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[Music]
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Next on Unsolved Mysteries,
00:00:08
an isolated factory in New Hampshire. A
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lone security guard. His car
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mysteriously burns up and he vanishes
00:00:17
without a trace.
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A 15-year-old cheerleader is abducted.
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She escapes and runs for her life in a
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deserted cemetery.
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Rosemary Altea claims she has a rare
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ability to communicate with the dead,
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but can't she?
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And one soldier saves another soldier's
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life. Then they're separated by war. Now
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he wants to find them to say thank you.
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Join me for these intriguing stories,
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plus updates on cases that were solved
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by you. I'm Dennis Fina and this is
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Unsolved Mysteries.
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[Music]
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[Music]
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Madison County, Ohio.
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A teenager runs for her life trying to
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escape her asalance. She scrambles over
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a fence into a cemetery.
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A few hours earlier, she had been
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abducted and raped.
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Her clothes had been torn off, but
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somehow she'd broken free, only to end
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up hiding behind tombstones.
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[Music]
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She tries to get out of the graveyard,
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but in the pitch black, she smashes into
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a fence post.
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The men catch up with her. They strike
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her in the face with a blunt object
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and leave her to die.
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Her name was Jessica Lynn Keane and she
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was only 15 years old.
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Investigators were able to pinpoint her
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final moments based on clues found at
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the crime scene. There was mud on the
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fence,
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a sock that belonged to her,
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and an impression of her knee in the
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ground.
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But the police didn't have a clue why
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anyone wanted to kill her.
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The savage murderer of Jessica Lynn
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Keane has baffled detectives for years.
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Jessica was a popular cheerleader, an
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honor student, and a talented performer.
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Who could possibly want this young,
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talented girl dead?
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Jessica idealistically would have loved
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to been a singer, an actress. I guess
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realistically, Jessica was loved animals
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and going wanting to go to college to be
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a zoologologist.
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She was always laughing, always smiling,
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always singing, always fun to be around.
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Hey Susie. Hey Jen.
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How you two doing?
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In high school, Jessica began to have
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her ups and downs. It had to do with
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being a teenager and with meeting her
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first love, 18-year-old Sha Thompson.
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Hey, Sean.
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But Jessica's romance began to distract
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her from school work.
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I would forbid her to see Shawn and
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said, "You can't see him until your
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grades come up." As far as her going to
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college, she knew she'd have to keep a
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good grade average in order to get a
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scholarship and uh her grades started
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dropping and she had skipped school a
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couple times to be with Shawn.
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Jessica wanted to get away from her mom.
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She thought about running away.
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I don't know what to do.
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But she didn't actually know where to go
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and she didn't want to be a runaway. And
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of course, she's threatening, you know,
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I don't want to live with you anymore.
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But I I knew I had to do something.
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Here we are.
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Arguments between Jessica and her mother
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escalated. They both knew they needed a
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cooling off period. They decided Jessica
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should spend two weeks at a local
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live-in counseling center for teenagers.
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Okay, I've got some questions I want to
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ask.
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Hi, Sean. What are you up to?
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The day before she was to move back home
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and just hours before she died, Jessica
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spoke to Shawn.
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Jessica and Shawn ended up getting into
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an argument that day uh on the telephone
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at which point they broke up.
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Numerous people witnessed this telephone
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call and said that Jessica was very
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visibly upset.
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After that telephone call, Jessica told
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a friend that she was going shopping.
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She was last seen at a bus stop near the
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counseling center. It was there that
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authorities suspect that Jessica was
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abducted.
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Yeah.
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Come on, hop in. We'll give you a ride.
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No, it's okay. Um,
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there is a chance that maybe it was
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somebody who Jessica
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kind of knew, maybe wasn't really good
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friends with, but familiar enough with
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them to trust them enough to get into
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the car, not knowing what would
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ultimately happen.
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Thanks, guys.
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Jessica's body was found 42 hours later.
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Investigators believe that after Jessica
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was abducted, she was held captive for
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at least 6 hours.
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Based on a seaman sample, they believe
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she was raped between 2 and 4 hours
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before her escape from the car.
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This is the road here that uh Jessica
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ran down after she was able to get out
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of the vehicle.
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I don't think she had any idea at the
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time that she was actually climbing into
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a cemetery to hide, but that was at that
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point that was her only uh means for
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getting away from whoever was chasing
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her.
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This is the area where they the crime
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scene investigators found one of
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Jessica's socks. She obviously lost it
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while she was running.
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The sock that was found matched one that
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remained on Jessica's foot.
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We do know that she hid behind this
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headstone. That was based on the crime
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scene investigators found her knee print
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in the soft ground behind the headstone.
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Dear Lord, please help me.
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We are uh pretty certain that Jessica
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saw the light on from the farmhouse and
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that's what she turned to run for when
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she collided with the fence post in the
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back of the cemetery.
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because it's so dark out here at night,
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she uh was not able to see the fence
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back here and collided with this fence
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post. Once she collided with the fence
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post, she knocked herself down and at
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that point, her asalants were able to
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catch up with her. This is the spot
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where she was ultimately killed.
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I've never been so passionate about
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anything that I've ever worked on in my
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life. The thought of this young girl, 15
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years old, who had such a bright future,
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uh, being murdered in such a horrible,
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horrible fashion, uh, you cannot help
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but want to do everything humanly
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possible to find out, uh, who did this.
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Sheriffs in Madison County turned their
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attention to Jessica's boyfriend, but
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Shawn Thompson wasn't in Columbus. He
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had left for Florida with some friends.
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They were ultimately returned to Ohio.
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Uh Shawn was questioned. Uh the friends
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that had gone with him were also
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questioned and through the questioning,
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examination of physical evidence. We all
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but eliminated the boyfriend and the
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friends.
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There was no match between DNA evidence
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and Shawn or his friends. For
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investigators, an entire week had been
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lost. The trail of the actual killer or
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killers had gone cold.
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what they they did to her. Um the fear
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that Jessica felt, she would do anything
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to get away.
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I I can feel her heartbeat running
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through the cemetery. I could feel the
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deep breathing she was probably doing
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when she knelt behind the tombstone.
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I could hear her praying. I realized
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that that was the worst thing that I
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believe anyone could go through.
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[Music]
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update.
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DNA from the crime scene had been
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entered into COTUS, a national DNA
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database.
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17 years to the day, after Jessica Keane
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was murdered, detectives on the case
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learned that a DNA match had been found.
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The suspect was an ex-con named Marvin
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Lee Smith Jr. He lived in the area at
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the time that Jessica was killed. Smith
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had served time for rape in an unrelated
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case.
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[Applause]
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In a moment, the story of a remarkable
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and rare escape from San Quentin prison
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done in broad daylight.
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[Music]
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Located on San Francisco Bay, San
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Quentin truly lives up to its
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classification, a maximum security
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prison. Although few have ever escaped
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its walls, one inmate, Mark Adams,
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apparently beat the odds. Adams was
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behind bars for a coldblooded killing.
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On the evening of the murder, three high
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school students entered a municipal
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baseball park located in the quiet
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community of Modesto, California.
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More of a study.
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They gathered in a dugout to drink some
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beers and chat about school and their
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friends.
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[Music]
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Then three figures appeared out of the
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darkness.
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He's taking the guy.
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In recent weeks, there had been other
00:11:01
robberies by these ski masked bandits.
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So far, nobody had been injured.
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Give me your wallets.
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Why don't you guys just leave us alone?
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Whoa, whoa, whoa.
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One boy was dead, another wounded.
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An automobile spotted at the scene led
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to the arrest of the three robbers.
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[Music]
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The trigger man, 16-year-old Mark Adams,
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was tried and convicted. His sentence 25
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years to life.
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San Quentin is a fortress.
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Gunposts surround a three-foot thick
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prison walls.
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Walls that are lined with razor sharp
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barbed wire.
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Over 3,000 hardened criminals, most of
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them repeat offenders, call San Quentin
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home.
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[Music]
00:12:12
When Adams entered San Quentin, he was
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only 19 years old. He began his sentence
00:12:17
under close scrutiny, but after 6
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months, restrictions were relaxed. His
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privileges included a job as a clerk and
00:12:26
working with computers.
00:12:28
Mark Adams was essentially a model
00:12:31
prisoner. He worked uh very well with
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people. He obeyed the rules and he would
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seize any opportunity he could to stay
00:12:39
out of his cell. When we had special
00:12:41
projects where he'd have to work some
00:12:42
overtime, he was only too happy to
00:12:44
assist.
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I'm sure that Mark Adams took advantage
00:12:49
of his position. He probably checked
00:12:51
schedules. He probably checked timing.
00:12:54
He wanted to leave no margin for error.
00:12:57
4 years to the day after he was put
00:13:00
behind bars, Adams obtained an
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authorized pass, allowing him to leave
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work early.
00:13:05
Where you going? Um, one of the dentist
00:13:08
office.
00:13:09
Okay. I'll see you tomorrow.
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He left his job and walked to the
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security checkpoint where he showed his
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pass.
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He was seen heading to the dentist's
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office.
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Then he was gone.
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[Music]
00:13:35
At 4:15 p.m., the inmates returned to
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their cells for the afternoon headcount.
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[Music]
00:13:44
The 415 county when there's no hitches
00:13:47
will take approximately 45 minutes to
00:13:49
clear. Inmate,
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let me see some skin.
00:13:53
If something is wrong with account, if
00:13:56
there's one person that cannot be
00:13:58
accounted for, most often there's a
00:14:01
simple explanation for that miscount.
00:14:04
You can't find any error. Then you go
00:14:06
cell by cell, bed by bed with an officer
00:14:09
and a picture of those people assigned
00:14:11
to those cell blocks and that particular
00:14:14
cell.
00:14:15
When good 212 negative showing Adams in
00:14:21
here
00:14:27
at approximately 4:45, Adams was
00:14:30
confirmed missing. Immediately, San
00:14:33
Quentin locked down. All access was
00:14:36
sealed tight. Every prisoner was
00:14:38
confined to his cell. Their few
00:14:40
privileges revoked.
00:14:44
An intensive search by correctional
00:14:46
officers turned up nothing.
00:14:50
No trace of Adams, no escape route.
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[Music]
00:15:00
Authorities have three theories for how
00:15:03
Adams escaped.
00:15:05
The first is that Adams put on civilian
00:15:07
clothes and walked out with regular
00:15:09
visitors who passed through three armed
00:15:12
gates.
00:15:14
But to do that, Adams would have to show
00:15:17
a photo ID at the first two gates.
00:15:26
[Music]
00:15:30
A second theory is that Adam simply went
00:15:32
over the 25 ft prison wall.
00:15:35
When an inmate has to make that move
00:15:37
from a blind spot over the wall, he has
00:15:40
to go from an area of concealment to one
00:15:43
of visibility.
00:15:45
It can happen in a matter of seconds.
00:15:48
But in those few moments that it took to
00:15:50
hit the wall and scale it, the officer
00:15:53
is looking in another direction, an
00:15:54
escape is perpetrated.
00:15:57
It's rare that anyone successfully
00:15:59
scales San Quentin's walls. Adam's
00:16:02
chances were slim. Shortly after Adams
00:16:05
escaped, three other inmates attempted
00:16:07
to get over the wall. All three were
00:16:09
immediately captured.
00:16:13
[Music]
00:16:16
We considered also in our investigation
00:16:19
of the possible ways of escape is could
00:16:22
he have gained access to a vehicle?
00:16:25
It's possible that Mark Adams could have
00:16:27
studied vehicles which do pass in front
00:16:31
of his area of assignment.
00:16:35
The third theory, every day
00:16:37
approximately 225 service vehicles enter
00:16:41
and exit the prison. Each must pass
00:16:44
through a guarded inspection area for a
00:16:46
thorough search. There is a remote
00:16:49
chance Adams could have found a place to
00:16:51
hide that took him straight to freedom.
00:16:57
[Music]
00:17:00
If there were a mistake in the security
00:17:03
system, Adams would have been the type
00:17:05
to look for it. He would have been the
00:17:07
type to find it and he would have made
00:17:10
plans to exploit it. And as a result,
00:17:13
that's precisely what he did.
00:17:17
Update. 7 years after he escaped, Mark
00:17:21
Adams was captured in Puerto Rico. He
00:17:24
was returned to San Quentin to complete
00:17:26
his original sentence and to face
00:17:28
charges for the escape. A year later,
00:17:32
Adams assaulted a fellow inmate. He was
00:17:34
shot and killed by a prison guard.
00:17:38
No one has ever found out how Adams
00:17:41
escaped.
00:17:45
Coming up, is it possible that this
00:17:47
woman can't communicate with the dead?
00:17:50
Or is it just the wishful thinking on
00:17:52
the part of grieving families?
00:17:59
[Music]
00:18:03
Rosemary Altea claims that she can
00:18:06
communicate with the dead. She says that
00:18:09
she can help families reconnect with
00:18:12
their deceased loved ones.
00:18:15
Good night, Rosemary. Have a good
00:18:17
night's sleep. All right. Any other
00:18:19
Rosemary first became aware of her rare
00:18:21
gift as a little girl in England.
00:18:26
Rosemary
00:18:28
Rosemary,
00:18:32
Mary.
00:18:32
You would call them ghosts, but as a
00:18:34
child, I just knew them as faces and
00:18:36
voices, which voices would be whispering
00:18:38
and whispering at me. I would never
00:18:40
quite hear what they would say.
00:18:41
Sometimes they would call my name. It
00:18:43
would be very eerie, very ghostly.
00:18:46
And it was very, very scary. I was a
00:18:50
terrified child.
00:18:51
Mommy. Mommy.
00:18:54
If I cried out in the night because I
00:18:57
was scared, my parents would basically
00:19:00
yell at me and I I just was seen to be a
00:19:04
a bad child.
00:19:05
Pull yourself towards yourself. You
00:19:06
don't want to end up like your
00:19:07
grandmother, do you?
00:19:08
Rosemary's family had a history of
00:19:11
mental illness. Her grandmother had
00:19:13
spent her last days confined to a mental
00:19:15
hospital.
00:19:17
You know, as children do, I learned very
00:19:20
quickly, very fast to keep my what was
00:19:22
happening, my thoughts, my feelings, and
00:19:24
my fears to myself.
00:19:27
And I grew up that way, never daring to
00:19:29
tell anyone because my greatest fear was
00:19:33
that they would come and put me in a
00:19:34
straight jacket.
00:19:37
Rosemary kept her secret for more than
00:19:39
20 years. Then she met a man who changed
00:19:43
her life. He told her that she wasn't
00:19:45
crazy. she was psychic.
00:19:49
He introduced Rosemary to other psychics
00:19:52
and they began helping her unleash the
00:19:55
power within.
00:19:56
And as we do, we start to breathe
00:19:58
deeply.
00:19:59
Rosemary soon realized that her powers
00:20:01
were nothing to fear.
00:20:02
A man's faith.
00:20:03
In fact, she could use them to help
00:20:06
others. The
00:20:06
most extraordinary eyes. Suddenly,
00:20:09
everything made sense. Imagine that you
00:20:11
are walking in a dark tunnel with no
00:20:13
light for all of your life. and suddenly
00:20:15
you discover the sunshine.
00:20:18
Rosemary decided to dedicate her life to
00:20:21
working with those who had lost loved
00:20:23
ones. Eventually, she published a book
00:20:26
about her experiences,
00:20:28
The Eagle and the Rose. It became a
00:20:31
bestseller.
00:20:32
Would you sign her copy?
00:20:33
It was at a book signing in New Jersey
00:20:36
that Rosemary met Tony and Marie.
00:20:39
Oh, you lost a little girl
00:20:42
to cancer.
00:20:44
At that point, we all fell off because
00:20:47
we couldn't believe that this woman, who
00:20:48
we had no idea who she was, knew this.
00:20:51
Now, just take a seat right here. Sure.
00:20:54
Two years earlier, Tony and Marie's 3
00:20:56
and 1/2year-old daughter, Michelle, died
00:20:58
of leukemia.
00:20:59
See two children.
00:21:00
When the book signing was over, Rosemary
00:21:02
tried to make contact with Michelle's
00:21:05
spirit.
00:21:06
She's really happy that you saved
00:21:08
a a card. There's a special card that
00:21:11
you saved in a drawer for her.
00:21:14
and the picture that she made um that
00:21:16
you have hidden in a box in the closet.
00:21:18
She's very pleased you kept those
00:21:20
things.
00:21:20
For Tony and Marie, the message made
00:21:23
complete sense. One of Michelle's
00:21:25
favorite play things had been a
00:21:27
Valentine card Tony had given Marie.
00:21:30
Oh goodness, that card. The magical love
00:21:33
card. Huh.
00:21:35
Beautiful.
00:21:36
Later, when Michelle was in the
00:21:38
hospital, a therapist helped her make a
00:21:40
flower picture for her parents. It's a
00:21:43
work of art they still treasure.
00:21:46
My wife, my daughter, and me are the
00:21:48
only three that knew about the card and
00:21:50
a card in the closet that we kept. And I
00:21:54
at that point in time, I was absolutely
00:21:55
convinced that this woman has an ability
00:21:58
to speak to people on the other side.
00:22:00
She's she's quite adamant about her
00:22:03
hands are
00:22:03
As we left the bookstore, the biggest
00:22:05
amazement was trying to get over the
00:22:07
shock of everything that just happened
00:22:08
that night. I mean, I couldn't believe
00:22:10
what happened. And upon us discussing it
00:22:14
and talking about it, uh, I had a
00:22:18
feeling of so much joy and so much peace
00:22:21
that I can't even describe.
00:22:23
I'm so pleased to be with all of you.
00:22:25
Tony and Marie invited Rosemary to their
00:22:28
support group, hoping that she could
00:22:30
contact the loved ones of other members.
00:22:33
Initially, some were skeptical. awesome
00:22:35
messages for you.
00:22:36
The ability to be able to be in touch
00:22:38
with spirits was very spooky to me and
00:22:41
and I was somewhat taken aback by
00:22:44
someone saying they had the ability to
00:22:46
do that.
00:22:46
And he's with you all the time. Is that
00:22:48
your son?
00:22:49
Yes.
00:22:50
And as she progressed around the room,
00:22:52
she was
00:22:54
identifying several people and their
00:22:57
associated child and what the child died
00:22:59
from.
00:23:00
But the older one, she's older than any
00:23:02
of the other children. and she was
00:23:03
telling the right stories about the
00:23:04
right people. And when she got to me and
00:23:07
my wife, we were sitting there and she
00:23:09
was saying, she looked at us and she
00:23:11
said, "Your child died of a brain
00:23:12
tumor."
00:23:14
Rosemary was right. 20-year-old
00:23:16
Stephanie Bozac had died of a brain
00:23:19
tumor.
00:23:20
She really is happy about the trophy.
00:23:23
She's very pleased about the trophy.
00:23:25
I won a golf trophy at the country club
00:23:27
two nights ago.
00:23:28
Nobody knew about that. I was absolutely
00:23:31
flabbergasted and I felt like I was
00:23:34
really connecting with Stephanie. She
00:23:36
was there in the room with us that night
00:23:38
and and that uh
00:23:41
pushed me over the edge. That gave me
00:23:42
the the belief that Rosemary was doing
00:23:44
something that uh was real.
00:23:47
She's looking at me very seriously.
00:23:51
I just have a job to do.
00:23:53
Satisfied
00:23:53
just like everyone else.
00:23:56
My job just has to just happens to be a
00:23:59
little bit more extraordinary.
00:24:02
To this day, Rosemary's powers remain
00:24:05
controversial.
00:24:06
Skeptics say that those who believe are
00:24:08
just indulging in wishful thinking.
00:24:11
Nevertheless, Rosemary continues to work
00:24:14
with grieving families with the hope of
00:24:17
bringing them comfort.
00:24:19
Standing.
00:24:23
Coming up, an unexplained fire, shadowy
00:24:26
strangers, and a slowly moving car. Are
00:24:30
they connected to the disappearance of a
00:24:32
factory security guard,
00:24:37
[Music]
00:24:44
Seabbrook, New Hampshire,
00:24:48
Curtis Pashan is working the graveyard
00:24:50
shift when his car suddenly bursts into
00:24:53
flames.
00:24:55
Little 911, report a car fire.
00:25:01
Firefighters quickly arrived to
00:25:02
extinguish the blaze.
00:25:05
You all right?
00:25:07
Yeah. You know, I'm okay.
00:25:09
Curtis, a former police officer, tells
00:25:12
the fire department that he has no idea
00:25:15
how the blaze began.
00:25:17
The firefighters notice he seems oddly
00:25:20
relaxed.
00:25:22
Then, just hours later, Curtis abruptly
00:25:25
disappears without a trace.
00:25:28
The whole disappearance is confusing. Uh
00:25:31
the car fire is confusing because even
00:25:36
without the car fire, there's no clues
00:25:38
here.
00:25:39
This is a worst nightmare for any
00:25:42
investigator because there's not that
00:25:46
tangible lead and an entire family that
00:25:49
wants answers and deserves answers and
00:25:52
hasn't been able to get them.
00:25:55
There was no evidence of foul play or
00:25:57
abduction. Did Curtis purposely destroy
00:26:00
his car as part of a disappearing act?
00:26:03
But without a car, how did he leave the
00:26:06
scene? And if he did commit suicide,
00:26:09
where was his body?
00:26:12
Curtis Bashan loved being a police
00:26:14
officer.
00:26:16
Then he was stricken with multiple
00:26:18
sclerosis, a painful muscular disorder
00:26:21
that limited his mobility. He had no
00:26:24
choice but to turn in his badge.
00:26:28
I'd never seen Curtis so devastated in
00:26:30
my life. His personality changed. He
00:26:34
became sort of quieter. And I don't
00:26:37
think even up to the time of his
00:26:38
disappearance, he really knew what he
00:26:40
was going to do the rest of his life.
00:26:44
Hey Curtis, how you doing?
00:26:45
Hey, how are you?
00:26:47
Curtis became depressed and withdrawn.
00:26:50
But when he got a job as a factory
00:26:52
security guard, his self-esteem appeared
00:26:56
to slowly return.
00:26:57
[Music]
00:27:01
At 12:00 a.m. on the night that he
00:27:03
vanished, everything seemed normal.
00:27:05
Busy.
00:27:06
Uh, no, sir. Quiet as a mouse.
00:27:11
Then firefighters in Seabbrook responded
00:27:14
to Curtis's call for help.
00:27:17
He pretty much said that he saw a bunch
00:27:20
of smoke and some flame and he then he
00:27:23
went to find a fire extinguisher and
00:27:24
then went to put the fire out.
00:27:28
One fire extinguisher is not going to
00:27:30
have much effect. We did notice that he
00:27:33
did try to put out the fire, but I don't
00:27:35
have any idea or gut feeling how the
00:27:38
fire started or or why the the case
00:27:41
ended up the way it did.
00:27:44
When the firefighters arrived on scene,
00:27:46
they had conversation with him and they
00:27:48
found him to be
00:27:51
totally accepting almost. It was he was
00:27:54
not in the least upset.
00:27:57
Curtis's calm behavior was puzzling
00:28:00
because his car was filled with many of
00:28:02
his possessions. He had the odd habit of
00:28:05
using it to store what he treasured
00:28:07
most.
00:28:09
I would think that if uh he had seen his
00:28:12
car on fire with his belongings in it
00:28:15
that he would have been very upset. I
00:28:18
would think he would have been almost in
00:28:19
tears and shame. And I can't believe he
00:28:23
was quiet, timid.
00:28:28
After the fire was extinguished, the
00:28:30
factory security supervisor checked on
00:28:32
Curtis.
00:28:33
Are you all right?
00:28:36
Yeah.
00:28:37
You're okay? Yeah.
00:28:39
He left Curtis at 3:25 a.m.
00:28:45
But 20 minutes later, a factory worker
00:28:48
noticed that Curtis was missing.
00:28:54
An exhaustive search of the factory and
00:28:56
the surrounding area turned up nothing.
00:29:00
Our very first thoughts about what
00:29:02
happened to Kurt was that he could have
00:29:04
uh taken his own life. He could have
00:29:07
wandered off or he could have been
00:29:10
abducted. One thing that we thought of
00:29:13
in terms of trying to flush out the
00:29:14
suicide scenario was the fact that he
00:29:16
had purchased this pistol just I guess a
00:29:19
few days prior to his disappearance.
00:29:24
Curtis had bought the gun from his
00:29:25
father, Nicholas.
00:29:27
Suicide was a possibility with somebody
00:29:29
in Curtis's condition with MS. He had
00:29:31
lost the job that he wanted all his
00:29:34
life, but his mood on the weekend that
00:29:36
he did pick up the gun and everything
00:29:38
seemed to be more happy, more pleased
00:29:39
with himself.
00:29:41
I'm doing good, Dan.
00:29:44
At first, Curtis's gun could not be
00:29:46
found.
00:29:48
Suicide seemed like a likely theory.
00:29:51
I think I found what we were looking
00:29:52
for.
00:29:53
Once I discovered the weapon, I think
00:29:55
that we eliminated the likelihood that
00:29:58
Kurt had taken his own life. Now, we had
00:30:00
narrowed it down to one of two things.
00:30:02
One, that Kurt broke down uh mentally
00:30:05
and had wandered off. And then the other
00:30:08
one was, of course, a much darker
00:30:10
scenario where Kurt was abducted and
00:30:12
probably murdered.
00:30:15
Investigators next focused on the
00:30:17
possibility that Curtis had a mental
00:30:20
breakdown. He could have accidentally
00:30:22
started the fire
00:30:26
and then became so upset over losing all
00:30:28
his possessions that he simply walked
00:30:31
away.
00:30:32
There is absolutely no way that Curtis
00:30:35
would have or even could have wandered
00:30:37
off by himself under these
00:30:40
circumstances. Curtis was a smoker.
00:30:42
Smokers don't leave cigarettes. You
00:30:44
know, you don't go anywhere without your
00:30:46
cigarettes. Doesn't happen.
00:30:49
He had deteriorated enough that he
00:30:52
probably physically couldn't probably
00:30:53
walk two miles, let alone
00:30:56
want to do it. There are histories of
00:31:00
individuals who we do not anticipate can
00:31:03
travel any extended distance, who in
00:31:05
fact are located several miles away from
00:31:09
their original starting point. I would
00:31:12
tend to doubt it, but it is possible.
00:31:17
It was also possible that Curtis called
00:31:19
for a taxi or hitched the ride on a
00:31:21
truck leaving the factory, but no cabs
00:31:24
or company trucks left the plant during
00:31:26
Curtis's shift.
00:31:29
One disturbing possibility remained that
00:31:32
Curtis was abducted and murdered. I
00:31:35
think Curtis went to work like he always
00:31:37
did that night. And I think that he
00:31:41
probably saw something that he shouldn't
00:31:43
have and he probably carried out his
00:31:46
true duty of getting ready to report it
00:31:48
or call it in and he was attacked
00:31:52
and he couldn't defend himself.
00:31:56
Investigators found that a door and two
00:31:58
vending machines had been damaged during
00:32:00
Curtis's shift, but no one knows who
00:32:03
caused the damage.
00:32:06
With regard to criminal activity that
00:32:08
Curtis may have encountered,
00:32:10
anything is possible. One individual
00:32:14
that we spoke with took note about 3:30
00:32:18
of two vehicles departing the premises.
00:32:22
My best guess is that somebody abducted
00:32:24
him and did him in and disposed of the
00:32:26
body in such a way that hasn't shown up
00:32:28
yet.
00:32:30
I don't have much hope that Curtis is
00:32:32
alive. I think if he was alive, he would
00:32:34
have reached out already and he never
00:32:36
would have put us through this. It'd be
00:32:38
very difficult if he had been killed in
00:32:40
a plane crash, but I have no idea what
00:32:43
happened to him. It was even more
00:32:45
difficult.
00:32:47
I miss my brother. I miss Curtis. I was
00:32:50
his best friend and uh I I miss him. I
00:32:53
miss him very much.
00:32:55
[Music]
00:32:57
This case remains unsolved.
00:33:00
Curtis's family and friends hope that he
00:33:02
will someday be found. Curtis Pichan is
00:33:05
5'9 in and weighs 165 lbs. He has brown
00:33:10
eyes and graying brown hair. If you have
00:33:13
any information about Curtis, please log
00:33:16
on to our website at unsolved.com.
00:33:21
[Music]
00:33:22
Next, two stories that were solved by
00:33:25
our alert viewers.
00:33:30
[Music]
00:33:37
On a previous broadcast, we told you the
00:33:39
story of Joe and Maddie Harvey of Lewis
00:33:42
Chapel Mountain, Tennessee. Sheriff Joe
00:33:45
May was called to the Harvey House after
00:33:47
it had been completely gutted by fire.
00:33:52
He suspected arson. There were also
00:33:55
traces of blood. And later, he learned
00:33:57
that $100,000 in cash was missing.
00:34:02
Joe and Maddie Harvey were nowhere to be
00:34:05
found.
00:34:07
Curiously, their niece, Cheryl Holland,
00:34:09
disappeared just a few days later.
00:34:13
We have two missing people. Now we have
00:34:15
three, all out of a very close immediate
00:34:17
family.
00:34:18
The favorite niece is missing. There's
00:34:21
no money in the house. The ars and the
00:34:23
blood. It all builds. And then the
00:34:25
question is, is she really missing? Is
00:34:28
she an abductee or is she part and
00:34:30
parcel of a crime?
00:34:32
When was the last time you saw Cheryl?
00:34:34
It's like I said when she dropped me off
00:34:36
at Newport News.
00:34:38
Authorities suspected that Cheryl
00:34:39
Holland's disappearance had been staged.
00:34:43
They questioned her common law husband
00:34:45
Eddie Wooten several times. Finally, he
00:34:48
confessed.
00:34:50
According to Wooten, he and Cheryl drove
00:34:52
to Joe and Mattiey's house with the
00:34:54
intention of robbing them.
00:34:58
Once inside, he shot each of them in the
00:35:00
head.
00:35:03
[Music]
00:35:10
Then he and Cheryl stuffed their bodies
00:35:13
into the trunk of Joe and Mattiey's car.
00:35:16
They drove across the border into
00:35:18
Alabama and pushed the car into the
00:35:21
Tennessee River.
00:35:23
[Music]
00:35:25
Wooten claims that Cheryl returned to
00:35:27
Joe and Mattiey's house and set it on
00:35:29
fire to cover up the crime. She then
00:35:31
fled with her aunt and uncle's life
00:35:33
savings, $100,000
00:35:36
in cash.
00:35:44
6 weeks after Joe and Mattie Harvey
00:35:46
disappeared, their bodies were recovered
00:35:48
from the Tennessee River.
00:35:51
Both had been shot in the head. Eddie
00:35:54
Wooten was arraigned on charges of
00:35:56
firstdegree murder. A warrant was issued
00:35:59
for Cheryl Holland's arrest on the same
00:36:02
charges of murder
00:36:04
[Music]
00:36:07
update.
00:36:08
Rollingwood, Texas.
00:36:11
Less than an hour after our broadcast,
00:36:13
Cheryl Holland was captured thanks to a
00:36:16
viewer tip.
00:36:18
She was arrested at this convenience
00:36:20
store where she had been working for 6
00:36:22
months under the alias Amy Forester.
00:36:27
Employees of the store were shocked to
00:36:29
learn about their coworker's double
00:36:31
life.
00:36:32
The first thing that got to my mind, no,
00:36:34
that can't be her. Not not Amy. The only
00:36:37
thing she said last night, she says, I'm
00:36:39
sorry. I got myself into a mess and I
00:36:43
will get myself out of it.
00:36:46
4 days later, Cheryl Holland was
00:36:48
returned to Tennessee to face murder
00:36:51
charges.
00:36:53
Cheryl Holland and Edward Wooten were
00:36:55
each convicted on two counts of
00:36:57
first-degree murder. They were sentenced
00:37:00
to life in prison.
00:37:06
Mitch Shigamoto was only 17 when he
00:37:09
enlisted in the army during the war in
00:37:11
Vietnam.
00:37:12
under fire when his life was on the
00:37:14
line. Mitchell would learn the true
00:37:17
meaning of friendship.
00:37:21
Since you ladies don't know how to
00:37:23
march, we're going to take a little run.
00:37:26
Mitchell was the smallest man in basic
00:37:28
training and the only Asian-American in
00:37:31
his company. From the start, it was an
00:37:34
uphill battle.
00:37:35
Due to my size, I was told that I could
00:37:37
never make it being a paratrooper. So
00:37:39
that that in itself gave me the
00:37:41
incentive to try harder.
00:37:43
How do you imagine it? Do you like me?
00:37:45
We started like about 800 men and the
00:37:49
graduating class was maybe less than
00:37:51
300.
00:37:53
So you know it was quite an
00:37:54
accomplishment just to get through it.
00:37:58
[Music]
00:37:59
It was tough being a part of the 173rd.
00:38:02
It was clearly an elite airborne unit
00:38:05
with its own special spree decor created
00:38:07
specially to go to Vietnam. First to be
00:38:10
deployed by helicopters in combat and
00:38:13
the only combat unit to make a parachute
00:38:16
combat jump in Vietnam.
00:38:19
Mitch Shigamoto became a full-fledged
00:38:21
member of the Army's
00:38:24
173rd Airborne Division. The unit was
00:38:27
stationed in Okinawa before being
00:38:29
transferred to Vietnam. Mitchell was all
00:38:33
too aware of his physical resemblance to
00:38:35
the enemy.
00:38:37
That's where I initially started getting
00:38:38
some problems because at that time in
00:38:41
the army we got paid once a month. We
00:38:43
got paid in cash and I put the money
00:38:45
away and somehow one way or another it
00:38:48
got stolen from me.
00:38:51
It was common knowledge around the
00:38:53
barracks that Mitchell was being
00:38:54
victimized. Only one soldier, James
00:38:57
Pearson, stepped forward to befriend
00:38:59
him.
00:39:01
Hey man, we're going out tonight. Do you
00:39:02
want to come with us?
00:39:05
Pearson invited Mitchell to become a
00:39:07
regular in his group of friends. They
00:39:09
soon went everywhere together.
00:39:12
In Okinaw's this uh black section of
00:39:14
town they call Four Corners and I used
00:39:17
to go down there with him and and feel
00:39:19
comfortable and we could sit down and
00:39:21
listen to the music and as long as they
00:39:23
knew that uh James was my friend, I had
00:39:26
no worries at all.
00:39:29
The word escalated by the end of 1965,
00:39:33
9 months after the 173rd arrived in
00:39:36
Vietnam, they faced Vietkong gerillas on
00:39:39
an almost daily basis.
00:39:45
[Music]
00:39:49
In one battle, a Vietkong bullet tore
00:39:52
through Mitcho Shigamoto's thigh.
00:39:56
James was immediately by my side.
00:40:00
There was one sniper that was keying in
00:40:02
on us. James took a position right in
00:40:05
front of me just like he was trying to
00:40:06
block off the shots, you know, and James
00:40:09
actually saved my life.
00:40:13
James Pearson feared that Mitchell would
00:40:15
die of shock. He and another GI defied
00:40:18
regulations and carried Mitchell to
00:40:21
safety.
00:40:22
It'll be all right.
00:40:22
Yeah. I'll see you later. Mitchell had
00:40:25
no idea that he would not return to the
00:40:28
173rd and that he would never serve
00:40:30
beside James Pearson again.
00:40:35
For many years, Mitchell Shigamoto and
00:40:37
his family searched for James Pearson
00:40:40
without success.
00:40:41
[Music]
00:40:44
Update.
00:40:46
After our story aired, a viewer, retired
00:40:49
Lieutenant Colonel Truman Plants,
00:40:52
tracked down James Pearson in Chicago.
00:40:56
James quickly flew to Hawaii to reunite
00:40:59
with Mitchell.
00:41:01
The two old friends caught their first
00:41:04
glimpse of one another in nearly 30
00:41:06
years.
00:41:10
Mitch,
00:41:14
how you doing, Bill? Great. God, it's
00:41:17
great to see you. Great to see you.
00:41:20
He's still up.
00:41:22
I wasn't going to leave him out there
00:41:24
alone under those conditions. I couldn't
00:41:26
have did it. Well, regulations permitted
00:41:29
it. Uh rules permit or not. I just
00:41:32
couldn't have did it.
00:41:35
It took a lot from a from a real special
00:41:38
person to do something like that.
00:41:42
And my wife, she, you know, when she
00:41:44
heard that story, she she made it a
00:41:46
point to try to locate him with no
00:41:48
success until we found you guys.
00:41:54
For James and Mitchell, the joy of being
00:41:56
reunited is almost impossible to
00:42:00
describe.
00:42:01
They haven't come up with that word yet.
00:42:04
When they come up with that word, I'll
00:42:06
write you and let you know. But there's
00:42:07
no word for the ceiling, you know, for
00:42:10
for right now.
00:42:24
[Music]
00:42:38
[Music]
00:42:47
Heat. Heat.
00:42:51
[Music]
