Sneak peek: The Girl From Wahoo | Forensic Files

The murder of Mary Kay Hees has been on the minds of the people of Wahoo, Nebraska for 56 years now.
I remember being about 9 years old out in the front yard. My mom came out and said, "Hey, get in
this house right now. A girl in Wahoo has been murdered." And I I remember that playing a stay.
It didn't happen that often in Nebraska. Murders were rare. Mary Kay Hees was a 17-year-old high
school student from Wahoo, Nebraska who was killed by stabbing in 1969. The Mary Kay Hees case is unique because
of how many people have tried to solve it and they just hit brick walls right and
left. I'm Bob Frank. Back in 1999, I was a sergeant in charge of the Nebraska State
Patrol Cold Case Unit. She was running. You can see the struggle. The blood on the ground and the
footprint and showed there was a struggle in this area. Her shoe and another spot of blood was
found. And then her body. I'm hoping the integrity of the evidence is still there as far as it's not too
old to test as far as DNA. We're hoping after 30 years we can pull a fingerprint
off those books. The purse was found at the crime scene. This stuff has been in here for the last
30 years. Rabbit's foot [music] with a key and a nail clipper on it. Better be dead sure than sure dead.
Kind of ironic, isn't it? With the makeup, the pencils, the handkerchiefs, the Kleenexes, just
your normal 17-year-old's purse. I have one prime suspect. What I'll say right now is he knows who
did it or he was there. I can't positively say he did it yet. What did you learn about what the
connection was between him and Mary Kay? Through reports that we had, they were both at the Wigwam Cafe about the same
time. How long did you end up working this case? Uh we probably stayed on it for
about a year. Did you think, well, I couldn't make any more [music] headway here, it's it's
never going to be solved? >> Well, it it got to the point where working with a grant, we had X amount of
funds to expend per case. And we had reached our maximum. It was one that I really wanted [music]
to solve for the community, but it just didn't turn out that way. My name is Ted Green, and I was the
criminal investigator for the Saunders County Attorney's Office. Her body was found where, roughly?
It's roughly right here. Yep, lying. Yep, sideways. >> When you're first assigned [music] this
case, did you think, well, I'm the guy, I'm going to solve this, I'm going to get the answer? No, but I don't let go.
I won't give up. And it was putting this puzzle back together. What happened after more than 50 years
in [music] this case? The puzzle came together. We finally got a full puzzle with all
the pieces in place.

ALL NEW: A girl is murdered in Wahoo, Nebraska. More than 50 years later, the clues that led to an arrest. "48 Hours" correspondent Natalie Morales reports Saturday, Feb. 14 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode discusses the unsolved murder of Mary Kay Hees and efforts to solve the case over 56 years.

Key points

The Unsolved Murder of Mary Kay Hees. The case of Mary Kay Hees, a 17-year-old murdered in 1969, remains a mystery.
A Cold Case Investigation. Bob Frank discusses his role in the Nebraska State Patrol Cold Case Unit.
The Puzzle Comes Together. After 50 years, the pieces of the case finally align for investigators.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Better be dead sure than sure dead.

A reflection on the seriousness of the investigation.

1:49WatchFeb 12, 2026

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