All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S01E23.480p.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.

NARRATOR: In 1978,
19-year-old Gus

Hoffman was accosted
by a motorcycle

gang in San Jose, California.

For 10 years, his
mother has haunted

gang hangouts in a
desperate attempt

to find her son or his killers.

In 1927, two weeks before
Charles Lindbergh's

famous Atlantic crossing, a
pair of intrepid French aviators

attempted the same flight.

Some believe they made
it, and aviation history

will have to be re-written.

In 1987, Patsy Wright was killed
by a lethal dose of strychnine

in her col medicine.

Police believe the murder
was someone close to her.

In 1942, the oil tanker Muskogee
was sunk by a German U-boat.

All hands were lost.

45 years later, the son
of the Muskogee's captain

has asked a Nazi
U-boat commander

to help locate the missing
relative of a man lose at sea.

Tonight four stories, which
ordinary people are thrust

into the most extraordinary
circumstances,

each needing one vital
clue to solve a mystery.

Perhaps someone watching
tonight can help.

Perhaps it's you.

[theme music]

In 1977, Gus Hoffman who
was a popular 19-year-old

in San Jose, California.

He had a reputation as
an excellent musician

and a mechanical whiz.

Gus was not a biker,
but one of his hobbies

was restoring
vintage motorcycles.

And he took great
pride in his work.

In October of 1977, Gus bought a
1966 Harley Davidson Sportster.

He spent eight months and $4,000
restoring it to mint condition.

The motorcycle became
a source of conflict

between Gus and his parents.

ROSE HOFFMAN: We
didn't like it at all.

My husband gave
him an ultimatum.

He said either you
go or the bike.

And I said I don't
want you to leave, Gus.

I said you've got
to do something.

And neither does your
dad want you to leave,

so he's just afraid
that something

is going to happen to you.

We don't want you
to have that bite.

He said, well, I'll just
fix it up, and I'll sell it.

That's what he told us.

[motor starting]

NARRATOR: On July 4, 1978,
Gus put the finishing

touches on his motorcycle.

He showed it off to his brother
and told him he was taking

the bike out for a short ride.

Gus Hoffman's family
would never see him again.

When Gus did not return,
his mother, Rose Hoffman,

called the police to
report her son missing.

Because they could
take no action

until 48 hours had
passed, she started

to investigate on her own.

This began a 10-year
quest in which

Rose Hoffman never
stopped trying to find out

what had happened to her son.

Rose has asked that an actress
portray her in recreating

these most painful moments.

When Gus didn't return, Rose
canvassed the neighborhood.

She questioned one
of Gus' friends

who worked at a
nearby gas station.

But about two days ago, I saw
him pull up on his motorcycle.

There were these two other guys
that were on choppers with him.

ROSE HOFFMAN: He said that he
saw Gus riding by Meridian.

And he said there was
two motorcycles in back

of him and a blue Monte Carlo.

And he said the
reason he recognized

it was because these same
two motorcycle guys came

in to the gas station, and they
were like real mean to him,

and so he remembered them.

And they had real long hair.

And they were just real
tough guys-- guys that you

don't fool around with.

NARRATOR: A second
witness later said

that the two bikers
had stopped Gus,

argued, and threatened
him with chains.

[shouting]

When Gus pulled
away, they roared

after him, the blue
Monte Carlo in pursuit.

The two witnesses
identified one of the bikers

as Michael Hodges, a member of
the Forgotten Few Motorcycle

Gang.

The other was Michael
Stevenson, another member

of the same gang.

SGT JEFF OUIMET:
If there was ever

a person who you could
say was a career criminal,

the name would be
Michael Stevenson.

He's probably the
most violent person

that I've ever investigated.

NARRATOR: The San Jose Police
did not have enough evidence

to bring Stevenson and
Hodges in for interrogation,

so they began to
question other gang

members who knew the two men.

GANG MEMBER: Yeah?
- The San Jose Police.

We've got a few
questions to ask you.

All right.

What's up?

Yeah.

Do you know a Gus
Hoffman by any chance?

No.
Never heard of him.

NARRATOR: No one
was willing to talk.

It appeared that everyone
feared Michael Stevenson.

--coming in now?

Well, then arrest me or, you
know, get the heck out of here.

ROSE HOFFMAN: After they
found out who they were,

they told me expect the worst.

I got very angry.

My husband got angry.

We said no.

This can't happen.

I just wanted to go
after them after that.

I mean, that's all I thought
about was going after them.

NARRATOR: In order to turn
up leads for the police,

Rose and a friend
named Carol Jensen

went undercover to infiltrate
motorcycle gang hangouts.

I tried to dress like a
biker person, a woman that's

been around in the biker world.

I wore my hair all
wild, and tight pants,

and tight jeans, and
heels, and bracelets.

I tried to look tough.

It was scary, but I
don't think I was as

afraid as I should have been.

What about you?

Have you seen this guy?

Nah.

CAROL JENSEN: We just let it be
known that I had a loaded gun.

It was not loaded, but
we let them think it was

and that I would use it
any moment to protect Rose.

NARRATOR: Hey, guys.

What's happening?

SGT JACK BAXTER: Rose Hoffman
spent hundreds of hours going

to biker bars, different
low class establishments,

soliciting information
from informants,

buying information
when necessary.

She followed up every lead,
which she shared with us.

She and her daughters,
family members, and friends

covered the whole area knocking
on doors talking to anybody

whose name they were given.

The witness is
in the motor home.

She doesn't want you
to know who she is,

so she doesn't like
t speak face to face.

NARRATOR: Rose hired a private
investigator with connections

to motorcycle gangs.

He set up a meeting with
a woman who claimed she

knew what had happened to Gus.

I understand you have
information about my son?

INFORMANT: Yes, I do.

ROSE HOFFMAN: She told
me that my son was dead.

And she told me that
my son was tortured.

He was tortured for
three to five days.

And-- and I begged her.

I said please tell
me who did it.

You got to talk to the police.

You got to talk to the police.

I begged her.

I offered her money.

I said I'll give you
anything you want, anything.

Please talk to the
police and tell them.

Anyway, the investigator--
he just said no.

There's no way he
could let her talk.

He said he just
wanted her to let me

know what happened to my son.

And I begged him, too.

And he said I can't.

He said I don't want to be
responsible for her death.

NARRATOR: Rose now felt she
knew the horrible truth of what

had happened to her son,
but she had no hard evidence

that could lead to an arrest.

ROSE HOFFMAN: I think
they enticed him.

I think they said, well,
let me see your bike.

Let me see your bike.

And then he was
intimidated and said, well,

all right because they're real
rough, tough-looking guys--

real tough guys.

And I think he was more
intimidated into everything.

GUS HOFFMAN: What are
you guys chasing me for?

[interposing voices]

CAROL JENSEN: And I think that
once that he got off his bike,

that was it.

I think they wheeled
the bike into the garage

and then walked him
into the garage.

And when that garage
door went down,

he was never seen
again-- never seen again.

NARRATOR: On June 19,
1986, Michael Stevenson

was killed during a
failed extortion attempt.

His death provided an unexpected
break in the Hoffman case.

Let's see if you've
ever seen this man before.

NARRATOR: With
Stevenson dead, police

requestioned members
of biker gangs

and other possible witnesses.

Now they talked,
and they name names.

Yeah, that's
Michael Lee Stevenson.

SGT JEFF OUIMET: It appears
that Gus Hoffman was forced

through intimidation to go
to Mike Stevenson's residence

in San Jose, was forced
through intimidation

to enter the garage.

There were certain acts of
violence against Gus Hoffman

inside that garage,
which ultimately

resulted in his death
and the disappearance

of his motorcycle.

NARRATOR: Police
immediately arrested

Michael Hodges, one
of the men witnesses

had linked to Gus' murder.

Richard Dollar, a friend
of Hodge's, was picked up

at San Quentin where
he was already serving

time for a parole violation.

The third remaining
suspect, John Stelle,

was finally captured
in northern California.

He was carrying
a loaded handgun.

Tragically, no trace of Gus
Hoffman has ever been found.

Rose Hoffman wants to give
her son the dignity in death

that he was denied at
the end of his life.

She hopes one of our
viewers can help.

ROSE HOFFMAN: You can help me
as if anyone knows-- if anybody

knows where my son is, please, I
beg you, please tell the police

or call me.

I want my son.

That's the most important thing.

[music playing]

[theme music]

NARRATOR: On a
previous broadcast,

we brought you the story
of a Los Angeles resident

who one midnight
last summer went

to an automatic teller machine
to make a cash withdrawal.

He never returned home.

On June 8, 1988, 22-year-old
Matthew Chase left his house

and drove to his bank
a few blocks away.

That night a hidden camera
took these photographs

of an unknown man
standing next to Matthew

as he used the automatic
teller machine.

The person standing next
to Matt was somewhat

shorter, somewhat stockier.

And, overall, he shouldn't
have been in the photograph.

No one is going to let someone
stand that close to him

while they're using
an ATM machine where

they can see the PIN number.

Police believe that Matthew was
abducted in a robbery attempt,

and that this mysterious
figure was his kidnapper.

TERESA DAHL: Today I sense
that he's still alive.

And that has kept us going.

And we'll never stop looking
for him until we find him.

And I know we'll find him.

NARRATOR: Over the
next few months,

Matthew's friends and family
scoured Los Angeles searching

for the missing youth.

They turned up nothing.

SUSAN CHASE: Los Angeles can
be a dangerous place at night.

We saw a lot of things that
were very frightening, I think.

And that only made
it more real to us

that something perhaps very
serious had happened to Matt.

On March 29, one chapter
of this mysterious case

came to a close
when the Los Angeles

coroner's office
positively identified

the body of Matthew Chase.

His remains were discovered
in a ravine in nearby Pasadena

on September the
17th of last year,

three months after
he disappeared.

Identification was
delayed by the difficulty

in tracking down dental records.

The cause of death
was a gunshot wound.

DET LIONEL SALGADO: We had
estimated that he had been

down in this canyon
area since the last week

in June of last year to
September when he was located.

This case is being handled as a
robbery homicide at this point.

The man in the
bank photograph is

wanted for questioning
in the disappearance

and death of Matthew Chase.

NARRATOR: This is an artist's
rendering of the prime suspect

in this case based on
computer enhancements

of the bank photographs.

Matthew's car was also
stolen and later abandoned.

The killer may have been seen
driving this car in early June.

It was a red two-door
1983 Volkswagen GTI.

When this car was recovered, a
blue bandana was found inside.

It is thought the bandana may
have belonged to the killer.

TERESA DAHL: I do hope
to find his killer.

And I think that we need
to see this through,

and we will see it through.

And this person must
be brought to justice.

NARRATOR: We extend our
condolences to Matthew's family

and friends.

We strongly share the Chase
family's desire to see

their son's killer apprehended.

[theme music]

[music playing]

NARRATOR: On May 21,
1927, Charles Lindbergh

electrified the world by
being the first to fly

nonstop across the Atlantic
from New York to Paris.

[music playing]

[crowd cheering]

NARRATOR: When he returned home,
he received a hero's welcome.

10 days earlier, two French
pilots, Charles Nungesser

and Francois Coli, were
preparing to beat Lindbergh

across the Atlantic in
their plane, "L'Oiseau

Blanc," "The White Bird."

[non-english speech]

NARRATOR: Their plan was to take
off from an airfield near Paris

and land their watertight
plane in the New York Harbor

at the base of the
Statue of Liberty.

[non-english speech]

NARRATOR: Nungesser
was France's most

decorated World War I pilot.

Coli was the first
man to fly nonstop

across the Mediterranean.

[non-english speech]

NARRATOR: He had promised
his wife that this

would be his last adventure.

[non-english speech]

NARRATOR: As fate would have
it, he kept his promise.

"The White Bird" was last
seen by escort planes

as it crossed the
coast of France

and headed out over the vast
reaches of the Atlantic.

It was never seen again.

Most experts assume the
plane simply crashed at sea.

Nearly 50 years later in 1971,
Jim Reed, a local hunter,

was deep in the
remote woods of Maine

when he came across a
strange, moss-covered mound.

JIM REED: I saw something
that just didn't look right.

I thought it was a
boulder at first.

And shortly thereafter, I went
up, and I probed a around.

And it was an engine,
an aircraft engine.

Well, I was a mechanic.

And it was definitely
not a diesel engine

or an automobile engine.

The cooling elements,
the way it was built,

indicated to me that it
was an aircraft engine.

NARRATOR: Jim Reed was never
able to relocate the engine,

although he made several
attempts to retrace his steps

through the dense woods.

Could it have been the last
remains of "The White Bird"

and proof that the French pilots
actually crossed the Atlantic

two weeks before Lindbergh?

RICK GILLESPIE: It's
very much like trying

to assemble a jigsaw puzzle.

And little bit by little
bit, the pieces come together

and make a picture.

And we have enough
of a picture now

to convince us that
we're onto the trail.

Rick Gillespie and
his wife, Pat Thrasher,

are aircraft
archaeologists who have

been searching for "The White
Bird" for over four years.

They're so convinced the
plane crashed in Maine,

they have given up their job
to devote their lives to search

for the missing plane.

After 50 years,
most of the aircraft

made of wooden fabric will
have totally disintegrated.

But they feel they are close.

Using a helicopter equipped
with an infrared scanner,

the investigators survey the
area near Machias, Maine, where

the engine had been sighted.

Rick, we're about to come--

NARRATOR: They were
hoping to find traces

of metal that would
indicate where

"The White Bird" had crashed.

RICK GILLESPIE: From the very
beginning of this project,

we felt that technology
would be the answer.

And we have driven
ourselves nuts

trying to find that technology.

And time and time again,
what has worked is people.

People have succeeded.

People have led us closer.

NARRATOR: Rick and
Pat concentrated

their investigation
on longtime Maine

residents who might have seen
or heard "The White Bird"

50 years ago.

They visited a retired
blueberry farmer who had

lived in the area for 77 years.

HAROLD VINING: I was outside,
and, all of a sudden,

this plane was overhead.

RICK GILLESPIE: You
heard the aircraft?

I heard the airplane.

NARRATOR: Harold Vining is
the last person still alive

who claims to have
heard "The White

Bird" on its final flight.

At that time, we was all keyed
up listening for Lindbergh.

Due to the fact
that this plane was

traveling in the
wrong direction,

it couldn't have been Lindbergh.

I was out chopping wood when
I heard this plane go over.

And I honestly believe
that that's the first plane

that I ever heard in my life.

That's why it is so
outstanding in my mind.

Not knowing that it
was these French people

trying to make history, I
just paid no attention to it.

NARRATOR: Three miles
from Harold Vining's home,

a young couple, Everett and
Abigail Scott, heard a plane

and stopped their car to listen.

Two miles away, Mary
Gould was in her kitchen

when she, too, heard
the sound of a plane.

MAURICE BERRY: It was real
foggy for several days.

I remember the day-- well--

NARRATOR: Maurice Berry's
cousin, Anson Berry,

was fishing when he, too,
heard a plane fly over, then

heard its engine stop.

[engine sputtering]

[crash]

MAURICE BERRY: Anson said
that he heard a ripping crash.

I believed the man.

I believed what he said.

And I fully believe
that that airplane

is down there somewhere.

You just haven't
stumbled onto it.

[branches cracking]

NARRATOR: The team searched one
possible crash site near where

the old timers heard the plane.

There they discovered an
unusual piece of wood.

RICK GILLESPIE: Hey, Pat?

It turns out to be a single
stalk of something that

has been run through a
roller, man- fashioned,

the kind of generic material
that would have been used

for any kind of a padding
purpose but not in Maine

because it's not from Maine.

And it's not even apparently
from North America.

NARRATOR: Eventually
they found 23 more

fragments of the same strip.

Together they formed a length
of two meters, the exact width

of "The White Bird's" wing.

RICK GILLESPIE: We will
continue on the project

as long as it seems
reasonable to do it.

But it's kept us
going in the past.

New information keeps
coming out that corroborates

what's come before.

And there's very much a feeling
of getting closer, and closer,

and closer.

Watch the ground.

Watch your alignment.

NARRATOR: Rick believes that
there still may be a hunter who

has spent time in the desolate
woods near Machais, Maine,

and who has seen some clue to
the fate of "The White Bird."

They intend to search until
the ill-fated French plane is

found.

Only then will
Nungesser and Coli

be awarded their rightful
place in the annals

of aviation history.

[theme music]

[bell ringing]

NARRATOR: October 1987,
Arlington, Texas, the friends

and family of 43-year-old
Patsy Bolton Wright mourn

her tragic and unexpected death.

She had died suddenly at 3:00 in
the morning in her own bedroom.

And no one knows why.

LESLIE WRIGHT: You
would never ever

expect that to happen because,
you know, I mean, she was.

She was so alive.

She was so healthy.

There was nothing
wrong with her.

And when it happened,
you're just in awe

because you would
never ever have

expected that to happen to her.

SALLY HORNING: There's not a day
that goes by that we can even

believe that this has happened.

We can all still see Patsy
coming into the room smiling,

and we can hear her laugh.

And it just doesn't
seem real at all.

NARRATOR: Eight days after
Patsy's memorial service,

a routine autopsy was performed.

A mass spectrometer
checked for 56,000

different foreign substances
in Patsy's blood samples.

Suddenly, the machine showed
a violent, positive reaction.

The lab technician immediately
requested identification.

Within seconds, the chilling
answer came back, strychnine.

Because of its
horrible side effects,

strychnine poisoning
is considered

an unusually cruel way to die.

Death by strychnine
is also very rare.

According to a leading
toxicologist, since 1950,

there's only been one
confirmed case of homicide

by strychnine poisoning in
the entire United States.

In the death of Patsy
Wright, the Texas authorities

faced a puzzling question.

How had this virulent poison
entered Patsy's bloodstream?

[phone ringing]

3: 00 AM the morning
of Patsy's death,

Steve and Sally
Horning were awakened

by a frantic phone call.

STEVE HORNING: Hello?

I need to talk to Sally.

STEVE HORNING: Patsy?

What's the matter?

I can't breathe.

NARRATOR: The caller was
Sally's sister, Patsy Wright.

Hello, Patsy?

I took some cold medicine
and something is really wrong.

What's the matter?

What is it?

Patsy?

Patsy?

We got to the house, and
parked in the driveway,

and went to the front door.

And, of course, the
door was locked.

And we couldn't get in.

(FRANTICALLY) Patsy!

Steve, go around the back.

Patsy?

Open up!

It's Sally!

STEVE HORNING: I went
around to the side.

The window was open
just, I suppose,

for getting fresh air in there.

Open it up, jump through
the window, came through.

And I saw Patsy on the bed.

Patsy?

In the bedroom.

SALLY HORNING: When we got
in, she was in the bedroom.

She just looked like
she had kind of fainted,

so I thought that's
what had happened.

And so we tried to get her up.

And that didn't work.

Operator?

We need an ambulance at
3017 Homeoak and Arlington

immediately.

My sister's not breathing.

STEVE HORNING: I worked on
both her heart and mouth

to mouth resuscitation.

During that, a lot of green
fluid came out up from her.

And I would continually
spit that out onto the bed,

or there was a towel
there, as I remember.

Sometime after that,
the medics came.

MEDIC: When was the last
time y'all talked to her?

About 3 o'clock
this morning, and she

just stopped talking to us.

We think the phone dropped.

And we rushed over here as
quick as we could, and--

This the way y'all found her?

Yes.

We, at first, thought that she
was responding because I could

see the monitor
going up and down,

but it was every time they
were pushing on her chest

that that's what it was.

MEDIC: We're coming down.

Step.

There you go.

Step.

SALLY HORNING: I rode to the
hospital in the ambulance

with her.

And, uh, they said that, um,
they were not able to save her.

And they said they had done
everything they could do.

And there just wasn't
anything they could do.

NARRATOR: Neither
Sally nor the police

had any reason to
suspect foul play.

But in her phone call, Patsy had
mentioned taking cold medicine,

so police collected the
bottle for possible analysis.

Patsy's cold medicine contained
huge amounts of strychnine.

The FBI ruled out
product tampering.

Patsy Wright seemed to have
everything to live for.

She had two children, a son
Wayne and a daughter Lesley,

to whom she was very close.

Patsy and her sister, Sally,
were successful businesswomen.

They owned two wax museums
worth over $6 million.

Also, Patsy had just bought
three prized quarter horses,

and she'd planned to
train them herself.

DR JOANN HOUTS: In my
professional opinion,

it's highly unlikely that
Patsy committed suicide

or was a high risk for suicide.

NARRATOR: Sergeant Jay Gustavson
of the Arlington, Texas, police

began to investigate
Patsy's death as a murder.

He had two clues
which made him think

that the murder was probably
someone Patsy knew very well.

First, Patsy's
burglar alarm had not

been set on the night she died.

Secondly, only
those close to Patsy

knew it was her habit to
take nighttime cold medicine

when she had trouble sleeping.

DR JOANN HOUTS:
I can pretty much

say that this case
involves someone that

knew Patsy, knew her habits.

And then I have to put together
motive and opportunity.

NARRATOR: The first people
Sergeant Gustafson questioned

were Patsy's sister and
brother-in-law, Sally

and Steve Horning.

SALLY HORNING: They
started asking a lot

of questions of all of us.

And, uh, I guess we
came to the realization

that we were all, you
know, pretty much suspects.

And they had to ask us some
questions that, you know,

were not very comfortable.

And, you know
I--I-- I don't ever

want to go through that again.

NARRATOR: The Sergeant
looked for a motive.

Patsy's wealth came
from the two wax museums

she owned with her sister.
- OK.

Y'all come here.
- Whoa!

[scream]
- Whoa!

[laughter]

NARRATOR: Not only were the
museums tourist attractions.

They were also centers of social
life in their respective towns.

When Patsy died, the
museums were inherited

by Steve and Sally Horning.

STEVE HORNING: We as family
members were being asked

questions that you
never even think

you're ever going to be asked.

So surprise, and hurt, and
yet knowing that questions

like these have to be asked.

Did you put that strychnine
in Patsy's cold medicine?

STEVE HORNING: No.

NARRATOR: The authorities
also speculated

that if Steve Horning
had poisoned Patsy,

he would not have
performed mouth

to mouth resuscitation on
her, taking potentially deadly

liquid into his own mouth.

Steve and Sally along with
other family members voluntarily

took polygraph tests.

All of them passed.

Police also gave Patsy's
former boyfriend,

Leo Fikes, a polygraph test.

SGT GUSTAFSON: He was one of the
ones that would have been close

enough to her to
have known about her

taking the liquid cold
medicine on occasion.

He was very much
in love with Patsy.

But for reasons
from Patsy herself,

she did not want
to get remarried.

Do you know for sure who
caused Patsy to be poisoned?

No.

I had no fear of any questions.

I had no fear of
a polygraph test.

In realizing that
I was a suspect,

I think the most
difficult part of it

for me was that Patsy
had rejected me,

and we had not been
real close for seven

or eight months prior to that.

I'd seen her, been out with
her two or three times,

but there was a
certain tenseness

when we were together.

NARRATOR: Leo Fikes
passed his polygraph test.

Patsy's ex-husband, Robert
Cox, was another person

questioned by the police.

Patsy had obtained a
restraining order against Cox

during their
separation because she

claimed he was harassing her.

SGT GUSTAFSON: I had some
people give me statements

that Patsy had some fears
of her ex-husband, Bob Cox.

I understand that there
are times that Patsy

believed that Bob
Cox had driven by

or parked close to her house.

[engine starting]

SALLY HORNING: We knew
that Patsy was going

to be testifying against
her second husband

in an upcoming civil
suit about an arson fire.

And, uh, we knew that
he had called her

on a number of
occasions and asked her

to change this or that story.

And she had told him that she
was going to tell the truth.

He was offered a polygraph
test the same as several others

that I had, uh, interviewed
and taken statements from.

And, uh, he refused to
take a polygraph test.

NARRATOR: Robert Cox
maintains his innocence

as does Leo Fikes.

And there is evidence to suggest
that neither of them is guilty.

Next to Patsy's bed on the
night she died were two

empty dinner plates on a tray.

It seems highly unlikely
that Patsy would

have spent an intimate evening
with either Robert Cox or Leo

Fikes.

Could there have been an
unknown visitor that night

intimate enough to know
Patsy's personal habits

and to share a late
night dinner with her?

The day after Patsy died,
her daughter, Lesley,

received a strange phone call.

No, she's not right now.

May I take a message?

I said hello, and this
person asked for my mother.

And I said, well, she's not
here right now, you know.

Can I take a message?

And this person persisted
in wanting to talk with her.

Um, well, she passed
away yesterday.

She said something
to the effect that--

[phone hanging up]

--well, good.

I wanted her dead or
something like that.

Um, I don't know if it
was a prank phone call.

If it meant something.

Maybe somebody
wanted to find out

if she had died by
taking the cold medicine

with the poison in it.

You know, it could
be totally unrelated.

It could be related.

I don't know.

NARRATOR: The
authorities are still

convinced that the
murderer is someone

who will knew Patsy well.

Sorry for your loss.

Appreciate it.

It's frightening because we
do know that somebody knew her

very well and, knew her habits,
and was close enough to her

to know how to get in and
to use that cold medicine.

So it is very frightening.

And we are afraid that we do
know the person pretty well.

It's a hard thing
for, I guess, my brother

and I just from the point that
this person knew her very well.

And we obviously have to
know them just because we are

such a big part of
my mother's life

that we knew most the
people that she did know.

And it's hard just
because you don't really

know who to trust anymore.

SGT GUSTAFSON: This
is not unlike someone

who wanted to set a
trap out in the woods

to trap something illegal.

He knows what path
the animal goes down.

He knows if he sets a trap
and walks away from it

that he can be alone.

He can be in a crowd of
people when the trap goes off.

What we've got is
Patsy home alone.

She decided to take
medication that night.

And that medication
was like a trap.

It was laced with
strychnine poisoning.

NARRATOR: In a moment, the
story of an American oil tank

and the Nazi submarine
that sunk her.

Over 45 years later, the real
story can finally be told.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: December
7, 1941-- on that

day of infamy, the
Japanese bombed

Pearl Harbor, and
the United States

was thrust into World War II.

In the Pacific, the Japanese
claimed victory after victory.

But in the Atlantic, the
German Navy threatened the sea

lanes of America's backyard.

The German submarines,
known as U-boats,

even infiltrated
the waters of New

York Harbor and Chesapeake Bay.

In 1941, 39-year-old William
Betts, a father of two boys,

was captain of the
Muskogee, a tanker

that transported crude oil up
and down the Atlantic coast.

[boat horn]

The oil was vital to the
burgeoning war effort.

Because Betts had no time
to go home to his family,

Ellen his wife would go to him.

On February 2, 1942, two
months after Pearl Harbor,

the Muskogee was preparing
to leave his home port.

William and Ellen exchanged what
would be their final farewells.

Ellen returned home
to her sons and waited

for word of her husband.

Are you Mrs. Betts?

I have a telegram for
Mrs. William Betts.

ELLEN BETTS: I
received a telegram

from the company saying
that the ship was

probably lost on its way north.

And, uh, that is all they said.

They didn't know anything.

NARRATOR: Ellen had no idea
what happened to her husband,

the father of her two boys.

One year later, the
older son, George,

was drafted into the military.

But he remained haunted by
his father's unknown fate.

For 13 years, there was no clue.

Then in 1955, a strange
coincidence, a friend at work

showed him a book
about German submarines

called "The Sea Wolves."

And George had his first clue as
to what happened to his father.

GEORGE BETTS: It told of how
this submarine, the U-123,

as soon as they arrived
in their battle zone,

they came upon the tanker
Muskogee and sunk it.

After I got done at work
that day, I hopped In my car

and rode north to
my mother's home

to see if I could find out if
that's where the Muskogee had

come from was Wilmington.

And she said yes.

And I said, well, then
I've just found out

what happened to Dad's
ship when it went down.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: The Muskogee was
just one of the 413 ships

sunk my German U-boats in 1942.

29,000 merchant sailors
lost their lives.

Among them, the 34 missing
mariners of the SS Muskogee.

These are photographs
taken from the deck

of the German
submarine in the U-123

only minutes after it
torpedoed the Muskogee.

They were taken by a
German war correspondent

and show seven survivors
from William Betts' ship.

All seven would perish at sea.

These photographs took
George Betts an important step

closer to uncovering
the complete story

of his father's death.

As George learned more about the
last moments of the Muskogee,

he began to develop a bond with
this merchant marine captain

he never really knew.

By learning about
his father's death,

he was establishing a closeness
they never shared in life.

Well, it was fascinating
to see the pictures at last.

And it made me feel
closer to my dad's demise

when I saw the pictures
here in the book.

I naturally looked
to see if I could

recognize my father on the raft,
but I didn't see him there.

And I could quite understand it
because the basic rules of sea

are that the captain sees
that all able-bodied men are

off the vessel
before he leaves it.

Therefore, I felt it was a
safe assumption that my dad

went down with his ship.

NARRATOR: In 1979, George
contacted the National Archives

in Washington, D.C. and
obtained a microfilm copy

of German war records, including
the captain's log of the U-123.

GEORGE BETTS: Of course,
it was in German,

but I could see the American
name of the Muskogee ship sunk,

and I could read
some of the fact

that the ship was
being fired on.

And I could see
where the Muskogee

was on that plodding chart.

And it would show the day.

And he even had
it marked on there

like SS Muskogee got sunken.

They knew they'd sunk the ship.

NARRATOR: Captain Reinhard
Hardegen commanded the U-123

thought most of the war.

He sunk 23 airline ships,
totaling 200,000 tons

and was personally
congratulated by Adolph Hitler.

Only one out of 10 U-boat
personnel survived the war.

Reinhard Hardegen
was among them.

After the war, he was elected
to the West German parliament

and served 32 years.

George began
writing to Hardegen.

And they agreed
to meet in Canada.

GEORGE BETTS: I was all for it.

At long last, I thought I'm
now going to talk to this man.

I had no animosity toward him.

That's the way I felt. I felt
her's one more World War II

veteran that was on one side and
one World War II veteran that

was on the other side.

And, in our cases, we
were two of the lucky ones

that survived the battles.

NARRATOR: In October
of 1987, the two met.

Reinhard Hardegen
gave George a chilling

eyewitness report of the last
moments of the "Muskogee."

In the morning of the
22nd of March in 1942,

I saw steam and some mast.

And then I tried to get in front
of the [inaudible] of the ship.

The ship was zig-zagging a
little bit of nearly 15 degrees

to every side.

As nearly two hours, I
was in a good position.

And then I dived.

And then I shot a torpedo
with my [inaudible].

This torpedo hit in the
engine room of the tanker.

Therefore, the
tanker didn't burn.

And she sank very quick.

In a minute, it was
all over, and it

was too short for the crew to
take lifeboats in the water.

And, therefore, there
were only two rafts.

I gave the crew on the rafts
food and water, cigarettes,

and told them their position.

I thought the next day a
ship would find the rafts.

And so it was very
sad information for me

to learn from George Betts
that no one of the crew

were rescued.

NARRATOR: Now that George knew
the truth about the Muskogee,

he was determined to let the
families of the other crew

members share in his knowledge.

He managed to contact
eight families.

In September of 1988,
he drove over 200 miles

to meet with the family
of Clifford Chesley,

the radioman of the Muskogee.

Clifford was 26 when
he perished at sea.

Now there's a picture
of the ship going down

from the deck bridge of the--

NARRATOR: The Chesley
family had no idea

what had happened to Clifford.

Thanks to George,
for the first time,

the Chesleys learned
the fate of their loved

one 46 years earlier.

We just assumed that there
was either a storm or something

that the ship was missing.

Up until now, we didn't even
know actually if it went down.

I mean, there were so many
prisoner of wars in my age now.

It could've happened the
same thing back then.

One day, I almost
thought I saw

him walking across the street.

They say everyone has a double.

I almost ran over.

And I just was wondering
where he could be.

Now that I know it definitely
was the sinking of the boat,

and it's gone, and
I definitely will

believe my mind to
say my oldest brother,

and that's how he's gone.

It's just a little
more peace that finally

knowing what really did happen.

NARRATOR: Of the seven
men in this photograph,

three have been identified.

They are Third Mate
Nathaniel Foster,

Chief Mate Morgan Finucane,
and able-bodied Seaman Anthony

Sousa.

The other four have
never been identified,

but they are among these
34 men who disappeared

on board the "Muskogee."

Like so many brave men who
served in the merchant marine,

they died unheralded,
unrecognized until now.

[music playing]

[theme music]

Next week on "Unsolved
Mysteries," the story

of a 16-year-old school
girl who vanished just yards

away from her parents' home.

A year later, she
may have been 1,000

miles away in South Carolina.

Then she disappeared again.

Perhaps you could help
find Kari Lynn Nixon.

Also, a fascinating
treasure hunt in New.

Mexico 50 years
ago, a prospector

discovered a maze
of secret tunnels

in a mountain,
which he claimed led

to an underground chamber
filled with gold bars

and priceless relics.

Join me next week
for another edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]