1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,640 This program is about unsolved mysteries. Whenever possible, the actual family members 2 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,720 and police officials have participated in recreating the events. What you are about 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:20,520 to see is not a news broadcast. 4 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:26,080 In 1945, five Navy torpedo bombers took off from a Florida airfield and headed east over 5 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:32,080 the Atlantic only to disappear without a trace. Thus the legend of the Bermuda Triangle was born. 6 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:45,080 Today an aviation researcher believes he has found one of the missing planes and solved the mystery of the lost patrol. 7 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,520 When she was a young woman, Marge Ryder faced the excruciating decision to give up a child 8 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:55,720 for adoption not once, not twice, but three times. Perhaps someone watching tonight is 9 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:00,520 one of the daughters she is searching for. 10 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:05,200 Near San Francisco, a 60 year old woman made a brave stand against drug dealers plaguing 11 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:10,400 her neighbor and was shot in her own home. Authorities need your help to find her unknown 12 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:16,120 attackers. We'll also bring you the poignant story of six children torn apart by adoption 13 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:22,640 four decades ago. One phone call may be the final step in bringing this family back together. 14 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,720 Join me. You may be able to help solve a mystery. 15 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:29,720 In 1945, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, five Navy Avenger torpedo bombers took off on a routine 16 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:34,720 training flight. There were 14 men on board. 17 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:47,720 The mission was known as Flight 19. Five hours after they took off, the entire squadron would vanish without a trace. 18 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:55,720 Their disappearance became the lynchpin of a modern legend of the supernatural. It has 19 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:02,080 been called the Triangle of Death, the Houdou Sea, or the Graveyard of the Atlantic. But 20 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:09,080 to most of us, the area where the five planes disappeared is known as the Bermuda Triangle. 21 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:16,120 This 400,000 square mile area in the eastern Atlantic extends from the south of Florida, 22 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:22,480 northeast to Bermuda, and southeast to Puerto Rico. According to experts, in the last 75 23 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:27,960 years, over 100 ships and planes have apparently disappeared in this region. Though at least 24 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:32,760 1,000 lives have been lost, the Triangle's most famous victims were the five Avengers 25 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:39,760 of Flight 19. For the last 45 years, the disappearance of Flight 19 has been used by 26 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:46,480 many as proof that the Bermuda Triangle does exist. The five planes were sent to a vanishing 27 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:52,600 side some supernatural vortex and then whisked away to another world. But recently, an aviation 28 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:58,040 investigator named John Meyer has come up with a more down-to-earth explanation. He is certain 29 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:03,800 that he has found one of the missing aircraft just 30 miles off the Florida coast. If Meyer 30 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,600 is correct, then one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries of this century may finally 31 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:15,640 be explained. For years, John Meyer has scrutinized Flight 19's flight plan, radio transmissions, 32 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:24,920 and the weather on the day of the disappearance. When I read the story and I read the transcripts 33 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:31,760 of the radio conversations, it triggered a response in me and I said, if this is true 34 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:37,920 and this is true, then I think I can find one of the airplanes. Last summer, using the 35 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:42,600 latest in modern technology, Meyer mounted his fourth underwater expedition looking for 36 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:48,560 one of the lost planes. In order to pinpoint his final resting place, Meyer has carefully 37 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:56,560 reconstructed the last flight of the lost Avengers. It all began at the Naval Air Station in Fort 38 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:04,560 Lauderdale, Florida. It was the afternoon of December 5, 1945. Lieutenant Charles Taylor 39 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:10,080 was assigned to command Flight 19. Known as a cool, capable pilot, Taylor had logged 40 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:17,080 over 2,500 hours as a naval aviator. You are scheduled for a low-level navigation problem. 41 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:22,560 You will fly 123 miles southeast, beginning your practice bomb... Before takeoff, the 42 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:28,160 crewman of Flight 19 were briefed on the routine training exercise by a senior operations officer. 43 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:34,720 12 miles and the winds are southwest at 18 knots and gusty. Again, I remind you, it can 44 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:40,040 change momentarily, so please be aware. Now, I respect your professionalism and let's go 45 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:47,040 over your ship. Captain, can I have a word with you in private, sir? All right, I'll be 46 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:54,040 back in five minutes. Relax. Just before takeoff, Lieutenant Taylor made an unusual request. 47 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,880 Sir, if it's all the same to you, I'd just soon you replace me on the flight this afternoon. 48 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:04,880 I'm just not feeling up to it. Why? What's the matter? I just don't feel right, sir. I'd 49 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:10,520 rather not be in the air today. Well, the rest of the instructors are off the base. You're 50 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:17,520 the last one on the roster. I'm sorry, son. You've got to go up. Some people speculated 51 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:24,720 that he was a party animal and he was out drinking. I don't think that's fair to him. The fact 52 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,360 was that for some reason he didn't feel 100 percent. Could have been an ear infection, 53 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:32,320 could have been the flu, could have been any number of things. And as a pilot, it was 54 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:39,320 his duty to say, I don't want to fly for whatever reason. At 2.10 p.m., the five planes left 55 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:46,840 the runway and headed east. Leaving Fort Lauderdale, the planes were to head 120 nautical miles 56 00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:03,160 southeast, make a practice bomb run, and then fly 73 miles northwest. They then would head 57 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:10,160 120 miles southwest back to Fort Lauderdale. Flight 19 consisted of four student pilots 58 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:17,960 who were qualified naval aviators. They each had more hours in the air than the FAA requires 59 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:22,960 now for a commercial license. They had gone through all of their training, but this one 60 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:29,960 flight. FT-28, the flight, I'm making my clearing turn. The flight was not following 61 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:36,960 Charles Taylor. He was the instructor pilot who was trailing behind the rest of the flight. 62 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:42,760 He was grading their performance. He wasn't doing the navigating. The other pilots in 63 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:49,760 the flight were doing their own navigation. FT-28, FT-36, area is clear, target is marked. 64 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:57,560 FT-28, the flight, target is at 12 o'clock, one mile out. Let's see what you're made 65 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:04,560 of. FT-36, Roger, I'm commencing my run. 66 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:18,160 Radio traffic indicated that the men successfully completed the practice bomb run. At approximately 67 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:23,400 3.10 p.m. on the second leg of the mission, Taylor's compass began to malfunction. 68 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:30,400 I don't know where we are. We must have got lost after that last turn. 69 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:39,240 Powers, what is your compass read? 70 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:43,140 Lieutenant, we're at 3.30 degrees. 71 00:08:43,140 --> 00:08:47,840 Meyer believes the coordinates given by the students were accurate. For some reason, Taylor 72 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:53,960 remained convinced that they were lost. At the Fort Lauderdale Air Station, the communication 73 00:08:53,960 --> 00:09:00,960 center monitoring the flight became concerned about Taylor's defective compasses. 74 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:07,960 At the time I am over small islands, believed to be Florida Keys, my compass is out. I'm 75 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:14,000 in the Keys, but I don't know how far down and I don't know how to get to Fort Lauderdale. 76 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:21,000 I am over land, but it's broken. I'm going to swing down and take another look. 77 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:28,360 Taylor had made a critical error. He thought that Flight 19 was in the Gulf of Mexico flying 78 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:34,360 over the Florida Keys. Meyer believes that in actuality, the flight was 300 miles northeast 79 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:40,000 of Taylor's estimated location, flying over the Abaco Islands and the West Atlantic. From 80 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:46,000 the air, the two island chains looked remarkably similar. Taylor ordered northeasterly, then 81 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,680 due east headings. Had they been over the Keys, this route would have taken them safely 82 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:55,560 home. Instead, it took them further out to sea. 83 00:09:55,560 --> 00:10:01,760 The students, I am sure, because they had flown the area before, they're saying, uh-huh, 84 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:07,360 you know, you're wrong. We're not in the Gulf of Mexico. We're in the Atlantic. But 85 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:11,440 if the instructor pilot says, do it, you do it. 86 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:18,440 By 5 p.m., the short winter day had darkened and the weather was deteriorating. Flight 87 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:26,280 19 was heading east, away from their base, and they were beginning to lose radio contact. 88 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:31,280 The base did monitor one of the squadron's last pilot-to-pilot communications. 89 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:37,200 If we just had west, we'd get home. Damn it, if we just had west, we'd get home. 90 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:44,200 Fuel was low and time was running out. According to Meyer, Taylor finally listened to his student 91 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:50,400 pilots and headed west towards the Florida coast. 92 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:55,400 So he flew due west for 49 minutes until the first airplane crashed. 93 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:02,520 We may have to ditch. Damn it, I'm going down. I got a ditch. Do you read? 94 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:11,520 Do you read? Damn it, do you read? 95 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:20,480 In Meyer's reconstruction, the surviving four pilots then made a fatal error. Although they 96 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:25,280 were only seven minutes away from the Florida coast, they still had not spotted land. They 97 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:30,960 began to believe that they must be flying over the Gulf of Mexico. For this reason, they 98 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:36,960 again reversed their course and headed east. But instead of going towards Florida, their 99 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:42,960 new course took them back out to sea. 100 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:49,960 By 8 p.m., the other four planes had disappeared beneath the waves. The legend of Flight 19 101 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:56,960 was true. For the next five days, the Navy mounted the largest air sea search ever conducted 102 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:03,960 up to that time. No trace of the planes, 14 missing men, was ever found. However Meyer 103 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:08,880 believes that some of the men of Flight 19 were alive, drifting at sea, slowly running 104 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:11,960 out of food and water. 105 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:18,080 Two ships sighted flares within five hours of each other. And everybody in the investigation 106 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:23,360 said, nah, those flares that were spotted were search aircraft. Well, you go back to the 107 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:29,640 investigation and you find out when the search aircraft took off and where they went. And 108 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:34,800 the search aircraft weren't where those flares were sighted by those steamers. Three days 109 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:40,240 later, another ship spots some blinking lights, distressed lights on the water. And discounts 110 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:47,240 them as being from another ship. I don't think so. I think those were people from flight 111 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,040 19. 112 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:56,360 After carefully cross-checking only available information on Flight 19, Meyer calculated 113 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:01,720 the impact point of the first plane as here, just 30 miles off the Florida coast near Cape 114 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:08,440 Canaveral. But finding a single Avenger in the ocean was an overwhelming task. Until ironically, 115 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,440 a national tragedy made it possible. 116 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:19,800 On January 19, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded moments after lift off from Cape 117 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:26,600 Canaveral. Some of the debris fell in the precise location where Meyer believes the first plane 118 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:31,840 had ditched. Quite by accident, the underwater search for the Challenger wreckage may have 119 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:37,640 uncovered what John Meyer had been looking for. Just 30 miles from Cape Canaveral, the 120 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:43,320 salvage team located a plane wreck submerged at 400 feet of water. Believing the wreckage 121 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:49,320 was out of a twin engine DC-3, they ignored it. But to John Meyer, this discovery appeared 122 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,280 to be the vindication of his theory. 123 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:58,480 Last July, John Meyer was on board a submersible as it prepared to dive 400 feet to inspect 124 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:04,040 the wreckage. He knew that 45 years might have obliterated many of the Avengers identifying 125 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:05,240 characteristics. 126 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:12,600 We knew we had a wreck, but we didn't know what type airplane it was. And to say I was 127 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:17,920 on the edge of my seat, along with my colleagues, would be an understatement. 128 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,640 As they first approached the location of the wreck, they could see nothing in the murky 129 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:26,640 water. Then the wing of a plane became visible. 130 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:31,640 Oh my God, I can't believe I'm here. 131 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:37,040 But was it the right plane? 132 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:43,040 One distinctive feature of the Avenger is his Bombay, located under the fuselage. 133 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:50,040 The submerged plane is upside down. Here the Bombay cavity is clearly visible. 134 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:55,040 I can't believe I'm sitting here in front of this airplane after all these years. 135 00:14:55,040 --> 00:15:00,040 Another distinctive feature of the Avenger is its oval wheel well. 136 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:05,440 Here this well can be seen on the underside of the wing. 137 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:10,440 Oh my God. Look at that. 138 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:15,540 Perhaps the Avenger's most unusual feature is the ball turret which protected the gunner 139 00:15:15,540 --> 00:15:22,540 behind the pilot. Even though the plane that Meyer found was upside down and partially 140 00:15:22,540 --> 00:15:27,540 buried in the sand, the unique cross hatch of the turret's window frame is clearly visible. 141 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:33,040 There's no question we got an Avenger, folks. 142 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:40,040 After all, at this point, eight years of research and all the frustrations that we had to actually 143 00:15:42,940 --> 00:15:49,940 be in a submarine and be right over top of this wreckage was just incredible. 144 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:56,180 It is obvious that Meyer has found an Avenger, but is it one of the Avengers of the Lost 145 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:02,580 Flight 19? Through the manipulation of the submersible's mechanical arm, Meyer removed 146 00:16:02,580 --> 00:16:07,540 the engine cowling. He was hoping that a serial number could be found that would confirm that 147 00:16:07,540 --> 00:16:14,040 this Avenger had been part of Flight 19. But after raising the cowling to the surface, 148 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,780 Meyer was unable to find any serial numbers. 149 00:16:18,780 --> 00:16:24,840 The only way to prove whether this is indeed Flight 19 aircraft is going to be raised that 150 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:31,840 sucker out of the water. I and my partners believe that we're correct, but it will remain 151 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,600 a mystery until we can raise the airplane. 152 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:42,840 If this plane can be identified as belonging to Flight 19, the legend of the Bermuda Trials 153 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:48,360 will have to be rewritten. It is not as romantic to say that the flight disappeared due to a 154 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:55,720 tragic chain of simple mistakes, but if John Meyer is correct, this is precisely what happened. 155 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:02,320 No matter what the explanation, the 14 men of Flight 19 deserve to be honored, not as 156 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:09,320 victims of the supernatural, but as brave men who died in the service of their country. 157 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:17,320 Next, the heartwarming reunion of a young woman and her mother marks the beginning of 158 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:25,640 a new search for two long lost sisters. 159 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:37,720 Jackie Dragon grew up in a typical middle class home near San Francisco, California. 160 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:43,640 He knew she had been adopted, but had no idea who her birth parents were. Curiously, Jackie 161 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:50,640 always had an unusual fascination with films and television shows about women in prison. 162 00:17:55,320 --> 00:18:00,480 I'm not sure what it was that attracted me exactly, but I do know that there was some 163 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:07,080 strange sense of security that I felt in watching the stories and the women interacting in their 164 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:11,880 lives and their relationships in prison. 165 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:17,880 Like any young child, Jackie had a mischievous side. At the age of 12, she made an unexpected 166 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,800 discovery. 167 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:26,800 I was scavenging around, sneaking around in my father's closet and looking through a box 168 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:33,640 of papers, important documents and things. And what I found were legal papers, and as 169 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:38,680 I read through them, I realized they were my adoption papers. 170 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:40,680 Jackals, dark. 171 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:44,920 It was a big thing. It was a turning point. It was something that I knew from that point 172 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:50,640 on that someday I would find those people in that paper and that I had to, that they 173 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:56,040 were real. 174 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:03,040 I searched off and on for a number of years, probably starting around 1982, and I found 175 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:11,100 I think it was 1986 when I got the information that I wasn't born in some hospital somewhere, 176 00:19:11,100 --> 00:19:15,720 but that I was born in prison and that my mother had been incarcerated at the time of 177 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,720 my birth. 178 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:25,920 When I remembered that I had had such a fascination with movies, with women in prison and them, 179 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:30,440 I thought, boy, that's bizarre. 180 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:35,880 Jackie learned that she was born at the Dwight Reformatory for Women in Chicago, Illinois. 181 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:41,720 Her mother, Marge Ryder, was serving a one-year sentence for her part in an armed robbery. 182 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:47,160 Ten months later, Marge made one of the most difficult decisions of her life. She put Jackie 183 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,920 up for adoption. 184 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:55,200 I convinced myself that the best thing to do for Jackie was to give her a home that I 185 00:19:55,240 --> 00:20:02,240 assumed had two upstanding parents, that there was security in that home, that she could 186 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:10,480 be guaranteed an education, all the things that I knew at that time in my life. There 187 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:15,640 was no way I could possibly give her any of that. 188 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:22,640 And I don't remember exactly when Jackie was taken, but I do remember that the day she 189 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:28,760 left after she had left, they came and told me that Jackie had gone to her new home in 190 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:35,760 some other state and it hurt. Same as it's hurt now. That's one memory I didn't lose. 191 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:50,680 I didn't give her up in that sense. I knew nothing else to do. And that's the last I 192 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:59,640 remember basically that I have of Jackie. 193 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:05,040 Jackie's adoptive parents provided a stable home, but Jackie was always curious about 194 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:07,880 her birth mother. 195 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:12,080 I wondered whether or not she'd been able to kind of clean it up, you know, or whether 196 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:16,560 she'd gotten in more trouble or whether or not she was safe or well. I don't think I 197 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:21,920 ever considered not looking for her. 198 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:26,560 After more than nine years of searching, Jackie finally learned of Marge's whereabouts. 199 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:31,400 On July 26, 1990, she spoke with her mother for the first time in her life. 200 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,280 Hi, may I speak with Marge Ryder, please? 201 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaking. 202 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,680 What I realized when I found out that I had her phone number or when I realized that I 203 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:45,280 was very close to finding her was that in a way, I was setting myself up to feel rejected 204 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,200 all over again. 205 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:51,600 Does the date February 16, 1964 mean anything to you? 206 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:56,680 Even for a second, did she hesitate? She was happy that I called and I felt so relieved 207 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,080 and so lucky. 208 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:03,360 Well, do you have time to talk right now? I've got all the time in the world to talk 209 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:04,760 now, yes. 210 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,520 One of the first things she said was, I never thought any of you girls would be calling 211 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:14,080 me and then she let me know that there were two other sisters. It was very exciting. I 212 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,160 couldn't believe it. It was like, there's more? You're kidding. There's something more 213 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,400 that I didn't know. 214 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,840 When Jackie and Marge talked for more than two hours, Marge told Jackie about her own 215 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:29,120 troubled childhood, how she dropped out of high school, fell in with the wrong crowd, 216 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:33,840 got pregnant at 17. 217 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,480 Marge Ryder would be the first person to admit that she made a lot of mistakes in her early 218 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:42,640 life. But Marge has managed to rise above her past. Today she is happily married and 219 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:48,640 lives in Winchester, Illinois. Inspired by Jackie's open-hearted love and understanding, 220 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:55,680 Marge now wants to find the other daughter she gave away more than 25 years ago. 221 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:01,120 Marge's first daughter, Laura May, was 18 months old when Marge went to prison. She 222 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:07,560 was left in the care of Marge's grandmother. At the time, Marge was already eight months 223 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:13,320 pregnant with Jackie. She claims that once she was in prison, her grandmother attempted 224 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,480 to get legal custody of Laura May. 225 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:17,000 Hi. 226 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,320 Please sit down. 227 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:23,840 I hadn't been there too terribly long and a lawyer came to see me. 228 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:28,040 Now when I'm finished with my term, I want to take Laura May with me. I want to raise 229 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:28,800 her myself. 230 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:33,880 Oh I understand. And if you sign these, then it'll help us to all keep Laura May. 231 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:35,440 Now what does this say? 232 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:39,920 Don't worry about this. This is just some legal jargon. I need to get you to sign right 233 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:40,920 here, okay? 234 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:41,920 Right here? 235 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:43,000 That's it. 236 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:49,000 I think that he was probably on my grandmother's side trying to help her adopt the child away 237 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:50,000 from me. 238 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:51,000 Don't you worry. 239 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:58,720 And the courts just stepped in because she was too old a woman to raise a infant child. 240 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:04,280 And I think they lost her as well as I did. 241 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,080 Laura May was ultimately taken by the Cook County Welfare Department and became a ward 242 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:09,880 of the state. 243 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:14,920 Marge never saw Laura May again. 244 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:20,120 After Jackie was born, Marge cared for her in the prison's nursery. But ten months later, 245 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:27,120 Marge gave in to outside pressures and put Jackie up for adoption. 246 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:32,160 A few weeks later, Marge completed her sentence and was released. She never again got in trouble 247 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:33,360 with the law. 248 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:39,840 However, she did give birth to a third daughter, Dawn Marie, whom she also gave up for adoption. 249 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:46,040 I had often gone over in my mind, what if they come looking for me? And how do I explain 250 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:54,480 to them that I gave them away? And I pretty much convinced myself and I do believe it. 251 00:24:54,480 --> 00:25:00,520 I felt I was giving each child the very best that I could give them. 252 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,000 So how was your flight? 253 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,000 It was real nice. 254 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:07,960 In September 20th, 1990, Marge Ryder flew to California and met her daughter Jackie for 255 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,360 the first time in more than 25 years. 256 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:12,360 She definitely got red curly hair. 257 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:14,520 Well, I wonder where I got that? 258 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:20,320 I had many, many, many questions for her about her, about her hair, about everything. 259 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:24,200 You know, it's like who had red hair? That was something that I grew up with, red curly 260 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:31,920 hair. Nobody ever had it but me. And it was a curse when I was a child. And she was great. 261 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:36,080 I could ask anything I wanted and she would tell me everything. 262 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,840 This is Laura May and this is you, of course. 263 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,280 Wow, you can definitely tell it's family. 264 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,680 She really looks the same. Look at all those knees. 265 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:44,680 My guess. 266 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:52,400 For Jackie, reunion with Marge marked the end of one search and the beginning of another. 267 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:57,720 You know, I like to think that somewhere wherever they are, that they know that they're adopted 268 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,920 and that they wonder where they came from. 269 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:06,920 They were mine. I did love them. I do love them. 270 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:13,520 And it would be nice to make the family complete again. 271 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:17,720 Thanks to our viewers, Jackie Dragon and Marge Writers' dream of reuniting their family 272 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:22,560 finally came true. They were contacted by Laura May and Dawn Marie. 273 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:28,200 Dawn Marie, who's adoptive name is Susan, owns her own business in Santa Barbara, California. 274 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:36,760 Laura May, Marge's oldest daughter, is now married and lives in Mississippi. 275 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:41,720 Three months after our broadcast, Laura May arrived at her sister Jackie's home in Glendale, 276 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:46,640 California. Marge and her youngest daughter Tracy had flown in from Illinois for this 277 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:48,360 very special reunion. 278 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:50,680 How much on the phone? 279 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:52,200 This is Tracy. 280 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:53,200 Hi. 281 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,760 This is your sister Tracy. 282 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:59,800 I think I was really nerve-wracking because it's like I wasn't quite sure what to expect 283 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:01,760 and what they would expect of me. 284 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:03,760 Your child? 285 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:13,520 And then after I got here, it's just all seemed to flow. It was very natural. 286 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:18,880 The last time I remember seeing Laura, she was in a high chair. And now here she is 287 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,720 all growing up and I'm still looking for this little girl. You know, and that's, it's 288 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,720 kind of hard. 289 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:32,240 Hi, Susan. Oh, it's good to meet you. 290 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:36,960 A short time later, the circle was finally completed with the arrival of Marge's other 291 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:43,520 daughter, Susan. 292 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:48,520 I grew up knowing that I was adopted, but I didn't know anything about who my real parents 293 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:58,200 were. And it's nice to know, you know, who your family is and what your background is, 294 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,960 you know, learn more about them. 295 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,200 I think when I first started feeling really comfortable was when we went out and took 296 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:09,120 some Polaroids and it was a really neat feeling to have a picture right in front of me and 297 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:12,920 see all of us standing together. 298 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:19,480 It's a very once in a lifetime kind of a thing to find a sister that you've never met. 299 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,080 Everybody smile. 300 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:30,760 Each one is totally individual. They're all strong, I've found out. 301 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,840 And they've done good with their lives. I'm proud of all four of them. 302 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:52,720 When any family is torn apart, the scars can last a lifetime. The saga of the six heck 303 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:57,880 children of Iowa is reminiscent of a Dickens novel with an equally large cast of characters. 304 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:04,640 Delbert Jr., Florence, Jim, Sharon Louise, Doris Jean, and little Tommy. These brothers 305 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:09,120 and sisters were separated by adoption as children, but through force of will, five 306 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:14,120 of them managed to reunite in adulthood. Today they want to make sure that their life story 307 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:23,440 has a happy ending. They need your help in order to make that dream come true. 308 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,120 Council Bluffs, Iowa, the summer of 1944. 309 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:32,200 Come on, you guys, you're going to be late for school. Come on, hurry up. 310 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:37,040 Ten-year-old Delbert Heck Jr. was a man of the house. 311 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:43,240 His father was often away from home and did little to support the family. 312 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:49,680 It was very rough times. We didn't have any money for food or groceries. I mean, it wasn't 313 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:54,040 hard times for us because that was all we knew. You don't never whisk the water if 314 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:59,880 you ain't had to well. So we just, we thought we was doing fine. We had each other and we 315 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:04,280 had mother and we just made the best we could of it. 316 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,600 What did you have for supper last night, Florence? 317 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:07,680 Puffed rice. 318 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,360 Puffed rice? 319 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:16,120 In August 1944, the family was visited by a social worker sent by the local welfare department. 320 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,720 I'd like to see the kitchen now. 321 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:25,520 The Hex had to stand by silently as she scrutinized their home. 322 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:30,200 She opened the cabinets to see what was there, which there was nothing there. Maybe a bag 323 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:36,040 of dry puffed wheat or something. We didn't have dressers. We didn't have clothes hanging 324 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:42,320 in the closet. You know, she's seen the mattress on the living room floor where all six of 325 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:49,560 us kids slept. And she just explained to mother that she wasn't able to care for us properly 326 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:52,440 and they were going to take us where they could be. 327 00:30:52,440 --> 00:31:01,720 Three months later, the state of Iowa took the Hex children away. 328 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:07,160 She told us she was taking us to a movie. Of course, you know, we had never been to a 329 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:14,240 movie, so that was really something. So we went with her willingly and mother stood 330 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:19,800 on the porch and cried. And I thought there was, you know, there was something that just 331 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:27,560 wasn't right. 332 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:40,920 When she crossed Broadway going north, I knew we weren't going to a movie. 333 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:45,600 The six children were scattered across the countryside like windblown seeds. Three were 334 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:54,760 immediately adopted, three languished in orphanages. Seven-year-old Florence was one of them. 335 00:31:54,760 --> 00:32:01,080 I cried for mother a lot, but I cried a lot for the littler ones because, you know, I 336 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:09,160 spent a lot of time. This was my life with the, and we had a dorm mother that lived in 337 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:16,920 the end of our building. And they'd come get me, take me to the end of the dorm. And there 338 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:21,880 was a little closet there. You are going to sleep in here until you learn to stop fighting. 339 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:33,480 And that's where I slept for a good long while when I first went to the orphanage. 340 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:39,340 Jim and Delbert were placed in a different orphanage in Davenport, Iowa. Delbert was 341 00:32:39,340 --> 00:32:45,920 farmed out briefly to foster parents. I really think what they wanted was a farm hand. I 342 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:52,120 don't think they wanted a child. I didn't have no contact with Jim, and he was the only 343 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:57,600 one that I knew at that time. And when I didn't have him no more, I didn't have nothing to 344 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:04,680 hold on to. So it didn't last but just a few weeks, and I just, I was ready to go back 345 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:12,000 to Davenport. 346 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:17,280 Delbert and Jimmy would remain in the orphanage until 1952, when the state set the two boys 347 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:22,440 and their sister Florence back to their natural mother. 348 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:23,880 Jimmy! 349 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,440 Hey, Mom! 350 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:35,400 Maude Heck would never see her other three children again. 351 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:39,280 Unbeknownst to the Heck family, one-year-old Sharon Louise had been placed in the home 352 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:49,040 of Wendell and Helena Jones. She had been renamed Dorissa. Five-year-old Doris Jean was sent 353 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:58,360 to the home of Glen and Gertrude West. Her new name was Sally. 354 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:03,160 It is assumed the three-year-old Tommy Heck was also adopted. His new name, if he has 355 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:11,080 one, is still unknown. 356 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:16,560 In 1970, Dorissa and Sally were reunited. Both had been adopted through the same orphanage 357 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:21,040 which put them in contact with each other. The two then set out to find their missing 358 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:23,200 family. 359 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:28,520 I had a lot of information on our, on our biological family from all of the records 360 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:32,880 that, that my parents had given me when I was sixteen. Sally didn't have a whole lot 361 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:38,560 of information, but I had said if, if I knew where we lived, perhaps I could start there. 362 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:42,280 And she said that she had that information because they had sent her, her original birth 363 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:46,640 certificate and she was born at home, so she had her home address which happened to be 364 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:51,360 Council Bluffs Iowa. And I got on the phone and I called information in Council Bluffs 365 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,000 Iowa and started making phone calls. 366 00:34:54,000 --> 00:35:01,120 It was like one thirty in the afternoon, March twenty ninth when I talked to her. And at 367 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:06,000 eleven thirty that night she called back and she said since I talked to you, I've talked 368 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:11,600 to an aunt and Council Bluffs, two brothers and a sister. 369 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:16,440 Forty-five years after the Heck family had been torn apart, their day of reunion finally 370 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:19,240 came. 371 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:26,440 Sally and I decided to drive to the reunion together, kind of like a team. We, by that 372 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:32,200 time of course had known that the three oldest children had been raised together and we kind 373 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:37,720 of felt like outsiders and we wanted to be together. 374 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:42,480 We didn't really know what to do. It was like do you walk up and hug them and tell them 375 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:46,920 how glad you are to see them after forty-five years or do you just stand back and shake hands 376 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:54,280 or what do we do. But the minute we walked in, it was, the bond was instant and within 377 00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:58,120 five minutes we were like, we've grown up together. 378 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:06,920 The minute we saw each other and you knew you were in the right place, you were home. 379 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:13,160 There was no doubt what these were, brothers and sisters. 380 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:20,160 The reunion was a celebration that there was still one person missing. 381 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:25,160 They're going to the cake. 382 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:31,160 It's important for me to find Tommy now or for all of us really. 383 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:37,160 To me there's a missing, they're still part of my life that's missing. 384 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:45,160 Finding Tommy is like if you've got a car and part of the pieces are not there, it's 385 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:53,160 not going to run right. Well, he got a family. Part of the pieces are not there. 386 00:36:55,160 --> 00:37:01,160 These are the last known pictures of Tommy Heck, taken when he was four and a half years old by his 387 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:07,160 adopted parents who sent them to the orphanage. Today Tommy would be forty-seven. 388 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:13,160 Tommy was adopted through Christian Homes Orphanage in Council Bluffs, Iowa, most likely by a Midwestern family. 389 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:19,160 His most distinguishing physical characteristic is a double ear lobe on his right ear. 390 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:26,160 We need to find Tommy to make the rest of our family complete so that we can just close that family and say, 391 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:30,160 here we are. Here we are, world. This is the Heck family. 392 00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:35,160 Look at us, Iowa. You separated us, but we're back together now. 393 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:58,160 The Heck Family 394 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:24,160 Just past midnight on the first day of 1990, paramedics and police in East Palo Alto, California 395 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,520 and responded to an emergency call. 396 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:31,600 A 60-year-old woman lay inside her home, shot in the stomach. 397 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:34,760 Unknown gunmen had fired 35 rounds of ammunition 398 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:37,240 into her house and car before they fled. 399 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,640 The victim was Mrs. C. W. Roddy, a retired service 400 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:45,760 representative for the phone company, who 401 00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:51,320 had lived in the area with her son Darnell for 23 years. 402 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:53,200 The New Year's Eve attack was a culmination 403 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:55,960 of a three-year nightmare in which C. W. Roddy had 404 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:57,640 been physically and verbally threatened 405 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,840 by a group of young men in her neighborhood. 406 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:04,600 Now she lay in her own home, bleeding from a bullet wound. 407 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:06,600 Fortunately, Mrs. Roddy survived, 408 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:08,080 and the East Palo Alto authorities 409 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:10,040 continued a search for her assailants. 410 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:16,160 Palo Alto, California, home of prestigious Stanford 411 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:19,260 University, is one of several primarily white upper middle 412 00:39:19,260 --> 00:39:22,840 class communities surrounding the city of East Palo Alto, 413 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:25,800 which stands in stark contrast. 414 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,320 Formerly a respectable working class community, 415 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:31,960 it has in the last few years fallen victim to drug traffickers, 416 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:36,200 whose customers often come from the affluent suburbs nearby. 417 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:40,520 The drug dealing on our street was very much 418 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:43,920 like a drive-up bank window. 419 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:47,280 They drive up, dope dealers will rush to the car, 420 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:50,280 and a total frenzy of competition with one another, 421 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:52,240 trying to get the sale. 422 00:39:52,240 --> 00:39:57,000 And it continued like that, day and night. 423 00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,000 When C. W. Roddy finally understood 424 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:00,680 what was happening in her neighborhood, 425 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:03,080 she began to take action. 426 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:06,320 The first confrontation came when teenage drug dealers parked 427 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:10,320 their cars in front of the house she shared with her son. 428 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:12,160 Excuse me. 429 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:15,160 Your man, do you have any business with me here? 430 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:16,160 Listen, lay, lay. 431 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:17,360 You just take care of the little business, 432 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:19,200 we'll be here a little later, OK? 433 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:21,040 No action, will you? 434 00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:22,280 If you don't have business with me, 435 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:24,600 I'd really like you to move your car. 436 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:26,880 Lady, I'm not moving. 437 00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:28,800 I will be taking your license number 438 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:30,440 and giving it to the police. 439 00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:33,480 C. W. reported the young traffickers often, 440 00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,400 but the understaffed local police simply 441 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:38,920 were unable to cope with the enormous problem. 442 00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:41,640 I've always felt that your home is your castle, 443 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:44,920 and what you do in your home is your business. 444 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:50,000 But when they bring their drugs out in front of my house, 445 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:53,800 in the streets, that makes it my business, 446 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:58,080 and I don't do that kind of business. 447 00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:02,640 In February of 1988, Mrs. Roddy was physically threatened. 448 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:04,640 Know what's up, old bag? 449 00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:07,680 You gonna blow your damn house up, you see what I'm saying? 450 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:11,320 And I said to him, are you going to make sure that I manage? 451 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:15,000 And I looked up and saw a police officer sitting 452 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,440 directly across the street. 453 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:19,440 You better watch your back. 454 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:22,560 Officer, did you hear what the young man said to me? 455 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:23,720 No, I didn't, ma'am. 456 00:41:23,720 --> 00:41:25,960 He threatened to blow up my house. 457 00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:27,480 Do you wish you make a citizen's arrest? 458 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:28,280 Yes, I do. 459 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:29,120 You do wish you make a citizen's arrest? 460 00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:30,520 I do wish to. 461 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:33,360 So we did. 462 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:41,240 And he took him off, but he was back within a matter of minutes. 463 00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:44,760 Over the next 18 months, the situation worsened. 464 00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:46,720 During certain hours of the day, the neighborhood 465 00:41:46,720 --> 00:41:50,280 streets resembled a rush hour traffic jam. 466 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:52,160 In their off hours, the dealers used 467 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:55,920 CW's front curb as their personal parking lot. 468 00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:57,040 You know who's car this is? 469 00:41:57,040 --> 00:41:57,640 It's my car. 470 00:41:57,640 --> 00:41:58,680 You see me parking there? 471 00:41:58,680 --> 00:41:59,560 Go act stupid. 472 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:01,280 I would love to have it. 473 00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:02,720 Why don't you move my car? 474 00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:04,840 It's somebody else's mood. 475 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:07,880 Then in October of 1989, the confrontation 476 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:09,360 suddenly erupted into violence. 477 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:11,280 Oh, man. 478 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:12,280 Oh, man. 479 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:13,280 Oh, man. 480 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:14,280 Oh, man. 481 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:15,280 Oh, man. 482 00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:16,280 Oh, man. 483 00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:19,640 He picked up a piece of wood, and I was infuriated. 484 00:42:19,640 --> 00:42:22,240 And I said to myself, this is stupid. 485 00:42:22,240 --> 00:42:25,000 So I started back across the street, and they started saying, 486 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:26,280 yeah, go call the police. 487 00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:27,280 Call the police. 488 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:28,280 Call the police. 489 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:29,280 Call the police. 490 00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:30,280 Call the police. 491 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:31,880 After getting to the police station, 492 00:42:31,880 --> 00:42:35,640 the boy was on his way back home before I even finished 493 00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:37,040 with the police report. 494 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:38,400 You guys are going to pay for this. 495 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:41,800 In December of 1989, CW became involved 496 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:43,560 in another confrontation. 497 00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:46,120 Chris Thomas, a new neighbor, was wounded when 498 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:47,240 he came to her defense. 499 00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:48,520 I'm hanging around my own neighborhood. 500 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:50,800 They cut him very badly in the face. 501 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:55,080 They had to take him to the hospital and get stitches. 502 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:58,720 And someone called the police. 503 00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:00,240 Police arrested the young man who 504 00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:02,240 would attack Chris Thomas. 505 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:06,160 For the next 10 days, things were quiet until New Year's Eve. 506 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,800 On New Year's Eve in East Palo Alto, 507 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:13,440 for some strange reason, a lot of citizens 508 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:15,640 like to shoot guns. 509 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:18,240 They just shoot up in the air. 510 00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:20,280 At midnight, Mrs. Roddy was sleeping 511 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:23,840 when the gunfire awakened her. 512 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:26,400 I heard all of the shooting. 513 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:28,720 And I looked up at the clock, and I said, oh, they're just 514 00:43:28,720 --> 00:43:31,560 celebrating New Year's Eve, right? 515 00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:32,760 So I got up. 516 00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:34,200 And then I went in the living room. 517 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:37,640 I noticed across the street three young men. 518 00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:40,040 They were just standing around talking. 519 00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:41,880 And they're working the cars coming up 520 00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:45,120 in the street at that particular time. 521 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:48,320 I would say about 20 minutes after midnight, 522 00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:51,120 it had all quieted down. 523 00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:53,360 All of a sudden, I heard all these shots. 524 00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:03,360 I hit the floor at that time. 525 00:44:03,360 --> 00:44:04,560 I was about to get up. 526 00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:09,160 And I heard my mother scream in pain. 527 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:12,160 C.W. Roddy had been shot in the stomach. 528 00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:16,000 Her son, Darnell, immediately called for help. 529 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:19,520 I think the attack on my house was a planned attack. 530 00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:22,080 And they were planning to kill us. 531 00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:23,560 My mother's been shot. 532 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:25,640 The police arrived within minutes. 533 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:27,400 As they fanned out to search the street, 534 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:29,960 they found that C.W.'s new neighbor, Chris Thomas, 535 00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:33,000 and his wife had seen the attack. 536 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:37,680 We heard this big, loud rattle of gunfire outside our house. 537 00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:39,200 And I turned towards the window. 538 00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:44,720 And I could see the blue flames from the gun 539 00:44:44,720 --> 00:44:45,720 through the blinds. 540 00:44:45,720 --> 00:44:48,880 When I looked outside, I saw two young black men. 541 00:44:48,880 --> 00:44:51,520 It was really scary, because I could see bullet holes 542 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:53,720 in the windows and the walls and the doors, 543 00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:55,960 and through all over the garage. 544 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:57,720 The car had bullet holes in it. 545 00:44:57,720 --> 00:45:02,120 And I thought that they'd killed her. 546 00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:05,920 Investigators located shell casings from three weapons, 547 00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:10,360 a .38 revolver, a .380 semi-automatic pistol, 548 00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:13,400 and possibly a .50 assault weapon. 549 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:16,640 When the local police completed their own investigation, 550 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:19,720 they called in the FBI. 551 00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:22,280 We know that there were three to four individuals 552 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:24,520 who were responsible for firing these rounds 553 00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:26,960 into the home of Mrs. Roddy. 554 00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:29,880 This is a neighborhood that has been somewhat paralyzed 555 00:45:29,880 --> 00:45:31,520 because of the amount of violence 556 00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:34,680 that has been generated from those who took a stance 557 00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:38,840 to come forward and say, no more. 558 00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:40,880 Despite an extensive investigation, 559 00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:43,920 no concrete evidence has been unearthed. 560 00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:47,200 And even though C.W. Roddy's assailants have not been found, 561 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:51,240 the attack has galvanized her neighborhood. 562 00:45:51,240 --> 00:45:54,080 A group of mothers are taken charge of the local park 563 00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:55,960 and attempted to move the drug dealers out 564 00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:58,040 of their neighborhood. 565 00:45:58,040 --> 00:45:59,840 They have had success in the park, 566 00:45:59,840 --> 00:46:04,800 but the women realize that this is only the first step. 567 00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:07,720 I went by a couple of Saturdays ago 568 00:46:07,720 --> 00:46:10,680 and just observed the children out there playing. 569 00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:12,080 And it was such a beautiful sight, 570 00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:13,240 and it made me feel so good. 571 00:46:13,240 --> 00:46:15,960 It brought tears to my eyes. 572 00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:17,800 So it's looking better. 573 00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:19,240 It did not happen in one day. 574 00:46:19,240 --> 00:46:21,360 And I don't expect it all to change in one day, 575 00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:24,240 but I do see the beginning of a change. 576 00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:27,600 And the future looks bright, and I am hopeful. 577 00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:33,120 Out of the near tragedy of Mrs. Roddy's brush with death, 578 00:46:33,120 --> 00:46:35,840 the rebirth of her neighborhood has begun. 579 00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:37,840 A new drug task force has been formed, 580 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:40,120 and for the time being, drug trafficking on Hearst Street 581 00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:41,760 has been curtailed. 582 00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:44,160 Still, the neighborhood wants C.W. Roddy's attackers 583 00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:45,240 brought to justice. 584 00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:54,320 For every mystery, there is someone 585 00:46:54,320 --> 00:46:56,960 somewhere who knows the truth. 586 00:46:56,960 --> 00:46:59,480 Join me next week for another edition 587 00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:01,000 of Unsolved Mysteries.