All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S06E16.480p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD 2.0.x264-AJP69_track3_[eng]

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.

[theme music]

ROBERT STACK: This
is Lourdes, France.

For Catholics it
is a revered spot

where many believe a profound
miracle occurred in 1858.

Ever since, religious
pilgrims have come here

to pray and to bathe
in the natural spring

waters which are said to
have divine curative powers.

Tonight we journey to France to
meet two remarkable women who

say they came to
Lourdes gravely ill

and left miraculously cured.

1915, Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

Seven-year-old
Ruby Bradford felt

lucky when she and her family
survived a killer tornado.

But soon after the storm,
Ruby's mother died during child

and Ruby's new baby sister
was put up for adoption.

It's been some 80 years.

But Ruby believes
someone watching tonight

can help find her
long-lost sister.

In northern California, it
started as a chilling game

of cat and mouse,
and with each mile

the stakes escalated until
finally the game turned deadly.

Authorities need your help
to catch a freeway stalker.

Tonight these
intriguing mysteries.

Plus an update in which
our viewers helped

bring down the mastermind
of an international drug

smuggling operation.

[theme music]

This is Lourdes, France--

for many a sacred spot
exalted in the world's

spiritual geography.

Hundreds of
thousands of pilgrims

flock to Lourdes each year.

Recently, Unsolved Mysteries
traveled to Lourdes as well

to bring you a story that began
nearly a century and a half

ago with a girl
named Bernadette.

Bernadette Soubirous
was the oldest child

of a poverty stricken mother.

Her family lived in Lourdes,
then an obscure French village

at the foot of the
Pyrenees Mountains

just 30 miles from
the border of Spain.

On February 11, 1858,
Bernadette claimed

that in a grotto
just outside town

she encountered a
beautiful vision--

a woman dressed
in blue and white.

At the woman's command,
Bernadette began to dig

and unearthed a spring.

Many believe that Bernadette's
vision was a Blessed Virgin

and the spring offered a
promise of divine healing.

JOHN LOCHRAN: Nobody is
obliged to believe in Lourdes.

But I think when you really look
and examine all the facts, all

the words, all the gestures that
surround all these events took

place in 1858, I think is
very difficult, really,

not to be moved
by it in some way.

ROBERT STACK: In 1933,
the Vatican declared

Bernadette Soubirous a saint.

A basilica was erected
over the grotto

where she had found the spring.

Through the years,
Lourdes has developed

a reputation for healing
both the spirit and the body.

[singing]

Today pilgrims wait patiently--
sometimes for hours--

to immerse themselves
in the waters

from Bernadette
hoping for a miracle.

To date, the Roman Catholic
Church has documented

65 miracles at Lourdes.

One of those cured,
Jeanne Fretel.

JEANNE FRETEL: The
senior people went.

They met me.

The Lord did marvelous
things for me.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I am not here
to tell you to believe.

I am here to tell you
what happened to me.

And believe me, it is
a strange adventure.

ROBERT STACK: Jeanne Fretel's
saga began in the city of Reims

in northern France.

In 1937, when she was 23
and working as a nurse,

Jeanne was stricken
with a gruesome illness

mysterious in origin.

Her abdomen grew rock hard
and was excruciatingly painful

to the touch.

blood oozed from her nose,
her mouth, and her intestines.

JEANNE FRETEL: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: It was
a terrible illness.

It was a constant trial
when the doctor says,

there is nothing
I can do for you.

You just have to wait
patiently for death.

ROBERT STACK: In 11 years,
Jeanne underwent 13 operations.

Nothing helped.

Eventually Jeanne was
diagnosed with tubercular

peritonitis for which
there was no known cure.

On four different occasions her
priest administered last rites.

Finally, two of Jeanne's
friends insisted

on taking her to Lourdes.

So sure was her doctor that
Jeanne's death was imminent,

he advised her friends to
take a coffin with them.

[church hymns]

By the time Jeanne
arrived at Lourdes,

she had been virtually
comatose for three months.

Her bandages had to be
changed 20 times a day.

Doctors there felt hopeless
about her condition,

so Jeanne was immediately
taken to mass at the Basilica.

One of the priests who
served mass that day,

Father Albert Roques,
remembers vividly.

ALBERT ROQUES: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: When I
approached Jeanne,

I asked myself, would she be
able to take oral communion

or would she vomit the host?

[speaking french]

ALBERT ROQUES:
Father Roques tried

to force a tiny piece of the
wafer between Jeanne's lips.

Finally one of Jeanne's
friends assisted.

ALBERT ROQUES: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I closed
her mouth myself,

and she instantly
opened her eyes.

And she looked at me
and asked, where am I?

ALBERT ROQUES: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I repeat, instantly
the moment I pushed her chin up

and her lips met,
she opened her eyes.

At that moment, she
came out of the coma

she had been in during July,
August, September, and October.

ROBERT STACK: Jeanne was
moved into the Grotto itself.

There, under the watchful
gaze of a statue, which stands

on the very spot where
Bernadette Soubirous saw

the Blessed Virgin,
Jeanne says something

extraordinary happened.

JEANNE FRETEL: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I had the feeling
that somebody was taking

me under the arms to sit me up.

And I turned around to see
who it was that helped me

and thank them.

I had that feeling again.

This time, the two invisible
hands were taking my two hands

and putting them on my stomach.

I was instantly and
permanently cured.

[church bells ringing]

JEANNE FRETEL: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: The Lord says,
ask and you shall receive.

But I never ask.

I received without asking.

Believe me it is such
a feeling when it

falls onto you, just like that.

My god, poor girl,
what happened?

What an adventure.

ROBERT STACK: Soon
Jeanne could stand

for the first time in years.

She was taken to bathe in the
water from Bernadette's spring.

The next day, a group
of doctors gathered

at Lourdes to examine Jeanne.

Virtually every symptom
of Jeanne's illness

had disappeared.

The doctors released
Jeanne on November 1, 1948.

She returned to her own
city and her own doctor--

the same doctor who just
three weeks earlier had

ordered that a coffin go with
her on the train to Lourdes.

A professed atheist, the
doctor was dumbfounded.

JEANNE FRETEL: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: And it was
then, he took me in his arms,

big tears rolling
down his cheeks,

and he said, I do not
believe in miracles.

Yet I have to
believe because you

should be in your grave today.

ROBERT STACK: After more than 11
years of nearly unbearable pain

and suffering, Jeanne
Fretel was finally

able to resume a normal life.

She became well-known as a
dedicated, tireless nurse.

In 1950, Jeanne took vows
to become a Benedictine nun.

No traces of her
illness returned.

The church referred Jeanne's
case to the National Medical

Committee of Paris, made
up of both believers

and nonbelievers.

A very rigorous
comparison was made

between her medical status--

which was well-documented
before the illness--

and her medical status
after the illness.

The Medical Bureau's
findings were then

to say, in our eyes, this--
according to science--

is just inexplicable.

They then passed on these
findings to the Church.

ROBERT STACK: That same year,
the archdiocese officially

declared Jeanne
Fretel's cure a miracle.

Today, at the age of 80, Jeanne
continues to live the miracle,

devoting herself to
physically-challenged

young people who make the
pilgrimage to Lourdes.

JEANNE FRETEL: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: If you believe
in it, good for you.

If you do not believe
in it, too bad.

It is true.

I tell about my healing 50--

100 times a day.

It matters not.

Everything is for the
Lord, without a doubt.

I accept everything with joy.

ROBERT STACK: In 1975, Lorraine
Echevarria and her family

moved to Phillipsburg,
New Jersey.

Lorraine was a freshman in high
school, active, and popular.

But that November,
when she was 14,

Lorraine was stricken
with a mysterious illness.

DOCTOR: And out.

Good, now exhale.

ROBERT STACK: Lorraine's
doctor was stumped.

She could barely
hold her head up.

Her eyes rolled involuntarily.

She couldn't keep food down.

Lorraine was
hospitalized for tests.

But over and over
again, her parents

hopes were dashed by
the lack of a diagnosis.

Did You get the
results back yet?

Yes.

And?

They were negative.

But we're going to do
another test this afternoon.

What kind of test?

DOCTOR: It's called an
electroencephalogram.

LORRAINE ECHEVARRIA: It
was very frightening,

every day went to the hospital
and you saw this child

and you saw her getting
weaker and sicker.

And there was no answers.

They couldn't give her
medication because they

didn't know what to give her.

Steadily, you could see the
color in her eyes leaving.

You could see her
colors changing.

You could see the
weakness getting worse.

And there's nothing you can do.

ROBERT STACK: It's
just another test.

Maybe this one will
give us the answer.

ROBERT STACK: When
all else failed,

a psychiatrist
examined Lorraine.

He, too, was at a
loss for answers.

Finally, Lorraine's
parents talked

to a friend, who reminded them
about the baths at Lourdes.

On March 15, 1976, Lorraine
made the pilgrimage

to Lourdes accompanied by
her parents and grandmother.

According to Lorraine's parents,
her kidneys had begun to fail.

And the rigors of the trip
left her weaker than ever.

LORRAINE ECHEVARRIA: She
kept saying, please mommy.

[speaking french]

Do you speak English?

I felt I was doing
something to this child

and I should have
stayed in the States.

What was I doing here
in a strange country?

I couldn't speak the language.

And she's so deathly sick.

OK, she can rest here.

ROBERT STACK: Louise Barrett,
an American volunteer,

was asked to stay
with the Echevarrias.

She suggested that
Lorraine's family

take some time
alone while Lorraine

waited to visit the baths.

Why don't you go for a walk
or take a rest or something?

- No.
- No, no, no, we couldn't.

No need to worry.

She'll be fine now.
- She'll be fine here.

It's OK.
- A walk will do you good.

Will you come?

LOUISE BARRETT: This family
absolutely needed some help.

And what I did-- kind
of as a reaction-- was

to try to be as calm as I
could to allow the parents

to have some time to be away.

Just so that everyone would
have a breathing space

because they seemed
to be a family that

was just in absolute
crisis when they arrived.

I think at that point, death
looked like a welcome relief

to me.

I would have accepted it.

And I guess, I felt
it was very near.

I'll be right here, OK?

ROBERT STACK: Lorraine began
to drift in and out of sleep.

She says she had
a dream, a vision,

which made her feel that
everything would be all right.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

In burden pastures,
he gives me repose.

LORRAINE ECHEVARRIA: Within
seconds the next thing

I knew, I was standing
next to my body.

And I was walking with
a beautiful woman.

I never saw her face.

I don't know who it was.

I just remember, we
were walking about four

or five feet above the ground.

I remember her saying to
me, you must go back now.

And I said, I don't
want to go back.

That body is dying.

And she said, yes, you must
go back to prove to others

He still exists today.

And I remember
putting my head down.

And then I was back in the
room and I was back in my body.

And I opened up my eyes and
my mom was standing over me.

And we proceeded
to get ready to go

down to the baths at that time.

ROBERT STACK:
Lorraine was so ill

that a complete
immersion in the waters

seemed out of the question.

Even though church officials at
Lourdes say it never happens,

Lorraine's best recollection
is that the attendants

poured water over her head.

Lorraine's mother kept vigil,
reading a prayer to Our Lady

of Lourdes, the Virgin Mary.

LORRAINE ECHEVARRIA: I tried
to do everything I could

while she was sick.

I did the fasting,
prayers, and everything.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

LORRAINE ECHEVARRIA: I could
actually physically feel

a release within myself,
in my chest area,

that I didn't even
know the tightness

existed until that moment.

When she was through with
the bath and came out,

she looked exactly the same.

There was no change.

I did not expect that she
would be healed or cured.

I expected that,
perhaps, her family

would receive some consolation.

That perhaps they
would receive strength

to make it through whatever
they had to go through.

ROBERT STACK: That evening,
Lorraine's grandmother

spent the night in
Lorraine's room,

hoping against hope
that her granddaughter's

condition would improve.

LORRAINE ECHEVARRIA: I never
stirred, I never moved.

And I was asleep
before you knew it.

And then it was about
five hours later,

I woke up, 11 o'clock at night.

And I was starving,
absolutely hungry.

I didn't have any pain.

I just felt like--

I felt terrific.

I could fly if I needed to.

I got up out of bed and looked
at myself in the mirror,

and I was me again.

I was whole.

I was 100%.

I just-- God, it was all I
could do for them to contain me.

LORRAINE ECHEVARRIA: Her
eyes, they were beautiful.

The color was in the face.

She had rosy cheeks.

And she was so energetic
and full of life.

You knew that she was touched.

You stood there and you were
witnessing what God just did.

I remember, I'm sitting at
the window, it's about 1--

2 o'clock in the morning,
listening to the church.

[inaudible] they are
chiming every hour.

And just feeling so glad to
be alive and to be healthy

and everything was just great.

I was just--

I couldn't believe
I was that blessed.

We don't doubt her sincerity.

But in the case of
Lorraine Echevarria,

she never underwent any
medical investigation

after the healing.

And so there would
always remain--

in the minds of the
doctors and of the church--

a certain kind of doubt.

We appreciate that
Lorraine believes that she

has truly been touched by God.

But we can give to her situation
the same qualification that we

give to Jeanne Fretel in
recognizing the case of Jeanne

Fretel as, indeed, a miracle.

I believe that I
was healed at Lourdes

and that it is a miracle.

And there is--

I believe with every
ounce within me.

Lourdes is a part of me now.

It is my life.

And there is no doubt
whatsoever that I was touched

and that I was healed.

[singing]

ROBERT STACK: What are we to
make of these two stories--

of these two women and the
thousands of other people

who believe that divine grace
touched their lives at Lourdes?

Perhaps one answer can be found
in the song of Bernadette.

For those who believe in God,
no explanation is necessary.

For those who do
not believe in God,

no explanation is possible.

[theme music]

ROBERT STACK: Recently, we
profiled the case of Brian

Brophil His neighbors
in Vermont considered

him one of the
most likable, least

threatening people around.

Brian Brophil charmed
everyone, that

is, everyone who didn't
know he was the mastermind

of a major drug smuggling ring.

Brophil had moved to West
Glover, Vermont in 1986.

Folks there knew him
as a good-natured

city slicker who didn't seem to
have a clue about country life.

Even so, Brophil
tastes in horses

ran to rare, expensive breeds.

He spent thousands
boarding his horses

with a neighbor, Peggy Dupont.

He needs a blanket on.

He paid in cash for his board.

And my husband immediately
said, oh, he's a drug dealer.

And I said, he's
not a drug dealer.

You're out of your mind.

He's a nice person.

[police sirens]

ROBERT STACK: Incredibly,
Peggy Dupont's husband

was right on target.

Four years after
moving to Vermont,

Brian Brophil's
secret life exploded

into view when authorities paid
a surprise visit to his farm.

Inside the barn was a crop
of 2000 marijuana plants.

It was the biggest bust
in Vermont history.

Authorities estimated that
Brophil's sophisticated pot

plantation grossed up to a
quarter of a million dollars

a month.

But the marijuana farm
was only a small part

of an international drug
smuggling operation.

Brophil dropped from sight
immediately after the raid

and stayed hidden for
more than three years

until Unsolved
Mysteries came along.

Now could you describe
him for me, please?

ROBERT STACK: On the night
Brophil's story aired,

our phone center switchboard
lit up with calls from Paso

Robles in central California.

Alert viewers there
recognized Brian Brophil

as one of their neighbors.

Local authorities immediately
moved in to make an arrest.

But Brophil had vanished again.

Our understanding is that
Brian watched the show.

The show aired at 8 o'clock
and Brian was gone at 8:15.

He had left all his
personal belongings behind.

And was just gone.

ROBERT STACK: In
Paso Robles, Brophil

went by the name Brian Jenkins.

He found work as a handyman
at local horse ranches

and became an accepted
member of the community.

Brophil never once drew
the attention of police.

He was living
comfortably with no fears.

We weren't even close to him.

He could have wrote a
textbook on how to hide.

He was that good.

ROBERT STACK: But Brian
Brophil wasn't good enough.

After he fled Paso
Robles, viewer tips

helped authorities track the
fugitive south of Carlsbad,

near San Diego, where he was
arrested on December 19, 1993.

Three weeks later, Brian Brophil
was extradited to Vermont.

If convicted on all charges, he
faces a prison term of 20 years

to life.

[theme music]

It begins with an
innocent evening out.

Suddenly you become aware
that someone is watching you.

He is following your car.

Every move you make, he makes.

You are being stalked.

Only later, do you learn that
it was your license plate that

apparently triggered the stalker
and led to a deadly encounter.

April 29, 1991.

A few friends got together
for drinks in the suburb

of San Jose, California.

One of the men in the
group was Dick Hansen,

a former college football
star who is rebounding

from a tough divorce.

That night, Dick
had come to the bar

with a friend who
we'll call Jean.

JEAN: He was in
a very good mood.

Very good.

I mean it was like--

he almost got, like,
a new lease on life.

I don't know how
else to describe it.

But he was very--

he was very happy
with where he was.

He was very happy with what
was going on in his life.

And where he was headed.

ROBERT STACK: At 1:00
AM, Dick and Jean

left the bar together in
Jean's car with Dick driving.

Around 1:30, they arrived
at a restaurant in San Jose

where Dick had left his
pickup truck after dinner.

JEAN: There were no cars at all.

And I thought-- I
remarked to Dick.

I said, this is funny.

Yours is the only car
left on the street.

So you want to come
over for a little while?

I don't know.

You want to get
things started again?

JEAN: So we were
sitting there talking.

And this car pulls up behind us.

And I looked.

And I thought, I
really didn't think

it was too strange because there
was a mailbox on the sidewalk

there.

I think he's trying
to get to the mailbox.

Does he have enough room?

I mean, we should
probably pull forward.

No, no problem.

He's got plenty of room.

JEAN: The man just sat there.
He didn't do anything.

And I kept-- I was kind
of half turned in his seat

so I could look at Dick.

And I could see him out
of the corner of my eye.

I wonder what he's doing.

He's just sitting there.

He's not doing anything.

Do you think he's a cop?

Not in that old thing.

ROBERT STACK: Despite
Jean's misgivings,

she and Dick felt there was no
reason to worry about the man

parked behind them.

Because Jean was unfamiliar
with the route home,

Dick suggested she follow him.

JEAN: At that point in
time, I didn't say anything

and Dick didn't say anything.

Of course, we didn't
know what was going

to happen Well he pulled out.

I pulled out.

The guy behind us pulled out.

We went up to the
stoplight, turned left.

Dick turned left.

I turned left.

The guy turned left.

We go up two blocks
and turned left again.

And he did the same thing.

Well by this time, it's
making me uncomfortable.

So I moved to the middle.

He moved to the middle lane.

So I moved back.

And he moved back.

I only did it once.

But that was enough to
tell me that this man

was definitely following us.

ROBERT STACK: At the
next traffic light,

Dick signaled for Jean to
follow him onto the freeway.

The man stayed close behind.

A strange encounter
was about to escalate.

For more than ten
miles, the man played

a risky game of cat
and mouse with Jean,

shadowing her every move.

JEAN: Dick was on
the inside lane.

I was on the outside.

And somehow, we got the guy.

And he was between
us, but behind us.

And I thought, all right, you
rascal, I'm going to get you.

So I slammed on my brakes.

I'll be darned if he didn't
slam on his brakes too.

It was almost like he
was reading my mind.

[suspenseful music playing]

That guy, he's following me.

We should go to the police.

I can't hear you.

Take the next exit.

JEAN: I almost missed the turn.

But he followed.

This man was still behind me.

So I followed Dick
down the ramp.

We made a right-hand turn.

Dick just pulled over
to the side of the road.

I pulled up behind Dick.

And I don't know
why in my mind, I

just knew this guy would
just go right on by

and wave or something.

He pulled right up behind us.

And I'm not sure who was
in more shock, Dick or I.

Do you know the guy?

I've never seen him before.

Get back in the car.

JEAN: So he walked
back to the man.

And kind of leaned down.

And he said, what are you--

he either said, what are you
doing or what do you want?

I couldn't quite
hear what he said.

And the guy said
something to him.

And Dick goes, what?

And then the guy said
something else to him

and then proceeded to point
to the back of my car.

At that point in time, Dick
just stepped back, stood up.

And raised his arm and said, get
the blankety-blank out of here.

So I jumped back in my car.

And I looked in my rear view
mirror and I hear pop, pop.

[gunshots]

And we just stared
at each other.

It must have been for--
oh, I'd say at least five

to 10 seconds of
just staring at him.

I got back out of the car and
ran back to where Dirk was.

And his eyes were,
like, half-closed.

Somebody help!

JEAN: And I tried to
find a pulse on his neck

and it didn't look
like he was breathing.

So I started giving
him mouth to mouth.

ROBERT STACK: For 15
agonizing minutes,

Jean tried to resuscitate Dick.

Police and paramedics,
alerted by a passing motorist,

would arrive too late.

Dick Hansen had
been shot twice--

once in the chest
and once on the neck.

He never regained consciousness
and was pronounced dead

at the hospital.

He left behind two
daughters, aged 11 and 13.

LES RICHARDS: As far
as we know, Dick Hansen

did not know his assailant.

What makes this particular
case extremely difficult

is when you deal with
homicide, most homicides

boil down to common denominators
of sex, money, or drugs

and network out from there.

We have not been able to
put this particular homicide

in any of those categories so
that we can develop a motive.

ROBERT STACK:
However, police have

come up with one possible
theory about this case.

Jean was a San
Francisco football

fan and her personalized
license plate read, 49R HUGS.

The killer had gestured
towards her license plate

while he was talking to Dick.

LES RICHARDS: Dick
Hansen's physical stature

was that of a football
player so we were looking

into the theory of
a disgruntled fan

as being one of
the responsibles.

The suspect is white, possibly
Hispanic or Mediterranean,

in his late 30s or early 40s.

He was tan and wore eyeglasses
with large black frames.

The suspect's vehicle resembled
a 1970 Pontiac GTO Lemans

two door coupe
with a dull, faded,

light gray or blue paint job.

[theme music]

ROBERT STACK: When we
return, a devastating tornado

leaves a path of destruction
and separates a family.

Perhaps you can
help reunite them.

[theme music]

You're about to meet a
spry, 86-year-old woman

named Ruby McDaniel.

Ruby is the matriarch
of her clan,

at the annual
McDaniel reunion, she

is surrounded by five
children, 15 grandchildren,

and 21 great-grandchildren.

But more than 75
years have passed

since Ruby saw one very
special member of our family,

her younger sister Vernice.

Perhaps tonight,
one of our viewers

can help end their
long separation.

The year was 1950,
a blustery autumn

day in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

Mack Bradford and his wife,
Ruth, owned a small farm

on the edge of town.

They had two children,
Ruby and Buster,

and a third was on the way.

Ruth was six months pregnant.

Look how long Ruth's
hair is getting.

Looks real pretty, honey.

Thank you, Papa.

[thunder strikes]

Get the children up.

What is it?

There's a tornado
coming right at us.

Ruby, Buster!

ROBERT STACK: The
horrifying moments

that followed remain
etched in Ruby's

memory nearly 80 years later.

RUBY MCDANIEL: It
was dark and the air

was just rolling, like a
train or something coming.

I was scared.

I didn't know what was
going to happen next.

Well Papa put everybody down.

And then he laid down
and wrapped his arms

around this post,
the garden post.

[wind whirring]

[thunder strikes]

That's what I guess
saved us because if we

would have stayed in the house,
we would probably got killed.

ROBERT STACK: That day,
a killer tornado ripped

through central Arkansas.

10 were killed and
45 were injured.

Property damage was
recorded that would

equal more than 4 million
dollars in today's economy.

At the Bradford
farm, a garden post

was just about the only
thing left standing.

Even though the house
would be rebuilt,

the family would soon
suffer another tragic loss.

During the tornado,
Ruth Bradford

was severely injured when she
was struck by a wooden beam.

A few months later,
while still recuperating,

Ruth came down with yellow fever
and went into premature labor.

[baby cooing]

[inaudible], a little girl.

A little girl.

Yeah.

Oh, Doc.

She's beautiful.

DOCTOR: She is beautiful.

How's Ruth?

Resting.

Resting.

She's going to be all
right, isn't she, Doc?

It's hard to say.

I've got to be honest
with you, Mack,

she may not make it
through the night.

ROBERT STACK: On
the very evening

that Ruth Bradford
gave life to her baby,

she lost her fight
with yellow fever.

Her husband, Mack, was now faced
with an impossible dilemma,

raising two young children
and a newborn on his own.

[baby crying]

The next day, Ruby-- who
was just 7 and 1/2-- watched

in confusion as a man and
a woman came to the house

and took her baby sister away.

Papa, why are
we coming in here?

I just wanted someplace quiet.

ROBERT STACK:
Later, Mack led Ruby

and Buster down to
the cellar and tried

to explain what had happened.

It was the one place Mack
knew they could be alone.

Now, you all don't
have your mom anymore.

RUBY MCDANIEL: I do
remember him crying.

And he tried to explain
to us about it, you know.

When's the baby coming back?

You know, we couldn't
take care of her,

so she's going to go live
with some nice folks in town.

But even though she's not with
us, we can still love her.

RUBY MCDANIEL: And he
thought he was doing

the very best he could do.

And I think he did.

I don't want you two
to worry about that.

JEAN: And that's
the only time I can

remember my Papa ever crying.

And he really did boo-hoo a lot.

ROBERT STACK: The baby
was adopted by a Mr.

And Mrs. Loxton who also
lived in Murfreesboro.

Mr. Loxton was an attorney,
his wife, a registered nurse.

They named the
little girl Vernicie.

Three years later,
in 1918, Mack took

Ruby and Buster on a surprise
trip to the Loxton home.

Ruby, see that little
girl in the window there?

That's your little sister.

And Papa told us, now
you all wave at her.

Says, you better wave at her.

And we did and she waved back.

And that thrilled us very
much and it did him too.

And we thought
she was so pretty.

ROBERT STACK: The fleeting
encounter was as close

as Ruby ever got to Vernicie
It was the last time

she ever saw her baby sister.

A short time later,
Mack received

this photograph of a
three-year-old Vernicie

in the mail.

When Vernice was
six, the Loxtons

moved away from Murfreesboro.

Mack never heard
from them again.

Eventually Mack
Bradford remarried

and fathered 12 more children.

In 1984, Mack passed
away at the age of 92.

In his memory, Ruby
has vowed that she

will one day find her sister.

Oh, it would be
so great if I could

see her because you know I don't
have too many more years here.

And I sure would
love to see her.

Let her see all them brothers
and sister she's got.

[music playing]

[theme music]

ROBERT STACK:
Coming up next week,

a special segment on the
fascinating mysteries

of animals.

We'll focus on two ordinary,
but lost, household pets who

have made incredible journeys
over hundreds of miles

to find their way home.

Do animals have a
kind of psychic radar

that defies scientific
explanation?

It is widely known
that military programs,

such as the development
of a stealth bomber,

are highly classified.

Now some believe that the
same programs are being used

to unravel the secrets of UFOs.

Join me next time for
these fascinating stories

and more on Unsolved Mysteries.

[theme music]