Lee Barnett's friends: "We thought about her all the time" | Forensic Files

at the time we found out that she had gone missing uh we didn't know if it was for
a week or a month or two months we had no idea she would have done what she did and actually flee the
country um her mother was worried her friends were worried I think anybody that knew her was very worried I had no
idea what she was planning she did a very good job in protecting everybody that loved her she did not want to bring
anybody down with her choices and she she was pretty incredible with how she pulled everything off um I know I
certainly couldn't have done that and stayed away all those years but it was that important to her to have her baby
and keep her safe we thought about her all the time um at family gatherings at Christmases at uh thanksgivings there
were always toasts uh made to Lee Savannah and absent friends and she was a part of those toasts uh as my wife and
I would travel to different places uh we could go somewhere see something and would just be one of those Lee moments
and we would say boy I bet if Lee were here she would love this very often if we did have a campfire or have something
like that we would leave a chair um an empty chair which would be F Le or if you popped a bottle of champagne the
first small porw would be for her and that would sit in the glass by itself we wouldn't waste it mind you but it would
be uh a token uh to to her being missing from the event my kids grew up hearing about Auntie Lee and um about baby
Savannah I don't know my girls felt like they kind of knew her because we talked
about her so much um they grew up using savanas uh oh goodness I think we had a stroller
changing table um decorations for the nursery clothes uh they actually went home from
the hospital in the same outfit that Savannah went home from the hospital in I truly believed one day and I kept
saying 19 years Savannah's going to be 19 and she's going to come knock on my door and I can give her all the stuff
that I have of hers this plant was left at my office I would think 3 or 4 days before she left it was just a little pot
plant about that big and uh it's a plant that we've cared for for all these 22 years it's a
Christmas cactus and blooms at Thanksgiving and Christmas wonderful purple blooms and every time it blooms
we know that Savannah and Lee are in good spirits in good health

While Dorothy Lee Barnett stayed one step ahead of the FBI as an international fugitive for almost 20 years, her friends in Charleston S.C, including Gordon King and Patty Roth, never forgot Barnett or her young daughter, Savanna.

Brief Summary

The episode recounts the emotional impact of Lee's disappearance on her family and their ongoing remembrance of her and Savannah.

Key points

The Disappearance. The family grapples with the uncertainty of Lee's disappearance.
Remembering Lee. Family traditions keep Lee's memory alive during gatherings.
Auntie Lee's Legacy. The children grow up hearing about Auntie Lee and her baby.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I had no idea what she was planning.

Reflecting on the uncertainty surrounding her disappearance.

0:20WatchNov 13, 2015

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