All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S06E04.480p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD 2.0.x264-AJP69_track3_[eng]

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.

ROBERT STACK: Imagine
the vast arid deserts

of the American West flowering
into a modern-day Garden

of Eden.

Incredible as it seems,
a former rocket scientist

believes he has found a
vast underground river

in Nevada that could create
just such a transformation.

After World War II, a
trusting Polish couple

sent their only son off
to America with friends.

They had no idea that they
would never see him again.

In Los Angeles, Ted Loseff,
a prominent surgeon,

was found dead in his garage.

The police ruled
suicide, but Ted's

mother's Zel was not convinced.

Disturbed by the odd
behavior of Ted's wife,

Zel began to
suspect that her son

had been targeted for murder.

Zel Loseff embarked on her own
investigation, an investigation

that ultimately
forced authorities

to reclassify her son's death.

Perhaps someone
watching tonight will

have that one
vital clue that can

help end Zel Loseff's odyssey.
Join me.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[theme music]

The doorbell rang at
10 o'clock at night,

and my daughter and her
husband were at the door.

I was startled.

Company at 10?

But I took a look at
their face, I knew I was

going to hear something awful.

[speaking hebrew]

ROBERT STACK: On
February 25, 1974,

Zel Loseff of Los
Angeles, California

sat lonely through the
funeral of her only son, Ted.

Two days earlier, the
40-year-old orthopedic surgeon

had apparently
taken his own life.

Zel was devastated.

In her grief, she could not
have imagined what lay ahead,

an all-consuming
19-year investigation

into her son's death
that would ultimately

force authorities to back
down from the official finding

of suicide.

ZEL: Of all people
in the world, Ted

was not one to take his life.

My son was murdered, definitely.

The night Ted Loseff died,
police found a suicide note,

apparently written
to his wife Wilda.

The note said
simply, "All I ever

asked for was one moment of
compassion and understanding."

Zel Loseff now
believes the note was

a finishing touch in a plot to
cover up the murder of her son.

Congratulations, Ted.

This is quite a set up.

Well, thanks a lot, Bob.

I'm very proud of it.

ROBERT STACK: Ted
Loseff was already

a well respected surgeon when
he moved his practice in 1971.

Come on back here.

I'll give you the
quarter tour of--

ROBERT STACK: During a private
reception at his new offices,

Ted was introduced to a
nurse named Wilda Lloyd.

You know Dr. Ted Loseff.

- No.
- No, we don't know.

This is Wilda Lloyd.

How are you?

It's a pleasure.

ROBERT STACK: Ted and Wilda were
married less than a year later.

At Ted's insistence, Wilda
signed a prenuptial agreement.

She would get no property if
the marriage ended in divorce.

Within six months, that
seemed increasingly likely.

TED: How many
drinks have you had?

WILDA: What difference
does it make?

Oh, I know, 50, 100, 200!

ZEL: She she had problems with
alcohol, and it wasn't good.

I soon learned that the marriage
was a marriage not of love.

Wilda would go into
histrionics and scream

and yell and carry on.

The fighting was just awful.

It's not fair to
throw that in my face.

I've gotta go out
and earn a living--

ROBERT STACK: Apparently,
the bitter arguing

plagued the marriage up until
the day Ted Loseff died,

February 23, 1974.

Officer!

POLICEMAN: Just relax--

Officer, you have to help me.

My husband, he's got a gun.

ROBERT STACK: That
evening at around 8:00 PM,

an anxious Wilda
Loseff had called

police saying her
husband was armed.

Officer, officer.

Listen, let's go inside.

May I have the keys?

ROBERT STACK: Waiting
with Wilda were

Edward Jay, a family friend,
and the Loseff's housekeeper.

POLICEMAN: Now, did
you see the gun?

EDWARD: No-- Ted?

ROBERT STACK: Ted didn't answer,
and there was no sign of him

anywhere in the house.

EDWARD: Hello?

Well, I don't know where he is,
but he's definitely not here.

He usually parks outside
the gates out there.

Yeah, we'll file a report.

Do you hear that?

[suspenseful music]

Around the side here.

EDWARD: Oh, no.

Ted!

POLICEMAN: Stay back.

[glass shattering]

[car engine humming]

Call an ambulance!

They found him in
his car in the garage.

It had to be suicide.

It wasn't until a
little later when

things began to
become so suspicious

that I wondered about it.

The car was running, the
victim was behind the wheel,

and this hose was
in the tailpipe

and fed in through the window.

ROBERT STACK: To
authorities on the scene,

the evidence of suicide
was overwhelming

and there was no
further investigation.

No fingerprints were taken,
no autopsy was performed,

no questions were asked.

I looked for Ted in the house.

ROBERT STACK: In the days
following Ted's death,

Zel and Wilda rarely spoke.

He was in the car.

ROBERT STACK: When they did
finally meet face-to-face

in March of 1974, Zel
was totally unprepared

for Wilda's behavior.

Zel had asked Wilda for a
keepsake, a watch she had given

her son as a wedding present.

I know it must be
hard to talk about.

I know you're
worried about this.

Oh!

I wasn't worried about this.

Look, Zel, I didn't care
about Ted the way you did.

I'm glad he's gone.

What?

ROBERT STACK: Wilda's
harsh comments

had awakened unfocused
suspicions in Zel,

and her grief was slowly
overtaken by doubts.

She began to feel that
something was not quite

right about the suicide scene.

Incredibly, Zel says the
discrepancies finally

became clear to her in a dream.

She recalled that Ted had never
parked his car in the garage.

ZEL: I saw a garage filled
with lots and lots of boat

equipment, cartons of boxes.

And I realized I
was at Ted's garage.

And I knew that to
put his car there,

he'd have had to move the
things that were in that garage.

Ted had back surgery.

It was impossible
for him physically.

And then I saw the gates,
these great big double old iron

gates.

ROBERT STACK: In her
dream, Zel remembered

that the driveway gates were
damaged and difficult to open.

Ted had always parked
in front of the house.

To Zel, the implications of the
dream were simple but stunning.

Someone had cleared
out the garage

and pried open the gates.

The suicide had been staged,
her son murdered in cold blood.

Zel's suspicions alone are
not nearly enough to get

the case reopened.

Taking matters
into her own hands,

she tracked down her
son's former housekeeper.

Her account of
Ted's last day would

confirm Zel's worst fears.

Hello.

Yes?

I'm Zel Loseff and I've been
looking for the housekeeper

who worked for my son, Ted.

Oh, Mrs. Loseff.

ROBERT STACK: To
protect her identity,

we'll will call the
housekeeper Mary.

The following
recreations are based

on her sworn testimony
before a Los Angeles

County coroner's inquest.

Well, I was supposed
to arrive at 8:30,

but I didn't get there
until around 10:00.

And When I arrived, Dr.
Loseff was in the kitchen.

Those darn gas lines.

Oh, that's OK.

I hope your wife isn't angry
that I wasn't here earlier

She's not, uh, going to
be around here anymore.

We had a little misunderstanding
and, well, we're

going to be getting a divorce.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

But around 2
o'clock, she came in.

She parked her car directly
in front of the door

and then she went
right upstairs.

WILDA: Mary!

MARY: And then a few
minutes later I heard

all this screaming and yelling.

What in the world is going on?

Dr. Loseff, let her go!

(CRYING) Let go of my hand.

Here, you can have
your money back!

Mary, he's got a gun.

I'm scared.

MARY: Do you have
a gun, Dr. Loseff?

No.
She's crazy.

Wilda!

Wilda!

And I said, if you want me
to continue to work with you,

you'll have to
talk to my husband.

So he paid me for my
work, and I got in my car

and I drove down the street,
and there was Mrs. Loseff.

Mrs. Loseff, what are you doing?

Oh my God, Mary.
What am I gonna do?

I can't go back there.

MARY: And then she asked
me if she could go with me.

And I said, well, yes.

So I drove home.

She kept insisting that
Dr. Loseff had a gun,

so I called the police.

No, officer.

No, I'm not the wife.

Well, she said
that he had a gun.

He had a gun!

I saw a gun!

She insists that he has a gun.

Why don't you come talk to them?

They told me that they couldn't
go over there if I hadn't seen

a gun, and I hadn't seen it.
Thank you, officer.

I'm going to call Dr. Loseff.

ROBERT STACK: Mary says she
tried to call Ted at least 20

times between 3:00 and 8:00 PM.

Every time, the line was busy.

About 8 o'clock, I
called Dr. Loseff again.

It's ringing.

Finally.

No one's answering.

I'm going to call
the police again.

ROBERT STACK: Within the hour,
police had found Ted's body.

Their initial belief
that he killed himself

was confirmed by the
discovery of the note

in an upstairs bedroom.

However, to Mary, it was the
first of several alarming

discrepancies.

MARY: I always thought that
that note on the shirt cardboard

was kind of strange,
because I had been ironing

Dr. Loseff's shirts
for a long time

and I always used a hanger.

I never used a shirt cardboard.

What are you saying?

ROBERT STACK: As she
stood with her husband

and gazed at Dr. Loseff's
body, Mary was jarred

by another inconsistency.

MARY: When I last saw him,
he was wearing brown pants

and a kind of a mustard shirt,
and now he had on gray pants

and a dress shirt.

And do you know, that whole
time that I worked there

after Dr. Loseff died, I never
once saw those brown pants

and that mustard-colored
shirt that he was wearing

the last time I saw him.

ROBERT STACK: The discrepancies
became impossible to ignore.

In the kitchen, Mary
found several empty beer

cans and four dirty glasses.

Ted Loseff rarely drank.

Mrs. Loseff!

Can you come here
a minute, please?

ROBERT STACK: A week
later, Mary found

unusual stains on some
bedspreads in the guest room.

This looks like vomit.

Oh, uh, yes, this is--
this is the dog's vomit.

They were sick last night.

ROBERT STACK: However,
Mary remembers the dogs

being in a kennel at that time.

When she later washed
the bedspreads,

the vomit spots
completely disintegrated.

ZEL: After hearing the
housekeeper's many stories,

I knew there was foul
play and something

terrible happened to Ted,
and that I had to find out.

There is evidence
of food fiber

in the bronchi of the lungs.

ROBERT STACK: In 1970, four
years after her son's death,

Zel finally won a legal
battle to have Ted's

body exhumed for an autopsy.

The pathologist found
undeniable evidence

that Ted had suffered a violent
vomiting spell in the moments

before his death.

There should have been vomitus
on his clothing, his face,

and perhaps on the
inside of the car.

Why wasn't it there?

This certainly
strongly suggests to me

that this vomiting
occurred someplace

other than in the car.

And there were a number of
discrepancies that have never

been explained, but
that very strongly

move away from the whole
thought of suicide.

This, until proven
otherwise, is a homicide.

ROBERT STACK: Fueled by the
autopsy findings, Zel pieced

together a theory explaining
her son's death, a scenario

of premeditated murder.

[kettle whistling]

Zel believes Ted was
assaulted soon after Wilda

and Mary left the house.

ZEL: I believe that the
people that killed my son

were close to the wife,
because they knew that that

back door would be open.

ROBERT STACK: The
autopsy indicated Ted had

been involved in a struggle.

Zel believes he was overpowered
by at least two men who

forced poison down his throat.

Shut up and drink it.
Give it to him.

ZEL: Ted was definitely
fighting for his life,

according to the doctors.

Somebody took the
phone off after they

made sure he was dead because
it took a certain length of time

for this to happen.

It could be five,
six, seven minutes.

Then they cleaned
him up and they put

his gray dress shirt on him.

Then they went to the garage,
emptied out the garage

to make room for
the car, and they

had to open the gates to put
his car into this garage,

carry his dead body into
that garage, close the door,

and then go out and
close the gates.

Then they went back
into the house,

I think, again, put the
receiver back on the hook.

It's ringing.

Finally.

ROBERT STACK: All
afternoon, Mary

had been getting busy signals
when she tried to call Ted.

Now the phone was
suddenly ringing.

Zel believes that
this was a prearranged

message from the killers to
Wilda that their job was done.

In March of 1982, the Los
Angeles County coroner

finally ordered an inquest.

Zel's murder
scenario, which many

had dismissed as a
grieving mother's fantasy,

began to gain credibility.

At the inquest, a witness
who knew the family testified

that the note, the
alleged suicide note,

was indeed written
by Ted, however, he

had written it after
an argument with Wilda

more than two years
before he died.

The inquest ultimately ruled
that Ted Loseff's death was

a homicide, but
the most critical

witness in the
subsequent investigation

would soon be lost forever.

On May 1, 1983, Wilda
died from an overdose

of drugs and alcohol.

More than two years later, the
police completed their inquiry.

They ruled that the cause
of Ted Loseff's death

was undetermined.

However, Zel Loseff is
convinced that someone

has gotten away with murder.

She is still hopeful
a witness will come

forward with new information.

If the case would open up and
they really get the criminal,

there'll be a peacefulness
that'll come on me, I hope.

A desire to walk,
to sing, to laugh.

I haven't been able to.

If I can do that again--

that's it.

ROBERT STACK: Next,
controversy surrounds

a modern-day prospector
and his claim

that he has found a vast
untapped water supply

in the middle of the desert.

Even in a good year,
precious little rain

will fall in the rugged deserts
of the Western United States.

What doesn't evaporate
instantly is quickly soaked up

by the few plants
and animals evolution

has sentenced to live here.

However, numerous
legends have sprouted

in this otherwise
infertile land, tales

such as the lost Dutchman's
mine, or the missing

gold of Peg Leg Smith.

In 1927, a prospector
named Earl Dorr

drove deep into
the Nevada desert,

lured by an old Indian legend.

It told of a secret
cavern leading

to an underground river that
sparkled with nuggets of gold.

Earl Dorr was just crazy enough
to believe he could find it.

According to an affidavit
Dorr later published,

he and his sidekick
eventually found

the secret opening
foretold in the legend

and squeezed on through.

The affidavit recounts a
treacherous 3,500 foot descent

into a murky
subterranean canyon.

Earl claimed that
at the bottom they

found the legendary
river running

as promised far below the
cactus and the scorpions.

Earl said they
explored for four days,

following the river
for eight long miles.

Along every foot of it,
nature had slowly concentrated

vast amounts of gold.

What he's describing is
something like the world's

largest natural underground
sluice, where light rocks are

carried away by the water,
and the heavier minerals,

like your gold, your platinum
group metals, rare earths,

would be settling out
and concentrating.

So it's almost kind of a
too good to be true thing.

ROBERT STACK: Earl claimed
that the rich black sands

assayed out at a phenomenal 100
ounces of gold per cubic yard.

At today's prices, a
bucket of this fancy dirt

would be worth close to $1,500.

It was the stuff
dreams are made of.

However, Earl Dorr had
one very major problem.

Someone else owned the
land where the entrance

to the cavern was located.

Believing that he could
find another way in,

Dorr decided to dynamite
the original opening.

[explosion bangs]

Earl Dorr was never able
to find his treasure again.

Over the next 50 years, others
would follow in his path,

but the location of the
river, if it existed,

seemed lost forever.

[rumbling]

Oddly, it was the space shuttle
program of the 1980s that

suddenly opened the door to
the rediscovery of what might

be Earl Dorr's fantastic river.

Successive missions brought
back new and more remarkable

photographs of our planet.

Some of the pictures came to
the attention of a scientist

named Wally Spencer.

For 30 years, Spencer
had been involved

in the development of
solid rocket motors

for NASA and other
government agencies.

When he studied the space
shuttle photographs,

Spencer was convinced
they offered

a down-to-earth opportunity.

In one picture of Nevada,
Wally spotted what he believed

was an ancient river
channel, bone-dry

for some 500 million years.

But eons ago, plants would have
flourished along such a river.

In the millennia
since, those plants

would have slowly
decomposed into black gold,

Nevada's own crude oil.

We ready to power up, then?

Let's do it.

ROBERT STACK: Wally jerry-rigged
a prospecting device from

common laboratory instruments.

He based his design
on two simple facts.

First, the earth naturally
emits a low level of radiation.

Second, a large subsurface
pool of liquid, such as oil,

will block this radiation.

Wally believed that his
invention could detect such

a drop in radiation, thus
revealing the location

of a hidden reservoir.

But Wally had no idea if
his device actually worked.

In June of 1989, with the
help of his wife and son,

Wally put it to the test.

For three weeks they
bounced across the sands,

waiting for the device to react.

[beeping]

Whoa!
Barry, stop!

Stop, hold it!
Hold it.

We went off scale.

I don't know,
something happened.

We went totally off scale.

ROBERT STACK: The
wild response at first

suggested a monumental
deposit of oil,

but further testing began to
indicate to Wally that they had

actually found an immense
underground river, perhaps

the same river Earl
Dorr had boasted

about half a century before.

It's gotta be something huge.

It was very disappointing
when we found out it wasn't oil.

Because once we started mapping
it, it looked like the river.

Everybody says, hey,
you found the river,

you didn't find a pocket of oil.

Very disappointing.

But it was so large that
it had to be exciting.

ROBERT STACK: Wally
became convinced

he had found a virtually
inexhaustible water supply.

He estimated the flow
could be an incredible 17

billion gallons a day.

In a parched region like Nevada,
water is as precious as gold.

Wally Spencer was certain he
had found a priceless resource.

There is enough water
for 170 gallons a day

for 100 million people.

Now, that has got to be
something that is extremely

of interest to the
Western United States,

to Nevada, to our
nation as a whole.

The land I'm standing
on here in Los Angeles

was a virtual desert,
but with water

piped from hundreds
of miles away,

it became a flourishing garden.

Wally Spencer's river,
if it does exist,

could likewise transform Nevada.

But for Wally, that
remained just a pipe dream

when he found himself mired
down in a bureaucratic standoff

with state officials.

Nevada law required that
anyone drilling for water

first apply for a
permit, and that meant

revealing the river's location.

Before doing so, Wally
asked state officials

to guarantee that he would
receive a finder's fee,

even though the state would
own any water that he found.

However, authorities
insisted that Wally apply

for a drilling permit
just like anybody else,

no promises, no guarantees.

If I filed for
appropriations permit,

then it could be denied
on any kind of whim--

whimsical notion.

The state is not in the
best interest of the people,

or not in the best
interests of the state.

They would own it.

I would have nothing.

There's nobody trying to
rob him of his water rights.

There might be other speculators
out here that try to--

might also claim,
but he has priority

if he files the
proper documentation,

and a lawyer can
help him do that.

You really think
it's necessary--

ROBERT STACK: Wally and his
wife Beverly were not convinced,

and they weren't
taking any chances.

Concerned that others might try
to steal the secret of their

find, the Spencers asked two
experts to scan their house

for electronic bugs.

Ah, interesting books.

ROBERT STACK: At first,
the sophisticated equipment

failed to locate any
hidden listening devices,

but then one sensor picked
up a bug on the phone line.

[beeps]

You see?

That's the kind of thing
we're talking about.

[loud beeping]

ROBERT STACK: In addition,
the investigators

found a high-tech
listening device

secreted in the living room.

Beverly was convinced that
only one thing would motivate

the electronic eavesdropping.

They were trying to probably
find out the location.

We never discussed the
location of the water.

It's not in our vocabulary.

So I don't know who did it,
I don't know why they did it,

but they haven't gained from it.

ROBERT STACK: However,
there are those

who question whether Wally
Spencer has any information

that is truly worth stealing.

He has never revealed
his technology,

he can't show where the
water's coming from,

he can't show where
the water's going,

and he won't reveal
the location.

So it's not a lot different
than the guy that's

walking around the desert with a
whittle stick or a peach branch

and dousing for water,
or the guy that's

walking around the crust of
the Earth with a turquoise bead

on a gold chain
witching for water.

I've known Wally
for about 15 years,

and actually I've worked
professionally with him

starting about 10 years ago.

Wally's one of
the true scientist

problem-solvers that
you can run into.

He's the type of
guy that doesn't

run to the textbook to
pull out the equation

to solve the problem.

He takes Newton's equations and
he derives what he needs out

of them to solve the problem.

So he's a true scientist.

You know, I'd
like it to be true.

I mean, I don't think you'll
find anybody in Nevada that

wants to find water resources
like Wally has described,

But you have to be
practical at the same time.

And the way to be practical
is just simple questions.

Wally, what have you found
with that technology?

And the second thing
is, let me see it.

ROBERT STACK: When we
return, one of your tips

leads to the arrest
of a murder suspect.

October 8, 1988, Los
Angeles, California.

Four friends climbed
on their motorcycles

to cruise the nearly
deserted streets.

It was a frequent
weekend ritual.

26-year-old Lee Selwyn,
a popular local DJ,

always looked forward to the
freewheeling late night rides.

But this night
would be different.

One of the cyclists became
involved in an argument

because he believed a vehicle
was trying to run him down.

What are you trying to do?!

Huh?

What, you want to kill me?

ROBERT STACK: When
the driver spit

in the face of Lee's friend,
the altercation turned ugly.

[suspenseful music]

The four riders scattered.

Although Lee Selwyn had been a
completely innocent bystander,

he became the target.

The chase went on for
nearly 30 city blocks

at speeds of up to
100 miles an hour.

Lee Selwyn was thrown
180 feet and suffered

a massive skull fracture.

He was rushed to the hospital,
but died within hours.

I received a
call from Cedar's.

They said that he was
in intensive care.

And I knew, I just knew--

but I don't believe it yet.

It's real, but it isn't real.

He was such a big
part of my life.

He was my buddy, he wasn't
just my son, he was my buddy.

ROBERT STACK: The
Los Angeles police

began a citywide manhunt,
but Lee Selwyn's killer

had skipped town.

Incredibly, four years went
by before police finally

get the tip they'd
been waiting for.

After a recent
rebroadcast of the story,

a viewer called our phone center
and told one of the operators

that there was a man
in prison in Georgia

who had often
bragged about running

down a biker in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles police obtained
a mug shot of the suspect.

Lee's friends picked the
man out of a photo lineup.

His name is Franklin
LaGraham Perkins.

On July 30, 1993, just five days
before Perkins was scheduled

for parole, he was arrested.

One week later, he was
brought back to Los Angeles

by detective Dan Andrews.

Most murder victims know their
attackers, know their killers,

but this is a case that
just wasn't that way.

This was a random event of
a person who was basically

minding his own business
and, unfortunately,

was in the wrong place
at the wrong time.

And I think it's very
unusual to identify

somebody and be able to solve
a case after five years.

It's a very good feeling.

Except for the most
important fact, which is

nothing can ever
bring Lee back, I

hope this will
bring some closure

to this five years
of uncertainty

and the pain that
goes along with it.

Finally justice can be
served, and also I'm

grateful that this man is
not out there committing

other crimes and
hurting other people

and killing other
people's loved ones.

One portion of the grief
will be closed or dealt with,

and I know that when I'm
driving on the streets,

I won't be looking in
other cars wondering

if that might be the guy.

ROBERT STACK: Next, a young
boy is lost to his family

in the aftermath
of World War II.

Plymouth, England, 1952.

Even though seven years have
passed since the end of World

War II, this British port city
is still surrounded by refugee

camps for families displaced
by the ravages of war

in Eastern Europe.

Helena and Apolinary
Kurowski, a Polish couple,

are sending their
son Christopher off

to America with another family.

A tearful farewell would
prove sadly prophetic.

Though Christopher Kurowski
was only five years old,

he would never see
his parents again.

For Helena Kurowski,
the loss of her son

was a heavy blow in a life
already marred by tragedy.

In 1928, Helena had
married a dashing infantry

officer in the Polish army.

After the Nazis invaded
in 1939, he was executed.

Helena was taken
prisoner and forced

to serve as a nurse in
a German prisoner of war

camp for six harrowing years.

Shortly before the
end of the war,

a German officer
helped Helena escape.

Alone, she crossed
the border to Austria,

then occupied by the Allies.

It was a dramatic story which
Helena would tell her daughter

Mechelle time and time again.

MECHELLE: My mother was
walking down the road,

and then here comes this
Polish Red Cross army truck.

And all of a sudden,
the truck stops.

Would you like a
ride to the town?

You look very tired.

Yeah.

OK, I help you.

A ride is good.

MECHELLE: She decided that
she let this man help her.

And he took her to where all
the Polish people were, looked

after her, did things
for her that nobody

had done for her since
the war had been going on.

Her heart was
beginning to come alive

again, something it hadn't done
since the war had happened.

I am Apolinary.

Helena.

MECHELLE: And he asked her to
marry him, and so she said yes.

ROBERT STACK: Helena began a new
life with Apolinary Kurowski.

They stayed on in Austria
even after the war was over.

In October of 1946,
they adopted an infant

and named him Christopher.

Within a month, the
Kurowskis joined

thousands of war survivors
flooding into England

and into refugee camps.

Apolinary found
work as a mechanic.

In 1950, Mechelle was born.

Christopher finally had
a sister to play with.

My only memory of Christopher
is a real happy memory.

He would run around me, hide
behind me, and all of a sudden

he'd come round to the
front and he'd go, boo!

And I'd laugh and I'd laugh.

And I can still
remember it to this day.

The giggles, the giggles.

I was giggling so hard.

It felt so good, so good.

MAN: Next please.

ROBERT STACK: Like so
many other refugees,

Helena and Apolinary dreamed
of a better life for themselves

and their children.

Take a seat.

Thank you.

How can I help you?

We want to go to
America, to make a visa.

Just the two of you?

No, no.

We have also two children.

ROBERT STACK: As it turned out,
the Kurowskis would wait months

for permission to immigrate.

--we will try.

[knocking on door]

ROBERT STACK: Another Polish
family living in the camp

had better luck.

Oh, Yan. come, welcome.

Helena, Apolinary.

Listen, I have news for you.

Today I got the visa!

Now we will be going to America!

You're going to America?

Oh, congratulations, my friend.

We'll have a toast for you.

When do we get
to go to America?

Christopher, you
must be patient.

We will go soon.

You want to go to America
too, huh I have an idea.

Why don't you let
Christopher come with me

and my family to America?

He will play with my children,
he will go to school,

and soon you will be going
to America yourselves.

ROBERT STACK: The
decision was made.

Christopher would go on
before the rest of his family

so he could start first
grade in the United States.

I'll miss you, Mama.

I'll miss you
too, Christopher.

MECHELLE: My mother
didn't really

want to send him
with somebody else,

but my father kept saying, you
know, education, education.

He's going to get
a good education,

he's going to be
able to start school.

So it was easier for him, but
my mother I guess being a woman,

it just tore at her heart.

Helena, sit down.

I need to talk to you.

ROBERT STACK: Weeks went by.

Helena and Apolinary continued
to wait for their visas.

They talked of little
else but America,

and outlandish rumors about
life in that unknown land

circulated throughout the camp.

--worry you,
but, you know, I--

I got this letter from my
friend, she went to America.

Yeah?

Well, she says
that in California

if you leave your baby outside,
it could get kidnapped.

Kidnapped?

By monkeys.

Apolinary, did you hear this?

Mother got scared.

She had gone through
so much during the war,

and the things that she had
seen had made her so scared

that this was another
unknown to her

and she didn't know whether
she could really make it.

ROBERT STACK: In the
end, Helena and Apolinary

made the agonizing
decision to withdraw

their visa application.

They wrote to the family who had
taken Christopher asking them

to send him back to England.

Helena!

Helena!

I have received
letter from America.

Yes, they are-- they don't
send Christopher back.

What?

They don't send
Christopher back.

My parents got a letter back
from the family in the United

States saying that Christopher
had already settled in school,

had made friends, and they
weren't going to send him back.

I'm sorry to interrupt
you, I have a very

big problem that cannot wait.

Sit down.

ROBERT STACK:
Helena and Apolinary

immediately went to the
refugee camp's Polish consul.

They will not send him back.

They cannot do this to us.

ROBERT STACK: He
was sympathetic,

but all of Christopher's
adoption records

had gone to the United States,
making it nearly impossible

to bring the boy back.

The Kurowskis
eventually left the camp

and settled near Nottingham.

They continued to
write to the family

who had taken Christopher,
but received no response.

In 1966, when
Mechelle turned 16,

she decided it was time
to find her brother.

It was hard to look for him.

I really didn't
know where to start,

so I had to ask
people where to look.

And one person told me to
write to the American embassy,

and then put a letter
inside there for Christopher

just in case they
found Christopher.

And that's what I did.

ROBERT STACK: Two months later,
Mechelle received a reply.

Mama!

Mama!

MECHELLE: I never thought
in a million years

that I would actually find him.

I was jumping up and down,
I was running around.

It was one of the happiest
moments of my life.

Read it.

OK, he says, um, he says he's
in the army in-- in Vietnam,

and--

and-- and he's changed
his name to-- that he's

changed his name to Stan Smith.

MECHELLE: I wrote
back right away,

but I didn't get an answer.

I waited and I waited,
checked the postman,

always stopped
the postman, asked

him if he had any letters for me
that were coming from America.

Nothing.

I didn't get anything back.

No letter, return
to sender, nothing.

ROBERT STACK: The
Kurowskis were crushed

by the lack of further news.

In 1973, Mechelle moved
to the United States.

After Apolinary
died, Helena finally

came to America herself.

Last April, she passed away.

Helena's dying wish
was that her children

would someday be reunited.

Join me next time for another
edition of Unsolved Mysteries.

[eerie music]