All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S03E03.480p.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.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Eric
Kessler has been labeled

one of the country's
smoothest con men, charming,

intelligent, and cosmopolitan.

He has won the hearts of at
least four middle-aged women

and then left them
broken and bankrupt.

No one is certain how many women
Eric Kessler has victimized,

or how many hundreds
of thousands of dollars

he's allegedly stolen.

But authorities believe
that at this very moment,

Kessler may be spinning
a web of deceit

for another unsuspecting victim.

In a moment, we'll bring
you a fascinating profile

of this master
con man as well as

these other
remarkable mysteries.

Two years ago,
Daniel Wilson left

Spokane, Washington to visit
his mother's home in Colorado.

He never arrived, and
authorities are still

baffled by the discovery
of his abandoned car

in a remote area of Montana
miles off his intended route.

And in Minnesota, a
daring gang of thieves

has stolen nearly $2 million in
a series of violent armored car

robberies.

Also, the authorities
are searching

for a ruthless rapist
who uses prescription

drugs to subdue his victims.

Perhaps someone watching
tonight can help capture him.

Perhaps it's you.

[music playing]

This is the story of a cunning
operator who has allegedly

bilked several middle-aged
women out of hundreds

of thousands of dollars.

The victim who you
are about to meet,

whom we will call
Katherine, never imagined

that she'd fall prey to a scam.

She was a successful,
highly intelligent

businesswoman who owned
one of Wisconsin's

most popular hair salons.

According to police,
she was swindled

by one of the most
devious con men

to ever operate in the state.

No one knows how many
women he has victimized.

No one is even certain
of his real name.

[music playing]

You make people
beautiful, huh?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
September 1986.

Katherine was at a singles
party when she was approached

by a well-dressed
stranger who spoke

with a pronounced
European accent.

He introduced himself
as Eric Kessler.

No, I was born in Hamburg.

KATHERINE: Oh, Germany.

Do you still have family there?

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER): The
night I first met Eric Kessler,

he presented himself
as a businessman who

was in town on
business and would

be staying for probably a year.

Some business
associates have asked

me to look at some
property here about some--

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER): I
was impressed on his dress,

on his mannerism.

I never got an
impression that he was

even attempting to make a pass.

And what do you do here?

You work?

Yes.

I have a hair salon
right here in--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Eric
encouraged Katherine to reveal

intimate details about herself.

He soon learned that
she was divorced,

operated a hair salon,
and was concerned

about being able to put her
children through college.

--college.

Ah, I see.

It's such a coincidence
that we should meet.

I'm talking with some friends
of mine from Western Europe,

who are telling me about
some very important changes

in the cosmetology and
in the make-up beauty

business that has changed--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Eric
happened to have a solution.

He had learned that in a small
resort town 120 miles away,

there was a prototype
of an invention which

could revolutionize
Katherine's industry.

Oh.

Well, I'd like to
hear about that.

What area of the business is it?

Well, it's very complex
and very technical, but--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): This was

the hook that lured Katherine
into Kessler's scheme.

I did not get any
impression that this would

be a physical relationship.

I just felt that it
was an opportunity,

yes, I was excited about it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eric arranged

for Katherine to
see the image system

known as the video makeover.

At that time, it was the
cutting edge of technology,

enabling clients to
see how they would

look with different
hairstyles and colors.

Now, what if we cut off a
little bit on the sides, here.

Can you do that?

OK, why don't
we do it that way?

KATHERINE: Just by doing that?

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER): I thought
that the concept was fantastic.

KATHERINE: From here,
and then it's going--

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER): You could
charge a large amount of money

for it.

All right, all right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Eric
Kessler had convinced Katherine

that he could place the system
in a major Midwest department

store chain, but she needed
to come up with the investment

capital to get them started.

Sylvia, it's called
a video makeover.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Katherine secured a $50,000

loan from a wealthy friend.

Eric was to repay the
loan four months later.

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER): She
did not ask a lot of questions

because she believed in me.

She wrote a check for $50,000.

Oh, you're terrific.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
At Eric's insistence,

the business account
was established

in Katherine's name.

She had sole discretion over
deposits and withdrawals.

A few days later,
Eric suggested that he

move into Katherine's
basement so they could

work more closely together.

It appeared that their business
was starting to take shape.

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER):
We brought

in another telephone line, which
was strictly a business line.

At one point in time,
my son took the message

from the department store
saying they wanted to set

up a meeting with Eric Kessler.

He was very convincing.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Before long, Eric began

to romance his new partner.

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER): When
I really think about it,

what he really did was to find
out where I was business-wise.

I have dealt with people
who have attempted to con me

or take me in business matters.

When Eric Kessler
came into my life,

it never occurred
to me that the man

was a con artist,
because I certainly

assumed that I would know.

I would recognize that.

The fact that Eric also made
me feel that he was in love

with me also put me off guard.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Three weeks later,

Eric's conquest was complete.

He surprised Catherine
with a most unusual gift.

KATHERINE: Eric?

Ja.

KATHERINE: Eric?

Upstairs.

Eric, what are
you doing in my--

Eric.

I have a gift for you.

What in the world
have you done?

That other bed was
too small for us.

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER):
One day when

I came home from work there, was
a king-sized bed in my bedroom.

And he had made the decision
that it would be much easier

if he could have the
office downstairs

and didn't have to use
it also has a bedroom.

And his way of doing that was
to bring in a king-sized bed.

Do you like it?

- I love it.
- Good.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eric's seduction

now evolved into a strategy
of psychological manipulation.

My dear, you look so
beautiful in the outfit

I have chosen for you.

It makes you feel good?

Yes.

NARRATOR: Makes
you feel confident?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eric controlled Katherine's

every decision,
selecting her wardrobe,

her makeup, the
jewelry she wore.

And we are confident people.

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER):
I did get to the point

that I was not confident.

I mean, I wouldn't have bought
a pair of earrings at that point

because I didn't
think that I was

capable of doing it anymore.

Mr. Kessler--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eric even convinced

Katherine to lease a
high priced Cadillac

with all of the options.

This package does include
the electric sliding sunroof,

the hand-sewn
leather upholstery,

the leather-covered
steering wheel,

the AM/FM stereo
radio with cassette

and high-performance sound
system, and the six-way

adjustable seats.

That's good.

I want the car telephone.

It also includes a
telephone with a fully

retractable antenna.

Good.

Now, on a 24-month
closed-end lease agreement,

that would bring your payments
down to $487.75 a month.

Eric, I don't think
this is a good idea.

I don't think we have $500
a month to spend on this.

My dear, this is
a taxable deduction.

Why can't you make an
intelligent business decision?

Why are you wasting
this gentleman's time?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eric's domination became

more calculating.

He deprived Katherine of
sleep, insisting they conduct

their business at
night after she'd

put on a full day of
work at the salon,

and an evening entertaining
prospective clients.

Oh, what.

While I'm gone, I want you to
pay all of these invoices here.

Oh, please.

I'm exhausted.

It's 3:00 in the morning.

Can't this wait?

No.

What is--

Eric, there must be $7,000
of invoices to be paid.

Yeah, I know.

We hadn't planned
on these expenses.

I had not idea--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Many times,

Eric demanded that Katherine
give him large cash advances,

claiming the money
was owed to suppliers

who would not accept checks.

We have accountants, we
have business managers,

we have lawyers, we
have tax consultants--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): As
the start-up capital dwindled,

Eric convinced Katherine to
put an additional $20,000

of her own money
into the business.

Thank you.

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER): I
didn't know who I was more

angry with, myself or Eric.

All we had done is spent money.

It had not been spent wisely.

Here I am, as a businesswoman,
and I have blown it.

I mentioned to him that I
thought that he was a con man,

and I had thought about
going to the police.

He said, what good
would it do you?

You got the money.

You signed all of the checks.

You agreed to all of the
decisions that were made.

There is nothing
that ties me in.

I have never signed anything.

It is your word against mine.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The relationship

completely disintegrated.

Eric, we have to talk.

I'm playing!

Now, Eric.

Please.

Yeah.

Two wine, please.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eric had taken another lover

and moved out of
Katherine's apartment.

When the day arrived for
Eric to repay the loan,

Katherine met him at a
bar to ask for the money.

What am I supposed to do?

I am supposed to give
Sylvia $50,000 tonight.

There's no money in the account.

What am I going to do?

You will write her a check.

With what?

There's nothing
left in the account.

I have a check coming by
special courier tomorrow

morning at 9:00 AM for $50,000.

And if they don't
come, what then?

It will be here, and
you will write a check.

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER):
Emotionally, I was drained

and I was exhausted.

I wanted to believe that
I was going to get money.

Down deep, I didn't
believe it, but it

was the only thing I had left.

I had to hope that the
check was going to be there.

I met my benefactor that night.

I wrote the check.

I was very hesitant.

If it all was going
to come through.

[music playing]

[phone ringing]

[music playing]

Hello?

MAN (ON PHONE): I've got
to talk to Eric Kessler.

Where is he?

I don't know.

Who is this?

MAN (ON PHONE): This is
Andy down at Irishman's Pub.

He bounced a check in
here last night for $1,000

and I want to know where he is.
- I don't know where he is.

KATHERINE (VOICEOVER): When
the bartender called me

the next morning,
I knew, right then

and there, it was all over.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Katherine

lost more than $75,000
and was unable to pay

for her children's education.

She was forced into bankruptcy
and sold her business.

Finally, she left Wisconsin
and moved to another state

to start over again.

Authorities were
certain that Edward

Maynard was somewhere in the
US, stalking his next victim.

Calls to our telecenter
confirm their suspicions.

The night of our
broadcast, authorities

learned that
Maynard had recently

been in Naples, Florida,
using the alias Eric Kelly.

Last December, he became
romantically involved

with a woman whom
we'll call Ann.

Maynard, alias Kelly, persuaded
Ann to loan him $15,000, then

left with her life savings.

Last February, Maynard showed
up in San Antonio, Texas,

once again using
the name Eric Kelly.

He began wining and
dining another woman.

BARBARA (VOICEOVER): He
kept talking about how he

could really do a lot for me.

But, of course, it would
take a lot of money.

And he started asking me if
I had money, how much I had.

And so I started
feeling very strongly

that something was wrong.

I've asked you
for a simple favor.

A loan of $300 until
tomorrow morning.

BARBARA (VOICEOVER):
He said, I'm

going to need you to
loan me some money,

and I indicated that I didn't
want to, and at that point

he got very loud,
a violent temper.

But I need $300,
and I need it now.

Do you understand?

BARBARA (VOICEOVER): And to be
very honest, he frightened me.

So I gave him the money
and I did not see him again

after that evening.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Barbara notified

the local sheriff's
department about her run-in

with Eric Kelley.

BARBARA (VOICEOVER):
Wednesday evening

I got a phone call from someone
in the sheriff's department.

It had said, hey,
are you watching

Unsolved Mysteries on TV?

Our boy was just on there.

I said, Eric Kelly?

He said, yes, bigger than life.

I'm getting ready
to call the FBI

and give them all the
information that I have.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Four days

later, another viewer's
tip placed Edward

Maynard in Houston, Texas.

He was registered at this
motel under the same alias,

Eric Kelly.

The FBI closed in.

We immediately dispatched
a number of agents out there.

In fact, there was up to eight
agents that were on the scene,

and within 45 minutes
he was apprehended.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Next, the story

of an unscrupulous doctor
turned rapist, who uses

drugs to overpower his victims.

[music playing]

The crime of rape is tragic and
all too frequent fact of life

in the United States.

Sadly, the stigma
attached to the women

who are victimized mean such
crimes often go unreported.

This is especially
true of date rape,

where the victim knows and even
trusts the man who rapes her.

In our next story, the
methods of the rapist

are particularly insidious.

This is a case of
a doctor who uses

a powerful sedative to
render his victims helpless

and then assaults them.

One woman agreed to talk
to us on the condition

that we do not
use her real name.

WOMAN: Hey, nice shot.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Saturday night, a bar

in Bakersfield, California.

Patty Roberts and
Stephanie Phillips were

shooting pool when
they were greeted

by a friend of Stephanie's.
- Hi, nice to meet you.

Hi.
Patty.

Hi, nice to meet you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
He introduced

the two women to his
companion, Dr. Kenneth Frank.

Stephanie and Patty agreed
to join the men for a drink.

PATTY (VOICEOVER):
Immediately, I liked him.

I thought, oh, he's a
doctor, he's a nice guy.

He was well dressed,
well mannered.

He was real friendly.

Real talkative.

--the 24-hour clinic.

Yeah, yeah.

What do you do?

I'm a dental assistant.

Well, I'm studying to
be a dental assistant.

- Are you serious about it?
- Oh, yes.

Really?

I work with a
couple of dentists.

PATTY (VOICEOVER): He
said he had a friend

and he said that
he might be hiring,

and that he would give me a
card, a referral and all that.

Would that help you out?

Sure.
- Hey, no problem.

I'd love to do it.

Thanks.

PATTY (VOICEOVER): Basically,
he did act professional.

KENNETH FRANK: --piece of paper.

OK, well, if
you'll excuse me, I'm

going to go to the restroom.

KENNETH FRANK: OK.

PATTY (VOICEOVER): Well,
I walked to the restroom--

She's great.

PATTY (VOICEOVER):
And I was talking

to this girl that
was in there, so I

was in there a few seconds.

And I came back out, and
he was just sitting there,

and my friend was not there.

Where are Bob and Stephanie?

It's getting late,
they decided to leave.

They're not coming back?

PATTY (VOICEOVER): At first I
thought he was just playing,

and I said no, really?

And he said yeah.

If that's a problem for you,
I can give you a ride home.

PATTY (VOICEOVER):
He said, well,

I can give you a ride home.

I said no, I'll wait.

She didn't show up a few minutes
later, and I was ready to go,

so I said, OK, well, do you want
to still give me the ride home?

And he said sure.

And I said, are you
sure you don't mind?

He said no.

So, we left in his car.

And then he wanted to stop by
his apartment to do something,

he said, and I wanted
him to get that job

referral that he had
told me about, a dentist

friend that was hiring.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): By
the time they got to Dr. Frank's

apartment that Saturday
night, Patty was

complaining of a chest cold.

Here we go.

This will make you
feel a lot better.

Drink that.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Dr. Frank quickly mixed up

a home remedy, a special
coffee drink he claimed

would alleviate Patty's cough.

[music playing]

PATTY (VOICEOVER):
I drank it quickly,

and it wasn't long after that
my eyes start getting blurry.

And then I was sitting
there trying to figure

out why my eyes were blurry.

And then my ears started
ringing, a real high pitch.

And then, I just--

I fell over.

I remember laying there
and I couldn't move.

[music playing]

KENNETH FRANK: Patty.
Come on, Patty.

Time to wake up.

It was not until Monday
morning that Patty awoke.

She would soon discover
that while she slept,

she had been raped.

What time is it?

It's 7 o'clock.

It's Monday morning,
I've got to get to work.

Come on, let's get going.

Monday morning?

PATTY (VOICEOVER):
I couldn't figure

out what happened to Sunday.

Somewhere I lost Sunday.

You raped me.

I didn't rape you.

PATTY (VOICEOVER): I knew that
he had taken advantage of me,

and I was so mad, I just felt
like I wanted to hurt him

like he hurt me, my
feelings, because that

wasn't given to him.

He took it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Patty had been knocked

out for at least 26 hours.

Still groggy and disoriented,
and as yet unaware

that she had been drugged, Patty
had the doctor drive her home.

PATTY (VOICEOVER): We turned the
corner right by my apartments,

and I lived in a really
huge apartment complex,

so I told him to
let me out there.

I didn't want him to
see what apartment

I lived in, because I didn't
want him to come after me.

Patty, I wouldn't tell anybody
about this if I were you.

If you do, next time we'll
have to fix it so you can't.

[music playing]

PATTY (VOICEOVER):
I started running

trying to get to my apartment.

[music playing]

As I got to my apartment,
which was in the very back,

I saw him in his car.

He was right in front of me,
so he knew, at that point,

where I lived.

I went home and took a shower
and I went to my aunt's house.

And I just started feeling
nauseated, real, real, bad,

and I remember getting
sick everywhere

and I couldn't help it.

It was kind of like
the flu or something.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Patty
continued to be immobilized

by Dr. Frank's home
remedy, spending

much of the rest of the day
in a deep, drug-induced sleep.

Like many victims of
rape, Patty was so

overcome by fear
and embarrassment,

she could not yet bring
herself to go to the police.

[music playing]

Seven days later, Patty
had a second encounter

with Dr. Frank, who acted
as if nothing was wrong.

Patty decided to play
along, hoping to get

Frank to admit his crime.

Coke, please.

Just having a good
time, how about you?

PATTY (VOICEOVER): I was
kind of offended at first,

and then I thought, well, if
I'm going to find out anything,

I'm going to have
to be nice to him,

and just ask him
questions and stuff.

So, tell me.

What was that stuff you
gave me the other night?

I didn't give you anything.

You just had a good time.

You can tell me.

It was some pretty wild stuff.

PATTY (VOICEOVER): He was going
to tell me he didn't give me

anything, and then he told
me that it was a sedative

and that I was kind of
like an experiment for him.

You liked it.

We had a good time, come on.

Come on.

You raped me!

PATTY (VOICEOVER): I was
really angry at him then.

And then after I
started yelling at him,

he knew that I wasn't going to
play his little games anymore,

because I had decided then I
was going to go to the police.

[music playing]

Basically I just looked
around at all the little girls

out there running around.

They don't know about
stuff like this,

and I thought, if I can at least
give a report to the police,

then I can help someone else.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Three months after the rape,

Patty filed an official
police report, but stopped

short of pressing charges.

She was worried that a
trial would come down

to her word against Dr.
Frank's, an unknown student

against an
established physician.

I accused him of raping me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Patty also believed

that being associated
with a rape case

would jeopardize her future
chances for employment.

MAN: Are you willing
to press charges?

No.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): She also

feared that Dr. frank might make
good on his threat to harm her.

If-- if he does this again
to somebody else, yes, I will.

[music playing]

OK, Tracy, it's ready.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Four months

after he had raped Patty, Dr.
Frank raped another woman.

There's was an established
professional relationship.

This victim too was
given a sedative.

When she awoke 24 hours
later, Frank admitted

that he had drugged her.

It was later estimated that
the amount of the sedative

in her system was
eight times greater

than that normally administered
to patients in surgery.

LISA GREEN (VOICEOVER): She was
a professional woman in town

in her mid-thirties, and
after she became aware

of this situation, after Dr.
Frank told her what happened,

she went to a local lab into
town, had her blood tested

for the drug he told
her he had given her,

and it did come back positive
for that particular drug.

And then she went to the police.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Based
on the statements of Patty

and the other victim,
Kenneth Frank was

arrested in February of 1986.

Legal wrangling delayed his
trial until December of 1989.

Frank showed up on time
for every court appearance.

December 20th, 1989, the
jury rendered his verdict.

He was convicted
of two counts of rape

by administering an intoxicating
or anesthetic substance.

That carries the
same amount of time

as more common type of rape,
known as a forcible rape.

What happened is the
jury verdict came in,

and, at that time, I requested
the judge take the defendant

into custody because he
was looking at a maximum

of 16 years in state prison.

He was out on his own
recognizance at the time,

so there was no bail up
at all, and the judge

declined to do that.

When he came up
for sentencing, 28

days, which is the normal period
of time, he didn't show up.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When we return,

a bizarre tale of
a mild-mannered man

whose temper suddenly
erupted at work

on the very day he vanished.

What happened to Daniel Wilson?

[music playing]

Dan Wilson of
Spokane, Washington

was known as a
quiet, religious man.

In 1986, when Dan was 33,
his marriage broke up,

but he remained close to
his young son and daughter

and visited them often.

In 1987, Dan suffered a nervous
breakdown, which he felt

was due to the trauma
of his divorce.

By the summer of 1988, however,
he was off his medication

and seemed to have his
life back under control.

In June, Dan went to work
at the ASC Machine Tool

company in Spokane, and,
according to coworkers,

was a steady, reliable employee.

Then, suddenly, on August
24, everything changed.

Hey Dan, when's this
one going to be done?

What's the problem, Jerry?

Oh, there's no problem.

Just need it over
on the other line

whenever you're done with it.

Every time I
try to get my work

done, you come down here and
give me a hard time about it.

What's going on?
- Wait a minute.

I didn't say anything
about your work.

Hey, the heck you haven't!

I know what you've
been saying, what

they've all be saying about me.

And I don't like it!

Quiet down.

I don't need to be quiet.

I just want you to
leave me alone so I can

get my work done, all right?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Dan Wilson's foreman

was shocked by the outburst.

He and the plant
manager were concerned,

and told Dan to take
time off and return

to work whenever he felt ready.

Dan left the plant at 11
o'clock in the morning.

It was Wednesday
August the 24th, 1988.

[music playing]

Two days went by.

Dan Wilson's neighbors
noticed that his sprinklers

had been left running.

On Friday, they turned
them off, never suspecting

that anything was wrong.

Dan was not scheduled to visit
his children that weekend,

so his ex-wife never
noticed he was missing.

His mother lived in
Colorado telephoned,

but was not alarmed when
she received no answer.

Saturday and Sunday
came and went,

and no one even knew
Dan Wilson was missing.

Sunday, August 29th, 1988.

In a remote area of
Custer County, Montana

an abandoned car
was investigated

by Sheriff Tony Harbaugh.

[music playing]

[bird calling]

When When the car was found,
the doors were unlocked.

In fact, one of
the doors was ajar.

Check for keys in it, Mark.

TONY HARBAUGH (VOICEOVER): The
keys were not in the vehicle

when it was found.

There were a few miscellaneous
items, one of which

was a Bible, laying
on the front seat.

Got a Bible on this side.

Daniel Wilson inscribed
in the front of it

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Sheriff Harbaugh

traced the car to Dan Wilson.

It had been abandoned
more than 700 miles

from Dan's Spokane residence.

[music playing]

TONY HARBAUGH (VOICEOVER):
There was no luggage in the car

to indicate that Daniel was
planning a trip, nothing that

would really give us a firm
indication of what Daniel was

thinking or doing in the area.

Also going to need a record
of this location to have

this vehicle towed into town.

We conducted both ground
and aerial searches.

It's my belief that if Daniel
Wilson was in the area,

in any of the area
that we covered,

we should have found
him at that time.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): There seemed

to be no explanation
for Dan's car

being found abandoned in the
middle of the Montana prairie.

Baffled, Dan's mother,
Darlene Wilson, along with two

of his cousins, went to
Montana to talk to the Sheriff

and look for some answers.

We've checked the car.

We've searched the ground
around the area here.

DARLENE WILSON (VOICEOVER):
The sheriff told us

that the car looked like it
had just been parked there

and that someone had
walked away from it.

They had looked under
the hood and there

was nothing wrong
there, and there

was a third of a tank of gas.

TONY HARBAUGH:
--Car back to you.

Thank you.

I couldn't
visualize in my mind

that he would just walk away
from the car and just take off.

It certainly was not an area
where you would expect a person

would stop and take a walk.

I really feared for his
safety from the beginning

because of the state
of mind he was in.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Glenda had visited Dan

two days before he disappeared.

She was surprised by the
disarray in his home.

GLENDA HORSEMAN
(VOICEOVER): Looking

around, I seen that the children
had been there that weekend.

Things had been
left quite messy,

which was very
uncharacteristic for him.

Oh, I'm a ranger
or a policeman.

GLENDA HORSEMAN (VOICEOVER):
He seemed agitated,

and he seemed real tired.

Is everything OK?

Oh, early shifts at the job
and trouble there, you know.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Before she left,

Glenda suggested that Dan
take time off to visit

the family in Colorado.

I know what you've been
saying about me, what

they've all be saying about me!

I don't like it!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
48 hours later,

Dan had his outburst
at work and vanished.

[music playing]

His family believed he
had taken Glenda's advice

and started for
Colorado to visit them.

[music playing]

Dan's family lived here
in Longmont, Colorado.

He had made the
trip from Spokane

to Longmont many times before.

Using the route he
normally traveled,

Interstate 90, Dan
would have headed

south at Billings, Montana.

Instead, Dan turned onto a
different highway, Interstate

94, heading due east.

He continued for 150 miles into
the sparsely populated area

of Montana where
his car was found.

How had Dan strayed
so far off course

on such a familiar route?

His mother suspected foul play.

[music playing]

DARLENE WILSON
(VOICEOVER): I know that he

did pick up hitchhikers.

If he felt he could give
somebody a ride, he would.

I'm concerned that maybe
he was not the person that

parked the car in
Montana, that it

could have been somebody else.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Determined

to unravel the mystery,
Dan's mother and cousins

went back to Spokane.

Dan's home was in
even worse disarray

than when Glenda had
visited 10 days earlier.

DARLENE WILSON: He's
even left the light on.

I'll go look in the bedrooms.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Surprisingly, his luggage,

his clothes, and an
uncashed paycheck

were all still in the house.

MAN: The suitcases
are still here.

I couldn't see where he
had taken anything at all,

not even a toothbrush or razor.

It just looked like
that he had just

left and intended to come back.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
next day, Dan's family left

Spokane more puzzled than ever.

Darlene and Glenda drove
Dan's car on the return trip.

En route, they both
had sore throats

and felt an odd burning
sensation in their eyes.

--Scratchy.
Have you noticed anything?

You know, my eyes
have been hurting, too.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): As
soon as they returned home,

they had the car inspected.

Well, folks, what we have here
is a faulty muffler on the car.

It could be allowing
exhaust gases to enter

into the interior of the car.

I would say the car
would be unsafe to drive.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It
appeared that a carbon monoxide

leak in the muffler might
have caused Darlene's

and Glenda's physical symptoms.

OK, thank you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Dan
had been driving the same car

every day for over a year.

It is possible that
carbon monoxide

poisoning could have
caused him severe physical

and emotional damage.

Chronic exposure to carbon
monoxide can cause fatigue,

can cause definite changes
in personality, confusion,

can cause permanent
loss of function

of the brain, intellectual
ability, memory,

as well as severe personality
changes resembling psychosis.

[music playing]

DARLENE WILSON
(VOICEOVER): Memory loss,

confusion, amnesia.

Maybe he knows his name
but maybe that's about all.

Maybe he doesn't realize
where his family is

or how to get in touch
with any of them.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Darlene Wilson

flooded the state of
Montana with flyers.

In late November of
1988, a homeless shelter

in Billings,
Montana sent Darlene

a copy of its desk register.

The Register showed that a
Daniel Wilson had signed in

to spend the night
on November 12,

nearly three months after
Dan had disappeared.

[music playing]

Darlene compared the signature
with one of her son's.

The similarity was striking,
so she and her nephew

decided to go to
Billings and talk

to the man who ran the shelter.

My name's Darlene Wilson.

I'm here to see Mr.
Johnson, please.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Still
clinging to the fragile hope

that Dan might be wandering
aimlessly, knowing his name

but nothing else,
Darlene brought

along several
photographs of him,

hoping for a positive
identification

and some new clues.

Hello, Mrs. Wilson?

Yes.

You called earlier?

Yes.
Nice to meet you.

I think you have
a photo for me.

I have a photo of my son.

I wondered if you could help us.

I believe I've
seen this young man.

David?

Oh, yeah.

We've seen him before.

I'm sure he spent
the night, too.

DARLENE WILSON
(VOICEOVER): It was really

a sense of relief for us.

We thought surely if he
has been here that recently

that he still would
be around somewhere

where we could find him.

So we distributed
more posters around

in Billings and throughout
all the area from Billings

into Spokane again.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
There has been no trace of Dan

Wilson for nearly two years.

Authorities found
no sign of violence

and no evidence of a
second person in Dan's car,

so they have tended to
discount the foul play theory.

They have, however,
suggested the possibility

that Dan Wilson made a
conscious choice to disappeared.

[music playing]

GLENDA HORSEMAN
(VOICEOVER): I feel

it's not impossible that Dan
made a decision to disappear

and start a new life.

He was under a great
deal of pressure.

He had not had a happy life
since coming to Spokane.

But I feel the possibilities are
small due to the fact he was so

devoted to his children,
and he felt the children

needed him so badly.

I feel that
whatever has happened

is something beyond his control.

[music playing]

He could be most
anywhere, and we

wouldn't be able
to locate him or he

wouldn't be able to locate us.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When we return,

three daring armored
car robberies executed

with military precision.

An ingenious gang of thieves
that's still at large.

[music playing]

Every day, billions of
dollars in hard currency

are transported by armored cars.

Considered by most
criminals to be impregnable,

these vehicles have
recently been targeted

by a brazen, heavily armed
gang that carry out their raids

with almost military precision.

1: 00 PM, April 18th, 1989.

Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

[music playing]

Don't move, or I'll shoot!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Instinctively,

the guard grabbed one
of the robber's guns

but was quickly subdued.

No shots were fired.

RAM SECURITY MESSENGER
(VOICEOVER): These guys

seemed to move very smoothly.

They didn't seem to be in a
hurry or panicky or nothing.

They were very smooth.

These robbers come
very heavily armed

and very much ready to shoot.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Almost simultaneously,

the second phase
of the heist began.

Another vehicle pulled up
in front of the armored car,

cutting off any route of escape.

A fourth robber then
placed what appeared

to be a bomb the truck's hood.

[music playing]

It's hot!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In just under a minute,

the robbers had stolen
close to $1 million.

They then vanished
without a trace.

It seemed like kind of
a commando type thing,

like these people had been
well-trained at that type

of thing, or well-practiced.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A
bomb squad was immediately

dispatched to the scene.

Attaching guide
wires to the device,

they carefully removed
it from the truck's hood.

X-rays later revealed
the bomb was a fake,

and the FBI
concluded that it was

nothing more than an
ingenious delaying tactic.

The FBI linked this fake
bomb to an identical device

used in a Baltimore, Maryland
robbery three years earlier.

In that operation, the thieves
made off with over $600,000.

The FBI concluded both robberies
were executed by the same gang.

[music playing]

In the first two heists,
through a combination

of careful planning
and clockwork timing,

the crooks had
stolen $1.6 million.

They had also brilliantly
covered their tracks.

Every vehicle they
used had been stolen,

wiped clean of evidence,
then abandoned.

It was thought that the
gang would quit while they

were a million dollars
ahead, but one year later

they struck again.

March 27, 1990.

Burnsville, Minnesota, just
10 miles from the scene

of the last robbery.

As one Brinks guard
waited in the cab,

another made a cash
pickup at a local bank.

[music playing]

On the ground!

On the ground, right now.
- OK!

On the ground.

OK.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Once again, the second guard

was caught behind the wheel.

BRINKS DRIVER (VOICEOVER):
As I turned around,

I see this van that was
coming up in front of me.

[gunshots]

[glass breaking]

I hit the van real
hard, I knew that.

I turned my siren on.

Shots went off.

Scared the living
daylights out of me.

[gunshots]

I made a circle to come around
so I could see what's going on,

and when I was about 3/4 of
the way through my circle,

I could see where our cart was.

As I was going by, I could
see my partner on the ground.

All those shots
that were going on,

I thought they'd killed him.

I thought he was dead.

He was just laying
on the ground.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Fortunately, the guard

was uninjured.

His partner fought back.

BRINKS DRIVER (VOICEOVER):
At the time I thought, well,

I got these guys right
where I want them.

I just rammed it
as hard as I could.

[crashing]

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Despite the collision,

the robbers still
managed to get away.

It's a real lucky situation
that some innocent bystander

wasn't killed, because there
were a number of shots fired

and there were a number of
shoppers and bank customers

passing right by the area.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The robbers

abandoned their car behind
a nearby shopping center

and left on foot.

The FBI theorize
that they may have

had another vehicle
parked nearby which

they used to leave the area.

Authorities quickly cordoned
off the neighborhood.

They brought in tracking dogs.

Roadblocks were set up,
but the gang had once again

made a clean getaway.

The following
morning, police found

one of the gang's stolen cars
less than a mile from the bank.

As in the other robberies,
it contained no evidence

that identified the robbers.

Currently, all the authorities
can do is wait for the elusive

robbers to strike again.

These individuals
could be living

anywhere in the United States.

And we would like to get
information from anybody who

has any indication that people
that may be able to perpetrate

this type of crime have
come into a lot of money,

or that had the
capability to commit

these robberies in any
one of these three cities.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
There are apparently

at least four
members of the gang,

and authorities have
managed to create

composites of three of the men.

The first suspect is a
white male in his late 30s,

about five feet, nine inches
tall, with dark hair and dark

mustache.

Suspect number two is white,
between 35 and 38 years old,

about six feet in
height, and weighs

between 170 and 180 pounds.

A third suspect is
approximately six feet tall

and is between 35
and 40 years old.

He has gray or white
hair, and may wear

a false beard the same color.

[music playing]

Join me next week for another
edition of Unsolved Mysteries.

[music playing]