All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S03E04.480p.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 (VOICEOVER):
In Rome, New York two

intruders bound and
gagged Esther Gryzeic,

ransacked her house, and
shot her husband point blank.

Just recently, a
police informant

revealed that Stanley Gryzeic
may have died because he

was a man who knew too much.

The FBI is searching for
an electronics whiz kid who

allegedly used his
talents to break

into classified government
computer networks,

obtain military secrets,
and wiretap private.

An innocuous case of
computer hacking or a breach

of national security?

Also tonight, a
poignant update a story

about a 7-year-old girl who made
a solemn vow to her sick friend

21 years ago.

Thanks to our
viewers, Niki Crowder

has finally
fulfilled her promise

and we filmed their
joyous reunion.

Join me for another edition
of Unsolved Mysteries.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Rome,
New York, 240 miles northwest

of Manhattan.

This is the kind of small
town that finds its way

into Norman Rockwell paintings.

It is a working class
community where everybody

knows everything
about everyone else,

or at least it seemed that way.

Bob, how are you?

Stanley, so nice to see you.

Haven't seen you in so long.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1957 to 1976,

Stanley Gryzeic and
his family owned

a small liquor store and gas
station in the heart of town.

Stanley was in charge
of the liquor store.

His brother Peter ran
the gas station along

with a third brother Bernard.

Stanley and his wife Esther
lived right next door

to the family business.

Their life seemed happy
and secure until the night

of November 6th, 1976.

SHARON MIGLIACCIO (VOICEOVER):
Dad had just gone upstairs

to run Mom's bathwater.

Mom went through the house
doing her nightly check.

She did a nightly ritual
where she would go and check

all the windows and doors
and make sure everything

was locked.

My mother was deaf, and
she wore a hearing aid.

With the hearing aid,
she could hear very well.

And she had just
finished in the kitchen

when she heard a loud noise.

[thump]

And as she turned around,
the back door just flew open.

[scream]

This is a robbery!

[grunting, screaming]

Two men came into the house.

They both had ski masks.

One was short and stocky and
one was tall and thinner.

I think my father probably heard
the initial noise of the screen

door being broken and
heard my mother scream,

and then came down the stairs.

[music playing]

As he turned to go
into the dining room,

I think he startled
the perpetrator.

[grunting]

Hey, give me that!

SHARON MIGLIACCIO (VOICEOVER):
The shorter, stockier man

was already at my mother's
throat and was choking her

and, in the process, knocked
her hearing aid out of her ear.

And she said she
just played dead.

She just wouldn't move.

She just laid there.

She tried to hold her breath
so they thought she died.

[music playing]

SHARON MIGLIACCIO (VOICEOVER):
While she was laying

on the floor, she said
they laid this pearl

handled gun next to my face.

She says, I could see it.

I opened my eyes just a little
tiny bit and I could see.

[music playing]

They spent a good
hour in the house

just ransacking it totally.

They took all the
stuff out of the desk,

threw everything on the floors.

The pillows they ripped.

Mom's knitting and her
yarn, they threw all over.

I mean, they obviously
were looking for something,

but what they were looking
for, I have no idea.

[music playing]

She said, I just waited there
until I could feel no more

vibrations in the house.

She figures that that
is when they left.

[crying]

Somehow, she managed to get
her hands untied from her feet

and her feet untied.

Her hands were still
tied behind her back,

but she did manage to
go into the dining room

and find my dad laying
on the floor dead.

Oh, God!

[police scanner]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The shock

of her husband's murder was
too much for Esther Gryzeic.

She herself died
within two years.

SHARON MIGLIACCIO (VOICEOVER):
My mother, you could say,

died that night.

She just existed for
the next 20 months.

Her and my father had one of
those rare marriages where they

were extremely close,
and without dad, I mean,

her life was gone.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
From the beginning,

a cloud of suspicion loomed
over the investigation

of Stanley Gryzeic's murder.

The night of the killing,
police barred the family

from entering the home.

After thoroughly searching
the ransacked house,

investigators determined
that the only things

missing were two bottles of
beer from the refrigerator.

But it appeared
to investigators

as if the ransacking was to
look for an item, possibly,

or a piece of paper
that Mr. Gryzeic

may have had hidden somewhere.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The next day,

the family was finally
permitted to enter the home.

Stanley's son made a disturbing
discovery, which, curiously,

the police had overlooked.

My brother-in-law and myself
were in the house, and we were

trying to straighten things up.

I was in the dining room where
my father had been killed,

and the rug was kind of messed
up from the table being pushed,

so we got down on
our hands and knees

and tried to
straighten the rug out.

Hey, come here.

Look at this.

MARTIN GRYZIEC (VOICEOVER):
While I was doing that,

I happened to notice a
shell casing on the rug.

I mean, it wasn't embedded
in the rug or anything.

It was lying right
out on the rug.

Well, it's a shell casing.

Don't touch it.

I'm sure that if
anybody had done

a thorough job of
scouring the floor,

they would have found it.

We picked it up with a pencil,
put it in a plastic bag,

and called up the Rome
police department.

One detective came over and
I showed him where I found it

on the floor, and he
looked at it, yeah,

that's a shell
casing, all right.

And he proceeded to
put it in his pock

and said, let's not mention this
to anyone for the time being.

And who was I to argue?

There's a wound here
in the lateral aspect

of the left chest.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The official autopsy report

stated that Stanley Gryzeic
been killed by a single stab

wound to the heart.

--extremities are symmetrical.

SHARON MIGLIACCIO (VOICEOVER):
I couldn't believe the police

kept insisting that it was a
knife that killed my father,

and my mother
repeatedly told them

it was a pearl handled gun.

It was a small gun.

She told me they laid it
right down next to my face.

She says, I could see.

It was not a knife, and they
kept insisting it was a knife.

While we knew that
was totally false

that my father had been
killed by a stab wound,

we had found a shell casing.

We explained to the police that
there was no guns in the house.

The only way that shell
could have got here

was that it was
fired in this house.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Stanley

Gryzeic's body was exhumed and
a second autopsy performed.

It revealed that Stanley
was killed by a .25 caliber

bullet fired through his chest.

There never had
been a stab wound.

Was the entire incident
involving the bullet simply

a series of
unfortunate mistakes,

or could someone have
been trying to protect

the killer's identity?

Stanley Gryzeic's children
believe that someone wanted

it to appear that their father
had been killed with a knife,

but who?

And why?

It seemed that these
questions would remain forever

unanswered until last year.

In March of 1989, an
acknowledged drug dealer

came to the police
with a startling story.

He claimed to know the identity
of Stanley Gryzeic's killer,

although he did not
know the motive.

In 1976, the informant was
working at a bar in Rome.

He claimed that a man
associated with the bar

made him a strange proposition
just a few days before Stanley

Gryzeic was killed.

I was tending bar
one night, and a person

approached me and wanted
me to pull a burglary.

He knew that I owed him money,
and he offered me to get even.

So, we drove around for a little
bit, and he pulled in an alley

here, and he goes, I want you
to break into Stan's house.

MAN: You owe me a lot of money.

You owe me a lot of money.

The guy's got a lot of
money in that house.

I want you to go rip him off.

Why Stanley?

MAN: That's my business.

INFORMANT (VOICEOVER):
I told him I go,

well, I'm not a burglar.

I go, I'm out here selling coke,
but I'm just not a burglar.

I'm not going to go breaking
in to anybody's house.

And so he was disturbed
with me, and he goes,

all right, I'll take
you back to the bar.

As you can see As
you can see here,

this is the service station
that's adjacent to the house.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Based on this new information,

the case was reactivated
and a new team

of investigators assigned.

MAN: --behind here
comes out to the side.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
They contacted

Amy Scott, Stanley
Gryzeic's neighbor

at the time of the murder.

On November 6, 1976,
Amy Scott said she

was in the house watching TV.

And at the conclusion
of one of the programs,

her dog had become restless
and she let him out to run

around a little bit outside.

[dog barking]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Amy told investigators

that shortly after
11:00 PM, she saw

a man walking through the alley
toward Stanley Gryzeic's home.

I let my dog stay out maybe
a half an hour to 45 minutes,

and then I open the door.

I went on my porch to
call my dog back in.

Sam!

Then I looked up and
I saw this guy coming

through the same
pathway that I noticed

before, only this time he was
headed toward a white car.

He got in the car, and
then I noticed there

was another man in the car.

And he proceeded down
the street very fast.

[tires squealing]

You idiots!

What do think you're doing?

And I yelled at him because
he just came within inches

of hitting my dog.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A
few days after the murder,

Amy saw the men in
the Lincoln again.

AMY SCOTT (VOICEOVER):
It was around 5 o'clock,

and I was headed to the bank.

As I drove in, there
was two cars ahead of me

and I was waiting,
and I just happened

to look through my
rear view mirror,

and I saw this white car.

And suddenly I realized
this was the same man,

the same car, that I had seen
earlier at the murder scene.

I got really nervous,
so I started my car

and I speeded down the street.

[music playing]

I was really afraid.

I just drove like crazy until
I got to the police station

and I jumped out of the car.

[music playing]

And I ran up the steps,
where I met a policeman,

and I told him
what was happening.

We got in his car and we drove
around a couple of blocks

up and down, but we
never saw him again.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Amy
led the investigators to Patsy

Peck, a local bookstore owner.

Patsy told him that on the
day before Gryzeic's murder,

she had met the same
two men at her store.

[interposing voices]

She also said they were driving
a white Lincoln Continental.

Hey guys, how are you doing?

Good.

- Good to see you again.
- Thanks.

How are you?
- Good.

What are you doing
down here anyway?

PATSY PECK
(VOICEOVER): There was

the tall, dark man who
had on a trench coat

and it had a nylon pile collar.

The other man was
shorter and sandy haired,

and they'd been out
of town for a while,

and hadn't seen my husband
in quite a long while.

- See you later.
- OK, good seeing you again.

PATSY PECK: Thanks.

Then they started reminiscing
a little about when they

were here before and all that.

All right.

You know where we live,
we're still in the same place.

PATSY PECK (VOICEOVER):
And they told him

they'd see again before
they left, and they left.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Investigators

asked Patsy why she had not come
forward with this information

before.

Surprisingly, she said
she had talked with one

of the original detectives.

--store on November the 4th.

JOHN KEYS (VOICEOVER): We do
know that the investigators

talked to Patsy and Amy,
but we looked in our files

and found that there
wasn't anything put

down on documentation form as
to their interview with Patsy

Peck.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Investigators Saunders and Keys

learned that shortly after
Stanley Gryzeic's murder,

the same two men were
spotted at a local bar.

We located a man that was
in the bar about two or three

nights after the murder.

Everything all right?

Yep.

Just what you wanted.

ROBERT SAUNDERS (VOICEOVER):
He told us that a couple of men

had come into the bar
matching the descriptions that

were published in the paper.

They met with another
man in the back

of the bar who handed
them a large sum of money,

and they turned and left.

He was kind of curious, so he
said, wasn't that so-and-so?

And the individual who
had given him the money

said, yes, that was.

And he said, well,
why did you give

him that large amount of money?

And he said they
done a job for me

and now they had to leave town.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Authorities

began searching for a connection
between Stanley Gryzeic's

murder and the bar where
the informant had worked

and the two men had been seen.

They discovered that
the bar's liquor

license had been held
by Peter Gryzeic,

Stanley's older brother.

Then Stanley's children
related a puzzling incident

that had occurred eight
months before the murder.

Peter Gryzeic was gravely ill
and Stanley went to visit him.

Close the door, will you?

Close the door.

Close the door?

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): No one knows

what was said behind
that closed door,

but the two brothers, who
had always been close,

never spoke again.

Peter died four months
later, and Stanley's behavior

seemed to change.

PATRICIA COUSIN (VOICEOVER):
I had a three-day weekend

with my dad.

He seemed in a good mood, but
he seemed a little distant.

When he hugged me goodbye,
he said a very strange thing.

I don't know when I'll
ever see you again.

And that was the last
time I saw him again.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
bar in question had its liquor

license revoked in 1982.

The reason?

On-site gambling and the illegal
sale of controlled substances.

Today, the bar remains closed.

PATRICIA COUSIN
(VOICEOVER): I think

he knew that there was
a great deal of drug

activity happening in that bar.

Gambling, it happens
almost everywhere.

I think people learn
to adjust to that.

But the drug situation,
I know that my father

would never be able to condone
or have his name linked to it.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Why
was Stanley Gryzeic murdered?

Had he learned something
from his dying brother

that put his own life at risk?

If my father
knew something, he

did not share that information
with my mother, my brother,

my sister, or I. It
was just something

that he kept to himself.

And that was why being honest as
he was the cause of his death.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Why did Stanley's assailants

ransack his home, remain
in the house for 45 minutes

to an hour, and then leave,
apparently taking only two

beers from the refrigerator?

And finally, is
there a connection

between the bar, Peter
Gryzeic, and Stanley's death?

Although crucial
evidence in the case

has mysteriously
disappeared, investigators

believe that it may
take but one vital clue

to piece together
the bizarre puzzle

of Stanley Gryzeic's murder.

These are composite drawings
of the two men seen driving

that white Lincoln Continental.

Authorities are asking anyone
with information regarding

these men to come forward.

[music playing]

WOMAN: Oh!

Traveled all over the country.

WOMAN: Well, how about--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On a previous broadcast,

we profiled a con
man who allegedly

seduces lonely middle-aged
women with promises

of wealth and romance, then
skips town with her money.

Police have dubbed him
the sweetheart swindler.

[music playing]

In August of 1989, a woman who
asked that we call her Sarah

met a man named Jerry Gable.

Sarah quickly succumbed to
Jerry's hypnotic charms.

He told her that he was a
successful traveling jewelry

salesman, and that she was
just the type of a woman he

wanted to share his life with.

In less than two days, Jerry
asked Sarah to be his wife.

He was a type of a
man that took control.

This was something that I liked.

I like someone to kind of
take over, take charge.

And it was really nice
to think that I maybe

would be able to
relax, to travel,

to have all these nice things,
and I wouldn't have to work.

To me this was very appealing.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): A few days

later, Jerry asked Sarah
to deposit an out-of-state

and to withdraw $3,000
in cash for him.

At the time, Sarah had no idea
that the check was stolen.

That afternoon, Jerry
Gable disappeared.

Sarah never saw him
or her $3,000 again.

I was angry.

Truly, I was angry.

It's a very devastating feeling.

I'd like to see him pay for it.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Update.

The sweetheart swindler
has been captured.

On March 28th, 1991, police
in Kenosha, Wisconsin

arrested a man calling
himself Robert Cook

after he allegedly romanced a
woman and then swindled her out

of $10,000.

At the time of
Cook's arrest, police

recovered a dozen
false identification

cards all issued in different
aliases from various states.

They also found blank
checks apparently

stolen from previous victims.

[music playing]

When we return, the intriguing
saga of a young computer

wizard who may be
using his skills

to obtain classified
government information.

[music playing]

Inside the labyrinth
of the telephone

company's huge computer
system, one feels

a sense of insignificance.

It seems impossible
that any single person

could jam up these sophisticated
works, yet think of it.

All the interactive
computers across the country

are linked by telephone lines.

Both private citizens
and classified government

operations can be vulnerable
to a computer genius run amok.

[music playing]

Kevin Poulsen grew
up in the Los Angeles

suburb of North Hollywood.

His mother died when
he was still young.

One of Kevin's
friends describes him

as very bright with
great potential,

but always painfully shy.

[music playing]

Kevin Poulsen received his first
computer on the 16th birthday.

Like most devoted hackers, he
adopted a colorful pseudonym.

Kevin Poulsen became Dark Dante.

[music playing]

Eventually, he
discovered a telephone

number for ARPANET, a computer
network funded by the Pentagon.

It links university and
think tank computers across

the country by telephone lines.

For Dark Dante, ARPANET was
a tantalizing challenge.

After connecting his modem with
the ARPANET telephone number,

Kevin realized he was hooked
up to military research

at the University of
California Berkeley.

[music playing]

He needed a password
that would allow

him access to
sensitive documents

in the Berkeley computer.

He guessed several
passwords with no luck.

[music playing]

Then he tried the
university's initials, UCB.

Kevin was inside ARPANET.

[music playing]

SEAN RANDOL (VOICEOVER): He
liked the idea of having power.

That was Kevin's thing.

He wanted to have power
over other people,

over the people that he
saw as being beneath him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Dark Dante's activities

were soon detected by UCB,
when Kevin slipped and, on one

occasion only, used his real
name instead of Dark Dante

he was trapped.

Blissfully unaware, Kevin
continued his hacking

activities, giving
authorities even

more ammunition against him.

Dan, would you just put
that in my car, please.

Well, you're
taking my computer?

Yes, Kevin.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On the morning

of September 22nd,
1983, the Los Angeles DA

confiscated Kevin's computer.
- I don't understand why.

Look, Kevin.

You and your buddy have
committed a crime here.

You're only 17.

We're going to try to
keep you out of this,

but your buddy's going to jail.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Because of his age,

he was not officially charged,
only warned that his computer

activities were illegal.

Your buddy is going to jail.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The warning

apparently fell on deaf ears.

It's not like we were
stealing or anything.

No, it's exactly
like you were stealing.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
During the next year,

Kevin took a high
school equivalency exam

and moved out of his parents'
house to northern California.

[music playing]

But Dark Dante had not
died with Kevin's move.

He had simply changed locations.

In his off hours,
Kevin Poulsen continued

to cruise the
electronic highways,

cloaked with a pseudonym.

This time, he never gave his
real name or his location.

[music playing]

On February 9th, 1988, the
owners of a storage facility

in northern California
made a routine stop

at a locker of which the
rent had not been paid.

MAN: There we go.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Standard

procedure in such
cases is to confiscate

the material in the locker.

Whoa!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But
the contents of this locker

was something the men
had never seen before.

It appeared to be stolen
telephone company equipment.

The owners notify
the authorities.

MAN: He's no scumbag.

MAN 2: He's not stupid.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Telephone company investigator

Jon von Brauch, along
with the local police,

arrived immediately.
- Jon von Brauch.

Hi, Jon.
How are you?

All right.

JON VON BRAUCH (VOICEOVER): We
found by a storage locker that

contained pieces of electronic
equipment, pay phones, computer

print outs, including
the print out

of the non-published
number of the Soviet

Embassy in San Francisco.

That's not the type of
equipment or material

that one would buy at a swap
meet or find in a dumpster.

It was quite obviously
stolen property.

Whose locker is this?

Some guy by the
name of John Anderson.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
name John Anderson was a fake.

But several items in the locker
bore the name Kevin Poulsen.

It appeared as if Dark
Dante had been caught again.

Authorities apprehended
Kevin, who agreed to a consent

search of his apartment.

They were astonished
to find that Kevin

had a complete wiretapping
facility in a spare bedroom.

What are you doing with
all this stuff, Kevin?

I don't know, I just have it.

I just kind of get it.
It's neat.

JON VON BRAUCH (VOICEOVER): The
equipment in the switch room

allowed to Mr. Poulsen not only
to enter computer databases,

ours and others, but it also
gave him the ability to monitor

telephone conversations without
the parties to the conversation

being aware that they
were being monitored.

How about the test set over
there with the lettering on it?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Connected to Kevin's computer

was an unauthorized test set
which could be used to tap

into private phone lines.

I don't know.

I got that from a buddy of mine.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Only the telephone company,

and through them,
legally authorized

law enforcement officers,
are allowed to use test sets.

[music playing]

Incredibly, the authorities
found photographs Kevin Poulsen

had taken of himself
breaking into a telephone

switching trailer, then
using the equipment inside.

Kevin's ego provided the phone
company with the evidence they

needed to bring in the FBI.

WILLIAM E. SMITH
(VOICEOVER): We determined

that the acts that Poulsen
was involved in had escalated.

We found evidence that Poulsen
had penetrated the United

States government computer,
and had transferred

the passwords of that
computer, via electronic mail,

to other individuals.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Investigators

found that over the last
year, someone matching

Kevin Poulsen's
description had illegally

entered several northern
California telephone

facilities using a false ID.

[dog barking]

We discovered
that Mr. Poulsen,

and we documented at least
three cases, where he had

actually entered the buildings.

Hi.

Can I help you?

Yeah.

I'm from the Menlo Park office.

I'm here to check out the ESS.

The ESS equipment is
up on the second floor.

[typing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Once inside the building,

the intruder found
telephone numbers

he could use to get
inside the phone

company's computer system.

He also stole manuals,
switching equipment,

and a test set
like the one found

in Kevin Poulsen's apartment.

[music playing]

Kevin Poulsen had
allegedly infiltrated

US military computer
transmissions obtaining

classified army information.

Authorities believe he also
obtained classified information

about the FBI investigation
of overthrowing Philippine

President Ferdinand Marcos.

In addition, he may
have wiretapped and tape

recorded phone conversations
of his friend Sean Randol.

The test set found in Kevin's
apartment and his possession

of the unlisted
Soviet number led

the FBI to believe
that Kevin Poulsen

might be engaging in espionage.

[music playing]

WILLIAM E. SMITH (VOICEOVER):
Through the investigation,

we learned that Poulsen
had a secret clearance.

Because of this, his penetration
of the United States Army

government computer,
his obtaining

of a non-published number
of the Soviet consulate,

gave us grave concern as
to how far Poulsen was

going with these criminal acts.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On October 19th, 1989,

a two-year
investigation resulted

in a 19-count
indictment against Kevin

Poulsen and two fellow hackers.

They were charged with
conspiracy, computer fraud,

wiretapping,
embezzlement, and theft

of public property and records.

The two other men were
arrested and now await trial,

but Kevin Poulsen has fled.

The FBI is making him out
to be a dangerous person

because he has the
knowledge to do things

that he is not supposed to do.

And he does things
that are illegal.

But as far as
hurting people goes,

Kevin is the kind of person
who would rather know how to do

things than actually do them.

[music playing]

WILLIAM E. SMITH
(VOICEOVER): We feel

that Poulsen probably
started out as he hacker,

because of curiosity.

But as the years wore on, his
curiosity became unsatisfied.

He crossed the line
from mere curiosity

to that in of
intentionally committing

criminal acts to further
this quest for power.

That gives us concern.

Law enforcement government,
or even private citizens

out there, Poulsen certainly
has a potential to be a danger

to any one of these three.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Kevin Poulsen

is 25 years old and 5 feet 8
inches tall with a slim build.

He has used the
surnames Drake, Locke,

and Cooper, as well
as the aliases Walter

Kovacs and John Anderson.

The FBI has information
that Poulsen

may be living in
the Los Angeles area

and driving all
white late 70s van.

He's an expert in the
computer operating

system called Unix and maybe
working in a related field.

[music playing]

One can only speculate about
what motivated Kevin Poulsen.

Those that knew
him before he fled

agree that he's an unusually
talented and bright

young man, possibly a genius.

But now he is a
wanted man facing up

to 37 years in prison.

[music playing]

Update.

Shortly after our
broadcast, the FBI

received information that
Kevin Poulsen was living

near Los Angeles, California.

LAWRENCE G. LAWLER (VOICEOVER):
Our San Francisco office

advised us that Poulsen had
some acquaintances in the Los

Angeles area, and we
went out and interviewed

those acquaintances
and one of them

advised us that he had
been seen in the not too

distant past at Hughes Market.

We then went out
and interviewed all

the employees at Hughes Market
and displayed his photograph.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Three weeks later, Poulsen

returned to the supermarket.

BRIAN BRIDGES (VOICEOVER):
I walked past Kevin

and it dawned on me that's
the person in the photo.

And adrenaline
was pumping in me.

I felt really
nervous and I didn't

want to let any suspicion on to
Kevin that we were on to him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Brian
immediately notified the FBI.

However, Poulsen was
able to leave the store

before agents could respond.

[music playing]

The FBI informed me that
Kevin Poulsen had been seen

at the Van Nuys
Hughes Market at about

10 or 10:30 in the evening.

I decided to surveil
the market, thinking

Kevin may show up again.

At about 10 minutes to
midnight, Kevin Poulsen

arrived, drove up,
and parked immediately

in front of the market.

[music playing]

Once Kevin was in the
store, I took a position

near the front door and
asked the security guard

to go find Brian Bridges,
the evening manager,

and bring him to my location
so I could tell him that Kevin

Poulsen was in the store.

[beeping]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Believing

that Poulsen would again
elude capture, two store

clerks made a daring move.

Security!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A
security guard escorted Poulsen

to a storeroom where he was
held until FBI agents arrived

and placed him under arrest.

[music playing]

LAWRENCE G. LAWLER
(VOICEOVER): During the search

of Mr. Poulsen, we
found some handcuff

keys in his eyeglass case.

During the time that
he was in custody,

he claimed that his contact
lenses were drying out

and he had asked for
his eyeglass cases

to be sent to him.

So, I'm assuming he was
looking for the handcuff keys.

[music playing]

The friendships you
make as children often

fade with the passage
of time, enduring

all only pleasant memories.

But for the woman
in our next story,

a friendship with a young
girl who was battling cancer

has survived the years and
become a lifelong search.

Tonight, she asks for
your help in finding

her special childhood friend
and fulfilling a promise she

made more than 20 years ago.

Good morning.

Good Good morning!

We're here to admit our
daughter, LaHarriet Wade.

NURSE: Hi, LaHarriet,
how are you?

Fine.

NURSE: I've been expecting you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When she was seven years old,

LaHarriet Wade was admitted
to Children's Hospital

of Los Angeles, California.

She was scheduled
to undergo surgery

to remove several large
tumors from her throat.

Although extremely painful,
LaHarriet's condition

was not life threatening.

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

I was a little nervous about
being left in there alone,

because it's all new to me.

I had gone back
before for tests,

but I wasn't actually
placed in there before,

and this time I'd be
in there and my parents

wouldn't be there.

Ooh, Mommy, look at those.

LAHARRIET'S MOTHER:
Those are nice.

You want me to get you some?
- Yes.

NURSE: OK, LaHarriet.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): LaHarriet

shared a room with
eight-year-old Charita Lynn

Harding.

NURSE: --in a
moment to help you--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Charita had been diagnosed

with a rare form of
cancer, and she too was

scheduled to undergo surgery.

I like your flowers.

CHARITA LYNN HARDING: Thank you.

I have dolls too.

Would you like to play with one?

LAHARRIET "NIKI" WADE: Yes.

CHARITA LYNN HARDING: Here,
you can play with Lovely.

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

I looked up to Charita,
because one, she was older.

She's about a year older than
I. And she was there first,

so she kind of
initiated me of being

in a new place, new atmosphere.

This part would
be blue right here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In the days that followed,

a warm and caring
friendship blossomed.

LaHarriet and Charita
spent their days

playing games and pulling
pranks on the hospital staff.

[music playing]

Hey, let's have a race.

[music playing]

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

We were in our own little world.

There was no adults around to
come in and tell us what to do.

[music playing]

I'll get you later!

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

We created a closeness.

So, she was kind
of like a sister.

We had gotten that relationship.

There was a bond there because
we mattered to one another.

We looked out for what went on,
and we had something in common,

and that was our
illnesses itself.

INTERCOM: Visiting
hours are now over.

All visitors please leave.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): As
the time for Charita's operation

neared, she was forced to
endure a nightly routine

of painful pre-surgical
treatments.

INTERCOM: Dr.
Thomas, line three.

Dr. Thomas.

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

I would watch when they would
come in for the testing.

She wouldn't really scream out,
but you'd hear a little shrill

or something like that.

When I look over, she
would turn away like, this

is not happening to me.

I would be angry
with the doctors

because I was like, why
are you hurting her?

But through it
all, she was tough.

And actually she was
a lot stronger than I.

And her problem, really, as I
got older and understood more,

was worse than mine.

[music playing]

My baby.

Hi!

[music playing]

MAN: Hold on.
OK.

Up.

WOMAN: Lift.

MAN: OK.

Check her pulse.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
10:00 PM, the night

of Charita's operation.

After several hours
of surgery, Charita

was returned to the room.

[music playing]

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

I was afraid, really afraid.

Does that hurt, sweetheart?

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

I felt them taking her
away did something to her

that changed her altogether.

Mommy, is this
going to happen to me?

No, honey.

This isn't going
to happen to you.

She has a different
type of operation

than you're going to have.

And then when she grows
up, she's not going

to be able to have any babies.

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

So that's when my mother
explained to me that Charita

had had a very, very
delicate surgery

and that she wouldn't
be able to have kids.

And I remember feeling
like, oh, that was just

the worst thing in the world.

[crying]

Everybody, Charita's
parents, the doctors,

they all went out
in the hall to talk.

And Charita, she was lying
in her bed, just lying there,

and she had tears in her eyes.

So it made me feel real sad
that I couldn't help her.

Don't worry.

Are you feeling all right?

I'm sorry you're feeling so bad.

Does it hurt?

[music playing]

I said, you don't have to cry.

I said, because, if I
ever have a baby, I said,

you can share it with me and
we can both be its mommy.

I said, I'll even name
it Charita after you.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Five
weeks after LaHarriet Wade

and Charita Harding
first met, the day

came for them to say goodbye.

LaHarriet's operation was a
success and she was sent home,

but Charita had to remain in the
hospital for further treatment.

Let me take a picture of you.

LAHARRIET "NIKI" WADE
(VOICEOVER): When we left,

we took pictures.

And I remember not wanting
to say goodbye to her.

I felt like I was
losing a sister.

I hope I see you soon.

Bye, you too.

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

The two girls agreed to continue
their friendship by phone,

but two months later LaHarriet's
family moved to New Mexico

and the young friends
soon lost touch.

Bye!

Yes, may I speak
to Charita Harding?

MAN: In 1975, the family
returned to Los Angeles.

LaHarriet called every Harding
listed in the phone book

but was unable to
locate Charita.

[music playing]

Seven years ago, LaHarriet
married and is now

known as Niki Crowder.

Today she is a
mother of a healthy

three-year-old daughter, whom
she plans to baptize Charita.

It is Niki's hope
for Charita Lynn

Harding to become godmother
to Niki's little girl.

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

I want my daughter to know
Charita because she's a very

special person in my life, and
bringing those two together

would be perfect for me.

[music playing]

Do you want to
learn how to make--

LAHARRIET "NIKI"
WADE (VOICEOVER):

I think of Charita all the time.

I've never ever stopped really
ever thinking about Charita.

Even though she's not around,
she's still a best friend

in the sense of the memories.

I think when you hold onto a
memory, it can't be altered,

so she's still a best friend.

Charita gave me a
lot, and she never

took anything back from me, and
that's what a real friend is.

If I have a baby,
we can share it.

And I promise, I promise,
I'll name her after you.

LAHARRIET "NIKI" WADE
(VOICEOVER): If I saw Charita,

I'd tell her that I
didn't forget the promise.

That's what I'd tell her.

I didn't forget the promise.

[music playing]

And I promise, I promise,
I'll name her after you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
A few minutes

after Niki's story
aired, we learned

that Charita Lynn Harding
was alive and well and living

in Oklahoma.

We immediately contacted
Niki with the good news.

[music playing]

Just 10 days after our
broadcast and more than 21 years

after they said goodbye, Charita
Lynn Harding and Niki Crowder

were finally reunited at
Nikki's home in Los Angeles.

[music playing]

Oh.

My God.

I can't believe.

It's been a long time.

20 years.

I'm so glad to see you.

I'm so glad you're alive.

I don't think Niki
has changed that much.

She was always a
caring, giving person.

Seems like she's still the same.

She would have to be to try to
find me after all these years

be so persistent about it.

[music playing]

Father, in the name of Jesus,
watch up over this child.

Protect here all of
the days of her life.

Keep her from harm.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On October 20th, 1990,

Niki Crowder was finally
able to fulfill her promise.

A child is a
gift you can't buy.

It's the most perfect
gift in the world,

and it comes from God.

And nobody should be deprived
of that, whether they have it

naturally, or can
share it with somebody.

That's something that I
want to share with Charita,

because of all the joy
and strength she gave me,

I can give her back
something that she missed.

Lord, bless them
even as godparents.

Cause your spirit
to rest upon them.

CHARITA LYNN HARDING
(VOICEOVER): Being a godmother

is special to me because
I don't have any kids,

it's given me a child of
my own that I can share.

I'm just honored,
and so I'll try

to live up to it as best I can.

I'm very happy.

Very happy that I found Charita.

And now I can go on, and I
can go on on a positive note

because she's alive.

I'd just like to say
thanks to everybody.

[music playing]

PRIEST: I christen thee
Charita Kennedy Crowder.

[music playing]

For every mystery,
there is someone

somewhere who knows the truth.

Join me next week for another
edition of Unsolved Mysteries.

[music playing]