
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it was he saw back in 1967 he says
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doctors have never been able to explain
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the burns on his chest or the mysterious
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symptoms which resembled radiation
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poisoning since no other explanation is
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forthcoming
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Stephen McCulloch is willing to
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entertain the notion no matter how
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far-fetched that he saw something not of
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this earth but we returned allegations
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of murder and coverup inside one of
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America's largest prisons for women
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[Music]
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Fronteras prison 45 miles south of Los
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Angeles California one of the largest
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women's penitentiaries in America
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Fronteras maximum-security wing houses
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some of California's most dangerous
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female offenders yet it is the alleged
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criminal activities of some guards and
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administrators that is shoved Frontera
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into the public spotlight in recent
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years former prison employees have made
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sensational allegations of widespread
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drug trafficking at the prison they have
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tied these charges of corruption to a
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pair of seemingly isolated incidents the
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disappearance and subsequent murder of a
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Frontera guard justin rich in 1984 and
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the controversial death of an inmate
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named terry lucas three years later
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in November of 1987 Lukas was found dead
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in Fronteras infirmary where she was
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recovering from a cancer biopsy twosome
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the incident appeared highly
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questionable according to former
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Frontera guard Betty Thompson an officer
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from another wing of the prison that
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approached Terry Lukas shortly before
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she died the unauthorized visit
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apparently terrified the 25 year old
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Lukas this was an inmate that was that
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came off as tough and mean and mouthy
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but when that when she saw the officer
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walking down the hall her whole demeanor
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changed she was absolutely devastated by
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his presence
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Thompson claims of the officer was
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determined to unlock Terry Lucas's cell
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he retreated only when Thompson
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threatened to report him most of the
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time officers back officers we don't we
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don't back inmates but in this
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particular instance it was just almost
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automatic that I would stand in front of
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the door and not let him in there after
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this officer left the area I keyed the
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door and went into to talk to Terry
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Lucas in herself she said the officer
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scared her and the reason he scared her
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is because it was to make her be quiet
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as she tells me that she's got
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information she's got evidence she knows
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who was involved in the disappearance of
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jessalyn rich betty thompson was stunned
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by Lucas's revelation that she knew the
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fate of just enrich the Fronteras guard
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who had disappeared under strange
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circumstances in 1984 jessalyn rich was
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a 35 year old divorced mother of two
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while working at Frontera she had
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maintained a straight-a average and
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criminology classes at night school at
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the time of her disappearance
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Jason had reportedly grown concerned
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about drug dealing inside Frontera
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you wanna dance it jeff's enriched was
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last seen on November 11th 1984 at a
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country-western bar where she and a
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friend Marilyn alt were joined by two
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male acquaintances then all of a sudden
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she sits very still and looks almost
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passed me to the front door Jess you
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okay and I look at her and her eyes drew
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wide and fearful looking but I didn't
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look to the door I just for some reason
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just didn't turn around and then she
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came back into the conversation
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[Music]
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as she turns around the corner to go
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down the hallway to the bathroom a
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gentleman appears to me out of the side
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of my eye going directly behind her and
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that's the last I see her ever justin
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rich literally vanished without a trace
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her family and friends launched an
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all-out search to them it seemed harshly
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out of character for Justin to abandon
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her children as scrap her career
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aspirations but police investigators
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said they had no evidence to support the
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family's belief that Justin had been
00:20:17
kidnapped and possibly murdered
00:20:21
they made light of it called us just
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distraught relatives suggested that my
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sister had just ran off on a fling with
00:20:29
some person was just totally absurd
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given her work record of only being late
00:20:34
once and a 4.0 grade point average
00:20:37
student there just was unheard of gary
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months tore apart his sister's house
00:20:43
searching for clues that police might
00:20:45
have overlooked when he sifted through
00:20:48
justin's trash he found evidence that
00:20:50
her knowledge of illegal activities at
00:20:52
the prison had put her life in danger
00:20:56
and inside in the plastic bag where
00:20:59
there are many many pieces of paper torn
00:21:02
up very very small I picked up a few of
00:21:04
these and I could tell that it was my
00:21:06
sister's writing or printing and they
00:21:09
were apparently notes or letters to a
00:21:12
friend of hers a co-worker and I figured
00:21:16
that I would take them home and sort
00:21:18
them out later the letter had been
00:21:21
written to another God at Frontera
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sprawled on the margin of the last page
00:21:26
was Justin's haunting recital of an
00:21:28
apparent threat she had received from a
00:21:30
co-worker that anyone interfering with
00:21:32
his drug activities would be taken care
00:21:34
of at the time this letter was the only
00:21:40
concrete evidence indicating that Jason
00:21:43
had met with foul play three years later
00:21:48
the case had faded from public view then
00:21:51
in 1987 the mystery was suddenly thrust
00:21:54
back on a center stage when Terry Lucas
00:21:57
told Betty Thompson she knew what
00:21:59
happened to Jesslyn rich
00:22:03
the morning after extraordinary
00:22:05
conversation with Lucas officer Thompson
00:22:08
returned to the prison infirmary
00:22:12
when I walked over to touch her I
00:22:15
noticed that Terry was dead
00:22:16
[Music]
00:22:22
I went out of the cell and I went down
00:22:24
to the nurse's station and I told them
00:22:27
one of what I had seen and what I knew
00:22:29
and the coldness of the room that she
00:22:32
was not covered her eyes were open her
00:22:35
breakfast tray had not been touched and
00:22:37
the nurses told me they would take care
00:22:40
of it
00:22:43
incredibly Betty Thompson claims that
00:22:46
the inmates body remained in the cell
00:22:48
for a full three days before the County
00:22:50
coroner's office was called
00:22:55
[Music]
00:22:58
according to Thompson an official from
00:23:01
the coroner's office was initially
00:23:02
mystified by what he found
00:23:04
Betty claims there were blades of grass
00:23:06
and Lucas's hair and multiple bruises on
00:23:09
her face ears neck and lower arms her
00:23:12
right arm
00:23:13
appeared to be broken he asked who
00:23:16
killed this inmate and he's saying that
00:23:18
this inmate was murdered he is saying
00:23:21
that he's saying seize evidence that she
00:23:23
was suffocated with the pillow that had
00:23:25
been under her arm that appeared to be
00:23:27
broken betty Thompson says that after
00:23:31
the official met with high-level prison
00:23:33
administrators in Lucas's cell he had a
00:23:36
sudden change of heart and he told me
00:23:39
that we were not going to call it murder
00:23:41
and we were not going to say that she
00:23:44
was dead laying there dead for three
00:23:46
days we were going to in fact say that
00:23:48
she was actually laying there only two
00:23:51
hours and that the cause of death was
00:23:53
actually complications due to diabetes
00:23:57
Betty Thompson says if she refused to go
00:24:00
along you can't put this information in
00:24:06
your report now you know what you're
00:24:09
supposed to write just Thompson
00:24:11
maintains that one of her superiors
00:24:13
demanded that she change her report on
00:24:15
Terry Lucas's death you are not leaving
00:24:18
this institution until you do as you are
00:24:21
told
00:24:22
according to Thompson she was subjected
00:24:24
to threats and intimidation for a six
00:24:26
grueling hours okay kiss your career
00:24:28
with the Department of Corrections there
00:24:30
was one high administrator that even
00:24:33
made the comment that the same thing
00:24:35
that happened to Jesslyn rich could
00:24:36
easily happen to me at that point in
00:24:39
time I broke down and cried
00:24:45
that's what this was all about and I
00:24:47
hadn't told anything what Terry Lucas
00:24:48
had said I hadn't told them anything
00:24:51
about that part
00:24:52
and for him to bring up jessalyn rich
00:24:55
and her disappearance it said why Terry
00:24:59
Lucas had died it had definitely had
00:25:01
something to do with that Thompson says
00:25:08
she finally gave in and signed a false
00:25:10
report that was typed for her but I
00:25:15
added on the bottom that I had signed
00:25:17
the document under duress and the
00:25:19
document was untrue to my knowledge that
00:25:24
document was ripped up another one was
00:25:28
retyped saying the similar things that
00:25:30
were on the first document and that my
00:25:32
signature was forged betty Thompson
00:25:36
claims that were further attempts at
00:25:38
intimidation they began on her next
00:25:41
shift with an anonymous phone call
00:25:43
Infirmary officer Thompson
00:25:51
[Music]
00:25:57
the following day Thompson had an
00:26:00
unnerving encounter have you been
00:26:03
receiving threatening phone calls what
00:26:05
are you talking about like you might be
00:26:08
found dead in a ditch one night I'm at
00:26:09
this point in time the hair on the back
00:26:11
of my neck just stood straight up I was
00:26:13
absolutely petrified because I knew that
00:26:16
she knew what they were saying to me and
00:26:18
that she was part of whoever was
00:26:20
threatening me Thompson says a menacing
00:26:24
calls and harassment continued for seven
00:26:26
months finally in June of 1988 the
00:26:30
threats turned to violence
00:26:36
Betty Thompson immediately called the
00:26:38
police who arrived at her home moments
00:26:40
later as I was upstairs filing a police
00:26:44
report about this the shooting a phone
00:26:48
call came in and I picked up the phone
00:26:51
it was a male voice and he said next
00:26:53
time we won't miss the police officer
00:26:56
saw my face and saw how upset I was he
00:27:00
included that in his report
00:27:03
in 1990 the brewing scandal at Frontera
00:27:06
was the subject of a series of
00:27:08
front-page special reports in the Orange
00:27:10
County Register the articles supported
00:27:13
insider accounts of drug dealing and
00:27:15
corruption
00:27:17
that same year Betty Thompson and five
00:27:20
other guards testified before state
00:27:22
Senate hearings on the alleged offences
00:27:24
at Frontera prison prison officials
00:27:28
declined to be interviewed for this
00:27:30
story
00:27:30
however tip Kendall's spokesman for the
00:27:33
California Department of Corrections
00:27:34
told an unsolved mysteries researcher
00:27:37
quote I'm not saying the things people
00:27:40
are alleging didn't happen there's just
00:27:42
no evidence to support them end quote
00:27:49
next thanks to our viewers a woman
00:27:52
framed by her stepfather has been
00:27:54
reunited with a former deputy sheriff
00:27:56
who came to a rescue when all else
00:27:58
seemed lost
00:28:00
[Music]
00:28:10
recently we brought you the poignant
00:28:12
story of a woman named Kathie Williams
00:28:14
loving who grew up in Chicago in 1961
00:28:20
when she was 14 years old
00:28:22
Kathie fell prey to the abusive sexual
00:28:24
advances of her stepfather a detective
00:28:27
with the Chicago Police Cathy finally
00:28:31
went to the authorities for help but she
00:28:33
was labeled incorrigible and detained
00:28:35
apparently because of her stepfathers
00:28:37
influence four months later by order of
00:28:44
a juvenile court
00:28:45
Cathy was remanded to a state training
00:28:47
school she was placed in the custody of
00:28:49
a Cook County deputy sheriff to be
00:28:51
transported Cathy had no idea that this
00:28:54
ride would become a remarkable turn of
00:28:56
Fortune II when they put me in the back
00:28:59
of that paddy wagon I just started
00:29:01
booming I just got to thing it dawned on
00:29:03
me then nobody knows where I'm going I
00:29:05
don't know where I'm going you know this
00:29:07
is this has to be hell
00:29:13
alone and scared to death Cathy began to
00:29:16
blurt out her story messin with you how
00:29:24
touching me the way of man touches a
00:29:26
woman by the time they arrived at the
00:29:29
reform school the deputy was convinced
00:29:32
that the system had made a terrible
00:29:33
mistake he offered to help Cathy and she
00:29:37
gave him the names of two friends Louise
00:29:40
Gordon and Maisy Bell they brought the
00:29:42
case to the attention of State social
00:29:44
workers ultimately Cathy was declared an
00:29:51
emancipated minor and released from the
00:29:53
reformatory but Cathy never forgot the
00:29:56
unknown deputy who led a helping hand
00:29:58
when no one else would if I could find
00:30:02
him I just want to say to him that many
00:30:06
people reach out for help and many are
00:30:09
refused help but because of the fact
00:30:11
that I reached out to him and he
00:30:13
acknowledged me and gave me the help
00:30:16
that I needed he gave me my life well
00:30:20
the night we last broadcast this story
00:30:23
Cathy Lovings searched for her own long
00:30:24
benefactor finally came to an end when
00:30:27
former deputy sheriff Fred Lyle of
00:30:29
Chicago called our telecenter Lyle said
00:30:32
he had watched his story on unsolved
00:30:33
mysteries and remembered the incident
00:30:35
vividly that evening Fred Lyle and an
00:30:38
overjoyed Cathy loving spoke on the
00:30:41
telephone and made plans to meet as soon
00:30:43
as possible
00:30:46
today Kathy lives in a well-appointed
00:30:48
suburb of Atlanta Georgia on July 18
00:30:52
1992 Kathy and several friends gathered
00:30:55
to await the arrival of Fred Lila and
00:30:57
one of his daughters for Kathy it was a
00:31:00
special occasion which afforded her the
00:31:02
opportunity to finally say thank you
00:31:06
[Music]
00:31:08
[Applause]
00:31:11
it's the first thing I my mouth was I
00:31:14
said I love you I said I have been
00:31:16
waiting all these years to tell you that
00:31:18
I love you and I wanted to say thank you
00:31:20
I knew that was him
00:31:22
the celebration culminated with a
00:31:25
homemade feast prepared by Kathy which
00:31:27
included Fred's favorite dishes
00:31:49
Fred Lyon left the Sheriff's Department
00:31:52
1965 he has four children and eight
00:31:55
grandchildren and meeting Kathy was like
00:31:58
welcoming a new member to the family
00:32:01
there's something special something
00:32:03
never happened to me before but I can
00:32:08
remember this one time that's where I
00:32:11
came down here okay I just wanted to see
00:32:13
you I'll tell her thank you for finding
00:32:14
me because it did something to me is
00:32:16
that the notice somebody somewhere down
00:32:18
the line appreciated some of things I
00:32:20
did for the lesson I learned we Fred was
00:32:30
that when all else is fair
00:32:33
don't give up not just not to give up
00:32:36
but there's always a way and Fred
00:32:39
Douglas flowers was my way
00:32:41
again I I can't say it enough times he
00:32:44
was my hero I reached out one more time
00:32:47
I thought and he reached back and he is
00:32:53
my life and he's no rainbow next a
00:33:03
small-town businessman vanishes under
00:33:06
mysterious circumstances
00:33:08
[Music]
00:33:23
Houma Louisiana population 31,000 lies
00:33:27
in the heart of Cajun country steeped in
00:33:30
the romance of backwater bayous and
00:33:32
sweeping magnolias AJ bro was a fixture
00:33:38
in horror it lived in town his entire
00:33:40
life raised three daughters and worked
00:33:42
in the same clothing store for more than
00:33:44
30 years everyone in horror knew that AJ
00:33:47
bro was a man you could depend on my dad
00:33:51
came off as being very friendly
00:33:53
it was extremely nice anybody and
00:33:56
everybody that knew him knew that if
00:33:58
they needed something that he was there
00:34:01
to help her AJ had not come by his
00:34:05
reputation easily for years he had
00:34:07
battled a drinking problem a problem
00:34:10
which eventually led to his arrest for
00:34:11
drunk driving and contributed to the
00:34:13
breakup of his marriage
00:34:14
however by 1991 AJ had conquered his
00:34:18
demons and been sober for eight years
00:34:22
nearly every evening AJ could be found
00:34:25
of the easy does a club a support group
00:34:27
for people with drinking problems AJ was
00:34:30
dedicated to sobriety and was available
00:34:33
at any hour of the day or night to
00:34:34
assist those who were in desperate need
00:34:36
of help once he got involved with the
00:34:40
program it changed his whole life he
00:34:44
became even more responsible and more
00:34:47
dependable and more trustworthy and more
00:34:51
of a friend because he was involved with
00:34:53
more people the easy desert Club was
00:34:57
headquartered in an old warehouse on
00:34:59
Wednesday August 28th 1991 AJ left the
00:35:03
club at approximately 8:30 p.m. a half
00:35:09
an hour later
00:35:10
AJ stopped at a convenience store to buy
00:35:12
a quart of milk he told the cashier that
00:35:15
he was on his way home where he lived
00:35:17
with one of his daughters he
00:35:19
arrived two days later
00:35:24
AJ's car was found abandoned in a park
00:35:26
across the street from the club his
00:35:29
three daughters immediately drove to the
00:35:31
scene when we got there I had already
00:35:37
called the police department to meet us
00:35:39
the core was locked so we couldn't get
00:35:41
in and our immediate reaction was tears
00:35:47
were very emotional very scared and
00:35:49
detective knock and the detective
00:35:51
working on the case had appeared when he
00:35:55
got out of the car we told him that we
00:35:56
knew it was my dad's car because he had
00:35:58
a cracked blinker plate in the front
00:36:01
father's car my instinct told me that he
00:36:05
was in the trunk dead immediately
00:36:12
thought foul play because it just
00:36:14
wouldn't be like him to park his car
00:36:16
where everybody could find it and
00:36:18
everybody knows him and disappear but
00:36:21
apparently that is just what AJ bro did
00:36:24
his body was not in the trunk there was
00:36:27
no sign of foul play and a search of the
00:36:29
park turned up nothing
00:36:30
the only clues were a Jays wallet and
00:36:33
checkbook which were found tucked
00:36:34
beneath the front seat of his Carter the
00:36:39
entire town was mystified AJ Bros seemed
00:36:43
the least likely person that Holl murder
00:36:45
disappeared authorities launched an
00:36:47
immediate investigation distributed
00:36:49
missing-persons fliers throughout the
00:36:51
state so the number of witnesses came
00:36:54
forward witnesses have told intriguing
00:36:56
tales of seeing AJ bro after he
00:36:59
disappeared
00:37:01
[Music]
00:37:03
on Friday August 30th the same day that
00:37:06
AJ's car was found a local resident
00:37:08
named Kenneth pelegrin claims that he
00:37:10
ran into AJ outside of a convenience
00:37:13
store in Houma it was a strange
00:37:18
situation for me to see him then cuz he
00:37:21
just didn't he didn't look the same as
00:37:23
he always did he was wearing like a
00:37:25
flannel shirt something like a
00:37:26
lumberjack style and the pants were
00:37:29
loose-fitting brown very loose-fitting
00:37:31
there wasn't nothin neat and he was
00:37:33
wearing some old tennis shoes so that
00:37:35
struck me as wrong because of all the
00:37:37
times I've known him since 7 years old
00:37:40
I've never seen him with his hair out of
00:37:42
place or is not dressed up neat AJ was
00:37:46
nervous it was like he was being watched
00:37:50
Kenneth pelegrin also observed a red
00:37:53
compact car parked in front i noticed
00:37:56
the car and they had three guards still
00:37:58
sitting in it but knew my engine was
00:38:00
running and he was on the phone looking
00:38:02
towards their way and when I came back
00:38:05
out AJ was going the car was gone
00:38:11
had I known he had been missing he would
00:38:14
have been found then because I knew who
00:38:16
he was
00:38:16
soon after Kent pelegrin called the
00:38:18
office I received another call from a
00:38:20
witness who said that he saw AJ in a car
00:38:23
with three other gentlemen it was a red
00:38:25
small compact car on a roll round about
00:38:29
eight miles out of town he waved to AJ
00:38:32
bro but AJ bro did not weigh back and
00:38:35
it's very uncharacteristic of AJ not the
00:38:37
way back so he didn't think of anything
00:38:40
of it because AJ wasn't duh he didn't
00:38:43
know AJ was missing it makes me think
00:38:46
that definitely somebody knows something
00:38:49
if both of these gentlemen who know him
00:38:51
from a good while back one a lot longer
00:38:54
than the other have seen him we know
00:38:57
that they know what he looks like and
00:38:58
they both saw him in the same color car
00:39:01
with three men in it I'm pretty much
00:39:05
convinced that somebody somewhere knows
00:39:07
something for the next two weeks there
00:39:12
were no further sightings are no clues
00:39:14
to AJ's disappearance then a chilling
00:39:17
handwritten note came into the police
00:39:19
station
00:39:20
it read AJ bro he was drunk at the time
00:39:25
self-inflicted gunshot wound stomach
00:39:28
drawstring cotton sack put in by friend
00:39:31
rolled over steep grassy Bayou bank near
00:39:35
dam the note was signed Elaine the note
00:39:39
painted a bizarre scenario in which AJ
00:39:41
had been drinking and accidentally shot
00:39:43
himself then someone for some unknown
00:39:46
reason dumped his body in the Bayou just
00:39:50
so happens where we found a car that
00:39:52
that described that area so we call the
00:39:56
Sheriff's Office water patrol units in
00:39:58
and they dredged both sides of the dam
00:40:00
on three different occasions but weren't
00:40:02
able to find anything soon the case took
00:40:06
another strange twist
00:40:08
authorities received a surprising report
00:40:11
which indicated that a Jay bro might
00:40:13
still be alive
00:40:16
on September 28th four weeks after AJ
00:40:19
disappeared a woman named Christie
00:40:21
Boudreau was sitting on the front porch
00:40:23
of her home in Lockport Louisiana 30
00:40:26
miles northeast of Houma
00:40:27
I saw a van pass up and down the street
00:40:30
two times so I forget whoever was in the
00:40:33
van was evidently lost then I saw him
00:40:36
reach over the driver's seat into the
00:40:39
middle of the van and he picked up a bag
00:40:41
I didn't know what was in it so he got
00:40:43
to my porch and as he walked to me he
00:40:46
looked really nervous and he was shaking
00:40:51
he wanted to know for him to buy some
00:40:53
frozen fish and I told him no and I
00:40:56
smelled alcohol on his breath and he
00:40:59
licked homeless kind of straggly okay
00:41:02
thanks anyway
00:41:03
and I said god I'd say ten feet from me
00:41:07
he turned around and glanced at me and
00:41:10
that's when it hit me that I saw that
00:41:13
man on a missing person floor in the
00:41:16
post office Christie I have a picture
00:41:21
here I like your look of age April just
00:41:23
met with Christie and I showed her some
00:41:25
photographs of AJ one was a photograph
00:41:28
of the flyer that was being distributed
00:41:30
and she wasn't too sure about that one
00:41:33
then I showed her a photograph of a mug
00:41:35
shot that we had of AJ from when he was
00:41:37
drinking and she was almost certain that
00:41:40
was AJ bro then he was but he was
00:41:43
skinnier like in this picture I was
00:41:45
almost certain that that was the man
00:41:47
that had approached me while I was on my
00:41:49
porch and that's what I told the
00:41:51
detective that I was 99.9% sure that
00:41:55
that was mr. bro AJ bro is a recovering
00:42:00
alcoholic and if he did start drinking
00:42:03
again and there's all sorts of things
00:42:05
that could have happened he could've had
00:42:06
a blackout and now remember who he is
00:42:10
AJ's family however refuses to believe
00:42:13
that he has turned to alcohol once again
00:42:15
and disappeared by choice because AJ's
00:42:18
wallet and checkbook were found in his
00:42:19
car they are convinced that he was
00:42:21
abducted
00:42:23
when I think back to what happened there
00:42:26
or why things may have happened I in my
00:42:28
mind I go back to the fact that his car
00:42:31
was found at the park what happened when
00:42:34
he got there I'm not sure but I'm
00:42:36
wondering if he may have seen something
00:42:39
or heard something that he wasn't
00:42:41
supposed to see or hear a few days after
00:42:46
AJ's disappearance a golf course
00:42:48
maintenance worker had called a city
00:42:50
police he reported that he had seen
00:42:52
three men forcing a fourth man into a
00:42:55
white automobile and the Parker Ajay's
00:42:57
car was found but the details were
00:42:59
sketchy and nothing ever came of it what
00:43:07
really happened AJ bro while there is
00:43:10
some evidence that he may have been
00:43:11
abducted there is no indication as to
00:43:13
why someone would kidnap him and
00:43:15
authorities now suspect that the note
00:43:18
detailing AJ's accidental suicide was a
00:43:21
mean-spirited prank
00:43:22
AJ brought this time is still listed as
00:43:26
a missing person we have no evidence of
00:43:29
foul play but of course we had no
00:43:31
evidence they just got up in the laughs
00:43:33
either so we really don't know what
00:43:34
happened to AJ it's not like him to
00:43:37
disappear and not notify us
00:43:43
the last year it's been about a year
00:43:45
since my dad's been missing and it's
00:43:47
been a very long year it feels like
00:43:50
forever it's been torture
00:43:54
Gary hoard and we wanted to you AJ bro
00:44:01
is 51 years old he is 5 feet 11 inches
00:44:04
tall and weighs approximately 155 pounds
00:44:07
he has brown eyes and brown hair
00:44:10
JJ was last seen on August 28 1991
00:44:14
[Music]
00:44:25
but our next unsolved mysteries as a
00:44:28
powa Vietnam War Colonel Charles
00:44:32
shut-ins legendary resistance earned the
00:44:34
respect of even his captors back home in
00:44:37
America
00:44:38
his family's persistence has been no
00:44:40
less inspiring for more than 25 years
00:44:43
they have fought to prove that Charles
00:44:45
Shelton was still alive long after the
00:44:47
war was over because of their efforts
00:44:50
Colonel Shelton is the only remaining
00:44:52
powa not presumed dead by our government
00:44:56
join us next week for this timely and
00:44:59
heart-rending story as we commemorate
00:45:01
Veterans Day on us all mysteries
00:45:04
[Music]
00:45:30
[Applause]
00:45:33
[Music]
00:45:40
you
00:45:42
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 75
    Most heartwarming
  • 70
    Most inspiring
  • 65
    Most shocking
  • 65
    Best concept / idea

Episode Highlights

  • Stephen Michalak's Encounter
    In 1967, Stephen Michalak had a close encounter with a mysterious flying craft that left him with unexplained burns and symptoms resembling radiation poisoning.
    “Doctors have never been able to explain the burns on his chest.”
    @ 14m 59s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Mysterious Disappearance of Jesslyn Rich
    Jesslyn Rich, a guard at Frontera prison, vanished without a trace in 1984, leading to allegations of corruption and cover-ups within the prison.
    “Jesslyn Rich literally vanished without a trace.”
    @ 20m 01s
    May 23, 2019
  • Terry Lucas's Controversial Death
    In 1987, inmate Terry Lucas was found dead under suspicious circumstances, raising questions about the prison's practices and potential cover-ups.
    “The cause of death was actually complications due to diabetes.”
    @ 23m 53s
    May 23, 2019
  • Cathy's Reunion with Her Hero
    Cathy Loving finally reunites with the deputy who helped her escape her abusive past.
    “He gave me my life.”
    @ 30m 16s
    May 23, 2019
  • A Heartfelt Thank You
    Kathy expresses her long-awaited gratitude to Fred Lyle, saying, 'I love you.'
    “I said I love you. I have been waiting all these years to tell you that.”
    @ 31m 14s
    May 23, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • I love nature, I love birds, animals, and also rocks.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 8 - Full Episode
  • Why would particles and metal fragments of this size have been missed?
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 8 - Full Episode
  • I’d like to think that one day we’ll get a letter from the US government.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 8 - Full Episode
  • Doctors have never been able to explain the burns on his chest.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 8 - Full Episode
  • He gave me my life.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 8 - Full Episode
  • He was my hero.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 8 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Unsolved Mysteries00:03
  • Extraordinary Encounter00:31
  • Corruption Allegations15:55
  • Mysterious Disappearance20:01
  • AJ's Mysterious Disappearance36:21
  • Witness Accounts37:01
  • Chilling Note Received39:17
  • Family's Ongoing Search43:45

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 14 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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49:31
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 14 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 17 - Updated Full Episode
July 26, 2021
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46:53
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 17 - Updated Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 14 - Full Episode
May 22, 2019
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48:06
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 14 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 16 - Full Episode
May 16, 2019
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48:29
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 16 - Full Episode