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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 19 - Full Episode

May 23, 2019 / 45:51

This episode covers the Ouija board, the case of Pearl Curran and Patience Worth, the disappearance of Justin Berg Winkle, and a counterfeiting operation by John Vogel.

The Ouija board is presented as a tool for contacting spirits, with a focus on Pearl Curran, who claimed to channel the spirit of a 17th-century woman named Patience Worth. Curran began using the Ouija board in 1912, and by 1913, she was producing literary works attributed to Worth, including plays and novels, which gained significant acclaim.

Justin Berg Winkle's story is highlighted, detailing his mysterious disappearance after going AWOL from the Army in 1993. His car was found abandoned at a motel, leading to speculation about whether he ran away or was involved in secret operations.

The episode also discusses John Vogel, a master counterfeiter who created millions in fake bills. His operation was uncovered when a suspicious package led authorities to investigate his printing business, revealing a massive counterfeiting scheme.

Each case raises questions about the supernatural, personal secrets, and criminal activities, leaving viewers to ponder the mysteries surrounding these events.

TL;DR

The episode discusses the Ouija board, Pearl Curran's literary spirit, Justin Berg Winkle's disappearance, and John Vogel's counterfeiting operation.

Episode

45:51
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this program is about unsolved mysteries
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whenever possible the actual family
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members and police officials have
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participated in recreating the events
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what you are about to see is not a news
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broadcast
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the Ouija board - some an entertaining
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parlor game - others a strange and
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wondrous instrument able to bridge the
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gap between the living and the dead
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it may sound unbelievable but tonight
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we'll bring you the remarkable case of
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pearl currents who claimed that through
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the Ouija board she became the first
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conduit for a literary spirit named
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patience worth September 1993 a motel
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manager reports an abandoned car in his
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parking lot the vehicle belongs to
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Justin Berg Lincoln an army enlisted man
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who had apparently gone AWOL three
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months earlier - Justin's parents the
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discovery was the latest twist in a dark
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scenario that may have led to their
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son's death at first it seemed like a
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routine drug case a few grams of cocaine
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smuggled across state lines and a box of
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clothes but then a fistful of suspicious
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hundred-dollar bills put investigators
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on the trail of a king's ransom and
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bogus cenotes now authorities need your
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help to capture one of the most prolific
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counterfeiters in history join me
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perhaps you hold the key perhaps you
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might be able to help solve a mystery
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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the Ouija board modern face of a
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timeless instruments revered for nearly
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3,000 years as a method to predict the
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future and contact the spirits of the
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dead paratus alleged powers the we J is
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disarmingly simple nothing more than a
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flat piece of wood adorned with letters
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and numbers hands resting lightly on a
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pointer one of the participants asks a
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question supposedly the indicator will
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move of its own accord and spell out an
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answer the Ouija board first became
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popular in the United States during the
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1890s when it was marketed as a
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provocative parlor game a century later
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the board is still a best-seller and
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still handing out answers that pushed
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the limits of scientific explanation
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consider the case of Gaynor Raleigh of
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Dunkirk New York some years ago Gaynor
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was musing about a trip to Scotland when
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she playfully asked the Ouija board for
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more details Gail's husband looked on
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from the kitchen I didn't really ask the
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Ouija board that I just said it kind of
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start casting it you know who's going to
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be with me when I go across the board
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Gaynor says there without hesitation the
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porter began to move
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soon the baffling answer was complete JD
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McDonald the Rorie's did not know a
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single person with that last name
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six months later maroney's were steaming
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across England headed for the Scottish
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border they got the shock of a lifetime
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when they were approached by a fellow
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passenger a stranger
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the minute she said it I remembered the
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Ouija board saying it it stunned me so
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that I started to kind of laugh and I
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must acted a little strange because the
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woman kind of pulled back startled JD
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MacDonald the roadies continued to
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wonder if their startling encounter was
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simply a coincidence or proof positive
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that the Ouija board has supernatural
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powers the rod is experienced though
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hardly earth-shaking is nonetheless of
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fitting introduction of the most
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remarkable Ouija episode of all time
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beginning in 1913 and continuing for
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several years the lively spirit of a
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17th century English woman named
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patience worth reportedly spoke through
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the board from beyond the grave
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and by all accounts patience wasn't
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content with a simple hello she composed
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plays novels and countless poems an
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astounding body of work filling some 30
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volumes that has yet to be fully
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explained
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the unlikely recipient of these
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unworldly contacts was pearl Curran wife
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of a prosperous st. Louis Missouri
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businessman until patients came calling
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pearl apparently had no interest in the
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occult no creative activities beyond a
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love of music pearl Curran had a very
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close friend named Emily grant Hutchings
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who was a very active freelance writer
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mrs. Hutchings became interested in
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spiritualism and the Ouija board she
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persuaded pearl Curran to take part in
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some experiments with the Ouija board
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around 1912 as far as we know mrs.
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Curran was very reluctant once a week
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for nearly a year
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Perl game we played along to humor her
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friend however the Ouija produced little
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more than gibberish on many evenings
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pearls mother joined the session
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notebook in hand just in case
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on July 8 1913 the women had barely
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taken their places when the pointer
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suddenly began whipping across the board
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selecting letters in a dizzying rush to
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the amazement of all present the letters
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formed words the words a sentence many
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moons ago I live again I come patience
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worth my name it's a message patience
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that's a Quaker name it was a modest
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beginning but soon the women truly began
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to believe that the spirit of patience
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worth a young Englishwoman
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dead some 250 years was reaching out
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through the Ouija board over the next
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few months patients began to dictate
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literary works and an archaic style
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sprinkled with words like thee and thou
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well the language of patience worth was
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one of the many many baffling things in
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this case yet apparently was an amalgam
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or a melange of words from many
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different times in English history and
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patience was often asked why do you
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speak in such difficult language and her
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answer in effect was I do this because
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if I spoke in a simpler way you would
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assume it was mrs. Curran speaking and
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it's not mrs. Curran speaking it's
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patience worth speaking and patience was
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speaking volumes by 1915 when pearls
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husband John assumed the job of
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transcribing the sessions patience was
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dictating for hours on end producing
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from 500 to 3,000 words at his sitting
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friends and curiosity seekers flocked to
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st. Louis to witness the astounding
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creation of poems plays and novels one
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of those who came to see the spectacle
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for himself was William M Reedy
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publisher of a respected literary
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journal
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I don't believe in this sort of thing
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and it's rather amazing this is the
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Ouija board mm-hmm patients would you
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like to greet mr. Reidy patients replied
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with characteristic irreverence roughly
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translated hello mister fat and wide fat
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Hawaii certainly does mr. Reedy how
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would you like to join in and ask
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patients a question yourself you suppose
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patients would continue her work on the
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novel if I have my hands on I don't see
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by the end of the session William Reedy
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was enchanted yes his enthusiastic
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articles helped propel the case to
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international prominence weenie never
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was willing to admit that patients Worth
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was indeed a spirit he never would go
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that far but what he did proclaim and he
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proclaimed it again and again in his
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journal was the literary merit of the
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writings of patients worth in fact he
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said that these were extremely extremely
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remarkable writings almost unparalleled
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in literary history the praise continued
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when patients completed a full-length
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novel the sorry tale despite his
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mysterious origins the book was snapped
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up by publishing giant Henry Holt and
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company the sorry tale was a novel about
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Palestine at the time of Jesus a leading
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historian in st. Louis reviewed the
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sorry tale and he said unquestionably
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this is the greatest book about Jesus
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written since the Gospels now for a
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distinguished historian
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to write something of this kind was
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almost unheard of because he was putting
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his career on the line by taking this
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position about the writings of someone
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purporting to be a spirit patients Worth
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was a spirit from the 16th century as
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far as pure pearl Curran is concerned
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she was docker hunt author of we Joe the
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most dangerous game probably the best
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documented case of Ouija work in the
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Western world she did she produced
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masterpiece after masterpiece hailed at
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the time as masterpiece of chic her
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poetry was published and very
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sophisticated books magazines of poetry
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indeed the New York Times gave the sorry
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Taylor rousing review saying it was
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written with quote the precision and the
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accuracy of a master hand
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however the acclaim was not Universal
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some skeptics accused pearl Curran of
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fraud they charge as she would memorize
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stories all day then at the sessions
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pass off the information is coming from
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patience worth the investigators and
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there were a number of them who really
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looked into the case very carefully
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found that there was just no truth in
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these stories everybody agreed that
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pearl Curran lived the average typical
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life of a housewife during the day she
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would clean her house she would go
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grocery shopping she was not poring over
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books all day a different theory was
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advanced by the scientific community
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perhaps patience Worth and her writings
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were creations of pearl currents
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subconscious mind pearl Curran came from
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working-class parents her father was a
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railroad man she quit school at the age
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of 13 and apparently neither before nor
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after that ever evinced any particular
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interest in reading or literature or
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anything of that kind all of a sudden
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this provincial st. Louis housewife had
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a separate personality that was capable
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of writing works that the New York Times
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labelled the works of a genius I just
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don't see how science can so readily
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explain this phenomenon away
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the books and pawns incredible as they
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seemed were overshadowed by yet another
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facet of this astonishing case the
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currents childís after nine years of
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marriage finally decided to adopt at the
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persistent urging of none other than
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patience worth in August of 1916
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Pro and John made arrangements with a
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widow who was unable to care for the
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baby she was expecting a baby patience
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predicted would be a girl for many the
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episode would provide convincing
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evidence that supernatural powers were
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at work one evening patience was busily
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dictating when precisely at 8 p.m. she
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suddenly stopped and she said in her own
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words this is enough how can I go on
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weaving which is what she called her
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writing when something of this
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importance is happening and she refused
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to continue later that evening the
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currents received electrifying news the
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child they planned to adopt was born at
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8 p.m.
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born at precisely the moment patience
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had interrupted her we giad dictation
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just as patience had foretold the infant
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turned out to be a girl it was a first
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of several uncanny coincidence as noted
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by the currents they further found after
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visiting the child that the baby had red
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hair and brown eyes the exact coloration
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that patience worth often had claimed
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for herself
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they also found out that the mother of
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the child had ancestry that was English
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scotch and this was the very same
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ancestry the patient's Worth had claimed
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for herself
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[Music]
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for most spirits this would have been
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accomplishment enough however patience
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worth continued to dictate through the
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Ouija board and a second novel entitled
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hope true blood hit the stores in 1918
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the communication between pearl and
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patients continued unabated for another
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19 years pearls husband John transcribed
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the sessions until his death in 1922 in
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1930 at the urging of a close friend
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pearl moved from st. Louis to Los
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Angeles in November of 1937 the legacy
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of patience worth drew to a close with a
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disquieting prediction so it's time for
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you to carry on as best you can
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pearl Curran was apparently healthy when
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she uttered those words inexplicably she
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fell ill within two weeks within another
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week she was dead the voice of patience
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worth had been stood over the course of
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24 years patience worth dictated some
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four million words her poetry appeared
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in respected journals her novels Basten
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critical acclaim but was patience worth
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really a ghost who communicated through
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pearl Curran perhaps the best answer
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came from patients herself after a
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relentless questioning by skeptic
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patients shot back a challenge
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essentially if you're so sure this is a
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trick let's see you knew it next join
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the hook for a master counterfeiter who
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printed up millions of bogus bills
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[Music]
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day in and day out it is a never-ending
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battle among thousands of miles of
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border at dozens of checkpoints customs
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agents face long odds trying to choke
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off the stream of drugs floating the
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United States from Mexico but every now
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and then officials get an unexpected
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break in January of 1995 an alert
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shipping clerk in the border town of
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Brownsville Texas tipped off authorities
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two suspected narcotics activity
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investigators jumped on the lead they
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never dreamed that their routine drug
00:17:25
case will take a surprising twist and
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blow the cover of a master counterfeiter
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who was literally making millions it all
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started when a man named John Volgin
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sent a package to his business address
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in Minnesota what's inside the box you
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wrote down close yeah that's right close
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and it's going to Minnesota yes the
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clerk was suspicious with Vogel's
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answers to the questions being that it's
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on a border town and being cognizant
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drugs do originate out of Mexico into
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the United States she contacted u.s.
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customs officials customs officials
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arranged for a drug sniffing dog come in
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dog ler t'adore hit on the package for
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the president's narcotics customs
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officials then arranged for the pack
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should be forwarded on to Minnesota
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local police and customs agents are
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waiting for the parcel when it arrived
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in Minnesota a search warrant allowed
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them to inspect the contents inside the
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package they found various pieces of
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men's clothing and also to error saw
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containers with fake bottoms inside the
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containers were about four grams of
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cocaine and 38 $100 bills from several
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strips of test print that using
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counterfeit that reflects that Treasury
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seal and serial numbers
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a four gram cocaine bust is not even a
00:19:02
pistol shot in the war on drugs is bogus
00:19:05
but authorities have stumbled upon what
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would prove to be one of the biggest
00:19:08
counterfeit operations on record
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investigators quickly traced the
00:19:15
identity of the man who had sent the
00:19:16
package his name was John Bryson Vogel
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and he was no stranger to the law Vogel
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has served time for armed bank robbery
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captured only after a violet high-speed
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chase since his parole in 1991 he had
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operated a small printing business just
00:19:35
outside Minneapolis Minnesota
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federal investigators put Vogel's
00:19:43
cocaine and counterfeit bills back
00:19:44
inside his package then the parcel was
00:19:47
taken to Vogel's business special
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delivery courtesy of an undercover
00:19:52
Secret Service agent moments after the
00:19:58
delivery Vogel had unexpected visitors
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fischels found approximately fifty
00:20:13
thousand dollars in counterfeit money
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some of the counterfeit looked like it
00:20:17
had just recently been printed it was
00:20:19
drying open on the various work benches
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in his shop
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Vogel's counterfeit was described as
00:20:26
very good or excellent he used various
00:20:28
colors of ink on the bills as well as
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some of the colored threads that are put
00:20:32
into the bills for authenticity
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officials also searched a storage locker
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Vogel had rented in that locker they
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found 190 6114 counterfeit $100 bills
00:20:51
John Vogel was indeed a self-made
00:20:54
millionaire the bogus ceno's added up to
00:20:57
an eye-popping nineteen million six
00:21:00
hundred and eleven thousand dollars the
00:21:02
fourth largest haul in United States
00:21:04
history Vogel had been printing the
00:21:07
bills and shortly after his release from
00:21:08
prison Vogel had served time for 1986 on
00:21:14
bank robbery while he was incarcerated
00:21:16
he was assigned to the printing industry
00:21:18
there it's believed he learned the
00:21:20
counterfeiting trade from another inmate
00:21:25
authorities nabbed Vogel just in time
00:21:27
though yet pressed millions and phony
00:21:29
bills he had circulated less than fifty
00:21:32
thousand dollars worth a thora T's
00:21:38
learned that Vogel had logged thousands
00:21:40
of miles Criss crossing America is
00:21:42
spending his phony hundred-dollar bills
00:21:44
one by one by the time he was arrested
00:21:47
Vogel's handiwork has surfaced at nearly
00:21:49
half the states in the country On
00:21:53
January 17th 1995 Fogle was released on
00:21:57
a personal recognizance bond he promptly
00:21:59
disappeared and has not been seen since
00:22:04
[Music]
00:22:20
[Music]
00:22:32
next the Strange Case of Justin
00:22:35
Burlington did he run away from the army
00:22:37
or did a secret operation lead to his
00:22:40
death Justin Berg Lincoln specialist
00:22:52
United States Army he reported for duty
00:22:54
in the summer of 1990 in the summer of
00:22:58
1993 he went AWOL absent without leave
00:23:01
and inexplicably disappeared
00:23:06
three months later Justin's car was
00:23:08
found gathering dust in the parking lot
00:23:11
of a remote Northern California motel
00:23:13
the discovery proved to be one more
00:23:16
indecipherable clue one more dead end
00:23:19
that left Justin's family anxiously
00:23:20
waiting and wondering I don't know if he
00:23:25
ran away from the Army I don't know if
00:23:28
he was kidnapped I don't know if he was
00:23:30
murdered I do not have one clue what
00:23:34
happened to him specialist Justin Berg
00:23:40
Winkle was respected by his superiors
00:23:42
well-liked by his fellow soldiers and by
00:23:45
all accounts simply not the type to
00:23:46
suddenly go AWOL however on several
00:23:49
occasions Justin himself hinted at a
00:23:52
secret life of undercover operations at
00:23:55
the time it seemed as if he was staging
00:23:57
cloak-and-dagger theatrics to impress
00:23:59
his friends but today those closest to
00:24:01
Justin believe the key to his
00:24:03
disappearance may lie somewhere in a
00:24:05
shadowy world of intrigue and deception
00:24:11
when he enlisted Justin Berg linkle set
00:24:14
his sights on an elite combat unit known
00:24:16
as the Rangers
00:24:17
he scored high on army tests and began
00:24:20
language training in Korean however
00:24:23
within six months justin was yanked from
00:24:25
the prestigious program after he was
00:24:27
implicated in a shoplifting incident
00:24:32
altima justin was transferred to Fort
00:24:35
Ord near Monterey California there that
00:24:38
would be language specialists found
00:24:40
himself assigned to kitchen duty serving
00:24:42
up meals to some 1,000 soldiers he had
00:24:47
wanted to go in and be a ranger and of
00:24:50
course part of being a ranger is going
00:24:51
through the language school when they
00:24:53
took him out of there put him in the to
00:24:54
cook section he already had a hard time
00:24:57
dealing with that at first but then he
00:24:59
kind of refocused himself and said well
00:25:01
you know I if I want to be a ranger I'm
00:25:03
gonna have to get back in there and
00:25:05
really soldier to get back there
00:25:09
like many of his fellow soldiers Justin
00:25:12
frequented area nightclubs on the
00:25:13
weekend in August of 1992 he met Yolanda
00:25:17
unto us a computer science student of
00:25:20
Santa Clara University there was a
00:25:27
rapport there and he asked me for my
00:25:29
phone number and I gave it to him and
00:25:31
then one weekend he showed him my door
00:25:34
pick me up we went to San Francisco and
00:25:36
that's where it started we spent a whole
00:25:37
day in San Francisco and we knew you
00:25:39
know I knew he's a great guy Yolanda
00:25:45
lived here in Santa Clara south of San
00:25:47
Francisco for dorg was 85 miles down the
00:25:51
coast near Monterey before long Justin
00:25:55
was visiting Yolanda at every
00:25:57
opportunity during the subsequent month
00:26:00
she began to see the first signs of
00:26:02
Justin's secretive life citing urgent
00:26:05
business he would interrupt his state or
00:26:07
shuttled back and forth between
00:26:08
Yolanda's apartment and Monterey all of
00:26:13
a sudden he would just stop what he's
00:26:15
doing with me in the afternoon and just
00:26:16
say I'm sorry but I have to go up to
00:26:18
Monterey and see some people but I'll be
00:26:20
right back and I'll I'll be just saying
00:26:22
just like that out of the blue and he
00:26:25
said just don't ask me well it's about
00:26:28
I'll just return and then sorry I kind
00:26:31
of bothered me because we would have a
00:26:32
good day and all sudden you leave and
00:26:34
then he started getting more vague I
00:26:36
can't tell you it's I really can't can
00:26:39
discuss this with you right now it's not
00:26:41
right for you to know and later on it
00:26:43
became more like it just won't be a good
00:26:45
thing for you to know it won't be you
00:26:47
know you just I'm doing something you
00:26:50
know kind of secret and I can't reveal
00:26:52
it to you in February of 1993
00:26:56
Justin was transferred from Fort Ord to
00:26:59
Fort Lewis near Tacoma Washington
00:27:00
it wasn't until May some 10 weeks later
00:27:03
the Justin made the trip south to spend
00:27:06
a two week furlough with Yolanda she
00:27:08
recalls a visit as a jumble of baffling
00:27:11
incidents and odd behavior
00:27:14
Justin always had a briefcase with him
00:27:17
but I didn't think much of it because of
00:27:21
briefcases of briefcases we can't make
00:27:23
much about a briefcase except he would
00:27:25
be very secretive about it he would
00:27:28
never open it in front of me that was
00:27:44
one time and I kind of angled myself
00:27:47
just to turn and look over my shoulder
00:27:48
to see what he was doing all he is doing
00:27:57
with that briefcase is taking pieces
00:27:59
paper in fact taking pieces of paper out
00:28:01
and shredding them with his hands just
00:28:04
tearing them into little tiny tiny
00:28:07
pieces I mean it to little squares this
00:28:10
small whatever Justin was involved in
00:28:14
seemed to be veering out of control
00:28:16
Yolanda says that one day she found
00:28:18
Justin alone in the living room sobbing
00:28:22
[Music]
00:28:28
nothing no yeah and fine just to never
00:28:33
clarify the incident and it was soon
00:28:35
eclipsed by a more mysterious episode it
00:28:41
happened on a night when Justin was out
00:28:43
with friends hello Justin no he's not
00:28:50
who's this okay what the missions off
00:29:03
[Music]
00:29:06
Justin came back I woke up because I
00:29:09
heard him and he looked completely pale
00:29:13
completely friends here yeah some guy
00:29:21
called and said that the missions off
00:29:31
what time did they call I think he was
00:29:35
around 9:30 who was it what'd they say
00:29:38
the name was they didn't give a name
00:29:40
they just said tell him at the missions
00:29:42
off and they just hung up Justin who are
00:29:50
they who are these people
00:29:51
Justin refused to discuss the call or
00:29:54
explain the message Yolanda was still in
00:29:57
the dark a few days later when Justin
00:29:59
packed his bags and headed back to Fort
00:30:01
Lewis during his first week back at the
00:30:06
base
00:30:07
Justin called his parents and sounded
00:30:09
perfectly normal and upbeat
00:30:13
however at around the same time for
00:30:16
reasons that remain obscure Justin
00:30:18
purchased two handguns and more than 100
00:30:21
rounds of ammunition Friday June 4th
00:30:27
1993 0 for 30 hours private Justin Berg
00:30:32
winkel failed a report for kitchen duty
00:30:34
at Fort Lewis the dining facility should
00:30:39
have reported him as being absent Friday
00:30:41
when he didn't show up because he was a
00:30:43
good soldier he'd never been in trouble
00:30:45
before that they kind of tried to
00:30:47
protect him and say well we'll we'll
00:30:49
find out where he is and deal with it
00:30:51
ourselves instead of turning him in
00:30:57
Monday morning but they realized that
00:30:59
they couldn't protect him any longer
00:31:00
because it had it been a long time and
00:31:01
they suspected that you know something
00:31:03
out of the ordinary was going on at
00:31:07
captain heinzelmann now this is the duty
00:31:09
sergeant the mess hall got an AWOL sir
00:31:12
it looks like for a man who had
00:31:13
apparently gone AWOL justin was not
00:31:15
making much of an effort to hide
00:31:17
[Music]
00:31:18
in fact he had been at Yolanda's since
00:31:21
late Friday night I don't know how he
00:31:34
could get more time off but I thought
00:31:37
well if he was able to that's really
00:31:39
great and I did want to see him Yolanda
00:31:42
soon learned that Justin was not exactly
00:31:44
on vacation she insisted that he called
00:31:47
his parents no I'm not AWOL I wouldn't
00:31:52
do anything like that
00:31:52
no I'm gonna call heintzman that's a
00:31:55
mistake I'm gonna figure that out I'm
00:31:56
working yes I'm working and Isis what
00:32:00
what do you mean you're working and he
00:32:02
just said I can't tell you anymore he
00:32:03
said but I'll straighten it up explain
00:32:06
it all later and I will okay I just
00:32:10
can't I'm doing something very important
00:32:12
right now all right you got to believe
00:32:14
me and I'll explain to you later I said
00:32:16
to him at least call captain heinzelman
00:32:18
you know at least call him and he said
00:32:22
that he would Justin did call into the
00:32:24
unit he did indicate that he was gonna
00:32:26
come back and that he had a couple more
00:32:29
things to do once he got them them taken
00:32:31
care of that he was going to come back
00:32:33
to the unit and report back in but
00:32:37
Justin did not report in instead II
00:32:40
remained at Yolanda's and continued his
00:32:42
mysterious trips to Monterrey don't make
00:32:50
me do this right now
00:32:51
no I have to go you know the movie white
00:33:02
sands watch that movie okay in a
00:33:07
conversation with his parents Justin had
00:33:10
made the same cryptic reference to the
00:33:12
film white sands released in 1992 the
00:33:15
movie plunges us viewers and his
00:33:17
briefcase toting hero into the duplicity
00:33:20
swirled of international arms smuggling
00:33:23
but it's about gun-running the FBI and
00:33:27
the CIA and this one's against this one
00:33:32
and you don't know who the good guy is
00:33:33
and you don't know who the bad guy is
00:33:35
then you know then I thought oh you why
00:33:37
are you working for the CIA you know it
00:33:40
was all too confusing but that's that's
00:33:43
the only clue if anything that he's ever
00:33:46
given me about it
00:33:50
Saturday June 12th Justin left Yolanda's
00:33:53
apartment at around 10 a.m.
00:33:55
once again headed for Monterrey but this
00:33:59
time Justin Berg winkle would not come
00:34:02
back next couple of months I was on the
00:34:09
phone with the army my senators you know
00:34:12
anyone I could think of to call to try
00:34:15
to get the army to do something I
00:34:17
couldn't get anybody to help me the
00:34:19
police wouldn't go to the girlfriend's
00:34:21
house I mean nobody would do anything
00:34:23
nobody ever looked for him ever
00:34:30
the windswept outskirts of Monterrey
00:34:32
yielded one final clue in this puzzling
00:34:34
case three months after justin vanished
00:34:38
his car was found in the parking lot of
00:34:40
an isolated beachfront motel the Burg
00:34:43
winkles flew in from massachusetts to
00:34:45
investigate they learned that their
00:34:49
son's name did not appear in the motel
00:34:51
register although the car had been in
00:34:53
the parking lot for nearly three months
00:34:55
the manager assumed that had been left
00:34:57
by a guest for later pick up just as
00:35:02
handguns were nowhere to be found
00:35:04
but his briefcase had been stashed in
00:35:06
the trunk curiously his car keys were
00:35:09
locked inside along with his wallet
00:35:11
credit cards and military ID he knew
00:35:16
something was drastically wrong and you
00:35:18
know like more or less that he had
00:35:20
placed everything just the way he wanted
00:35:22
it found that's the way I look at it
00:35:26
tucked in Justin's wallet was a
00:35:29
standard-issue military dog tag when
00:35:32
Yolanda learned of that discovery she
00:35:34
recalled a chilling conversation we were
00:35:38
driving down one time in his car and
00:35:41
Justin had his dog tags and he said do
00:35:43
you know what they're for I kind of had
00:35:46
an idea but I suggested no no where are
00:35:48
they for and he says well when a soldier
00:35:50
dies they put in his teeth so you can
00:35:53
identify him I said okay he says well if
00:35:56
you ever see these you know mine round
00:36:01
you know that means I'm dead
00:36:05
is Justin Berg Winkle dead swallowed up
00:36:08
by a murky secret length or did he
00:36:11
simply run away and cover his
00:36:13
disappearance with an elaborate fantasy
00:36:14
plucked from a Hollywood movie I really
00:36:20
don't think it's possible but he ran
00:36:21
away to three things he loves he loved
00:36:23
his mother he loved his girlfriend
00:36:24
deeply and he loved his carrot and in
00:36:27
that day he just will tow everything
00:36:28
away is everything's gone I just can't
00:36:31
believe anybody could do that without
00:36:32
any trace of anything Justin now was not
00:36:37
the type of person that would go AWOL
00:36:39
very reliable dependable you could
00:36:42
always count on him to get the job done
00:36:43
so him going AWOL surprised everybody
00:36:46
that I knew it just it just didn't
00:36:48
happen with him I like to believe he's
00:36:50
still alive I don't like to think he's
00:36:53
dead but if he was I wish I could find
00:36:56
out and then I could at least bury him
00:36:57
and put it to rest because the not
00:37:01
knowing that's about the worst thing
00:37:04
that I can imagine is not knowing what
00:37:07
happened to him in a moment murder
00:37:14
invades a small town but an unknown
00:37:16
hitchhiker turns violent
00:37:18
[Music]
00:37:26
it was around midnight June 22nd 1991 in
00:37:30
Harrington Delaware black a factory
00:37:34
worker named Charles Holden stopped by a
00:37:36
fast-food restaurant
00:37:37
at the end of his shift it was a typical
00:37:41
night for Charles until he left the
00:37:44
restaurant I went in got my hamburger
00:37:50
you know wrong way across a lot and got
00:37:54
him a truck started my truck and as a
00:37:58
receipt to get ready to back up I
00:38:00
noticed a man right that my passion or
00:38:04
window late day but I'm a big time fine
00:38:12
man my sister she's had a baby she's up
00:38:14
in Georgetown I got to get there I live
00:38:18
very close by
00:38:19
in the end Charles relented Harrington
00:38:22
was a small town mostly friendly Charles
00:38:25
assumed he had nothing to worry about
00:38:31
three miles down highway 14 Charles
00:38:34
reached the intersection where he
00:38:35
normally turned to go home
00:38:39
[Music]
00:38:41
yeah I pulled off the off to the side
00:38:43
and I saw this as far as far as we go
00:38:46
right here this is where you have to get
00:38:48
off hey man I've got to get down the
00:38:51
road ain't getting out of this truck I
00:38:53
can't go any further
00:38:55
all right oh they could just go a few
00:38:56
miles you know listen I got a problem
00:38:59
and I ain't getting out of this truck
00:39:06
without warning the strings are attached
00:39:09
Charles grab his keys and jump from the
00:39:12
truck he come at me with a calm down all
00:39:35
right play with you I want that truck
00:39:36
will go well take you over huh Charles
00:39:42
knew we had to act fast as he and the
00:39:45
assailant headed back to the truck
00:39:46
Charles made his move
00:39:59
[Music]
00:40:02
Charles sped off in the opposite
00:40:04
direction of his humps so the man could
00:40:06
not follow him home
00:40:07
[Music]
00:40:10
down the road Louise talked around him
00:40:14
noting the word insight went down the
00:40:16
other way I talked around he said about
00:40:19
no word sight so I finished down rude
00:40:22
and when I come back to my driveway he
00:40:24
was at my trailer somehow by some
00:40:27
disturbing coincidence the stranger had
00:40:29
found his way to Charles's trailer now
00:40:32
Charles had an additional concern his
00:40:35
trailer was adjacent to a small
00:40:36
farmhouse where a 70 year old mother
00:40:38
lived
00:40:39
Charles rushed to a pay phone and called
00:40:41
the police
00:40:46
are you doing I'm trooper Williams at
00:40:48
the Delaware State Police are you mr.
00:40:49
Halden yes mr. Holden just explained to
00:40:52
me that he had been home by his
00:40:54
residence and saw this black male there
00:40:56
and that he needed somebody to go back
00:40:59
with him because his person was hanging
00:41:01
around his mom's residence and his
00:41:03
residence once we got there we checked
00:41:08
to see if the doors were locked and
00:41:09
everything and both the back and front
00:41:10
door of his trailer unlocked it looks
00:41:14
like your house is secure here all right
00:41:18
could you come take a look at Bob's
00:41:20
house and we walked across the grass
00:41:22
because their property is adjacent to
00:41:25
each other we walked across the grass
00:41:27
and around to the back door of the
00:41:29
residence and that's when the two of us
00:41:31
discovered that the back window to the
00:41:33
back door was broken
00:41:35
[Music]
00:41:45
Paul I thought something wrong when I
00:41:49
the first holler because mom she was a
00:41:52
table model that she would she would be
00:41:55
awake until I got in at night they
00:41:59
should go sleep
00:42:05
[Music]
00:42:09
in an upstairs bedroom Charles Holden
00:42:11
found the body of his mother Dorothy
00:42:13
Donovan Dorothy had been stabbed
00:42:16
repeatedly in the chest arms and face
00:42:22
the police found nothing missing from
00:42:25
Dorothy's house and ruled out robbery as
00:42:27
a motive but investigators feared
00:42:30
Charles's story their first instinct was
00:42:32
that he had concocted an elaborate alibi
00:42:35
I'm scared okay Charles you're gonna
00:42:39
need come down the trip with us we're
00:42:41
gonna have to talk about this little
00:42:42
brother okay
00:42:45
just the mere coincidence of what he
00:42:49
said happened is difficult for the
00:42:51
investigators to believe that he picks
00:42:53
this guy up takes him a couple miles
00:42:56
drops him off and next thing you know
00:42:58
he's at his mom's house never having met
00:42:59
this lady or Charles before killing this
00:43:02
killing Dorothy Donovan it just was very
00:43:05
hard to believe and it wasn't until we
00:43:07
were able to go back and interview the
00:43:09
people at the past food restaurant were
00:43:12
we able to you know see that yes his
00:43:14
blackmail did exist also later that day
00:43:20
we were able to obtain certain physical
00:43:22
evidence at the scene that being a
00:43:24
bloody palm print and we also have found
00:43:28
two sources of DNA inside the residence
00:43:31
neither of this specific physical
00:43:33
evidence comes back to Charles Holden so
00:43:35
therefore because of these things we
00:43:37
were able to eliminate Charles as a
00:43:38
suspect the whole story seems like a big
00:43:43
nightmare to me you know it's just like
00:43:45
it's in kind of dreamy don't don't don't
00:43:48
think it really had really happened
00:43:50
you think you could jog over to almost
00:43:52
house she beat her you know but I know
00:43:54
it's not gonna be happy
00:43:58
she meant the world on me she called me
00:44:01
every morning and never even take a
00:44:04
night to us does Bryn ever had
00:44:08
I missed that dearly if she had been
00:44:13
killed in a automobile wreck or had a
00:44:17
medical problem I could accept that and
00:44:20
I don't think anybody has a right to
00:44:22
kill someone and to take their life away
00:44:26
like that
00:44:28
[Music]
00:44:44
[Music]
00:44:55
join me next Friday for another edition
00:44:58
bunsall mysteries
00:45:00
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 60
    Most shocking

Episode Highlights

  • The Ouija Board's Mystique
    Exploring the Ouija board's history and its role in connecting with spirits.
    “The Ouija board is still a best-seller, handing out answers that push scientific limits.”
    @ 03m 14s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Case of Patience Worth
    Pearl Curran channels a spirit, producing remarkable literary works.
    “Patience Worth reportedly spoke through the board from beyond the grave.”
    @ 05m 13s
    May 23, 2019
  • Justin Berg Lincoln's Mysterious Disappearance
    The puzzling case of an army specialist who vanished without a trace.
    “I don’t know if he was kidnapped, murdered, or ran away.”
    @ 23m 28s
    May 23, 2019
  • The Mysterious Disappearance of Justin Bergwinkle
    Justin's life spirals into secrecy and confusion before he vanishes without a trace.
    “Justin was involved in something that seemed to be veering out of control.”
    @ 28m 14s
    May 23, 2019
  • A Chilling Discovery
    Three months after Justin's disappearance, his car is found at a motel with eerie clues.
    “He knew something was drastically wrong.”
    @ 35m 16s
    May 23, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • Perhaps you hold the key.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 19 - Full Episode
  • I just don’t see how science can so readily explain this phenomenon away.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 19 - Full Episode
  • I don’t know if he ran away from the Army.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 19 - Full Episode
  • I just can’t believe anybody could do that without any trace.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 19 - Full Episode
  • The not knowing that’s about the worst thing that I can imagine.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 19 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Unsolved Mysteries00:03
  • Ouija Board Phenomenon00:19
  • Patience Worth05:40
  • Justin's Disappearance22:35
  • Secretive Behavior27:28
  • Sobbing Alone28:16
  • Final Clue34:30
  • Tragic Discovery42:11

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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