1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,600 This program is about unsolved mysteries. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,300 Whenever possible, the actual family members and police 3 00:00:06,300 --> 00:00:09,200 officials have participated in recreating the events. 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,900 What you are about to see is not a news broadcast. 5 00:00:16,900 --> 00:00:20,400 Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries, San Quentin Prison. 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,600 Once you enter, it is unlikely you will leave. 7 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:25,400 The convicted murderer Mark Adams, 8 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:27,400 fashionist and chief of the police, 9 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:29,600 the convicted murderer Mark Adams, 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:31,800 fashion and improbable escape. 11 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,800 You may be able to help catch him. 12 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,600 The story of a young housewife who vanished from her home 13 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,600 of Gothenburg, Nebraska. 14 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,700 Her husband wants her back, but he must answer allegations 15 00:00:43,700 --> 00:00:47,760 that he is the one responsible for her disappearance. 16 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,400 Stephen Cox was a small town hero, 17 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,200 handsome, popular, successful. 18 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:55,800 Stephen Cox may also have been a con man 19 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,800 who built over $3 million out of his unsuspecting neighbor. 20 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,800 The people of Medford, Oregon want their money back. 21 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:47,800 A young housewife who disappeared. 22 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,800 A local hero turned back and escaped convict. 23 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:53,800 Three people whose fate remains a question mark. 24 00:01:54,300 --> 00:01:56,400 Perhaps tonight we'll find some answers. 25 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,400 Also a special appeal from the police in Philadelphia 26 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,200 who will ask for your help in tracking down a murderer. 27 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:03,400 Join me. 28 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:05,800 You may be able to help solve a mystery. 29 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:14,800 The town of Gothenburg is located in the heart of Nebraska's farm 30 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:15,800 belt. 31 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:17,800 There is a strong sense of community 32 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:19,800 among its 3,000 inhabitants. 33 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:21,800 And when a neighbor is in trouble, 34 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:23,800 it becomes everybody's business. 35 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,800 On December 11, 2013, a new family was born. 36 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,800 The family was born in the town of Gothenburg. 37 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,800 The family was born in the town of Gothenburg. 38 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:38,800 On December 11, 1987, a housewife named Kristie Nicolle vanished. 39 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:43,800 Her disappearance turned into a controversy that continues to this day. 40 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,800 Kristie married Mark Nicolles when she was 19. 41 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,800 Soon after their marriage, a daughter was born. 42 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:56,800 And in April of 1986, a son, those who knew Kristie well, 43 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:58,800 felt her life centered around her family. 44 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,800 Kristie was a very good student and a nice looking girl. 45 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:08,800 And people liked her, but she always had kind of a negative self-image. 46 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:13,800 And I think Kristie never felt she did anything until she had her children in there. 47 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,800 It was something she could look at and say, hey, I did this pretty well. 48 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,800 Nobody can do this any better because she was just so proud of her children. 49 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:21,800 She loved them. 50 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,800 I would have never thought that Kristie would run away. 51 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,800 She would have never left her children. 52 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,800 I would have never believed that. 53 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,800 Kristie's husband, Mark Nicolles, works at a local gas station. 54 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,800 He was the last person to see her alive. 55 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:44,800 There are rumors in Gothenburg that say he is responsible for her disappearance. 56 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,800 People in small towns, they talk a lot. 57 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,800 And a lot of these rumors tend to get pretty vicious. 58 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:58,800 There's been a couple rumors that I'd chopped her up and put her in garbage bags 59 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,800 and buried her at the dump. 60 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,800 That's one of the first ones I heard. 61 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:09,800 And that one really got to me because I guess they were actually up there digging around. 62 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,800 Mark Nicolles claims he is innocent of all wrongdoing. 63 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:16,800 He wants his wife to come home. 64 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:18,800 But until Kristie returns to Gothenburg, 65 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,800 he remains under a cloud of suspicion. 66 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:25,800 The police investigation of this case has raised some disturbing questions 67 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,800 about the events surrounding his wife's disappearance. 68 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:36,800 Since Kristie vanished 11 months ago, no one, family members or friends 69 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:38,800 have had any contact with her. 70 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,800 For this reason, the Nebraska State Patrol has been called in. 71 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,800 Officer Terry Arons is in charge of the case. 72 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:50,800 And as the investigation has proceeded, it's starting to look more and more like a foul play situation. 73 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,800 There's just a lot of things that aren't ringing true, 74 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:58,800 that don't appear like your normal missing person situation. 75 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:03,800 Police began to uncover evidence that the Nicolles marriage was in trouble. 76 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,800 They learned that Kristie had been seeing another man. 77 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,800 They learned that Kristie had been seeing another man. 78 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:18,800 10 days before her disappearance, she had gone to a local hospital 79 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,800 for treatment of an injury she received during a fight with Mark. 80 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:33,800 The only bad fight I can remember is when I was trying to get her to stay home from going out. 81 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,800 And she was getting so upset at me, 82 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,800 she started to try to hit and kick me. 83 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:47,800 And that's when she burned the side of my neck with a cigarette she was holding. 84 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:52,800 And I tossed her onto the waterbed and she landed wrong 85 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,800 and kind of twisted up her thumb underneath her. 86 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,800 I saw Kristie on the Friday after Thanksgiving. 87 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,800 She came to the emergency room complaining of a sore thumb. 88 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,800 She was acting like a scared rabbit, if you will. 89 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:15,800 She's never been one for great eye contact or been very verbal. 90 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,800 She obviously wasn't telling me everything either. 91 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:24,800 Mark was in the hallway nearby and I couldn't looking back really tell 92 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,800 if it was reassuring for her to have Mark there or not. 93 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,800 Kristie also told her cousin Debbie Fredrickson 94 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,800 that she had been abused by Mark. 95 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,800 When I went to see Kristie, she was working at the bar 96 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,800 and she was having problems with her husband. 97 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,800 She would tell me their husband would beat her. 98 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,800 When we left the bar, Kristie showed me a bruise on her side 99 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:55,800 and it really scared me. 100 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,800 I told her she needed to go get help from somebody. 101 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,800 And I asked her how it had happened 102 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,800 and she said her and Mark had gotten an argument 103 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:06,800 and he had thrown her around. 104 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,800 And she just acted like it wasn't a big deal. 105 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,800 It was something that happened a lot. 106 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:17,800 As far as a violent argument, which there seemed to be a lot of rumors 107 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,800 going around that I was always beating up on her, 108 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,800 that's just totally wrong. 109 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:28,800 On December 9th, two days before her disappearance, 110 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,800 Kristie went to an attorney to begin divorce proceedings. 111 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,800 What can I do for you Kristie? 112 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:36,800 Well, I need some help. 113 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,800 What's your problem? 114 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,800 I need someone to help me get through this. 115 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:44,800 Kristie was frightened that Mark would find out 116 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,800 and for this reason went to an out of town lawyer. 117 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:50,800 We do a lot of divorce work. 118 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:52,800 I've handled hundreds of divorces, 119 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:54,800 but she had to rank up in the top five 120 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,800 of being very distressed and upset and nervous 121 00:07:58,800 --> 00:07:59,800 and needed help. 122 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:03,800 And when she explained certain abuses 123 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:05,800 that she had been subjected to, 124 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:09,800 we decided to make some telephone calls 125 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:11,800 to call the authorities 126 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,800 and to report certain crimes that had taken place. 127 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:17,800 I feel that she was very sincere and honest 128 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:18,800 in what she was telling me. 129 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,800 I don't know what motive she would possibly have had 130 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:27,800 to conjure up a story about being abused by her husband 131 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:29,800 if it didn't in fact happen. 132 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,800 I was convinced and I am still convinced that it happened. 133 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:34,800 What was Kristie's state of mind 134 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:36,800 when she left the lawyer's office? 135 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,800 Was she preparing to run away as Mark claims? 136 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,800 Or was she planning on fighting for the custody of her children 137 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:44,800 as her mother believes? 138 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,800 I can say that the day that Kristie was in my office 139 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,800 on December 9th, she was not panicking 140 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,800 to the point that she would run or leave. 141 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,800 And in fact, she had planned to come back. 142 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:01,800 When she left, she had made an appointment 143 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:03,800 to come back to my office. 144 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,800 The day after this meeting, December 10th, 145 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,800 Kristie and Mark went Christmas shopping with their children. 146 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,800 This was the last afternoon she would spend with her family. 147 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,800 I felt real uncomfortable the day before she left 148 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:33,800 because I felt a lot of anger coming from her. 149 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,800 That evening, the couple hired a babysitter 150 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:40,800 and went to the local bar where Kristie worked. 151 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,800 When I babysat the night that she disappeared, 152 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:48,800 I was surprised that those two were going out, 153 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:50,800 the both of them were going out 154 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,800 because I knew they weren't getting along. 155 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:00,800 When we were at the bar, things seemed to be going real well. 156 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:05,800 I felt there was a good attitude about herself and myself 157 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,800 and a lot of laughing and carrying on. 158 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,800 Mark and Kristie left the bar around midnight 159 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:16,800 and drove to an all-night convenience store. 160 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:19,800 At 12.30, they headed for home. 161 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:21,800 According to the babysitter, Mark arrived home 162 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,800 between 12.30 and 1.00 in the morning. 163 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:27,800 The babysitter was doing her homework 164 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:29,800 in front of the television 165 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:31,800 and doesn't remember seeing Kristie. 166 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,800 I was about five, six yards behind her 167 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:39,800 when she reached the door. 168 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,800 And she walked right by the living room 169 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,800 where the babysitter was at, 170 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,800 back towards the kids' bedroom 171 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,800 and went into the main bathroom. 172 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:57,800 It seems strange because Mark had paid me with cash 173 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,800 when Kristie usually pays me with a check. 174 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,800 It was unusual for Mark to pay me. 175 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:04,800 Is that enough? 176 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:06,800 Yeah, that's fine. Thanks. 177 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:07,800 How was everything? 178 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:09,800 I really can't believe that I didn't see her 179 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,800 because I would have heard footsteps 180 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,800 and I would have heard her go into the bathroom 181 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:22,800 because I was there between five and ten minutes 182 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:25,800 so that I would have been able to hear Kristie somehow 183 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,800 that I didn't hear or see Kristie. 184 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:31,800 According to Mark, Kristie went to bed immediately 185 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:33,800 after the babysitter left. 186 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,800 The last time he says he saw her was at 2 a.m. 187 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:38,800 when he went to sleep beside her. 188 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,800 And that's the last thing I remember 189 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,800 until my kids woke me up the next morning. 190 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,800 And the first thing I noticed was 191 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:53,800 she wasn't in the bed. 192 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,800 Mark claims he searched the house 193 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:58,800 and noticed Kristie had taken a suitcase 194 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:00,800 full of belongings with her. 195 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:02,800 Kristie? 196 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,800 But both family cars were still sitting in the front yard. 197 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,800 At 9.30 in the morning, 198 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,800 Mark received a phone call from Kristie's mother 199 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:14,800 who lived 100 miles away. 200 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,800 Even though he knew his wife was gone, 201 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,800 Mark told her mother that Kristie was still in bed asleep. 202 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:23,800 I'll have her call you. 203 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,800 I didn't want to worry her at the time 204 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:27,800 because I didn't know where she was 205 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:30,800 so I told her that she was still in bed sleeping 206 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:32,800 because I didn't think she felt real good. 207 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:34,800 At 11.30 a.m., 208 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,800 Mark took his children over to Kristie's grandmother's 209 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,800 and asked if she could take care of them 210 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,800 as he was planning to search for his wife. 211 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:46,800 Well, I didn't think much about it at the time, 212 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:48,800 but like I say later, 213 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:50,800 he never asked me at all or telephoned me 214 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:52,800 in order to take care of the kids. 215 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:54,800 Where they always did before, 216 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:56,800 that was really about the strangest thing. 217 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,800 He never asked if Kristie was at my house 218 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:03,800 or if I'd seen Kristie. 219 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,800 He just said that Kristie was missing 220 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,800 and he acted like he was shook up. 221 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,800 I spent approximately two hours 222 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:17,800 just riding around town trying to spot her, 223 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,800 maybe coming out of the store 224 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,800 or I drove some residential streets 225 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,800 where we knew some people. 226 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:29,800 When we checked out Mark's story 227 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:31,800 about driving around looking for Kristie, 228 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,800 we could find nobody in the city of Gothenburg 229 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:38,800 that had seen him driving around. 230 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:40,800 At 1.37 p.m., 231 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:42,800 Mark filed a missing persons report 232 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,800 with the Gothenburg Police Department. 233 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:48,800 What time did you see her last? 234 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,800 I saw her last when I went to bed about 2 a.m. this morning. 235 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:53,800 I was real upset 236 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,800 because there was no indication whatsoever 237 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,800 that she would just pack up her suitcase and just leave. 238 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:02,800 During their investigation, 239 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,800 the state patrol discovered that Mark moved out of the house 240 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:08,800 the day after his wife's disappearance. 241 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:10,800 A few weeks later, 242 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,800 he boxed up all of her clothes 243 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:14,800 and sold both of their cars. 244 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:18,800 In March of 1988, 245 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:20,800 three months after she disappeared, 246 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:22,800 Kristie's suitcase was discovered 247 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,800 in a roadside rest area 30 miles west of Gothenburg. 248 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,800 Police found it surprising 249 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:31,800 that earlier Mark had precisely detailed all of its contents. 250 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:37,800 It appeared to everybody present 251 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:39,800 that the suitcase had been placed there 252 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:41,800 instead of just thrown out. 253 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,800 The items were neatly laying around. 254 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:49,800 It was like the person that put them there wanted them to be found. 255 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,800 If my wife had left me, 256 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,800 I wouldn't be able to look through the closet 257 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,800 and tell you what she had taken. 258 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:03,800 I probably would be able to tell you maybe what suitcase she had taken, 259 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:07,800 but he was listing items of clothing right down the line 260 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,800 and knew what she had taken. 261 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:12,800 The area surrounding Gothenburg 262 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:14,800 has been searched extensively. 263 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,800 No other trace of Kristie Nichols has ever been found. 264 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,800 Today, the case is stalled. 265 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,800 It is difficult without locating Kristie Nichols 266 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,800 or her body to determine 267 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:32,800 what, if any, charges would be appropriate. 268 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:37,800 We basically are concerned about the way she disappeared, 269 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,800 the fact that she has not contacted her children, 270 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:42,800 she hasn't contacted her family, 271 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,800 she did not take one of the family vehicles, 272 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:50,800 and basically the continued long absence all points to perhaps foul play 273 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:52,800 in some form is involved. 274 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,800 I'd have never done anything to hurt my wife. 275 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,800 I just, that's just the person I am. 276 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,800 A lot of people think I'm a violent person. 277 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:03,800 I'm not. 278 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,800 I'm not. I'm not a violent person. 279 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,800 I hope and pray that she was alive, 280 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,800 but if she isn't, I'd still want to find the solution to this case. 281 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:21,800 I'd like to have her buried someplace where I'd know she was. 282 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:26,800 I want very much for Kristie to come home, 283 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:31,800 that if for some reason she doesn't want to come home, 284 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,800 you know, Kristie, at least call somebody. 285 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,800 You know, let us know where you are, whether you're all right. 286 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,800 By all accounts, Kristie Nichols was trapped in a marriage gone wrong. 287 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,800 Nobody can say for certain if this is what motivated her disappearance. 288 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,800 All we know is that Kristie Nichols has vanished without a trace, 289 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,800 and her family and friends would like to know why. 290 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:59,800 In a moment, the story of a remarkable escape from San Quentin Prison. 291 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,800 Last October, we examined the mysterious disappearance of Gail Delano, 292 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:14,800 a 35-year-old mother of two who vanished from her hometown in Wisconsin, Maine. 293 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,800 After her second divorce, Gail Delano sought companionship 294 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,800 by placing personal ads in a local newspaper. 295 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:29,800 On June 21st, 1986, Gail drove to a restaurant in the nearby town of Brunswick. 296 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,800 She had told her two teenage sons that she was meeting a man named John 297 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,800 who'd responded to one of her ads. 298 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,800 Gail Delano's family never saw her again. 299 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:45,800 Two days later, Elise found her car abandoned in the restaurant's parking lot. 300 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,800 Later that day, a restaurant worker found Gail's keys 301 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,800 in the same spot where her car had been parked. 302 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,800 Two weeks later, Gail's purse was found. 303 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,800 Though it seemed untouched, it contained no money. 304 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:04,800 For two and a half years, investigators and Gail's family were baffled. 305 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,800 Update, Mobile, Alabama. 306 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:12,800 The two and a half years search for Gail Delano has come to an end. 307 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,800 Tragically, she took her own life shortly after she disappeared. 308 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,800 A forensic administrator in Mobile watched our program 309 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:27,800 recognize Gail's photo as a woman who had died in a local hotel room in 1986. 310 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:36,800 When I saw the photograph, I immediately saw the resemblance between Ms. Delano 311 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:44,800 and an unidentified body that we had in our laboratory in Mobile. 312 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:50,800 After two weeks of forensic tests, positive identification was made. 313 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:54,800 Elise now theorized that Gail Delano orchestrated her own disappearance. 314 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,800 They believed that after she drove to the restaurant, 315 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,800 she hid her keys somewhere on the car, removed all the money from her purse, 316 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,800 discarded it, and then flew to Alabama. 317 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,800 That evening, she checked into a hotel in Mobile 318 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,800 where she registered under the name Jackie Stafford. 319 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,800 Three days later, police discovered her body. 320 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,800 She had died from a drug overdose. 321 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,800 On November 11th, Gail's family held a memorial service for her 322 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:24,800 and Brunswick, Maine. 323 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,800 Gail's family showed remarkable courage 324 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:31,800 as for two long years they searched for the truth. 325 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:36,800 Her loss saddens us all, and to her parents and sons, we send our deepest sympathy. 326 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:46,800 California's San Quentin Prison is justly known as one of the country's most secure, 327 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:48,800 maximum security prisons. 328 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,800 Few cameras are permitted behind its walls. 329 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,800 But recently, unsolved mysteries was allowed inside, 330 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,800 so we might document one of the few times the system failed 331 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,800 and help recapture and escape prisoner. 332 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:05,800 In the summer of 1986, an inmate named Mark Adams mysteriously vanished. 333 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:10,800 The events leading up to his escape began on a summer night in August of 1979. 334 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:17,800 On that evening, three high school students entered a municipal baseball park 335 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,800 located in the quiet community of Modesto, California. 336 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:22,800 Hey, you know who's over at Mark's house? 337 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:23,800 Who? 338 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:24,800 Susie? 339 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:25,800 No way! 340 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:26,800 No way! 341 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:28,800 They gathered in the dugout to drink some beers 342 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:30,800 and to chat about school and their friends. 343 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:32,800 Mark, don't take that out of the screen, guys. 344 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:43,800 Three figures appeared out of the darkness. 345 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:46,800 Oh, for God's sake. 346 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:48,800 He's taking away... 347 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:53,800 Over the previous few weeks, there have been other robberies by these ski-masked individuals. 348 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:54,800 Give me your wallets. 349 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:56,800 In the earlier attempts, nobody had been injured. 350 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:58,800 Give me your wallets. 351 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,800 Your wallets, you guys, just leave us alone. 352 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:12,800 Whoa! Whoa! 353 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,800 Whoa! 354 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,800 One boy, Mike Ridenauer, was dead. 355 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:24,800 Another, wounded. 356 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:28,800 An eyewitness description of an automobile spotted at the scene 357 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,800 led to the arrest of three robbers. 358 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,800 The trigger man, 16-year-old Mark Adams, was tried, convicted, 359 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,800 and sentenced to 25 years to life. 360 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:43,800 Located on San Francisco Bay, San Quentin is an impenetrable fortress. 361 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:48,800 21 armed posts surround a 3-foot-thick prison walls 362 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,800 lined with razor-sharp barbed wire. 363 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:57,800 Today, over 3,000 hardened criminals call the prison home. 364 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,800 Charles Manson is only one of its infamous residents. 365 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:04,800 In his 136-year history, other criminals such as 366 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,800 Siran Siran, Carol Chesman, and Outlaw Black Bart 367 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,800 have been locked away in the prison's massive cell blocks. 368 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:17,800 A major portion of the San Quentin's current population are repeat offenders. 369 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,800 It is the end of the line for the hardened criminals. 370 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,800 San Quentin prison is different from other prisons 371 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:28,800 because of its design. 372 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,800 There are armed officers inside the institution. 373 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:36,800 They're in gun walks and manned areas where there's weapons inside the institution. 374 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:41,800 Mark Adams was here because of the physical plant and security 375 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,800 that San Quentin can provide inmates like Mark Adams. 376 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,800 When Adams entered San Quentin when he was 19 years old, 377 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:57,800 he would have been eligible for parole in the year 2007. 378 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,800 He began his sentence under close scrutiny, 379 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,800 but after six months, restrictions were relaxed. 380 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,800 His privileges included a job working with computers 381 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:10,800 as a clerk in the prison's academic department. 382 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,800 Mark Adams was essentially a model prisoner. 383 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,800 He worked very well with people. 384 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:18,800 He obeyed the rules, 385 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,800 and he would seize any opportunity he could to stay out of his cell. 386 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,800 When we had a lot of people in the prison, 387 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:27,800 he would have to stay out of his cell. 388 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,800 When we had special projects where he had to work some overtime, 389 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:32,800 he was only too happy to assist. 390 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:43,800 I'm sure that Mark Adams took advantage of his position. 391 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,800 He probably checked schedules, he probably checked timing. 392 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,800 He wanted to leave no margin for error. 393 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:56,800 On June 10th, 1986, four years to the day after he was put behind bars, 394 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,800 Adams secured an authorized pass allowing him to leave work early. 395 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:02,800 I'll see you later. 396 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:04,800 Where are you going? 397 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,800 I'm going to the dentist office. 398 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:08,800 Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. 399 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:14,800 At approximately 2.30 p.m., 400 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:17,800 Adams left to a job and walked to the security checkpoint, 401 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:19,800 showing his pass. 402 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,800 He was observed heading to the dentist's office. 403 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,800 That was the last time anyone remembers seeing him. 404 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:40,800 At 4.15 p.m., the inmates returned to the cells for the afternoon headcount. 405 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,800 The 4.15 count, when there's no hitches, 406 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,800 will take approximately 45 minutes to clear. 407 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:49,800 Handmaid, let me see some skin. 408 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,800 If something is wrong with the count, 409 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,800 if there's one person that cannot be accounted for, 410 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:03,800 most often there's a simple explanation for that miscount. 411 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,800 If you can't find any error then, 412 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:07,800 you go cell by cell, 413 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,800 bed by bed, with an officer and a picture of those people assigned 414 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,800 to those cell blocks and that particular cell. 415 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:16,800 Wind, good. 416 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:18,800 2A11 ID, 417 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:22,800 2A12, negative. 418 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:24,800 Now I'm showing Adams in here. 419 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,800 At approximately 4.45 p.m., Adams was confirmed missing. 420 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,800 Immediately sent Quentin locked down. 421 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,800 All access to the prison, inside and out, was sealed tight. 422 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,800 Every prisoner was confined to his cell, 423 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,800 and a few privileges revoked. 424 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,800 An intensive search by correctional officers was fruitless. 425 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:57,800 No trace of Mark or the method of his escape was found. 426 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,800 Authorities have three theories as to how he escaped. 427 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,800 The first suggests that Adams put on civilian clothes 428 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,800 and walked out with the regular visitors, 429 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,800 passing through three different armed gates. 430 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,800 In order to accomplish this, 431 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,800 Adams would have had to show a photo ID of the first two gates. 432 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:41,800 A second theory proposes that Adams simply went over the 25-foot prison wall. 433 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:46,800 When an inmate has to make that move from a blind spot over the wall, 434 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:51,800 he has to go from an area of concealment to one of his ability. 435 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,800 It can happen in a matter of seconds, 436 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:59,800 but in those few moments that it took to hit the wall and scale it, 437 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,800 the officers looking in another direction on escape is perpetrated. 438 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:10,800 The chances that Adams could have made the climb are extremely slim. 439 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:12,800 Shortly after his escape, 440 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,800 three inmates attempted to scale the wall. 441 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:17,800 All three were immediately captured, 442 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,800 and one was injured in a struggle with officers. 443 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:26,800 We considered also, in our investigation of the possible ways of escape, 444 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,800 is could he have gained access to a vehicle? 445 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:35,800 It's possible that Mark Adams could have studied vehicles 446 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,800 which do pass in front of his area of assignment. 447 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:49,800 Every day, approximately 225 service vehicles enter and exit the prison. 448 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:53,800 Each must pass through a guarded inspection area for a thorough search. 449 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,800 There is a remote chance Adams could have found a place to hide, 450 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,800 and then when the search ended, 451 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,800 he would have been driven straight to freedom. 452 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:27,800 If there were a mistake in the security system, 453 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,800 Adams would have been the type to look for it. 454 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:32,800 He would have been the type to find it, 455 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,800 and he would have made plans to exploit it. 456 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,800 And as a result, that's precisely what he did. 457 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:45,800 It's been two years since Mark Adams has escaped from Sanquin prison, 458 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:47,800 and in those two years, 459 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,800 we have not found any concluding or convincing evidence 460 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,800 to tell us how Mark Adams escaped. 461 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:15,800 In a moment, you'll meet Eugene Rich. 462 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,800 He vanished after defrauding his friends and neighbors of $3.5 million 463 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:20,800 that came back to face the music. 464 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:24,800 As alleged to accomplish, Stephen Cox is still at large. 465 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:43,800 In 1981, Lorraine Rondo was 68 years old and newly widowed. 466 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,800 Her husband had left her $100,000. 467 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,800 It was all Lorraine had. 468 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:54,800 She invested it with a man named Stephen Cox. 469 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:02,800 In 1976, a drunk driver left Michelle Whit crippled for life. 470 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,800 The insurance company awarded her $75,000. 471 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:11,800 Michelle invested her money with the same man, Stephen Cox. 472 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:17,800 On September the 24th, 1984, Stephen Cox disappeared. 473 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,800 He has not been seen since. 474 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:25,800 Is there anyone in this room has anything to offer in this case at this time? 475 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:27,800 If so, please step forward. 476 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,800 At bankruptcy court in Medford, Oregon, 477 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,800 a packed audience of more than 200 angry investors came forward. 478 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,800 And I am one of the investors who invested with Steve Cox 479 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:40,800 in excess of $100,000. 480 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,800 They told authorities that they had given Cox 481 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:45,800 in excess of $3.5 million. 482 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,800 Every penny was gone. 483 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,800 So that we can get our money back. 484 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:56,800 How did Stephen Cox get $3.5 million from the people of Medford? 485 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,800 Well, Cox was a hometown boy. 486 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,800 The people of Medford knew him and trusted him. 487 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:03,800 They hoped that if he's watching tonight, 488 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,800 he'll return and deal with him honorably, face to face. 489 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,800 In high school, Stephen Cox was a popular student 490 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,800 and an all-around athlete. 491 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:16,800 He was captain of the football team, 492 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:18,800 letterman on the basketball team, 493 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,800 and named Oregon's Allstate Baseball Team. 494 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:23,800 He went to college in Oregon. 495 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,800 Then after he graduated, married his college sweetheart, Deborah. 496 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,800 They settled in Medford. 497 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:32,800 I didn't believe it. No. 498 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,800 In 1982, he started his own company, S.D. Cox Investments. 499 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,800 That's what I'm talking about. 500 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:40,800 Hold on a second. Let me get it up on the screen here. 501 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,800 When he first began, all the indications we have are 502 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:46,800 that his intentions were good. 503 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,800 He had had some luck with commodities, 504 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,800 with other investments, gold and silver and other things, 505 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,800 and he really wanted to make money for other people 506 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:58,800 at the same time he made money for himself. 507 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:01,800 Stephen Cox attracted investors 508 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:05,800 by offering a rate of return as high as 25%. 509 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:07,800 Good morning, Michelle. Hi, how are you? 510 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:09,800 I'm fine. How are you? Good to see you both. 511 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:11,800 There was only one catch. 512 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,800 In exchange, they received nothing more than Cox's IOU 513 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,800 in the form of a promissory note. 514 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:19,800 Michelle Whitney needed $1,200 a month 515 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:22,800 to pay for her round-the-clock nursing care. 516 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,800 Despite the lack of security, 517 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,800 she decided Cox's high return was worth the risk. 518 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:32,800 In that 20-24% ballpark that we were talking about 519 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:34,800 is something we're definitely going to be able to get for you. 520 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,800 The $75,000 was invested, 521 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:39,800 and for three and a half years, 522 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:43,800 I got a monthly payment of $1,250. 523 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,800 He seemed to know what he was doing, 524 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,800 and I'm sure he did know what he was doing. 525 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,800 Hey. Hey, Gene. Good to see you. 526 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,800 Cox's business doubled, then tripled. 527 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:02,800 Eugene Richmond, an old friend, was brought in as a partner. 528 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,800 Well, it'll work. It'll work. Good. Good. 529 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,800 Well, you know, I'd known Steve since we were in grade school together. 530 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:11,800 I mean, he was always somebody I looked up to. 531 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:14,800 You know, he was, you know, the high school quarterback 532 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:17,800 of the football team, and, you know, just that typical guy 533 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:19,800 that everybody wanted to know and be around. 534 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:21,800 You know, the way I look at it, mortgage paper, 535 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:26,800 basically whatever Steve Cox asked me to do, I did. 536 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:29,800 And I just trusted him unequivocally. 537 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:34,800 Eugene Richmond was the forceful personality in the partnership. 538 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:36,800 That's the nice one she have here. 539 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:38,800 Oh, thank you. 540 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:40,800 Eugene Richmond was the one that went out 541 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:42,800 and got people to invest their money. 542 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:46,800 Mr. Rondo, I'm sorry I have to bother you at a time like this. 543 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:50,800 When Eugene Richmond made his sales presentation to Lorraine Rondo, 544 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:53,800 she gave him all the money her husband had left her. 545 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:55,800 I know that your husband has left you some money. 546 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,800 I'm confident that I told every investor 547 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:00,800 that their money is at risk. 548 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:02,800 I would have investors ask me, 549 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:04,800 what happens if Estie Cox goes belly up? 550 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,800 And I would sit right in my chair and look him straight in the face 551 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:09,800 and I'd say, you're gonna lose your money. 552 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:14,800 Well, Eugene Richmond is a liar then, because he never did. 553 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:16,800 Never told us that. 554 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:19,800 Not me. Never told me that. 555 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:21,800 If she was not aware that her money was at risk, 556 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:24,800 then either I failed in my job to tell her that, 557 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:29,800 or likes a lot of people, they didn't want to hear it. 558 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:34,800 Eugene Richmond never told me that my money was unsafe 559 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:36,800 in any way that everything was secured, 560 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:38,800 that they had money. 561 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,800 If I wanted all that money right now, 562 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:45,800 they had money laid aside that they could pay off any one of us. 563 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:47,800 Yeah, the cracks definitely the cracks first. 564 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,800 By 1983, Estie Cox investments was flourishing. 565 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:53,800 The firm bought a restaurant. 566 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:55,800 The neighborhood bar. 567 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:57,800 A video arcade. 568 00:34:57,800 --> 00:34:59,800 Two jewelry stores. 569 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:03,800 An inventory of gems worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. 570 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:11,800 When you have a situation where a local businessman looks successful 571 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:14,800 and other people are going to the bank with the checks, 572 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,800 they're making the deposits, that will get around. 573 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:19,800 That facade works. 574 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:21,800 People see the Porsche drive by in their heads turn. 575 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,800 People see the Mercedes drive by and they think that guy is successful. 576 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:28,800 They don't realize that maybe that guy is not making ends meet, 577 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,800 and he's two payments behind on the Porsche. 578 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:40,800 By 1984, many of Steven Cox's investments began to go sour. 579 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:44,800 In my opinion, Steve was not a good businessman. 580 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,800 In Steve's case, he made some wrong decisions. 581 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:49,800 Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow about that. 582 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:52,800 You know, there's some real estate that wasn't panning out 583 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:54,800 the way it was supposed to pan out and you had to feed it. 584 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:58,800 You had a restaurant he was feeding, and instead of just cutting it off, 585 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:00,800 he wanted to hang on. 586 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,800 You know, he was competitive. He didn't want to lose ever. 587 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:07,800 $50,000. $50,000. You heard me the first time. 588 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:12,800 What happened is that Steve Cox had some luck at the very beginning. 589 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:15,800 He had some good fortune. He made some money. 590 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:20,800 And as he continued to pay 22 or 25% interest, 591 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,800 he had to get more and more people involved at the bottom 592 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:26,800 in order to be able to do that. 593 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:29,800 It's like a pyramid scheme. There's nothing to back up. 594 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:31,800 His promise is to pay back this money. 595 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:34,800 That's a house of cards. Eventually it has to fall. 596 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:37,800 Well, look, what do we need to do to turn this thing around? 597 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:39,800 You know what we need to do. We need to turn those numbers around. 598 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,800 The way you're going to turn those numbers around is getting more clients. 599 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:45,800 All right, I see you've got my flowers. 600 00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:47,800 Yes, I did, Eugene. And thank you so much. 601 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:51,800 As a last resort, Eugene went back to Lorraine Rondeau 602 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:53,800 and asked for her last $5,000. 603 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:55,800 Do you have some savings to cover them with? 604 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,800 Well, I'd been in the hospital, and Eugene came over to the house 605 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:01,800 to see how I was doing, and he said, 606 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,800 do you have money enough? And I said, I have some in savings. 607 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:09,800 So he suggested that I take the $5,000 and put in 608 00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:11,800 so that I would be getting some interest. 609 00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:15,800 So I wrote him a check for $5,000. 610 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:18,800 I couldn't even tell you right now whether she invested any money or not. 611 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:20,800 I do not recall. 612 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:23,800 At that time when I saw her, I had no idea that I was going to be going 613 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:25,800 or Steve was going to be going. 614 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:28,800 I mean, I didn't even know I was going to leave with Steve until the day that I left. 615 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,800 Do we have a problem? I've got to leave the area. 616 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:35,800 It came to a point where Steve just said, I'm leaving town and I'm going. 617 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:37,800 Wait a minute, you're going to leave, and I'm going to stay here 618 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:40,800 and face this entire thing by myself? What am I going to do? 619 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:43,800 Everybody's going to come knocking on my door and say, where's my money? 620 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:46,800 And I felt like I was going to get lynched. 621 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:48,800 The important thing is Debra and I are leaving town. 622 00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:50,800 Now, are you going with us or not? 623 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,800 My choice was to stay here or go with him. 624 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:58,800 And I ended up leaving with Steve and his family. 625 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,800 I'm going with you, Steve. 626 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:03,800 Okay. All right. 627 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:07,800 Definitely there was a premeditated decision on the part of Steve Cox 628 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:12,800 and Eugene Richmond to fold up and leave town. 629 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:14,800 Let's quit beating around the bush. 630 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:19,800 They planned to leave for at least a month before they just didn't show up one morning. 631 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:24,800 Thanks for sticking around, you guys. I realized that your weekend will make it short. 632 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:29,800 On Friday, September the 21st, 1984, Eugene Richmond told his employees 633 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:33,800 that he and Cox would be out of town on business through Monday. 634 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:35,800 It's usual. We'll be back on Tuesday. 635 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:39,800 So unless you've got any questions, see you Tuesday. 636 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,800 That weekend, according to Eugene Richmond, 637 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:56,800 Steve and Cox cleaned out their office safe, taking over $200,000 in gold, silver, jewelry and cash. 638 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:02,800 Cox also took their financial records, which were stored on computer disks. 639 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:11,800 He and his wife, Deborah, emptied their house and packed their belongings into a rented truck. 640 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:20,800 Along with Eugene Richmond, they furtively departed Medford. 641 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,800 Their final destination? Hawaii. 642 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:30,800 Stephen Cox, Deborah Cox and Eugene Richmond dropped completely out of sight, 643 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:34,800 and the people of Medford, Oregon had lost $3.5 million. 644 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,800 But the story of the missing Medford millions was not over. 645 00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:42,800 The authorities learned that Stephen Cox might have disappeared from Medford because he feared for his life. 646 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:50,800 Ten months after Stephen Cox, his wife and Eugene Richmond vanished, 647 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:55,800 leaving nothing but a bankrupt company that owed the people of Medford $3.5 million. 648 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:58,800 The authorities had a surprise visitor. 649 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:05,800 Debbie, we appreciate you coming in for this interview today. 650 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:11,800 In July of 1985, Stephen Cox's wife, Deborah, returned to Medford, 651 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:15,800 and through her attorney, agreed to cooperate with the authorities. 652 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:17,800 What was your position with SD Cox's investment? 653 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:21,800 She wasn't actually wanted as far as being a fugitive. 654 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:25,800 We did want to talk to her, but there were no criminal charges pending. 655 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:31,800 Then, within a week, Eugene Richmond also wanted to surrender himself, 656 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:37,800 and so arrangements were made for him to surrender himself in the company of his attorney 657 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:44,800 and to be interviewed and then to be processed on the fugitive warrants that were outstanding for him at the time. 658 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:51,800 But for the most part, the information that we did glean from these interviews was really not helpful to us. 659 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:00,800 Sergeant Sweeney, concerning that matter, we're not answering those questions today. 660 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:01,800 You accept any responsibility? 661 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:06,800 Eugene Richmond wouldn't make any statements that could be used to incriminate him, 662 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:10,800 and he couldn't really say anything about Stephen Cox without incriminating himself. 663 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:14,800 As a result of that, we're still looking for SD Cox or Stephen Cox. 664 00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:23,800 One thing Richmond did tell the police was that in 1983, Cox had become involved with a mysterious investor. 665 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:25,800 That day, on those rocks, was fantastic. 666 00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:26,800 All right, I'm glad to hear that. 667 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:27,800 He should be. 668 00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:31,800 I just want to remind you, Stephen, I'm not a man who likes to lose money. 669 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:37,800 There was an investor that invested hundreds of thousands of dollars with SD Cox's investments, 670 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:45,800 and as security for his investment, he had taken out a life insurance policy on Stephen Cox. 671 00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:50,800 Before Steve and I left town, okay, and I went to him and said, 672 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:56,800 let's shut this thing down, bring in a judge, and just do a chapter 11, and just close it down. 673 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,800 Steve said, I can't. 674 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:07,800 And it was because of this fella, because he owed him money, and Steve just felt like, 675 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:14,800 if he didn't pay this guy back, he would just hurt Steve, or his wife, or his kids, or something. 676 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:18,800 Especially since we know of the threat, we know who the individual is, 677 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:26,800 the individual would have to be a fool to come back and kill Stephen Cox, because he didn't get his money back. 678 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:32,800 Eugene Richmond put guilty to charges of racketeering and served two years in prison. 679 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:35,800 Stephen Cox is still at large. 680 00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:41,800 The message I'd like to send Stephen Cox is that he should come in, turn himself in, 681 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:45,800 and face up to the people that he's really, really hurt. 682 00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:54,800 Short of Steve Cox winning the lottery and coming back and paying back all of his investors, 683 00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:59,800 I don't foresee them ever being able to recoup any of their losses. 684 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:03,800 Steve Cox is the one who's in prison right now. 685 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,800 He's the one who's doing time right now. 686 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:12,800 And he will continue to do time until he turns around and faces the situation, 687 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:15,800 until he lives up to his responsibilities. 688 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:23,800 Because Steve, every day, has to wonder if somebody's going to walk in to where he's working, 689 00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:28,800 or if he's going to be at the market, and somebody's going to see him. 690 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:30,800 It's a small world. 691 00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:39,800 Stephen Cox is six feet two inches tall, has blond hair and blue eyes, and weighs over 200 pounds. 692 00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:47,800 He is now 38 years old, and he may be wearing a toupee, as well as a beard or mustache. 693 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:57,800 Update. Stephen Cox has been arrested in Lake Mead, Nevada, 25 miles southeast of Las Vegas. 694 00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:02,800 Five days after he fled from Boise, Cox checked into the Lake Mead Lodge Motel. 695 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:07,800 He registered under the name John Strauss and listed in Arizona address. 696 00:44:08,800 --> 00:44:12,800 He was not the normal guest. He stayed in his room all day long. 697 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:17,800 He would only leave at night. Very seldom did he leave in the daytime. 698 00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:24,800 And we noticed that the license plates were not the same as he had put down on his registration card. 699 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:29,800 And that made us a little suspicious, but yet nothing we could put a finger on. 700 00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:34,800 Two weeks later, Edna Reed made a starting discovery. 701 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:39,800 One day when I was out on the grounds, I saw the guest come out of his room. 702 00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:46,800 Instead of putting his trash and the bin in front of his room, he took it up to number 35, which was several doors away. 703 00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:51,800 And when I went to empty the trash out of that bin, I found the crumpled up letter. 704 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:54,800 And like any curious female, I read the letter. 705 00:44:55,800 --> 00:45:01,800 When I read the letter, I saw the part that said something about the unsolved mystery show being a bombshell. 706 00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:10,800 I showed the letter to my husband, Harold, and between the two of us, we decided it was time, definitely, to call the Rangers and tell them about the guest. 707 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:18,800 Lake Mead Park Rangers immediately ran a computer check and discovered that the car belonged to someone other than John Strauss. 708 00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:26,800 On the morning of the 14th, we began to look for the person by going to the Lake Mead Lodge to see if we could identify, in fact, who he really was. 709 00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:31,800 When we got there, the vehicle was gone and the person was gone and had been gone for 15 or 20 minutes. 710 00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:39,800 The next morning, Park Rangers spotted Cox's car and pulled him over in the parking lot of the Goldstrike Casino. 711 00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:45,800 After we made the traffic stop, he produced identification, a driver's license issued to a Robert Davis. 712 00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:55,800 And we checked that name and data birth through the NCIC computer and found that it was an alias used by one, Stephen Cox, and that there was a warrant for Mr. Cox. 713 00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:58,800 At that point, we placed him under arrest. 714 00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:04,800 During the search of Cox's car, Park Rangers uncovered a small fortune. 715 00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:22,800 When we looked in the passenger compartment of the vehicle and in the trunk, we found suitcases and other luggage-type bags filled with jewelry, rings, necklaces, collector-type baseball cards, some gold coins, silver coins. 716 00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:31,800 And I was really very curious to know why he had it in the vehicle and if, in fact, this was the stuff that he was wanted for taking in the first place. 717 00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:41,800 The next morning, we found a car and a car. 718 00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:54,800 Every parent's worst nightmare is the loss of a child to a violent stranger. 719 00:46:55,800 --> 00:47:00,800 Tonight, the Philadelphia Police Department needs your help in solving the brutal murder of a four-year-old girl. 720 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:04,800 We have with us Lieutenant Arthur Durant, Investigating Officer in the case. 721 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:08,800 Lieutenant Durant, could you tell us a little something about Barbara Jean and her family? 722 00:47:09,800 --> 00:47:14,800 Barbara Jean was four and a half years old. She was the only child of Sharon and John Fay. 723 00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:20,800 She lived with her parents in the northeast section of Philadelphia, which is a relatively crime-free, middle-class section. 724 00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:23,800 What are the circumstances of her murder? 725 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:32,800 On July 12, 1988, approximately 3 p.m. in the afternoon, while her mother was at work, Barbara Jean was out front of her house playing. 726 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:36,800 Her father went to check on her and was unable to find her. 727 00:47:37,800 --> 00:47:41,800 He became frantic and started searching the area for her. He checked with the neighbors and called police. 728 00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:44,800 The police came and they searched the area. 729 00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:50,800 Approximately two hours later, Barbara Jean was found, stuffed inside a cardboard box, approximately two blocks from her home. 730 00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:52,800 She had been bludgeoned to death. 731 00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:55,800 What clues do you have to the identity of the killer? 732 00:47:56,800 --> 00:48:01,800 Four eyewitnesses observed a man at St. Vincent and Caster carrying a cardboard box. 733 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:10,800 The man has been described as approximately 25 to 35 years old, white male, 5'8", 180 pounds. 734 00:48:11,800 --> 00:48:13,800 Sandy brown hair with a little bit of blonde up front. 735 00:48:13,800 --> 00:48:22,800 At the time, he was wearing a white T-shirt, cut off jeans, and he was carrying a cardboard box that previously contained a 13-inch color Hitachi television set. 736 00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:25,800 How can our audience help solve this tragic crime? 737 00:48:26,800 --> 00:48:37,800 We feel there's somebody out there tonight that might have seen this male on January 12, 1988, or might know somebody that's engaged in this type of criminal activity, that might have been in the Philadelphia area and fits this description. 738 00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:45,800 This was a special investigation. 739 00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:07,800 For every mystery, there is someone somewhere who knows the truth. 740 00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:11,800 Perhaps that someone was watching, perhaps it's you.