1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,520 This program is about unsolved mysteries. 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,360 Whenever possible, the actual family members and police 3 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,240 officials have participated in recreating the events. 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:11,960 What you are about to see is not a news broadcast. 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,400 17-year-old Kurtz soldier disappeared after an impromptu 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:21,200 party. 7 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,160 Five days later, Kurtz's body was found. 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,240 But no cause of death could be determined. 9 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,760 No one knows how or why he died. 10 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,920 Last May, two boys found a rock card with mysterious symbols. 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,040 Suddenly, a phenomenal run of good luck began. 12 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,640 They believed the rock has special powers. 13 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,760 In New Mexico, a Catholic priest was lured to an isolated 14 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:46,520 truck stop and abducted. 15 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:49,720 In Montana, another priest mysteriously vanished. 16 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,920 Authorities fear a priest killer may be on the loose. 17 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,960 1949, chunking China. 18 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,600 As a Communist revolution of Mao Zedong sweeps the country, 19 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:01,760 an American GI named Melvin Nellis 20 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,400 is shipped back to the States, forced to leave behind 21 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,480 his girlfriend and their five-year-old son, John. 22 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:09,680 More than two decades later, the boy 23 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,640 is a grown man from thousands of refugees fleeing Vietnam 24 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,240 during the fall of Saigon. 25 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,080 Today, John Nellis is an American citizen. 26 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,040 Today, John Nellis is an American citizen 27 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,440 with a good job and a new family. 28 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:29,040 But the painful memories of Vietnam are still fresh. 29 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:30,920 Like his father before him, John Nellis 30 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,560 left behind a young son when he came to the United States. 31 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:35,400 Join me. 32 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,800 Perhaps you can help reunite a family torn apart by war. 33 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:32,760 On October the 28th, 1981, in Newburgh Heights, Ohio, 34 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,040 a suburb of Cleveland, three young boys 35 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:37,480 made a gruesome discovery. 36 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:42,280 Wow. 37 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:44,400 Is this a dummy? 38 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,160 I don't know. 39 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:47,480 I don't think so. 40 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:48,440 Think it's real. 41 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:49,360 Let's get out of here. 42 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:58,080 The body the young boys found seemed to have been deliberately 43 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:00,720 placed where it lay. 44 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,160 Apart from some minor scratches and bruises, 45 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,960 there was no sign of injury. 46 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,640 One tennis shoe was in a pile of rocks 12 feet away. 47 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:13,400 The other shoe was missing. 48 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,240 Several hours later, the body was positively 49 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,080 identified as 17-year-old Kurt Sova. 50 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:23,680 An autopsy revealed that Kurt had died 24 to 36 hours 51 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,720 before his body was found. 52 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,840 But he had been missing for five days. 53 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:37,920 I would like to know where Kurt was these five days. 54 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:43,400 I would like to know how he died, what caused his death. 55 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,800 I'm sure somebody knows because somebody put him there. 56 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,280 Somebody either was with him when he died, 57 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:53,000 or somebody came upon him after he died 58 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,160 and evidently panicked and put him down there. 59 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,040 They didn't want to be caught with him. 60 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,520 Ken and Dorothy Sova called unsolved mysteries 61 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:03,120 in a final effort to find answers 62 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,480 of the questions that plagued them. 63 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,480 Where was Kurt during the five days he was missing? 64 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,160 Did he die in the vacant lot, or was his body placed there? 65 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,240 And is it really possible for a perfectly healthy 17-year-old 66 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,680 boy to die without any apparent cause? 67 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,720 The sudden unexpected death of a teenager is always tragic. 68 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,360 But for Ken and Dorothy Sova, the tragedy 69 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,280 is compounded by the mysterious circumstances surrounding 70 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:30,680 Kurt's disappearance and death. 71 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,040 Kurt Sova lived with his parents in this quiet blue collar 72 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,360 neighborhood on the outskirts of Cleveland. 73 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,520 He was the youngest of Ken and Dorothy Sova's four sons, 74 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,000 and the closest to his parents. 75 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:53,720 He never had any trouble with the neighbors. 76 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:55,720 I never had any trouble with him in school. 77 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,800 I never had any trouble with him with the police. 78 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,480 That's why I can't understand what happened. 79 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,760 Kurt left home for the last time on Friday, October 80 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:12,680 23, late in the afternoon. 81 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:20,720 One block from his house, Kurt met up with a friend of his. 82 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:22,360 How you doing? 83 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:23,720 Nothing much, how about you? 84 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:24,640 Hey, party tonight. 85 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:25,560 Yeah, where? 86 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:26,880 Sus house. 87 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:28,480 Tonight? 88 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:32,800 I was planning on going to the haunted house. 89 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:34,960 Kurt Sova never returned home. 90 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,080 It was not like him to be gone overnight. 91 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,400 It was not like him to stay out after 10, 10, 92 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,000 10, 11 o'clock the latest, and that was only when 93 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,000 we knew where he was. 94 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:48,800 This night, he just never came home. 95 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,680 By Saturday morning, Kurt's parents were worried. 96 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:57,920 Dorothy began calling Kurt's friends, 97 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,440 while Ken scoured the area. 98 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,600 We searched all the neighborhoods, all the places 99 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:07,680 that we figured Kurt would be. 100 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,840 And as that day went by, looking for him, 101 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:14,200 nobody turned Kurt up. 102 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:15,720 And I started getting really worried. 103 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:20,000 Thank you. 104 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,160 On Sunday, the Sova's registered Kurt 105 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,880 as a missing person with a Cleveland police. 106 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,000 Meanwhile, Dorothy papered the neighborhood 107 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:29,720 with missing flyers. 108 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:31,540 Excuse me. 109 00:06:31,540 --> 00:06:32,440 Hi. 110 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:33,340 Can I help you? 111 00:06:33,340 --> 00:06:35,680 Oh, we searched the ravines. 112 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:37,040 Searched the schoolyards. 113 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,480 I even went so far as to search dumpsters looking for him. 114 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,120 On Sunday afternoon, Dorothy turned up a lead. 115 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,080 Kurt's friends told her that he had been at a party Friday 116 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,840 night at Newburgh Heights, less than two miles 117 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:54,920 from where the Sova's lived. 118 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,160 Dorothy went to the duplex, where she had heard 119 00:06:57,160 --> 00:06:59,120 the party was held. 120 00:06:59,120 --> 00:06:59,760 Yeah? 121 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:01,080 Are you Susan? 122 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:02,880 No, Susan is in here right now. 123 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:07,760 When I went there, the girl who had the party was not there. 124 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,560 It was another girl. 125 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,040 She claimed she was babysitting and that the other girl 126 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:13,760 was working. 127 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,240 Do you know anything about a party that was here last Friday? 128 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:19,360 No. 129 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,520 Could you possibly have Susan call me when she gets home 130 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:23,640 to our true important? 131 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:24,720 Sure, sure. 132 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:26,880 Let me give you my name and phone number. 133 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:27,880 All right. 134 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:31,360 Please have her call me. 135 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:32,260 Yeah, all right. 136 00:07:32,260 --> 00:07:33,160 Thank you. 137 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:34,880 All right. 138 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,080 When the girl returned home that had rented that apartment, 139 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:39,400 she called me. 140 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,720 And she said she never saw my son and she had no party. 141 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:52,320 Despite what the woman named Susan told Dorothy Sova, 142 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,160 a pizza delivery man stated that indeed there 143 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,880 had been a party at the duplex on Friday night. 144 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,880 Dorothy contacted Susan again, and this time 145 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,080 she admitted Kurt had been there. 146 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,320 More than a dozen people had dropped by, 147 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,280 some of them older than Kurt. 148 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,360 Most of them people he had never met before. 149 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:17,120 Susan told Dorothy that Kurt had been drinking very heavily. 150 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,760 Those who knew him say that Kurt was not much of a drinker, 151 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,120 and his slight build added to his low tolerance for alcohol. 152 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:30,920 I was shocked to hear Kurt was drinking. 153 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,280 I never knew him to drink. 154 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,000 I'm sure if everyone else was drinking, 155 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,960 he probably was drinking at that party. 156 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,800 I never knew him or his normal friends to drink. 157 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:45,840 But these were not his normal friends he was with this night. 158 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,080 They were all a whole new group of people. 159 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,440 The fellow that Kurt went to the party with 160 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,000 told us that Kurt had become ill. 161 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,120 He took him outside for some air, 162 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:00,600 and because it was a chilly night, 163 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,400 he said he went upstairs to get Kurt's jacket, 164 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:05,160 and he left him hanging on the fence. 165 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:14,720 He said he went up to get his jacket and came back down, 166 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:15,640 and Kurt was gone. 167 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:21,720 That's when I think I became hysterical. 168 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,240 I thought, my god, something had happened to him. 169 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,920 I met that party or in between the party and home. 170 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:32,560 Only I didn't in my wildest dreams expect him to turn up dead. 171 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:43,000 On Wednesday, October the 28th, five days after he left home, 172 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,160 Kurt Sova's body was found in a ravine on Harvard Street. 173 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,240 He was found just 500 yards from the duplex, 174 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,720 or he had last been seen alive. 175 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,760 We have a young male, probably about 16 or 17. 176 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:01,480 It's our belief that his body was dumped out there, 177 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:07,000 and whoever the person or persons were knew the area. 178 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,040 And they knew that people go back there and ride dirt bikes, 179 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:12,680 and kids play back there. 180 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:18,400 So they knew that eventually within a certain amount of time 181 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,040 that he would be found. 182 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:24,640 The police combed the area for clues. 183 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,360 They found Kurt's left shoe wedged in some rocks less 184 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:30,320 than 12 feet away from his body. 185 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,000 They were never able to locate his right shoe. 186 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,920 Photo 29. 187 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,440 Kurt's body was taken to the Cuyahoga County 188 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,320 Coroner's office for an autopsy. 189 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,840 The coroner determined that Kurt had died 24 to 36 hours 190 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,000 before his body was found, which meant 191 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,440 that he had been alive for at least three days 192 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:53,560 after he left the party. 193 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:55,880 What the coroner could not determine, however, 194 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,120 was the exact cause of death. 195 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,560 On the basis of the things that we saw, and equally important, 196 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:05,640 the things that we did not see, what was absent. 197 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:07,120 We felt that Kurt's over had died 198 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:09,400 from instantaneous physiologic death, 199 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:11,880 and the manner of death, in this particular case, 200 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,080 was signed out as probable accidental. 201 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,200 Because we eliminated everything else. 202 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:17,680 He hadn't been beaten in any way. 203 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:19,720 He hadn't been traumatized in any way. 204 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,760 He hadn't been, he didn't have enough alcohol to end his life. 205 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:24,640 He had no pre-existing natural disease. 206 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,920 And as Shulak Holm said, you eliminate 207 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:30,080 all other possibilities, and that which remains is the truth. 208 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,120 This was a diagnosis by exclusion. 209 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:39,280 I didn't believe that they couldn't tell me how Kurt died, 210 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:41,800 which is in material to me, what they put on that piece 211 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:43,520 of paper for my peace of mind. 212 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:48,000 I want to know what happened to my boy. 213 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,040 But I'm not really sure I want to know who put him in that ravine. 214 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,400 I couldn't do that to somebody's animal, 215 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,040 let alone a human being. 216 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,240 I just want to know what happened to my boy. 217 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,720 After the initial shock of Kurt's death had abated, 218 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:08,840 Dorothy Silva began to piece together 219 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,160 a series of strange events that had occurred during the five 220 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:14,000 days when her son was missing. 221 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,960 On Monday, three days after Kurt disappeared, 222 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:19,880 one of his friends, David Trusnick, 223 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,840 claims he saw Kurt and another boy walking 224 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:27,040 along a busy street less than a mile from the Silva home. 225 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:30,560 I was on my way to a job interview, was on a Monday morning. 226 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:32,200 And I spotted Kurt. 227 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,320 And he was with somebody I didn't recognize. 228 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,680 And I pulled over to offer Kurt a ride. 229 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,080 I pulled over to offer Kurt a ride. 230 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:46,480 At this point, a van pulled up. 231 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,640 And Kurt yelled out, Franco, they both ran over to the van 232 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:51,720 and they got in the van. 233 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:55,880 I didn't know Kurt was missing. 234 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:57,520 If I knew he was missing, there would probably 235 00:12:57,520 --> 00:12:58,520 been something I could have done. 236 00:12:58,520 --> 00:12:59,560 I could have followed the van. 237 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:02,240 I could have did something, you know, but I didn't know. 238 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:06,320 And two days later, he was found dead. 239 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:07,600 That was the last time I seen him. 240 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:18,960 Also on Monday, a stranger who had been seen hanging around 241 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,480 the Silva's neighborhood noticed Kurt's missing poster 242 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,320 in the window of a local record store. 243 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:27,120 There you go. 244 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:28,020 Thank you. 245 00:13:28,020 --> 00:13:28,920 OK, see you later. 246 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:29,920 All right, bye-bye. 247 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:33,760 Can I help you with something? 248 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,080 See that picture of that boy over there? 249 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:38,080 Yeah, what about it? 250 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,240 You might as well take it down. 251 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:42,480 Gonna find him dead in two days. 252 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:43,880 Nobody's gonna know why he died. 253 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:48,720 The manager was skeptical. 254 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:53,840 However, she soon had a reason to take the stranger seriously. 255 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:57,440 The next day, before the record shop had opened, 256 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,480 he left flowers in a note. 257 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,280 And the note said, roses are red. 258 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:04,440 Sky is blue. 259 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:05,600 They found him dead. 260 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,280 And they'll find you too. 261 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:10,120 Police questioned him. 262 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,480 And they said he was a crazy from Detroit. 263 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:17,360 And I didn't see him after that. 264 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,920 Because Kurt was only missing at this point, 265 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,720 the police released the young man from Detroit. 266 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:28,840 Later, when Kurt was found dead, the man had disappeared. 267 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:32,640 Then on Wednesday, the very day Kurt's body would be found. 268 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:34,760 Dorothy Silva received an early morning phone 269 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:37,280 call from Susan, the young woman who 270 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,160 lived in the duplex where Kurt had been 271 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,360 drinking on Friday night. 272 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,280 I got a phone call at 3.30 in the morning. 273 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:49,240 And she told me that someone was sleeping in her basement. 274 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,280 And perhaps it was Kurt. 275 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,360 And I thought, why are you calling me now 276 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,440 after lying to me so many times? 277 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,600 I didn't know whether to believe her or not believe her. 278 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:04,800 My wife told me that the girl called about 3 o'clock 279 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:08,960 in the morning and told her that she thinks that Kurt was 280 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:10,120 sleeping in the basement. 281 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,000 I proceeded to go over the house there. 282 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,080 And I went down to the basement. 283 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,520 And I thought maybe he was sick or he was hurt. 284 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,920 And I figured if I got down there and found him, 285 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:29,440 then maybe I can do something for him. 286 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:44,040 There I found a cot that it looked like somebody had slept 287 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:45,000 in there. 288 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,040 But after searching the whole basement, 289 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,560 I didn't find anybody in there. 290 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,160 I have no idea if it was Kurt or not. 291 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,280 All I know is somebody did sleep in that cot that night. 292 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:56,680 And when I got there, they were gone. 293 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:06,080 I think Kurt was there. 294 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:10,200 I think he was already dead in that cot. 295 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,960 But I think they panicked and got rid of his body 296 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:14,760 in that ravine. 297 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,440 Whether or not Kurt had died in the basement, 298 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,800 Dorothy and Ken Silver are positive of one thing. 299 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,600 24 hours before his body was found, 300 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,760 Kurt was not in the ravine. 301 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,680 Ken Silver had searched there and found nothing. 302 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,840 I knew it wasn't there the day that I was searching. 303 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,920 Well, he must have dumped it off that evening. 304 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:44,920 I looked around and I'm sure that if Kurt was down there, 305 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,000 I would have noticed that bright yellow t-shirt 306 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,120 that he had on against any of the terrine. 307 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:51,760 Finally, three months after Kurt's death, 308 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,000 Dorothy had reason to be suspicious again. 309 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,560 The death of a boy Kurt used to know, Eugene Kvett, 310 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,200 seemed to have an eerie resemblance to Kurt's. 311 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,200 Eugene was found in another ravine on Harvard Street, 312 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,040 2 and 1 half miles from the place Kurt's body had been 313 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:09,080 discovered. 314 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,120 Both boys had been missing for some time 315 00:17:11,120 --> 00:17:12,920 preceding their deaths. 316 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,720 And Eugene Kvett's right shoe was on the floor. 317 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,320 And Eugene Kvett's right shoe was also never found. 318 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:25,040 The mysterious death of Kurt's sova 319 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,240 leaves a trail of disturbing questions in his wake. 320 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:31,320 How exactly did Kurt die? 321 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:35,040 Where had he been for the five days after he left home? 322 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:39,080 Had Kurt slept in the basement of the duplex? 323 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,480 Was there any connection between Kurt's death 324 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,560 and the death of Eugene Kvett? 325 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,240 Seven years later, Dorothy and Ken Sova 326 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,400 are still searching for answers. 327 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,200 We still don't know any more than the day 328 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:53,600 we went out looking for him. 329 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,680 But I believe that somebody out there 330 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,200 knows exactly what happened to Kurt 331 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:03,000 and they're just being quiet about it. 332 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:07,120 I don't think I will ever come to peace with myself 333 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:08,640 until I find my answers. 334 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,200 And if I don't find out through this program, 335 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:15,720 I'll keep on searching. 336 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,960 I'll search till the day I'm buried myself. 337 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:23,920 I will never give up because I don't 338 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,680 believe that a normal, healthy boy just walks away 339 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:33,120 and disappears for five days and then ends up dead in a ravine. 340 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:35,400 I know somebody knows what happened to him. 341 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,200 The End 342 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,520 April 1975, South Vietnam. 343 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,720 As Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, 344 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,320 thousands of refugees fought to leave the country. 345 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,320 To John Nellis, the son of a Vietnamese woman 346 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:16,000 and an American soldier, this exodus was a nightmare. 347 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:19,120 Under the cloak of darkness, John and his wife, Tb Vivian, 348 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:21,600 jumped into the back of a truck for the first step 349 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,120 in a journey that was to take them to the United States. 350 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,880 They narrowly avoided being shot by angry South Vietnamese 351 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:32,380 troops. 352 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:40,080 I was really terrified because I was thinking, 353 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,160 will we make it? 354 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:49,960 We thought we were, we got a chance to get out the country. 355 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:51,720 But we don't know exactly where we're going. 356 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:57,440 John and Vivian were lucky. 357 00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,160 They managed to escape. 358 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,120 But today, the turmoil in John's life continues. 359 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,440 The history of 20th century Asia has been marked 360 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,880 by violent war and revolution. 361 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:13,600 42-year-old John Nellis's life has been torn apart 362 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:15,280 by these conflicts. 363 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:17,600 For when John was still a child, his American father 364 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,400 was swept from his life by the bloody rise 365 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,760 of China's Mao Tse Tung. 366 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,840 And in 1973, as the United States was withdrawing from Vietnam, 367 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:28,120 John's infant son disappeared in the chaos 368 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:30,680 that marked the ending of another war. 369 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,000 Today, this new American citizen needs your help 370 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,400 to finally close this tragic circle. 371 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,920 By reuniting with a son he wants to know 372 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:39,400 and the father he never knew. 373 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,600 John's father's name was Melvin Nellis. 374 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:46,920 He was an American serviceman John's mother 375 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,840 met during the mid 1940s in Chongqing, China. 376 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,200 Chongqing was to become a focal point 377 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,440 for the revolution sweeping China as a nationalist regime, 378 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:01,480 a Chiang Kai-shek, was swept from power 379 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,440 by the Communist army of Mao Tse Tung. 380 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,680 Melvin Nellis was stationed in Chongqing. 381 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:09,640 And there he met, lived with, and loved John's mother. 382 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:11,840 OK, that's ready. 383 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:12,760 Here you go. 384 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:13,640 It's dinner time. 385 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:14,600 Are you hungry? 386 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:15,520 Yeah. 387 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:16,520 OK, great. 388 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,320 When John was five years old, his father 389 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,440 was shipped back to the States. 390 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,240 Still wish he could come with me. 391 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,520 As his father and mother were not legally married, 392 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,040 she could not follow him to the United States. 393 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:33,320 Melvin Nellis promised to be a part of the United States 394 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:35,760 and promised to write, but eventually the letter stopped. 395 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:41,200 John never heard from his father again. 396 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:50,000 My mother did not let me go with my father 397 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,640 because I'm the only child she has. 398 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:58,240 And also in the Asia culture, the boy 399 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:01,440 is the foundation of the family. 400 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:06,480 My mother also wanted me to be around with her just in case 401 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,600 I can support her when she grew old. 402 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,080 In 1952, John and his mother moved to her homeland, 403 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:18,600 South Vietnam. 404 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:23,320 At this time, the Vietnam War was gathering momentum. 405 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,360 John's mother made a marginal living selling produce 406 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:28,480 but was still able to save just enough money 407 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,120 to send her son to private schools. 408 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:33,200 There he was able to learn English and receive 409 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,520 a Western education. 410 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:40,920 My mother, she did make a lot of sacrifice for me. 411 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:45,560 She has to spend at least 2-3 of her income 412 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:46,800 to send me to that school. 413 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:53,360 In 1957, John's mother took her son to the United States 414 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:54,840 Embassy in Saigon. 415 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:56,280 This is my son, John. 416 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:57,280 Hello, John. 417 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:58,000 Hello. 418 00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,280 I'm John Quinn. 419 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,760 Won't you have a seat? 420 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:03,360 What can I do for you? 421 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:06,680 I would like to register my son for immigration 422 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,440 to go to the United States. 423 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:13,800 After my mother lost contact with my father, 424 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,200 she has a financial hardship. 425 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,880 So she was thinking of sending me to the United States 426 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:28,200 because she was afraid that she could not take care of me. 427 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,520 At the embassy, she was able to secure a registration document 428 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,160 that proved that John's father was an American. 429 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,160 This document was to be vital in his later immigration 430 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:38,280 to the United States. 431 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,640 As the war in Vietnam escalated, John's personal life 432 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,960 also went through dramatic changes. 433 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,880 He met a woman and fathered her child. 434 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,880 Then in 1971, she left him and took John's son. 435 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,040 In 1973, she married an American Marine 436 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,080 and John believed that the couple had taken the boy with them 437 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:06,080 to the United States. 438 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:12,560 First of all, I feel a little sad because I lost the son. 439 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:16,640 But I feel happy because he can go to the United States, 440 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,080 has a proper education, have a better life, 441 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,320 so he doesn't end up like myself. 442 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,320 In April of 1975, John and his new girlfriend Vivian 443 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:29,320 run one of the last planes leaving Saigon. 444 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:37,320 I was taking a last look down through the door 445 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,320 where the plane up high, you know, 446 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:41,320 I see all the light of the city. 447 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,320 And I know this is just a goodbye. 448 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:50,320 And I say, well, I'm going to go to the United States 449 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:55,320 and I say, well, finally, I make the trip to the United States. 450 00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:59,320 Later after John had settled in America, 451 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,320 he was to learn that his boy had been left behind 452 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,320 in the chaos and carnage that had overtaken Vietnam. 453 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:11,320 After John and Vivian's daring escape, they were married. 454 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,320 They currently live in an affluent suburb in Orange County, California 455 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,320 where John works as an electronics technician. 456 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,320 In 1986, the couple became citizens 457 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:23,320 and they have a three-year-old daughter, Vianna. 458 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:30,320 Despite John's newfound happiness, his life is full of loose ends. 459 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:32,320 He has lost both his father and his son 460 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,320 and longs to be reconciled with both. 461 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:40,320 If my father and my son watching me right now, 462 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,320 I would like to tell them how much I miss them 463 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,320 and I love them. 464 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:51,320 And I would like to reunite it and see them again. 465 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:59,320 John's father, Melvin Nellis, served in China in the late 1940s. 466 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:03,320 His last letters to his Asian family were mailed from Ohio. 467 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:07,320 Melvin Nellis would today be between 60 and 70 years old. 468 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:11,320 Thanks to our broadcast, John Nellis learned 469 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,320 that his father's now retired and living in Tokyo, Japan. 470 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:17,320 Incredibly, just three weeks later, 471 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,320 John's search for his son Daniel also came to an end 472 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:24,320 when they were reunited after more than 17 years. 473 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,320 Oh, he's coming. 474 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,320 That's him, that's him right there. 475 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:46,320 For so many years, I miss him, I think of him all the time 476 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,320 and I'm so happy to see him. 477 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,320 This is a real dream come true. 478 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:55,320 And it's a miracle. 479 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:01,320 When I saw my dad, I was so excited and very happy. 480 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:06,320 When I looked into his eyes and saw his family, 481 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:08,320 I found happiness. 482 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:12,320 Daniel's first day in America was overwhelming. 483 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:14,320 Not only did he reunite with his father, 484 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:18,320 he also met his stepmother and half-sister for the first time. 485 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:24,320 Now he's with me, I want to do my best, 486 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:28,320 give him a good chance in life and a better future for him. 487 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:32,320 And make up for what he has lost. 488 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:34,320 Come on, say cheese. 489 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:41,320 In a moment, the story of two priests 490 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,320 connected by a violent and unexplained fate. 491 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,320 Someone may have a vendetta against clergy, 492 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,320 and that someone will still at large. 493 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:07,320 When they're ordained, Catholic priests 494 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:09,320 vow to become servants of God 495 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:11,320 and servants of their community. 496 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,320 Their doors always open to those in need, 497 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,320 but their faith can place them in jeopardy. 498 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:20,320 A priest's willingness to help, no matter who, 499 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:23,320 no matter when, no matter where, 500 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,320 can even threaten his own life. 501 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,320 Father Ronaldo Rivera of Santa Fe, New Mexico has been murdered, 502 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,320 and Father John Kerrigan of Ronan, Montana 503 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,320 has mysteriously disappeared. 504 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:40,320 Authorities fear these two cases, 505 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:44,320 1000 miles and two years apart, may be connected. 506 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:48,320 It is even possible that there's a serial killer at large 507 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:52,320 who is exclusively murdering Catholic priests. 508 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,320 St. Francis Cathedral, Father Gerard speaking. 509 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,320 On the evening of August 7th, 1982, 510 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,320 a call for help was telephoned to the rectory 511 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,320 of St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 512 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:09,320 I have impaired vision. I cannot drive at night. 513 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,320 But could you call back in a few minutes? 514 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,320 I'm sure another father will... 515 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,320 Father Patrick Gerard couldn't leave the rectory 516 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,320 and asked the caller to telephone again in 15 minutes. 517 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:21,320 Thank you very much, and God bless you. 518 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,320 Exactly 15 minutes later, the telephone rang again. 519 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,320 This time, Father Ronaldo Rivera took the call. 520 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:35,320 This is Father Ronaldo. 521 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:39,320 Hello, Father. I need the help of a priest. 522 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,320 My grandfather is dying. 523 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,320 The caller was insistent. 524 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:45,320 He wanted a priest to come immediately 525 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:47,320 to administer the last rites. 526 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,320 Are you familiar with the rest stop just south of Santa Fe? 527 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:52,320 Yes, yes, I am. 528 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:54,320 Well, how long will it take you to get there? 529 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:57,320 I can be there in 20 minutes. 530 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,320 I'll see you there. 531 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:01,320 The man said his name was Michael Carmelo, 532 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:03,320 and that he was telephoning from a rest stop 533 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,320 near Waldo, New Mexico, 20 miles away. 534 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,320 Goodbye, Father. 535 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:17,320 Father Rivera left that evening to meet someone 536 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:19,320 at the rest area in Santa Fe. 537 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,320 This was on a Thursday evening. 538 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,320 He was reported missing Thursday night. 539 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:25,320 Then show up Friday. 540 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:28,320 It was on a broadcast made that Father Rivera was missing. 541 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:30,320 Obviously, we had a location. 542 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,320 At least we knew it was Waldo somewhere in that area, 543 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,320 because the priest remembered Waldo, New Mexico. 544 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:40,320 We had hundreds of volunteers, hundreds of citizens 545 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:44,320 volunteer their time to come out to the Waldo area, 546 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,320 and we searched on horseback. 547 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,320 They had four-wheel drives. 548 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:51,320 We had hundreds of people walking the area, 549 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,320 combing all the hills in the desert for him. 550 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:59,320 Probably 90% of the people in Santa Fe knew who he was, 551 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:03,320 or he had some impact in their lives at one time or another. 552 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,320 Two days after the search began, 553 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,320 Father Rivera's body was found on a deserted road 554 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:15,320 three miles from the rest stop. 555 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,320 At Father Rivera's funeral, the entire city mourned, 556 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:31,320 devastated by his brutal murder. 557 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:34,320 From Saturday until his burial, 558 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,320 the city was just awe-stricken. 559 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,320 Whether you were Lutheran Catholic, Protestant, Jew, 560 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:44,320 we were just all one at that time. 561 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,320 The very fact that he went out there on this call 562 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:50,320 was an act of charity and act of love. 563 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,320 I think because he was a Christian, 564 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:56,320 I think because he showed this love for people, 565 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,320 the people just responded. 566 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:01,320 And so when he died, I think there was that sadness 567 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:04,320 in their heart for somebody that they loved. 568 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:07,320 Everybody loved Father Rinaldo. 569 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:11,320 I'm sure he's happy where he is now, 570 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:14,320 and we miss him. 571 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:21,320 The night of the murder, a man calling himself Carmelo 572 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:23,320 was waiting for Father Rivera at the rest stop 573 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,320 in a blue pickup truck. 574 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:29,320 Lieutenant Ulybree has developed a theory of what happened next. 575 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,320 The killers were probably there waiting for him. 576 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:38,320 When he arrived at the rest area, they signaled him out. 577 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:40,320 Father. 578 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:41,320 Are you the priest they sent? 579 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:42,320 Yes, I am. 580 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:44,320 Father Rinaldo, why don't you come with us? 581 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,320 There's no way one individual could have handled Father Rivera. 582 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,320 He would have gave them a hard time. 583 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:53,320 So there had to be at least two people involved. 584 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,320 And we know they had a gun, obviously, because he was shot. 585 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:59,320 So I'm sure they controlled him with that weapon. 586 00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:03,320 But there had to be two people involved to subdue him, 587 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,320 because he was a very strong individual. 588 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:13,320 Ulybree believes the killers took Father Rivera 589 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,320 to a remote desert area. 590 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:17,320 Let's go. 591 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:18,320 Let's go outside. 592 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:19,320 Perfect. 593 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:20,320 Move! 594 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:21,320 Get him out! 595 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:22,320 Get him out! 596 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:24,320 Come on, move! 597 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:25,320 Move, move! 598 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:27,320 Right there. 599 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:30,320 He was not killed where he was found. 600 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:34,320 They drove to a location three months ago, and they left. 601 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:39,320 They could have hit him anywhere. 602 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,320 They could have killed him. 603 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:45,320 They could have hit him anywhere in that wall there, 604 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:47,320 and there's several places in the wall 605 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:51,320 where you can hide a body, and you'd never find it. 606 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:54,320 So obviously, they wanted him to be found. 607 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:59,320 After the crime, the killers returned to the rest stop 608 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:01,320 to remove Father Rivera's car. 609 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:08,320 His vehicle was found in a rest area just east of Grantson, New Mexico, 610 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,320 which is about two hours from Santa Fe. 611 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:15,320 There was no physical evidence found in the vehicle. 612 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,320 We didn't find any fingerprints. 613 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:20,320 There was no blood stains, nothing to indicate 614 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:22,320 that someone had even driven the car. 615 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:24,320 It had been wiped clean. 616 00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:29,320 The Santa Fe police had few clues, 617 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:31,320 and after a nationwide check, 618 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:34,320 they found no suspects named Michael Carmelo. 619 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:39,320 As far as motive, Father Rivera was not the target. 620 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:43,320 A Catholic priest was the target for whatever reason. 621 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,320 Robbery was not a motive, 622 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,320 because there's nothing taken from the priest 623 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:51,320 other than his last rights kit, 624 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:55,320 and that's a possibility for a souvenir. 625 00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:59,320 Apparently, the killer would like to relive the experience 626 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:01,320 every time he looks at it. 627 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,320 He remembers killing a priest. 628 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,320 Two years later, on August 8, 1984, in Ronan, Montana, 629 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:13,320 another priest mysteriously disappeared. 630 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,320 Father John Kerrigan was new to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ronan. 631 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:24,320 He had only been there four days before he, too, vanished. 632 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:34,320 At 11 p.m. on the night he disappeared, 633 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:36,320 Father Kerrigan went to a bakery across the street 634 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,320 from the church to chat with his new parishioners. 635 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:40,320 Welcome to Ronan. 636 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:41,320 Thank you. 637 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:42,320 Nice to have you here. 638 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:43,320 Oh, it's my pleasure. 639 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:44,320 Good. 640 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:46,320 Expect to see everybody here at Church Sparrow. 641 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,320 After a few minutes, he was returning home to go to bed. 642 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:54,320 The next day, at a turnout along the highway 643 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:56,320 that circles nearby Flathead Lake, 644 00:35:56,320 --> 00:36:00,320 a local fruit peddler discovered a pile of bloody clothes. 645 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:05,320 After we realized that they were Father Kerrigan's, 646 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:11,320 we did a search of that area around the cherry stand on the hill behind it. 647 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:16,320 A bloody coat hanger was found close to the clothing. 648 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:21,320 We concluded that the coat hanger could have been used either to tie someone up, 649 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:27,320 could have been used to strangle someone, we believe Father Kerrigan, 650 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,320 or also could have been used as a gag, 651 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:34,320 just no real way of determining exactly what the use was, 652 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:37,320 but it definitely is connected to the clothing. 653 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:40,320 And it wasn't just a hanger laying there, 654 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:44,320 it had been deformed and definitely used for some purpose. 655 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:49,320 A week later, Father Kerrigan's car was found abandoned 656 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:52,320 five miles from the area where his clothes had been discovered. 657 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:57,320 We know that car sat there where we found it for approximately a week 658 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,320 before it came to our attention. 659 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:03,320 We did a thorough search of that area, 660 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,320 and we found the keys lying in tall grass. 661 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:14,320 There was blood on the front seat, in the right door panel, 662 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:17,320 on the right floorboard. 663 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:20,320 I wonder if we got a body in the trunk here, Joe? 664 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:27,320 We found a shovel in the trunk with blood on it, 665 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:30,320 we found a pillow in the trunk with blood on it. 666 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:33,320 There was also blood splattered inside the trunk. 667 00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:38,320 The police were surprised to find $1,200 in Father Kerrigan's wallet. 668 00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:41,320 The money was not hidden, it was just, 669 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:44,320 normally as it would have been kept in a wallet. 670 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:48,320 None of that was disturbed, so we don't feel that robbery 671 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:51,320 was a motive for this particular crime. 672 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,320 A Lieutenant Ullabre learned of Father Kerrigan's disappearance. 673 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:01,320 He flew to Ronan to investigate the similarities between the two cases. 674 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:09,320 In both cases, the killer wanted people to know I killed a priest, 675 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:12,320 and here's the evidence to show I killed him. 676 00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:15,320 I still strongly believe that, um, 677 00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:19,320 whoever killed Father Rivera was involved with Father Kerrigan. 678 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:23,320 There are other similarities between the two cases. 679 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:26,320 Both victims' cars were driven away from the crime scene. 680 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:39,320 A deformed metal coat hanger was found near Father Kerrigan's clothes, 681 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:43,320 and there is evidence that coat hanger was used in Father Rivera's murder. 682 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,320 In both cases, robbery was not a motive, 683 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:53,320 and perhaps most significantly, both priests belong to the select order of Franciscans. 684 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:58,320 If there's other law enforcement agencies that have had a Catholic priest killed, 685 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:01,320 with some of the similarities we have just discussed here, 686 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:03,320 we'd like to hear from them. 687 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:07,320 And if possible, we have a serial killer going killing Catholic priests. 688 00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:18,320 Next, the story of a family transformed by incredible luck. 689 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:21,320 It all began with a bold, card with mysterious symbols. 690 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:25,320 Could a rock have the power to change people's fortunes? 691 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:38,320 Our next story is part Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and part Ferry Tail. 692 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:41,320 What it all boils down to is this. 693 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:47,320 Two boys in the state of Washington find a large rock covered with strange symbols deep in the forest. 694 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:50,320 Then a phenomenal run of good luck begins. 695 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:52,320 Is it coincidence or something more? 696 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,320 You be the judge. 697 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,320 On Saturday, May 14, 1988, 698 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:09,320 deep in an isolated stretch of woods near the Canadian border, 699 00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:18,320 13-year-old Jamie Park slid his friend Trevor Johnson along the meandering path of Tumwater Creek. 700 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:23,320 Jamie had found a special rock here and had decided to show it to his best friend. 701 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,320 See, didn't I tell you? 702 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:31,320 Wow. 703 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:32,320 It's neat. 704 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:35,320 Looks like people came and drew it with the stick. 705 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:37,320 Eons of years of years. 706 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:39,320 Yeah, I know. 707 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:43,320 One that I'm kind of wondering about is that man in the corner. 708 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:45,320 Could be a man or something like this. 709 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:46,320 It's like a stamp on a horse. 710 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:48,320 Maybe the merchants came and did it. 711 00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:49,320 It's really neat. 712 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:52,320 It's got all the aspects of nature. 713 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:58,320 The only way that somebody could ever do that is if it was clay 714 00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:01,320 or they had some space-age tool or something. 715 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:03,320 Why don't we go tell my dad? 716 00:41:03,320 --> 00:41:04,320 Let's go. 717 00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:14,320 I felt just an immediate need to go down and see this rock. 718 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:19,320 His excitement was contagious and really piqued my interest. 719 00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:26,320 And I turned and there was this beautiful rock with these markings on them. 720 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:28,320 I'd never seen anything quite like it. 721 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:33,320 I got a very immediate feeling that this rock had something to say. 722 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:38,320 It really had something very positive to say about life to me. 723 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:43,320 And being so challenged, I got a great boost out of it. 724 00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:48,320 When I first saw the rock, I had the most eerie feeling. 725 00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:51,320 It was a good feeling, a very positive one. 726 00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:56,320 But it just, you can't say the words that the rock makes you feel like. 727 00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:02,320 From that day on, Steve and Patty Johnson's lives would take a dramatic turn for the better. 728 00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:05,320 And they would attribute it to the rock. 729 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:10,320 For years, the Johnson family had been struggling financially. 730 00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:14,320 To help pay the bills, Patty took a job as a receptionist. 731 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:17,320 Even so, they found themselves in debt. 732 00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:20,320 Things were just looking really sad. 733 00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:24,320 We were in a small apartment, monies were not good. 734 00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:26,320 Patty and I were both working. 735 00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:29,320 I was working as a prison correctional officer. 736 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:31,320 I wasn't happy with the position. 737 00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:39,320 The pay wasn't sufficient for us to be able to even meet some of our bills, to be quite honest about it. 738 00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:49,320 To improve their financial situation, the Johnson's plan to open a small 100 square foot shop in a newly constructed local mall. 739 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:52,320 Patty quit her job so she could run the shop. 740 00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:56,320 But the plan backfired when construction ran behind schedule. 741 00:42:56,320 --> 00:43:00,320 Instead of improving, their financial situation worsened. 742 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:09,320 On May the 16th, 48 hours after Steve Johnson saw the rock for the first time, his luck began to change dramatically. 743 00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:11,320 Sure, Dennis, we can be right down. 744 00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:17,320 Honey, I wish Dennis Loeb, you'd like to know if we could come down to the landing mall right away. 745 00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:24,320 Out of the blue, the ownership of the mall approaches us with, listen, we'd like you to open up a 1000 square foot shop. 746 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:27,320 OK, this is the space I had in mind for you. 747 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:30,320 I was very upfront with him that we had no money to do that. 748 00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:37,320 And it wasn't a blinking of an eye and the gentleman says, well, we'll take care of getting your inventory. 749 00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:40,320 I really didn't overcome the shock at that time. 750 00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:46,320 I couldn't even ask an intelligent question, as I remember to the guy as to how they were going to do this. 751 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:51,320 We were both flabbergasted. We just couldn't believe that there are people out there that want to help. 752 00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:59,320 Three weeks later, in early June, Steve and Patty's dress shop opened and was a resounding success. 753 00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:03,320 Other business opportunities began to spring up unexpectedly. 754 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:10,320 Three days after the dress shop opened, Steve was offered a job as manager of the mall's only movie theater. 755 00:44:10,320 --> 00:44:19,320 The mall ownership was so impressed with Steve that in less than a month, they let him buy the theater outright for a very low price. 756 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:28,320 Three months and one day after he saw the rock, Steve opened a candy store, his third successful business venture in the mall. 757 00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:36,320 The Johnson's are convinced that their good fortune was related to the magical powers of the rock. 758 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:48,320 Last September, archaeologist Rick McClure examined the rock and determined that the petroglyphs were not carved by American Indians. 759 00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:55,320 McClure feels that the symbols were made in this century and have no religious significance or magical powers. 760 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:01,320 The Johnson's run of good luck continues unabated. 761 00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:09,320 Three months ago, they were offered a five-bedroom house for four years rent-free in return for making minor home repairs. 762 00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:13,320 For the Johnson's, it was a dream come true. 763 00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:24,320 Looking back at all the wonderful things that have happened, we're spending more time with our family, good quality time. 764 00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:32,320 Our income has grown to a point that we're actually being able to start to pay back people that have helped us over the years, 765 00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:36,320 and those type of things bring a lot of pleasure to us. 766 00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:43,320 I don't know if it's superstition or not, or if it's good luck, but it just seems like since that's happened, 767 00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:47,320 things have changed and things have come about for us. 768 00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:53,320 Is the Johnson family's streak of good fortune related to the rock and the scripted symbols? 769 00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:57,320 Most of us would probably call it a coincidence, but who knows? 770 00:45:57,320 --> 00:46:04,320 Sometimes the line between coincidence and something more mystical is an unsolved mystery. 771 00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:15,320 Join me next week for another edition of Unsolved Mysteries.