All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S03E17.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): 17-year-old

Tracy Kirkpatrick
was an honors student

with a passion for poetry.

In 1989, Tracy was stabbed to
death in the clothing store

where she worked.

Three months later, a man
claiming to be the killer

made this bizarre
telephone call.

MAN (ON TELEPHONE): I know
this is gonna sound surprising,

but three months ago, I
stabbed a girl to death.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Perhaps you can help catch him.

Folsom Prison, California.

For years, it was thought to
be virtually escape-proof.

But in 1984, convicted killer
Steve Wilson pulled off

an ingenious jailbreak and
became the first man to escape

from Folsom in 15 years.

In 1943, 22-year-old
Frankie Bloomer

was reported missing in
action when the destroyer

USS "Rowan" was sunk in battle.

A few days later,
Frankie's picture,

taken on a hospital ship,
appeared in the newspaper.

For almost 50 years, his
family has been asking--

what happened to
Frankie Bloomer?

In 1965, 22-year-old Judith
Hyams vanished without a trace

from Coral Gables, Florida.

25 years later, in a
bizarre turn of events,

a series of
anonymous phone calls

claimed that Judith
is still alive.

Also, we'll bring you an
intriguing update on our story

of Amelia Earhart, the
legendary aviator who

disappeared while flying
around the world in 1937.

Recently, an expedition found
a piece of equipment which

may have been on her plane.

Join me for this
fascinating edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Tracy Kirkpatrick

was an introspective, pretty
teenager from a small town

near Frederick, Maryland.

The third of four
children, Tracy

was an honors student who loved
reading and writing poetry.

In early 1989, Tracy read
her family a haunting poem

written by Christina Rossetti.

Tracy seemed to be
asking them not to grieve

for her when she was gone.

WOMAN (VOICEOVER): "Remember me
when I am gone away, gone far

away into the silent land
when you can no more hold me

by the hand."

Her and her boyfriend
had just recently broke up,

and I guess she expressed her
feelings through her writing.

She wrote a lot of lonely poems.

She was very intelligent.

She was a hard worker.

And she loved people, and she
loved to be around people,

and she loved to have a lot
of friends and everything.

Now, this is our
new spring line.

We have it in blue--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
During Tracy's senior year

in high school, she held down
two part-time jobs, one of them

a sales clerk in a
women's clothing store.

We just got a new shipment in.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On
the night of March 15, 1989,

Tracy was assigned to
close the store and tally

up the day's receipts.

15 minutes before closing
time, Tracy was alone.

It was 8:45 PM.

Two hours later, a shopping
mall security guard

noticed that the lights inside
the women's clothing store

were still on.

The front door was unlocked.

The guard called out but
received no response.

He walked toward the
back of the store.

In a storage room,
he found Tracy

Kirkpatrick's lifeless body.

The guard immediately
notified the police.

I'm at the clothing store.

You better send someone
down right away, all right?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At
almost the same moment, Billy

and Diane Kirkpatrick,
Tracy's parents were

en route to the shopping mall.

It was nearly 11:00
PM, more than an hour

after Tracy usually
returned home.

You are worried for nothing.

OK.

I know everything's
gonna be fine.

Uh-oh.

What the hell is this?

What is-- look, there's
police cars, Bill!

- Yeah, OK.
- OK.

Oh, my god.

DIANE KIRKPATRICK
(VOICEOVER): As soon as I seen

it was at the store, I
jumped out of the car,

and I went up to the door.

And they wasn't-- they didn't
want to let us in at first,

because they really
didn't know who we were.

Our daughter Tracy works here.

All right, hold on.

Chief, the parents.

Tell me she's OK, Bill.

Come on in.

Thank you.

Our daughter Tracy, is she OK?

I said, is she all right?

Can I see her?

And when he shook his head no,
I just blocked out everything.

I didn't want to
hear the rest of what

was going to be said to me.

- No!
- All right.

Bill!

OK, Diane, sit down.

No!

DIANE KIRKPATRICK
(VOICEOVER): What did someone

have against her that they would
do something like that to her?

She never did anything
to hurt anybody.

Police could find no
apparent motive for Tracy

Kirkpatrick's brutal murder.

There was no sign
of sexual assault.

The day's cash receipts had been
left untouched on the counter.

Since there were no
indications of a struggle,

police believe the murderer must
have been someone Tracy knew.

A thorough analysis
of the crime scene

turned up latent fingerprints
but no other physical evidence.

The case was stalled.

Then three months later, police
got their first real lead

when a mysterious
telephone call was

recorded by a
nationwide confession

hotline in Las Vegas.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
This is a tape recording

of the actual phone call.

The hotline immediately
notified the Fredrick police.

The sincerity that I heard
in that voice and the knowledge

that the person was displaying
talking about what he had done

at that point convinced
me that I probably

was listening to the killer.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Det.

Horner thought the caller's
knowledge of the case

was convincing.

He took the tape to his chief.

Well, let's listen to it then.

Sure sounds like we have
our killer, doesn't it?

Sounds very
authentic, doesn't it?

CPL. BARRY HORNER: They
traced the call back

to a supermarket
in Walkersville,

Maryland, which is
seven or eight miles

just north of Frederick City.

If it was the killer,
he wanted to be caught,

and he was seeking help
through this hotline.

And it was a decision made by
my chief of police and members

of my division to compose
a letter to this individual

and address it to Don and ask
Don to please come forward.

If he needed someone to
talk to, I was available.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The letter

was published in a local
newspaper on October 10, 1989.

Police received no response.

But two weeks later,
another unlikely phone call

provided them with a new lead.

Hello, my name is Sean, and I
have rather an unusual request.

How can I help you, Sean?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On October 24,

Martha Woodworth, a
Massachusetts woman

with a reputation
as a psychic, began

to receive calls
from a young man

who identified himself as Sean.

Well, I don't usually
take cases like--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Sean seemed

obsessed with finding
the person who

had murdered Tracy Kirkpatrick.

Martha told Sean she
needed more information

before she could help.

Eventually, he agreed to send
Martha newspaper clippings.

MARTHA WOODWORTH: And when
I received the envelope

with his handwriting
on the outside,

I thought this person
has a much stronger

involvement than just being
a friend who's interested.

I found the handwriting
extremely disturbed.

So I felt it was
my responsibility

to alert the police that I had
a potential suspect for them.

Martha, do you
think you've talked

to Sean enough that
you could recognize

his voice from a tape?

Yes, I'm pretty sure.

CHIEF ASHTON (ON
TELEPHONE): OK, let

me play a little of this tape
for you on the telephone.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Chief
Ashton played the confession

tape for Martha Woodworth.

She believed the voice was Sean.

MARTHA WOODWORTH:
I knew it was Sean.

In fact, my heart dropped.

It was very chilling to
hear the voice of the person

I'd been speaking to
for months actually

confessing to the crime.

You know, I certainly
did encourage her

to maintain contact with him.

Because, I mean,
at that time, we

thought it was a viable lead.

And it was the best
lead that we had,

and she was the conduit
between Sean/Don

and the police department.

What if the killer
commits suicide?

MARTHA WOODWORTH (ON
TELEPHONE): Well, if he--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Police checked out the return

address on Sean's envelope.

It was in Walkersville,
Maryland, the same town

where the call-in
confession had been made.

However, the young man
living at the address

was not named Sean or Don.

Good morning.

As requested by
Frederick City Police--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
At another dead end,

the Frederick Police turned to
local radio stations for help.

The caller claims to
have killed Tracy Lynn

Kirkpatrick, who was brutally
murdered in Frederick one year

ago today.

Authorities encourage
you to listen carefully.

There's a chance someone may
recognize the caller's voice.

MAN (ON TELEPHONE):
Hello, my name is Don--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
After the tape aired,

three people
claimed they thought

they recognized the voice.

Again, the man was
not named Sean or Don,

but he was the young man who
lived at the return address

on the psychic's letter.

Police searched his
home the next day.

Our hopes in serving the
search and seizure warrant

on his person and
obtaining physical evidence

from that suspect was
to send that material

to our forensic lab
and the state lab

and confirm our suspicions that
he was, in fact, the person who

committed this crime.

Unfortunately, the evidence
was examined and reexamined,

and we were unable to confirm
that he was either at the crime

scene that night or
had any particular part

in this criminal act.

OK, I guess.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In the search,

police found many newspaper
clippings about Tracy's murder

but could find no evidence
that the young man knew

Tracy Kirkpatrick personally.

He pled the Fifth
Amendment and refused

to answer any questions.

There has to be someone
that seen something--

someone coming from that
store, running from that store,

or leaving that store--

or heard something.

I just can't imagine something
happening like that and no one

knowing nothing about it.

And the frustrating
part is that we obviously

know somebody killed
her, and we've never

been able to nail it down to the
suspect that definitely did it.

But, I mean, that has been
our pledge to the community

and to the family, that we're
not going to give up until we

do identify that person.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On March 20, 1989,

Tracy Kirkpatrick was
buried in Oak Grove Cemetery

near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The poem she had once
recited for her family

was inscribed on her tombstone.

WOMAN (VOICEOVER): "Remember
me when I am gone away,

gone far away into
the silent land

when you can no more
hold me by the hand.

Yet if you should forget me for
a while and afterward remember,

do not grieve.

For if the darkness and
corruption leave a vestige

of the thoughts that once I
had, better by far that you

should forget and
smile then that you

should remember and be sad."

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Six
decades ago, famed aviator

Amelia Earhart captured
the heart and spirit

of an entire generation
with her courageous

record-breaking flights.

But in 1937, Earhart
became the subject

of one of the most enduring and
fascinating unsolved mysteries.

On May 20, 1937, Amelia and
her navigator, Fred Noonan,

began their attempt
to circumnavigate

the world in a twin-engine
Lockheed Electra.

They never returned.

On July 2, they disappeared
en route to the small South

Pacific island of Howland.

A massive search turned
up no trace of Amelia,

Fred, or their airplane.

Years later, rumors surfaced
that Earhart and Noonan were

taken prisoner by
the Japanese and held

on the island of Saipan.

[non-english speech]

INTERPRETER: This woman was
brought ashore by the Japanese.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Nieves Blas has lived

on Saipan her entire life.

She claims that she witnessed
Amelia Earhart's execution.

Were Amelia Earhart
and Fred Noonan

taken prisoner and executed
on the island of Saipan?

Or did their plane,
in fact, go down

in the vast and unforgiving
waters of the South Pacific?

Shortly after
our broadcast, we

learned of an
intriguing discovery

that may finally solve
the mystery of Amelia

Earhart's disappearance.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In October of 1989,

a 17-member
expedition spent three

weeks on a tiny uninhabited
island called Nikumaroro.

Nikumaroro is 420
miles from Amelia's

destination, Howland island.

The operation was
headed by aviation

archeologist Rick Gillespie.

RICK GILLESPIE: No one ever
really searched on that island

for Amelia Earhart, although
the US navy flew over it

one week after she disappeared.

The pilot in charge
of the flight

saw what he later described
in his official report

as clear signs of
recent human habitation.

What he could not have
known at that time

is there should have been
no one on that island,

no sign of any human
activity on that island.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
expedition found this aluminum

aircraft part,
which may have been

installed in the
Lockheed Electra

by navigator Fred Noonan.

RICK GILLESPIE: The number on
the box positively identifies

it as a navigator's bookcase.

We know there was a
structure of this box's

size and shape installed
aboard the Earhart aircraft.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Tests
performed by the FBI laboratory

in Washington, DC,
conclude that the bookcase

came from a civilian
aircraft and was

manufactured in the
years just prior

to Earhart's disappearance.

What the FBI has told us
doesn't constitute proof.

What it does is constitute
sufficient evidence

to merit a return to
Nikumaroro to find

and photograph the ultimate
proof, the airplane itself.

Rick Gillespie and
the archeological team

plan to return to Nikumaroro.

Using sonar and computer
tracking devices,

they will try to locate Amelia
Earhart's plane in the waters

just off the island.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the
mystery of the legendary Amelia

Earhart will finally be solved.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1976, a 30-year-old jack

of all trades named
Steve Wilson showed

up in Olancha, California.

He was a licensed pilot and
a certified electrician.

He said he had
come from San Diego

but never revealed much
else about his past.

With his rugged good looks
and smooth-talking charm,

Wilson soon made friends
with the local residents.

People liked Steve Wilson.

He could tell you anything
you wanted to hear

and make you believe it.

He was very much involved
with the college.

He liked to lift weights.

He liked to weld.

And when he was around a group
of people that he enjoyed,

he was very friendly and
very fun to be around.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Wilson did occasional odd jobs

on the Cavern Bar Ranch,
a 900,000-acre spread

100 miles west of Death Valley.

The ranch was owned
by Bill Thornburgh,

a prominent horseman.

22-year-old Callie
Thornburgh lived at home

and worked right
alongside her father.

When Steve Wilson
met Callie, he took

an immediate interest in her.

They courted for
nine months and,

with Bill Thornburgh's
blessings,

ran off to Reno to get married.

Dad wanted me to
get married because he

felt that I needed
to have something

other than him and the ranch.

As we were driving to Reno, or
even the day before we left,

I was wishing there was some
way that I could get out of it

or not get married.

But I felt as though I
had made that commitment

and there was no way
to get out of that.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The marriage

was an immediate disaster.

Wilson was abusive
and threatened Callie.

Just two months
after the wedding,

Callie left her husband and
moved back in with her father.

Wilson was no longer welcome
on the Cavern Bar Ranch.

How are you, hon?

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): A few days

later, Callie told her
father that Wilson had been

making threatening phone calls.

I didn't realize
that guy was so crazy.

I'm really afraid.

I don't know what to do.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The threats

sparked a feud between Bill
Thornburgh and Steve Wilson.

Well, I don't like to
say this at all, Callie,

but I really fear for your life.

The guy's a nut.

CALLIE THORNBURGH: Wilson
would call on the phone

and harass us.

And he would say things like, I
will hurt you worse than you've

ever been hurt before.

I will take everything
you love away from you.

You will pay.

You will learn to love me.

You will learn that loving me is
easier than being away from me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
About three weeks

after the breakup, Steve
Wilson showed up at the ranch

to get Callie back.

Callie!

Callie, come out here!

Callie, I want to
talk to you right now!

Come out here!

BILL: What do you want, Wilson?

STEVE: I want to talk to Callie!

She won't talk to you.

Callie, I love you!

Well, she don't love you!

It's over with!

This is between me and Callie!

Get off the ranch!

CALLIE: Why are you
doing this to me?

Just go away!

STEVE: I love you, Callie!

Man, I've had it.

And now, I'm telling you,
Wilson, get off this ranch!

You hear what I'm saying?

CALLIE: No, stop!

It's not worth it, Dad!

CALLIE THORNBURGH: I grabbed
my dad and grabbed the gun

and said, no, don't shoot him.

It's not worth it.

You know, I didn't want my
father and Wilson to get

into any kind of a
confrontation with each other,

because I was afraid that
Wilson would hurt my dad.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
May 29, 1979.

At 6:00 AM, Bill Thornburgh
left the ranch house

to do his morning chores
and never returned.

When I got there,
he wasn't there.

And so I waited for about,
oh, 15 to 20 minutes,

and he never showed.

I thought something was wrong,
because he was always on time.

Dad?

CALLIE THORNBURGH (VOICEOVER):
And so I walked out

to the water lines,
and I found his truck

with his every
morning cup of coffee

sitting on the dashboard,
and it was still hot.

Dad?

Dad?

Dad?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Bill Thornburgh

was never seen again.

Steve Wilson had
also disappeared.

Seven months passed.

Then on Christmas Eve 1979, a
teenager riding his dirt bike

through the desert 45 miles
south of the ranch house

made a grisly discovery.

DEPUTY LEON BOYER: A
teenage boy on a dirt bike

had been over in
the Sand Canyon area

and had come across the
skeletal remains of a body.

The boy knew his parents
wouldn't believe him

if he told them, so he
actually took the head

and rode back to his house.

And at that time, his parents
called the sheriff's office,

and they went out
and investigated.

With the evidence at
the scene, the clothing

and different articles,
it was immediately

known that it was Bill
Thornburgh's body,

and all the evidence
led to Steve Wilson.

I believe he vented
a lot of his rage

at Bill up and to
the point where he

took him out and murdered him.

Another year and a half
passed, and Steve Wilson

was still on the run.

Then in 1981, he was
spotted by a game

warden in Kodiak, Alaska,
and was subsequently

arrested in Las Vegas.

He pled guilty to
first-degree murder

and received a
sentence of 25 years

to life at Folsom
Prison in California.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Folsom Prison

is a maximum security facility
housing many violent killers.

When Steve Wilson
arrived, there had

not been an escape in 15 years.

Wilson immediately went to
work ingratiating himself

to the officers
and administrators.

Mr. Martin, good
morning to you, sir.

How you doing, Steve?

Listen, a little
favor I'd like to ask,

if you could help me out.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): He joined

the in-house work program
and used his charm

on those who could help him.

I'd be a big help
to you in the office.

I mean, much more than out
here sweeping up and stuff.

Steve was a model prisoner.

I have 30 years in
this career of mine,

and I would have to say that
this guy is the greatest

clerk I've ever had.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Before
long, Wilson became the clerk

in charge of shipping.

It is one of the most coveted
inmate jobs in the prison,

with the least supervision and
the most freedom of movement.

- Hey, Larry.
- Hey, Steve.

How you doing?

Good.

Hey, look at invoice 1403.

THEODORE C. ZINK: When he
became a clerk in the warehouse

adjacent to the metal factory
and the license plate factory,

but his job would entail him
being in all different areas

of the warehouse, picking
up inventories, picking

up invoices, work orders.

So for him to be
in a certain area

at any time would
not be unusual,

would not be significant.

And if he wasn't there, it would
not be significant, either.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Two years passed.

Prison officials had no idea
that during that entire time,

Wilson was plotting a way out.

At 8:30 AM on August
3, 1984, while Wilson

was working near
the loading dock,

he put his escape
plan into effect.

INMATE: Hey!

GUARD: What is your problem?

He ran into me.

Listen, I told you about
this safety last week.

INMATE: It was his fault.

GUARD: Watch it!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): When
the truck was fully loaded,

the officers sealed the door
shut, unaware that Wilson had

enlisted other inmates
to create a diversion

and help him make his escape.

Wilson's meticulous
planning had worked.

Nobody noticed that he'd
left the loading dock.

THEODORE C. ZINK:
It's my opinion

that Steve Wilson was
looking for the weakest link

in our security to get out.

I think he was planning this
at least well over a year ahead

of time.

He was an intelligent
individual.

And when you have vehicles going
in and out of a secure area,

that's your weakest link.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The escape plan

was modeled almost exactly
after the last successful escape

from Folsom in 1969,
15 years earlier.

Authorities believe that as soon
as the truck left the prison

grounds, Wilson cut a hole
in the roof using tin snips

he had stolen from
the prison metal shop.

Just minutes later,
the truck pulled

into the local bowling alley.

When the truck's driver went
inside for a cup of coffee,

Wilson squeezed through the
hole he'd cut and disappeared.

CALLIE THORNBURGH: Having
Wilson on the loose

is very hard for me, because
I can never really relax.

I don't like being
alone, and I'm always

looking around all the corners.

I-- I'm constantly in fear.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Before Steve Wilson

was sent to Folsom
Prison, he was interviewed

on videotape by a psychiatrist.

I can't really say I
was thinking anything.

I can't say that I
was planning to kill

him, that I wasn't planning
to kill him, or anything.

I just turned in and drove
straight to the grave.

DETECTIVE: Well, who was
driving at that point?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Next, the poignant mystery

of an American sailor whose
ship was sunk by the Nazis.

He was later photographed
on a hospital ship

and never seen again.

Most of us are familiar
with the heartbreaking stories

of American soldiers still
missing in action in Vietnam

and the anguish and uncertainty
their families face.

It's astonishing to think that
there are other families who've

been carrying that same terrible
burden ever since World War II.

Yet along with that
burden of despair

comes a miracle of hope.

This is a story of one
American sailor's family

and their steadfast
dream of reunion.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Frank Joseph

Bloomer was born on October
12, 1921, in Zeigler, Illinois.

The younger of two sons, he
loved the outdoors, especially

swimming and fishing.

When World War II broke out,
Frankie enlisted in the Navy,

against his parents' wishes.

Frankie Bloomer served as a
radio technician aboard the USS

"Rowan," a destroyer operating
in the Mediterranean Sea.

On September 11, 1943, just
off the coast of Italy,

a German U-boat
targeted the "Rowan."

Its torpedo hit home, and the
"Rowan" sank in less than a

minute.

202 American
sailors were killed.

Reported missing in action
was 22-year-old radioman

third class Frankie Bloomer.

His parents heard
that the "Rowan"

was sunk on their car radio.

In a short time,
they were notified

that he was missing in action.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Incredibly, less than a week

later, Mrs. Jane
Bloomer saw a newspaper

article with this
photograph of three

survivors of the USS "Rowan."

She recognized the man in the
middle as her son Frankie.

I know this is him.

Look.
Look at this.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
She immediately contacted

her other son's wife, Dorothy.

The two women compared
the newspaper photograph

with pictures of Frankie.

Yes, see?

I noticed that, too.

Oh, it is him.

DOROTHY BLOOMER: When I
first saw the newspaper

picture of the three
survivors, I was

positive the one was Frankie.

It had characteristics
that he had, features,

and I knew it was Frankie.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Jane Bloomer

took the photographs to a local
mortician who was an expert

at photo identification.

See how he's
holding his arm there?

Did he ever break his
arm, maybe as a child?

Yes, he did.

I would say that these two
men are absolutely the same.

Are you sure?

From my observation
of this evidence,

I definitely would conclude
they're one and the same.

Thank you.

DOROTHY BLOOMER (VOICEOVER):
When the mortician told

my mother-in-law that he felt
this picture was of Frankie,

it gave her a lot more hope.

She wrote to the
American Red Cross

to see if they could help her,
and they said they got all

their information from
the War Department

and that they could not
find any information

that she did not already have.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Frankie's mother

never stopped believing
that her son was alive.

When Mrs. Bloomer
died in 1971, she

passed her hope to
a new generation,

her granddaughter Janie.

As a very small
girl, the first time

I can remember
hearing or finding

out about my Uncle Frankie
was at my grandma's house.

I noticed the picture
sitting on the mantle.

I went over and I
asked my grandma.

I said, well, who is this?

And she said, this is
your Uncle Frankie.

Why haven't I ever met him?

MRS. BLOOMER: Well, he went
into the Navy a long time ago.

He just hasn't come back
yet, but I'm sure he will.

JANIE BLOOMER: I would say that
my grandmother and grandfather

lived with this haunting
feeling of never

knowing if he was alive or
dead until the day they died.

I think my grandparents
would commemorate

Frankie's birthday in different
ways from year to year.

It never went forgotten.

I can recall a time when we
were over at my grandmother's

house to eat dinner,
and there happened

to be a cake on the table.

And I asked why there
was a cake there,

and she told me that
it was because it

was Frankie's birthday.

Where is he?

He's away just now.

When is he gonna be back?

I don't know, Janie.

I don't know.

I'm searching to find
the answer whether he

is alive or dead so that I
don't end up the same way

that my grandparents did.

Because they both
died not knowing

the real truth of whether
he was alive or dead.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): 12 years

ago, Janie's parents erected a
memorial headstone for Frankie.

JANIE BLOOMER: I do go to
the grave occasionally,

and our family is all buried
in the same proximity.

It's kind of strange though when
I look at my Uncle Frankie's

grave marker and know
that he's not in there

and think of the possibility
that he could be walking

a street somewhere, yet
there's a marker here

with his name on it.

For a young women to
be pregnant and unmarried

is nearly always a disturbing
and unsettling prospect.

In 1965, Judith Hyams, a
22-year-old medical technician

from Coral Gables,
Florida, found herself

in that difficult predicament.

With nowhere else to turn,
Judith Hyams apparently decided

to have an illegal abortion.

It was a decision that probably
led to her disappearance

and, quite possibly, her death.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Judith Hyams learned she

was pregnant in August of 1965.

If you'll just sign your
name and address here.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The name

she gave for her pregnancy
test was B. Kenney, evidence

that she may have been trying
to keep her condition a secret.

Just walk down the hall, and
the first door to your right

is the lab.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Judy never said anything
to me about the fact

that she might
have been pregnant.

She never even told me
that she went to have

a test, a pregnancy test.

She called me I guess the day
that she was going to have

the abortion, if that is
what happened, to tell

me that she was going shopping.

She was leaving work
early and going shopping.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The day

she disappeared, Judith went
to her bank and withdrew $300.

She told her friends that
she was going to buy a watch.

Police believe that instead
Judith used the money

for an illegal abortion.

We were able to determine that
she contacted a close friend

of hers who helped arrange an
abortion through the suspect,

Dr. George Hodjou.

And through that, a date
and time and a price

were set for it.

Judith made the arrangements
to get the money.

And the last time
she was seen, we

feel that she was on her
way to get this abortion.

Get plenty of rest.

You'll be fine in no time, huh?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
George Hodjou

was a Hungarian
immigrant who posed

as an accredited physician.

According to police, Hodjou
operated an illegal abortion

clinic in Coral Gables.

Judy?

MARILYN JACKSON (VOICEOVER):
Having an abortion,

I don't think she really
had any other choice,

because nobody in those days
would have a child and keep it.

It just wasn't done,
not in the group

that she was friendly with.

Julie?

Judy.

Judy.

Right through here, huh?

MARILYN JACKSON: A
lot of people have

said that what happened
to her was that she

died having an abortion.

Judy was a medical
lab technician.

She had a lot of
medical knowledge.

I find it hard to
believe that she could

have died having an abortion.

I mean, surely she
would have known.

She was intelligent enough to
know to go for help someplace.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Judith Hyams disappeared

on September 14, 1965.

Three weeks later, a rental
car registered in her name

was found 650 miles away
in Atlanta, Georgia.

On the back seat
were traces of blood.

Unfortunately, the car had
sat there for two or three

days before it was found.

And then by the time we were
able to conduct any crime scene

on it, the car had been
handled by other people,

other police agencies.

And by the time it got back to
Dade County to be processed,

whatever crime scene
existed was totally ruined.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
A local resident

had spotted a man in his
30s parking the vehicle.

He removed what appeared to
be a duffel bag from the trunk

and then left the area.

This man has never
been identified.

Three months later,
George Hodjou was arrested

for impersonating a physician.

George Hodjou?

Yes.

Coral Gables Police.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
He jumped bail

and has not been seen since.

Perjury charges against
him are still on the books,

and police speculate he may know
what happened to Judith Hyams.

Shortly after Hodjou's
escape, police

ended their investigation
into Judith's disappearance.

The Judith Hyams case soon
faded from local memory.

But 25 years later,
the investigation

would be reopened thanks
to a bizarre series

of events that began with
a police narcotics lecture

in Nebraska.

Capt. Chuck Scherer of the
Coral Gables Police Department

was unfamiliar with
the Hyams case.

In 1990, Scherer had
a speaking engagement

at a police academy 200 miles
west of Omaha, Nebraska.

The lecture itself
was uneventful,

and Scherer returned home.

It was then that he received
a phone call from the past.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Two days

after the Nebraska
lecture, Capt. Scherer

received a long-distance
phone call at his office

in Coral Gables.

[phone rings]

Hello?
MAN (ON TELEPHONE): Hello.

Is this Capt. Scherer?

Yes, it is.

What can I do for you?

MAN (ON TELEPHONE): My name is--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The caller identified himself

as Steve Brown, the
host of a popular radio

talk show in Omaha.

He said an anonymous
caller had given

him information on the
disappearance of Judith Hyams.

I told Mr. Brown that I
wasn't familiar with the case

and I'd have to research
it and get back to him.

I asked him for his
phone number and if he

knew how to get back in
touch with this person that

had called the radio talk show.

He said, yes, he did know
how to get back to him,

and he gave me
two phone numbers.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
A day later, Capt. Scherer

called Steve Brown in Nebraska.

STEVE BROWN: He said, well,
regarding your call to me,

I have dug up the
information that you needed,

and I have it for you.

And I said, excuse me?

Because this is a
call out of the blue.

I didn't know who the man
was or could not imagine

what he was talking about.

He was totally surprised.

He'd never heard of me,
never knew anything about it,

and denied adamantly
that he was the one

that made the phone calls.

No, no.

That's right, that's
my home number.

It's my private unlisted number.

Where-- who gave you that?

When he gave me my own
unlisted home phone number,

I began to think
through the people that

come to mind who have
that telephone number,

thinking they could have called.

And no one has yet
come to mind who

would make such a phone
call without telling

me about it claiming to be me.

Well, now, I'm confused.

I don't know what to think.

Why would a 25-year-old case
surface all of a sudden out

of Omaha, Nebraska,
when, in fact, I've

never been to Omaha, Nebraska,
in my life prior to this time

and had no knowledge or
anything about the case?

I never mentioned the case
whatsoever the whole time

we were out there for the simple
reason I really didn't even

know about the case
to give anybody

any information or anything.

[phone rings]

Good evening, Coral
Gables Police Department.

Capt. Scherer?

One moment.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Two days

later, Capt. Scherer received
another unusual phone call.

Hello, Capt. Scherer.

Judy Hyams is alive,
and she lives in Omaha.

Who is this, please?

Judy Hyams is alive,
and she lives in Omaha.

Who is this?

Hello?

Who is this?

My gut feeling is that
something is going on

to bring this case
back up 25 years later,

and it very possibly is
that Judy is, in fact,

living in the Omaha area.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In the fall of 1989,

an article on the Hyams case
appeared in a local newspaper.

Capt. Scherer then received yet
another anonymous phone call.

Hello, Capt. Scherer.

CAPT. CHUCK SCHERER (VOICEOVER):
The third phone call

that I received was from a
man that identified himself

as an informant for the FBI.

Would you give me
your name, please?

CAPT. CHUCK SCHERER: He
refused to give me his name

at that time, but he said that
he had just spent several weeks

with Hodjou over in
Budapest, Hungary,

and he gave me the phone number.

I contacted Interpol, and our
Interpol through their Budapest

Interpol determined that the
phone number that he gave me

indeed comes back to the
same name of the suspect

at that time, the
doctor that supposedly

performed the abortion.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Police have yet

to locate George
Hodjou in Hungary,

but they feel it
is highly unlikely

that he was responsible
for the phone calls.

Judy Hyams is alive,
and she lives in Omaha.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The only real evidence

that Judith is still alive has
come from the mysterious phone

calls.

Hi, my name is Steve Brown.

I'm a radio talk show
host in Omaha, Nebraska.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Police
have searched the Omaha area

but have found no trace
of her whereabouts.

Who placed the
anonymous phone calls?

If they are telling the truth,
where is Judith Hyams today?

Did she have an abortion
and die as a result?

Or did she just disappear?

The only possible
scenario that I can see

is that if, in fact, she is,
she didn't want the family

to know about the supposed
abortion at the time,

and she just disappeared
and, in fact,

has been missing for
25 years, not wanting

her family to know about it.

I'd like to believe
that she's someplace

and that she could be found
or that she'd come back

or that we'd know
that she's all right.

I guess my personal theory
is it's hard to believe

that she would be dead.

But I can't understand,
if she's alive,

why she wouldn't contact
somebody after all this time.

After all, there's
no more stigmas left.

Why wouldn't she come back?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1980, two women in Texas

had a strange encounter
with an unidentified object

on a desolate highway
outside of Houston.

Within hours, they were stricken
with mysterious illnesses which

continue to plague them today.

A genuine UFO, a military
operation, or something

new and unexplained?

Join me next time
for another edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]