00:00:04
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Next
on "Unsolved Mysteries," two
00:00:07
escaped convicts
pull of a daring
00:00:10
bank robbery in broad daylight.
00:00:12
Who was the mastermind
behind a $10 million heist?
00:00:17
Since he was a boy,
author James Ellroy
00:00:21
has been haunted by a real-life
mystery, his mother's murder.
00:00:26
Now he's searching
for her killer.
00:00:30
Two women say they
were deathly ill
00:00:32
when they arrived at Lourdes,
France and they left cured.
00:00:37
Was it a miracle?
00:00:41
And a young boy is
separated from his mother
00:00:43
after a bitter divorce.
00:00:45
He hasn't seen her for more than
40 years, but maybe you have.
00:00:53
Stories of cunning,
deceit, and lies.
00:00:56
See if you can figure out
who's telling the truth.
00:00:59
I'm Dennis Farina and this
is "Unsolved Mysteries."
00:01:03
[theme music]
00:01:38
A December day in
Gainesville, Florida, 8:30 AM.
00:01:49
Nobody move!
00:01:51
Just put your hands up
and no one will get hurt.
00:01:54
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Two men wearing Ronald
00:01:56
Reagan masks hold up a bank.
00:01:59
In less than five minutes,
they make off with nearly half
00:02:03
a million dollars.
00:02:06
To the FBI, the MO was familiar.
00:02:09
It seemed to be the handiwork
of a man named Patrick Michael
00:02:13
Mitchell, alias
Richard Joseph Landry,
00:02:17
alias Michael Garrison,
alias Roger Lanthorn.
00:02:23
By any name, he's one
of the most skilled bank
00:02:27
robbers in the country.
00:02:31
Patrick Michael Mitchell
isn't just a bank robber,
00:02:34
he's also a master of disguise.
00:02:37
At every one of his heists, he
wears a different comic mask.
00:02:41
But the FBI isn't laughing.
00:02:43
Mitchell has already bagged
some $3 million in cash.
00:02:49
I guess you
could best describe
00:02:50
him as being confident.
00:02:52
He's even vain to
a certain extent.
00:02:54
We believe him to have
taken the prescription
00:02:56
drugs Retin-A, which
supposedly help
00:02:59
keep your youthful appearance.
00:03:01
He's been described as
having an athletic build.
00:03:04
He likes the ladies.
00:03:06
He fancies himself
as a gourmet cook.
00:03:09
Matter of fact,
we've even recovered
00:03:11
some cookbooks from the
trunk of one of his cars.
00:03:13
So far, we've developed at
least 25 different aliases
00:03:16
he's used in the past 11 years.
00:03:20
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): 18
Months before the Gainesville,
00:03:22
Florida heist, Mitchell
had been serving
00:03:24
20 years for bank robbery.
00:03:29
Three years into his sentence,
he and two other prisoners
00:03:33
staged a bold escape.
00:03:37
Mitchell was the mastermind.
00:03:46
None of the guards noticed that
the three men were missing.
00:03:50
No alarms were set off.
00:03:52
They changed into street
clothes, hid in a utility room,
00:03:56
and then simply walked outside.
00:04:01
The girlfriend of one of the
prisoners was waiting for them.
00:04:04
She had been fooled into
believing that the men
00:04:06
were out on a weekend pass.
00:04:10
The escape went off
without a hitch.
00:04:13
One of the convicts was later
captured in Atlanta, Georgia.
00:04:17
But Mitchell and
the third escapee,
00:04:19
Johnny Salazar Stewart, headed
for Gainesville, Florida.
00:04:28
WILLIAM FLUHARTY (VOICEOVER):
They come into a town a month
00:04:30
or two in advance, stay at
local hotels and motels.
00:04:33
The way I see it,
the armored car gets
00:04:35
there between 8:15 and 8:20.
00:04:38
WILLIAM FLUHARTY (VOICEOVER):
By staking out department stores
00:04:40
for armored car services, they
then determine when and where
00:04:44
they will make their hit.
00:04:45
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Mitchell and Stewart begin
00:04:47
planning their next robbery.
00:04:51
They rented a self-storage
unit with a clear view
00:04:55
of both the bank
they wanted to rob
00:04:57
and the armored car company
that served the bank.
00:05:01
Mitchell pretended to
load and unload boxes
00:05:04
from the storage unit while
he watched the movements
00:05:08
of the armored cars.
00:05:10
He never went inside the bank.
00:05:12
Instead, he sent Stewart
to scout the interior.
00:05:18
This individual
after they open
00:05:19
an account has a legitimate
reason for being in the bank.
00:05:22
He can be there when deliveries
are made by the armored car
00:05:24
services where he can see
actually what they're doing
00:05:27
and how they're doing it
after the deliveries are made.
00:05:31
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
7:30 AM the day of the robbery.
00:05:35
Mitchell and Stewart meet at
the self-storage facility.
00:05:40
Good morning.
00:05:41
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
It is now 20 minutes later.
00:05:44
The bank employees
begin to arrive.
00:05:46
The bank will open in
an hour and 10 minutes.
00:05:51
8:00 AM, the armored car
leaves to pick up deposits
00:05:54
from several stores in the area.
00:05:58
MAN'S VOICE (ON PHONE):
I've got a bomb planted
00:06:00
and it's ready to go off.
00:06:01
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
8:10, the Gainesville
00:06:02
Police receive a bomb threat.
00:06:05
The target is a junior high
school in the same police
00:06:08
district as the bank.
00:06:10
Hello?
00:06:12
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
8:22, the armored car
00:06:14
guards arrive at the bank with
the morning's cash deposits.
00:06:19
At the same time,
patrol cars are
00:06:21
dispatched to the site
of the bomb threat,
00:06:24
32 blocks from the bank.
00:06:27
Police believe that
it was Mitchell
00:06:29
who phoned in the false
alarm to divert them.
00:06:32
[siren]
00:06:34
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): At 8:25,
00:06:36
the robbers make their move.
00:06:39
[crash]
00:06:42
Don't anybody move!
00:06:43
Put your hands up and
no one will get hurt.
00:06:48
I remember laying on
the floor in the back.
00:06:51
I kept thinking, I'll never
see my husband or my children
00:06:54
again.
00:06:55
I remember thinking
one of them was
00:06:57
going to shoot me in the back.
00:06:59
Keep your hands up.
00:07:02
I was thinking he was
either going to shoot somebody
00:07:05
or he was going to
take someone hostage.
00:07:07
I was very frightened.
00:07:10
This is a bomb.
00:07:13
Nobody move and it won't go off.
00:07:18
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
On the way out,
00:07:19
Mitchell drops a bag
containing $28,000.
00:07:23
Still, the take is nearly
half a million dollars.
00:07:27
As for the bomb, it
proves to be a fake,
00:07:31
designed to buy the robbers
more time to escape.
00:07:36
8:40 AM, a woman who works
at the storage facility
00:07:40
sees Mitchell drive away.
00:07:45
It is the last sighting
of Patrick Michael
00:07:47
Mitchell in Gainesville.
00:07:52
Two months later, Johnny
Stewart is apprehended.
00:07:55
He is convicted for his role in
the robbery and for the escape.
00:08:00
He will be eligible
for parole in 2026.
00:08:05
A year after the robbery,
Mitchell's Cadillac
00:08:08
is found in a storage
facility in Tallahassee,
00:08:12
150 miles from Gainesville.
00:08:17
But Mitchell has left behind
nine cookbooks in the backseat.
00:08:23
I think it's imperative
that we find Patrick Michael
00:08:25
Mitchell because I don't
believe that he'll be stopping
00:08:28
with the Gainesville robbery.
00:08:30
Based on his previous
activities in the past 11
00:08:33
years and his hit frequency,
it's not if he's going to hit,
00:08:37
but when he's going to hit.
00:08:40
[crash]
00:08:44
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Update--
00:08:46
The long criminal career
of Patrick Michael Mitchell
00:08:49
came to an end when
he was arrested
00:08:51
walking out of a bank
he had just robbed
00:08:53
in South Haven, Mississippi.
00:08:56
Mitchell pleaded guilty
to robbery charges
00:08:59
and received two
30-year sentences
00:09:02
plus five years for the escape.
00:09:05
Mitchell died of lung cancer
while still in prison.
00:09:09
He was 64 years old.
00:09:13
Next, James Ellroy's
novels about crime
00:09:16
top the bestseller lists,
but he remains obsessed
00:09:20
with a real-life killing,
the unsolved murder
00:09:24
of his own mother.
00:09:35
Los Angeles, California.
00:09:39
MAN'S VOICE (VOICEOVER):
He knew the area
00:09:40
and he knew that access road.
00:09:42
It was dark and quiet
and semi-secluded.
00:09:46
It probably went bad
right then, right there.
00:09:50
He was living in
that split second
00:09:52
that separates lust from rage.
00:09:56
He was thinking about sex.
00:09:58
He probably wasn't
thinking about murder.
00:10:02
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
These are the words
00:10:03
of novelist James Ellroy.
00:10:06
His dark tales of sexual
obsession and violence
00:10:10
often top the bestseller list.
00:10:13
But not everyone knows
how much truth there
00:10:15
is just below the
surface of his stories.
00:10:20
MAN'S VOICE (VOICEOVER):
The spark point could have
00:10:21
been words or a simple gesture.
00:10:24
The combustion occurred,
it flared out of control.
00:10:29
He hit her and hit her and
hit her and strangled her.
00:10:34
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): When
James was only 10 years old,
00:10:37
his mother was beaten,
raped, and strangled.
00:10:41
Her partially clothed body
was left in a bed of ivy.
00:10:45
A strand of her pearls lay
scattered in the street.
00:10:49
My mother's crime scene
to me is all crime scenes.
00:10:53
The crime scene to me is--
00:10:56
it's primal, it's
almost oedipal.
00:11:00
The moment of the
discovery of her body
00:11:02
is in many ways the
moment of my birth
00:11:05
because it's the genesis of
my detective's obsessions
00:11:08
with the murders that they
ultimately become consumed by.
00:11:16
Like a character
in one of his books,
00:11:18
James Ellroy is obsessed
with tracking down a killer.
00:11:22
Ellroy Hopes that an eye
witness known as the blond woman
00:11:26
will come forward and identify
the man who killed his mother.
00:11:31
James, I'm home.
00:11:33
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Jean Ellroy--
00:11:34
divorced, early forties--
was a staff nurse
00:11:37
at a Los Angeles
factory and lived close
00:11:39
by in the town of El Monte.
00:11:42
Jean had custody of her
10-year-old son, James,
00:11:46
during the week.
00:11:47
There you are.
00:11:49
How was school today?
00:11:50
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Every Saturday, James
00:11:52
would take the bus to
stay with his father.
00:11:54
Sundays he would return by cab.
00:11:58
The schedule ran like
clockwork until the afternoon
00:12:02
of June 22, 1958.
00:12:08
JAMES ELLROY (VOICEOVER): The
yard was full of policemen
00:12:09
in uniforms and plainclothesmen.
00:12:15
I wasn't afraid, but I was
anxious, I was apprehensive.
00:12:19
Are you James Ellroy?
00:12:21
Yeah.
00:12:24
Son, your mother
has been killed.
00:12:25
Where's your father?
00:12:26
What?
00:12:28
JAMES ELLROY (VOICEOVER): People
were surprised that I wasn't
00:12:30
more overtly emotional
right after I
00:12:32
got the news that my
mother had been murdered.
00:12:34
I think they expected me to
cry or carry on or display
00:12:39
some kind of overt histrionics.
00:12:42
But I took the news internally.
00:12:45
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): This picture
00:12:46
of James was taken by a press
photographer on that same day.
00:12:51
After my mother's murder,
all I wanted to read
00:12:55
were crime novels,
true crime books,
00:12:58
anything pertaining
to violent crime
00:13:01
and psychosexual aberrants.
00:13:03
At age 17, my father died.
00:13:05
I was no choirboy before
that time, but boy, oh boy,
00:13:09
things got worse.
00:13:10
I drank, used drugs,
broke into houses
00:13:13
and stole things, drove
around in stolen cars,
00:13:17
shoplifted, and did
spurts of county jail time
00:13:20
from 1965 to 1977.
00:13:23
My life was going nowhere
and I wanted a real life.
00:13:26
I hadn't been with a woman in
years and I wanted to write.
00:13:29
I wanted to write dark, evil,
perverted, powerful, compelling
00:13:33
crime fiction.
00:13:35
And I knew I wouldn't
be able to do it as
00:13:36
long as I drank and used drugs.
00:13:39
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
James' first novel
00:13:40
was published in 1982.
00:13:43
More than a dozen followed, the
writing fueled by his mother's
00:13:47
rape and murder.
00:13:48
It bubbled to the surface in
"The Black Dahlia," his take
00:13:53
on the 1947 slaying
of Elizabeth Short,
00:13:57
one of the most infamous
unsolved murders
00:14:00
of the 20th century.
00:14:03
The book was dedicated
to his mother.
00:14:07
It's as if
Elizabeth Short became
00:14:09
a stand-in for my mother.
00:14:11
I wanted to feel the
horror of my mother's death
00:14:14
and I used Elizabeth
Short as a substitute.
00:14:16
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Seven years
00:14:18
after the book was
published, James
00:14:20
was ready for the real thing.
00:14:22
The LA County
Sheriff's Department
00:14:24
arranged for him to
examine the official case
00:14:27
file of his mother's murder.
00:14:30
First was the sheriffs
what we call murder book.
00:14:33
This was the first time
I'd ever been asked
00:14:34
by a member of the
family of the victim
00:14:36
to actually see the
crime scene photographs.
00:14:39
And I was very
hesitant to show those
00:14:41
to him because they're very
graphic, and so I warned him.
00:14:45
And if you wish,
I'll go through there
00:14:46
and pull out the
ones that I think
00:14:48
he you may not want to see.
00:14:49
No.
00:14:50
Thank you, I'd like
to see them all.
00:14:51
OK.
00:14:53
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Physical evidence
00:14:54
from the murder had been
stored in a paper bag,
00:14:57
locked away for
more than 30 years.
00:15:01
James held the nylon stocking
used to strangle his mother
00:15:07
and he touched her silk dress.
00:15:11
I started sweating,
I started shaking.
00:15:14
It was locked down,
revved in, right
00:15:19
on the edge of shell shock--
00:15:22
truly an awe-inspiring moment.
00:15:26
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): And then
00:15:27
a face stared back at him from
the file, the suspected killer.
00:15:32
This man had dark hair
and an olive complexion,
00:15:35
and he became known
as the swarthy man.
00:15:39
Several eyewitnesses
saw him with Jean Ellroy
00:15:41
just hours before
she was killed.
00:15:46
Around 10:00 PM, Jean
and the swarthy man
00:15:49
pulled into a local drive-in.
00:15:52
With Detective
Stoner's help, Ellroy
00:15:54
tracked down the waitress
who served the couple.
00:15:58
Would you like a menu tonight?
00:16:01
She had on this beautiful
dress, pearls around her neck.
00:16:05
Her hair was done beautifully.
00:16:08
That's what made me remember
her so well because she was
00:16:11
a beautiful woman
and then she had
00:16:12
this dress on that
I had one like
00:16:14
and she looked very
prim and proper.
00:16:17
She was very pleasant.
00:16:19
And anything for you, sir?
00:16:22
Just coffee.
00:16:23
He had no accent, he
didn't talk with any--
00:16:27
even a southern drawl.
00:16:28
He just talked very
normally, like you'd expect
00:16:31
an average Californian to talk.
00:16:34
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Jean and the swarthy man
00:16:36
were next seen at a bar
called the Desert Inn.
00:16:39
They were with a blonde woman.
00:16:41
No one knows her name or how she
fit into the evening's plans,
00:16:45
but she seemed to know
both Jean and the suspect
00:16:49
and she left the bar with
them around midnight.
00:16:52
At 2:15 AM, Jean and the suspect
returned to the drive-in.
00:16:58
The blonde woman was
no longer with them.
00:17:02
This time, she was not as
neat and prim as she was when
00:17:06
I waited on her the first time.
00:17:09
She looked like she had
been necking or fooling
00:17:11
around some because
her dress and her hair
00:17:13
was kind of messed up.
00:17:15
But they didn't seem
overly friendly together.
00:17:20
OK.
00:17:21
And--
00:17:22
LAVONNE CHAMBERS (VOICEOVER):
And he wasn't saying anything.
00:17:25
He was just too quiet.
00:17:27
Coffee.
00:17:31
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Just
before 3:00 AM, they drove off.
00:17:35
I think the swarthy man
decided that the evening
00:17:38
wasn't over for him.
00:17:39
He either knew about a secluded
location or came upon it
00:17:43
and stopped and forced
himself on Mrs. Ellroy.
00:17:47
Listen, I had a good time.
00:17:49
Just to take me home.
00:17:51
I bought you drinks,
I bought you dinner.
00:17:53
You owe me.
00:17:56
I don't owe you anything.
00:18:09
If the swarthy man
is alive, I would
00:18:12
like to bring him to justice.
00:18:14
If we identify the man
and learn that he's dead,
00:18:17
I want to go back
and trace this man's
00:18:19
roots back to his crib to find
out why this event happened.
00:18:24
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Though not a suspect,
00:18:26
authorities considered the
unidentified blonde woman
00:18:29
an important material
witness in this case.
00:18:33
Jean Ellroy's former
co-workers at Airtech Dynamics
00:18:37
in Los Angeles may also have
information about the identity
00:18:42
of the suspect.
00:18:43
JAMES ELLROY (VOICEOVER):
The blonde woman
00:18:44
knows who killed my mother.
00:18:45
The blond woman knows the
identity of the swarthy man.
00:18:48
The blonde has told people.
00:18:50
There are people
out there who know
00:18:52
elements of this case, who know
names, who've heard the story.
00:18:56
And it's just a question of
tapping into those people.
00:19:01
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
If you have any information
00:19:03
about the murder of Jean Ellroy,
please log onto our website
00:19:07
at unsolved.com
Next, two women claim
00:19:14
they've been cured by
the waters of Lourdes
00:19:17
and that their
cure was a miracle.
00:19:30
Lourdes France,
it's a sacred spot
00:19:34
that draws hundreds of
thousands of visitors each year.
00:19:43
The story of Lourdes
began more than a
00:19:45
century ago, with
a 14-year-old girl
00:19:48
named Bernadette Soubirous.
00:19:53
On February 11, 1858,
Bernadette claimed
00:19:57
that in a grotto
just outside of town,
00:19:59
she experienced a
beautiful vision, a woman
00:20:03
dressed in blue and white.
00:20:06
At the woman's command,
Bernadette began to dig
00:20:09
and uncovered a spring.
00:20:11
Many believe that
Bernadette's vision
00:20:14
was the blessed Virgin
Mary and the spring
00:20:17
a source of divine healing.
00:20:20
Nobody is obliged
to believe in Lourdes,
00:20:24
but I think when you really look
and examine all the facts, all
00:20:30
the words, all the gestures
that surround all these events
00:20:33
that took place in 1858, I think
is very difficult really not
00:20:39
to be moved by it in some way.
00:20:43
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
In 1933, the Vatican
00:20:46
declared Bernadette
a saint and a church
00:20:50
was built over the spring.
00:20:52
Through the years, Lourdes
developed a reputation
00:20:54
for healing both the
spirit and the body.
00:21:02
Today people from
all over the world
00:21:04
travel to Lourdes
hoping to be cured.
00:21:07
The Catholic Church has
documented 60 such miracles.
00:21:11
Among them is the
case of a French woman
00:21:13
named Jeanne Fretel.
00:21:18
[speaking french]
00:21:20
INTERPRETER: The lord did
marvelous things for me.
00:21:25
I am not here to
tell you to believe,
00:21:29
I am here to tell you
what happened to me.
00:21:32
And believe me, it is
a stranger adventure.
00:21:39
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
In 1937, when Jeanne was 23,
00:21:42
her abdomen grew rock hard
and painful to the touch.
00:21:51
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Blood
seeped from her nose, mouth,
00:21:54
and intestines.
00:22:00
[speaking french]
00:22:02
INTERPRETER: It was
a terrible mess.
00:22:04
It was a constant trial.
00:22:07
When the doctor says, there
is nothing I can do for you,
00:22:11
you just have to wait
patiently for the death.
00:22:16
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Jeanne
00:22:17
had 13 operations over 11
years, but nothing helped.
00:22:23
Eventually, she was diagnosed
with tubercular peritonitis.
00:22:27
There is no known cure.
00:22:30
On four different occasions, her
priest administered last rites.
00:22:37
Finally, two of Jeanne's
friends insisted
00:22:40
on taking her to Lourdes.
00:22:42
Her doctor was so sure
that she would not
00:22:44
survive the trip that
he told her friends
00:22:47
to tag along a coffin.
00:22:50
When Jeanne arrived at Lourdes,
she had been virtually comatose
00:22:54
for three months.
00:22:56
She was immediately
taken into the church.
00:23:00
One of the priests who
served mass that day,
00:23:02
Father Albert Roque,
remembers her clearly.
00:23:08
[speaking french]
00:23:11
INTERPRETER: When I approached
Jeanne, is I asked myself,
00:23:14
would she be able to take
holy communion or would
00:23:17
she vomit [inaudible]?
00:23:21
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Father Roque
00:23:22
tried to place a tiny
piece of the wafer
00:23:24
between Jeanne's lips.
00:23:26
One of Jeanne's
friends had to help.
00:23:35
INTERPRETER: I closed
her mouth myself
00:23:40
and she instantly
opened her eyes.
00:23:43
And she looked at me
and asked, where I am?
00:23:52
INTERPRETER: I repeat, instantly
the moment I pushed her chin up
00:23:57
and her lips met, she
came out of the coma
00:24:01
she had been in during July,
August, September, and October.
00:24:08
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Jeanne
00:24:09
was moved into
the grotto itself,
00:24:11
to the very spot where
St. Bernadette saw
00:24:15
the blessed Mother.
00:24:16
Jeanne says something
extraordinary happened.
00:24:23
[speaking french]
00:24:25
INTERPRETER: I had the feeling
that somebody was taking
00:24:27
me under the arms to sit me up.
00:24:30
And I turned around to see
who it was that held me
00:24:33
and thank them.
00:24:36
I had that feeling again.
00:24:38
This time, that two invisible
hands were taking my two hands
00:24:44
and putting them on my stomach.
00:24:48
I was instantly and
permanently cured.
00:24:59
The Lord says, ask and you shall
receive, but I never asked.
00:25:04
I received without asking.
00:25:09
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Jeanne stood
00:25:10
up for the first time in years.
00:25:13
She was taken to
bathe in the water
00:25:15
from Saint Bernadette's spring.
00:25:26
The next day, she was examined
by a group of doctors.
00:25:37
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Virtually every one of Jeanne's
00:25:39
symptoms had disappeared.
00:25:45
She returned to her own
city and her own doctor,
00:25:48
the same doctor who didn't
expect her to survive the trip.
00:25:52
A professed atheist,
the doctor was amazed.
00:25:57
[speaking french]
00:25:59
INTERPRETER: And
was then he said,
00:26:00
I do not believe
in miracles, yet I
00:26:03
have to believe because you
should be in your grave today.
00:26:08
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): After
more than 11 years of illness,
00:26:11
Jeanne was finally able
to live a normal life.
00:26:15
In 1950, she took vows to
become a Benedictine nun.
00:26:21
The church referred Jeanne's
case to the National Medical
00:26:24
Committee of Paris, a review
board made up of both believers
00:26:30
and nonbelievers.
00:26:33
A very rigorous comparison was
made between her medical status
00:26:37
before the illness
and her medical status
00:26:39
after the illness.
00:26:41
The Medical Bureau's
findings were then
00:26:43
to say, in our eyes,
this according to science
00:26:47
is just inexplicable.
00:26:48
They then passed on these
findings to the church.
00:26:52
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The Catholic Church
00:26:54
officially declared
Jeanne's cure a miracle.
00:26:58
[speaking french]
00:27:00
INTERPRETER: If you believe
in it, good for you.
00:27:02
If you do not believe
in it, too bad.
00:27:05
It is true.
00:27:08
I tell about my healing
50, 100 times a day.
00:27:12
It matters not.
00:27:15
Everything is for the
Lord, without a doubt.
00:27:18
I accept everything with joy.
00:27:29
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Next, our story
00:27:30
continues with an
American woman who
00:27:33
tells of her amazing
recovery after bathing
00:27:36
in the waters of Lourdes.
00:27:45
For thousands of believers,
the waters at Lourdes, France
00:27:49
have undeniable healing powers.
00:27:52
One of those believers
is Lorraine Hendricks.
00:27:55
Inhale.
00:27:58
Good.
00:27:59
Now exhale.
00:28:01
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): When
Lorraine was only 14 years old,
00:28:03
she came down with
a mysterious illness
00:28:06
that her doctors
could not diagnose.
00:28:09
She can barely hold her head up,
her eyes rolled involuntarily,
00:28:13
and she could not
keep food down.
00:28:16
It was very frightening.
00:28:17
Every day you went to the
hospital and you saw this child
00:28:19
and you saw her getting
weaker and sicker.
00:28:23
And there was no answers.
00:28:25
They couldn't give her
medication because they
00:28:27
didn't know what to give her.
00:28:28
You could see the
color in her eyes
00:28:30
leaving, you can see
your color is changing,
00:28:32
you see the weakness
getting worse.
00:28:35
And there's nothing you can do.
00:28:40
When all else failed, a
psychiatrist examined Lorraine.
00:28:44
He, too, was at a loss.
00:28:46
Finally, a friend of
Lorraine's parents
00:28:48
suggested that they
take her to Lourdes.
00:28:52
Lorraine made the trip with
her parents and grandmother.
00:28:56
According to Lorraine's parents,
her kidneys had begun to fail
00:28:59
and the stress of the trip
left her weaker than ever.
00:29:05
She kept saying,
please, Mommy.
00:29:09
I felt I was doing
something to this child
00:29:13
and I should have
stayed in the States.
00:29:15
What was I doing here
in a strange country?
00:29:17
I couldn't speak the language
and she's so deathly sick.
00:29:23
OK.
00:29:24
She can rest here.
00:29:27
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
An American volunteer was
00:29:29
asked to stay with the family.
00:29:31
The volunteers suggested
that Lorraine's family
00:29:33
takes and time a
long while Lorraine
00:29:36
waited to visit the waters.
00:29:38
You look tired.
00:29:40
Why don't you go for a walk
or take a rest or something?
00:29:42
No, no, no.
00:29:43
This family absolutely
needed some help.
00:29:46
And what I did was to try to
be as calm as I could to allow
00:29:52
the parents to have some time
to be away just so that everyone
00:29:57
would have a breathing space.
00:29:58
Because they seemed
to be a family
00:29:59
that was just in absolute
crisis when they arrived.
00:30:03
I think at that point, death
looked like a welcome relief
00:30:06
to me.
00:30:07
I would have accepted it, and I
guess I felt it was very near.
00:30:11
I'll be right here, OK?
00:30:13
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
As she drifted in and out
00:30:14
of sleep, Lorraine
had a vivid dream
00:30:17
that made her feel that
everything would be all right.
00:30:22
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
00:30:27
In verdant pastures,
he gives me--
00:30:29
LORRAINE HENDRICKS (VOICEOVER):
Within seconds, the next thing
00:30:31
I knew, I was standing
next to my body
00:30:33
and I was walking with
a beautiful woman.
00:30:37
I don't know who it was.
00:30:39
I remember we were
walking about four
00:30:40
or five feet above the ground.
00:30:44
I remember her saying to
me, you must go back now.
00:30:48
And I said, I don't
want to go back.
00:30:50
That body is dying.
00:30:51
And she said, yes, you must
go back to prove to others
00:30:56
he still exists today.
00:30:58
And I opened up my eyes and
my mom was standing over me.
00:31:01
And we proceeded
to get ready to go
00:31:04
down to the baths at that time.
00:31:09
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Lorraine
00:31:11
was so ill that a complete
immersion in the water
00:31:14
seemed out of the question.
00:31:16
Even though church officials
say it never happens,
00:31:20
Lorraine recalls
that the attendants
00:31:22
poured water over head.
00:31:27
--pray for sins now
at the hour of our--
00:31:28
LORRAINE ECHEVARRIA (VOICEOVER):
I tried to do everything
00:31:30
I could while she was sick.
00:31:31
I did the fasting and the
prayers and everything.
00:31:39
I could actually physically
feel a release within myself,
00:31:43
in my chest area, that I
didn't even know the tightness
00:31:48
existed until that moment.
00:31:54
When she was through with
the bath and came out,
00:31:56
she looked exactly the same.
00:31:58
There was no change.
00:31:59
I did not expect that she
would be healed or cured.
00:32:03
I expected that perhaps
her family would receive
00:32:07
some consolation,
that perhaps they
00:32:09
would receive strength to
make it through whatever
00:32:11
they had to go through.
00:32:17
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): That evening,
00:32:18
Lorraine's grandmother spent
the night in Lorraine's room.
00:32:22
LORRAINE HENDRICKS (VOICEOVER):
I never stirred, I never moved.
00:32:24
And I was asleep
before you knew it.
00:32:30
And then it was about
five hours later.
00:32:32
I woke up, 11 o'clock
at night, and I was
00:32:36
starving, absolutely hungry.
00:32:37
I didn't have any pain.
00:32:40
I just felt like--
00:32:41
I felt terrific.
00:32:42
I could fly if I needed to.
00:32:45
I got up out of bed and
looked at myself in the mirror
00:32:48
and I was me again.
00:32:50
I was whole, I was 100%.
00:32:54
I just-- oh, god.
00:32:56
It was all I could do
for them to contain me.
00:33:01
I got better.
00:33:03
Look at you.
00:33:05
Her eyes, they were beautiful.
00:33:08
The color was in her face.
00:33:10
She had rosy cheeks and she was
so energetic and full of life.
00:33:15
You knew that she was touched.
00:33:18
You stood there and you were
witnessing what God just did.
00:33:22
I remember sitting at the
window, it was about one,
00:33:25
two o'clock in the morning,
listening to the church that's
00:33:28
local, their chiming every
hour, and just feeling so glad
00:33:32
to be alive and to be healthy.
00:33:33
And everything was just great.
00:33:35
I was just--
00:33:37
I couldn't believe
I was that blessed.
00:33:39
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The church
00:33:41
is very cautious about declaring
an apparent cure or recovery
00:33:45
to be an actual miracle.
00:33:48
We don't diet her
sincerity, but she never
00:33:52
underwent any
medical investigation
00:33:55
after the healing, and
so there will always
00:33:58
remain in the minds of the
doctors and of the church
00:34:01
a certain kind of doubt.
00:34:04
We appreciate that Lorraine
believes that she has truly
00:34:07
been touched by God, but we
can't give to her situation
00:34:13
the same qualification that
we gave to Jeanne Fretel
00:34:16
and recognizing
the case of Jeanne
00:34:18
Fretel as, indeed, a miracle.
00:34:22
I believe that I
was healed at Lourdes
00:34:25
and that it is a miracle.
00:34:28
I believe with every
ounce within me
00:34:30
Lourdes is a part of me now.
00:34:32
It is my life and there is no
doubt whatsoever that I was
00:34:36
touched and that I was healed.
00:34:39
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): What really
00:34:41
happens at places like Lourdes?
00:34:43
If someone arrives deathly
ill and leaves with no trace
00:34:47
of sickness, perhaps it doesn't
really matter whether or not
00:34:51
we call it a miracle.
00:34:56
Next, a man searches
for the mother
00:34:59
he was forced to leave when
he was just four years old.
00:35:14
Vancouver, British Columbia.
00:35:18
March of 1949, Annie Currie,
an English war bride,
00:35:23
said goodbye to her
two little boys.
00:35:27
She and her husband, Donald,
were getting divorced.
00:35:31
Donald had been given custody
of both sons, Darrell,
00:35:35
three years old, and Jim, five.
00:35:39
Now adults, they haven't seen
their mother for over 50 years.
00:35:44
I was never given
the sense that I could
00:35:47
say how much I missed
her, that I could ask
00:35:49
questions about where's my Mom.
00:35:51
She's a big question mark and
I would like to hear her voice.
00:35:54
I would like to hear what she
has to say about her life.
00:35:58
I'd like her to know me.
00:35:59
Jim Currie is a lot
like most people searching
00:36:02
for lost parent,
but there is one
00:36:04
unusual twist to this story.
00:36:07
Jim has spent most of his life
looking for other people's
00:36:11
parents, as well.
00:36:14
Jim is a senior investigator for
a California public defender's
00:36:18
office, an advocate
for defendants who may
00:36:21
be facing the death penalty.
00:36:25
How are you doing?
00:36:27
I've had adopted
defendants before
00:36:29
and had to find their
mothers, and I've and been
00:36:31
very successful in doing that.
00:36:33
It just is very
ironic to me that I
00:36:36
can find so much about
these people's history
00:36:39
and I can't complete my own.
00:36:41
It's very frustrating.
00:36:43
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Jim's parents met
00:36:45
in 1943, during World War II.
00:36:49
Donald Currie was 23, a Canadian
sergeant serving in England.
00:36:54
Annie Frye was a 19-year-old
country girl from Wales.
00:36:58
The two fell in love and
were married that same year.
00:37:04
In 1944, London was being
bombed by the Nazis.
00:37:09
Annie was pregnant
when a bomb blast
00:37:11
knocked her to the ground.
00:37:13
She miscarried.
00:37:16
When Annie became
pregnant again,
00:37:18
Donald sent her to live with
his parents in Vancouver.
00:37:22
Jim was born on
December 20, 1944.
00:37:26
At the time, Donald was
still stationed in England.
00:37:31
Are you getting tired?
00:37:32
She's in a foreign
country, she doesn't
00:37:34
know anybody except from
my dad's immediate family.
00:37:36
She makes the best
adjustment she can,
00:37:39
but it's a lonely kind
of existence for her
00:37:41
and I think fraught
with a lot of fear
00:37:43
whether or not my dad was
going to make it home.
00:37:49
In June of 1945, the war
in Europe was finally over.
00:37:54
After more than a year of
separation from his wife,
00:37:58
Donald came home.
00:38:01
Annie.
00:38:02
Donald!
00:38:08
Donald, that's Jimmy.
00:38:09
That's your son.
00:38:11
Jimmy, this is Daddy.
00:38:14
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
It was a moment of joy,
00:38:16
but it was short-lived.
00:38:19
The war had changed
Donald Currie forever.
00:38:23
It was a very traumatic
experience for my father.
00:38:27
He thought war was wrong.
00:38:29
He told me once, you will never
know how much it can change you
00:38:34
when you see your
closest friends blown
00:38:37
into 1,000 pieces in
front of your eyes
00:38:39
and you can do nothing about it.
00:38:41
I think he lost a lot of faith.
00:38:43
He closed down emotionally
to protect himself.
00:38:48
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): In
1945, a second son, Darrell,
00:38:51
was born.
00:38:53
Donald got a job working
nights as a customs official.
00:38:57
Annie was left
alone and she began
00:39:00
spending time with
one of her neighbors,
00:39:02
a much older married man.
00:39:06
The friendship turned
into an affair.
00:39:09
A relative broke
the news to Donald
00:39:12
and he sued Annie for divorce
and for custody of the boys.
00:39:17
[inaudible] the petition
of Mr. Currie implicitly.
00:39:20
He's a clean,
wholesome individual
00:39:22
with a fine war record.
00:39:24
I hereby grant a
decree in his favor
00:39:27
against Anne Ellen Currie.
00:39:30
My understanding of the
judgment against my mother
00:39:33
was that my dad was to have
sole custody of both children
00:39:36
and she was to have
no hesitation rights.
00:39:39
It would be up to my father
whether or not she would
00:39:41
be allowed to see the children.
00:39:44
Mr. Currie, you must
realize that there
00:39:46
is more good than
evil in this girl,
00:39:49
so do not burn your bridges.
00:39:51
She has been a clean and
decent girl until she
00:39:53
met the correspondent.
00:39:54
The judge's decree doesn't
indicate hostility toward her.
00:39:58
It indicates that even there may
be something worth salvaging,
00:40:01
that she was under the
blandishments of an older
00:40:03
and more sophisticated man.
00:40:05
In spite of all the
negatives I've heard
00:40:08
and on the surface it
being a very nasty divorce,
00:40:10
there was still something that
came through for the judge
00:40:14
this was basically
a good person.
00:40:16
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
With the divorce final,
00:40:18
Donald made some hard choices.
00:40:22
He put his son, Darrell,
up for adoption.
00:40:26
JIM CURRIE (VOICEOVER): There
was a sense in me at the time
00:40:30
that it was the last
time I would see him.
00:40:32
He needs his
brother, he needs me.
00:40:34
Look at him.
00:40:36
I don't have to.
00:40:37
I know what he feels.
00:40:40
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Despite Annie's pleas,
00:40:42
Donald did not bend.
00:40:45
JIM CURRIE (VOICEOVER): I
don't remember any hugging,
00:40:47
I don't remember any arguing.
00:40:49
But I do remember it being sad.
00:40:53
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Donald then
00:40:54
moved to Los Angeles with Jim.
00:40:56
Donald married twice.
00:40:58
Although both stepmothers
were kind to Jim,
00:41:01
he still longed for the mother
that he barely remembered.
00:41:06
My dad was always
very reticent to talk
00:41:08
about his early life and
my mother in particular.
00:41:11
Anything that would
lead my dad to believe
00:41:13
that I wanted to find her
was very upsetting to him.
00:41:18
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
After his father's death,
00:41:20
Jim began to search
for his mother.
00:41:22
He never found her,
but he did wind up
00:41:25
finding his brother, Darrell.
00:41:27
He and Jim have been reunited,
but Darrell has no memory
00:41:31
of his mother or father.
00:41:35
There's unconditional love
that a mother has for her son,
00:41:38
and I feel like that
was pulled away from me.
00:41:40
I don't think I'd have to
say a word to her for hours.
00:41:45
If I met her, I don't think
I'd have to say anything.
00:41:49
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Annie Currie is 5'2".
00:41:51
She has a medium build and may
speak with a British accent.
00:41:56
This enhanced photo shows
how she might look today.
00:42:00
Annie's last name
may now be McDonald
00:42:02
from a second marriage.
00:42:05
If you have any idea
where she might be,
00:42:08
please log on to our
website at unsolved.com.
00:42:14
[theme music]
