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This program is about unsolved mysteries.

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Whenever possible, the actual family members and police

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officials have participated in recreating the events.

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What you are about to see is not a news broadcast.

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In 1983, two beautiful young women on holiday from Sweden

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were murdered while hitchhiking in California.

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The case gathered dust until 1991.

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The case gathered dust until 1991,

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when an anonymous phone call sparked a renewed search

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for the unknown killer.

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As a young boy, Joe Saw was teased by schoolmates

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because he had been adopted.

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As an adult, Joe would learn the painful truth about his past.

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He had been bought and sold by an notorious baby broker.

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In 1974, a successful businessman named Gary Simmons

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disappeared on the same day he paid $30,000

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for a prized horse.

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No one had any idea where he had gone

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until Gary Simmons' skeleton was found hidden in a cave

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almost 20 years later.

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Also tonight, a fascinating update

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on our story about legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, who

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disappeared in 1937.

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Recently, an aviation archaeologist

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made headlines by claiming he had solved the mystery of Amelia

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Earhart's last flight.

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Others say he was just plain wrong.

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Join me for every mystery there is someone who knows the truth.

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Perhaps it's you.

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I have some information.

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Excuse me.

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On September 26, 1991, a bizarre anonymous phone

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call came into the Swedish consulate in San Diego, California.

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Two hitchhikers?

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Yes, two Swedish girls.

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The caller went on to describe a double murder.

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Incredibly, a double murder that had taken place

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a full eight years earlier.

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This was a first solid lead since 1983.

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It all began on July 24 of that year,

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behind a gas station in the city of Commerce,

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a Los Angeles suburb.

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A station attendant went to dump trash.

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He looked inside the dumpster and saw a couple of backpacks.

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Checking further, he found clothing, diaries.

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There were rolls of film, passports, wallets,

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many of the things that she would expect tourists to have

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collected in a several month tour of the United States.

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The items in the dumpster belong to two Swedish nationals,

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Marie Lillianberg 23 and Maria Vellin 25.

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They had failed to show up for the return

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flight to Sweden that day.

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The fathers of both women came to California,

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hoping to find their daughters by means

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of widespread media attention.

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They're extremely worried.

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I'll tell you that they had never.

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During the next three weeks, more than 50 sightings

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of Maria Vellin and Marie Lillianberg were reported.

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All were checked out, but none of them could be confirmed.

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That's not the nature of my daughter.

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Absolutely.

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I'll tell you that she is the one who

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stick to every promise made, that her nature.

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Hey, look at that.

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What is that?

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Oh, it's got my gun.

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Then on August 18, 1983, in Santa Barbara County, California,

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a missing person's case became a murder investigation.

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Two deer hunters noticed a skeletonized arm, probably

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a coyote had pulled one of the arms off and drug it out

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into the open.

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Checking further, they found other remains hidden

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on their brush there.

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Those remains were positively identified

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as being Marie Lillianberg and Maria Vellin.

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An autopsy showed that both women had been stabbed to death,

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as well as sexually assaulted.

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Sheriff's detectives learned that the two young women had

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met in January of 1983 at a resort hotel in Vail, Colorado,

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where they both worked as chambermaids.

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When the ski season ended, they decided

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to hitchhike around California before heading back home

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to Sweden.

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Hi, how are you?

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How are you doing?

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Fine.

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Where are you going?

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We're just touring.

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We just want to see the coast.

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It'll happen.

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Let's go.

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Marie Lillianberg and Maria Vellin

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thought that it was safe to hitchhike.

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They had been cautioned by Swedish friends and by Americans

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that it was not safe to hitchhike.

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But they felt that they would be able to size up

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persons, giving them a ride.

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They would be able to sense whether this was a dangerous

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situation or not.

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Maria Vellin carried a small knife with her,

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and she felt that she would be able to defend herself

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in any type of a situation where she was threatened.

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Young Swedes come to the United States from a culture

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which is entirely homogeneous and middle class.

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There are only 8 million people in Sweden.

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It is a more open and, if you will,

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a more trusting environment.

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They therefore tend to come to the United States

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and remain as trusting as they were in Sweden.

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So sometimes they do run into trouble.

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Hi.

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Hi.

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How are you?

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Fine.

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How are you?

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Are you going to San Francisco?

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I can take you about half way there.

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Is that cool?

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OK.

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Thanks.

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When the gas station attendant found the knapsacks

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in the dumpster, he also found a travel diary

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and two rolls of undeveloped film.

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Working from these photographs, as well as a diary,

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investigators established the women's itinerary

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and contacted several truck drivers who

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had given Marie and Maria rides.

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Hi.

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Where are you girls going?

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Mark Hansen, a trucker from San Diego, California,

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remembered them well.

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A lot of truck drivers out there have daughters,

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and if they do see girls out hitchhiking,

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they try to take care of them.

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Talked about that they shouldn't be hitchhiking.

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Maybe being too much of a big brother and a little bit

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of a lecture on the way up about that it wasn't safe.

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It wasn't like being in Europe that women didn't hitchhike

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in the United States anymore.

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And they didn't seem terribly concerned that they felt

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they would be safe being together.

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Hansen drove the women from San Diego to Compton,

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just south of Los Angeles, where he arranged another ride

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for them with a truck stop.

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Hey, could you use some company?

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Yeah, I can get them a ride.

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Great.

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Here you go.

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The second truck driver dropped the women off in Oakland,

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just across the bay from San Francisco.

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Take care.

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Bye-bye.

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You're welcome.

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Maria Vellin and Marie Lillianberg

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were last seen in Redwood City, California, July 22, 1983,

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heading back to Los Angeles so they could catch their flight

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to Sweden two days later.

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On the very day they were scheduled to depart,

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their backpacks and personal effects

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were found in the city of commerce.

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Four weeks later, the hunters discovered their bodies

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near Santa Barbara.

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For eight years, the investigation

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into the murders of Marie Lillianberg and Maria

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Vellin remained at a standstill.

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Two hitchhikers.

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Yes, two Swedish girls.

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The anonymous phone call came into the Swedish consulate.

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He was Canadian.

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Yes, he was skinny.

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He said that he knew a fellow whom he had seen on a regular

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basis, who was from Canada, who would come down every winter

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in his van to go through San Diego to Mexico.

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He said that on one occasion in 1983,

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the man had come through and mentioned

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that he had met two Swedish girls who had tried to con him.

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The caller also described the van.

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He said that he drove a white van with a green canoe on the top.

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And this was very recognizable, and a number of people knew it.

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Girls need a lift?

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Yes.

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We are going to Los Angeles?

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He gave a description of the man.

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He said he was over six feet, a slight build, 175 pounds,

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thinning red hair, long pointed nose, protruding watery eyes.

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I don't believe that the call was a hoax.

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I have to squeeze in here.

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There's not a lot of room.

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My regret is that the caller was unwilling to identify himself

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if he would step forward even now and call us again, even

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anonymously, to provide further information.

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It might be very helpful.

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It's not only frustrating that we have not

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been able to find the persons responsible for these slains,

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but also considering the probability

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that there may be other slains across the country

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that this killer is responsible for as well.

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I think the moral of the story is quite simple,

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that it is just very, very dangerous to hitchhike.

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And in the case of women hitchhiking,

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it can very easily turn up in this type of a situation.

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When we return, an aviation expert

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believes he has solved the mystery of Amelia Earhard's

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final flight.

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Others disagree.

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One of the most popular stories we have featured

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is a fascinating mystery of legendary aviator Amelia

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Earhard.

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Recently, she once again made front page news.

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Life magazine even carried an exclusive six page spread

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after aviation archaeologist Richard Gillespie

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announced to the world that he had finally solved

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the mystery of Amelia Earhard's final flight.

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Six decades ago, Amelia Earhard captured the heart

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and spirit of an entire generation.

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Part all-American girl, part daredevil,

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she was the perfect hero for her time.

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On May 20, 1937, Amelia and her navigator Fred Nuneau

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began a daring attempt to circumnavigate the world

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in this twin-engine Lockheed 10-Electron.

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They never returned.

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On July 2, they disappeared en route to tiny Howland Island

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in the South Pacific.

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A massive search turned up no trace of Amelia, Fred,

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or their airplane.

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They were officially declared lost at sea.

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But as the years passed, rumors surfaced

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that Amelia Earhard and Fred Nuneau ended up

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on the island of Saipan, 2,500 miles from Howland Island.

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At the time of Earhard and Nuneau's disappearance,

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Saipan was occupied by the Japanese Army.

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In 1944, American forces liberated the island.

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Among the soldiers stationed on Saipan

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was this man, Thomas Devine.

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Devine claims he overheard a conversation

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between two Marines outside a guarded aircraft hangar

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at a remote location on the island.

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You got Amelia Earhard to play in that hangar.

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The Marines were severely reprimanded

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by an official wearing civilian clothes.

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You come about that damn close to compromising

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the project right now.

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I'm telling you, I want you to sit down, do your jobs,

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and shut up.

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Do you understand?

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Devine claims that later that same day, he actually

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saw Amelia Earhard's plane fly overhead.

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That night, he saw the Lockheed 10-Electron again

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engulfed in flames.

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I saw that plane personally on three occasions that day.

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The last time the plane was in flames.

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This woman, Neva Bloss, has lived on Saipan her entire life.

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She claims that Earhard and Nuneau

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were captured by the Japanese espires

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and that she actually witnessed Amelia Earhard's execution.

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Who did?

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Were Amelia Earhard and Fred Nuneau taken prisoner

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and executed on the island of Saipan?

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Or did their plane, in fact, go down

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in the vast and unforgiving waters of the South Pacific?

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In 1989, the tiny uninhabited island of Niku Maroro

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became the focal point of a new and intriguing theory

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that was the beginning of the war.

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Niku Maroro became the focal point

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of a new and intriguing theory.

267
00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,440
Niku Maroro is located 420 miles from Holland Island,

268
00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,360
Earhard's intended destination.

269
00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,800
Aviation archaeologist Richard Gillespie

270
00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,000
headed an expedition to search for evidence

271
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:56,560
that Earhard and Nuneau had been marooned on Niku Maroro.

272
00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,600
The expedition turned up this aluminum aircraft part,

273
00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:01,480
which at the time Gillespie believed

274
00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,320
may have come from Earhard's plane.

275
00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:09,200
This box doesn't constitute proof.

276
00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,120
What it does is constitute sufficient evidence

277
00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:18,000
to merit a return to Niku Maroro to find and photograph

278
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,240
the ultimate proof of the airplane itself.

279
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,680
In October of 1991, Richard Gillespie

280
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,920
mounted a second expedition to Niku Maroro.

281
00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,160
Searchers found several intriguing artifacts,

282
00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,960
which Gillespie claims are indisputable proof

283
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,040
that Amelia Earhard and Fred Nuneau

284
00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:40,080
died on the island while awaiting rescue.

285
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,000
On March 16, 1992, Gillespie presented his findings

286
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,480
at a press conference in Washington, DC.

287
00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,920
For you are artifacts which, along with recently discovered

288
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,360
historical documents, conclusively

289
00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:59,280
solved the disappearance of Amelia Earhard.

290
00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,040
Among the items on display were these tattered remnants

291
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,120
of a shoe allegedly worn by Amelia Earhard

292
00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,480
and this weathered piece of aluminum.

293
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,800
According to Gillespie, it came from the fuselage of Earhard's

294
00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,680
Lockheed 10 Electra.

295
00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,680
The rivet pattern is the same.

296
00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,640
Four parallel rows of number three rivets.

297
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,520
If Richard Gillespie is correct, then the final chapter

298
00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,200
of Amelia Earhard's story can be written.

299
00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,000
However, Gillespie's conclusions

300
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,240
had been disputed by several experts.

301
00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,400
It was quite exciting that a new piece of evidence

302
00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,120
had been uncovered because there hasn't been much

303
00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,920
on Amelia Earhard in the last few years.

304
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,680
Elgin Long, noted historian and Earhard biographer,

305
00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:46,400
was asked by Gillespie to study detailed measurements

306
00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,600
and photographs of the aluminum section.

307
00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:52,560
Long assembled a panel of experts

308
00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,960
to compare the evidence with an airplane fuselage identical

309
00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:57,200
to Amelia Earhard's.

310
00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:02,480
When we received the data, we made a template that was the exact

311
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,280
same size and had all the rivet holes in it, just like the

312
00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:08,120
fragment that was found on Nicomororo.

313
00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,920
We put this template up to the bottom of the airplane

314
00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,200
and we compared the rivet lines with the rivets

315
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:14,520
on the actual airplane.

316
00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:17,840
You notice that there's no row of fasteners along here.

317
00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:19,120
They didn't match at all.

318
00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:21,720
There was rivet holes where there shouldn't be any rivets

319
00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,400
and there weren't rivet holes where there should be rivets.

320
00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:26,520
What do you think?

321
00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:27,520
Oh, man.

322
00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:30,120
The panel compared the template to nearly every section

323
00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:31,120
of the airplane.

324
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,320
No match could be found.

325
00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,800
There's no way that piece could have come from a Lockheed 10

326
00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,320
or Amelia Earhard's airplane.

327
00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,120
Richard Gillespie attributes discrepancies in the rivet

328
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,120
patterns to repairs which were made on Earhard's plane

329
00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,600
during her first attempt to fly around the world.

330
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:55,600
The repair had to be exactly per the engineering orders.

331
00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:59,000
Panel consultant and former Lockheed engineer Ed Werner

332
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:00,800
disagrees.

333
00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:03,600
He argues that all repairs made on Earhard's plane

334
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,000
were done to strict factory specifications.

335
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:11,000
At first I was kind of happy that there was a controversy

336
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,000
over it.

337
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,000
But then I was very disappointed.

338
00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,800
I was very disappointed.

339
00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,600
Now there are some of the conclusions that can't

340
00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,880
be part of her airplane.

341
00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,880
According to Richard Gillespie, the National Transportation

342
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,760
Safety Board has concluded that the aluminum fragment is

343
00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:35,280
consistent with materials used to build Lockheed 10

344
00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:36,640
electries.

345
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,240
However, they could not confirm that it came from Amelia

346
00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:40,920
Earhard's plane.

347
00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,120
So for now at least, Amelia Earhard's disappearance

348
00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:46,240
remains an unsolved mystery.

349
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:02,200
On a previous broadcast, we brought you the chilling story

350
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,520
of a woman named Georgia Tan.

351
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,560
For more than 20 years, Tan used her well-known Tennessee

352
00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,840
orphanage as a front for a highly illegal black market

353
00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,280
baby ring.

354
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,200
Thanks to our viewers, nearly 200 of the children

355
00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,320
placed for adoption by Georgia Tan

356
00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:22,840
have been reunited with their birth families.

357
00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,400
Such happy endings are certainly gratifying.

358
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,240
But the appalling fact remains that Georgia Tan was not

359
00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,400
the only one of her kind.

360
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,160
Another notorious baby broker was Bessie Bernard,

361
00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,240
who bought and sold thousands of children.

362
00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:37,760
One of them would learn of his adoption

363
00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:39,840
in a very painful way.

364
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,320
His story begins almost 50 years ago in Nayaque, New York.

365
00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:51,920
In 1944, Joe Saul was in his first months of kindergarten.

366
00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:53,400
Why'd you do that for?

367
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,480
Because you're an adopted kid.

368
00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:56,280
I'm what?

369
00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:57,840
An adopted kid.

370
00:18:57,840 --> 00:18:59,360
I didn't know what that meant, except I

371
00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:01,800
knew it was bad because of the way they said it.

372
00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,560
And I ran home crying.

373
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,840
And I asked my mother what that meant,

374
00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:08,960
and was I, in fact, adopted?

375
00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,280
Still not knowing what the word meant.

376
00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,120
And she said, yes.

377
00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:14,800
Your real parents were killed.

378
00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,000
They were killed in a car crash.

379
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:19,880
But you're safe.

380
00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:22,040
And now we're your real parents.

381
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:25,000
And we love you so much.

382
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,880
Joe had been adopted as an infant in 1939

383
00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:30,400
by Florence and Charles Saul.

384
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,600
Charles was a successful attorney who died unexpectedly

385
00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:35,560
in 1960.

386
00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,640
It was not until 20 years later that Joe learned his birth

387
00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,280
parents had not died in a car accident after all,

388
00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:46,760
a fact which his mother reluctantly confirmed.

389
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:48,560
She said that my father handled the whole thing,

390
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:50,440
and she really didn't want to know,

391
00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,600
and not only that he didn't want to tell her,

392
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,920
he told her that he had fixed it so that nobody could ever

393
00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,840
find out anything, which is very scary for me.

394
00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:02,880
Here's your father's old files.

395
00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:04,400
You can use our library if you'd like.

396
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,960
Thanks a lot.

397
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,800
After extensive maneuvering, Joe

398
00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:10,760
gained access to his father's records.

399
00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,720
Filled with anticipation, he began the search for his origins.

400
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,200
I found that there was a file that he

401
00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,360
had left with all the letters that he had written looking

402
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:28,560
for a baby and information on me, which the information was

403
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,960
that my name was Robert Wilson when I was born,

404
00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:33,560
that my birthday was November 3rd, 1939.

405
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,240
And that my mother's name was Ruth Haverman.

406
00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:41,840
And there were the adoption decree.

407
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:43,240
I had never seen any of this.

408
00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:47,600
It just washed me with all sorts of emotion.

409
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:48,520
Excuse me.

410
00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:49,200
Yes?

411
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:50,880
Is this 677 Lexington Avenue?

412
00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:52,400
I know that my birth mother was supposed

413
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:55,840
to have lived at 677 Lexington Avenue here in New York City.

414
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,120
Does the name Ruth Haverman mean anything to you?

415
00:20:58,120 --> 00:20:59,520
No, no way.

416
00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,080
But there was never a Haverman at 677 Lexington Avenue.

417
00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:05,840
I know that there was a family named

418
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,120
Habersack that lived at 677 Lexington Avenue.

419
00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:14,120
And that building apparently was an unwed mother's home.

420
00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:17,680
Dishartened, Joe went back to the old files.

421
00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,680
He discovered that his father had corresponded regularly

422
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,800
with an adoption agent named Bessie Bernard.

423
00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:29,240
In the New York City archives, Joe

424
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,160
found out more about Bessie Bernard

425
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,240
than he had ever bargained for.

426
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,040
As I searched to try and find out who Bessie Bernard was,

427
00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,440
I came across articles in the New York Times from 1949

428
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,200
when she was arrested for baby selling

429
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:46,800
and realized that I was a black market baby,

430
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,640
that I was sold, which my mother confirmed,

431
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:51,840
you know, that I was bought.

432
00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:53,800
And that was painful.

433
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:57,960
It was, it's like, felt like a piece of property.

434
00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,040
It's a strange feeling to know that somebody

435
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:01,680
paid money for you.

436
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,080
That as you put in the Miami Herald, it was great.

437
00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,920
Bessie Bernard lived with her father in Manhattan.

438
00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:08,920
She used newspaper ads to round up

439
00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,520
infants for her thriving East Coast baby brokereach.

440
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:13,800
Dad, I didn't pay too much.

441
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:14,800
We're making lots of dough.

442
00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:15,680
It's good.

443
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:20,120
Bessie Bernard charged each adoptive couple up to $2,000,

444
00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:23,720
a huge sum at that time.

445
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,080
She averaged 20 a month.

446
00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:27,640
She brought them in from Florida,

447
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,640
from Hartford, Connecticut, Boston,

448
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:30,600
anywhere she could get babies.

449
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:32,240
She advertised.

450
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,920
And she brought them in, had the births registered in New York,

451
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,680
changed names.

452
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:42,920
It was vicious what she did.

453
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,880
By 1949, the Manhattan District Attorney

454
00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:47,280
was all to Bessie Bernard.

455
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:50,840
Mr. Bernard?

456
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:51,740
Yeah.

457
00:22:51,740 --> 00:22:55,960
On October 8 of that year, two police officers

458
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,440
armed with a search warrant showed up at her apartment.

459
00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,240
Would you please stand over there?

460
00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:02,520
What's going on here?

461
00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:03,360
Are you Miss Bernard?

462
00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:04,280
Yeah, who wants to go down?

463
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,000
Stand over there and get fathered, please, ma'am.

464
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,680
When the detectives started to rummage through Bessie Bernard's

465
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,080
purse, she went berserk.

466
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:12,000
Hey, hey, you.

467
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:13,880
Get out of my house.

468
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:15,280
I want you out of my house.

469
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,680
Get out of here.

470
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,120
Some believe that the little black book Bessie Bernard

471
00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:22,840
threw to her father contained the names of clients

472
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,480
and other vital information.

473
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:26,760
Come on, guys.

474
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:27,800
Come here.

475
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,960
Bessie's father escaped, and the book was never recovered.

476
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:32,560
Holy cow, guys.

477
00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:34,960
Give a couple of minutes.

478
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,680
Will the defendant please step forward?

479
00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:40,520
On June 30, 1950, Bessie Bernard

480
00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:45,280
was found guilty of illegally placing children for adoption.

481
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,080
At this time, is there anything you

482
00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:49,720
wish to say on your behalf?

483
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,120
No.

484
00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:56,680
I hereby sentence you to one year in the women's penitentiary.

485
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,720
Bessie Bernard never spent a day in jail.

486
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:06,640
She paid a $2,500 fine to avoid serving her one year sentence.

487
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:11,640
Bessie Bernard died in 1989, taking her secrets with her.

488
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,080
What makes me angry and fills me with pain

489
00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,880
is that because Bessie Bernard always

490
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,720
changed things, birth dates and birth names

491
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:24,480
and birth mother's names in places of birth that me

492
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:30,000
and so many other people can't find their family.

493
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:34,080
And I need to find my family.

494
00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,240
When I was looking through the adoption file

495
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,880
in my father's office, and I saw all the letters

496
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,520
that he had written to adoption agencies and orphanages

497
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,040
and more relief organizations, and I finally

498
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,720
understand how much they wanted a child

499
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:50,240
and why they did what they did.

500
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,640
But it's impossible to think for me

501
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,920
and many other adopted people about ever leaving the world

502
00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:58,880
when you don't know how you got here in the first place.

503
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:03,280
And my mother could be alive.

504
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,840
I could have a brother or sister, cousins, aunts, uncles.

505
00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:09,160
I need to know.

506
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,400
I need to know who my family is.

507
00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,920
Joe Saul thinks his mother's name is either Ruth Haberman

508
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:21,680
or Ruth Habersack.

509
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,560
She may have had a friend named Lucy Bint.

510
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,520
Joe's father is listed as Robert Wilson, an engineer who

511
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:29,760
worked in Hartford, Connecticut.

512
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:31,840
Joe Saul believes he was born in Manhattan

513
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,840
on November 3rd, 1939, or one week earlier in Florida.

514
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:57,240
Next, an unexpected discovery prompts a murder investigation.

515
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:10,360
In November of 1991, unsolved mysteries

516
00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:13,160
received a very unusual letter from a man named Tyrone

517
00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,600
Rollins, who wanted us to look into a case.

518
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,600
Rollins had unwittingly sparked a murder investigation

519
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,600
after experiencing a number of strange premonitions, which

520
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,560
he simply could not explain.

521
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:26,520
Sure, I can't get you.

522
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,000
That'll get off at your 7.

523
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,120
You take care.

524
00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:33,720
In 1985, Tyrone Rollins was hired as a school bus

525
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,520
driver in Independence, Missouri.

526
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,840
Right from the start, he had an eerie feeling

527
00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,680
about the rocky outcroppings behind the bus yard.

528
00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:47,200
Every time I walk past them hills,

529
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,440
I get the same feeling.

530
00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,040
I'd be sitting up in front of my bus,

531
00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:55,440
and I'd feel like somebody watching me from behind.

532
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,360
And I'd look back there, and there

533
00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:00,120
wouldn't be nobody on the bus for a while.

534
00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:03,800
I just thought I was going crazy.

535
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:04,960
This is a strong feeling.

536
00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,960
Like, some pulling inside me wanted me to do something,

537
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:09,600
and I just couldn't figure out what it was.

538
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,120
Finally, on October 16, 1991, Tyrone

539
00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:19,920
was overcome by the urge to investigate.

540
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:25,200
On the north side of the hill, he discovered a hidden cave.

541
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:26,760
That strong feeling was back again.

542
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,240
I knew I had to go in there for some reason.

543
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:38,880
It was like an amazing adrenaline rush.

544
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:40,200
Just the feeling of being in there,

545
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,760
I didn't know if it was from not knowing what was in there.

546
00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,280
When I shined my flashlight towards the rocks,

547
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,600
you could see little tiny specks look like crystals.

548
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:54,760
So I started examining the rocks,

549
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,480
and it was just then that I had a glance over,

550
00:27:57,480 --> 00:27:58,640
and I'd seen a pair of boots.

551
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,680
It was just a shock.

552
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,040
I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

553
00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:14,800
Dental records would later confirm

554
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,880
that the remains were those of Gary Simmons, a businessman

555
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:22,000
from Overland Park, Kansas, 25 miles away.

556
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,600
An autopsy revealed that he had been murdered,

557
00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:26,280
shot once in the head.

558
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,000
Tyrone Rawlin's startling discovery

559
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,080
was about to become a nightmare for the police.

560
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,160
They were confronted with a killing that had taken place

561
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,200
17 years earlier.

562
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:42,200
Gary Simmons had mysteriously vanished in 1974.

563
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:44,160
And at this point, investigations

564
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,000
seemed almost futile.

565
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,200
Yet the police had no choice.

566
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,240
After all, someone had gotten away with murder

567
00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:52,480
for nearly two decades.

568
00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:59,920
In the 1970s, Gary Simmons owned and operated

569
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:04,320
a lucrative chain of gas stations in the Kansas City area.

570
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:09,080
His passionate application was horse trading.

571
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,080
Gary always worked hard.

572
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,600
And I believe he got involved in horses

573
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,280
in order to have a form of relaxation

574
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:21,960
and a means of doing something that was fun with his family.

575
00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,120
And it was a hobby that he had probably

576
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:26,920
been involved in only two or three years prior

577
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:27,840
to his disappearance.

578
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:29,080
Hey, say, Gary.

579
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:30,080
Hey, buddy, how you doing?

580
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:31,000
Good, how you been?

581
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:31,800
Good.

582
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:33,480
Just got back from a showdown in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

583
00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:35,440
Man, I saw some of the most beautiful horses

584
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:36,400
I've seen in a long time.

585
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:37,200
Is that right?

586
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:37,600
Too bad.

587
00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:39,200
Anything I might be interested in?

588
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,600
On October 14, 1974, the day before he disappeared,

589
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,120
Gary Simmons learned of a prize horse for sale.

590
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,120
You know Tom Dixon?

591
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:50,960
Tom Dixon.

592
00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:52,080
Yeah?

593
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,080
Isn't he a member of the Apollosa Association?

594
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:55,280
Right, right.

595
00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:57,600
He had one of the most beautiful purebred Apolloses

596
00:29:57,600 --> 00:29:58,800
I've seen a long time.

597
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:00,240
Raised him from a colt.

598
00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:01,800
How much is he asking for?

599
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:03,080
I'm not so sure he wants to sell him.

600
00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:04,920
He's asking $30,000 for it.

601
00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,360
$30,000?

602
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:08,600
That must be some kind of horse.

603
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,720
The next morning, an agent acting for the horse's order

604
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,800
showed up at Gary Simmons' office.

605
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:16,920
Hi, can I help you?

606
00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:18,800
Yeah, I'm here to see Mr. Simmons.

607
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:19,800
Do you have an appointment?

608
00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:21,600
Yeah, we talked earlier on the phone.

609
00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:22,760
And your name, please?

610
00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,440
Tom Dixon.

611
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,920
It was the beginning of an intricate transaction which

612
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:31,160
lasted all day long and which police are still

613
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,200
trying to piece together.

614
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,560
Excuse me, Gary, there's a Tom Dixon here to see you.

615
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:36,120
Oh, sure.

616
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:37,120
Hi, Gary.

617
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:37,880
Hi.

618
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:43,080
At 10.15 AM, Gary Simmons left his office with Dixon.

619
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,560
OK, I'll follow you.

620
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,680
Simmons told his secretary that he would return shortly,

621
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:50,680
but he did not say where he was going.

622
00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,440
15 minutes later, Gary Simmons telephoned his secretary

623
00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:02,000
and instructed her to make out a $30,000 check to Tom Dixon.

624
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:03,000
OK, $30,000?

625
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:09,800
Hi, can I help you with something?

626
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:10,880
Yeah, I'm here to pick up the check.

627
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:13,480
11 AM, Dixon picked up the check.

628
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:14,600
You visited Gary earlier.

629
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:15,640
Didn't he call?

630
00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:16,360
Yes, he did.

631
00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:19,120
And I'm drawing up the check, but you're

632
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,760
going to have to get Gary's signature on it.

633
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:25,160
Dixon then took the check to Gary Simmons for his signature,

634
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,520
but no one knows where the meeting took place.

635
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:36,040
At 11.30 AM, Gary Simmons was spotted at a truck stop

636
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:37,360
10 miles from his office.

637
00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:42,800
The owner saw Gary Simmons walking back and forth

638
00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:45,040
between the counter and the window.

639
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,480
He remembers that Gary Simmons was alone,

640
00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,360
and there did not seem to be anybody with him or waiting

641
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:57,240
with him.

642
00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:01,040
It was the last time anyone ever saw Gary Simmons alive.

643
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:06,440
Just before noon, Dixon showed up at Simmons Bank.

644
00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,960
Gary Simmons had called the president of the bank

645
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:13,560
and had informed him that Tom Dixon was on his way

646
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:15,800
to cash the check.

647
00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,320
The bank president recognized Gary Simmons' voice,

648
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:22,560
and he did not recognize anything unusual in his voice

649
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,640
to raise his suspicions either.

650
00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:28,040
$9,900, $10,000.

651
00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,960
$9,900, $10,000.

652
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,520
$30,000 total, Mr. Dixon.

653
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:37,400
You don't think you'd like to open up a checking or savings

654
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:38,320
account?

655
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,240
Dixon took delivery of the money in $100 bills.

656
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:44,680
You need to pay off some debts.

657
00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:45,580
Thank you.

658
00:32:45,580 --> 00:32:46,480
Thank you.

659
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,880
Around five hours later, Dixon showed up at a salvage yard

660
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:55,760
11 miles from the bank.

661
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,520
He was driving Gary Simmons' Lincoln Cotton Hells.

662
00:32:58,520 --> 00:32:59,420
Hey, everybody.

663
00:32:59,420 --> 00:33:00,320
You never show up.

664
00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:01,840
Well, I got busy.

665
00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:03,560
Where'd you get that Lincoln?

666
00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:04,560
It's not my car.

667
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:06,400
It's something I need to get rid of.

668
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:08,760
I was wondering if you could use your machine

669
00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:10,640
to sort of crush it for me.

670
00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,760
Yeah, I can make it flat for you.

671
00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:13,880
But if you want to get rid of it,

672
00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,320
you're going to have to melt it.

673
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,680
If there's been keeping a real close eye on the furnace.

674
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:21,760
You got any better ideas?

675
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:22,920
Yeah.

676
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:25,560
Put a brick on the accelerator and drive it to Missouri River.

677
00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:29,600
Hey, thanks for the advice.

678
00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:30,560
I'll catch you later.

679
00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:31,920
All right.

680
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,280
The next day, one of Tom Dixon's friends

681
00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:37,640
dropped him off at a truck stop near Kansas City.

682
00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,560
Dixon said he was planning to hop a cross country rig.

683
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:42,320
All right, we're ready to go, guys.

684
00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:45,400
It was the last time many ever saw Tom Dixon.

685
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:46,320
Yeah.

686
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:47,920
Can you tie that loop down here?

687
00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:49,720
Six months went by.

688
00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:54,400
Then on April 25, 1975, Gary Simmons Lincoln Continental

689
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:56,520
was pulled out of the Missouri River,

690
00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:58,880
less than six miles from the Saudi Jard where

691
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,840
Dixon had tried to get rid of it.

692
00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:07,360
All he had was two grown men that had disappeared.

693
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,480
And that happens every day in America.

694
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:12,800
It was unknown whether they had disappeared

695
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:17,600
and not wanted to be found, or if foul play had indeed occurred.

696
00:34:20,720 --> 00:34:26,440
Upon finding Gary Simmons' body, it became a homicide investigation.

697
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:27,520
And you had an actual crime.

698
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:34,680
The finger of guilt appeared to point squarely at Tom Dixon.

699
00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,840
Police theorizes Simmons had been the victim of a bogus horse

700
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:39,040
deal.

701
00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,560
The Dixon acting either alone or with a partner

702
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:43,840
took Simmons' money and killed him.

703
00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,440
That in fact, there may never have been a horse at all.

704
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,760
But then during the filming of this story,

705
00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:52,240
a new witness came forward.

706
00:34:52,240 --> 00:34:53,280
Oh, Gary knew a horse.

707
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:53,960
That's for sure.

708
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,440
He knew what a good horse was.

709
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,760
Roy Hilton is a local rancher who says he knew both Simmons

710
00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:01,160
and Dixon.

711
00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:03,680
Didn't like and didn't care about.

712
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:05,960
On the day that Gary Simmons disappeared,

713
00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:09,520
Roy Hilton claims he heard Simmons making calls to his office

714
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,560
and to the bank from the Whispering Downs horse ranch.

715
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:15,400
Yeah, $30,000.

716
00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,760
He also states that Simmons showed him the horse he was buying.

717
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:20,000
You just have the signature.

718
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:21,800
Just have it ready for him, OK?

719
00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:25,600
This murder didn't come down over a $30,000 horse deal.

720
00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:29,040
It had to come down on some black market gas.

721
00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:31,720
I'm almost positive of that because Gary was,

722
00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:35,400
Simmons was having problem getting fuel for his stations.

723
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,360
Roy Hilton's testimony adds another layer of confusion

724
00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:41,120
to an already complex case.

725
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,480
In the year prior to his death, Gary Simmons

726
00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:46,000
was struggling to save his chain of gas stations

727
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:50,920
in the face of a 1973 Arab oil embargo.

728
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:54,800
Gary was affected drastically by the embargo.

729
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:57,080
He closed the bulk of his stations

730
00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:00,480
because of the fact of lack of gasoline.

731
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:02,400
After Gary disappeared, there was

732
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,760
numerous rumors that Gary might have been involved

733
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,000
in black market gasoline.

734
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,840
What Gary was involved in was buying gasoline on the spot

735
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:10,840
market.

736
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:13,400
And a lot of people labeled spot market gasoline

737
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:15,640
because it was beyond government controls

738
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:17,160
as black market gasoline.

739
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,040
But it was one and the same.

740
00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:20,760
And it was a perfectly legal transaction

741
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:22,200
to buy gasoline on the spot market.

742
00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:23,600
And most oil companies did so.

743
00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:29,440
Who murdered Gary Simmons and why?

744
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:31,400
There may be only one man who can answer

745
00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:34,000
both of those questions.

746
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:35,960
Tom Dixon.

747
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,200
A warrant has been issued for Dixon's arrest

748
00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:40,400
on charges of auto theft.

749
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:45,720
When he disappeared in 1974, he was 42 years old.

750
00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:48,600
This photograph has been aged to show how Tom Dixon might

751
00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:50,920
look today at 60.

752
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:54,400
He is 5 feet 8 inches tall with brown or graying hair

753
00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:55,960
and green eyes.

754
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,680
He may be working as a house painter or general contractor.

755
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:05,680
On a previous broadcast, we featured the story of Jackie

756
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:09,040
Dragon, who was adopted by a California couple when she was

757
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:10,040
just an infant.

758
00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:16,200
When Jackie was 12, she came across her adoption papers

759
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:18,520
and learned the name of the person who was

760
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,440
the victim of the accident.

761
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:22,680
And she was the victim of the accident.

762
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:24,680
And she was the victim of the accident.

763
00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:26,680
And she was the victim of the accident.

764
00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:29,680
It was a big thing.

765
00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:30,680
It was a turning point.

766
00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:32,680
It was something that I knew from that point on

767
00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:36,680
that someday I would find those people in that paper

768
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:38,680
and that I had to, that they were real.

769
00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:46,680
In July of 1990, after nine years of searching,

770
00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:51,680
Jackie finally tracked down her biological mother, Marge Ryder.

771
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:52,680
Hi.

772
00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:54,680
May I speak with Marge Ryder, please?

773
00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:55,680
Speaking.

774
00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:58,680
Marge was living in Winchester, Illinois.

775
00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:01,680
The phone call from Jackie was totally unexpected.

776
00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:03,680
1964 mean anything to you.

777
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,680
I was already sitting down and I felt like I had just fallen

778
00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:10,680
into a chair because it was, I've never had a shock

779
00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:13,680
like that before.

780
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:15,680
During the course of the conversation,

781
00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:18,680
Jackie was surprised to learn that she had three sisters

782
00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:20,680
whom she had never met.

783
00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,680
Only the youngest, Tracy, was raised by Jackie.

784
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,680
The youngest, Tracy, was raised by Marge.

785
00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:27,680
It was very exciting.

786
00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:28,680
I couldn't believe it.

787
00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:29,680
It's like, there's more.

788
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:30,680
You're kidding.

789
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:32,680
There's something more that I didn't know.

790
00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:34,680
During a poignant reunion with Marge,

791
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:37,680
Jackie learned that her two other sisters, Laura May

792
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,680
and Dawn Marie, had also been placed for adoption.

793
00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:41,680
Wow.

794
00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:42,680
You can definitely tell it's family.

795
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,680
I would love the opportunity to find my sisters.

796
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:48,680
I would hope, you know, I'd like to think that somewhere

797
00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:51,680
wherever they are, that they know that they're adopted

798
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:54,680
and that they wonder where they came from.

799
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:55,680
They were mine.

800
00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:56,680
I did love them.

801
00:38:56,680 --> 00:39:00,680
I do love them.

802
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:04,680
And it would be nice to make the family complete again.

803
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:08,680
Thanks to our viewers,

804
00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:10,680
Jackie, Dragan and Marge Writers' dream

805
00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:12,680
of reuniting their family finally came true.

806
00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:16,680
They were contacted by Laura May and Dawn Marie.

807
00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:18,680
Dawn Marie, who's adoptive name is Susan,

808
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,680
owns her own business in Santa Barbara, California.

809
00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:23,680
Laura May, Marge's oldest daughter,

810
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:26,680
is now married and lives in Mississippi.

811
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:32,680
Three months after our broadcast,

812
00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:34,680
Laura May arrived at her sister Jackie's home

813
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,680
in Glendale, California.

814
00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:38,680
Marge and her youngest daughter Tracy

815
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:40,680
had flown in from Illinois

816
00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:42,680
for this very special reunion.

817
00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:43,680
How much on the call?

818
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:44,680
Oh, yeah.

819
00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:45,680
Oh.

820
00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:47,680
This is my first time.

821
00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:48,680
Hi.

822
00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:49,680
This is your sister Tracy.

823
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:51,680
Meeting them was really nerve-wracking

824
00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:53,680
because it's like I wasn't quite sure

825
00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,680
what to expect and what they would expect of me.

826
00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:57,680
Sure.

827
00:39:57,680 --> 00:39:58,680
Did you talk?

828
00:39:58,680 --> 00:39:59,680
All right.

829
00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:01,680
And then after I got here,

830
00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:03,680
it just all seemed to flow.

831
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:05,680
It was very natural.

832
00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:06,680
Yes.

833
00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:08,680
And that's when I was like...

834
00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:10,680
The last time I remember seeing Laura,

835
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:12,680
she was in a high chair.

836
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:14,680
And now here she is all growing up

837
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:16,680
and I'm still looking for this little girl.

838
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:18,680
You know, and that's...

839
00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:20,680
It's kind of hard.

840
00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:24,680
Hi, Susan.

841
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,680
Oh, it's good to meet you.

842
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:28,680
A short time later,

843
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:30,680
the circle was finally completed

844
00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:33,680
with the arrival of Marge's other daughter, Susan.

845
00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:34,680
Okay.

846
00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:35,680
Hi.

847
00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:36,680
Hi.

848
00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:37,680
Hi.

849
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:39,680
I grew up knowing that I was adopted,

850
00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:41,680
but I didn't know anything about

851
00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:43,680
who my real parents were.

852
00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:45,680
And it's nice to know...

853
00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:46,680
I see.

854
00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:48,680
You know, who your family is.

855
00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:52,680
And I don't know what your background is.

856
00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:54,680
You know, learn more about them.

857
00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:57,680
I think when I first started feeling really comfortable

858
00:40:57,680 --> 00:40:59,680
was when we went out and took some Polaroids.

859
00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:01,680
And it was a really neat feeling

860
00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:03,680
to have a picture right in front of me

861
00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:05,680
and see all of us standing together.

862
00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:06,680
Get closer.

863
00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:10,680
It's a very once-in-a-lifetime kind of a thing

864
00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:13,680
to find a sister that you've never met.

865
00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:15,680
Everybody smile.

866
00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:18,680
Each one is totally individual.

867
00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:21,680
They're all strong I've found out.

868
00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:27,680
And they've done good with their lives.

869
00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:29,680
I'm proud of all four of them.

870
00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:33,680
The End

871
00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:44,680
Wholesale Medical Supply Distributor wanted.

872
00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:47,680
Investment of $18,000 minimum

873
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:50,680
required for necessary inventory.

874
00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:52,680
During the past year, this advertisement

875
00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,680
was placed in over 90 newspapers all across America

876
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,680
by a company called Fidelity National Medical Supply

877
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:00,680
Incorporated.

878
00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:02,680
The ads seemed to offer the perfect opportunity

879
00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:04,680
for enterprising individuals

880
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:07,680
who'd always dreamed of owning their own business.

881
00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:13,680
Fidelity National was based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

882
00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:16,680
They extended an open invitation to potential investors

883
00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:19,680
to visit the company headquarters.

884
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:21,680
One person who took advantage of the offer

885
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,680
was a man whom we will call Robert Jones.

886
00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:27,680
He has asked that we not reveal his true identity.

887
00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:32,680
On January 24, 1992,

888
00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:35,680
Robert Jones was driven to the company offices

889
00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:38,680
in a limousine provided by Fidelity National.

890
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:42,680
Jones, who had arrived in town the day before,

891
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:44,680
wanted to see the operation firsthand

892
00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:47,680
before making an investment.

893
00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:51,680
I checked with the Better Business Bureau in Oklahoma City.

894
00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:53,680
There was no complaints there.

895
00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:56,680
I had them checked out with a national credit firm

896
00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,680
and all their resources checked out the same

897
00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:01,680
with this firm.

898
00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:04,680
I was satisfied that they were legitimate.

899
00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:12,680
Fidelity National was certainly impressive.

900
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:14,680
Orders were pouring in.

901
00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:16,680
Workers were busily taking inventory

902
00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:19,680
and answering a constant stream of phone calls.

903
00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:21,680
Robert, this is our gene room.

904
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:23,680
I can't take you into the warehouse

905
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:25,680
because it's a bonded warehouse.

906
00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:27,680
For security, sure.

907
00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:29,680
The warehouse was equally impressive.

908
00:43:29,680 --> 00:43:32,680
Thousands of boxes were stacked behind locked doors,

909
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:34,680
awaiting delivery to distributors.

910
00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:36,680
You can see by the packing labels here

911
00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:38,680
that all these would be ready for the box.

912
00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:40,680
Their financials indicated that they had

913
00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:44,680
2.8 million or so of inventory in various locations.

914
00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:47,680
More comes in next weekend.

915
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:51,680
Jones took the plunge and purchased the distributorship

916
00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:54,680
for $54,000, his life savings.

917
00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:57,680
He was just one of more than 300 people

918
00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:00,680
who had made investments totally $1.2 million.

919
00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:04,680
But as the money flooded in,

920
00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:07,680
the criminal investigation division of the IRS

921
00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:09,680
became increasingly suspicious.

922
00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:13,680
On February 17, 1992,

923
00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:17,680
agents from the FBI, the IRS, and the Oklahoma City Police

924
00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:21,680
made a surprise raid on Fidelity National's headquarters.

925
00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:24,680
In jail, are you lifting five or six boxes one time?

926
00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:26,680
Is nothing in any of the boxes?

927
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:27,680
Do you can tell?

928
00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:28,680
No.

929
00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:30,680
When they went into the boxes,

930
00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:32,680
they found that they were completely empty.

931
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,680
We found no evidence that Fidelity

932
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:39,680
had in any way purchased, ordered, received, or shipped

933
00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:41,680
during the entire course of their business life

934
00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:43,680
any medical supplies.

935
00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:45,680
The inventory which we found

936
00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:48,680
when we executed search warrants at their warehouse

937
00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:50,680
would fit on the side of my desk.

938
00:44:51,680 --> 00:44:53,680
Investigators painstakingly checked

939
00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:56,680
every single box in the warehouse.

940
00:44:56,680 --> 00:44:58,680
Every single box was empty,

941
00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:00,680
and the masterminds of the operation

942
00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:03,680
had long since disappeared.

943
00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:05,680
These are not amateurs.

944
00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:08,680
These people have obviously done this in the past.

945
00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:09,680
They knew what they were doing.

946
00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:10,680
They did it very quickly.

947
00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:11,680
They knew how to get in.

948
00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:13,680
They knew how to get out.

949
00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:14,680
They knew how to set up the accounts

950
00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:17,680
without putting fingerprints on the accounts.

951
00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:20,680
We believe the leader of this operation

952
00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:23,680
was a gentleman named Richard Condia.

953
00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:52,680
The End

954
00:45:52,680 --> 00:46:01,680
Join me next time.

955
00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:05,680
Perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery.

956
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:52,680
The End