All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S04E24.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

ANNOUNCER: 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.

ROBERT STACK: In
November of 1991,

an exuberant high school dance
in Santa Clara California

was marred by
unexpected tragedy when

a 15-year-old boy was struck
down long before his time.

He would die within
an hour, the victim

of a baffling, unknown illness.

The death of Frank Santos
Jr. was the latest blow

for his family, which has been
tormented by an incurable heart

disease for more than 30 years.

Perhaps someone
watching tonight can

finally provide a clue that will
help this courageous family.

Join me for another edition
of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

December 31, 1960.

The American territory
of Guam, 3,000 miles west

of the Hawaiian Islands.

Shortly after midnight,
Donatila Santos

and her 34-year-old husband
Francisco are sound asleep.

DONATILA LEONARDO: Now,
about 1:30 that morning,

he starts snoring, and he
never snored in his life.

You know, ever since
we were married,

I never experienced any snore.

So I start waking him up,
because that's very unusual.

He won't wake up.

[shouting]

I started crying and he
still wouldn't wake up.

I lift him up,
you know, halfway,

and I let him lean against me.

But then all of a sudden,
he took his last breath,

and that was it.

He was gone.

ROBERT STACK: Francisco's
death was initially attributed

to a stroke, but was
later determined to be

the result of heart failure.

Donatila was left to raise
seven young children by herself.

For Donatila Santos,
the death of her husband

was only the beginning.

In the past decade,
five more family members

have fallen to a mysterious,
undiagnosable disease.

Today, Donatila lives in
Yuba City, California.

She hopes that by
presenting her story,

someone will be able
to help identify

this deadly affliction
which has plagued the Santos

family for three generations.

By 1970, Donatila had
remarried and moved

with her children and new
husband to northern California.

Then, in April of 1981, the
Santos family experienced

another sudden tragedy.

27-Year-old Doris,
the youngest daughter,

was found unconscious
in her bedroom.

STEVE SANTOS: She was half on,
half off the bed, you know.

Normally, Doris keeps
herself all covered up.

So I tried to wake her
up, you know, to scoot in,

cover herself up.

She wouldn't-- you know,
she didn't respond.

So I ran over and
I called my mom.

He starts knocking on
my door and says, mom.

Wake up, because
something's wrong.

Doris don't wanna wake up.

Immediately, I jump out of
bed, went into her bedroom,

and I start waking her
up, and she won't wake up.

I told my son, Steve.

I said call the paramedic
and the priest immediately.

ROBERT STACK: Doctors
determined that Doris had died

of acute congestive
heart failure resulting

from the ventricles' inability
to pump sufficient amounts

of blood to the body.

Doctors drew no parallels
between Doris' death

and the condition that
killed her father.

Within two years
of Doris' death,

23-year-old Ronnie,
the baby of the family,

began experiencing chest pains.

At the time, he was
engaged to his high school

sweetheart, Dana.

Ronnie was found to have
a virus of the heart

muscle, which could be
controlled by medication.

I was scared, but
I thought, well,

he's under a good doctor's
care, and things will be fine.

I didn't-- it was not related
to what had happened to Doris,

because it was a virus of
the heart muscle, and hers

was congestive heart failure.

And as far as I knew, his
father died of a stroke.

So they obviously weren't
related in my mind.

ROBERT STACK: By the
following September,

Ronnie and Dana had married.

Under a doctor's
supervision, Ronnie

was able to live a normal,
active life, which included

weekly games of softball.

DANA NOVOTNY: It was a
Monday, and I was sitting out

and talking to a
friend, and they

had played a half of an inning.

They had been out in the
field, and they came in.

There hadn't been much action.

He hadn't been running
around or anything.

He'd just kind of been
fielding a few balls.

Then he came in and he was
standing by the backstop,

talking to a few friends,
leaning on a bat.

Ronnie!

MAN: Let me go call help.

DANA NOVOTNY: He was
groaning, and moaning,

and I couldn't figure out
what was wrong with him.

And I was just standing
there screaming.

All I could do was
scream and point.

I had no idea what
was happening.

Ronnie!

Ronnie!

ROBERT STACK: Ronnie Santos
never regained consciousness.

He was pronounced dead on
arrival at the hospital.

The cause of death,
cardiomyopathy,

an irregular heartbeat,
probably the result

of a viral infection.

I still can't believe
at 24, he was gone.

It's such a shock to think that.

That's just too young.

Too many things to live for.

ROBERT STACK: A year later,
the Santos family was forced

to face yet another funeral.

This time, the victim
was the eldest son,

33-year-old Frank, who
collapsed while sitting

at home watching television.

ANNETTE SOARES: His mother and
I were out running errands,

and we received a phone call.

And I just remember she got
off the phone and she said--

she was in a panic state,
and she said we've got to go.

We've got to go.

Something's wrong.

Something happened to Frank.

DONATILA LEONARDO: Hail
Mary, full of grace.

ANNETTE SOARES: We were
driving back to my house,

and his mother was
on the passenger side

and she was praying, and I saw
the shadows from the lights

of the paramedics truck.

And then it hit me, and I knew.

I knew something was wrong.

I ran into the house and I
stopped right at the dining

room looking into
the family room,

and I saw the paramedics working
on my husband, and I knew.

I knew he was gone.

I was just in a great shock.

I couldn't believe my
other son is leaving.

I-- I told myself,
he cannot leave.

He's my oldest
son, and he cannot.

He's not supposed to die.

But he was gone.

ROBERT STACK: Tragically,
Francisco Santos and three

of his children had
died of heart disease

before reaching the age of 35.

Physicians searched for
answers and soon discovered

that heart disorders had plagued
Francisco's side of the family

for a number of generations.

GEORGE F. VAN HARE:
I think that what's

most mysterious about the
family is the fact that none

of the family members
who died were thought

to have abnormal hearts prior
to dying, and most of them

have had post-mortem
examinations

and there were no
serious problems found

at post-mortem examination.

ROBERT STACK: Frank's
death was also

attributed to
cardiomyopathy, but doctors

were unable to identify
the specific disease

that would soon claim two more
members of the Santos family.

In August of 1987, another
brother, 30-year-old Ralph,

fell asleep on the
sofa and never woke up.

His death was also attributed to
a viral infection of the heart.

He left behind a wife
and two young sons.

Then, in November of 1991,
15-year-old Frank Santos Jr.

was struck down at
a high school dance.

The mysterious malady had
skipped to the next generation.

Frank's mother was
called to the gym she had

now lost a husband and a son.

ANNETTE SOARES: I
walked in and I knew.

Right when I saw him
laying there still

and the paramedics were
administering CPR, I knew.

I knew he was gone.

Today, the pain lingers in our
heart over the loss of Frank.

ROBERT STACK: Frank
Santos Jr. was buried

next to his uncle Ronnie.

Nearby are the
graves of his father,

his Aunt Doris, and
his uncle Ralph.

The funeral was a
time for Steve Santos,

the family's only
surviving son, to reflect

on his own uncertain future.

STEVE SANTOS: I was thinking,
I might be next, you know.

Or is my sister
going to be next?

Or, you know, one of us.

I'm very certain that
this is a problem that

is in the genetic code,
and we have just not

been smart enough to figure out
exactly what this problem is.

It's not like we've seen 100
or 150 families like this

with the exact same
findings that we

can look very, very carefully.

This is a very
unusual situation.

DONATILA LEONARDO: Despite the
years of pain and hardship,

and despite the loss
of 6 loved ones,

the Santos family has
remained remarkably resilient,

drawing from each
other the strength

and hope that modern medicine
has been unable to provide.

STEVE SANTOS: It just brought us
that much closer to each other.

Now I have a
three-month-old daughter.

You know, I fear
for them just like I

fear for myself and my sisters.

You know, now that it's
hit their generation,

I fear it very much.

Every day, I think about my
children and grandchildren.

What's going to happen?

And I'm hoping and praying
that they won't die.

I just hope that this
is going to stop.

It's enough already.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Next, controversy
surrounds a fatal car fire.

Was it an accident or murder?

[music playing]

On October 25, 1987 in the small
town of New Rockford, North

Dakota, an angry confrontation
erupted between Kathy Bonderson

and her husband over
their teenage son who had

gone out without permission.

KATHY: What am I supposed to do
about missing a night at work?

ROBERT: You're the
one that grounded

him in the first place.

Somebody has to set
some limits for the boy,

and obviously, it's
not gonna be you.

ROBERT STACK: It
was after 2:00 AM.

Kathy's husband had already
conducted a cursory search

and had given up.

He'll be home when he's ready.

This is ridiculous.

It's 2:30 in the morning and
we don't know where our son is.

Fine.

You go look for him, then.
- OK.

I will.

Yeah, well, I hope you have
a heck of a lot better luck

than I did.

ROBERT STACK: Kathy,
a dedicated employee

at a local
convalescent home, had

never missed a shift at work.

Yet, this night, she was
so concerned about her son

that she called in sick.

Around 2:30 AM, the
boy was on his way home

with his girlfriend
when he saw his mother's

car heading out of town.

That was my mom's car.

Jeez, I hope she didn't see me.

ROBERT STACK:
Another vehicle was

following close behind Kathy's.

Her son assumed that his
mother was driving her car,

but in fact, he was
unable to clearly see

the driver in either vehicle.

[siren wailing]

An hour later, a car was
reported burning out of control

on a lonely country
road, just a few yards

west of a railroad crossing.

FIREFIGHTER: Hold the line.

Hold the line now.

Make sure the pressure's way up.

FIREFIGHTER: The pressure's up!

FIREFIGHTER: Clear on the hood.

Somebody get the hood.

FIREFIGHTER: I got it, I got it.

ROBERT STACK: The
heat was intense.

So intense that 15
long minutes passed

before firefighters could get
close enough to look inside.

FIREFIGHTER: No
one on this side.

Burns, check the other side.

ROBERT STACK: A body
was in a seated position

on the floorboard of the
passenger side of the vehicle.

FIREFIGHTER: There's
a body in here.

ROBERT STACK: The victim
was later identified

as 35-year-old Kathy Bonderson.

Daybreak.

Finally, the car had
cooled down enough

to remove Kathy's charred body.

At the time, Edward Allmaras
was the Sheriff of Eddy County.

E.J. ALLMARAS: As I
remember it, the firewall

was completely burned.

The steering column, the
dash, the front seat.

The only thing was
left was the steel.

Uh, listen.

I-- I'd like to have you
have the boys flush it out,

so if there's any fragments
left from the body--

The fire had to start
up front someplace.

There could have been a
short, a wire pinched,

something, because that car was
doing some bending also when

it went across those tracks.

ROBERT STACK: Kathy's
car was found here.

Sheriff Allmaras believed
that as Kathy approached

the railroad crossing,
she inexplicably swerved

to the right and lost
control when she careened

over the exposed tracks.

The car made a abrupt
turn, as if it was trying

to avoid something,
then straightened

out and went across the tracks.

There was marks on
the tracks, which

showed us that the
car very definitely

went over the tracks.

Not the crossing,
but the tracks.

ROBERT STACK: Allmaras believed
that a high speed impact

with the raised tracks not
only caused the car to burst

into flames, but also threw
Kathy to the passenger

side of the car.

Sheriff Allmaras felt that
he had an open and shut case.

Kathy Bonderson was no doubt
the victim of a tragic accident.

Yet, oddly, her car keys are
found virtually undamaged

on the floorboard
of the vehicle,

even though the car's
interior had melted.

Within two days,
a theory emerged

which would pit Sheriff
Allmaras against an investigator

from the North Dakota
State Highway Patrol.

Four years later, the two
lawmen still disagree,

and the question remains.

Did Kathy Bonderson die in an
accident, or was she murdered?

The day after the fire,
Captain William Byram

of the highway patrol
visited the scene

to file a standard report.

WILLIAM BYRAM: It
was an unusual case.

It didn't seem to have
the same characteristics

that a normal
accident would have.

Granted, I arrived
24 hours later,

but I could not
distinguish any marks where

her car had left the roadway.

ROBERT STACK:
Byram found no tire

tracks to indicate that
an out-of-control car had

veered off the road.

Further, the tall grass in
the area seemed undisturbed.

He noticed the same
marks on the railroad

tracks which Sheriff
Allmaras had discovered.

Byram, however, believes they
were not made by Kathy's car.

WILLIAM BYRAM: The marks I
found were a reddish color.

We talked with the
firemen, and the hoses

that were used that night
were a red rubber hose,

and they had been in and around
that area, drug the hoses

over the tracks.

Felt that what I was looking
at was something that

had been put there by them.

Dam

ROBERT STACK: The
next day, Byram

and the state Fire Marshal
examined Kathy Bonderson's car.

WILLIAM BYRAM: I see
that it's totally burned,

but I see absolutely no
damage, structural wise,

from impact, which
is normal to find

in this type of an accident.

But I couldn't find any.

Found none.

Zero.

The fuel line looks
OK, and the fuel filter

still has the paint on it.

ROBERT STACK: Surprisingly,
the fuel tank still held

12 and 1/2 gallons of gasoline.

WILLIAM BYRAM: The fuel
line from the tank itself

to the carburetor was intact.

No cracks, no dents,
no damage whatsoever.

Doesn't appear that we
had any impact on any rail.

ROBERT STACK: Based
on the evidence,

the Fire Marshal came to his
own disturbing conclusion.

CURT FOGEL: It appeared
the fire started

in several different areas,
which would not be normally

found in an accidental fire.

There's no question in my mind
this fire was not an accident.

This fire was intentionally set.

ROBERT STACK: Three weeks
later, Captain Byram

requested that Kathy Bonderson's
body be exhumed for an autopsy.

Sheriff Allmaras objected.

Byram threatened to
obtain a court order.

Allmaras backed down.

You know, it
ticked me off when

I was forced into signing the
petition to exhume the body.

You know.

And then after we got the
full wrap up from the doctor

in Minnesota, the one who
performed the autopsy,

he couldn't come up
with any cause of death.

One of the very important
facts from the autopsy

proved that Kathy Bonderson was
dead before the fire started.

ROBERT STACK: According to
the pathologist's findings,

there was no carbon
monoxide in Kathy's lungs,

suggesting that
she was not alive

when the fire was ignited.

I asked him, you
know, if she could

have been killed from a blow
on the head, and he says yes.

Well, if you're ever
in a bouncing car,

you know where your
head is going to hit.

ROBERT STACK: Tests conducted
on fragments of Kathy's clothing

and the vehicle's
carpeting revealed

that each contained
traces of gasoline,

supporting the
possibility of arson.

Further, several days after the
incident, an empty gasoline jug

was found just 300 yards from
where the car was burned.

Still, Sheriff Allmaras would
not change his findings.

There's been no proof offered.

Nothing in my
investigation brought up

anything that even
would give you

an inkling that this
might be a homicide

rather than a car accident.

Nothing.

There are too many other
facts leading me to believe

that it was not an accident.

And I have to work with facts.

ROBERT STACK: Captain Byram was
convinced that someone murdered

Kathy Bonderson and set
her car on fire to make it

look like an accident.

If so, who killed her and why?

[music playing]

[beeping]

Attention all units,
211 in progress.

705 Sonoma.

705 Sonoma.

ROBERT STACK: 8:51
PM, November 13, 1991.

A chilling call came into the
Vallejo, California police.

ROBERT STACK: Patrol
cars immediately rolled

to the scene of
what they believed

was a robbery in progress at
the Loomis armored car company.

[alarm ringing]

As police made
their approach, they

saw that the security
door of the main building

was partially open.

A bag of money lay
near the entrance.

The officers moved cautiously,
fearful that somewhere,

gunmen might still be lurking.

[alarm ringing]

Inside, police
discovered that this was

far more than a simple robbery.

Just beyond the door, a
security guard lay dead.

His hands had been
bound with rope,

and he'd been shot
through the head.

In another part of the building,
police found two other guards.

One was dead, the
other mortally wounded.

Like the first victim,
they had each been

bound and shot in the head.

The guards were identified as
49-year-old Martin McCumber,

29-year-old Dennis Jacobson, and
25-year-old Alphonso Lontayo.

McCumber left behind
a wife and children.

Lontayo was engaged to
be married in six months.

This one will forever
stick in my mind

as being a very
brutal and senseless

killing of three
innocent people who

were trying to make a living.

And the way they were killed,
and just the brutality

of the incident
will be something

that will stick in my mind
for a pretty long time.

ROBERT STACK: The
brutality of this crime

was not its only hallmark.

Police were surprised to
find that the killers had

left behind an abundance
of physical evidence.

All of that evidence has
been used in our recreations.

Watch closely.

Perhaps someone in the
audience will be able to help

identify the killers.

Immediately after police units
had secured the crime scene,

detectives were called in.

RONALD BECKER: We looked
inside numerous duffel bags

that had been left behind.

Inside these duffel bags,
we found a pair of shoes,

we found some tools,
and some lighter fluid.

The lighter fluid
itself is still

somewhat of a mystery to us.

Try as we might,
we have not been

able to conceive of the purpose
of bringing that lighter

fluid to the facility.

ROBERT STACK: A price
had been hand written

on the lighter fluid container.

So far, no match for the
writing has been found.

The shoes were a brand called
Honors, sold exclusively

at Target chain stores.

Detectives were surprised
to find that the murder

weapon had been left behind.

RONALD BECKER: This revolver is
an eight-inch blue steel Colt

Trooper.

We were able to determine that
that weapon had been reported

as previously lost or
stolen in the Los Angeles

area in approximately 1969.

ROBERT STACK: By
the next morning,

the FBI had been called in.

At every turn, more
evidence was discovered.

Inside the compound,
investigators

found an orange duffel
bag stuffed with hundreds

of thousands of dollars.

Nearby, they found
the bolt cutters

which had been used to break
in through the wire fence.

BOB SAMPAYAN: As we traveled
along the fence line of Loomis,

we located a pair
of gloves that were

maybe 15 to 20 feet from
that cut hole in the fence.

Beyond that, we began locating
ski masks, gloves, camouflage

or fatigue-type clothing.

We found another one
of those large bags.

Inside that bag was an
abundance of currency.

It, too, appeared to
have been abandoned.

ROBERT STACK: In a
park across the street,

investigators found a pair
of gloves, a ski mask,

and an AK-47 assault rifle.

RONALD BECKER: Nearby
where this AK-47 was found,

we found an impression
in the ground.

This impression leads us to
believe that the responsible

laid in that area for some
time following the crime,

hoping that the
police would leave

and he could finish his escape.

ROBERT STACK: Judging
from the evidence,

the authorities theorize
that there were four robbers.

Hair samples found
on the ski masks

indicated that at least one of
them was white and one black.

Eye witnesses would
later confirm this.

OK.

How you doing, sir?

Good.

ROBERT STACK: Exactly one week
to the hour after the murders,

authorities set up a
roadblock near the armored car

facility hoping
to find people who

travelled the area regularly.

They learned that
a white male was

seen running north from the
building at around 9:00 PM

on November 13.

A black male was seen
around the same time running

north on a different street.

Working backwards,
authorities began

to piece together what happened
on the night of the murders.

At approximately 8:00
PM, four heavily armed

men dressed in combat fatigues
approached the Loomis building.

One security guard
was on duty inside.

40 minutes later, two other
guards arrived, transporting

a significant amount of cash.

They made radio
contact with a guard

inside the building who
was stationed in a lookout

booth called the turret room.

RONALD BECKER: Several
Loomis trucks were parked

on the inside of the fence.

This would have provided the
responsibles with easy cover

so as not to be seen by the
guard inside the turret room.

Once the truck arrived and
the gate began to open,

it would have been
possible for the murderers

to enter the facility, coming
in underneath the opening gate

quickly before the guards
had a chance to respond.

All right.

Up against the wall.

Move your hands up
behind your head.

Hands behind your head.

Come on.

RONALD BECKER: They could have
held the guards as hostages,

ordering the guard to exit
the turret room, which he may

have done, thinking
that that would

save the lives of his friends.

OK, don't shoot.

I'm coming out.

Once all three of these
guards were overpowered,

they were then bound.

Once the guards were
bound, that allowed

the responsibles to focus
their attention on the truck.

Get down!

There was no
reason to kill them

other than if, for
some reason, they could

possibly identify the robbers.

That would be the
only reason that they

would have to be killed.

Now, this leads to a
great deal of speculation

whether one or more
of the employees

who were killed actually
knew one of the robbers.

[gunshots]

[alarm ringing]

When a gun shot was
fired, they activated

an interior alarm which
caused them to panic and flee.

[gunshot]

[alarm ringing]

They filled the bags
so full of money

that they could not carry them.

They were not aware of how
heavy money actually is.

ROBERT STACK: Despite
the blaring alarm,

the killers fled and
got away scot-free.

The stark irony is
that they also got

away with absolutely no money.

RONALD BECKER: These three
victims of this crime

were more than just guards.

They had wives, children,
girlfriends, fathers, and

mothers that they left behind.

These people's lives,
their survivors,

have been permanently impacted.

Nothing can be ever
done to undo what's

been done to those people,
and probably the closest

we can ever come to rectifying
the impact on their life

is to help solve this crime.

[music playing]

Next, a woman is stricken
with a rare form of amnesia

and loses 16 years
of her memory.

[music playing]

Imagine what it would be like to
awake one day from a deep sleep

and discover that your
most precious memories

are gone forever.

That's exactly what happened
to a 39-year-old housewife

from Dundalk, Maryland.

She's been stricken
with amnesia.

A medical mystery
which has confounded

science for centuries.

She is not searching
for a lost loved one.

No crime has been committed.

What she has lost is
every single memory

from a 16-year period.

The mystery of Sarah DiGennaro
is a mystery of the mind.

I just want to
cash that, please.

Sure.

ROBERT STACK: It began
on Friday the 13th,

August 1976, when Sarah
stopped by her local bank.

Sarah had a long history
of debilitating migraine

headaches, but this day, the
pain was beyond anything she

had ever experienced before.

TELLER: Ma'am?

SARAH DIGENNARO:
The pain was so bad.

If my head had
exploded, you know,

if dynamite had gone off in
the left side of my head,

it would have probably
felt the same way.

There was so much pain--
- Ma'am.

Are you all right?

SARAH DIGENNARO: That the only
I could do was leave there.

TELLER: Mrs. DiGennaro?

ROBERT STACK: The
attack left Sarah

confused and disoriented, unable
to see out of her left eye.

Somehow she managed
to make her way home.

Honey?

Honey, what's wrong?

ROBERT STACK: Three hours
later, Sarah's husband, Paul,

found his wife sprawled
across the bed.

[mumbling]

Honey, wake up.

ROBERT STACK: She was
partially paralyzed

and babbling incoherently.

Honey.

Honey, talk to me.

SARAH DIGENNARO: I tried
to tell him, you know,

that I was down at
the bank and my--

it felt like my head
exploded, and I-- but I

couldn't-- couldn't say it.

ROBERT STACK: A blood vessel
had burst in Sarah's brain.

Doctors recommended an extremely
delicate and risky operation.

The alternative was bleak.

Sarah would likely
be incapacitated

for the rest of her life.

DOCTOR: Bringing
the pressure down.

DOCTOR: OK, the clip is on.

ROBERT STACK: Surgeons use a
relatively new and experimental

procedure called micro surgery
to repair the broken blood

vessel in Sarah's brain.
- All right.

We've got the first
aneurysm clipped.

It looks like there's another
aneurysm here, though,

that we--

ROBERT STACK: Then they
discover that her condition was

worse than they had imagined.

There was a second
ruptured vessel which had

failed to show up on x-rays.

Sarah was on the operating table
for 9 and 1/2 grueling hours

as doctors struggled
to save her life.

NURSE: Hello, Sarah.

How are you doing?

Listen, the doctor says we can
remove some of those stitches

now that are in your head.

ROBERT STACK: During the
first few days of recovery,

Sarah knew something
was not quite right

and became frightened.

She noticed that
in just three days,

Paul's 1960s crew
cut had grown out,

and he appeared to
have put on weight.

Sarah's daughter Kelly
sensed immediately

that her mother had changed.

What Kelly did not know
was that her mother

did not even recognize her.

KERRY DERRICK: I can remember
the day that my father

took me to the hospital.

It was after my mother
was out of intensive care,

and she was in her
private room, and it

also happened to
be the day that she

was getting her stitches out.

So as the nurse was removing
the stitches from her head,

I was to one side of her,
and I kept watching her.

And she would be looking over
at me just out of the corner

of her eye, and
not really saying

anything to me at all the
whole time that I was there.

Almost wondering who I was.

ROBERT STACK: 16 Years of
Sarah's memory had been erased.

In her mind, she was
only 23 years old

and had three youngsters
waiting for her at home,

not four teenage children.

WILLIAM BENEDICT:
Most people who

have an aneurysm that ruptures
do experience some memory loss,

but the memory loss tends to
be around the event itself,

not a prolonged period
of time that is lost.

In Mrs. DiGennaro's
case, 16 years,

time when children were
being born and were growing.

To be deprived of that
is really unusual.

ROBERT STACK: 2 and 1/2
weeks after surgery, Sarah

was released from the hospital.

OK, honey.

We're home.

ROBERT STACK: The neighborhood
seemed oddly out of kilter.

What had once been a dirt
road was now a paved street.

Where there were once empty
lots, new houses stood.

You OK?

Who's here?

Kids.

Kids are here.

ROBERT STACK: Doctors
had warned Sarah

that, following the
surgery, she might

feel slightly disoriented.

Hi, mom.

ROBERT STACK: But no
one had prepared her

for what she found.

Right over here.

SARAH DIGENNARO: There
was nothing in the house

like it was before.

Everything was just different.

But I figured that if I
just kept quiet, eventually,

I'd have things figured out.

Do Eloise and Bob
still live in Tulsa?

ROBERT STACK: Two days after
returning from the hospital,

Sarah began to understand the
full magnitude of her problem.

And it is 1960, isn't it?

No.

It's It's 1976, mom.

PAUL DIGENNARO: You're
kidding us, right?

Yeah, I'm just
fooling you guys.

I knew that.

ROBERT STACK: Terrified by
her inexplicable memory loss,

Sarah made a conscious
decision that no one must know.

Not her family, not her
friends, not even her doctors.

Whenever she was
alone, Sarah sifted

through family
photographs, searching

for clues about her past.

She became obsessed with
discovering who she was

and where she had come from.

SARAH DIGENNARO: I didn't
have all the knowledge

that I had before.

I would try to get back
everything that I--

that was lost in my brain.

ROBERT STACK: Sarah found
herself mystified by the most

ordinary household appliances.

When Sarah was 23, few families
had automatic dishwashers.

Microwave ovens had
not yet been invented.

Personal computers
were unheard of.

Even the family car seemed like
something out of the space age.

SARAH DIGENNARO: I'd never seen
anything like that in my life.

I mean, here was this
big, streamline car.

It was unbelievable.

The magazines they used to give
pictures of cars of the future.

That's what the Pontiac
Grand Prix looked like.

ROBERT STACK: Sarah
internalized her fears

and tried to go about life
as if nothing had happened.

Yet everything had changed.

Sarah's taste in music,
fashion, and dance

was that of a 23-year-old.

Not a woman
approaching middle age.

KERRY DERRICK: I can remember
coming home from school

or coming home from
work, and the stereo

would just be blasting.

And the first thing
I would do would

be to come in the
back door and just

turn the stereo down, because
it would just drive me crazy.

It's been a real role
reversal at some points,

you know, and just the
music that she listens to.

You know, it's music
of my generation,

and it's a bit much
for me at times.

ROBERT STACK: For
nearly four years,

Sarah managed to
keep up her charade.

Finally, in November of
1979, Sarah discovered

that she was not alone.

Kelly.

Kelly, come here and sit down.

ROBERT STACK: An article
in the local newspaper

gave her the courage to reveal
her secret to her family.

I just read an article about
people who have aneurysms.

Right.

And for years
now, I thought there

was something wrong with me.

KERRY DERRICK: Everything
was out, and she, you know,

was willing to admit
that she did not know

who we were or know who I was.

Sometimes, I wish that
she could remember me

as when I was younger
and I was growing up,

because I think I did get
some characteristics from her,

such as being athletic.

But I think she
would have really

enjoyed remembering of me.

WILLIAM BENEDICT: We always
hope that we can learn

from the experiences of our
patients, and by that process,

continue to grow intellectually.

But from time to time, an
event will occur that remains

inexplicable, a mystery.

Now, that's a big difference.

ROBERT STACK: Today, with
the help of her family,

Sarah's trying to
reconstruct the year she

thought she had lost forever.

SARAH DIGENNARO: I didn't know
as much as I did at one time

and wasn't able to do the
things I could do before.

Nothing was going
to get me down.

I was going to
relearn everything.

You know, handicapped people
are-- everybody goes, aw.

Isn't that a shame?

They weren't going
to do that to me.

Despite tremendous advances
in the field of medicine,

scientists tell us that we
understand even less than 5%

of how our memory functions.

Sarah DiGennaro is
still adjusting to life

with 16 years of missing time.

Though she carries on
bravely, her doctors

do not foresee
the day that Sarah

will recover her lost memories.

On our next
"Unsolved Mysteries,"

three suspicious
deaths, all investigated

as possible suicides, haunt
a freelance journalist

who now believes he has been
targeted for murder because he

may know too much about
possibly illegal, multimillion

dollar gold transactions.

On June 26, 1990, in
Rochester, New York,

one of the largest
armored car robberies

in United States history
went off without a hitch.

The total haul, over $10
million in untraceable bills.

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]