All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E17.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

NARRATOR: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

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

ROBERT STACK: Tonight,
a special edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

At a truck stop in
Oklahoma, two hitchhikers,

unnerved by a man with
whom they were traveling,

tried to report his
strange behavior.

A few days later,
authorities discovered

that the man's pickup
truck was a stolen vehicle.

The hitchhikers had
unknowingly grabbed

a ride with a murder suspect.

In Naperville, Illinois,
a 10-year-old girl

was abducted from her home
and later brutally murdered.

Two men were convicted
of the crime.

And one of them, Rolando
Cruz, is scheduled

to be executed on March 22nd.

But in this more
controversial case,

another man has confessed
that he alone killed the girl,

and some of the evidence
supports his claim.

In Canada, they are known
as the "lost generation"--

thousands of Native
American children

ripped away from their families
and their ancestral homes

to be put up for adoption.

Tonight, you may be able to
help two families end years

of painful forced separation.

Join me for another edition
of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

February 25th, 1983.

So what do you think?

You think that'll match?

ROBERT STACK: In Naperville,
Illinois, a Chicago suburb,

Chris Nicarico and her
friends came home from school

to a nightmarish discovery.

Oh my god, you guys!

ROBERT STACK: Someone had
broken into the house,

and her little sister,
Janine, was missing.

The police were
called immediately.

What do we got guys?

ROBERT STACK: They found
that the front door

had been knocked in.

A visible footprint
remained on the door,

and two more prints
were found in the yard.

A sheet and a blanket were
missing from one of the beds.

It appeared to me, and
I'm sure a couple of guys,

too, it was like it was a
burglary, maybe, that went bad.

She wasn't supposed to be home,
somebody kicks in the door.

And the next thing you know,
she's home, and they take her.

ROBERT STACK: Two days
later, the young girl's body

was discovered in the
Illinois Prairie Path,

a park less than two
miles from her home.

10-year-old Jeanine
Nicarico had been brutally

raped and beaten to death.

Today, two men are in prison for
the murder of Jeanine Nicarico,

one facing execution
next March 22nd.

Both claim they are innocent.

But there's a third man
who says he is the killer

and that he acted alone.

The prosecutors call him a liar.

But so far, three high
level law enforcement

officials have quit
their jobs to protest

the handling of the case.

They believe that the man
currently scheduled to die

in five weeks is innocent.

In early 1983, an offer
of a $10,000 reward

led investigators to a
man named Alex Hernandez.

Hernandez had a reputation
for trying to impress people

and told police
he'd been driving

around drinking with several men
who had talked about a murder.

Who was doing
the talking, Alex?

Well, Rick was
talking to the guys.

They were passing
like a bottle around.

OK.

And he was talking to
him, and he said something

about some little girl.

Do you got a last name, Alex?

No, I don't know
his last name.

ROBERT STACK: Hernandez
had an IQ of 76

and was known around his
neighborhood as "Crazy Alex."

His criminal record listed
only one previous arrest,

for misdemeanor theft.

He was crying.
I seen him crying.

ROBERT STACK: Hernandez named
names, but only one provided

a possible link to the murder.

Yeah, well they--

ROBERT STACK: Steve Buckley
owned a pair of boots that

closely approximated the boot
print found on the front door

of the Nicarico home.

Buckley became a
suspect, and police

began to think Alex Hernandez
knew more than he was telling.

Here was somebody who told
us about sitting in a car.

We figured maybe
now he's just trying

to shift the guilt away from
other-- you know, from himself.

And maybe he's involved.

So he was a prime suspect.

So to see what we
could find out,

we arranged for him to
sit down with a person

that he would know of, who
was a burglar out of Aurora.

Hey, man, how about them
cigarettes you promised me?

ROBERT STACK: Police
put Hernandez in a room

with a man he knew
from his neighborhood

nicknamed "Penguino."

Alex, you know Penguino.

What's up, man?

[interposing voices]

What you doing in here, man?

He's helping us
out with the boy.

ROBERT STACK: Penguino was
told to pretend he knew

who had murdered another child.

Police got Hernandez to
cooperate by telling him

he was a junior deputy and would
get $10,000 in reward money

if he convinced
Penguino to talk.

All right, man.

You can split it up between
you, or you can take it home.

I don't care.

Somebody come up
with something today.

ROBERT STACK: A
detective listened

in the hallway outside.

We figured that
would be a perfect way.

If he knew anything.

Hopefully, all it was is
to get out some information

that he was holding back.

Hopefully, he would talk
easier to his peer, somebody

that he knew.

[speaking spanish]

ROBERT STACK: The meeting,
conducted partly in Spanish,

turned into a boasting contest.

Penguino claimed he knew about
the murder of a young boy.

Hernandez claimed he knew
about the Nicarico murder.

Hernandez even bragged he could
show police the crime scene.

He said, I was there.

I didn't kill her,
but I held her down.

Police would later drive
throughout Naperville

with Hernandez, hoping he
could identify the Nicarico

home or the crime scene.

If we didn't run out of gas,
we'd probably still be riding.

We never found anything.

He never could take us anyplace.

He rode around and rode around
looking at houses and places

that he hoped would
be it, I think,

but he never could
take us to that place.

Rolando?

Rolando Cruz?

- Yeah?
- Police.

I need to ask you
a couple questions.

I didn't do nothing.

ROBERT STACK: Regardless,
police followed the other

leads Hernandez had given them.

One led to a man
named Rolando Cruz.

Your name has come up in--

ROBERT STACK: Cruz was 19 years
old, unemployed, and surviving

on $75 a month in food stamps.

He had been arrested
on two occasions--

once for trespassing,
once for theft.

Do you know Alex Hernandez?

I know him, but I don't
hang out with him or anything.

Yeah?

When was the last
time you saw him?

They asked me about Alex.

I told him that I knew what
he looked like, his name,

but I didn't know
him specifically.

I didn't hang around with
him or anything like that.

Well, we have reason to
suspect that Alex was involved

in the Nicarico murder.

Never heard of it.

So you don't know
about the reward?

No, I ain't know
about no reward neither.

You hear about the reward?

I ain't hear about
nothing either.

ROBERT STACK: Tempted
by the reward money,

both Rolando Cruz
and Alex Hernandez

began to feed police a series
of tidbits in the murder

of Jeanine Nicarico.

$10,000.

ROBERT STACK: In the process,
they implicated themselves.

For the arrest and
conviction of the offenders.

One year passed from the
date of Jeanine's death.

There was no-- the
investigation was going nowhere.

There was an election
that was coming up.

And I just believe
that the police

took whoever was convenient and
whatever evidence, no matter

how implausible it was,
no matter how weak it was,

and said, let's bring
the criminal prosecution

against these people.

ROBERT STACK: On
March 8th, 1984,

a grand jury indicted Hernandez,
Cruz, and Steve Buckley on 36

counts, including murder, rape,
and deviant sexual assault.

Once the indictments
were handed in,

John Sam expected the defendants
to roll on each other.

To his surprise,
it didn't happen.

It was kind of like the air
was out of the balloon then.

I mean, that was it.

It was like, we threw
our last Trump card

hoping that something was
going to come from it,

and it never did.

It felt like right then
and there it's time

to go on and find someone else.

It kind of like, at that
point, put it in my mind

that these guys just
weren't involved.

ROBERT STACK: Despite
resistance from his superiors,

Sam continued
investigating on his own.

Finally, in December of 1984,
one month before the three men

went on trial, Sam
handed in his resignation

and cleaned out his desk.

Good luck, Sam.

See you, John.

The real killer was still
out there in my opinion.

And we, the police,
weren't looking for him.

If we weren't looking
for him, that meant

nobody was looking for him.

And therefore, he
was still out there.

And he could either kill again,
or he just gets away with it.

And that, to me, was the worst
part of this whole thing.

ROBERT STACK: In
January of 1985,

Alex Hernandez and Rolando
Cruz were convicted

of Jeanine Nicarico's murder.

Steve Buckley's trial
ended in a hung jury,

and the prosecution eventually
decided not to retry him.

Alex Hernandez and
Rolando Cruz were

sentenced to die for the
murder of 10-year-old Jeanine

Nicarico.

Six months later, police found
the body of 7-year-old Melissa

Ackerman in a drainage ditch
in Kane County, Illinois,

right next to DuPage county.

Like Jeanine, she had
been abducted and raped.

Five days after
Melissa was found dead,

a man under arrest for
three other sexual assaults

was charged with her murder.

His name was Brian Dugan.

The arrest of Brian
Dugan soon cast

considerable doubt on the
convictions of Rolando

Cruz and Alex Hernandez.

Dugan wanted to cut
a deal, but refused

to formally confess
without guaranteed immunity

from the death penalty.

However, to his attorney,
he admitted raping

and killing three people--

Melissa Ackerman, a
27-year-old nurse named Donna

Schnorr, and Jeanine Nicarico.

How did you leave the body?

In other words,
like what position?

All right.

ROBERT STACK: Dugan
refused to talk

directly to the authorities.

Commander Ed Cisowski of
the Illinois State Police

came up with a list of questions
about the Nicarico case

and gave them to
Dugan's attorney.

How you doing?

OK.

I've got a couple
of questions.

What kind of a car
were you driving

on February 25th of '83?

In '83, I was
driving a green Volare.

Green?

Yeah.

ROBERT STACK:
According to Dugan,

on the day Jeanine
Nicarico was murdered,

he did not go to work.

His employer
confirmed his absence.

Dugan said he prowled through
Naperville, smoking marijuana.

Sometime in the early afternoon,
he knocked on the front door

of the Nicarico home.

Hello?

Who is it?

I need to borrow
a screwdriver.

Sorry, I'm not allowed to
open the door for strangers.

Try next door.

Sorry.

OK.

ROBERT STACK: In point after
point, Dugan's description

matches the evidence.

Dugan claimed that he
bound and gagged Jeanine.

He described the sheet
in which he wrapped her,

remembered he had taken time
to wipe his fingerprints

from the doorknob.

He also said he was
wearing the same brand

of boots that matched the print
found on the Nicarico door.

Dugan described driving Jeanine
to the Illinois Prairie Path.

There, he claimed he raped
her, beat her with a tire iron,

and left her.

Dugan's story also
matched the testimony

of two tollway workers
who had reported

seeing a white man
driving a green car

on the day of the murder.

Dugan remembered seeing
the man, and said

that as he drove
out of the park,

he almost got stuck
trying to turn around.

His car had tires that were
consistent with the tire

prints left at the crime scene.

Where do you think he's going?

He said, I did it, and here
is how I did it, and here are

the details of what I did.

And he said it in such a way
as to permit the Illinois state

police to corroborate each and
every of the 50 or so details

he gave to Commander
Cisowski and prove that he,

and he alone, did the crime.

ROBERT STACK: A
polygraph test given

by the Illinois state
police indicated that Dugan

was telling the truth.

Nevertheless, DuPage
county prosecutors never

charged him with
Jeanine's murder

and never offered
him a plea bargain.

This case was like a
runaway train, in the sense

that the prosecutors
convicted two men

and yet refused, in light
of overwhelming evidence,

which showed that they
had made a mistake,

to admit that mistake.

ROBERT STACK: Then,
in January of 1988,

the Supreme Court ruled that
Cruz and Hernandez should not

have been tried
together and ordered

new separate trials for each.

All rise.

ROBERT STACK: Two years
later, on January 11th, 1990,

Rolando Cruz went on
trial for the second time.

The defense intended to
prove that Brian Dugan alone

was responsible for
Jeanine's murder.

The prosecution,
on the other hand,

theorized that if
Dugan had murdered

Jeanine, Cruz and Hernandez
were his accomplices.

Officer Wilcos, did
you have occasion to--

ROBERT STACK: They
presented testimony

from a police officer, who
said that Cruz's cousin, Irma

Rodriguez, had told him she had
seen Dugan and Cruz together.

When Rodriguez took the
stand, she denied it.

Yes I did.

Commander Cisowski--

ROBERT STACK: Without
direct testimony from Dugan,

the defense had to rely on
what State Police Commander

Cisowski had learned
about Duggan's

background and criminal m.o.

Would you tell the
ladies and gentlemen

of this jury what you learned
about Brian Dugan's background?

ROBERT STACK: The prosecution,
however, objected.

I'm going to object unless
we are talking about--

ROBERT STACK: And
the judge did not

allow the line of questioning.

Objection sustained.

Commander.

It was utterly frustrating.

The jury was not permitted to
hear much of the statements

made by Dugan confessing
the crime of his sole

and exclusive participation in
the death of Jeanine Nicarico.

Mr. Stonehouse told you
that as he processed the--

ROBERT STACK: In
summation, the prosecution

argued that the footprints
found outside the Nicarico home

proved several people,
not just Dugan, were

involved with Jeanine's murder.

He found two different
distinct shoe impressions.

They argued that because
there were two footprints

underneath a dining room window,
and because there was a boot

print on the front door,
and because the boot print

on the front door was different
from the two footprints

by the window, that therefore
Dugan was a liar when he said

he committed the crime alone.

They said to our jury, there
are three different sets

of footprints, it must have
been three different people

involved in the crime.

ROBERT STACK: Several months
later, the crucial footprint

evidence was found to be bogus.

Two of the prints were, in fact,
a woman's size 5 and 1/2 or 6,

but the jury never heard this.

The DuPage county prosecutors
say that they were

unaware of the discrepancy.

The defense attorneys disagree.

The entire theory of
the prosecution's case

was that there were
multiple intruders.

In order to prove that there
were multiple intruders,

they had to show that there were
footprints around the perimeter

of the house that belonged
to the two other people.

And they knew-- they knew--

that this wasn't a male's
shoe, and they didn't tell us.

They knew that Rolando
and Alex and Steven Buckley

couldn't have made
those footprints,

and they all lied about it.

Now that's misconduct.

And you shouldn't be
afraid of the word

prosecutorial misconduct.

You should point your finger
and say, you were wrong.

The jury finds the
defendant, Rolando Cruz,

guilty of the offense of
aggravated kidnapping.

ROBERT STACK: On
February 1st, 1990,

the jury returned its verdict.

The jury finds the
defendant, Rolando Cruz,

guilty of the offense of murder.

I couldn't understand it.

I couldn't understand
how anybody

could have said guilty again.

My first reaction was to
look back behind me where

my mother and my
sister were sitting

to make sure that they were OK.

And, you know, because that's
my main concern, is my family.

So I looked back at them.

And I just thought,
well, just got

to keep fighting these people.

I mean, I can't give up.

And after all these
years, you don't give up.

The jury finds the defendant,
Alejandro Hernandez, guilty.

ROBERT STACK: The
second trial of Alex

Hernandez ended in a hung jury.

At his third trial, Hernandez
was once again found guilty

of murder and kidnapping.

He was sentenced to
80 years in prison.

His conviction and sentence
are currently under appeal.

Rolando Cruz remains on death
row, awaiting execution.

How can you sit there and
say, we're going to execute you,

and though this other
person confessed,

we think he's lying,
personally, so we're

not putting him on a stand.

Well, it's not--
my understanding

is it's not for the state to
decide whether I'm guilty.

It's for the jury.

So put Dugan on the stand.

Let the jury hear what
Dugan's got to say.

Let him either be
totally discredited

or let us prove he's
telling the truth.

And let the jury determine
what the outcome is.

John Sam is not
the only person

to quit in protest over the
handling of Jeanine Nicarico's

murder investigation.

Philip Gilman, Director of
the DuPage County Crime Lab,

also left his job.

And in June of 1992, Assistant
Attorney General Mary Brigid

Koenig turned in her letter
of resignation, saying,

I have come to believe
Rolando Cruz is not guilty.

I do not want to be party to the
execution of an innocent man.

Rolando Cruz is scheduled
to die by lethal injection

in just over a month,
on March 22nd, 1993.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Recently,
we featured a story

that began in
Madisonville, Tennessee

during the Great Depression.

Evening.

Evening.

ROBERT STACK: In
the spring of 1939,

Tom Underwood, an
out-of-work single father,

left his two young
daughters, Madeline

and Ada, in the care of a kindly
farmer named Charlie Best.

Times were hard, but
he was willing to take

them and give them a home and
give them what we had to eat.

It might not have
been everything,

but we never did go hungry.

Thank you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Pass the corn, please.

ROBERT STACK: Madeline
and Ada were immediately

accepted as part of the family.

Charlie treated them as if
they were his own children.

Over the next two years, Tom
Underwood visited his daughters

on several occasions.

Then, in the spring of 1941,
he returned to the farmhouse

for the final time.

Mr. Underwood!

Miss Zella Mae, I
come for the children.

It's coming on nightfall,
and I need to be on the road

before dark.

If you'll just pack
some things for me--

ROBERT STACK: That
afternoon, Tom Underwood

left with his daughters.

The Best family never saw
Madeline or Ada again.

At the time we
filmed this story,

Charlie Best was 96 years old.

Although he had
not seen Madeline

or Ada in more than
50 years, they were

never far from his thoughts.

Is it cold enough
for you today?

He don't look at
him as being women.

He calls them the little girls.

Just the other day he said,
have you heard any more

about the little girls?

And I said, no, daddy,
but they're coming.

They're coming.

ROBERT STACK: The
night this story aired,

Ada Underwood, now 59 years
old, was watching our broadcast

at her home in Indiana.

Ada was shocked to see
herself and her older

sister Madeline profiled.

Sadly, Madeline passed
away several years ago.

But for Ada, Charlie and
Zella Mae's story stirred

distant childhood memories.

10 days after our
broadcast, Ada Underwood

traveled to
Madisonville, Tennessee

for a very special
reunion with Charlie Best

and his two children,
Zella Mae and Carl.

Well, I was
anxious to see her.

It was exciting to
know she was coming.

Well, you still
look like yourself.

A whole lot older.

Glad you got to come.

It's a day I have been
waiting for for, oh--

really for 51 years.

How is your father?

Well, getting kind of old.

I was very
excited when I heard

that they were looking for me.

Because somebody cared enough
about me to hunt for me

that long.

ROBERT STACK: Although only
eight years old when she last

saw Charlie, Ada never forgot
the warmth and kindness he

and his family
brought into her life.

Well, this here is Ada, Daddy.

Do you remember?

Charlie had to be very
good to my sister and I

for him to take us in
and take care of us

when we had nobody else
to take care of us.

So I think he had to
be a really great man.

She's pretty.

Thank you.

She's pretty.

You think she looks
like she used to, Dad?

This meant a lot to Daddy.

And I feel that, in his own
mind, a dream has come true.

ROBERT STACK: Sadly, eight weeks
after we filmed this update,

Charlie Best passed away.

According to his family,
the reunion with Ada

brought Charlie great
comfort in his final days.

[music playing]

[crying]

All right.

It's crowning.
I can see the head.

Come on.
One more big push.

Come on.

One more!

Come on!

ROBERT STACK:
February 4th, 1969.

In Manitoba, Canada,
Dorothy Meeches,

a member of the Plains
Ojibwe Indian nation,

gave birth to a daughter.

She named the baby Priscilla.

But Dorothy's joy
would be all too brief.

Even though she was unmarried
and living with her parents,

she already had five children.

You need to sign here.

ROBERT STACK: Within days, a
social worker convinced Dorothy

to give up her new baby.

What I thought, me, when
I was signing those papers,

I thought they were
going to place her

in a home for a few months,
till I got back on my feet,

to get a place of my own,
so I can get her back.

But all this time, those were
adoption papers I was signing.

People were in difficulty.

As in all communities,
difficulties occur.

And rather than any
rehabilitative work, any type

of counseling, any type
of resources being placed

in those homes or in
those communities,

children were taken out.

You're doing the
right thing, Dorothy.

She'll be well taken care of.

ROBERT STACK: Two decades
ago, what happened to Dorothy

Meeches was not uncommon
on Indian reservations

throughout Canada--

families torn apart by a
well-meaning but misguided

social welfare system.

However, Dorothy and Priscilla
were more fortunate than most.

In 1987, they would be reunited
through the native adoption

registry in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I feel hurt sometimes, because
she wasn't raised up with us.

I didn't see her
since she was small.

Like it's nice to have
her back with the family.

I am happy that I did this.

I'm glad that I found my family.

And if there are--

there are other
children out there that

are looking for their parents.

I would advise them to do it.

Because it's something that
they would like-- if they'd like

to know about their
family, they may as well

give it a chance, because
their families are probably

looking for them right now.

During the 1960s and '70s,
thousands of Native American

children were moved
from their tribal

homelands in Canada and
placed with adoptive parents.

Many of them white, many of
them in the United States.

It was a system born of
cultural misunderstanding,

which has since proven
to be a colossal mistake.

This forced exodus
of children has

created a lost generation which
can never fully be replaced.

Perhaps some in our audience
will be able to fulfill two

families' dreams of reunion.

For as much as it has
pleased Almighty God--

ROBERT STACK: When her
mother died in 1972,

14-year-old Glenda Keewitancappo
stood with her father

at the funeral.

Glenda had no way of
knowing that she and her six

brothers and sisters
would soon become part

of Canada's lost generation.

God have mercy on her soul.

ROBERT STACK: Just
hours after the funeral,

a social worker arrived,
unannounced, at their home.

Younger children today.

That's--

Gail and Maureen.

Yeah, Gail and Maureen.

And then I'll be back later
in the week for the rest

of the children, OK?

I think my father
was in shock still.

Because when I look back
now, I remember my dad,

when he had talked to him.

Like he'd just say, yeah.

You know, just agreeing
with everything.

And--

Some time to sign
some more papers--

--he was real quiet.

So could you call
over Maureen and Gail?

Gail, MAureen
could you come here?

ROBERT STACK: Within
a week, all seven

children would be taken away.

Moreen and Gail adopted,
the oldest sister

sent to relatives, Glenda
and her three brothers placed

in separate foster homes.

Are you taking me to Mommy?

I think my dad was
really, really hurt.

But I think at the time, too,
my dad felt like it was--

he was doing what was best.

Bye, girls.

Come on, let's go.

There's a lot of fear and
not knowing what was going

to happen to the rest of us.

And I guess somehow
feeling like we weren't

going to see each other again.

ROBERT STACK: Fortunately,
Glenda was wrong.

Over the last few years
all the Keewitancappo

have been reunited, except one.

There is no existing
photograph of Maureen

Frances Keewitancappo.

She was born on June 29th, 1968
and was adopted by a family

in Brandon, Manitoba.

Like many of Canada's
lost generation,

Maureen was the
youngest in her family.

Sadly, it seems, the little
ones are hardest to find.

When Sandra Seaton was
just nine years old,

her family was broken apart.

She is still searching for
her two youngest brothers.

Where are you going?

Mom!

ROBERT STACK: Sandra's
father was an alcoholic

who often beat her mother.

In 1969, he was barred from
the house by court order.

Sandra's mother was forced
to take work as a food vendor

with a traveling carnival.

Sandra, I have
something to tell you.

What?

I'm going to be going
away for a few weeks.

Why?

I'm just not
making enough money

looking after houses here.

Who's going to be watching us?

You see that lady over there?

- Yeah?
- Her name is Eleanor.

She's my friend.

She'll be looking after you.

When are you coming back home?

I'll be back in three weeks.

The babysitter stayed with us
for a while, and then she left.

And so it was just us
kids that were home.

We were very careful that--

you know, we didn't want
anybody to know we were alone.

We were kind of waiting and
hoping mom would be back.

Hi.

Is your mommy or daddy home?

Have they been gone a long time?

Yes.

I'm Mary Williamson from
the welfare department,

and we've come to take you
away to somewhere where

someone can take care of you.

All right?

It was just-- it
happened so fast.

They just, you know, come in.

And they don't really
explain anything.

You know, they just
picked up the kids

and put them in the car.

What about us?

We're coming back for you.

It was real scary, you
know, not knowing where

they were going to be taken.

You kind of go a little
dead inside or something.

You know, because you just--

we were all just kids.

Your Honor, a representative
of the Children's Aid Society.

ROBERT STACK: On
October 25th, 1969,

Sandra's mother was summoned
before a Winnipeg court.

The director of the
Children's Aid Society

is petitioning the court
at this time for custody

of Mrs. Seaton's six children.

I read the material.

Are you the mother of Sandra,
Wanda, Brenda, Chesley?

Could you please stand?

A lot of our people
showed up in court.

But they were so intimidated
by that whole process,

with a social worker
sitting up there

and giving evidence, and saying
how bad these people are.

Most cases, the parents just
kind of snuck out the back door

and just went away, because
they were so intimidated

by the whole process,
and they were

so ashamed of what the social
worker was saying about them.

Having reviewed the material--

and there's no opposition
by the mother--

the order will go
as applied for,

and the children placed in
the custody of the director

of child welfare.

We were sort of
just in there and out

of there again, and really
not understanding too much.

You know, I always prayed
for my mom and my dad,

and wherever my brothers
and sisters were, you know?

Every day, you know,
hoping that we'd

all get back together again
and somehow make things work.

In 1971, Sandra was
reunited with her two

sisters, Wanda and Brenda.

In 1988, they found their
brother, Chesley, who had been

adopted in the United States.

Along the way, they
also found their mother,

who was joined in the
search for the two youngest

boys, Calvin and Bernard.

It's very hard, because I
think about them all the time

in anything I do, and I pray for
them every night that someday

we'll all be a family again.

I believe that
they're out there,

and they're wondering
too, you know?

About us.

I just feel it, you know?

And somewhere, you
know, I'm going

to find Calvin and Bernie.

I just-- I think it's
going to be real soon, too.

On the night this
story aired in Canada,

Bernie's adoptive
parents and one

of Calvin's former foster
mothers were watching the show.

Through their efforts
and cooperation,

the two brothers
were put in touch

with their sister, Sandra.

Three weeks after our broadcast,
everything was arranged.

March 4th, 1993 would be a day
of reunions, joy, and tears.

At 10:30 AM, Sandra
and her mother Myrna

were at the Winnipeg airport
awaiting the arrival of Bernie.

I had such an anxious feeling
just looking and wondering.

Because we hadn't
seen Bernie at all.

We didn't see no picture.

Oh, I just-- and then all
of a sudden, his face just--

you know, sort of
just was right there.

Oh, that's him.

Oh!

[inaudible]

[crying]

ROBERT STACK: With
Bernie back in the fold,

a group headed to
Myrna's house, where they

knew Calvin would be waiting.

In his youth, Calvin had
been shunted about to 14

different foster families.

Now he was finally home
again, after nearly 25 years.

Bernie.

Come on, Bernie.

Hey, you're not so little.

It feels really
good to be taken in

instead of being pushed away.

Hey, like this is a big
switch for me, and I'm happy.

If I knew bigger
words, I probably

could say some big word that
would describe how I feel right

now, but there's
no words that I can

think of that describes this.

Just, you know,
it's the beginning.

I just think it's the
beginning of a good thing.

It's all good.

It feels great, just
great, that there's a piece

of my life put together.

Which I think all
my friends knew

that there was a piece missing.

Maybe this is just the part
to my life that was missing.

Oh, it's-- we've got so
much to talk about, you know?

So much.

It's just a really
great feeling.

There is a piece, you know?

There was always that piece of
my heart somehow just needed,

you know, to know
that they were OK.

Each one of us has
their own lives,

but it's so good to know
that we have family.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: On May 20,
1991, the Henderson family

of Washburn, Texas,
gathered to bid

farewell to one of its members.

66-year-old Bill Henderson,
a retired banker,

had been plagued by heart
and lung problems for years.

But the grief his family felt
was compounded by anguish

and anger, for Bill Henderson
had not succumbed to illness.

He had been murdered
in his own bedroom.

I'm mad about what
happened to my dad.

I feel like he was cheated.

I felt like my whole
family was cheated,

and it was very brutal.

There's plenty of
meat in the freezer,

and that'll take care
of you till Saturday,

when I see you again, OK?

I'll be fine.

ROBERT STACK: On May
12th, 1991, Bill Henderson

said goodbye to his
wife, granddaughter,

and great granddaughter.
- I love you.

I love you, too.

ROBERT STACK: They
were off to visit

relatives in Austin, Texas,
more than 400 miles away.

Bill's failing health
prevented him from leaving home

for long periods.

Over the next three days,
Bill stayed in touch

with other family members.

Then, for an entire day,
no one heard from him.

Finally, on May
16th, Bill's son Gary

tried to reach him by phone.

Started calling my dad
about 1 o'clock, I guess.

And every time I called,
it was just a busy signal.

So I didn't really know if the
phones were just off the hook

or what happened.

We was afraid that maybe
he may have had a heart

attack or some health
problem, was sick in the house

and couldn't get
to the telephone,

or maybe had been
trying to call for help

and dropped the telephone,
or something like that.

That's what we was afraid of.

ROBERT STACK:
Concerned, Gary, Frank,

and Frank's stepdaughter
Sherry went to Bill's house

to investigate.

His truck's not out front.

I don't know where he is.

ROBERT STACK: Their
concern turned

to alarm when they noticed that
Bill's pickup truck was gone.

Dad?

When we arrived at my dad's
house, the phone in the kitchen

was off the hook.

My brother-in-law Frank went
over and hung that phone up,

and then I decided to
go on through the house

and check the other phone.

So I was walking down the
hall, saw my dad's glasses,

broken glasses
laying on the floor.

Really, I still didn't
think a whole lot about it

until we got on down
the hall and there was

a picture laying on the floor.

And that's when I saw my
father laying on the floor

and the room all tore up.

Frank!

Frank come into the room,
and he fell to my dad,

and my dad had been--

he was cold.

He'd been there for a while.

And I remember telling Frank
that, I think it's too late,

or something like that.

And Frank told me
that he didn't think

my dad died of a heart attack.

That it looked like
he was murdered.

ROBERT STACK: Bill Henderson
had been strangled and beaten

to death with an electric
iron a full 8 to 10

hours before he was found.

This was an extremely
violent murder.

The man was beaten
time and time again.

And it was extremely
obvious to us

also that Mr. Henderson had
put up a fight for his life.

ROBERT STACK:
Police were puzzled

by the lack of an
apparent motive

for such a brutal killing.

The only item missing, other
than Bill's pickup truck,

was his wallet.

Then, five days later, a man
walking along Interstate 40,

90 miles east of Amarillo,
made a curious discovery--

Bill Henderson's wallet.

ROBERT STACK: The next day,
Bill Henderson's pickup truck

was discovered, abandoned just
outside of Chicago, Illinois,

more than 1,000
miles from Amarillo.

Police searched the vehicle,
but found no clues which

would lead them to a suspect.

But they did learn of two
eyewitnesses who not only saw

the killer, but actually
spent the day with him riding

in Bill Henderson's truck.

On the day of the murder, some
265 miles east of Washburn,

three young men arrived at a
truck stop near Oklahoma City.

It was immediately obvious that
something was not quite right.

The truck stop attendant
told us that he

had two young men come
into the truck stop,

and they were extremely nervous.
- Excuse me.

You've got to do something.

That guy stole a pickup truck.

What What?

That guy--

They started telling him
that the truck they were

in, that the man had stolen it.

Out there in the brown one.

You've got to do something.

The two hitchhikers
start requesting that he

call the police department.

8861.

Texas.

ROBERT STACK: The driver of
the truck used the telephone,

then went to the restroom.

The truck stop attendant
took the opportunity

to call the police.

Yeah.

It's not reported stolen.

OK, thanks.

He got the license
number off the truck.

He called it in to
the local authorities.

They run it and called him back.

He said it's not stolen.

It's got to be stolen!

They said no.

The problem we had was that
when they ran the license

plate number on the
truck, we had yet

to find Mr. Henderson's body.

ROBERT STACK: 15 minutes later,
the driver of the pickup truck

left.

The hitchhiker refused to
accompany him any further.

After the suspect drove off,
they were still so insistent

on trying to get this man
picked up, so scared of him,

that they went and
dialed 911 themselves

trying to get someone to stop
the suspect in the truck.

Yeah, I'd like to
report a stolen vehicle.

ROBERT STACK: Again,
Sheriff's deputies

maintained that no such vehicle
had been reported missing.

According to the attendant,
the two hitchhikers then

headed towards the highway.

They never gave authorities
their names or addresses.

Unhampered in his flight,
the suspect continued

north along Interstate 287.

According to police
calculations,

he would have required
at least one stop

for refueling before reaching
Hazel Crest, Illinois,

where he abandoned the pickup
truck less than 24 hours later.

I think it's
extremely important

that we catch this man.

Anybody that will
attack an elderly man,

that is nearly
defenseless because

of natural disease
and illnesses,

will attack and kill anybody.

He restores my soul.

It hurts to know what Bill
had to go through, the pain

and suffering he had
to go through out there

before he took his last breath.

And I would just like to see
this person caught, and tried,

convicted, and sentenced.

I don't feel like
my dad should have had

to see something like
that leaning over him,

you know, as the last
thing he ever saw.

It just wasn't fair.

ROBERT STACK: Who
murdered Bill Henderson?

Police have but one
solitary clue that may

ultimately give them an answer.

There was a palm print
in blood inside the room.

It was on a art type tablet.

If we can find the
person that matches

up to that bloody
palm print, then we

have our murder suspect.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Tomorrow night,
on "Unsolved Mysteries."

Shortly after the death
of his grandfather,

Donnie Decker's
friends and family

noticed a change had come
over him and his surroundings.

Rain appeared everywhere, and
no one, not even the police,

could find its source.

But that was only the beginning.

San Francisco, the city
of shimmering lights.

But on February 24th, 1992,
across the Bay, a bizarre,

senseless death.

Miraculously, Michael
Hunter managed

to guide his motorcycle,
into a gas station

despite being shot
through the heart.

Moments later, he was
dead, police would like

your help to catch his killer.

Join me tomorrow night.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]