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The

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Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries.

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The

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Thieves target $3 million in an armored car in Las Vegas.

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They steal the vehicle and disguise themselves as they make their getaway by jet.

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Many called it the perfect crime.

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Perhaps you can help bring the thieves to justice.

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On a healthy well like 41 year old man was found dead in his bed of a

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parent natural causes, few suspicions were raised.

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Until the autopsy revealed he'd been murdered.

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And now a small circle of Hood River Oregon residents are finding themselves under suspicion.

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An innocent night out suddenly becomes a battle for survival for a young Indiana woman.

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What makes this story unique is that she has chosen to fight back.

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That the identity of one man who is accused of terrorizing her is known.

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Authorities now need your help to catch him before he strikes again.

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This single mom had everything to live for.

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A beautiful daughter and a new man in her life.

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Then she mysteriously vanished.

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Police later found her SUV.

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But why was there no trace of Nikki McCown anywhere?

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With every mystery a single critical clue may be the key to a solution.

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Perhaps you hold that key.

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Join us for unsolved mysteries.

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Las Vegas.

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Or the lure of the quickscore in Tysos Gamers to risk it all with a pull of a handle or the turn of a card.

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For those daring enough to take a much greater gamble, however, the biggest payoff is not in the casinos.

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It is in the armored vans that supply the casinos with millions of dollars in cash.

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Friday, October 1, 1993 begins like every other day for 21-year-old Heather Tallchief.

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Radio check, route 3, you're right, can't drop off, number one.

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She and her two partners are responsible for making the rounds of several casinos, replenishing their automatic teller machines with cash.

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How much are you taking in?

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125, 150.

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Better put in a little more.

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It's got to fill them for a weekend.

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Heather would drive to the back portion of the casino and drop us off.

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I would be carrying the money and my partner, I would enter the casino.

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The final ATM the guards will service is near the casino's side entrance.

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The standard procedure calls for Heather to move the van there to pick up her partners when their job inside is finished.

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When my partner and I exited the casino, we did not see the van anywhere.

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We assumed that maybe she would have gotten lost, that she was stuck in traffic, or that maybe she might have been in an accident.

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We didn't know.

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So I, in joking, suggested that she might have taken the vehicle.

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A surveillance camera recorded the moment when she was last seen.

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The tape reveals no sign that she had been hijacked or met with any sort of foul play.

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The Las Vegas police can find no trace of Heather or the van.

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Ultimately they conclude that she has fled by design with three million dollars in cash.

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Heather Talcheev appears to have pulled off what many consider to be the perfect crime.

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She not only got away with the money, but managed to elude capture for eight years.

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According to the FBI, it is one of the largest armored car robberies in which the perpetrator has not been brought to justice.

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Perhaps you can help authorities finally track Heather down.

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No one suspected that Heather Talcheev had the inclination or the audacity to commit such a brazen crime.

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She was a nurse from Buffalo, New York of Seneca Indian descent, building a promising career in medicine.

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Then inexplicably, she surfaced in Las Vegas seeking a new job.

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Heather Talcheev applied for the job with the armored car company approximately two months before the robbery.

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And the investigation has led us to believe that this entire event from the moment of applying for the job to the robbery

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was all planned in advance for the sole purpose of committing this crime.

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Shortly after the robbery, investigators searched Talcheev's apartment.

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They discovered fingerprints that provided an important clue. Heather, it seemed, had not acted alone.

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The prints are identified as those of Roberto Solis, a convicted murderer who had been released from prison six years earlier.

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In 1969, he had shot and killed an armored car guard during an unsuccessful robbery.

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Intelligent and articulate, Solis used his time in prison wisely.

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Over 17 years, he authored five books. His achievement was heralded by professional writers as proof of his rehabilitation.

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That's how he got an early release from the state penitentiary.

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A lot of well-known poets would write in his behalf and he was allowed to be released early.

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Talcheev and Solis met in San Francisco where they began a relationship and subsequently planned this crime.

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Once we get you into an armored car company, there'll be a lot of time before they give you a big cash run.

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I know what to put down in the application.

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48-year-old Solis and 21-year-old Heather were an unlikely romantic couple and adept partners in crime.

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Investigators learned that they designed their scheme with meticulous care.

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They recognized that the most difficult challenge in a multi-million dollar robbery is often not the theft itself,

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but the getaway.

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Two hours after Heather sped the armored van from the casino, an unusual couple arrived at Las Vegas' Hughes Airport.

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They had chartered a private jet to Denver, Colorado.

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They were very well disguised. Solis looked like an older gentleman, a doctor.

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Talcheev like a sickly, invalid, older lady.

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There's only three small suitcases were taken aboard the craft when they traveled from Las Vegas to Colorado.

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If he had a million dollars or three million dollars, it would take approximately eight to ten suitcases to transport that much money.

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We surmise that they must have shipped the money on ahead.

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Three days later, the FBI traced Heather and Solis to Denver.

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But by then it was too late.

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Denver, they believed, had been only a brief stopover for the fugitives before they continued on to their final destination.

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But where was it?

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Investigators found an address that indicated they may have fled to Florida.

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But that address turned out to be merely a postal drop containing two forged passports.

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Both were for entry into the South American nation of Suriname.

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But the FBI questioned whether this had truly been Talcheev's and Solis' destination.

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It was possible that they had intended for the documents to be found as part of an elaborate effort to mislead their pursuers.

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Thirteen days after the robbery, investigators discovered the armored van in a commercial rental site in Las Vegas.

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Inside the building they rented were packing materials.

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This confirmed the FBI's suspicions that the three million dollars had been shipped to some unknown destination.

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They learned that Heather and Solis had set up a phony business here so that they could abandon the van in plain view without attracting suspicion.

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He told everybody he's starting a new business.

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Solis opened this business under the guise of retrofitting vehicles to be used as armored car vehicles.

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In that manner didn't draw any attention to the other people in the area when a real armored vehicle was brought into the facility.

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The ploy was one of many carefully crafted details to a seemingly flawless crime.

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I think that it was well thought out, well conceived and well executed.

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But crime doesn't pay and I don't think it's a perfect crime.

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I think that we'll still get them.

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They only have to make a mistake one time and we've got them.

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The

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So what else do you want to know about me?

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Although Hood River, Oregon residents Eric, Tamiya Su and Diana Anderson had known each other for years, this was their first date.

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It was just kind of, you know, checking each other out and seeing if maybe this is someone that I would like to spend more time with and I think it was the same for both of us.

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What do you do for fun?

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Golf.

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Eric was an attentive host and the date seemed to be going well.

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However, beginning at 11 p.m., the couple was harassed by mysterious tapping noises outside.

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What was that?

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And the sound of someone apparently at the front door.

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The second time the doorbell rang, footsteps could be heard running away, but there was no sign of anyone.

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It was not funny at that time of night when I have to get in my car and drive home by myself.

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That was the last time Diana Anderson saw Eric Tamiya Su.

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Eric's home was located in a remote area outside of town next to the fruit orchard business he owned and operated.

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A week after Eric's date with Diana, Don Dixon, a friend and business consultant drove out to Eric's house to check on him.

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Hey Eric! Eric, it's Don, you home?

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According to Dixon, for several days he had fielded phone calls from other friends of Eric's who had not been able to reach him.

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Dixon used the key Eric had given him to enter the home through a back door.

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Eric, you home? It's Don.

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He was greeted by an overpowering smell.

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It was an odor that I'd never smelled before. Eric?

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My initial hope was that this was the garbage that I had seen left out.

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Getting no response, Dixon headed upstairs to the master bedroom.

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Eric!

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There was no question in my mind that he was dead, so I set a prayer.

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I set a prayer, I went downstairs and I called 911 and asked for assistance.

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Investigators from the Hood River County Sheriff's Department quickly arrived on the scene.

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When I first walked in, it appeared to me that we were dealing with an unattended death, that something had happened, whether it was a medical problem or a heart attack, those kind of things.

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There was no sign of trauma that we could see right off, nothing did indicate that there was any kind of foul play.

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At the time of his death, Eric told me Arsut didn't seem to have an enemy in the world.

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But not topsy would reveal that he did not die of natural causes. In fact, he was killed by three gunshots to the head.

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Incredibly, the advanced state of decomposition of the body had disguised the true nature of his death. Who killed Eric Tamiasu?

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At this time, the investigation has focused on three potential suspects, all of whom have agreed to be interviewed.

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One of them happens to be the sheriff overseeing the murder investigation.

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As Eric Tamiasu's body was being removed from his house on the day it was discovered, Sheriff Joe Wampler approached Eric's friend Don Dixon with what Don considered a strange request.

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Does Eric have a burn powder on here?

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He said we looked for a gun, we've looked for bullet holes, we've looked for shells, and to spare the family grief and discomfort, we're going to bring the bedding out and we want you to burn it.

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If I could burn it there, I could burn it there.

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And I said if it would help the family, I would be happy to do what I can to assist.

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At sunrise a following morning, Don Dixon set fire to the soil bedding that had been removed from Eric's room.

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When he was done, there was nothing left behind but a metal frame and a pile of ashes.

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A day later during Eric Tamiasu's autopsy, Hood River County investigators were stunned to learn three small caliber bullets were lodged in his head.

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Investigators now had a homicide on their hands and theories begin to emerge.

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Because of Sheriff Joe Wampler's decision to burn the bed, potentially valuable clues had been destroyed.

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Based on the lack of evidence that this was going to turn into a criminal case, it was my decision to burn the bed.

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It was my decision at that time because the family, they might just actually appreciate not having to go through the trauma of viewing the horrid things that were left behind.

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But could the Sheriff have had a more sinister motive for destroying potential evidence?

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A possible answer may have come up in a conversation Don Dixon said he had with Eric regarding a new romantic relationship.

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There's this Polynesian woman I've been seeing a little bit.

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This Polynesian woman described as older than he was and the rumor mill has that the Sheriff's wife is Polynesian and older than Eric.

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But that could be purely coincidental.

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I've heard a rumor that my wife was having an affair with Mr. Tamiatsu.

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And out of retaliation for that, then I went up there and did these things.

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Even went to the trouble of destroying the evidence, burning the bed and all that stuff.

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All I can say is they're looking in the wrong direction.

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If Sheriff Wampler had nothing to do with the murder, who did?

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Eric Smith, Eric Tamiatsu's lifelong friend is considered potential suspect number two.

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Don Dixon, who occupied an office in the same building, says he overheard a heated argument Eric Smith had with the victim just days before the murder.

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He and Eric Smith had been in business together and Eric Tamiatsu felt that Eric was pocketing money.

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And that he owed him between $50,000 and $60,000.

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And he needed to collect it because the orchard business was really on a down slide and he needed the money to finish the crop year.

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According to Dixon, after Tamiatsu confronted Smith about the money, Eric Tamiatsu was clearly upset.

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I asked him if he was okay, if everything was all right.

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He said, that's son of a bitch, and got into his car and that's the last words that I heard from Eric Tamiatsu.

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I can tell you flat out for a fact, Eric and I did not have an argument.

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Eric didn't owe me money, I didn't owe him money.

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Don lives in a fantasy world.

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But it was no fantasy that Eric Tamiatsu and Eric Smith did at one time have a side business together selling used cars.

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However police believe that the amount invested was far less than Don Dixon claimed.

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When I checked into the business dealings with Eric Smith and Eric Tamiatsu, we found out that they both invested the same amount of money, which was probably $15,000 to start this business, not $50,000 or $60,000.

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And it kind of went downhill and they had to go out of business.

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If Eric Smith was not involved in Eric Tamiatsu's death, who else might have been?

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Potential suspect number three, the man who discovered the body, Don Dixon.

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As questions began to amount, some began to wonder whether Dixon, Tamiatsu's orchard consultant, was as close to him as he claimed to be.

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What Eric told me was that Don is somebody he bought spray from.

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Period.

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Talk to anyone, Eric's friends, most of them don't even know who Don is.

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It was Don Dixon who notified Eric's sister, Ramona Tamiatsu of her brother's death just minutes after he discovered the body.

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She recalled that what he said next struck her as very strange.

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He said it didn't look like there was any foul play and it also appeared that there weren't any exit wounds and I said, what are exit wounds, what are you talking about?

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I said, what? Why would there be gunshot wounds?

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Well, I clearly looked closely at the body to try and see if he had shot himself.

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I mean, because that was one of my first reactions was it was suicide.

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He had been very depressed and I had looked closely because of that.

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I mean, I honestly believe that a logical reason Eric was dead in bed was suicide.

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But Eric Tamiatsu had been shot three times. His death was clearly not a case of suicide.

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Investigators theorized that the killer knew not only the remote location of the Tamiatsu home but also his layout.

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The murder weapon, believed to be a small caliber handgun, was not found.

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Could one of these men have murdered Eric Tamiatsu or could someone else have pulled the trigger?

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In one final twist to this classic, who done it?

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Diana Anderson says that during her date with Eric Tamiatsu, they went outside to look for the source of the strange noises and found a single unexplained shoe print.

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Could that have been the shoe print of Eric Tamiatsu's killer?

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Investigators will never know. Heavy rains in the days following their date washed away any potential evidence left that night.

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I don't know if the killer was dead or if the killer was dead.

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I don't know if the events on Saturday night had anything to do with Eric's murder or if it was just coincidence.

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I think it's a possibility, but I don't know.

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For now, many unanswered questions still hang over the town of Hood River.

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Did the sheriff deliberately destroy evidence on the case?

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I did not have anything to do with the death of Eric Tamiatsu, no.

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Could Eric Smith have wanted Eric Tamiatsu dead?

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Eric was my best friend. He was the best man at my wedding. He was like my brother.

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Did Don Dixon tell the truth about his connection to the murder?

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I have no way of knowing who was involved with Eric Tamiatsu's death.

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The only ones that I know that didn't do it are my wife and myself.

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Other than that, everybody else in my mind is suspect.

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All the principles in this case have taken and passed polygraph tests arranged by the Hood River County Sheriff's Department.

208
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:02,520
Except Don Dixon.

209
00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:06,520
Dixon recently took an independently administered polygraph.

210
00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:10,520
The results were deemed inconclusive by the Sheriff's Department.

211
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:23,520
A local hangout popular with college students in Misawaka, Indiana.

212
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,520
A young woman and a friend have come here for a night out.

213
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:34,520
At her request, we've changed her name. We will call her Lori.

214
00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:41,520
We did our usual, setting up the pool table, making little jokes where I'll bet you that I'll be there.

215
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:43,520
I am honorable tonight.

216
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:48,520
And whoever wins that would get a free drink.

217
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:54,520
Though Lori wasn't aware of it, she had caught the attention of some other men in the bar.

218
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:56,520
Yes.

219
00:22:57,520 --> 00:22:59,520
Here you go.

220
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:01,520
I'm going to go get a drink.

221
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:03,520
I'm going to get a drink.

222
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:05,520
I'm going to get a drink.

223
00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:07,520
I'm going to get a drink.

224
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:10,520
Here you go.

225
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:15,520
Lori briefly left her friend and went to the bar to order her victory drink.

226
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,520
Can I get a beer, please?

227
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,520
She now noticed that the men at the bar seemed fixated on her.

228
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,520
Uncomfortable, she walked away.

229
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,520
As she moved through the bar, Lori paused near an exit.

230
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,520
She had no inkling of what was about to happen.

231
00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:44,520
What had begun as a simple evening of friendly billiards would soon become a night of terror for Lori.

232
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:49,520
Over the next few hours, she would experience every woman's worst nightmare.

233
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,520
Lori is bravely chosen to tell her traumatic story to help police.

234
00:23:53,520 --> 00:24:02,520
Investigators need your help to track down the individuals responsible for the suffering that Lori ultimately endured and survived.

235
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,520
Without warning, a group of men surrounded Lori.

236
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:17,520
And they abducted her from the bar.

237
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:26,520
I was taken to a car that was no more than six feet from that final door.

238
00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:30,520
And it was two men pushing me into this car.

239
00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:38,520
I screamed, but that scream was very short and fleeting because so quick they had me in that car.

240
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,520
And quicker than I could snap my finger, we were backing up.

241
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:52,520
A terrified Lori was restrained by the man in the back seat.

242
00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:57,520
After about 20 minutes, the two kidnappers who conversed in Spanish got into an argument.

243
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,520
Then the driver suddenly pulled the car over and left.

244
00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:12,520
I believe that the man in the front had decided not to carry on from this point.

245
00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,520
The remaining man pulled Lori into the front seat and drove her to a nearby apartment.

246
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:28,520
As her abductor dragged her through the door, Lori desperately sought anything she could use as a weapon.

247
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:32,520
Where am I?

248
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,520
But Lori's attempt to fight back only served to further enrage her assailant.

249
00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:54,520
He dragged me into a bedroom.

250
00:25:54,520 --> 00:26:00,520
And that is where he was able to overpower me and he violently raped me there.

251
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:08,520
After the assault, I got this fire inside of me.

252
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:12,520
No more was all I could hear in my brain.

253
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:17,520
So I just took that power and I gave him a kick.

254
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:21,520
My knees, I brought my knees up and kicked him off of me.

255
00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:30,520
And it gave me enough time to get up off of that nasty mattress and dirt and filth.

256
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:34,520
And I ran through into the living room.

257
00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:37,520
I just thought, get out to the door.

258
00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:45,520
Hoping to hamper her attacker's pursuit, Lori threw furniture in his path.

259
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,520
But he easily ran over it.

260
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,520
And he threw me up against this wall.

261
00:26:54,520 --> 00:27:00,520
By my neck, I could hear the bones in there crunching.

262
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:04,520
And I could feel it. The pain was overwhelming.

263
00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:08,520
And I couldn't breathe and the lights were going dark.

264
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:10,520
I knew he's killing me.

265
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:15,520
And I said, no, I have more to life than this.

266
00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:22,520
And I brought that knee up and as hard as I could, bang, I took that foot into his gut.

267
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,520
And it threw him back, made him fall to his butt.

268
00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:32,520
And I just booked it for all, everything I had.

269
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:34,520
I was a track star that day.

270
00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:42,520
I ran for that back kitchen door and by the grace of God, I was able to get the door out, ran out that door.

271
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:51,520
And I could hear him coming and he's screaming, you know, and it's getting louder.

272
00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:53,520
Meaning he is right on my tail.

273
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,520
And I ran and I screamed.

274
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,520
And I could hear him coming through that gate.

275
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:08,520
There was a dumpster at the end of this alley.

276
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:13,520
And I ran real quick around behind that dumpster and I squatted.

277
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:17,520
And I sat there and I listened and I could hear the gravel coming.

278
00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,520
I know he was out there looking for me.

279
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:27,520
So I tried to just hold my breath and you're so hysterical.

280
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:33,520
That was the hardest thing, to control my breathing because I didn't want him to hear me.

281
00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:42,520
Petrified with fear, Lori waited 20 minutes before she fled the safety of her hiding place and located a pay phone.

282
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,520
How long ago did this happen?

283
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:50,520
10 minutes ago.

284
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:52,520
He grabbed me and pulled me out of there.

285
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:54,520
I came tonight to claim.

286
00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:56,520
Nobody came.

287
00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,520
Ma'am, I'm sorry.

288
00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:00,520
They know where you are now.

289
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,520
They're going to be sending help now.

290
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,520
Police responded to the scene immediately.

291
00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,520
What a relief that was.

292
00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:17,520
I could just feel my body just drained of exhaustion from the fear.

293
00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:26,520
Lori next retraced her escape route to lead authorities back to the scene of her brutal assault.

294
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,520
She was going through the most traumatic time in her life.

295
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:35,520
But yet she was able to give us the location of the residence where it took place.

296
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,520
She was able to give us a description of her attacker.

297
00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:46,520
Within a few hours of Lori's escape, police secured a search warrant and entered the property where the attack occurred.

298
00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:52,520
Everything was as she said it would be.

299
00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,520
There were key pieces of her clothing that were found in this bedroom.

300
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:02,520
She said she was wearing beige pants.

301
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:08,520
It was important that she remembered where this attack took place because that's how we were able then to identify the suspect.

302
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,520
Because we could link the suspect to the residence.

303
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:21,520
We were then able to identify a person named Rufino Costaneda as a potential suspect in his case.

304
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:26,520
He had a history of choking and assaulting at least one other woman.

305
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:29,520
Tell me if you recognize any of these people.

306
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:31,520
Okay.

307
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:38,520
The day after the abduction, Detective Whitfield included Costaneda's prior booking photo in a lineup he showed to Lori.

308
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:41,520
That's him.

309
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:51,520
Now that Rufino Costaneda was positively identified, tracking him down became a priority.

310
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:56,520
But Costaneda had apparently vanished the day after Lori's kidnapping.

311
00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:04,520
Investigators learned he abruptly resigned from his job following a visit by two unknown individuals.

312
00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:07,520
Costaneda has not been seen since.

313
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:14,520
Investigators suspect Costaneda's partner in the abduction was a relative.

314
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,520
However, there is not currently sufficient evidence to make an arrest.

315
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:25,520
Lori continues to be haunted by the horrifying attack.

316
00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:34,520
You might be out in public and there might be a smell of something that takes you right back to it.

317
00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:38,520
And it's just like you're right back there living it.

318
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:42,520
I remember every single thing.

319
00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:44,520
I don't remember bits and pieces.

320
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:45,520
I remember everything.

321
00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:52,520
Right down to the smell of that man, to the sweat that was on my body, all of that.

322
00:31:53,520 --> 00:32:00,520
This man needs to get off the streets before he does this again because I don't believe the next woman will make it.

323
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:03,520
And nor do I believe that I was the first.

324
00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:25,520
July 22, 2001.

325
00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:28,520
It was a sweltering day in Richmond, Indiana.

326
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:32,520
But when 20-year-old Nikki McCowen walked into her mother's house,

327
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,520
it wasn't only the weather that had her hot under the collar.

328
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:36,520
Who's that?

329
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,520
These two guys at the laundry mat would not leave me alone.

330
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:41,520
Well, you're a very beautiful girl.

331
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:42,520
I can understand that.

332
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,520
No, these guys are creepy.

333
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,520
She just was really upset.

334
00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:48,520
I don't even want to go back down and get my laundry.

335
00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,520
And I laughed at first, you know, because she's such a pretty girl.

336
00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:55,520
I just thought that some man was making a play, you know.

337
00:32:55,520 --> 00:33:02,520
I said, Nikki, just calm down because she really was really upset.

338
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:07,520
Authorities believe Nikki McCowen did return to the laundry mat a short time later.

339
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:09,520
But no one knows for sure.

340
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:13,520
Nikki mysteriously disappeared that muggy summer day.

341
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,520
She has not been seen or heard from since.

342
00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,520
Police suspected foul play.

343
00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:26,520
However, two elements essential to solving most homicides were missing.

344
00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,520
There was no body and no parent motive.

345
00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:32,520
Nikki was friendly, had no known enemies and looked forward

346
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:35,520
of great anticipation to her upcoming wedding.

347
00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:37,520
That never happened.

348
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:42,520
Leaving detectives with a complex puzzle and pieces that simply didn't fit.

349
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:45,520
So you guys are going to get fitted for your taxi dose today?

350
00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:47,520
Yeah, we're going to go by there later.

351
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:51,520
Sunday, July 22nd began routinely enough.

352
00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:54,520
After attending church, Nikki set off to do the laundry.

353
00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:58,520
While her fiance, Bobby Webster, met the best man in his wedding

354
00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:01,520
at a local tuxedo shop.

355
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,520
Bobby and Nikki planned to get together later that afternoon.

356
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:07,520
The big event was just three weeks off

357
00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:11,520
from the bride to be one of the special day to be extra special.

358
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,520
Nikki had a nine-year-old daughter from a prior relationship

359
00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:19,520
and even her ex-boyfriend seemed happy for her.

360
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:24,520
She spent so much money, put so much into this wedding.

361
00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,520
She wanted it to be the most perfect wedding.

362
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:30,520
She wanted her face to be perfect, her hair to be perfect,

363
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:32,520
her body to be perfect.

364
00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:34,520
She wanted everything to be perfect.

365
00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:37,520
Nikki had always been a perfectionist,

366
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:40,520
despite being the youngest and most precocious of ten kids

367
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:42,520
and a close-knit family.

368
00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:45,520
She was a daredevil.

369
00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:47,520
She would try anything.

370
00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:49,520
She loved sports.

371
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,520
She was very academically inclined too.

372
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,520
She made the honor roll all the time.

373
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:58,520
She made the Dean's List here recently over in college.

374
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:06,520
So what happened to Nikki that summer day in 2001?

375
00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:13,520
Did she return to the laundromat where she was confronted

376
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:15,520
by two strangers up to no good?

377
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:24,520
And why did those close to Nikki find no trace of her anywhere?

378
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:29,520
The day after Nikki's disappearance,

379
00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:34,520
Monday, July 23rd, her fiance contacted the Richmond Police Department.

380
00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:40,520
Filling all that information, that missing persons report was very difficult.

381
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:46,520
Because a situation like this, you just see happening on like a TV movie or something.

382
00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:49,520
You never really think in your wildest imagination

383
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:52,520
you'd be in that situation until it really happens.

384
00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:54,520
And it's really confusing, really.

385
00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:58,520
Over the next week,

386
00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:01,520
detectives looked into the alleged incident at the laundromat

387
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,520
and the possibility that Nikki had been abducted.

388
00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:09,520
They also had questions for her fiance, Bobby Webster.

389
00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:12,520
According to police, Bobby had begun acting very strangely

390
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:15,520
in the days immediately following Nikki's disappearance.

391
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,520
Instead of postponing the wedding, he canceled it entirely,

392
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:23,520
demanding a full refund from the reception hall.

393
00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:29,520
Bobby then tried to return his wedding band, also for cash.

394
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:37,520
But the manager refused.

395
00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:40,520
Nikki had paid for the ring and her name was on the receipt.

396
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,520
Allegedly, the heated argument nearly turned violent

397
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,520
and Bobby had to be escorted from the store.

398
00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:51,520
Bobby said he needed the money to help find Nikki,

399
00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:53,520
to pay for flyers and a cell phone.

400
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:56,520
I was to the point where it was like,

401
00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,520
you know, it doesn't matter right now, this wedding doesn't matter.

402
00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:00,520
Nikki's well-being is what matters right now.

403
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:06,520
Detectives weren't convinced and pressed Bobby to take a polygraph test.

404
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,520
He refused at first, but later said yes.

405
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:14,520
One of the questions that was asked to Mr. Webster was,

406
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:18,520
did you have anything to do with the disappearance of Nikki McCallan?

407
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:22,520
And he says no, and according to the operator,

408
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:24,520
the needle about jumps off the chart.

409
00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:29,520
So not only did he fail it, I mean he failed it miserably.

410
00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:31,520
Bobby denies that accusation.

411
00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:35,520
He claims neither he nor his lawyer ever saw the results.

412
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:37,520
I just said, look, you ain't got to give it to me,

413
00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:39,520
just send it to my lawyer.

414
00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:41,520
But they don't do stuff like that around here,

415
00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:43,520
that's what they told me.

416
00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:48,520
More than three months passed, still no sign of Nikki McCallan.

417
00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:52,520
Then on November 5th, 2001, detectives caught a break.

418
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:57,520
Nikki's SUV was found parked at a sprawling apartment complex

419
00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:01,520
in Dayton, Ohio, 45 minutes east of her home in Indiana.

420
00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:05,520
It had apparently been abandoned for some time.

421
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:09,520
Police found a punched-out door lock,

422
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,520
an ignition that had been tampered with,

423
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:13,520
and a missing stereo system.

424
00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:16,520
We kept getting told by the police,

425
00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:18,520
you know, we got to locate this truck,

426
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:20,520
it's the big piece of the puzzle,

427
00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:24,520
and when they located it, it was a little relieved

428
00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:26,520
that now they can find Nikki.

429
00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:31,520
Unfortunately, locating the SUV raised more questions than it answered.

430
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,520
Police found no fingerprints or other promising leads

431
00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:36,520
that might help them find Nikki.

432
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:40,520
However, they did make one important discovery, her laundry.

433
00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:44,520
The clothes appeared that they'd come just from the laundromat,

434
00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:47,520
they were folded neatly, they hadn't,

435
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,520
did not have the appearance that someone had went through the clothing

436
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:52,520
or taken any of the items.

437
00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,520
That seemed to rule out the abduction theory.

438
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,520
If Nikki had been forcibly removed from the laundromat,

439
00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:01,520
why would her clothes be in the back of the SUV?

440
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:03,520
Even more puzzling was this,

441
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:06,520
who drove the vehicle from Richmond to Dayton and why?

442
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:10,520
Detectives canvassed the area

443
00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:12,520
and soon found that Nikki's ex-boyfriend

444
00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:15,520
lived in another part of the large apartment complex

445
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:17,520
where the SUV was found.

446
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:19,520
We talked to the police,

447
00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:23,520
we talked to the father of her child

448
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,520
and he was very cooperative.

449
00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:27,520
We checked his alibi, we found out

450
00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:30,520
he wasn't working the time that she was reported missing.

451
00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:33,520
He agreed to take a lie detector test

452
00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:36,520
and come through that fine.

453
00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,520
So we could eliminate him as a suspect.

454
00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:42,520
Another dead-end.

455
00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:46,520
However, investigators discovered that Nikki did make a phone call to date

456
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:48,520
and the day she disappeared.

457
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:50,520
It's Nikki.

458
00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:53,520
To a co-worker who lived about a mile from where the SUV was found.

459
00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:59,520
They talked about some specialty hair and nail products

460
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:03,520
and Nikki was told she could purchase the items at a store in Dayton.

461
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:08,520
This leads us to think that we've got two different scenarios.

462
00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:11,520
Something happened to her over here in Richmond, Indiana

463
00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:14,520
where she drove over to Ohio

464
00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:16,520
and something happened to her over there.

465
00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:20,520
There was also a third possible scenario.

466
00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:23,520
If Nikki did drive to Dayton that Sunday afternoon

467
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:26,520
perhaps something tragic happened on the way.

468
00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:30,520
But how did her SUV end up in the parking lot

469
00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:33,520
of her ex-boyfriend's apartment complex?

470
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:36,520
Was it simply an unbelievable coincidence?

471
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:38,520
I find it hard to believe.

472
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:40,520
And then if it's not coincidental

473
00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:44,520
then what better way to throw the suspicion off of somebody

474
00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:47,520
over here in Richmond by taking the vehicle

475
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:51,520
and putting it over where say her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child lives.

476
00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:56,520
That theory led detectives right back to Bobby Webster

477
00:40:56,520 --> 00:40:59,520
and his suspicious behavior following Nikki's disappearance.

478
00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:05,520
But Nikki's sister believes Bobby is innocent of any wrongdoing.

479
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:07,520
I love Bobby to death.

480
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:09,520
And there's no way he'd do this.

481
00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:12,520
He'd have to be the double himself to be able to walk around here

482
00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:14,520
and still see us face to face, you know?

483
00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:17,520
I mean everybody has their limits.

484
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:21,520
Nikki's mother, however, isn't so sure about Bobby.

485
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:22,520
Have you seen Nikki?

486
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:24,520
There's a wise old woman once told me

487
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:28,520
keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.

488
00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:30,520
So I stuck with him like glue.

489
00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:33,520
Because I figured if Bobby did do this

490
00:41:33,520 --> 00:41:36,520
or if he knew anybody did do it

491
00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:38,520
he would come to me.

492
00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,520
Police continue to follow up on other possible suspects

493
00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:45,520
while also keeping a close eye on Bobby Webster.

494
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:48,520
I believe that based on all the information we have so far

495
00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:51,520
that if Mr. Webster did not have anything to do

496
00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:53,520
with the disappearance of Nikki McCown

497
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:58,520
he does know quite a bit about what did happen to her.

498
00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:03,520
I don't know anything about Nikki's disappearance or whereabouts.

499
00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:05,520
I have nothing to do with it.

500
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:09,520
I mean I love Nikki more than I love myself.

501
00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:14,520
And all I wanted to do was just be the best man I could.

502
00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:18,520
And you know it feels unfair that I'm in this situation

503
00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:21,520
and I mean now just because I love so much, you know?

504
00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:23,520
I just understand it.

505
00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:28,520
Meanwhile a distraught family

506
00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:32,520
and a heartbroken young child wait and hope.

507
00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:36,520
There's a little girl nine years old

508
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:39,520
who every night after she gets in the bed

509
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:41,520
and says, Grandma I've said my prayers for Mommy.

510
00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:45,520
How much longer are we getting any closer?

511
00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:48,520
And I keep telling her every day is closer and closer.

512
00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:51,520
I just want somebody

513
00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:57,520
somewhere to come clean.

514
00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,520
Because there is somebody out there that knows something.

515
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:03,520
Nikki didn't deserve this.

516
00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:06,520
Nikki McCown's fate remains a mystery.

517
00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:08,520
Friends say she adored her daughter

518
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:10,520
and would never run off by herself.

519
00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:14,520
Perhaps a fiancé had something to do with the disappearance.

520
00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:16,520
But what possible motive did he have?

521
00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:19,520
And what about Nikki's ex-boyfriend?

522
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,520
He cooperated fully and passed a polygraph test.

523
00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:25,520
Could it have been a random act of violence?

524
00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:28,520
If that was the case, why was Nikki's vehicle found abandoned

525
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:31,520
at the apartment complex in Dayton?

526
00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:34,520
For plexing questions without any good answers.

527
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:42,520
Nikki McCown is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds.

528
00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:44,520
She has brown eyes, brown hair,

529
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:47,520
and a small scar over her left eye.

530
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:52,520
Nikki was last seen on July 22, 2001 in Richmond, Indiana.

531
00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:03,520
The End

532
00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:26,520
Join me for the next fascinating edition of Unsolved Mysteries.

533
00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:33,520
The End

534
00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:03,520
The End