All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E15.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

ANNOUNCER: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

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

ROBERT STACK: 1971,
the Philippines.

Roger Roxas, an amateur
treasure hunter,

found an intricate system of
tunnels dug by the Japanese

during World War II.

Roxas claims that, deep
inside, he discovered

an amazing hidden treasure--

a solid gold Buddha and
countless boxes of gold bars.

But Roxas' joy was short-lived.

He soon found himself
imprisoned and tortured

at the order of Philippine
President Ferdinand Marcos.

And as for the treasure
possibly worth billions,

its whereabouts remain
an unsolved mystery.

Kaitlyn Arquette was a popular,
vivacious honor student who

dreamed of becoming a doctor.

But in 1989, Kaitlyn was
brutally and senselessly

gunned down, leaving
her family haunted

by unanswered questions.

Who killed Kaitlyn and why?

20 years ago, a large,
caring family in California

took in a four-year-old
girl whose father

needed help to care for her.

Now that family
asks for your help

to find the young
child that they loved

and accepted as their own.

Join me for these
fascinating stories.

Perhaps someone somewhere
has that one vital clue

that can help solve a mystery.

Perhaps that
someone is watching.

Perhaps it's you.

[theme music]

From 1965 to 1986,
Ferdinand Marcos

ruled the Philippines,
first as an elected leader,

then as a virtual dictator.

By the time Marcos was
deposed, his personal wealth

was estimated at $10
billion, much of it allegedly

looted from his own people.

Few dared challenge
Marcos publicly.

But on May 5, 1971,
newspapers in the Philippines

carried a startling
front-page story.

A Filipino locksmith and
part-time treasure hunter

named Roger Roxas was accusing
Marcos' henchmen of ransacking

his house and stealing
a rare, solid gold

Buddha, which Roxas had found
while excavating near his home.

Just days earlier,
Roger's brother

had taken this photograph
of Roger and the Buddha.

Roger was 27 years old at the
time and in the prime of life.

Roger Roxas is now
49, but his health

is ruined, wrecked by torture
and years of living on the run.

Roger's nemesis, Ferdinand
Marcos, died in Hawaii in 1989

a fabulously wealthy man.

Today, his estate is a target
of a number of lawsuits,

including one filed by the
humble but unbowed locksmith

Roger Roxas, who dared
to cross one of the most

powerful men in Asia.

In 1970, Roger
Roxas and his family

lived 200 miles north of
Manila on the Philippine island

of Luzon.

Roger worked in
nearby Baguio City.

On weekends, he was part of
a large group of Filipinos

whose avocation was
treasure hunting.

One of Roger's fellow
treasure hunters

was Albert Fuchigami, whose
mother was Filipino, but whose

father had been an officer
in the Japanese army

during World War II.

Fuchigami had
painstakingly recreated

from memory a map
which his father

had showed him as a youngster.

The map pinpointed the location
of a secret tunnel system,

where a fortune in
gold bars had allegedly

been left behind when
the Japanese were

driven from the Philippines.

ROGER ROXAS: We were
friends for a long time

before he told me that he
knew of a hidden treasure.

He revealed to me what he
knew about the tunnels.

I had very high hopes
because Fuchigami was

the son of a Japanese soldier.

ROBERT STACK: Roger Roxas
and Albert Fuchigami

hired a crew to excavate.

In the first few
minutes of digging,

they found a layer
of Japanese shrapnel.

A few weeks later,
the crew broke

through into the tunnels,
which the Japanese

had apparently dynamited shut.

The tunnel system was elaborate,
complete with railroad tracks.

For the next few weeks,
Roxas and Fuchigami

explored the labyrinth.

They found that
one explosion had

blocked all access to the
main underground passageway.

Undaunted, they dug a narrow
tunnel around the rocks.

I was the first one
who went in because I was

concerned for my companions.

If there was a booby
trap, then they would die.

Because I was the leader, I
was the one who went in first.

To my surprise, I found
several Japanese skeletons.

There must have
been more than 10.

ROBERT STACK: Roger had
stumbled upon a forgotten tomb.

Japanese soldiers had apparently
been trapped underground

when their own
retreating army set off

explosions to hide the tunnels.

The explorers were stunned.

In a hidden cavity, a Buddha,
which appeared to be made

of gold, stood solemn guard.

Roger knew that the Buddha was
not native to the Philippines.

He assumed that it had
been plundered from one

of the Southeast Asian countries
conquered by the Japanese

during World War II.

While the crew attempted to
move the 2,000-pound Buddha,

Roxas and Fuchigami ventured
farther inside the tunnel.

Just as the map had
predicted, there were boxes

upon boxes of solid gold bars.

Roxas and Fuchigami
hit on a plan.

They would dynamite the tunnel
closed to safeguard their find,

then sell the Buddha to
buy trucks and equipment

to transport the gold.

Roger Roxas took
the Buddha home.

A potential buyer confirmed
that the Buddha was solid gold.

He offered Roger
1 million pesos--

$160,000 US-- as a down payment.

After the buyer left,
Roger and his brother

decided to take a closer
look at the Buddha.

Roger had noticed that the
buyer paid special attention

to the Buddha's neck.

ROGER ROXAS: My brother
and I had a suspicion

that there was a joint--

an opening-- inside the Buddha.

So what we did was we
got a piece of wood,

and we hit the Buddha several
times with this piece of wood.

ROBERT STACK: Roger says
there were several handfuls

of diamonds inside the Buddha.

Some were rough cut, some fine.

Roger hid the
diamonds in a closet.

That night, Roger's brother
took these pictures of Roger

with the Buddha.

Roger thought the photographs
would protect him,

but news of his discovery had
already spread fast and far--

all the way to the
president's palace in Manila.

Although the Philippines was
still nominally a democracy,

Ferdinand Marcos,
along with his wife,

Imelda, ruled with
virtual autonomy.

When Roger found the Buddha in
1971, Marcos was in his prime,

and his primary tactic
was brute force.

Roger!

ROBERT STACK: Two months after
Roger brought the Buddha home,

soldiers swarmed his house.

The red ribbons on
their rifles indicated

that they were
members of President

Marcos' elite palace guard.

In effect, his personal army.

Out of nowhere,
the buyer appeared.

Roger had been double-crossed.

With the buyer was
another civilian

who seemed to be in charge.

He ordered the soldiers
to ransack the house.

ROGER ROXAS: They
took everything, even

the piggy banks of my children.

Even the picture album.

Whatever my wife inherited--

all her jewelry, all the
diamonds in the closet.

They took all of it.

What will have happened
if we had fought back?

They would just have killed us.

ROBERT STACK: The next
day, Roger and his brothers

reported the incident
to the local police.

Then he went to visit
Judge Pio Marcos,

a family friend for whom Roger
had once worked as a chef.

ROGER ROXAS: I told him,
Judge, why did you let

them confiscate my treasure?

We're friends.

He said, Roger, there is
nothing that I can do.

I said, why?

He said, because the
prince asked for it.

I said, who's the prince?

And he said, the prince--

President Marcos.

In June of 1971 on the
Philippine island of Luzon,

members of President Ferdinand
Marcos' elite palace guard

seized a golden Buddha from
the home of Roger Roxas.

The next day, a judge
warned Roger that there

was a price on his head.

Roger and his family fled to
an isolated jungle village.

While Roger remains secluded,
Filipino reporters had already

gotten hold of the story.

Marcos did allow the
press to view the Buddha,

but his political
opponents felt that Marcos

had substituted a fake.

One opposition
cabinet member, hoping

to embarrass the
president, convinced

Roger to come to Manila
to identify the Buddha.

Marcos and his
minions were outraged.

Once again, Roger fled Manila.

But two weeks later,
he says he was tracked

down by the palace guard.

ROGER ROXAS: Three
men approached me

and pointed their guns at me.

They knew me.

They told me, Roger,
come with us in the car.

We will bring you to Manila.

I could not escape.

I knew they were soldiers.

They had guns.

They were so happy.

They were drinking whiskey,
saying, so finally, we got him,

the famous--
the famed Roger Roxas.

They called the palace and
they were speaking English.

I knew that it was
Marcos that they

were talking to because they
addressed him as Mr. President.

Marcos must have asked
them, are you sure it is

Roger Roxas that you captured?

And they said, yes, we're sure.

Thank you, Mr President.

The boss is really happy to
hear we have you in our custody.

ROBERT STACK: The soldiers
demanded that Roger sign

a confession
authenticating the Buddha

and saying that he had been paid
off by the opposition party.

Roger says that when he refused,
the palace thugs brought

in a crude electroshock
machine fashioned

from automobile batteries.

ROGER ROXAS: Then they showed
me a picture and they said,

Roger, do you know who
this is in the picture?

And I said, yes, that's
my wife and my kids.

They said, Roger, if you love
your family, cooperate with us.

Show us where you found
the golden Buddha.

ROBERT STACK: Roger
says he endured hours

of torture, which
permanently damaged

the nerves around his left eye.

I made a promise
to Mr. Fuchigami.

His name is Albert.

I told him, Albert, even
if they try to kill me,

I will not tell them
where the tunnel is.

So they had to persecute me.

And while I was
conscious, I really

tried not to tell them where
the location of the tunnel was.

That was my promise
to Mr. Fuchigami.

Roger

ROBERT STACK: Says he was held
captive at a hotel in Manila

and tortured almost
daily for several weeks.

Finally, he agreed
to sign a document

stating that he had been paid
off by the opposition party.

Roger's captors allowed the
worst of his wounds to heal,

then they took him to a
courtroom in Baguio City

and ordered him to
point at Marcos' Buddha.

He was photographed
several times giving

this tacit sign of approval.

ROGER ROXAS: I went to my
wife first and my kids.

My wife was crying.

She was surprised.

She said, what is
happening to you?

You know they might kill you.

And I said, just pray.

I stayed with my family
for about 10 minutes

and then the soldiers
took me again.

ROBERT STACK:
Roger was summarily

re-imprisoned in the same hotel
where he had been tortured.

ROGER ROXAS: I knew they
were going to kill me.

But you know, I'm a locksmith.

I know how to open locks.

So I went to the restroom.

There was a small window
with a small lock.

ROBERT STACK: Roger
Roxas went into hiding

and never again saw
the golden Buddha.

The strain of living underground
tore his family apart and

eventually led to a divorce.

Roger, who has
remarried, continues

to make his home at an
undisclosed location

in the Philippines.

When Ferdinand
Marcos died in 1989,

his personal assets
exceeded the entire

Philippine national treasury.

Roger Roxas is convinced that
the source of that wealth

was the countless
boxes of gold bars.

As for the Buddha, no one
knows exactly where it is.

In 1975, at least two witnesses
claimed to have seen it at one

of Marcos' summer palaces.

Rumor has it that
the Buddha is still

somewhere in the Philippines,
hidden by a member

of the Marcos family.

Of course it's very painful.

I worked very hard for it.

I spent so much time--
about seven months

that we really labored hard--

and then in one hour,
they take it all away.

It's very, very painful.

Through a
corporation Roger Roxas

formed with a friend
in the United States,

a suit has been filed
against the Marcos estate.

The case is currently on
the docket in Honolulu.

Roger has established
a foundation

to assure that a large portion
of any settlement money he may

receive will go to
provide education,

medical aid, food, and job
training in the Philippines.

Next, a young woman is
gunned down in her car.

Was she the victim of a
random shooting or the target

of a hired assassin?

On June 14, 1989,
18-year-old Kaitlyn Arquette

graduated from
Highland High School

in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Kait was an outgoing,
popular honor

student who'd been accepted at
the University of New Mexico.

She planned one day to
attend medical school.

Shortly before graduation,
Kait moved into an apartment

with her boyfriend using
money she had received

from an insurance settlement.

We're almost finished, honey.

Let me take you out
to dinner tonight.

LOIS DUNCAN: As far as we could
tell, Kait and her boyfriend

did get along very well.

I can call a
couple friends over.

Well, I was just kind of
hoping it could be just the two

of us.

LOIS DUNCAN: He was eight
years older than she,

but we didn't know it
because they lied to us.

She knew we wouldn't let her
date someone that much older.

We thought he was
only four years older.

He seemed like a nice guy.

He was around the house a lot.

We liked him.

ROBERT STACK: Six weeks
later, on the afternoon

of Sunday, July 16, Kait
admitted to her mother

that she and her
boyfriend had been

having serious problems
almost from the moment

they moved in together.

Mother, all you
have to do is tell him

you don't know
where I am and you

don't know when I'll be back.

It's a lie.

It's not fair.

He's going to be
worried about you.

Mother, please?

You don't understand.

LOIS DUNCAN: She
told us she'd had

a big fight with her boyfriend.

She was breaking up with him.

And she was going to a
girlfriend's house for dinner.

And she would either spend
the night there or come

back and spend it at our house.

She was not going to go
back to the apartment.

ROBERT STACK: Kait
visited her girlfriend

from 9:30 to 10:45 PM.

She then headed east along Lomas
Road toward her mother's house.

A little bit before
midnight, the phone rang.

It was a phone call from the
emergency room of the hospital.

They said Kait is there,
but she's been injured.

And I said, what's happened?

And they said they
wouldn't tell me.

They said, we can't
tell you on the phone.

So my husband and I
drove to the hospital,

and Kait had been shot
twice in the head.

She was in a coma.

[knocking]

ROBERT STACK: Five
hours later, the police

arrived at Kait's apartment.

Her boyfriend was
home alone, seemingly

unaware that his girlfriend had
been shot and was near death.

We're with the Albuquerque
Police Department.

We'd just like to come in
and talk to you a minute.

Sure.
What's this about?

We just want to ask
you a couple of questions

and look around.
Do you mind?

No.
Just tell me what's going on.

We'd just like to know
where you were tonight.

I was out with--

STEVE GALLEGOS:
Kaitlyn's boyfriend

told me that he had been out
with a couple of friends.

They had eaten.

They played pool.

And they had a couple of drinks.

Just tell me what's going on.

While I was there, myself
and the other detectives,

we discovered a note on top of
the kitchen table and the note

read something to the
effect of, "Hon, I'll

be home at a certain time."

That sort of thing.

It was my belief that he
indicated to me that the note

came from Kaitlyn.

It must have come from Kaitlyn
because he was not home.

And when he got home,
he found the note there.

Yes, she did.

I think you should sit down.

STEVE GALLEGOS:
Kaitlyn's boyfriend

stated that he and
Kaitlyn did argue

and they did have
their disagreements,

but he was not aware of
her at any time wanting

him to leave the
apartment or move

out or anything that severe.

ROBERT STACK: When the
police left the apartment,

Kait's boyfriend went
straight to the hospital

and joined her family
in a bedside vigil.

Less than 24 hours later,
Kaitlyn Arquette was dead.

Her boyfriend had remained by
her side until the very end.

Six months after Kaitlyn
Arquette's murder,

the Albuquerque Police
Department announced

that she had been
the victim of a,

quote, "random act of violence."

Kaitlyn's mother, Lois Duncan,
refuses to accept their ruling.

Following her
daughter's death, she

began to uncover
the first dark hints

that Kait had somehow
gotten mixed up

with a major criminal
organization.

To this day, the police continue
to pursue the random victim

theory, but Lois Duncan is
convinced that her daughter was

executed by a hired assassin.

We're all set.

No questions asked.

ROBERT STACK: Two and a half
months before she was killed,

Kaitlyn and her boyfriend took
a trip to Southern California.

It was at that time
that Kait apparently

became involved in a
lucrative car insurance scam.

One of our daughters
told me that that March,

a couple of months
before, the boyfriend

had staged an accident--

a fake accident-- in a
car that Kait had rented

for him with our credit card.

ROBERT STACK: The scheme
was allegedly orchestrated

by an organization comprised
of powerful members

of Southern California's
Vietnamese community.

Everyone in the accident
complained of soft tissue

injuries to the neck
and lower back, which

were later treated
by a doctor who

was part of the organization.

Ultimately, a paralegal,
working out of an Orange County,

California law office
handled the insurance claim.

Kait and her boyfriend
were given $1,500

as their share of
the settlement,

which they used to
rent the apartment.

Everything went well.

LOIS DUNCAN: It was evidently
a major, multimillion dollar

insurance scam and Kait
had found out about it.

At the time, we didn't
know how we could

fit this in with her shooting.

But all of the sudden, there
was another element there.

Something that suggested
a possible motive.

Because if Kait was breaking
up with her boyfriend

at that time, then maybe she
was a danger to the people

who had arranged this.

ROBERT STACK: A few
weeks after Kait's death,

Lois was putting her
daughter's affairs in order

when she made a
disturbing discovery.

Three phone calls had been
made from Kait's apartment

at virtually the
same moment she died.

LOIS DUNCAN: In fact, they were
made just minutes after she was

pronounced dead, when
her boyfriend was

with us at the hospital,
and the apartment

should have been unoccupied.

The number turned out to belong
to a Vietnamese paralegal

in Orange County.

A paralegal who lived in Santa
Ana but worked in a law office

in Garden Grove.

And it was the same paralegal
who set up the car wrecks.

Lois wanted me to look
into Kaitlyn's relationship

with her boyfriend.

She felt that Lois felt that
not everything was right there,

that there had been
some real problems,

and that the police had
failed to take a look at it.

ROBERT STACK: Mike
Gallagher first met

with Kait's former landlord.

--mostly with her
boyfriend's friends.

They didn't treat her--

MIKE GALLAGHER: I had the
impression from neighbors

that Kaitlyn was more afraid
of her boyfriend's friends

rather than her boyfriend.

She would get disturbed
when they only

spoke Vietnamese around her.

Her boyfriend's friends
tended to make fun of her

and cause friction between
her and her boyfriend.

She did not like his friends.

And I think the feeling,
from what I could gather,

was mutual.

How come you let
them treat me so lousy?

They do not
treat you that way!

They do!

They make fun of me!

LOIS DUNCAN: Evidently,
things were much more stormy

than we had ever guessed.

And it wasn't just a
little lover's spat.

There was something very
major happening in Kait's life

after she moved in
with her boyfriend.

She told us she was
very sorry that she had

ever let him move in with her.

It had been a big mistake.

She wanted him to move
out so her girlfriend

could move in instead.

ROBERT STACK: Mike
Gallagher was able to obtain

a copy of the note
which Kait allegedly

left for her boyfriend on
the day of the shooting.

He compared it with another
sample of her handwriting.

MIKE GALLAGHER: It was
obvious just by comparing

the handwritings of the note
with Kaitlyn's writing that she

did not write that note.

And that led me to believe that,
within hours of her shooting,

her boyfriend was
already lying to police.

ROBERT STACK: The landlord
also told Gallagher

that on the night
Kaitlyn died, three

of her boyfriend's
associates were

in her apartment, drinking.

Kait's mother is
convinced that one of them

made the phone
calls to Santa Ana.

I don't think that the
Vietnamese connection

is related to this case.

Thus far, I have not
received any information

to indicate positively
that the Vietnamese

is involved in this homicide.

ROBERT STACK: Was
Kaitlyn Arquette

executed because she
had learned too much

about the auto insurance scam?

While Kait's family
and Mike Gallagher

were pursuing their
investigation,

the police were going in a
completely different direction.

I'm trying to
cooperate with you guys.

I'm telling you the truth.

I don't remember what happened.

ROBERT STACK: Six
months after the murder,

an informant led the Albuquerque
Police to a young man

named Robert Garcia.

Garcia was interrogated
for two hours.

Finally, he admitted
that, on July 16, 1989,

he was out with three
friends when one of them

shot a woman in
her car on a dare.

Based on Garcia's
statement police

arrested Dennis
Martinez, Juvenal

Escobedo, and Miguel Garcia,
who is not related to Robert.

According to Robert
Garcia, it was Miguel

who did the actual shooting.

On the same day that Robert
Garcia was interrogated,

the police discovered
that Escobedo

had recently sold his car,
a brown Chevrolet Camaro.

Suddenly, an eyewitness
report that they

had initially disregarded
took on a new significance.

On the night of the
murder, a truck driver

said he saw a brown Camaro
chasing a young woman in a car

similar to Kaitlyn's
in the area where she'd

be gunned down an hour later.

The police believe that
the men in the Camaro

had been out joyriding and Kait
became their random victim.

It was later learned
that Robert Garcia

had, in fact, been in jail on
the night Kaitlyn was shot.

Ultimately, all charges
against the three suspects

were dropped for lack
of sufficient evidence.

Well, talk to you guys later.

We certainly appreciate you
coming in and talking to us

again and all your cooperation.

We got a few questions.

ROBERT STACK: Finally, under
pressure from Kait's family,

the police questioned
her boyfriend once again.

This time, he admitted that he
and a friend from Albuquerque

had taken part in the
auto insurance scam.

Our relationship
was going great.

We had our arguments, but--

ROBERT STACK: Nevertheless,
charges had never

been pressed against him
or any of his friends

in connection with that scam.

In addition, Kaitlyn's
boyfriend is not considered

a suspect in her murder.

--any time in the past, been
involved in a Vietnamese gang?

I think it's important
for the police to remember,

and anybody who looks at
this case to remember,

that Kaitlyn's boyfriend's
friends were involved with

large-scale, organized
criminal activity

in Los Angeles and multimillion
dollar insurance frauds.

I don't think the police
ever took that seriously.

ROBERT STACK: Kaitlyn Arquette
was killed in July of 1989.

In this most bizarre
case, there seemed

to be two viable theories,
leaving Kait's family

to wonder who, in
fact, was responsible,

and why did they target Kait?

Our family doesn't
have any real idea

who pulled the trigger on Kait.

The one thing we feel
very strong about

is that she was
not shot randomly,

as just people out on a
spree, having fun, shooting

a pretty girl in a red car.

We believe Kait was killed
because she was going to talk,

was going to expose
illegal activities

involving her boyfriend
and his companions.

It might have been that she
was shot by the Vietnamese.

It might have been
that they hired

someone else to shoot her.

The one thing we're absolutely
sure of in our own minds

is that this was not
a random shooting.

Kait was assassinated.

ROBERT STACK: Next, a
family's poignant search

for the young girl they
raised as their own.

On August 4, 1990,
24-year-old Shannon Timpane

was married in San
Francisco, California,

surrounded by all eight of
her brothers and sisters.

But one very important
person was not there to share

the joy of that special day.

20 years earlier, when Shannon
was still just a toddler,

a four-year-old girl
named Terry Lynn Smith

had come to live temporarily
with the Timpanes

in Orange, California.

She stayed for six
years and in every way

became a member of the family.

It seems that some families,
no matter how large,

have more than enough
love to go around.

The Timpanes have not seen Terry
Smith for more than a decade

and they feel that,
without her, their family

will never be complete.

Perhaps someone
watching tonight can

help bring Terry Lynn
Smith back to the ones who

still love her as their own.

John and Gerry
Timpane met in 1945.

He was an intern,
specializing in obstetrics.

She was a nurse.

Between 1953 and 1965, John
and Gerry had nine children--

six boys and three girls.

The Timpane household was
boisterous and bustling.

The entire family loved
animals and enjoyed

an active outdoor life.

In the summer of 1967, at
the ranch where they boarded

their two horses, the Timpanes
came to know the manager

of the ranch, Herb Smith.

I tell you what.

Why don't you go get this
big guy some carrots?

Terry, help Shannon with the
carrots, will you, please?

Was that your
little girl, Herb?

ROBERT STACK: Herb was divorced.

His daughter, Terry,
and son, Mark, lived

with him in a small trailer.

But Herb felt that the ranch
was no place for a young girl.

He believed that Terry
needed a real family.

GERRY TIMPANE: I think
the first time I saw her,

I thought she was
rather forlorn.

Here was this little
girl on this large ranch,

and while she loved horses,
there were no children

for her to play with.

There were mostly cowboys.

I was drawn to her
because she was so sweet

and she was so happy
to come and talk to me.

And I just decided to talk
to my husband about it

and see if it would be feasible
for us to take another one.

We always had an extra bed
in the house for somebody.

ROBERT STACK: Herb
Smith took Gerry Timpane

up on her generous offer.

In return, Herb insisted
that the Timpanes

allow him to take care of
their horses free of charge.

They promised Herb that they
would bring Terry to visit him

whenever he wanted.

In August of 1967,
Terry Smith moved

into the already-overflowing
Timpane home.

Hi, Herb.

Hi, how you doing?

Is she OK about staying--

GERRY TIMPANE: I
think in the beginning

she was just a little girl
that was staying with us.

But as the time grew
longer and longer,

she stayed with us as a
sister, and she was included

in everything in the family.

So she therefore became
part of the family.

ROBERT STACK: All the Timpane
children grew to love Terry.

But for Shannon, the
youngest, Terry's arrival

was a dream come true.

SHANNON TIMPANE: There
was a succession of boys

in my family, and I was
the youngest little girl,

and I couldn't really
hang out with them

because they didn't want me to.

I think Terry and I
were especially close

because we were so
close in age and things

seemed to happen to
us at the same time.

We both learned to swim
around the same time.

And she basically
taught me how to ride.

And we got the chicken
pox at the same time.

GERRY TIMPANE: I think Terry
loved being part of the family.

She'd call them her brothers.

She'd call them her sisters.

And I think she
enjoyed it very much.

ROBERT STACK: Years passed.

The temporary arrangement had,
in effect, become permanent.

None of the Timpanes could
remember life without Terry.

She shared in all the family's
joys and in all their sorrows.

On May 2, 1972, the family
was scarred by tragedy.

46-year-old John Timpane
succumbed to cancer.

Gerry Timpane was forced to
go back to work as a nurse.

Because she had
teenage children who

could take care of the
younger ones at night,

Gerry worked the
graveyard shift.

That way, she could be at
home every afternoon when

the children returned from
school and every morning

to see them off.

GERRY TIMPANE: Of
course it was tough,

but there was nobody
else to do it,

and I decided I had to do it.

That was all going
to be my future.

I had nine children, or 10
children, to raise, so I did.

How was work?

It was fine.

I'm just a little tired.

Is everybody up?

Shannon and Terry
are still sleeping.

I think Brendan is, too.

It's OK.

Money became a
very big concern.

And my mom was
not around as much

anymore because she was
now the primary supporter

in our family.

So that also
changed, because she

used to be there all the time.

Come on, girls.

It's time to get up.

Come on.

ROBERT STACK: Even though the
Timpane family managed to cope,

having one more mouth to
feed was now a problem.

With a heavy heart,
Gerry Timpane

realized that she would have to
send Terry back to her father.

Don't bother sitting down.

Go brush your teeth.

And when I told the
kids, they said no.

They didn't want me
to send her back.

And I said, but it has to be.

I don't want to do
it, but it's one

of those things that happens.

She has her father, and
she's going to go with him.

ROBERT STACK: In
the summer of 1974,

Herb Smith came to
take his daughter home.

Terry had lived
with the Timpanes

for more than six years.

Terry, come over on Saturday.

SHANNON TIMPANE:
She was very sad.

She didn't want to leave.

We were her family.

She'd grown attached to us.

Goodbye, everyone.

Bye.

SHANNON TIMPANE:
On the other hand,

I think Terry was really
excited to go home

and live with her father again.

She loved her
father a great deal.

And when she went to
visit him on the weekends,

it was always a
real special thing,

and she came home with many
stories of what they did

and where they went.

If it were
summertime, she would

come and spend a week with us.

And she loved coming back.

She loved having the
swimming pool there.

She loved having the
friends that she had made

and the family around her.

And unfortunately, these
started to get less and less

because they had moved to a
different part of the state

and it was difficult
to get her here.

ROBERT STACK: In 1980,
when Terry was 16,

she surprised the Timpanes
with one final visit.

Well, it was great
seeing you, Terry.

You should come by more often.

ROBERT STACK: The
reunion was bittersweet.

Terry was no longer
living with her father.

And though she had brought
her boyfriend with her

to meet the Timpanes, she
seemed uneasy and uncertain

about her future.

Bye, Shannon.

GERRY TIMPANE: I got a sense
of feeling that she was

not as happy as she could be.

We talked more, and then
her friend said that it

was time to go, and they left.

And that was the
last time I saw her.

SHANNON TIMPANE:
I didn't realize

that would be the
last time I saw

Terry because, if
I would've known

that, I would've stopped her.

There would be no way
I would've let her go.

It was very confusing.

We were trying to
get her to stay,

and we never asked where she
was going because we were trying

so hard to get her to stay.

And we lost touch.

I don't think that
we ever forgot Terry.

Everyone has a special place
in their hearts for Terry.

They have their own
special relationship,

and they would not forget that.

And they want to make sure
that she's safe and secure.

They miss her a lot.

Everybody talks about
her all the time.

When we reminisce, we
reminisce, and everything always

includes Terry.

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]