All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S01E03.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

NARRATOR: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

[music playing]

Tonight, we'll examine
four new mysteries.

Each one has been recreated in
detail, wherever possible using

the actual participants
in the hope

that someone watching
may know the truth.

Join me.

You may be able to
help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
February 19, 1982.

A quiet residential
community in the small city

of Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

On this day six years ago,
this peaceful New England town

of 46,000 was
stunned by the most

savage murder in its history.

At approximately
3:30 PM, Doug Heath

returned from work to his
apartment on Providence Street.

As he walked
through the door, he

found his neighbor's
three-year-old child locked

out of her mother's apartment.

DOUG HEATH
(VOICEOVER): When I saw

Nicole standing on the
stairs, I knew immediately

something was wrong.

Where's mommy?

DOUG HEATH (VOICEOVER): I
asked her where her mother was,

and she told me that she
was downstairs, lying down.

I tried the door
into the first floor

apartment, their apartment.

It was locked.

I know something was
wrong right there.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Doug
went down to the laundry room

to check on her
mother, Susan Laferte.

DOUG HEATH (VOICEOVER):
I saw a body

leaned up against the dryer.

In the same instant,
I turned to my left

and I saw Sue lying face
down in a puddle of blood.

It hit me right then and there
that the murder, or something

really bad had happened.

[police sirens]

DOUG CONNELL: When rescue
arrived at the scene along

with the first officers, they
found that two women had been

brutally assaulted
in a basement area

of the Province Street home.

And for all intents and
purposes had been left for dead.

One woman expired at the scene,
and the other one was in very,

very critical condition.

Rescue stabilized her
the best that they could

and transported her from the
scene to the hospital emergency

room.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The two

victims both lived in
the apartment building

on Providence Street.

22-Year-old Doreen Picard was
pronounced dead at the scene.

The other woman,
27-year-old Susan Laferte,

was barely alive.

She was immediately
rushed to the hospital.

Susan was in surgery
for 2 and 1/2 hours.

While she clung to
life, her husband Ernie

waited and prayed.

ERNIE LAFERTE: The
way they described it,

she was hanging by a thread.

Her injuries were so severe that
it was touch and go at a time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Miraculously, Susan survived.

But she remained in a deep coma.

Fearful for her
safety, the police

guarded her room
around the clock.

DOUG CONNELL (VOICEOVER):
It was obvious to us

that the perpetrator,
in his mind,

had left both girls for dead.

We immediately became
worried that he would realize

that there was a
witness to the attack,

and that he would come
back and try to eliminate

that witness by killing her.

We were hopeful that when
she came out of the coma,

she would be able to tell us
who it was that had done this.

30 days later, Susan
finally emerged from her coma.

But she had no memory of
her attack or her attacker.

She developed total
amnesia about what

happened during the brutal
assault in the basement.

She had also sustained
injuries that have

left her physically disabled.

Susan's amnesia sent
the investigation

of the seemingly motiveless
crime back to square one.

SUSAN LAFERTE: Everyone expected
me to wake up and tell them

who attacked me
and killed Doreen.

I don't know who attacked us.

I have no idea.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Even now, Susan's family

is concerned for her safety,
and she has requested that she

not be identified on camera.

When I woke up
out of the coma,

I would be able to tell them.

It's five years later and I'm
no closer at this period of time

than I was five years ago.

I don't know what he looked
like, or anything else

about him.

I have no memory
whatsoever of the attack.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Six
years later, the police are

still searching for a motive.

Susan Laferte was a housewife
with two young children

and was an active member
of her neighborhood watch.

Doreen Picard was
studying for a career

in childhood development.

She lived upstairs in
the apartment building

that the Lafertes owned.

Ironically, she was packing
to move to a new building

on the very day of the attack.

Like Susan, Doreen's
parents desperately

want to find an answer as to
who killed their daughter.

We go to bed
thinking about her,

and we wake up
thinking about her.

You know, we have to keep
pushing and knocking on doors

because I feel like there's
somebody out there that has

a missing piece to that puzzle.

I have no
recollection whatsoever

of basically from New Year's
Eve to the 19th of February.

The 19th totally is a blackout.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On February 19,

the day of the attack,
Susan had lunch

with her sister, Carol Rivet.

[doorbell]

I'll get that.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): At 1:30,

two friends came to the door.

SUSAN LAFERTE: Hi.

(MALE VOICE): How you doing?

My sister came
back from the doorway

and stuck her head in the
parlor, and said, Carol,

I'm going downstairs.

I'll be right back.

She came back upstairs, and
I could hear her talking

to somebody in the doorway.

So I got up to go see
who she was talking to.

[interposing voices]

I knew one of the guys, but
the other guy, I didn't know.

And she introduced me to him.

And this is the guy
that's getting me--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The two men

then went to the basement
to look at some puppies

that Susan was selling.

Susan talked to the men for
five minutes, and they left.

10 minutes later, at
1:45, Carol went home.

That was the last time anyone
saw Susan before the attack.

No one can be sure what happened
that day between 1:45 and 3:20,

when Doug Heath discovered
Susan and Doreen's bodies.

How are you making out?

All right.

DOUG CONNELL: I have
to admit that I was

shocked by the initial scene.

The brutality of the assault.
It was not just a murder.

It was not just an assault.
It was a frenzied attack.

It was an overkill.

OK, 15 minutes?

OK.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Only
one person apart from Susan

saw the killer.

Nicole, Susan's three-year-old
daughter, was in the apartment

that afternoon.

Her grandmother,
Florence Laferte,

tried to coax the details
of the attacker's identity

out of Nicole's memory.

FLORENCE LAFERTE: As I came in
the house and Nicole was there.

And from the very beginning,
she told me that she let him in.

She thought that was
her mother's friend.

Hi.

FLORENCE LAFERTE:
She saw the man.

She says he was probably a
little bigger than her father.

He had a mustache.

She even told me that he
wore a cap with the visor

towards the back.

He had sneakers, and
he also had jeans.

When she heard her mother
crying, she went downstairs

and as she was going
down, he was coming up.

He had a rag in his back pocket.

It was red and white,
she called it polka dots.

And then she was locked
out in the hallway

while the man escaped
through the front.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The killer

left his murder weapon, a
pipe, in the house as he left.

It was not found for four days.

DOUG CONNELL (VOICEOVER):
After the assault,

Nicole was questioned
extensively

by the police department.

As much as the police would like
to have a person who definitely

saw the perpetrator that day,
her story has changed too much

to be of real value to us.

The stress and confusion that
she was under at that point

in time really made it
very difficult to get

a real solid, sure story.

It's a complex case because of
the different factors involved.

First, we have two victims.

And those victims all bring
their individual traits

with them.

They have their own
friends, they were

involved in different things.

There was also two newspaper
ads that had been running.

One was for puppies
for sale, and the other

was for an apartment for rent.

The perpetrator might have
responded to one of the ads,

was a friend of either one of
the victims, or their family,

or was just a total stranger.

[phone ringing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Since the murder,

Doreen's family has
conducted their own informal

investigation, which they
believe has led to a series

of anonymous phone calls.

Hello?

RON PICARD: A few months after
Doreen was killed I received

a phone call about 2:00 a.m.

He said that I
should be concerned

with my family and
my children, and not

pursue the matter so hard.

And that for openers, they
might burn my garage down.

My repair shop.

Every time we pursue the
matter, we get phone calls.

Obviously, we're
putting somebody uneasy.

We're keeping
somebody off guard.

You know, it's
like a nightmare.

Because I'm watching over
my shoulder all the time.

And I'm very fearful for
Susan because maybe someday,

this person's going
to realize that hey,

maybe she can remember.

I still hope
every morning when

I get up that maybe
today, something will snap

and it will come back.

But it's been five years, and
it's still not-- I'm no closer

now than I was five years ago.

I'm hurt.

I don't look over my
shoulder when I do things,

but I've always got
this back thought.

Is he still there?

[music playing]

Next, a story of a man who
makes his living by getting

married over and over.

He is known as the
Heart Attacker.

And so far, he has
fleeced his many wives

of over a million dollars.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
New York City, 1981.

Louis Carlucci arrived in
the suburb of Forest Hills,

carrying nothing but a garment
bag with his one good suit

in it.

In this affluent community,
he was a stranger.

A man without a past.

He found work as a short
order cook in a diner,

but no one knew
where he came from.

Good evening!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In September 1981,

Louis Carlucci met a 41-year-old
woman, whom we will call

Barbara, in a neighborhood bar.

Speak now, or forever
hold your peace.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Seven
weeks later, he married her.

Me What Barbara didn't
know is that Louis

Carlucci is a con man.

He makes his living by
stealing women's hearts,

and then their money.

Carlucci is suspected
of marrying at least

nine different wives,
and fathering over 30

children around the country.

He is said to have
swindled his victims out

of more than $1 million.

Louis Carlucci is known as Con
Juan, or the Heart Attacker.

When you try to explain
to someone what happened,

they look at you
and say, well how

could you get taken like that?

And then you find out there
are 500 other people that

were taken the same
way, who were supposed

to be as brilliant or smart--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Barbara

was the only one of Carlucci's
victims who would talk to us.

She asked that she not
be identified on camera,

and at one time she feared
reprisals from Carlucci.

But the fact that he's
still roaming someplace

in the United States and
getting away with this

is a terrible thought.

Barbara's telling
her story tonight

because she wants to warn other
women about Louis Carlucci.

The police are convinced
that Carlucci is perpetrating

the same con game on
some unsuspecting woman

at this very moment.

Tonight, we'll see
exactly how Carlucci

perpetrated his schemes, which
police call marriage swindles.

Carlucci usually finds
his victims in restaurants

and friendship clubs.

Excuse me, hi.

BARBARA (VOICEOVER): I
was out with a friend,

and we were sitting and having a
drink, and he sent over drinks.

And got to talking.

And that's how we first met.

And I know for
a fact that I've

never seen you here before.

First impression,
when I first saw him?

No style, no class.

However, he was
warm, very friendly.

He had a good sense of humor.

So I started dating him.

I thought, well, he
was a pretty nice guy.

He told me he grew up in the
Bronx, that he traveled a lot.

That he was in the
restaurant business.

And he wanted to settle
down, and that he

could give me everything that
anybody could really want.

And I said, OK.

The guy is pretty nice, I
like him, I liked his company.

And I thought, well, why not?

By the power vested in me
by the state of New York,

I now pronounce
you man and wife.

You may now kiss the bride.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): After
a whirlwind courtship lasting

only seven weeks,
Barbara married

Louis Carlucci in
a small ceremony

at the bar where
they'd first met.

Immediately after the
wedding, their relationship

began to deteriorate.

[interposing voices]

BARBARA (VOICEOVER): He kind
of jumped on me for talking

to other people at the wedding.

And he got very
angry about the idea,

possibly, that we
even got married.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
After the honeymoon,

they moved into an unfinished
apartment in New York

where they lived
out of suitcases.

Carlucci would not let
Barbara out of his sight,

and paid for their
living expenses

with Barbara's credit cards.

BARBARA (VOICEOVER): The
change in his attitude

and his personality shocked
me, because there were

times when he was real nice.

And then all of a
sudden, he'd flip

and it would be like
black and white.

Jekyll and Hyde, I don't
know how you want to put it.

And then I get scared.

I really got scared.

Because I realized [inaudible]
I didn't have what he

thought I had, which was money.

The man was very physical.

If you ever pull that again--

BARBARA (VOICEOVER): I
couldn't turn my head.

He'd pull my hair.

If I looked the wrong
way, I'd get smacked.

Of course, I couldn't
talk to anyone at all.

And if we were in a restaurant,
I couldn't even order anything

from the waitress
because he felt

like I was looking at the
person to signal, or whatever.

- Can I get you some dessert?
- No, thank you.

Just the check.

Ma'am?

Just the check.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Carlucci continued

to put the bite on Barbara.

He used her credit
cards up to their limit,

emptied her bank account.

And when they went out together,
he always used Barbara's money.

Carlucci bled Barbara dry.

I was just held captive--
let's put it that way--

for about six months.

Did Never let me
out of his sight.

Not one time.

I couldn't go to the bathroom
without him being there.

So I had no way of
trying to contact anyone,

or telling anyone
about anything.

BARBARA (VOICEOVER): He
caught me with the razor.

I was going to cut my
wrists because that was

the only way I could get out.

He knew that I was going to
die, whether I did it myself,

or I would just
waste away and die.

So his reaction was, well,
I may as well let you

go because you're going to die.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On
May 31, 1982, almost six months

after their wedding, Louis
Carlucci left Barbara, having

squandered all of her savings.

A total of $20,000.

Encouraged by her
friends, Barbara

filed charges with the police.

KEN KLEINLEIN: When
Barbara first came to us

and gave us information
about Carlucci,

we started our investigation
and began to talking

to quite a few people.

To speak to these women
was an eye opener for me.

Carlucci doesn't just leave
physical and financial wreckage

behind him.

It's kind of a psychological
scarring that you see.

And how long was it
between the time you were--

KEN KLEINLEIN (VOICEOVER): They
feel embarrassed and ashamed,

and they don't want their
relatives and friends

and coworkers to know about it.

I would like to see
this man get caught.

He doesn't belong
out in society.

And whether he will hurt anybody
very physically, I don't know.

But he definitely has to
be taken off the streets.

KEN KLEINLEIN (VOICEOVER):
He travels all over.

We've had him in California,
Las Vegas, New Orleans, Florida,

New Jersey, New York State.

He moves around quite a bit.

He's wanted for bigamy,
grand larceny, and fraud.

I'd be very surprised
if at this moment,

Carlucci was not with a woman.

I'm sure he's been dealing with
maybe 10 or 15 women a year,

at the very least,
because he's not

going to stop what he's doing.

This is the way he
makes his living.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Louis Carlucci

has a dubious distinction
of being captured

twice, thanks to viewers' tips.

After we first broadcast
Carlucci's story,

he was arrested in
Nashville, Tennessee.

He was extradited
back to New York

and later released on
$1,000 bail, pending trial.

Once again, Carlucci
disappeared.

And once again,
after we featured

him on a second broadcast, a
viewer's tip led to his arrest.

This time in Los Angeles.

In a moment, the story of a
quiet church-going housewife

who is accused of helping
a convicted murderer

escape from prison.

[music playing]

[church singing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1986, Diane Brodbeck,

a 43-year-old housewife, lived
in the small Pennsylvania

town of Wellsville.

She was a devout
Christian and had

been active in her local
church for almost 20 years.

On April 5, 1986, Diane
Brodbeck disappeared.

A month later,
Dianne's abandoned car

was found in a motel parking
lot 30 minutes from her home.

In the trunk, the police
found Diane's overnight bag.

The same day Diane vanished,
Jon Yount, a long-term inmate

at a local prison escaped.

Yount was serving a life
sentence for the brutal murder

of an 18-year-old school girl.

At the exact time
that he escaped,

Diane Brodbeck was seen just
one half mile from the prison,

driving along the same country
road where Jon Yount vanished.

I don't know if Diane's alive.

I hope she's alive.

I really do.

I believe, personally,
that she is alive.

And I think she is with Jon.

Neither Jon Yount
or Diane Brodbeck have

been seen for almost two years.

The authorities believe
Diane may have been Yount's

accomplice, and her
family is mystified

as to why this apparently
respectable and happily married

woman should have
vanished without a word.

Was Diana kidnapped by
a desperate prisoner?

Or was she a willing accomplice
who helped a convicted murderer

escape?

I know my daughter.

She would not deliberately
help a convicted

murderer escape from prison.

My daughter would not do this.

Yes, I think that my wife
probably did help Jon Yount get

out of jail, under pressure.

For what reason, I don't know.

It's hard to say.

She could have been
threatened by Jon Yount.

I don't know what happened.

I really don't.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Diane Brodbeck and her husband

Chester had two
daughters, and had

just celebrated their
silver wedding anniversary.

Diane led a busy life.

She had worked as a bank
manager, avidly pursued

an interest in
psychology, and as one

of her many
community activities,

wrote letters to prisoners
who had no family or friends.

In 1966, Jon Yount was a popular
math teacher at the high school

in Dubois, Pennsylvania.

On April 28, 1966,
Yount offered a ride

to Pamela Sue Rimer,
one of his pupils,

as she was walking
home from school.

- Need a ride?
- No, no, really.

That's OK.

I only live right up the
road, right up there.

Well, hop in.
I'll give you a ride.

- No, that's OK.
- No, no, I insist.

Hop in.

OK, all right.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Later that afternoon,

Pamela's school
books were discovered

beside the country road.

In the nearby woods,
searchers found her body.

I think I see
something over there!

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): She had

been beaten with
a wrench, raped,

and her throat had been cut.

The next day, Jon Yount
confessed to the murder

of Pamela Sue Rimer.

He was convicted of
first degree murder

and sentenced to life in prison.

16 years later, Jon began
writing to Diane Brodbeck.

JON YOUNT (VOICEOVER):
Hi, my precious lady.

I wanted you to be close
to me so much today.

I hope my enjoyment
and adoration of you

is an incentive to
be the best you can.

You are a classy lady.

I miss you and love you.

Jon.

FAYE SNIDER: Diane met Jon
through a friend of hers

who had been visiting Jon.

And she was no
longer able to do it.

And Diane had been corresponding
with prisoners in other states,

and she thought this would be
like a continuation of what she

had been doing, and
it would be a very

fulfilling thing for her to do.

She was just always
thinking of other people.

She really was a people person.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
After 20 years behind bars,

Jon Yount had become
a model prisoner.

He played organ for the choir,
mastered computer programming,

and taught in the prison school.

JOSEPH MAZURKIEWICZ
(VOICEOVER): Around here, it was

very easy for him to be liked.

And he had a real
good manner about him,

in terms of getting
involved with people.

OK, class.

If you would open
your books to page

69, the bottom of the page.

JOSEPH MAZURKIEWICZ: Jon
is a strong willed person,

and very persuasive.

I believe that he
could probably persuade

almost anybody, given
the right opportunity,

and given the right time.

He has a lot of skill in being
able to manipulate people.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Diane began visiting Yount

at the local jail, and
continued to see him even

when he was transferred
to Rockview Prison

over two hours away.

WALTER REGEL: Diane came to
see Jon Yount every week.

She never missed.

It was regular.

It was just week after week.

She was his
girlfriend, definitely.

It was not a casual visit like
a brother and sister visiting.

When they started her visit,
they would embrace and kiss,

and the same when they left.

Which is really all that's
permitted during the visit.

I'm fine.

I'm always fine when I see you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Diane Brodbeck

fell in love with Jon Yount.

FAYE SNIDER: I had
no idea that they

were romantically involved.

It appeared to me that they
were simply very good friends.

She never confided in me if
they were romantically involved.

CHESTER BRODBECK: Diane
talked about Jon Yount.

I know she was writing him,
I know she visited him.

But that's about all.

It was just a little
bit, as far as I knew.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Jon Yount tried repeatedly

to appeal his conviction.

Finally, the United States
Supreme Court denied

Yount's request for a retrial.

In February, 1985, Jon
Yount wrote Diane again.

JON YOUNT (VOICEOVER):
Be my valentine, love.

Forever.

You are my heart.

I hope more than anything that
this is the last Valentine

Day that we will spend apart.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On April 5, 1986,

Jon Yount escaped.

Yount's excellent
behavior had earned

him the right to
work unsupervised

outside the prison fence.

JOSEPH MAZURKIEWICZ (VOICEOVER):
On the morning of the escape,

Jon was to go out
and cut some hay.

Well all you have
to do is take this hay

wagon down to the
garden barn, and I'll

be back in a little bit.

JOSEPH MAZURKIEWICZ (VOICEOVER):
He was told specifically

by the supervisor what
he was supposed to do,

took the other men to
their particular areas,

and then made his rounds.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
That was the last time

Jon Yount was ever seen.

I was on the way up
over Richel Hill there,

headed for the bowling alley.

And I seen this car
come down, and I just

casually looked
over, and I thought,

that girl looks familiar.

Looks like Jon
Yount's girlfriend.

So I thought to myself, what
is she doing on this road?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
That was the last time

Diane Brodbeck was ever seen.

Mister Brodbeck?

Yes sir.

I'm Sergeant Dugger from
the Pennsylvania State Police.

This is Trooper Robert Scutta.

Yes sir.

I'd like to talk to you
about Jon Yount and your wife.

Are you familiar with Jon Yount?

CHESTER BRODBECK: When the
troopers came to my door

on Sunday, wanting to
know where my wife was,

saying that Yount
had been broken out

of prison by someone, and
they were thinking it was her,

as far as I was concerned,
they were completely wrong.

She had nothing to do with it.

I thought that she had gone
to Williamsburg, Virginia.

And I believed that
until Monday or Tuesday

when she did not return.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The police

discovered that Diane had
a secret bank account,

and had withdrawn
$7,500 in the weeks

just before she disappeared.

We discovered that she also
placed a car into a use storage

facility, and that car was
placed in there within two

weeks prior to the escape.

And we discovered that
there was telephone

contact with Jon Yount between
she and he at the prison.

The night before the escape,
there was a 14 minute

conversation which occurred.

At that point in
time, we decided

to file charges against
her in assisting Jon Yount.

I do not believe that Diane
deliberately helped a convicted

murderer escape from prison.

She was a very
moral person, and you

just did not do certain things.

She had a very strong
code of ethics.

And certainly, helping
a prisoner escape

was not among them.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): A month

after the escape, Diane's car
was found abandoned at a motel

just 20 miles from her home.

A bag was found in
the trunk, containing

Diane's personal items.

Jewelry, cosmetics, and over
a dozen pairs of underwear.

There is a theory
that Jon used Diane

as an instrument of his escape.

He discovers that
he's not going to get

out of the prison system.

He has a woman on the outside
who can do things for him.

She does them, he
then kills her.

He departs from the scene.

He would be gone,
free and clear.

The other theory is that
she really loved him,

and he really loved her.

That theory is one that I hold.

I believe she is with him.

Well, my wife has run
off with another man.

For sure, I do not like
it, that's for sure.

You know?

We were married for 25
years, and I thought

they were fairly good years.

And as I told many people,
she didn't leave just me.

She left the whole family.

I don't think she's alive.

Because I think if
she is, she would

contact somebody in the family.

I will never even think that
she is dead I know she's alive.

I think of nothing else
but my missing daughter.

And I want her back.

Jon Yount murdered a high
school girl at one time.

He flew off the handle at that
time and could do it again.

I think she should
fear for her life.

I think at some point in
time, Jon can kill again.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Update.

John Yount and Diane
Brodbeck have been captured.

Two of our viewers
in Boise, Idaho

recognized Brodbeck as a
former coworker, Kathy Kerman.

When they showed the
picture, it was Kathy's face.

Obviously.

And once they said
she was a bank manager

and was from
Massachusetts, and they

said that Jon's background
was in computers,

it was a dead giveaway.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The Humphreys called the FBI,

and after a month
long investigation,

the fugitive couple was
arrested at their home.

He seemed a little
surprised for a minute,

and then he put his
hands up in the area.

He didn't look around
or anything, really.

I think he had his eyes
on the guy with the gun.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Next,
the mystery of $21 million

in gold and silver buried
somewhere in Virginia.

It has eluded treasure
hunters for over a century.

[music playing]

(MALE VOICE): I have deposited
in the County of Bedford 5,100

pounds of silver and 2,921
pounds of gold, securely

packed in iron pots
with iron covers.

No difficulty will
be had in finding it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1821, Thomas J. Beale

wrote of an enormous fortune
he buried in the hills

of Bedford County, Virginia.

According to legend, $21 million
in gold, silver, and jewels.

For over 100 years,
treasure hunters

have been combing the
countryside looking

for Beale's buried hoard.

No one has found it.

The amount of gold and silver
that was supposed to have been

deposited, and it
was two deposits,

gave me an idea that you'd
have to have two wagons or more

to bury it.

These pots-- iron pots--
with silver and gold in them.

In coins.

And I'm excited about getting
down to where it's at.

Well, somebody will get lucky.

Somebody will get lucky
and find it by mistake,

or they'll find it because
they've really searched it out

and know what to do with it.

One way or the other,
I think it'll be found.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The legend

of Beale's fortune begins in
the early 1880s in New Mexico.

Thomas Beale and a
team of 30 miners

dug up gold and silver
worth over $21 million

in today's prices.

They brought the treasure to
Virginia where Beale buried it.

He left written instructions
to the location of his fortune,

in the form of three
secret codes, or ciphers.

Then he went back to New
Mexico and disappeared.

In 1869, a wealthy
Virginian solved

one of the three ciphers using
the Declaration of Independence

as the key.

He numbered the first
letter of every word

in the Declaration
of Independence.

Then for each number
in the cipher,

he substituted the
corresponding letter.

Decoded, the message read--

(MALE VOICE): I have deposited
in the County of Bedford

in an excavation
or vault six feet

below the surface of the
ground, 5,100 pounds of silver

and 2,921--

ROBERT STACK: Beale
then describes

the treasure in detail.

For over 100 years,
the other two

ciphers have remained unsolved.

One lists Thomas Beale's
associates and heirs.

And this one pinpoints the
exact location of the treasure.

Whoever decodes it may
find Beale's fortunes,

stored in a secret vault roughly
the size of two Rolls Royce's.

In this next mystery,
we'll join several treasure

hunters, some of whom say
they have broken the cipher.

They are convinced
that sooner or later,

someone will strike it rich.

Two brothers, Eddie
and Joe Toney,

and their father-in-law
Earl Boggs,

have spent nine years
searching for the treasure.

They say they have
broken the cipher,

and that the message tells of
five geographical points where

167 years ago, Thomas Beale
left the clues which one by one

would lead to his fortune.

The Toney brothers
are currently looking

for the fifth and final
point, which is the clue that

will lead them to the vault.

EDDIE TONEY: We only have
one more point to go,

and we've verified,
each place we

found something that he left.

And degrees and the footage
and paces came out exactly.

If we can't find this fifth
point after finding four,

there's something bad wrong.

I'm confident that
we'll find it.

[beeping]

We got something!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The Toney brothers

believe this 19th
century carriage rod is

the fifth clue in their search.

They think that it
was purposefully

buried by Beale, pointing in the
direction of his secret vault.

EDDIE TONEY: We know what
the last degree is to go.

I'm a little shaky right
now on account of it

because I know there's not
enough time today to go do it.

Well, when the metal detector
went off, I got excited.

And it's hard to explain
how excited you do get.

And you imagine the gold down
in there behind them rocks.

And my heart felt like
it come up in my throat.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Meanwhile,

miles away in a completely
different section of Bedford

County, Wilbur Swift
from Garden Grove,

California is also searching.

He believes that he too
has broken the cipher,

and has spent the last
year and $20,000 trying

to find the Beale treasure.

WILBER SWIFT: I'm a computer
programmer, to start with.

So in my own personal
computer, I decided

to try to decipher this.

In about eight months time,
I was able to break the code.

And it told me about a
specific type of rock

that I was looking for.

And I happened to locate
that specific type of rock,

and there it is, right there.

It has a face on it,
and it has a head on it.

This is what the deciphered
code told me to look for.

And then I said, OK.

The treasure has to
be underneath it,

because it said that's
where it was supposed to be.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Wilbur hired

a local contractor,
Ken Dooley, to help

him excavate under the rock.

KEN DOOLEY: I have lived in
Bedford County all of my life.

And over the past 25 years,
I have dug for this treasure

up here for about 20, 25 people.

Most of them knew
exactly where it was,

and when talking
to them, they would

be so uptight they just
couldn't hardly breathe, really.

And when you start
digging for them,

they were always just
two feet away from it.

I don't care how
deep in the ground

you went, still, it was two
feet deep that what you dug.

WILBER SWIFT: The target
was premeasured at 26 feet,

and we're down right
now at about 24 feet.

So we don't have too
much further to go.

Now that we've found
the rock-- and we've

done some extensive
testing, by the way--

and we're sure
that we're getting

the treasure out of there.

I've been a native
here for 50 years.

Born and raised here.

They have searched and searched,
and I haven't seen anybody

come up with anything yet.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Bedford County's

local residents have seen
diggers come and diggers go,

empty handed.

They're not convinced
there really is a treasure.

It may be here.

I may be sitting on it.

I've got some land in
Thaxton over there.

It may be on my spread.

I don't know.

I hope it is.

I say, I think it's an
outside possibility it might be

a treasure somewhere
yet, but I don't

think I believe enough in it
to go up and start digging.

Dig

They think they can break
that code, maybe they can.

I hope them good luck.

But personally, I just
don't believe it's here.

How are we doing, Carl?

Oh, we are doing very well.

I'm down to the 19th line.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Could
the Beale ciphers be a hoax?

A computer pioneer,
Dr. Carl Hammer,

has spent 30 years
studying Beale's

numbers to determine if there
truly is a coded message.

As part of his
investigation, he attempted

to recreate the conditions
under which Beale wrote

the cipher in his computer lab.

CARL HAMMER: My aim was to find
out whether the ciphers are

real or whether they're a hoax.

Hoax means these
are random numbers.

They're doodles.

And so I started to
analyze those numbers.

And I discovered that
there were some very

distinguishable patterns.

And they were, in fact,
not random numbers.

They were not doodles.

But they contained information.

We don't know what
the information is,

but there are legitimate set
of cryptographic numbers.

And that is all that
is known to this date.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Even
though he has lost his job

and is now living in
a nearby motel room,

Wilbur Swift is still
digging at the bottom

of his 25 foot shaft.

So far, he has found nothing.

WILBER SWIFT: My life
is back in California,

and some of the neighbors
say, hey, where's Wilbur?

And I don't think any
of them take it serious.

Well, he who laughs
last laughs best.

And I believe that
one of the days,

I might get the last laugh.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The Toney brothers believe

they will have the last laugh.

They still haven't
found the treasure,

but they do believe they
have located the final clue.

While we were filming,
they had to return home

after running out of money.

But they will be back.

EDDIE TONEY: The
facts that we've got,

I know it's not a hoax.

I'm convinced that it's not.

It's been there 160
some years, supposedly,

and it's going to be
there until it's found.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In spite of all the computer

programs, historical research,
digging, and searching,

Thomas Beale's secret vault,
if it exists, remains intact.

The residents
of Bedford County

played host to treasure
seekers for nearly a century,

and have asked us
to remind everyone

that unauthorized digging
is against the law.

[music playing]

Tonight, we've examined
four mysteries.

And at the heart of
each is a secret.

A secret kept hidden by
amnesia, by a con game,

by a prison escape,
and by a code.

Perhaps someone, somewhere,
can unlock these secrets.

Perhaps that
someone is watching.

Perhaps it's you.

[music playing]