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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 21 - Full Episode

May 16, 2019 / 44:56

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers the murder of Lisa Marie Kimmell in Wyoming, the legend of the Lost Dutchman mine in Arizona, and the mysterious disappearance of Audrey Moat in Louisiana.

Lisa Marie Kimmell, an 18-year-old from Montana, was last seen on March 25, 1988, after being stopped for speeding near Casper, Wyoming. Her body was discovered a week later in the North Platte River, showing signs of a brutal murder. Eyewitnesses reported seeing her or her car in the days following her disappearance, raising questions about the timeline of her murder.

The segment on the Lost Dutchman mine details the legend surrounding a hidden treasure in Arizona's Superstition Mountains. Jacob Waltz, the supposed discoverer of the mine, left behind clues before his death, leading many treasure hunters to search for the elusive gold, which could be worth over $200 million today.

Lastly, the episode recounts the tragic story of Audrey Moat, who disappeared after her lover, Thomas Howe Todd, was murdered in 1956. Despite numerous theories and a confession decades later, the mystery of her fate remains unsolved.

TL;DR

Lisa Marie Kimmell's murder, Lost Dutchman mine legend, and Audrey Moat's disappearance are featured in this episode.

Episode

44:56
00:00:03
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 are about to see is not a news
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broadcast tonight on unsolved mysteries
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eighteen-year-old Lisa Marie Kimball was
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brutally stabbed in Casper Wyoming yet
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four weeks after police believe she was
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murdered hundreds of people across the
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western United States claimed they saw
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Lisa or her car for over a hundred years
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fortune hunters had tried to find
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Arizona's Lost Dutchman mine many men
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have died trying today the gold to be
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worth over two hundred million dollars
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also a story of love and murder remote
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Louisiana by melissa chromis led to one
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man's death and the young woman's
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mysterious disappearance from a murder
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discovered in the swamps of Louisiana to
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a treasure lost in an Arizona mountain
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range our stories have one thing in
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common as yet there is no solution
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perhaps you can help join me you may be
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able to help solve a mystery
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[Music]
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on a little-used suspension bridge
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outside Casper Wyoming residents
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reported seeing unexplained lights in
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the early morning hours of March the
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26th 1988 police theorized that none
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known assailant operating under cover of
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darkness brought his victim a young girl
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of 18 to the bridge
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after stabbing her repeatedly he threw
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her into the chill waters of a North
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Platte River
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[Music]
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the victim was later identified as Lisa
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Marie Kimmell from Billings Montana she
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had been sexually assaulted prior to
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being killed in a manner that suggested
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some kind of bizarre torture
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the savage nature of Lisa's murder is
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not the only perplexing aspect of this
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case Lisa was last seen alive on the
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night of March 25th police believe that
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she was killed a few hours later in the
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early morning of March the 26th what
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complicates the investigations at nearly
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1,000 people claim they saw Lisa Marie
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Kimball or her car during a week when
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police believe she was already dead Lisa
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was 18 years old had worked as a manager
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at a fast food restaurant in Denver
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Colorado on March the 25th she left town
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and headed for Cody Wyoming to visit her
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boyfriend Lisa's car the black 1988
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Honda CRX si carry the spunky license
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plate a little Miss the plan was that
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she was supposed to leave Denver and
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sometime after work and get to Cody to
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see me sometime late that evening I am
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talked to her about 4:30 and she was
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gonna be leaving in about a half hour I
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thought she'd be in about midnight or
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something like that
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from Denver Lisa had planned to travel
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to Casper Wyoming on interstate 25 from
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Casper she would take a two-lane road to
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Ed Gerak's house and Cody after spending
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the night there she planned to go on to
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Billings Montana to visit her parents
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weather conditions were good so Lisa
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should have made the trip to Cody in 8
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or 9 hours
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arriving at Ed's house late Friday night
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however at 7 o'clock Saturday morning
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she still had not arrived
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edie Jarek frantically telephoned the
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Highway Patrol's in three states two
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days later the Wyoming Highland Patrol
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reported they had stopped Lisa for
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speeding about 60 miles south of Casper
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on March 25th the night she disappeared
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it was nearly 9 p.m. Friday night four
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hours after Lisa had left Denver she was
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right on schedule I was patrolling
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southbound on March 25th I noted a small
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car northbound at 88 miles an hour
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according my radar I turned around and
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pursued the car I stopped her near or
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injunction good evening miss she was
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well kept
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driving a nice car kind of first and
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you'd like to have for a daughter
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okay mr. Kimmel hedge it on my radar
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back there at 88 miles an hour is there
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any particular reason for your speed I'm
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trying to hurry Billings I've got a
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friend who's going in for surgery this
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was the last confirmed sighting of Lisa
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her signature on the citation and a
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routine voice recording the policeman
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made verify that it was definitely Lisa
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Marie Kimmell who was stopped that night
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[Music]
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as the week went on we realized the
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gravity of the situation we knew that
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the outlook was looking a little grim
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but even if that even if the outcome
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wasn't as we hoped we still needed to
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find her
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[Music]
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on April 2nd one week after she
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disappeared
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Greg Bradford a mechanic who was
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spending his Saturday fishing brought
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the search for Lisa Marie to a sad end
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and I came up to just about this spot
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right here and I got a real bad feeling
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something was wrong
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I felt that somebody died or if somebody
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was hurt real bad it just kept coming
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over me I couldn't shake it so I just
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stepped up and when I stepped up off the
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side of the bank I looked over my
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shoulder and I saw the lady in the water
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now I knew it was a lady in the water
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but your mind tells you it's not true
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you know it's not real
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and then I remember when we're driving
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up from Cheyenne they said this young
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girl was missing from Montana so I
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looked again and I said oh my god it
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must be her when we went out there the
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physical description matched Lisa but at
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that point because of the condition of
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the body we'll work sure until we'd
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gotten her out of the water we're not
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sure at this point whether the body was
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placed in the river sometime on the 25th
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of the 26th the body just didn't show
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any signs of decomposition because of a
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so cold there was some stab wounds in
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the chest area she was sexually
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assaulted
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she was found nearly nude but not quite
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they made stab wounds some in such a
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manner that we feel are unique and I
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can't tell you how they were done to the
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body but it would lead the appearance
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that somebody took their time and doing
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this it's hard to understand why
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somebody would do something like that to
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another human being
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police scouted the area where Lisa's
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body was discovered on an old highway
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bridge 1/4 of a mile away they found
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blood which was the same type as Lisa
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Marie Kimmel's because the bridge is so
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inaccessible in so seldom used police
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believe the murder may be someone local
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based on the eyewitness accounts of
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unexplained lights on the bridge and an
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analysis of other evidence that police
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believe the time of Lisa's murder is the
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early morning of Saturday March 26th
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approximately 5 hours after she was
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stopped for speeding
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strangely in the next seven days
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hundreds of sightings of Lisa and her
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car many of them involving an unknown
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male companion were reported throughout
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the northwestern United States in Canada
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up until the state we've had over a
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thousand sightings of this vehicle a lot
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of them from law enforcement officers
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there's no pattern to the murder that's
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enforcement apart there's no direction
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of travel they went south they went to
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the north they went to the west they
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just were everywhere and we were down
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loose with them at the point that we
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thought they had gone to Canada we had
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some sightings in Canada composites were
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made of at least 17 men but none of them
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seemed to resemble one another closely
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enough to justify issuing a wanted
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poster three of these sightings believed
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to be among the most reliable were
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reported on the 26th and 27th of March
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after police believe Lisa Marie had
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already been murdered one of them was in
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Casper just 20 minutes drive away from
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the place her body was found the other
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two sightings were in Buffalo Wyoming
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two hours drive outside Casper in none
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of the three sightings at Lisa appear to
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be signaling for help the Casper
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sighting occurred on Sunday March 27th
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two days after Lisa had been stopped for
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speeding
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dianna Houston was driving a van through
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the downtown area of Casper which he
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noticed the personalized Little Miss
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license plates because a roommate owned
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a puppy with the same name it was in the
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afternoon about quarter to two and I saw
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Montana license plate on a vehicle and
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being from Montana I hadn't got my ice
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re-elect and their license plate said
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little yes I went by I saw somebody with
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blond hair driving and head on a yellow
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sweater twenty two hours earlier Donna
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Kirkpatrick the county sheriff's wife
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and Buffalo reported that she had seen
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Lisa wearing a pink sweater but was
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Saturday at noon and I noticed a little
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black sports car had pulled out right in
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front of me and then I noticed a license
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plate it was a Montana license plate
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with Little Miss on it al ilm ISS and at
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that point I decided that I needed to
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see who was driving the car I was most
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interested to see if the car went with
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whoever was driving it
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I am absolutely positive there was a
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young gal driving it I know the license
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plate I know Montana license plates
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I saw the plate on that car at that time
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on that day and there's not a doubt in
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my mind
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curiously Lisa's parents are not sure
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that she ever owned either a yellow or a
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pink sweater
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the highway patrolman who stopped it for
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speeding the last person to a verifiable
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evidence that he saw Lisa alive remember
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that she was wearing a black and white
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sweater
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could Lisa have changed her clothes but
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did the eyewitnesses see another young
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woman who resembled Lisa two hours after
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Donna Kirkpatrick so Lisa another
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eyewitness also saw her in Buffalo this
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time a mysterious man is with Lisa I was
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busy at the register but a car pulled up
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and I said Little Miss on the Montana
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license plates on in front of it there
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were two people in the vehicle
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there was a very attractive young lady
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at the wheel the individual that was
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with her was a small man I would say 135
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to 140 pounds dark hair dark eyes rather
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large eyes and he had very fine features
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it wasn't what nosed or anything like
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that they were excellent I think is the
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word that the poets use and he was
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swarthy complected and he was small he
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fit into the car he didn't look out of
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place or anything like that and a few
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minutes later when I turn to looked
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again the car had gone if the three
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sightings of Lisa Marie Kimmell
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are reliable they raised some disturbing
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questions as Lisa killed as a police
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think she was during the early morning
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hours of March the 26th if she was who
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was a woman seen driving Lisa's car in
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Casper and Buffalo if Lisa was not
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killed in the 26th why was she in
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Buffalo more than two hours off the
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course of her planned journey and if she
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was in jeopardy why did she not signal
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for help when she was sighted
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[Music]
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next the story of the legendary Lost
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Dutchman mine the clues are scarce the
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stakes are high millions of dollars in
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gold the Superstition Mountains in
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Arizona cover 160,000 acres of desolate
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rugged terrain
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according to legend these mountains
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contain the richest deposits of gold in
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America the Lost Dutchman's gold mine
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[Music]
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there are hundreds of stories hinting at
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its location and they're all tied to one
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man a German prospector named Jacob
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waltz who is said to have discovered the
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mine in 1876 his nickname was the
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Dutchman Jacob waltz was a student of
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mining and he knew what he was doing the
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old-timers were very very astute at to
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the fact of geology they knew what they
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were looking for if you're gonna go out
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in these mountains anywhere and look for
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gold you really want to go to places
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where gold has been found superstitions
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would be an exception you wouldn't go in
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there
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waltz was one of the few who is prepared
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to prospect a nun promising locations
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and apparently he was rewarded 15 years
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later in 1891 when Jacob Waltz's 80
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years old he decided to hide his mind he
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is said to have dug a hole six feet deep
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at the entrance to the mine
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he then laid in two solid layers of iron
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wood logs and filled a hole with dirt
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and topped it with stones from the
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surrounding area a Dutchman brag that
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you could drive a packed train over the
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entrance to the mine and never know it
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was there for over 100 years
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fortune hunters have searched for Jacob
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Waltz's hidden treasure trove several
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months after Walt's hid the mine he
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contracted pneumonia and was taken to
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the home of a friend Julia Thomas in
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Phoenix she tried to nurse Jacob back to
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health before Jacob walls died he told
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them that there was gold from the mines
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stashed under his bed and he said that's
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what I've been living on all these years
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he took out the box they opened it and
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their comment was my god that's rich
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it's got to be just a pocket and he said
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no it isn't he said it's a vein he said
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there's enough in sight to make
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millionaires out of 20 men as his end
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drew near the Dutchman gave Julia and
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Reinhardt petrache a local miner clues
00:16:14
to the location of the mile northwest
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corner of the Superstition Mountains
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take two take the trio man
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I left a number of clues but several
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times he said I've almost got to show
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you where it is or you'll never find it
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because you've got to know exactly where
00:16:31
it is Waltz died before he could give
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them a map that showed exactly where the
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mine lay even though there are hundreds
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of maps in existence today none of them
00:16:41
came from Jacob walls
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the only directions Julia in the
00:16:50
petrache brothers had when they ventured
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into the mountains where the verbal
00:16:54
clues waltz had given on his deathbed he
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said the Setting Sun shines into the
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entrance to bond line and glitters on
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the gold so it must have faced to the
00:17:06
west he said you take the first gorge on
00:17:09
the south side from the west end of the
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range he said that you can see weavers
00:17:14
needle to the south from above my mind
00:17:19
Julia and the Patricia's were so anxious
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to get in the mountains they actually
00:17:25
went in mid-summer when the mountains
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were hotter than hell in a bucket and it
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must have been a real ordeal for all of
00:17:33
them they went in there for almost five
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weeks they came out without any gold and
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this was noted in the Arizona Republican
00:17:42
in 1892 in fact they called it the
00:17:45
clearquest in search of gold julia had
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invested everything she owned into this
00:17:51
expedition but she returned penniless
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Julia Thomas never attempted to return
00:17:56
to the Superstition Mountains again
00:17:59
[Music]
00:18:00
Reinhart petrache was accused by his
00:18:02
brother Herman of not paying attention
00:18:04
at Jacobs bedside writing the clues down
00:18:06
incorrectly they never spoke again
00:18:10
Reinhart continued to search
00:18:12
sporadically over the next 50 years when
00:18:14
as eyesight began to fail Reinhardt
00:18:17
realized he would never find the mind
00:18:18
and took his own life for over a century
00:18:29
treasure hunters have occasionally
00:18:31
claimed that they have clues to waltzes
00:18:33
lost mind a few of them may even have
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found it but curiously they all died
00:18:39
before they could tell their tale when
00:18:42
we return the story of walk gaster well
00:18:45
five years ago claimed he'd found the
00:18:46
mine on his last trip to the mountains
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he lost his life before he could reveal
00:18:51
a secret location the Lost Dutchman's
00:18:57
gold mine is one of the greatest living
00:18:58
legends of the American Southwest some
00:19:01
people say that it's just that a legend
00:19:03
on the other hand government studies
00:19:06
indicate that there's a large quantity
00:19:07
of gold located somewhere in the
00:19:09
superstitions it is said that this
00:19:11
matchbox was made from the high-grade
00:19:14
ore the Jacob waltz had miss possession
00:19:15
when he died
00:19:16
the ore is so rich that if the mine were
00:19:19
found today it could be worth over 200
00:19:22
million dollars almost 100 years later a
00:19:27
modern-day treasure hunter claimed he
00:19:29
had found the mind
00:19:32
his name was Walt gasps Larry head chef
00:19:36
at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix using
00:19:39
Clues handed down from Jacobs deathbed
00:19:41
description gaster had spent most of his
00:19:43
free time looking for the famous or nice
00:19:50
to meet you have a seat thank you when
00:19:52
his health began to fail he contacted
00:19:54
two other prospectors one of them was
00:19:57
Bob Corbin the Attorney General of
00:19:59
Arizona this is a map to the area where
00:20:02
I have my camp he wanted to get together
00:20:04
with me
00:20:05
so that we could perhaps go with him and
00:20:06
continue looking for the mine and with
00:20:09
his directions after he had died and he
00:20:11
gave me his notes as well as a map as to
00:20:13
where his camp was and where he believed
00:20:16
the mine to be that's a good location
00:20:18
there could be there
00:20:20
two months later gaster called Bob's
00:20:22
partner Tom
00:20:23
a local historian Gasper was excited and
00:20:27
claimed that he had finally located the
00:20:29
Dutchman's mine
00:20:30
Wang gas recalled me on Sunday evening
00:20:33
he said I'm going to the mine I know
00:20:36
exactly where it is you and Corbin have
00:20:39
to go
00:20:39
I just can't possibly break away in the
00:20:41
morning I could if you just give me a
00:20:43
little bit of notice I'd sure want to go
00:20:45
in with you he said no I can't wait any
00:20:47
longer
00:20:47
I'm going to it I'll see you when I get
00:20:50
back but I'm leaving in the morning
00:20:54
Walt gasps Lee was convinced that the
00:20:57
mine existed from the clues that he had
00:20:59
some of those clues he would not reveal
00:21:02
and the next morning his wife took him
00:21:05
out to the trailhead and dropped him off
00:21:06
see in three days
00:21:08
Walt hiked alone into the superstitions
00:21:11
never to be seen alive again three days
00:21:16
later he was found dead by Ranch Hand
00:21:18
Don shade an autopsy proved he had died
00:21:21
of a heart attack I don't have the
00:21:24
license to talk like a coroner I thought
00:21:28
he was dead probably two to three days
00:21:30
he looked to me like a nice little old
00:21:33
man that found a lovely place to give up
00:21:36
the ghost Tom Horn yes I'm rolling one
00:21:43
month after walls of death Tom Cullen
00:21:44
born had a surprising visitor this man
00:21:47
came over to my house any say was rollin
00:21:49
ghastly Walt gasps first son and we were
00:21:53
talking a few minutes he says well you
00:21:54
know my dad found the Lost Dutchman in
00:21:56
the superstitions and he got out of
00:21:58
commission go talk to me boy that stuff
00:22:00
really looks good it looked very similar
00:22:02
to the gold that allegedly came out of
00:22:05
the Lost Dutchman mine where'd this come
00:22:07
from came right straight out of my dad's
00:22:09
backpack Bob Corbin told me that you had
00:22:13
a map that belonged to my dad I wonder
00:22:15
if you'd let me have it well I don't
00:22:17
have the map anymore but I do have your
00:22:20
dad's manuscript apparently what really
00:22:24
had found the lost mine and his son
00:22:27
Roland planned to use the map and notes
00:22:29
to retrace his father's steps well I
00:22:32
knew that you'd be interested
00:22:33
want to thank you for all right okay two
00:22:41
months later as time was finishing a
00:22:42
slight lecture he was approached by
00:22:44
another stranger who claimed he was
00:22:46
rollin gas ler Walt's son mr. Colin born
00:22:49
yes I'm rollin Dassler I've been wanting
00:22:52
meet you for a long time now well I'm
00:22:54
sure I met several rollin yassir's lady
00:22:55
Walt cows and I think my jaw dropped 10
00:22:58
foot to the ground cause it wasn't the
00:22:59
same guy I said I ought to ask you for
00:23:01
driver's license or somethin I said
00:23:02
here's the second roll in gas ler I run
00:23:04
into in the last couple of months
00:23:06
sure looks like you're rolling gasoline
00:23:09
yes sir
00:23:09
after meeting to rolling gas lers I
00:23:12
wondered who was really rolling gas
00:23:14
lured who was the first man who claimed
00:23:17
to be rolling gas ler it appeared that
00:23:20
he was an impostor who needed Walt's
00:23:22
maps so he could search for himself rich
00:23:25
but how would he gotten hold of the gold
00:23:27
or sample when won't die the share of
00:23:31
support listed a backpack among Walt's
00:23:33
belongings but the real rowland gasser
00:23:35
never received it Don Schade
00:23:38
the man who found Walt's body also
00:23:40
remembered seeing the backpack and he
00:23:42
said that there was a stranger in the
00:23:44
area there was another man in the area
00:23:47
at the time one tom Colin born later
00:23:50
gave us a description of the man that
00:23:53
came to him and showed him some gold
00:23:56
that jived up with the man that we saw
00:24:00
in here
00:24:01
some believe that the fake Roland gasner
00:24:04
may have been in the mountains when Walt
00:24:05
died and stolen the backpack with his
00:24:08
precious or I like to believe walked out
00:24:11
that he spent so many years looking for
00:24:13
it and the last thing he would have done
00:24:15
in his life before he died would have
00:24:16
found the mind I'd like to believe that
00:24:19
when Jacob waltz died he left the trunk
00:24:22
of or a list of clues and a legend of
00:24:25
lost treasure which has captured the
00:24:27
dreams of three generations I have good
00:24:30
reason to believe that the Dutchman's
00:24:32
legend could be true I've seen the ore
00:24:34
that was under his bed when he died I've
00:24:36
seen the assay report on it at a jewelry
00:24:39
store in Phoenix which did exist at that
00:24:41
time
00:24:41
and at today's gold prices that ore
00:24:43
would be worth over 2.2 million dollars
00:24:46
a ton it's a richest gold ore I've ever
00:24:48
seen in my life and I've seen a lot of
00:24:50
gold ore it could have been gassers
00:24:54
[Music]
00:24:55
the Department of the Interior
00:24:57
reclassify the Superstition Mountains as
00:24:59
a federally owned wilderness area and if
00:25:03
the mine were found all the gold would
00:25:05
have to be surrendered to the government
00:25:08
but this does not deter Tom Collin
00:25:10
Bourne and Bob Corbin for them the
00:25:13
search for the Lost Dutchman mine is a
00:25:15
fascinating mystery and a tradition that
00:25:17
keeps alive one of the most enduring
00:25:19
legends of the American Southwest in a
00:25:25
moment the story of two lovers who met
00:25:27
secretly deep in the swamps of Louisiana
00:25:29
30 years ago
00:25:31
their illicit romance ended in murder
00:25:37
[Music]
00:25:51
the Louisiana bayou country surrounded
00:25:55
by humid swampland lies Lake
00:25:57
Pontchartrain just west of New Orleans
00:26:00
November 24th 1956 at 9:00 a.m. on this
00:26:05
chill Saturday morning a local hunter
00:26:07
and his young son unintentionally
00:26:09
surprised a pair of lovebirds in an
00:26:10
isolated area known as friend near Beach
00:26:18
[Music]
00:26:23
the next morning the two passed by the
00:26:26
same spot and made a grisly discovery
00:26:28
the manly had surprised the day before
00:26:31
lay dead of a gunshot wound in the front
00:26:33
seat of the car
00:26:34
the woman was nowhere to be seen the
00:26:38
victim was identified as Thomas Howe
00:26:39
tarde a 46 year old engineer from nearby
00:26:42
Laplace authorities later determined
00:26:45
that the woman who had been with him the
00:26:47
day before was 31 year old Audrey moat a
00:26:50
divorced mother of three she has not
00:26:53
been seen for 32 years
00:26:56
this was probably the largest case that
00:26:59
ever hit the area it was all over New
00:27:01
Orleans it was all over Baton Rouge
00:27:03
everybody was talking about and they all
00:27:05
wanted to know where's the woman where
00:27:07
did she disappear why did she disappear
00:27:09
did they kill it did they bury Hill
00:27:11
Party did they throw her in a lake three
00:27:13
months before this happened my mother
00:27:15
told my grandmother there anything
00:27:18
happens to me take the kids and get as
00:27:20
far away from here as possible why would
00:27:22
a 30 year old 31 year old woman in 1956
00:27:26
and a environmentally crime-free area
00:27:30
say this three decades ago the case of
00:27:34
Thomas ho tart not remote was one of the
00:27:36
most publicized and sensational stories
00:27:38
of modern Louisiana history the case
00:27:41
still provokes discussions among the
00:27:42
old-timers in the area most of those
00:27:45
involved in the initial investigation
00:27:46
have since passed away but the mystery
00:27:49
of the incident at frontier Beach has
00:27:51
remained a baffle the next generation
00:27:54
the newspaper obituaries in 1956
00:27:58
described Thomas Howe Todd is a quiet
00:28:00
hard-working family man active in the
00:28:02
church and with the Boy Scouts he worked
00:28:05
for a local chemical company it was here
00:28:08
in 1952 that he met Audrey moat
00:28:11
[Music]
00:28:13
[Applause]
00:28:17
Audrey was a recently divorced mother 15
00:28:20
years younger than ho time in addition
00:28:23
to their work the two shared interests
00:28:25
in Scouting were often seen together in
00:28:27
town organizing their troops activities
00:28:29
[Music]
00:28:31
my mother was a woman that was way ahead
00:28:34
of her time she was a single parent in
00:28:36
56 and she was the kind of woman that
00:28:40
was very loving very giving perhaps she
00:28:44
was the best friend I ever had
00:28:45
[Music]
00:28:50
even though Thomas was married he and
00:28:52
Auggie fell in love but their romance
00:28:55
was a deeply held secret Audrey told her
00:28:58
family that she had to work every
00:29:00
Saturday it was alive but two years
00:29:03
Thomas Howe Todd kept the same schedule
00:29:05
telling his wife that he too was working
00:29:07
on Saturdays unbeknownst to both their
00:29:10
families Howe Todd and Audrey spent
00:29:12
these stolen days together I remember we
00:29:20
used to go together he was there on my
00:29:24
birthday's I thought they were friends I
00:29:27
didn't realize they were lovers um I
00:29:30
found out later whenever the newspaper
00:29:32
accounts I just thought they were
00:29:33
friends on Saturday November 25th Thomas
00:29:37
and Audrey met and applause around 7:30
00:29:39
a.m.
00:29:40
then drove together to the secluded
00:29:42
Lovers Lane with the edge of Lake
00:29:44
Pontchartrain speed and slow rock by me
00:29:51
to and fro ironically that son of news
00:29:55
Audrey's birthday it is a special day
00:29:58
that was to end in tragedy police later
00:30:01
estimated that by mornings and Thomas
00:30:03
who thought had been shot to death an
00:30:05
Audrey moat had vanished forever
00:30:08
[Music]
00:30:14
[Music]
00:30:26
when the hunter made his grim discovery
00:30:28
the next morning he went straight to
00:30:31
Percy a bear and the sheriff of st. John
00:30:32
the Baptist Parish a bear was a first to
00:30:36
arrive at the scene Oh Todd had been
00:30:41
killed by a single shot from a 16-gauge
00:30:43
shotgun fired a point-blank range
00:30:45
through a side window at first Sheriff a
00:30:49
bear thought that the missing woman had
00:30:51
probably killed Howe Todd in a lover's
00:30:53
spat
00:30:54
however once he began to investigate the
00:30:57
crime scene he made some unusual
00:30:59
discoveries scattered on the ground with
00:31:04
a partial contents of a woman's purse
00:31:07
inside the car he found the car keys
00:31:09
still in the ignition and women's
00:31:11
clothes crumpled on the floorboard from
00:31:15
the articles of clothing that were found
00:31:16
in the car the only thing she could have
00:31:18
been wearing was a bronze lip her
00:31:20
sweater her underwear her stockings her
00:31:22
shoes skirt all that was in the car
00:31:26
the car had the bed made down in it in
00:31:29
other words it was one of those old
00:31:30
Nash's that had a bed that could be
00:31:31
folded down the evidence indicates that
00:31:35
they were probably in the act of making
00:31:37
love when the murder occurred it
00:31:41
appeared that the woman had tried to
00:31:42
flee spilling the contents of her purse
00:31:44
on the process 50 yards from her tards
00:31:48
car a bear found a pair of footprints
00:31:50
made by small bear feet probably
00:31:53
Audrey's just behind them was a print of
00:31:56
a man's heavy boot five feet away was an
00:31:59
area where it appeared a scuffle had
00:32:01
taken place and a set of car keys was
00:32:03
discovered there was no other physical
00:32:06
evidence and no indication that the
00:32:08
murder had an accomplice
00:32:10
significantly the woman's purse itself
00:32:13
was never found it was not until 10
00:32:16
hours later that the authorities decided
00:32:18
the missing woman
00:32:19
definitely was Audrey moat
00:32:31
at 7:30 that same Saturday night Sheriff
00:32:34
a bear found Audrey's car parked next to
00:32:36
the cafe where she had met Haute are the
00:32:42
keys found at the crime scene fit the
00:32:44
ignition in a box on the back seat he
00:32:48
found the verses of a song from a music
00:32:50
of the King Anand handwritten by Audrey
00:32:52
on a small file card it read like an
00:32:55
obituary for her secret lost love affair
00:32:58
[Music]
00:32:59
we kiss in the shadows we hide from the
00:33:03
moon our meetings are few and over too
00:33:07
soon we speak English afraid to be heard
00:33:11
when people are near we speak not a word
00:33:20
this was quite a scandal it was quite a
00:33:22
shock to this sleepy little town total
00:33:24
cost Pike in 1956 everybody was buzzing
00:33:28
was talking about it they all had their
00:33:30
own theory of what happened they all had
00:33:33
idea of who could have committed the
00:33:35
murder they all had an idea of where
00:33:37
Audrey moat was and they all wanted to
00:33:41
help the sheriff because they saw a
00:33:43
woman answering that description going
00:33:45
door-to-door and all kinds of confusion
00:33:47
believe me confusion reigned supreme
00:33:50
apart that time on December 6th two
00:33:56
weeks after the disappearance
00:33:57
Audrey's former mother-in-law received a
00:33:59
strange phone call perhaps Audrey was
00:34:02
still alive hello Audrey Audrey is that
00:34:09
you Audrey Audrey Audrey then a waitress
00:34:18
in New Orleans reported that she had
00:34:19
seen Audrey at her restaurant around the
00:34:21
same time that mrs. mote received the
00:34:23
phone call
00:34:25
now the waitress said she recognized
00:34:28
Audrey from seeing her picture in the
00:34:29
paper
00:34:30
Audrey appeared to be very tired and a
00:34:33
clothes were shabby
00:34:35
Audrey then left the restaurant when she
00:34:37
realized the waitress was watching her
00:34:39
this is a last reported sighting of
00:34:42
Audrey moat I couldn't let myself
00:34:47
believe she was gone
00:34:49
I kept think she'd walk through the door
00:34:51
I couldn't relate to mr. Howe to her
00:34:55
being dead at all that didn't register
00:34:58
but my mother not coming back I thought
00:35:02
they were both lying to me
00:35:03
I just couldn't accept it as the years
00:35:08
went by the sensational story slipped
00:35:10
slowly from the headlines and eventually
00:35:12
disappeared from the newspapers
00:35:15
the murder of Thomas hotel the
00:35:17
disappearance of Audrey moat soon became
00:35:19
an obscure footnote in Louisiana
00:35:21
folklore until the case was suddenly
00:35:23
revived more than 20 years later in 1980
00:35:29
a sick and ailing old man told his
00:35:31
family that he knew what happened to odd
00:35:33
remote you remember that Holt our fella
00:35:37
what got killed in the swamp and a big
00:35:40
search for everybody looking around
00:35:41
never did find out who killed him and
00:35:44
the moat woman what they never found
00:35:48
nothing I don't know several months
00:35:53
before he died Ernest Acosta made a
00:35:55
startling confession he claimed that his
00:35:58
common-law wife at the time caroline
00:36:00
Slusher had murdered both thomas ho Todd
00:36:03
and Audrey moat and that he had helped
00:36:06
her dispose of the bodies Caroline died
00:36:09
in 1979 and it was Caroline what shot
00:36:13
both those two
00:36:16
[Music]
00:36:19
a costume slasher lived on the edge of
00:36:21
the swamp less than a mile from the
00:36:24
friend near beach murder site
00:36:25
both had surly reputations an Acosta was
00:36:29
known to sit in his front yard and take
00:36:31
potshots at any passers-by the strayed
00:36:33
too close to the house my father was a
00:36:38
very mean person he had no respect for
00:36:41
nobody and if you would come up to him
00:36:45
and ask him anything
00:36:47
he wouldn't answer you he would grab the
00:36:49
gun show it to you and then tell you
00:36:53
what the hell you want and then if he
00:36:58
didn't like what you wanted or what you
00:37:00
said he would tell you hit the road jack
00:37:05
Caroline was in the same manner she
00:37:08
slept with a gun underneath her pillow
00:37:10
at all times
00:37:11
and she was another person that the gun
00:37:15
would come first she would ask questions
00:37:19
later because next week I don't want
00:37:21
them kids here I don't want him around I
00:37:22
don't want him underfoot next week no I
00:37:26
don't want they were the perfect pair
00:37:28
they were two of a kind
00:37:31
and they loved
00:37:39
[Music]
00:37:44
Marvel Corona claims to know of at least
00:37:46
two occasions when ho Todd and Audrey
00:37:48
came to the house
00:37:50
both times he apparently argued with
00:37:53
Caroline but no one knows why
00:37:57
my father said that they knew something
00:38:01
about mrs. Caroline Slusher what you
00:38:05
want here ho tog what they knew I do not
00:38:08
know we got nothing to talk about boa
00:38:10
I'm Miss Caroline but I'm talking to him
00:38:12
mrs. notes was related to mrs. lush some
00:38:17
kind of way right make sure this is the
00:38:19
last time boy
00:38:20
come on and you better watch your
00:38:23
manners and don't talk that trash
00:38:25
talking my house the night before the
00:38:27
body was found
00:38:28
Marvel says her father was away visiting
00:38:30
his children
00:38:32
apparently Caroline phoned him and he
00:38:34
rushed home
00:38:39
[Music]
00:38:45
Acosta told his daughter that both ho
00:38:48
Todd and moat had actually been killed
00:38:50
by Caroline in the house he claimed that
00:38:53
he in the neighbor carried her tarts
00:38:55
body back to friend near Beach and
00:38:57
placed it in the car
00:38:59
they then tied Audrey's body to an old
00:39:02
Civil War cannon and dumped it in the
00:39:04
swamp I told him I said daddy how could
00:39:10
you all have killed mrs. moats and mr.
00:39:14
warthog
00:39:14
because mr. Hattori was killed in the
00:39:18
car he said believe what you want to
00:39:21
believe I'm telling you what happened
00:39:24
I brought Miss Corona to the sheriff's
00:39:29
office and she was given a lie-detector
00:39:31
test on everything that she said and she
00:39:35
passed it it said that she was telling
00:39:37
the truth
00:39:39
Wayne Norwood joined the Sheriff's
00:39:41
Department as st. John the Baptist
00:39:43
Parish in 1983 he heard about the ho
00:39:46
tarde moot case and became intrigued by
00:39:49
it for the past five years is conducted
00:39:52
an unofficial investigation on his own
00:39:54
time right on the other side of the
00:39:58
track right the edge of the swamp is
00:39:59
where the old Acosta house used to be
00:40:01
and according to miss more Vale about
00:40:03
where you see the big Cypress stump it's
00:40:07
about where the cannon used to set and
00:40:09
we hope to go back in there a little
00:40:11
later on when the water goes down and do
00:40:13
some more diving hopefully we'll find
00:40:15
something there Wayne Norwood is
00:40:18
convinced Audrey's body was indeed
00:40:19
thrown into the swamp tied to a cannon
00:40:21
and he has combed the area with a metal
00:40:24
detector but he believes Acosta may have
00:40:27
warped the truth when he told his
00:40:29
daughter the other crucial details of
00:40:31
that night mr. Koster said that his wife
00:40:36
had actually done the killing and that
00:40:39
he had helped hide the body but this is
00:40:42
one of the things that I disagree with I
00:40:44
think that this was his way of telling
00:40:48
what had happened but not laying the
00:40:51
kids know that he actually did the
00:40:53
murder just relieving his conscience I
00:40:55
think this was his way of doing it
00:40:58
I would imagine since he watched the the
00:41:05
area back there real close and he run
00:41:07
hunters off all the time that he had to
00:41:10
know what was going on because the
00:41:11
people had seen this automobile and a
00:41:14
man and woman parked back there every
00:41:17
Saturday just like clockwork
00:41:21
[Music]
00:41:27
my theory is that he had been watching
00:41:31
them and this particular time that he
00:41:33
was watching them and probably got
00:41:36
excited I think it was a sex crime
00:41:39
[Music]
00:41:58
I had to be sheer panic
00:42:04
it had to be intense fear to watch your
00:42:10
lover get his head blown off and then
00:42:13
fear for your own life I'm sure he only
00:42:22
lived about a mile from the murder scene
00:42:25
there were no tire marks according to
00:42:28
the investigation and he only had to
00:42:33
take her about a mile to the house so
00:42:36
this would be why there was no tracks
00:42:38
and a quick disappearance
00:42:41
[Music]
00:42:48
the scene of the crime has changed
00:42:51
considerably since that tragic Saturday
00:42:53
morning in 1956 the actual spot where
00:42:57
Thomas wrote art died is not 100 yards
00:42:59
offshore reclaimed by the waters of Lake
00:43:02
Pontchartrain an Audrey moat her fate
00:43:06
remains a mystery hidden in the murky
00:43:08
swamp surrounding the lake I think it's
00:43:14
always gonna be in the back of my mind
00:43:16
in in my heart to want to know what
00:43:21
happened I hope that whatever happened
00:43:27
that it was quick that she didn't suffer
00:43:31
but she wasn't put through a lot but I
00:43:35
need to know
00:43:37
[Music]
00:43:56
for every mystery there is someone
00:43:58
somewhere who knows the truth perhaps
00:44:01
that someone was watching perhaps
00:44:03
[Music]
00:44:30
[Applause]
00:44:34
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most heartbreaking
  • 70
    Most shocking
  • 65
    Most intense
  • 60
    Most dramatic

Episode Highlights

  • The Mysterious Disappearance of Lisa Marie Kimmell
    Eighteen-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmell was brutally murdered, sparking hundreds of sightings.
    “Hundreds of people across the western United States claimed they saw Lisa or her car.”
    @ 00m 29s
    May 16, 2019
  • The Lost Dutchman Mine
    The legend of the Lost Dutchman mine has drawn treasure hunters for over a century.
    “The Lost Dutchman’s gold mine is one of the greatest living legends of the American Southwest.”
    @ 18m 57s
    May 16, 2019
  • The Lost Dutchman Mine Legend
    The search for the Lost Dutchman mine continues to captivate treasure hunters.
    “I have good reason to believe that the Dutchman's legend could be true.”
    @ 24m 32s
    May 16, 2019
  • A Love Affair Turned Tragic
    The secret romance between Thomas Howe Todd and Audrey Moat ended in murder.
    “Their illicit romance ended in murder.”
    @ 25m 31s
    May 16, 2019
  • The Mystery of Audrey Moat
    Audrey Moat vanished after a tragic encounter, leaving behind a haunting mystery.
    “I couldn’t let myself believe she was gone.”
    @ 34m 47s
    May 16, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • Perhaps you can help solve a mystery.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 21 - Full Episode
  • I felt that somebody died or if somebody was hurt real bad.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 21 - Full Episode
  • It's hard to understand why somebody would do something like that to another human being.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 21 - Full Episode
  • This was quite a scandal, it was quite a shock.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 21 - Full Episode
  • I couldn’t let myself believe she was gone.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 21 - Full Episode
  • I hope that whatever happened, that it was quick.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 21 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Unsolved Mysteries00:03
  • Witness Discovery06:24
  • Legend of the Dutchman14:03
  • Lost Treasure24:32
  • Illicit Romance25:31
  • Murder Mystery26:31
  • Community Shock33:20
  • Haunting Reflection43:21

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

Related Episodes

Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 16
March 09, 2017
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42:48
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 16
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 24 - Full Episode
May 16, 2019
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49:31
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 24 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 12 - Full Episode
May 22, 2019
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49:51
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 12 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 20 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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44:14
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 20 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 2 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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45:33
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 2 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 4 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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43:53
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 4 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 1 - Full Episode
May 16, 2019
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48:18
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 1 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 15 - Full Episode
May 22, 2019
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43:33
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 15 - 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
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 7 - Full Episode
May 22, 2019
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47:11
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 7 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 23 - Full Episode
May 16, 2019
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48:03
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 23 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 6 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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01:29:02
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 6 - Full Episode