Original subtitles

[music playing]

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.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

NARRATOR: On November 24, 1971, at 8:12 PM, 10,000

feet above Southwestern Washington state,

a man forced open a rear doorway of a commercial airliner.

Buffeted by winds gusting in excess of 200 miles per hour,

he stood briefly in a rear stairwell.

The man, known only as DB Cooper,

leapt into space and the unknown.

The last flight and strange disappearance of DB Cooper

is one of the most baffling cases of this century.

Many, including the FBI, believe he

must have perished when he leaped from a 727

at 10,000 feet.

Others disagree.

They say he made it.

Tonight, we will recreate DB Cooper's last flight

and examine two other cases.

In one, an $8 million dollar collection of sports

memorabilia has disappeared.

Among the treasures was Babe Ruth's uniform.

And the other, two teenage boys lay motionless in the path

of an on-rushing train.

Their parents believe they were murdered.

Join me.

You may be able to help solve a mystery.

For some, DB Cooper is a skyjacking mastermind

behind a daring crime that defied both the elements

and the authorities.

To most of us, he's nothing more than a common criminal

who risked the lives of 42 innocent people for $200,000.

But one fact remains, nobody knows whether DB

Cooper is dead or alive.

NARRATOR: Thanksgiving eve 1971.

At 2:00 PM, DB Cooper walked into the Portland Airport.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: He was your typical business man.

A suit, tie, a raincoat, carrying an attache case.

Nothing distinctive about him except, perhaps, for the fact

that everything was very dark.

Black tie, black raincoat, black shoes.

Cooper.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: He appeared at the ticket counter

and bought his ticket.

And just gave the name Cooper.

By the way, is that a 727?

Yes, sir.

It is.

It'll be $20 please.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The 727 became notorious

through this case because it is the only airliner from which

a successful parachute jump can be

made from the passenger cabin.

ANNOUNCER: Flight 305, non-stop service to Seattle.

NARRATOR: Cooper had purchased a one way ticket to Seattle.

The only luggage he carried was an attache case.

[flight attendant presentation]

NARRATOR: He was the last person to board the plane

and took his seat while the 727 began its taxi to the runway.

Florence Shaftner was the first crew member to talk to Cooper.

FEMALE: You'll need to put this under your front seat, please.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: He handed me a note

and he kept looking at me.

And I just ignored him the first time he looked at me.

And then, he said I want you to read the note.

It was printed Miss, I have a bomb in my briefcase.

I want you to sit beside me.

MALE: This is no joke.

There's a bomb in here.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: I saw a big battery with six dynamite

sticks wrapped around the battery.

And he said to me, all I have to do

is attach this wire to this gadget here and we all be dead.

She saw the bomb so we know it's for real.

NARRATOR: Florence went to cockpit to inform the crew

about Cooper and his threat.

Can you handle it?

Yeah.

Tina, he's the guy of very back.

He's all dressed in black.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: We were very, very scared to death.

All of us were.

I was thinking about dying.

That's all I thought.

I was also thinking I'll never see my parents,

my brothers and sisters.

Scottie, we call headquarters?

Yes, Mel, go ahead and call headquarters.

NARRATOR: The flight crew immediately

notified air traffic control about the hijacking.

Radio five.

We have a hijack in progress.

NARRATOR: They, in turn, contacted the FBI.

OK, I gave the captain your demands.

Did you tell him $200,000 cash small bills?

- Yes, I told him small bills. - Four parachutes?

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: He wanted $200,000 in cash in a knapsack.

And four parachutes.

Identified the parachutes as two front

packed parachutes and two backpacks.

And he specified that the airliner remain in the air

until the money and the parachutes

were ready at Seattle.

He also specified that the other passengers not

be told that the airplane was being hijacked.

Can I get you something to drink?

NARRATOR: The flight crew proceeded as if nothing

was out of the ordinary.

Drinks were served.

Cooper ordered two bourbon and waters.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The FBI asked the airline what their approach

to the hijacking was going to be,

that is, did they wish to pay the ransom?

This is an option that the victim of an extortion has,

rather than law enforcement.

And they responded instantly, they wish to pay the ransom.

And so, the FBI at Seattle set about assisting

and obtaining the money.

NARRATOR: Each bill was photographed

and the serial numbers recorded.

Cooper also insisted the plane be immediately refueled

upon landing in Seattle.

No passengers were to be released until all

of his demands were met.

Flight trail five, Seattle-Tacoma,

we've just been informed the money

and the chutes have arrived.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The hijacker instructed that they land,

but that they stay on the runway, rather than to taxi

up to the terminal.

[inaudible] checks?

Check.

Drop check here.

NARRATOR: At 5:43 PM, flight 305 landed at the Seattle airport.

The plane taxied in and parked in a remote area of a field.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The money and the parachutes

were bought by an FBI agent to the airplane.

They were carried on board by the flight attendant.

There were 10,000 $20 bills assembled in straps

of 100 bills to a strap.

And individual straps held together with rubber bands.

The money alone, just the currency, weighed 21 pounds.

NARRATOR: Four parachutes were delivered,

but the authorities and the skyjacker

were unaware that one of the parachutes was defective.

It would not open under any circumstances.

All right, that's two.

Where's the other two?

They're right out back.

Get them up here.

NARRATOR: Both the flight group and the FBI

were worried that Cooper would use the four parachutes to take

hostages along with him.

But the passengers on board are oblivious to what was going on.

Though annoyed at the delay, they remained calm.

Unaware of the drama surrounding them.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: During the time

the airliner was on the ground at Seattle,

there were FBI agents with scoped rifles

who were prepared if the indications were present that

required it to take him off.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: He was very, very uptight.

Suspicious.

He said to us to pull down the shade.

Every shade must be down so I did and Tina did.

WILLIAM SCOTT: They seemed to be having trouble with getting

fuel on the aircraft.

And we thought well, maybe they're delaying it.

And we said we don't want any delay.

And at this time, the hijacker seemed

to be getting real shook up.

So we told them on the ground, if you're

trying to delay us with any of these kind of tactics,

let's get with it and get the fuel on,

which they finally did.

FEMALE: We apologize--

NARRATOR: Finally, the passengers

were allowed to deplane.

But Cooper demand that the flight crew and one

flight attendant stay onboard.

The copilot said, you better get the hell out now.

So I left went out Tina.

And that's when he decided to keep her because he was getting

suspicious at everything.

NARRATOR: The passengers are met by FBI agents.

Only then did they realize that their lives

had been in mortal danger.

When de-briefed, they could remember nothing about the man

with the attache case.

All right, listen up, captain.

NARRATOR: Cooper ordered the pilot

to fly from Seattle to Mexico City at a height of 10,000 feet

and a speed of 200 miles per hour.

Under these conditions, a 727 would

have to refuel along the way.

Cooper agreed to stop and refuel in Reno, Nevada.

He then made an unusual request.

And I want the back stairwell down.

MALE: We're checking with the--

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: The pilot explained

that he wasn't able to take off with that door open.

And they argued back and forth and finally, the pilot

said he just couldn't fly the airplane

and wasn't going to try.

And the hijacker consented for the door

to be closed for takeoff, which it was.

NARRATOR: At 7:37 PM, Flight 305 took off.

The Seattle control tower alerted all other aircraft

in the area to remain clear so the 727 had the sky to itself.

The weather had deteriorated and a storm front directly

in the plane's flight path.

I want you to get up there with your fly--

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: He told her to go back into the cockpit

and to close the curtain between the coach

and the first class cabins.

And as she turned around to close the curtains

she said she saw him tying something to his waist

with what she thought was rope.

But later in the cockpit, the light

flashed indicating that the hijacker was

attempting to operate the door.

At 8:12, the pilot told us that they were experiencing

a rapid change in the air pressure, reflected

in a ear's popping experience.

NARRATOR: Somewhere over the forest of Southern Washington

state, Cooper jumped.

He has never been seen since.

Since DB Cooper's hijacking, all 727s have been

modified so that the rear door cannot

be opened during a flight.

When we return, we'll reveal an important new clue

to the identity of DB Cooper.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

No one can be certain that DB Cooper survived

his jump from 10,000 feet.

In the aircraft, he left no identifiable fingerprints.

No personal items.

No clue to his identity.

DB Cooper seems to have vanished from the face of the earth.

NARRATOR: Upon landing in Reno, Nevada, every inch of the 727

was scrutinized for clues as to DB Cooper's real identity.

The flight attendants who had seen Cooper up close

created a composite drawing of his face.

Flight 305 flew along this path on his way to Reno.

The crew felt that Cooper had jumped

somewhere near the southern tip of Washington state.

For that reason, it was believed that Cooper would be found

in this area bordered by Lake Merwyn to the north

and ending 20 miles north of Portland, Oregon.

No matter where Cooper landed, Frank Howe believes

he could have survived.

Let's say he went down in the water.

You've got to know how to manage that parachute.

You can use it for some flotation.

Now, his life expectancy is not going

to be very long in that water.

It's cold and you have to think of the time

of the year it was in.

So he had probably very, very few minutes to get on shore.

But I think he could have done this.

NARRATOR: A large white object had been reported

floating in Lake Merwyn.

Divers repeatedly explored its depths but found nothing.

My feeling is he would have been hurt regardless

of what he landed into.

I think that Cooper most likely crawled to a creek.

He didn't have any water supplies.

Didn't bring any along with him and he would have

had to have water to survive.

So I assume he made his way to a little creek

and perished there.

NARRATOR: Some feel that Cooper could not

have survived in that rugged terrain,

rest only in a business suit.

FRANK HOWE: We don't know what he wore under the suit.

Could have had a long underwear on, which

he certainly should have had.

And what he had in his pockets may

have been the most important thing

because this would've given him the tools of survival.

As long as a man's got a knife, a cigarette lighter,

the clothes on his back, he could have

lived indefinitely out there.

Could do it.

It's possible.

I think he buried the chute.

I think he probably buried the briefcase.

He got rid of that.

I think he probably put the money in his coat

and I think he headed for a big city someplace

and lost himself.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: The search for DB Cooper

continued, but no new clues were discovered.

Seven years passed.

Then in November of 1978, a hunter

deep in the Washington forest, discovered

a plastic placard from a 727.

It had been ripped from a lower stairwell of flight 305.

15 Months later, an even more dramatic discovery was made.

Can you run up there and just clear a spot off for a fire?

NARRATOR: On February 10, 1980, a family

was preparing a barbecue on the shore of the Columbia River.

165 miles south of Seattle and 20 miles

southwest of Cooper's supposed jump point.

They planned on digging a fire pit, but dug up something else.

The bills totaling $5,880 were water logged and deteriorated.

RALPH HIMMELSBACH: There were 294 bills found.

And all of those serial numbers are on the ransom list

so that money is definitely, positively

identified as having come from that particular ransom money.

Money was found.

If they had found $200,000 I'd had said, hey, it's all over.

He's out there.

He's dead.

Now we've got some real proof, but they did not find $200,000.

Where's the rest of the money?

That's what I want to know.

He risked his life to hijack the airliner.

He didn't get to spend the money.

He may have lost his life.

Now I don't know that he lost his life,

but I think there's a very good chance that he did.

None of the money, not one bill, has

ever turned up in circulation.

NARRATOR: Could DB Cooper have struck again?

Only five months after Cooper's flight in April of 1972,

a half million was extorted from another airline

by another skyjacker.

The crime was remarkably similar to the Cooper skyjacking.

His name was Richard McCoy, a former Green Beret skydiver.

He was sentenced to 45 years for air piracy,

but escaped and was tracked down and killed in a gun battle

with the FBI.

Due to the resemblance between their pictures,

some believe that DB Cooper and Richard McCoy are the same man.

Florence Shaftner, however, believes the composite

of Cooper may be inaccurate.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: The composite never really looked like him.

The hair does not look like him.

The face does not look like him.

I've added a little bit of eyelid up here--

NARRATOR: At the request of "Unsolved Mysteries," Florence

worked with Malin Coleman, a forensic artist

from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Together they created a new portrait of DB Cooper.

Wide forehead.

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: It's still strong in my mind.

OK, narrow face.

I remember everything.

The color of his eyes.

the color of his eyebrows, and his features.

What do you think of that?

FLORENCE SHAFTNER: Yeah.

That's it.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

NARRATOR: Last May, be examined the case of Diane Brodbeck,

a Pennsylvania housewife and mother

of two, whose charity work led her

to exchange letters of friendship

with convicted killer Jon Yount.

Yount, a former high school math teacher,

was sentenced to life in prison in 1966

for the brutal murder of a teenage girl.

Brodbeck and Yount's friendship gradually grew into a romance.

On April 5, 1986, Jon Yount escaped from prison.

And on the same day, Diane Brodbeck disappeared.

I know my daughter.

She would not deliberately help a convicted

murderer escape from prison.

Yes, I think my wife probably did

help Jon Yount get out of jail.

Under pressure, for what reason, I don't know.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Update.

Jon 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.

NARRATOR: The Humphrey's called the FBI

and after a month long investigation,

the fugitive couple was arrested at their home.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

NARRATOR: In the pre-dawn hours of August 23, 1987,

a 75 car, 6,000 ton cargo train made its regular night

run to Little Rock, Arkansas.

The train was over a mile long and was traveling at a speed

of 52 miles per hour.

So far the run had been clear sailing

as engineer Steven Shroyer approached the small town

of Bryant, Arkansas.

[train horns]

There's something on the rail out there, you see that?

See what it is?

NARRATOR: Certainly, Shroyer saw something in his path.

He couldn't tell what it was.

As his train drew closer--

Yeah, it's a couple of bodies.

NARRATOR: He made the horrifying discovery

that two boys were lying motionless

across the railroad tracks.

STEPHEN SHROYER: From the time that we had placed the train

into an emergency position and laid down on the horn,

I would estimate about three to five seconds to impact.

And that may not sound like a very long period of time,

but when you're bearing down a couple of children,

it's an eternity, honestly.

[train horns]

NARRATOR: Despite the engineer's frantic emergency stop,

the weight of the heavy cargo train

carried it for a full half mile.

The boys bodies were terribly mangled.

The two boys were identified as 16-year-old Don Henry

and 17-year-old Kevin Ives.

Best friends and popular seniors at the Bryant,

Arkansas high school.

It is extraordinary that Kevin and Don lay on the tracks

without moving a muscle, when a huge freight

train was hurtling towards them blaring its emergency horn.

The state medical examiner said the boys had been

under the influence of marijuana and he

ruled the deaths accidental.

Don and Kevin's parents could not accept that ruling.

They began a crusade to find out what really happened.

And to salvage the reputation of their sons.

Well, I couldn't believe that Kevin was knocked out

on marijuana or into any kind of a heavy drugs or anything

like that because I was home a lot during the day

when Kevin come in from school.

And Linda was here at nights.

And we'd never seen him in a state

that he even act like he was spaced out

or however you want to phrase it.

I just couldn't see any signs that he was

into any kind of heavy drugs.

Or any kind of-- really, drugs at all.

NARRATOR: Kevin and Don were both typical teenage boys.

They loved to work on their cars.

They loved to hunt.

Don was a natural comedian and Kevin was his best audience.

Most weekends the two double dated.

However, on the night of Saturday, August 22, 1987,

Kevin and Don met a group of friends

at the outskirts of Little Rock at a favorite gathering

place for the local teenagers.

The two boys left around midnight

to go back to Don's house.

Kevin waited on the porch while Don went

inside to talk to his father.

And he gave me in approximately 12:15.

Came in the bedroom.

Told me where he was going and everything, you know.

I told him just be careful.

And he took one of my spotlights with him.

Took he is .22.

And we talked for approximately 15 minutes before he left.

You ready?

Let's go.

NARRATOR: The two boys set off to go

spotlighting, a form of night hunting

which is illegal in Arkansas.

One of them would shine a light in the animal's eyes,

transfixing the prey while the other fired.

Spotlighting was a fairly widespread

activity among the local boys.

So far, Kevin and Don had avoided being caught.

That night the boys chose their usual hunting

ground, along the railroad tracks

that ran behind Don's house.

CURTIS HENRY: I never was even concerned, you know,

worried about him when he was in the woods, hunting.

Because I didn't-- I realized you

could get in trouble hunting.

NARRATOR: It was almost 1 o'clock in the morning.

Three hours later, Stephen Shroyer's locomotive

came speeding down Bryant Hill.

When we were about six poles away from it,

my conductor yelled out big-o.

I immediately recognized what we saw.

[TRAIN HORNS AND TIRES SCREECHING]

It looked like a body morgue.

They were just laid out.

NARRATOR: The boys were lying exactly parallel on the tracks.

Their arms straight down by their sides.

They were partially covered by a light green tarp.

Lying parallel to both of them was Don's .22 rifle.

Neither boy was moving.

I started laying down on the diesel horn.

And I got no reaction.

Not at all.

Not so much as a flinch.

And the-- we just passed over them.

NARRATOR: What had caused the two boys to lie side

by side on the railroad tracks?

The state medical examiner concluded

they had smoked the equivalent of 20 marijuana cigarettes.

He determined that Kevin and Don had been in a deep sleep

induced by the drug.

And had never heard the oncoming train.

He ruled their death an accident.

Don and Kevin's parents would not

accept the medical examiner's conclusion.

LINDA IVES: If they were that stoned,

how did they lie down in identical positions?

That was my immediate reaction to his ruling.

We checked the train and it was

98 decibels, which is equal to a jackhammer,

an air compressor running.

I don't think that no one can sleep

through that kind of noise.

And another thing, too, my son's gun,

it was laying on the gravel.

I know my son too well.

He would not lay it on gravel.

He wouldn't take a chance on the wood getting scratched.

LARRY IVES: We hired a private investigator to try

to find out what happened.

Every time he would try to find out something,

it seemed like he would meet resistance

from different authorities and everything.

And we weren't getting anywhere.

NARRATOR: Five months after their sons were killed,

Don and Kevin's parents held a press conference.

They hoped to force the authorities

to reopen the investigation.

Would you like to give up your son

and everybody think they was smoking up and laid down--

passed out.

No, I don't think anyone wants to give up their kid

unless that is honestly proved to be the truth.

then you have to except it.

At this point, it has not been proved to us.

NARRATOR: The day after their press conference,

the investigation was officially reopened.

Newly appointed prosecutor, Richard Garrett,

had the boys bodies exhumed for a second autopsy

to be performed by a noted expert.

This doctor concluded that together,

the boys had smoked not 20, but between 1

and 3 marijuana cigarettes.

He also found evidence to indicate

that one boy was already dead and one unconscious

when the train hit them.

In July of 1988, a grand jury reversed the medical examiner's

original finding of accidental death

and officially ruled the boy's deaths probable homicides.

Prosecutor Garrett then focused on the green tarp.

Neither boy owned such a tarp.

Who had covered them with it and why?

All four of the people on the train who were able to observe

the scene prior to the accident, stated

that the boys were partially covered by a green tarp.

See what you can find.

I'll go ahead and call it in.

NARRATOR: Police who searched the scene later

denied that engineer Shroyer had even told them about the tarp.

STEPHEN SHROYER: They even questioned its existence.

That, to me, would be like questioning the existence

of the boys on the track.

They were covered up with a tarp.

STEPHEN SHROYER: Because what's real is real

and what's not is not.

And it was there as well as the boys.

RICHARD GARRETT: I can understand two people laying

down on a railroad track.

I can understand two people laying down and covering

themselves up with a tarp.

Where would the tarp come from?

I am convinced that the tarp existed.

The tarp, however, was never found.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: The ensuing investigation

unearthed an intriguing lead.

One week before the boys were killed,

a man wearing military fatigues had

been spotted in the vicinity.

His behavior had aroused suspicion.

When Police Officer Danny Allen stopped to question him,

the man opened fire.

DANNY ALLEN: When I got up from the seat, the subject was gone.

And five minutes later, Celine County showed up

and we searched the area and never found a subject.

NARRATOR: On the night Kevin and Don died,

witnesses, again, reported seeing

a man in military fatigues.

This time, he was leaving town, heading down a road

less than 200 yards from the spot where

the boys bodies were run over.

Police had been unable to locate him.

Six weeks after the investigation was reopened,

Richard Garrett came up with a strangely similar case.

In Hogden, Oklahoma, just 200 miles west of Little Rock,

two young men lying together on the railroad tracks

had been run over by a locomotive in 1984.

They were lying motionless on the tracks,

in a position nearly identical to Kevin and Don's.

[train horn]

[music playing]

RICHARD GARRETT: I think that someone took these boys' lives.

They incapacitated one of the boys

and then, felt like they had to do something to the other one.

And then to cover their tracks, laid

the boys on the railroad track and covered them up

with a tarp.

The reason why they did that, I'm not sure.

What I'm hunting for is the reason why they did it.

I've never carried a gun in my life.

But since we've started working on this thing,

I am carrying a gun.

Because I do feel like that my life could be in danger

at some point in time.

Whatever it takes, however long it takes.

As long as there is anything to investigate,

as long as there's anything to work on, we'll do it.

[music playing]

Hundreds of times, I've been out there day and night.

Just trying to get it in my mind of what could have happened

or what did happened.

I've been out there at night to see

how far you can see the train.

How far you can hear the train.

How loud is the train.

I basically, think that they walked up

on something that they was not supposed to see.

They was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I know in my own mind that they was murdered.

And put there.

Since we filmed this story, Don

Henry's t-shirt has been analyzed

by an expert pathologist.

Tears in the fabric indicate that Don

had been stabbed before he was run over by the train.

In light of this new evidence, the grand jury

changed its ruling from probable homicide to definite homicide.

[music playing]

Next, a curious footnote to the legend of Babe Ruth.

His uniform, long displayed as a priceless sports treasure,

has been stolen.

Along with other sports memorabilia worth $8 million.

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

NARRATOR: In 1927, legendary Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs.

The record has stood for over 30 years.

Today, his 1927 World Series ring is valued at $50,000.

It has disappeared.

In 1956, Mickey Mantle had the most

home runs and the best batting average

of any player in the game.

Today, Mantle's 1956 World Series

uniform is valued at $15,000.

It has disappeared.

Pete Rose, a hometown boy from Cincinnati,

has more hits than any player in the history of the game.

Rose's silver bat is worth $30,000.

It, too, has disappeared.

At conventions across the country,

millions of avid collectors have made baseball memorabilia

a multimillion dollar business.

One of the most ardent of these collectors was Dennis Walker.

He amassed a trove of sports memorabilia

valued at nearly $10 million.

Today, this irreplaceable collection is missing.

Among the items in Dennis Walker's collection

are Babe Ruth's ring, Mickey Mantle's uniform,

Pete Rose's silver bat, and hundreds

of priceless sports treasures.

Number three, the classic New York Yankees pinstripe.

Sadly, this uniform is only a prop.

Babe Ruth's real uniform, along with most of Walker's

collection, is missing.

America's national pastime has been robbed of a major portion

of its history.

And someone watching tonight may be able to help find it.

NARRATOR: In June of 1980, Dennis Walker

quit his job teaching political science at a small Oregon

college and set up an investment company in his hometown

of Medford, Oregon.

He concocted grandiose investment schemes

and opened his own bank on the South Pacific Island of Tonga.

Walker offered an amazing 25% rate of interest.

And indeed, paid off early investors on schedule.

More than 140 people gave Walker better than $7 million

to invest.

SGT. MICHAEL SWEENY: He had the Midas touch.

And word spread.

Because if somebody says give me $10,000

and I will give you $12,500 right now,

that sounds like one whale of an investment.

The only thing was is that he didn't

actually give them $12,500.

He gave them a piece of paper saying that he owed

them $12,500 one year from now.

Dennis, I have a few things I'd like you to sign.

NARRATOR: Dennis Walker's employees

also invested with him.

PEGGY STEWART: He seemed to be an astute business person.

Seemed to be very intelligent.

And seemed to be very fair.

I was an investor.

And I had a considerable amount of money with Dennis.

We all trusted Dennis.

I believe that every one of the employees

had money invested with Dennis.

NARRATOR: Walker had always been an avid baseball fan.

With his newly accumulated investor's money,

he bought rare and expensive sports memorabilia.

Oh, I just came in to see if you had anything new to show me

today.

Oh, yeah, I got some new Mickey Mantle cards.

NARRATOR: It was as if he were acting out a childhood fantasy.

That's his rookie year, isn't it?

Yeah.

JIM MCLAUGHLIN: The first thing that Walker

did was he spent a great deal of money on sports memorabilia.

$995.

What about that Willie Mays?

Sure of an eye for them.

$225.

They are some nice cards.

JIM MCLAUGHLIN: Walker had a passion

for sports collectibles.

And he freely indulged in with the investors' money.

To some degree, I felt that that was somewhat comforting.

Because we had anywhere from five to, perhaps,

$22 million worth of collectibles.

Obviously, that's a rather large amount of assets

so the investors weren't too concerned.

NARRATOR: Walker soon graduated from $1,000 baseball cards

to the really major collectibles.

He built one of the most prized collections in the country.

Major league batting champion 1981, 370 average.

It'd be an absolute steal if I'd sell you

this whole package at $12,000.

$12,000?

That's right.

NARRATOR: Walker leased an empty bank building

in Medford, Oregon and opened his very own Sports

Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose was Walker's special guest at the grand opening

of his hall of fame.

Walker had bought several pieces of memorabilia from Rose

personally.

He displayed them elaborately among his vast collection

which spanned nine decades of sports history.

Some of the most prized items were

a pristine, uncut sheet of baseball cards

from the year 1933 worth $10,000.

Two Honus Wagner baseball cards from the year 1910

valued at an incredible $70,000.

A diamond studded ring awarded to Pete Rose 1984,

the year he achieved 4,000 hits, valued at $30,000.

And finally, a New York Yankees uniform

worn by the great Babe Ruth.

In 1986, the Medford police obtained a warrant

and searched Walker's office.

The state of Oregon had been watching him for a year

and had filed suit, charging him with fraud and racketeering.

The search yielded enough evidence

to prosecute Walker for the illegal sale

of unregistered securities.

SGT. MICHAEL SWEENY: Once we had done that,

then we ran into a brick wall as far as cooperation

from the people who had invested their money.

PEGGY STEWART: The investigation was not

a case where an investor did not get money

or had complained to the state of Oregon.

Everybody at that point was getting

their principal interest, whatever it was that they

required, to my knowledge.

NARRATOR: Walker immediately filed

a counter suit against the state claiming his innocence.

He received a number of summons but continually

failed to appear in court.

Anticipating the state of Oregon would confiscate his assets,

Walker asked Sandy Sanders, an employee,

to pack up his prized sports collection.

SANDY SANDERS: Actually, I was all for getting it out of there

so that it could be turned into liquid assets

and be given back to the investors.

And to keep the state from getting their cotton

picking hands on it.

NARRATOR: In April 1986, Walker decided to leave Oregon

and took his entire collection of sports memorabilia with him.

Most of Walker's collection would never be seen again.

NARRATOR: 16 months later, a man registered

under the name of Charles Lee was found

dead in a Las Vegas motel.

There was no apparent cause of death

and no signs of identification, except a prescription bottle

bearing the name Dennis Walker.

From reviewing the autopsy photographs

and the autopsy records and looking at the dental charts

and records, there is no doubt in my mind

that was Dennis Walker.

There are a number of theories as to why he died,

but no one has ever really been able to determine

what caused his death.

That, combined with the missing sports memorabilia,

leaves many, many more questions open and closed in this case.

[music playing]

[unsolved mysteries theme music]

For every mystery, someone somewhere knows the truth.

Perhaps that someone is watching.

Perhaps it's you.