All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S04E04.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

BROADCASTER: 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.

HOST: Judge John C.
Fairbanks is a respected

pillar of his community.

Residents of Newport,
New Hampshire

regularly turn to him
when they needed help.

No one had any idea that,
all the while, the judge

was quietly robbing them blind.

In 1988, at a lonely
roadside service center,

a young woman
courageously fought

off a brutal unknown assailant.

A surprise attack
carried all the earmarks

of a serial killing.

Now authorities have
constructed a chilling

psychological
portrait of a man who

may be responsible for the
murders of seven women.

When Sue Scribner
was just 13, she

learned of an astonishing
family secret.

In 1942, her mother
gave birth to twins

and then gave them away.

Perhaps you can
help in Sue's search

for her long lost
brother and sister.

And a heart warming update.

Thanks to our
broadcast, a father

and daughter who have never
met finally found each other.

Join me for another edition
of Unsolved Mysteries.

[theme music]

HOST: Claremont, New
Hampshire, May 1984.

17-Year-old Bernice
Courtemanche sets

off for her boyfriend's house.

She's never heard from again.

This particular killer, I
feel, does a lot of driving.

And I think what he is
doing is selecting sites

that are low risk for him.

Can you hang on just a minute?

There's this guy that keeps
driving back and forth

and is making me
a little nervous.

Let me just--

HOST: Two months later,
27-year-old Ellen Fried,

a registered nurse,
also from Claremont,

calls her sister
from a payphone.

She, too, is never
heard from again.

Rather than stalking
a particular victim,

I don't believe any of
these women themselves

were pre-selected as victims.

He selects sites.

And he goes from site to site.

HOST: 18 Months later, the
skeletal remains of Ellen Fried

were found in an
isolated area eight

miles outside of Claremont.

Bernice Courtemanche's
decomposed body

would turn up in the
same woods one mile away.

Then, just over a
year later, the body

of yet another young
woman, Barbara Agnew,

was found on an isolated
Hillside in Hartland, Vermont.

It was becoming more and more
difficult to ignore what seemed

to be a chilling pattern.

Police estimate there
may be as many as 100

serial killers living
among us on our streets

and in our neighborhoods.

They are cool and
calculating, choosing

victims indiscriminately
with little or no remorse

for their actions.

The overwhelming
task for authorities

is to determine how
the serial killer

thinks and hopefully learn where
and when he might strike again.

One such investigation
is currently

underway in New England.

Since 1978, the bodies
of seven young women

have been discovered within a
50 mile radius along the New

Hampshire/Vermont border.

Police believe that
six of the seven women

were abducted and taken
to a remote, wooded areas

where they were murdered.

All of the victims suffered
similar stab wounds.

And police began to suspect
that the killings were the work

of the same individual.

I wondered If you'd take
a look through these reports

and give us your opinion on
whether or not you feel one--

HOST: With no witnesses and
little physical evidence,

investigators are
at a standstill.

As a last resort, the New
Hampshire State Police

brought in criminal
psychologist John Philpin

to develop a profile
of the killer.

Give us your opinion
on what you think.

My approach is to gather as
much of the same information

that the police use
in the very beginning,

police reports of the crime
scene, autopsy reports,

autopsy photographs.

Every bit of
information that would

be available typically
to the investigators,

that's what I would begin with.

Profiling is
something that you

just, from law enforcement
standpoint, have a belief in it

works.

It's not so scientific
that it is absolute.

It's not going to tell you
this is the individual.

But it does give you
the type of individual

that you can be looking for.

If you have a suspect,
it can tell you

whether or not you're
on the right avenue

or the right approach.

JOHN PHILPIN: In
the beginning, I

did make several trips
out to the locations

where Bernice and
Ellen were killed.

And the first few
times that I went

was simply to have something
of a feel for the place.

When I was there,
what could I hear?

What could I smell?

What was the place like?

What would it have
felt like to be there?

How could this crime,
this very bizarre

dance between two
people, have been

choreographed in this space?

How could it have happened?

When I get to the point where
I'm beginning to develop

some feel for what is going
on in the mind of a killer,

I'll go back to the scenes,
using what I have learned

and simply go through what
might have happened just

as though I were him.

I'll do anything you like.

JOHN PHILPIN: What
am I hearing then?

Do I hear the noise of
a river going by or is

that blocked out?

Am I so focused on the
activity of killing

that I don't hear it?

What does it tell me about
this person's ability

to perceive in terms of sound,
in terms of what I'm feeling,

in terms of what
I'm able to see?

Part of what goes
on with this killer

is that he has a
very strong need

to take these women away alive,
transport them to the site

that he has pre-selected.

During which time,
clearly, he owns them.

They are his to do with,
whatever he wishes.

And part of that, I think,
is this process of scaring

the daylights out of them.

HOST: Midnight,
August 8th, 1988,

Winchester, New Hampshire.

A 23-year-old woman named
Jane was on her way home

from a county fair when she
stopped for a soft drink.

It is a hot, muggy evening and
Jane was seven months pregnant.

If there was a serial
killer on the loose,

this was a perfect setting
for him to find a victim.

Is that phone working?

Uh, I don't know.

Hey, hey, hey.

Come on, leave me alone.
No!

No, wait!

No!

Don't!

OK, if you want to
be that way, come on.

- OK, OK.
- Come on!

Just don't hurt me.
I'm pregnant, OK?

Please don't hurt me.
- Come on.

What do you want?

You hurt my
girlfriend real bad.

I didn't hurt anybody.

It's a Massachusetts
car, isn't it?

No, it's New Hampshire.

It's New Hampshire.

HOST: At some point,
Jane tried to break away.

And the killer's apparent
plans to abduct her went awry.

JANE: He had walked all
the way to his vehicle.

And by this time, I was
rolled over to my belly

and started getting up
on my hands and knees.

And when he was
driving by me, he

just looked right down at me.

He just looked at me
and just kept driving.

I can feel the blood
rushing out of me

and I just thought
I was going to die.

I kept telling myself,
Jane, you're going to die.

That's all I could think of.

And I just felt like I had
to get to my friend's house

to get help.

HOST: Although Jane had
been stabbed or slashed

a total of 18 times,
she somehow managed

to crawl back to her car
and drive to a friend's

house two miles away.

JANE: When I left
the parking lot,

I felt like I was going fast.

I was driving.

I was in shock, of
course, so I'm really not

sure how fast I was driving.

But evidently pretty fast
because, before I knew it,

I was right behind him.

As I was behind him,
all I could think about

was he was going to stop or
he was going to turn around

and follow me.

He left me for dead.

I know he left me for
dead, no doubt about that.

HOST: When Jane reached
her friend's house,

her attacker drove on.

Fred.

Fred!

Jane?

HOST: Up the road, the
attacker turned back.

He stopped momentarily in
front of the house then

disappeared into the night.

Vital signs at this
time of are BP 90 over 60.

We have a pulse--

HOST: Miraculously,
none of the stab wounds

hit vital organs on Jane's
seven-month-old fetus.

We're going to take
you to the hospital.

Two months later, she gave
birth to a healthy baby girl.

If you feel comfortable
with your eyes closed,

if you choose to
close your eyes--

HOST: Jane agreed to undergo
hypnosis with John Philpin

and was able to provide a
graphic eyewitness account

of her terrifying ordeal.

A very peaceful,
very calm feeling.

JOHN PHILPIN: From
what Jane said

during the hypnotic session,
it became clear to me

that she was not stopped.

Her decision to go to the fair
was a last minute decision.

She had no sense
of anyone following

her either going to the fair,
while she was at the fair,

and leaving the fair.

She was able to supply very
specific details of this man

getting out of the car and
coming up on the other side,

making some remark
about the telephone.

Is that phone working?

Hey, leave me alone!
Leave me alone!

Get away!
Get away!

JOHN PHILPIN: This man
is very deliberate,

very methodical, very calm.

We know especially from
the graphic description

that Jane provided for us
that he doesn't get rattled,

that he's very much in control
and very patient about what

it is he's doing.

You hurt my
girlfriend real bad.

I didn't hurt anybody.

JANE: He seemed so calm,
so cool about everything

throughout the whole thing.

I mean, he never got mad.

He never showed nervousness.

He just was so calm.

And everything was just as
if it didn't bother him.

JOHN PHILPIN: What
Jane described

was a tremendous struggle,
a tremendous amount

of resistance on her part, the
desire to protect her baby.

But at some point
during the assault,

it was as though she had done
everything that she could do

and she couldn't do anymore.

And she stopped struggling.

And it was at that point
that the assault stopped.

It seemed as though the
greater her resistance,

the more determined he was,
That as soon as her resistance

began to wane, the attack ended.

JOHN PHILPIN: As you begin to
drive south on the highway,

Jane, what do you see?

JANE: I'm Coming up behind
another car and it's--

there he is.

That's him.

That's him.

JOHN PHILPIN: The
license plate, Jane.

Focus in on the license plate.

It's-- it's dirty.

Six, six, two, um,
it's too dirty.

I can't see it.

That's a picture
that you can hold.

You can hold that picture.

After getting the
description, one

of the things that
we decided to do

was see if we could
identify this Jeep.

In order to do that,
we enlisted the help

of the state of
Vermont, the state

of New Hampshire, obviously,
and the state of Massachusetts.

We generated a computer print
out of all Jeep Wagoneers

registered at that time
in those three states

matching the description
that Jane had given us.

Jane described it as
being a '75 to an '85.

HOST: Police narrowed
the search to 1,350 Jeeps

throughout New England.

Unfortunately, none of the
leads pinpointed a suspect.

Once again, the investigation
has stalled but with one

crucial difference.

The police still do not
know who the killer is.

But thanks to Jane's
eyewitness description,

they do believe they
know what he looks like

and how he thinks.

I think he is a
loner type of person,

prefers his own thoughts,
his own fantasies,

doesn't like intrusion.

I think his view of women is
extremely negative to the point

of hostility, to the
point of viewing them

as arrogant, intrusive
types of people

so that I could see him
making an adjustment that we

might call within the
realm of the normal.

But it would require, I
think, very limited exposure

to groups of people.

JANE: I just feel really
fortunate to be alive.

But I just wish he could
be found so it wouldn't

happen to somebody else.

And maybe they won't be so
fortunate like I was to live.

[music playing]

HOST: Next, in a
poignant update,

a grown woman meets her
father for the first time.

By the power vested in me, I
now pronounce you man and wife.

You may kiss the bride.

HOST: On November 11,
1958, 17-year-old Patsy

Summers married her high school
sweetheart in El Paso, Texas.

At the time, only
Patsy and her husband

knew that she was pregnant.

Seven months later, Patsy's
daughter Jeannie was born.

From a very early age, I felt
very different and separated

from my family.

And no one intentionally made
me feel that way, I don't think.

But it was just a knowledge
I had that was, I guess,

in my subconscious.

HOST: After her
mother's death in 1983,

Jeannie learned of
a shocking secret.

A passage in Patsy's
diary revealed

that the man Jeannie
had known as her father

was not her father at all.

The diary detailed how Patsy
had gone to a local park

after an argument
with her fiance.

There she met a
young enlisted man

stationed at nearby Fort Bliss.

His name was Duncan.

Patsy was immediately smitten
by the handsome, young soldier.

And they soon began dating.

She never told Duncan about
her fiance or her fiance

about Duncan.

My mother, she thought of
Duncan as a very kind person

and even stated that, of all
the people that she had known,

he was the kindest
person she had ever met.

HOST: Six months later,
Patsy Summers was pregnant.

She was sure that
Duncan was the father.

But fearing her
family's reaction,

she decided to marry
her fiance as planned.

There's something I
want to talk to you about.

Patsy, what is it?

HOST: Patsy told Duncan that she
never wanted to see him again.

He never knew that he was
the father of her child.

My firm belief is that
secrets only cause people harm

and cause a lot of suffering.

And that's why, for me,
the truth has to come out

and I have to know
who Duncan is.

The night that the
Jeannie's story aired,

a woman named
Suzanne Gilmore was

watching our
broadcast at her home

in lake Wiley, South Carolina.

At the time, Susan's husband,
Duncan, was fast asleep.

Jeannie's mother had
written in her diary

that he was the
sweetest, kindest person

that she had ever met.

I just said, that's My Duncan.

I knew that it was my Duncan.

And the next thing I
knew, my wife woke me up.

And she said, were you ever
stationed in El Paso, Texas

at Fort Bliss when
you were in the Army?

And I said, yeah.

She said, were
you there in 1958?

I said, yeah, I
was there in 1958.

And she said, did you
ever know a Patsy Summers?

And I said, yeah, I
knew Patsy Summers.

Did you sleep with her?
And he said, what?

What?
What?

He just kind of came awake.

And I said, it's very important.

Did you sleep with her?

And he said--

Well, yeah.

She said, congratulations.

You have a daughter and
she's looking for you.

And he just came
awake like a shadow.

He was like, she's
looking for me?

And I said, yes.

As soon as I heard
some of the details,

I knew immediately
she was my daughter.

And I didn't want to say
it was matter of fact,

but I just knew that
she was my daughter

and that we had to be
together and we had to see her

and I had to respond.

HOST: Nine days and dozens
of phone calls later,

Duncan Gilmore and
his wife Suzanne

arrived in Houston, Texas.

On May 3rd, 1991, father and
daughter met for the first time

in their lives.

Hi.

Hi, honey.

When I hugged my dad, it was
a combination of being really,

really happy, but also
there was a little sadness

there that so many
years have gone by

and that we've missed out
on each other's lives.

I love you.

I love you, too.

I will always
remember Jeannie coming

to the door and, for the
first time, seeing my daughter

and holding her.

HOST: The day was
made even more special

when Duncan met his only
grandchildren, Joshua

and Justin, for the first time.

When I saw my boys playing
catch with their grandpa,

it just felt right.

They needed a grandpa.

And I can't think of a better
grandpa for them to have.

Push me.

Never could I have
hoped in a million years

or prayed 1,000 prayers for this
to turn out as well as it has.

And he's turned out to
be everything that I

thought he was going to be.

And tomorrow and
the day after, I'll

now have a dad who loves me and
wants to be a part of my life.

HOST: When we return,
a respected judge

has been accused of stealing
more than $10 million

from his friends and neighbors.

[music playing]

HOST: Newport, New
Hampshire, population 7,000,

reflects the values that
America was built upon,

a small town where successive
generations are born and grow

old, where everyone
knows everyone

else, where relationships are
founded on honesty and trust.

But on a quiet morning
in May of 1989,

a crack appeared
in that foundation.

Judge John Fairbanks,
a lifelong resident,

asked his court clerk to
find a replacement for him

and left town.

At the time, no one
imagined that Newport

would never be the same again.

Judge John C. Fairbanks
was a respected jurist,

a successful
attorney whose family

lived in the Newport,
New Hampshire

area for three generations.

On June 6, 1989, residents
were astonished by the news

that Fairbanks had
resigned his judgeship

and abandoned his law practice.

A few days later, the
shock turned to outrage.

This pillar of the community
was apparently the worst kind

of thief, a man who has
stolen more than $10 million

from his friends and neighbors.

Do you understand that
you have a right to present

evidence on your behalf?

HOST: For a 33 years,
Judge Fairbanks

presided over the
district court of Newport.

Thank you.

I'll get to that later.

HOST: Because Newport
is a small community,

Fairbanks' court
duties were limited.

And he was able to maintain
a lucrative law practice

specializing in probate law.

John was a nice guy.

Everybody in the
community liked him.

Nobody had a bad word for him.

He just loved his
family and loved

his children, his
grandchildren, just a great guy.

Fairbanks was honest.

I mean, that was his reputation.

You might knock him
for other things.

But the one thing everybody
always said about John

Fairbanks was he was honest.

So these people had
complete faith and trust

and confidence in him.

HOST: When a client
died, Judge Fairbanks

would visit his widow, not
just to offer condolences

but to relieve her of
her financial worries.

Good morning.

Come right in.

Hello, Jean.

Nice of you to see me.

My husband grew up with
Judge Fairbanks here in town.

The families were very friendly.

And through the years,
anything pertaining to law,

he would go to Judge Fairbanks.

John Fairbanks was settling
in my uncle's estate.

And then, of course,
I had the estate

and I had an income tax to do.

I knew him, so I went back
to him for income taxes.

And I went to him every year
for doing my income tax.

HOST: Patricia Sawyer had been
coming to the judge for advice

since 1958.

In August of 1987, she
agreed to turn over

her stock certificates
to Fairbanks

so he could inventory
her holdings.

He called me on the
phone and asked about,

could I get the stocks that day?

I'll take that, Patricia.

Judge Fairbanks and I had
talked about doing an estate

plan and changing my will.

So many people had died.

Now, If you just lay
all that out on my desk--

When we got to Judge
Fairbanks' office,

he said he would inventory
them and he would let

me know how much they
were worth and we would

get together and make the ill.

Now, let's see we have here.

Is this everything, Patricia?

- This is everything.
- You're sure?

Yes.

Your uncle didn't have any
deposits in any other banks?

No.

PATRICIA SAWYER: He
never got back to me.

And I prodded John a few times.

But he was awfully busy
and he never got to it.

And then we'll be
able to plan the estate.

Patricia, you don't have any
idea how much this is worth,

do you?
- I have no idea.

HOST: October 12th,
1987, Black Monday

on Wall Street,
the repercussions

were felt worldwide, even in
Judge Fairbanks' courtroom.

How fast were you going?

60.

How do you know
you're going 60?

Well, I almost never go--

We'll take a brief recess.

All rise, please?

The stock market crash,
I remember very, very well.

It was the judge's
65th birthday.

He made a couple of
comments about turning 65

is just wonderful.

The Stock market crashes
on your 65th birthday.

The secret of a stock market
crash is not to panic.

Hello, Ed.

Now, what's the problem?

JAN CORLISS: He
said, if he panicked,

that he would lose over
$3 million in the crash--

--one of the other accounts.

JAN CORLISS: --but that
he wasn't going to panic.

He made it through court real
quick and left the building.

But I was real
concerned about him.

His mannerisms were different.

He was very, very
withdrawn that day.

John, when am I going to
be getting some dividends?

Oh, you'll be getting it soon.

HOST: Within a month,
the effects of the crash

had trickled down
to Patricia Sawyer.

I asked him why I wasn't
getting dividend checks.

And he said that, due to
the stock market crash,

my stocks had gone down and he
was turning the dividends back

in to bringing the
stocks up to where

they were before the crash,
before the drop in the stock

market.

And I believed that.

I called Fairbanks in the
spring of '88 because I had

not been receiving accountings.

And it was at that
time that he told me

that he had been spending
my brother's principal.

HOST: John Tweedy had
engaged Fairbanks'

legal guardian for
his brother Richard

after their mother died.

Richard Tweedy is
a schizophrenic

who has been institutionalized
in a New Hampshire hospital

for more than 40 years.

In November of 1988, John Tweedy
insisted that Fairbanks meet

him face-to-face
to discuss concerns

about his brother's holdings.

John, how are you?

How are you, John?
Good to see you.

Well, like you wanted,
I brought the account.

Well, very good.

I'm glad you did.

JOHN TWEEDY: I had
certain questions

to ask him about the estate.

I mean, there was
rhetoric in his response,

but he didn't answer
the questions.

Don't worry about that, John.

Here, I want you to
take a look at this.

Well, I will.

But maybe you can
answer something else.

When did my brother's
estate go into the red?

Well, John, I haven't
got all those figures

up here in my head.

But you come back to my
office later in the week

and I'll lay it all out for you.

JOHN TWEEDY: It was at that
time I found out that 75%

of my father's money was gone.

Why didn't you inform me when
his estate went into the red?

Well, John, I tried to.

But you're a hard man to find.

Now, look.

I've got another appointment.

You come in later in
the week and we'll

take care of everything.

See you later, John.

OK, John.

Take care.

See, if my brother's
estate it was in the red

and he knew my brother's
equity in the real estate,

if he was going to really take
care of my brother's affairs,

he would have notified
me at that time and said,

we have to sell some land.

But he didn't.

Why didn't he?

Well, of course, I was to
find out why he didn't.

HOST: John Tweedy refused
to accept the judge's

explanations about
his brother's estate

and began his own investigation.

I found it that
he had sold stock

and he had underreported what
he had gotten for the stock.

He had underreported what
he'd gotten for dividends.

And after a couple
of weeks of this,

I came up with $20,000
that was missing.

It turned out that was only
a part of what was missing.

But that was all I could
determine from public records.

And it was at that
point I realized

that, well, he was embezzling.

And I've been raised to believe
that when you see a crime

committed, you call the cops.

So I called the cops.

We drove over to
look at Fairbanks'

house here in Newport.

And we saw the house
and we thought,

gee, that's got to be $500,000.

We were aware they
had a home in Concord,

Maine, which is a pretty
expensive area to live,

right on the ocean.

That was worth
$600,000 or $700,000.

And we looked at each other
and said, this guy is a thief.

HOST: Judge Fairbanks' house
of cards was tumbling down.

On June 6, 1989, he
resigned from the bench

and retreated to his
summer home in Maine.

When John Tweedy's
charges were made public,

other disgruntled
clients began to come

forward with their suspicions.

I had no idea
that he was doing

anything underhanded to me until
all this came out that morning.

Judge Fairbanks had taken
several other people,

not only on my account
but others in town.

I wasn't the only one.

He put these stocks into
this stock brokerage firm

as my agent.

And I had never
signed any papers

giving him any authority.

I had never signed my
name on the certificates.

He had done that illegally.

Fairbanks had, in my opinion,
been doing this for so long

that he had milk dried
most of the accounts

that he had been stealing from.

And along came Patricia Sawyer
who had almost a million

in assets that he
got in his hands.

And there was a gold mine.

And he pounced on it.

HOST: Authorities now suspect
that over a 20-year period,

Fairbanks may have stolen
more than $10 million.

As the investigation
reached its climax,

Judge Fairbanks spoke
with Tom Hannigan

from his home in Maine.

I told him that
all I wanted to do

was to have him
produce documents

which would show that
his accounting was

true and correct.

Look, I-- I--

let's keep this as
quiet as possible.

I don't want this to
become a big thing.

We agreed to a meeting.

And then he called me maybe
a week before the meeting

and said that he
had to postpone it.

And I said, OK.

And we set another date.

And then when the
next date came up,

I came over to
Newport, New Hampshire

to interview Fairbanks
and he wasn't there.

HOST: Finally, in
December 20th, 1989,

the judge was indicted
on four counts of theft.

The indictments listed more than
100 checks written by Fairbanks

were transferred money
from client accounts

to Fairbanks' personal accounts.

POLICE DISPATCHER: G-13 G-13.

HOST: The next day,
Fairbanks' pickup truck

was found abandoned
near his house in Maine.

The judge had disappeared
and has not been seen since.

This has affected
my life to the fact

that I wonder what
I'm going to do.

And I'm going to have to sell
land, maybe sell the farm.

And the farm has been
in my family since

the original settlers came from
Massachusetts, the Rothstein's.

Well, I was in total shock.

I still don't think
I've come out of it.

I just can't believe that
anyone could do such a thing.

He had a double life.

He had two totally
separated lives.

And one of them was fine.

One of them was a man
of great integrity,

respected by the community.

And the other was,
well, classical.

He was into all sorts of
things which are very shaky,

very shady, and quite immoral.

And very few, if anybody,
knew the two existed.

[music playing]

HOST: Next, a search
for a set of twins

who were separated
from their family

just after they were born.

[music playing]

HOST: Growing up in the
50s in Redhill, Alabama,

life was slow and easy.

Everyday seemed pretty
much like another.

But when Sue Scribner,
the fifth of 10 children,

was 13 years old, one day held
an extraordinary surprise.

SUE SCRIBNER: : I'll
never forget the day

I came home from church.

It was January, 1957.

Oh, hi, Mom.

SUE SCRIBNER: : My mother
was alone in the house,

which was unusual because the
kids usually were all around.

So what did you do today?

Oh, just got done
reading the paper.

What is this?

SUE SCRIBNER: :
She had written two

names all over the newspaper.

So I ask her about that.

What do those names mean, Mom?

SUE SCRIBNER: : She just
said she'd seen the names

and she was writing it.

Mom, have you been crying?

Yeah, honey, just a little.

SUE SCRIBNER: : When I asked
her why she had been crying,

she told me about
having a boy and a girl

twin that had been adopted.

I think it's time I told you.

Told me what?

SUE SCRIBNER: I was really
surprised because I was 13.

And it's a shock to find
out that you have a brother

and sister that you
didn't know about,

especially when you already have
so many brothers and sisters.

Two years before
you were born,

I gave premature birth to
two twins, a boy and a girl.

HOST: Sue's mother Calista
began to unburden herself.

It had all began in
Winter Garden, Florida

at Orange County
General Hospital.

Slim, hurry.

OK, OK, honey.

Hurry, Slim.

HOST: In January 1942,
Calista went into labor

nearly two months early.

It's starting to come faster.

HOST: She and Sue's
father, Slim Scribner,

were frantic when they
arrived at the emergency room.

We'll have a doctor
with you in just a minute.

Excuse me, but can
somebody please help me?

My-- my wife's going
to premature labor.

- Oh, your doctor's name?
- Doctor Harter.

Dr. Harter.

Orderly, we need a
wheelchair here right away.

Please take her to delivery.

Let me call Dr. Harter.

Step back.

HOST: The twins were
born a short time later.

Calista and Slim named them Paul
and Paula after their doctor,

Paul Harter.

But they're so small.

They're premature.

They'll have some
serious health problems.

We have a heart condition
and a blood disorder.

Are they going
to be OK, doctor?

Well, we think so.

But they will require a great
deal of medical attention.

I asked my mother
why they were adopted.

And she said that they
needed some sort of surgery

for a congenital heart
disease or a heart problem

and that they
couldn't afford that.

I know it's a
difficult decision.

But it's the best
choice for everyone.

SUE SCRIBNER: She said that
Dr. Harter knew someone

perfect to adopt the twins and
that they would be able to pay

for the medical expenses.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Really, I
appreciate everything.

I hope you have a
good life with them.

SUE SCRIBNER: The
twins being adopted, it

just stayed with her forever.

She never got over it.

Before Calista Scribner
left the hospital,

she made a solemn
promise to Dr. Harter

that she would never
search for the twins.

In 1944, she and
Slim were divorced.

Calista remarried and,
with a new husband,

eventually raised 10 children.

After Calista's death
in 1979, her daughter

soon enlisted the entire
family to look for the twins.

But the search went nowhere.

Both Dr. Harter and
Sue's father were dead

and the hospital records sealed.

Then a rusty trunk in an
attic finally yielded a clue.

In 1987, one of Sue's
cousins found a letter

which Calista Scribner
had written to her mother

a short time after
the twins were born.

Sue's cousin was
surprised that the letter

the never mentioned adoption.

In fact, it seemed that
Calista had every intention

of bringing the twins home.

CALISTA SCRIBNER: The
babies are still improving.

The first time they weighed
them at Orange General,

Paula weighed 2 3/4 pounds
and Paul 2 and 1/2 pounds.

They told us the
day before yesterday

that they weighed 3 pounds, 14
ounces and 3 pounds, 11 ounces.

So they're gaining right along.

And they also said that we
might be able to bring them

home by the first of next week.

SUE SCRIBNER: When I read
the letter that mother wrote,

it was almost exactly like
she had told me in 1957.

The only thing that the
letter didn't clear up

was when the twins were adopted.

Because, from the letter,
you can tell that she did not

intend for them to be adopted.

HOST: The discovery
of Calista's letters

sparked new interest
in the twins.

Several newspaper articles
followed and one of them

paid off.

Hello?

HOST: In May of 1980,
one of Sue's nieces

who lives in Mobile,
Alabama received

an anonymous phone call.

--questions.

OK.

The twins are fine.

I knew the family.

They don't know they're adopted.

HOST: The caller seemed
elderly and very emotional.

She said she knew where
Paul and Paula were.

The caller refused to divulge
her relationship with the twins

but did say that she
planned to tell them

they were adopted
on Mother's Day.

--Mother's day.

I'm going to try and tell
them the whole truth.

You'll be hearing from
me in a couple of weeks

or else the twins will
contact you directly.

That's all.

I called everybody in
the family and this is it.

We found the twins.

We're going to hear
from them or whoever

the lady was that called.

And I'm counting the days.

And when the day came
Sunday, I'm counting the hour

when I would not leave home.

But nothing ever happened.

HOST: As a last resort,
Sue wrote an open letter

to the twins which was
published both in Florida

and in Louisiana newspapers.

SUE SCRIBNER: And so, elusive
twins, I still search.

I write letters.

I stare at strangers with
hazel eyes and fair skin.

Yet, should my efforts
end in emptiness,

my voice in oblivion,
I must tell you this.

I have not fell so completely
for I've already found you

once, years ago, chasmed in
that deep, indelible well, that

safe place, our mother's heart.

HOST: 10 days after we
featured this story,

Sue Scribner received
an anonymous call

from one of our viewers who
told her that the twins were

living in Orlando, Florida.

Sue immediately contacted
her brother and sister whose

names are Bruce and Barbara.

The twins had no idea
that they had been adopted

and were shocked to learn
about a side of their family

they never knew existed.

Hello.

HOST: On March 15,
1992, Sue Scribner

met her brother and sister for
the first time in her life.

The joyous reunion brought
together six of the Scribner

children and their families.

SUE SCRIBNER: The very
first time I met them,

I think all of our
knees were shaking.

It is emotional.

But I think we've all
cried enough tears

and we didn't need a lot today.

BRUCE CASHION: So
I think that my new

found family is wonderful.

I think they're
absolutely adorable.

it's like we've known each
other all of our lives

even though we haven't
been around each

more than five hours.

You can lose me for
another 50 years.

SUE SCRIBNER: I can't wait
to get to know them finally.

I'm very excited about it.

And you have all these
questions in your mind.

Gee, what did I miss
out on all these years?

What were they
really like as kids?

She used to be small.

BRUCE CASHION: I
think everybody's

going to get to know each
other, both sides of the family.

And for the country
bumpkins like we are,

it's like a blessing.

SUE SCRIBNER: It doesn't really
matter now what kind of life

any of us had because it's
what's left that counts.

We know where all of
the children are now.

[music playing]

[theme music]

Join me next time for another
edition of Unsolved Mysteries.

[closing music]