The Lost Daughter | Full Episode | Forensic Files

Part of the naivety and the beauty of youth is you you're invincible. You know, at 20 you don't think
anything's going to bring harm to you. >> Step forward. >> In 1989, [music] Tiffany Sessions was a
20-year-old college student at the University of Florida. >> She was really warm and friendly. Always
had a smile on her face. Fun. She was I would say a really fun-loving girl. My name is Kathleen Frezza and I was
Tiffany's roommate. >> Short of this for college. >> When she came back from Christmas break,
she had started exercising. She's like, "I've been walking. I've been losing weight. I'm feeling really good." She's
like, "Come with me." So, at certain times I would go with her. On February 9th, I did not go with
Tiffany. >> [music] >> She left around 4:45. 5:40 rolls around, the sun's going down,
Tiffany's still not back. It was very unlike her. I went out, I got in the car, I drove
around the route to see I don't know, maybe she fell down and she hurt herself, but nothing.
I never heard from her again. >> She's a a smart kid. She's resourceful and if she's in trouble, she's going to
be doing everything she can to get out of it and I just hope that if anybody's got her, they know that we're willing to
do anything to get her back. >> What would you say to her if you could now? >> I love her.
>> How long will you look for her? >> Probably I think till the day I die. I mean, how do you not look for your kid?
I can't stop. >> I began my investigation into the disappearance of Tiffany Sessions in
January of 2013. There'd been many leads over the years, but none of them had panned out.
I learned 3 years after the disappearance of Tiffany Sessions, [music] another 20-year-old college
student was found less than a mile away. Her name was Beth Foster. I started to wonder if the killer of
Beth Foster could be the killer of Tiffany Sessions. This was uh Beth Foster's head, and this was her
feet. First [snorts] question I had is, well, did anyone check the surrounding area
for other graves? >> Kevin, how easy would it be to hide a body in here? >> Uh very easy.
>> I thought we would find her in 24 hours, and then 24 days, [music] and then 24 months.
I never thought 24 years we'd still be here. >> I think we're very close. [music]
I think there's a good chance she's there. >> I'm Tracy Smith. [music] Tonight on 48
Hours, The Lost Daughter. >> [music] >> Hey, can you yell around? >> Come on, guys.
>> Heavenly Father, we got a simple prayer. It's really simple. Help us find Tiffany. We know without your grace,
without your blessing, it won't happen. Amen. >> Amen. >> Amen. >> Let's go. >> Do it.
>> For 25 years, Pat and Hillary Sessions have been searching for their daughter
Tiffany. And in January 2014, in this forest in Gainesville, Florida, just over a mile from where Tiffany
disappeared. >> There was another girl in 1992 who was actually found here on the site.
>> They hope they may finally find her. >> I am extremely optimistic. >> What are you feeling going into this
excavation? Are you nervous? >> I'm a lot more nervous than I thought I would be.
I've done other searches, and this one I'm a lot more nervous about because it may not be true, but it sort of feels
like a final hurrah. You know, I pushed and pushed so many people for so long. But
I don't know how long I'll do it. >> [snorts] >> Get Sorry. >> Do you think the emotion comes because
maybe it's the end, or maybe it's not? >> Yeah, I don't know. It needs to end. Everybody needs closure on this.
>> In 1989, Tiffany Sessions was a junior studying finance at the University of Florida in Gainesville. [music]
She had dreams of running a company one day. >> She knew what she wanted to do. She knew
where she was going to go. >> She was determined to make something out of herself.
>> Tiffany had a good role model. Pat Sessions was a well-known marketing executive for a giant real estate
company in South Florida. He oversaw the creation of Weston, one of the biggest building projects in the United States.
>> She kind of wanted to be like dad, following in your footsteps. >> I've been told that by
by her friends. >> Pat and Hillary divorced when Tiffany was just 8 months old. Hillary was in
the US Air Force, and as she traveled around the country, she brought Tiffany with her.
>> I was the mom. I was the dad. I was the disciplinarian, the provider. There wasn't anything that we didn't do
together. And we worked as a team. >> You called her your masterpiece. >> I did.
Because I only had one. I worked really hard on making sure that she was as nice
on the inside as she was on the outside. >> Growing up, Tiffany didn't see a lot of
her father, but in her teens, they reconnected. Pat was in his late 30s, a bachelor
living in an oceanfront home in Miami's affluent Coconut Grove. >> The summers were the times that we spent
together and holidays. >> Tiffany also got to know her half-brother, Jason. >> My father is always a very active, fun
guy. So, when we came together for those different times, we were always doing neat experiences, going on the boat, you
know, the beach, different activities like that. So, yeah, that's where we really got to know each other.
>> Both of them were single kids, so they didn't have anybody else. They bonded together very quickly.
>> But for Pat, missing out on so much of his daughter's childhood had taken its
toll. >> It was a lot of catch-up, you know, and overcoming a lot of bad history between
her mother and I. >> Tiffany was very close to both her parents. >> Kathleen Frezza, Tiffany's college
roommate. >> [music] >> She loved her mom and they had a very special relationship. She spoke with her
frequently, almost daily I would say on the phone. With her dad, because she was able to
renew that relationship with him. That was really very touching for her. >> And when Pat bought his daughter a Rolex
watch, Kathleen [music] says Tiffany never took it off. >> She just loved it. Partly because it was
a Rolex, partly because it was from her dad. So, it you know, it held a really special
emotional tie for her. >> In fact, Kathleen has never forgotten one of the last conversations she had
with Tiffany. Just before she went out for that final walk. >> Before she walked out, Tiffany said,
"I'm going to take off my jewelry." She said, "I'm keeping my watch on. If somebody comes after me, they're
going to have to fight me for the watch." >> Tiffany never returned to her apartment
while on an evening walk. >> When Tiffany did not come back, I still had hope at that time.
>> I just really am still pretty hopeful and continuing to believe that she will
return safely. >> There were people in the apartment, outside the apartment, milling around,
trying to figure out what we needed to do. >> The day after Tiffany went missing, Pat
and Hillary arrived in Gainesville. >> I got here and I didn't even rent a car. I did a cab because I assumed all this
was going to be over relatively quickly and Tiffany would give me a ride back to
the airport. >> But Pat knew the situation was serious when he learned that Tiffany had left
the apartment with only her watch and her Walkman. >> She didn't have her wallet or driver's
license. Her car was there and that was the scary part. You know, all that stuff
was there and we were all starting to get nervous as the day went on. >> I think there was a sense of urgency
here. >> Jim Eckert was one of the lead investigators on the case. >> This young woman didn't have any, I
guess, baggage, as it were. It wasn't like we had a boyfriend or some strained relationship. She was a good student.
She was pretty much always on the mark. So, for her not to have shown up was was pretty unusual.
>> She's a smart kid. She's resourceful. And if she's in trouble, she's going to
be doing everything she can to get out of it. >> Pat sprang into action. He put his
marketing skills to work and organized one of the largest missing person searches in Florida history.
>> I need your help. I need the word to get out on Tiffany. >> From day one, he was so driven, he ran
like a business. He really did. >> We're attempting to find Tiffany, and uh we're just investigating every lead.
>> Pat brought in Wayne Black, a private investigator who specialized in recovering missing children.
>> Pat had, within, I think, 24 hours, Tiffany's picture on the inside of every pizza box being delivered uh in the
natural county. >> see anything or talk to anyone or hear anything, please give us a call.
>> Volunteers blanketed the state with flyers, put Tiffany's face on billboards,
and answered a 1-800 hotline. Jason Sessions, just 17, also helped to get the word out.
>> Uh she left the house without keys, without jewelry, without makeup, and that's not Tiffany.
>> It was amazing to me how small South Florida became in understanding who Tiffany Sessions was and what the what
we were doing in in the and what we were going through. >> All right, I really appreciate you
calling, and probably somebody will be calling you back from the FBI or somebody just to kind of get
>> My goal was very simple. It was to make sure that everybody that I could knew
what she looked like. To try and get as many people out there looking for her as
I could. >> I'm curious whether that helped you with the emotional side of things to be able
to look at this from a business, marketing point of view. >> Yes, because I felt useful.
Because I felt in control. For every 50 people that pass out a flyer, one story as you all can run does 100
times that. >> Pat set up press conferences and recruited his famous friends like
football legend Dan Marino. >> What I'm going to try to do to help this team is is to to try to call on all my
friends throughout the NFL. >> Today, you can push a button and you reach a million people on Facebook.
>> You could try to get some nationwide coverage for Tiffany and try to help her.
>> In those days, TV was my Facebook. >> Politician Jeb Bush also helped out and
so did America's Most Wanted host John Walsh, whose son Adam was abducted and killed in 1981.
>> I know the nightmare firsthand of having a missing child and what he's going through. We can only assume that she is
alive and that she is somewhere and we just hope that there will be some type of word and that you will spread the
word. >> People are committed because of Pat because he just asked them, "Come help
me." And you you know, he's irresistible in that regard. >> There is a massive investigation going
on. What they want from us is information, leads, physical clues. >> Just one week after Tiffany disappeared,
over 700 people showed up to search the area around Tiffany's walking route >> [music]
>> hoping to find any clues as to what happened to her. >> There's something out there somewhere.
We just haven't turned it up yet. >> It was freezing cold that day. It was a terrible day. It was drizzling. It was
cold. >> When you find any evidence, just stay away from it. Let me know. I'll come
take a look at it and we'll get >> We had busloads of troops that came in to help us with the search. We had
Dolphins players, all of our friends and family from South Florida who are up here.
>> Start down there by that fence. >> We went real hard at the area where she walked trying to find the Walkman,
trying to find her watch, trying to find anything. >> And it turns up >> zero. [music]
Absolute zero. Not a thing. >> [music] >> That was the longest drive home because I was so euphoric that well,
we're going to find something. I think the hardest part was what do I do now? >> [music]
>> And you're trying to solve the case, I would imagine you went up and down and
up and down this road. >> A lot. A lot. >> Former detective Jim Eckert still remembers every step of the walking
route he thinks Tiffany Sessions took the night she disappeared. >> This was all thick woods.
>> So it would have been fairly easy to snatch somebody. >> what you'd call a private place.
This was a huge construction site with a lot of people coming and going. >> He always wondered if Tiffany's abductor
could have worked here at Hunter's Run. >> We talked to certainly as many as we could
>> and nothing. >> Nothing. >> The hotline was receiving as many as 600 calls per day, but in 1989, technology
was so primitive detectives were quickly overwhelmed. >> We were using DOS systems and sticking
big discs in computers and most cops didn't even know how to do that. You know, we didn't have a fax machine.
>> They didn't have a fax machine. >> So I bought them one. >> How many leads came in?
>> Too many. I've always worried that there was so much that it got lost in the shuffle.
>> Something fell through the cracks. Weeks turned to months. >> First month or two,
still had a lot of hope. Every day that goes by, the odds drop astronomically. And I knew that things were not looking
good. >> And then, detectives received a promising lead. An anonymous inmate wrote that Michael
Knickerbocker, a convicted serial rapist and murderer serving five life sentences, confessed [music]
to killing Tiffany Sessions. >> You went and talked to him. >> Sure. He was a spooky guy. You got bad vibes
off of him. You know, like, "Well, did you do this?" No. Um, but here's how I would have done it.
>> Michael Knickerbocker never confessed to detectives that he killed Tiffany, but
he did confess that he was the one who wrote the letter as a mean joke. >> And these guys do that. I mean, I can
show you 50 letters that I get from guys in jail. I realized early on that I was
dealing with a whole subculture of people that were just subhuman. >> When the Knickerbocker lead fell apart,
Pat offered a cash reward hoping someone would come forward with information about his daughter.
>> When you put out a reward, it happens in every case. You get every nut job. >> But one lead seemed credible.
>> You get your hopes up. You think, "Maybe this is it." >> It was from a man who said he knew where
Tiffany was [music] and that she was sick and in need of medical attention. >> He says, "Don't hang up."
>> The caller sent Pat on a wild car chase all over Miami. >> He says, "You hang up, I'm going to kill
her." >> But the caller turned out to be a professional con artist. He was caught
by the FBI [music] and sent away to prison for a little over 6 years. >> I was emotionally up to here. I really thought
this guy might really know something. >> And as the reward climbed to $250,000, Pat endured two more extortion attempts.
And then, 1 year after Tiffany went missing, when Pat thought the news couldn't get much worse,
>> The two women found murdered Sunday afternoon were UFF students. >> Within 4 days, five students were
murdered in Gainesville. Detectives had a serial killer on their hands. >> Did you think Tiffany could have been
connected to that? >> Well, of course the first day you wondered. Yes, I thought that maybe it
was the same person. >> Weeks later, an ex-con named Danny Rolling was arrested. [music] He later
confessed to the five Gainesville student murders, but he never confessed to killing
Tiffany. [music] Detectives dropped Rolling as a possible suspect when they learned he was in
Shreveport, Louisiana the evening Tiffany disappeared. >> The biggest challenge always in a case
like [music] this is to keep everyone motivated. >> When the leads dried up, private
investigator Wayne Black tried to [music] keep the momentum of the investigation going.
>> The case got cold. So, you have to remind them it's still the kidnapping, it's obviously a homicide, and let's
work it. >> And Pat and his [music] team kept working it for 25 years. >> Was there ever a time that you wanted to
give up? >> Yeah. I'm not going to lie about that. I mean, there was times early on
when I was just overwhelmed and didn't you know, and the frustration of not knowing what to do. And the good news
was, even when I'd start to slow down, everybody else pushed me. >> And no one pushed Pat more than this
woman. In 2006, Sadie Darnell became the first woman elected sheriff in Alachua County.
She was just a young cop in 1989 when Tiffany disappeared, and that memory stayed with her.
>> It was very jarring and very scary and very haunting to think that that could
happen in our midst, and then this many years later still having it unsolved. >> Throughout the years, even though she
was never actually assigned to the case, Sadie would mail and fax Pat words of encouragement.
>> September 15th, 1995. Patrick, I know this must be difficult for you to maintain a constant struggle
for Tiffany's case. >> I've always believed it can and will be solved. I have loyalty to you. The
overall goal is for you to have Tiffany back, and in some time in the future peace.
>> Call me anytime to vent, strategize, coordinate, kick butt, etc. >> etc. Always, Sadie.
>> So, when Sadie became sheriff, one of her main goals was to set up a cold case
unit and find out what happened to Tiffany Sessions. In January 2013, Sheriff Darnell hired
Detective Kevin Allen to do just that. >> He's one of the best I've ever seen. In
fact, I kept asking, "Where has he been all my career?" This is the kind of guy that gets the cold case stuff. That's
the kind of person that you need on this. >> She told me very matter-of-factly, "I
want this case solved during my tenure here." >> And Sheriff Darnell told Detective Allen
that she wanted him to focus on one man, a convict by the name of Paul Rolls. >> I'd been in that case for a couple
weeks. I'd never read the name, never heard the name. She said, "Get down and talk to him.
Talk to him right away. Time is of the essence." >> [music] [music] >> I have an 18-year-old daughter.
My daughter is the light of my life. >> It's that personal to [music] you. >> Yes.
>> When Kevin Allen joined the Alachua County Cold Case Unit early in 2013, he knew working on the Tiffany Sessions
case would be difficult for him. >> Just being a parent and just the thought of something happening to your child.
I have a picture of Tiffany Sessions I keep at my desk. I go to bed thinking about that case and I wake up thinking
about that case. >> We look at all the cold cases. [music] We can't forget the past and we can't
can't just let it go. >> Sheriff Sadie Darnell made the Tiffany Sessions case a priority.
>> You need to lift up every rock, >> [music] >> peel back every layer. >> She started by giving Detective Allen
that lead to look into convicted murderer Paul Rolls. >> What I found was that Paul Rolls was a
psychopath, a serial killer. He had sadistic tendencies, sadistic fantasies. >> [music]
>> And Detective Allen would soon learn that Paul Rolls had a long and violent past that lasted over 20 years.
In 1972, he killed his first victim, former beauty queen Linda Fida. >> [music] >> At the time, Rolls was a newly married
23-year-old architecture student. >> Linda Fida was a neighbor of his. They lived in apartment complex in North
Miami. Paul was a stalker. I mean, he would plan [music] and watch his prey. He saw her through the peephole in his
door to his apartment and that's how he watched her. >> When Linda Fida went to do her laundry,
Paul Rolls snuck into her apartment and when she returned, he tried to rape her.
She fought back and he strangled her. >> This was a nude young girl [music] in the bathtub.
>> Detective Marshall Frank, now retired, rushed to the crime scene. >> One of the things that we found that was
different on this crime scene than other crime scenes was uh a couple of band-aids.
>> Detectives were able to get toe prints off those band-aids. Then, a day after the murder,
when they knocked on neighbor Paul Rolls' door, they immediately noticed band-aids on
his toes. >> So, they went and took a toe print from him, compared it against the print that
they had at the scene, they had their guy. >> After his arrest, Detective [music]
Frank was shocked when Rolls quickly confessed. >> There was no voices raised. There was no uh hate or uh anger, just
kind of like matter-of-factly going over something that just happened. >> Detective Frank says Rolls told him he
had sexual urges that he couldn't control. >> I just asked him, "How long have you had
these kinds of feelings?" And he said, >> [music] >> "For a while now." My thought process
was, this man has a severe problem. >> Detective Frank believes Paul Rolls was the most dangerous type of killer.
>> [music] >> When you met him at that time, you met a nice guy anybody would trust.
Have him over for dinner. You'd never know. You'd never know. >> Rolls was sentenced to life in prison
for the murder of Linda Fida. But, in 1985, Rolls' life sentence [music] was abruptly cut short when he
was suddenly released and out on parole. >> I thought, "Oh my god, that's not good."
>> That was the deal back then through uh prison overcrowding and lots of crime in
the state of Florida. The average sentence for life in prison was 15 years. >> Rolls only had to serve 13 years of his
life sentence. >> This is the kind of guy that should not be released from prison.
I mean, he committed a heinous crime without any guilt at all. >> In 1988, Rolls settled in Gainesville,
where [music] he worked as a pizza delivery man. He also had another job putting up scaffolding on that apartment
complex Hunter's Run, located right on Tiffany's walking route. >> He always stayed under the radar. When I
interviewed his boss at Pizza Hut, he said it was as if Paul didn't want to be seen. He just maintained an extremely
low profile, as many serial killers do. >> In 1989, just 1 year after Paul Rolls
moved to Gainesville, Tiffany Sessions disappeared. >> How could somebody just totally
disappear off the face of this earth with no evidence? >> And it turns out Rolls did not show up
for his pizza delivery job on the day Tiffany vanished. And then in 1992, just 3 years after
Tiffany went missing, Beth Foster, that other college student, was found murdered just 1 mile from where Tiffany
went walking. >> Every time something happened up here in Gainesville, I was concerned.
>> Tiffany's mom, Hillary, immediately thought that the two cases could be related.
>> You thought back then, back in '92, that this could be a serial killer. >> same guy who murdered Elizabeth Foster
could have taken Tiffany. >> Mhm. Yep. And um I've said that all this time. But nobody wanted to listen to me.
>> Private investigator Wayne Black says at the time, police couldn't link Rolls to
either crime. >> Remember, we didn't have the forensics that we have today. We were really in
the dark ages. >> And even though Rolls, by then 43, was an ex-con living in the
area, police never questioned him. And just 2 months after Beth Foster's murder, he quietly left town.
>> Paul Rolls had lived in Gainesville for about 4 years, and I think the heat was
on basically at that point. So, he got out of town. >> And in 1994, Rolls struck again, this
time in Jacksonville, when he raped and attempted to kill a 15-year-old girl. She was able to escape and identified
Rolls as her attacker. Rolls was convicted, [music] and this time he was sent to prison for good.
>> He was confronted soon after the crime and gave a full confession. >> To that crime?
>> Yes. >> To the young girl? >> Yes. >> But what about to the other crimes? Elizabeth Foster?
Tiffany Sessions? >> He wasn't interviewed about either of those cases in a timely fashion.
The dots had not been connected. >> Over the next few years, as DNA technology advanced, detectives
submitted Rolls' DNA to the FBI database to see if he could have possibly killed
others. And although it took 18 years, finally, in 2012, there was a match to Elizabeth Foster.
>> How big of a development [music] was that, linking Elizabeth Foster's death to Paul Rolls?
>> It was huge. Years go on, decades go on, and nothing's happening, no any information.
So, it was energizing, it was wonderful. >> Sheriff Darnell knew that if Paul Rolls,
who was now 64, had killed [music] Beth Foster, he could also have killed Tiffany Sessions.
>> She was a young, white female. They lived in the same quadrant of our county. Paul Roles didn't show up for
work the day that she went missing. You got to look at him. You got to look at him.
>> Detective Allen couldn't wait to confront Roles, hoping he would cave and confess to Tiffany's abduction.
But when the detective went to question him in December of 2013, Roles was in a coma and dying of lung
cancer. >> Did you hope that maybe he'd wake up? >> I'm sure and with a last twinge of
conscience, you know, could, would, should say, "I did it and this is where she is." But that didn't happen.
>> Paul Roles died almost 2 weeks later. But Sheriff Darnell was not giving up. >> I sent an email [music] to Kevin Allen
saying, "Crap, crap, crap. Get down there and get his personal belongings as soon as possible."
>> Something in her gut told her to get a hold of Paul Roles' personal property.
>> And what Paul Roles left behind changed the entire investigation. >> I got chills when Kevin showed it to me.
>> When Detective Allen went to retrieve serial killer Paul Roles' personal belongings from jail, it was 24 years
after Tiffany Sessions disappeared. >> It was just one box. >> He didn't think he would find much.
>> And it just have a lot of letters and loose writings stuff. >> But then he came across Roles' address
book. >> So I thought I should copy this. This might be relevant. And there in the dead center [music] of
the book is a date, 2 9 89. >> I went, "Oh my gosh." Cuz that's the day [music] Tiffany
disappeared. >> Then he saw what Rolls wrote next to the date. >> Then number two.
I knew Linda Fite was his first victim. And chronologically, Tiffany [music] Sessions would have been his second
victim. I almost fell down when I when I saw it. >> What was going through your head?
>> [music] >> We have a possible link to the Tiffany Sessions disappearance from Paul Rolls'
personal property. >> That's a huge break. >> Lucky. Really lucky. >> And that's not all that was in the
address book. Rolls had also written down the names of all of his other victims.
Linda Fite, Elizabeth Foster, and the 15-year-old girl Rolls raped and attempted to kill in Jacksonville,
>> [music] >> a minor whose name we won't disclose. >> [music] >> Some serial killers like to keep a
diary. Some keep artifacts. Some like to write down what they've done, a feeling of
accomplishment. Look what I did. I've got two, three, four. >> I said, "Can I see it?"
>> This could be the smoking gun piece of evidence Sheriff Darnell has been looking for all these years.
>> I was literally shaking holding it to see it and to see the depth of what that
meant. After all these many years, there's a possibility, just a possibility, that this case could be solved.
>> Once he discovered the address book, Detective Allen ordered up cadaver dogs to search the site where Rolls buried
Elizabeth Foster. >> They all alert about 20 ft from where Beth Foster was buried.
>> So, what did that say to you? >> There's human remains here. >> [music] >> And it could be Tiffany.
>> Could be Tiffany Sessions. He obviously was in a comfort zone there. He left Beth Foster there for a
reason. >> [music] >> So, he may have left multiple bodies there. >> So, on January 13th, 2014,
just 1 month away from the 25th [music] anniversary of Tiffany's disappearance, Pat Sessions and Detective Allen have
gathered a team of people to help at the excavation. >> 25 years ago we started.
I hope we're going to finish. >> I want to be there for the end of this if it if it is.
>> Some members of the team have been searching for Tiffany since she went missing.
>> Uh I've probably been on over 20 searches for Tiffany. >> Dr. Michael Warren is a world-renowned
forensic anthropologist, an expert in identifying human bones. >> I've had Tiffany Sessions master file on
my desk for 21 years. >> He's been actively involved in the search for Tiffany since 1991.
>> She's just been uh one of the one of the cases that I would really like to resolve.
>> And he knows it is not going to be an easy task. >> It's very hard to go out and do an
organized search over such a large area. So, we've got to be pretty aggressive. >> And if they find any bones, Dr. Warren
will know if they are Tiffany's. >> I've memorized her dental pattern and and her dental chart. So, I'll know if
it's her or not. To find her would just be a remarkable feeling. >> Their plan to dig for 5 days.
>> I feel good about the operation. I feel good about the people on the ground. So,
we're all thumbs up, trying to stay positive. >> After clearing the trees, they now begin
the tedious job of sifting through every bit of dirt, looking for pieces of human
bone. And in the afternoon, they do find a bone. But, it's not human. It's a deer
bone. Pat is disappointed, but he knows they have a lot more ground to dig. >> We've waited this long, worked this hard
to get here. It's amazing, the commitment from everybody. >> And if they don't find Tiffany here,
Jason will never stop looking for his sister. >> I don't have any doubt if I drop dead
tomorrow, you know, that he'll just keep on going. And I hope he doesn't have to.
Maybe we'll get lucky. >> [music] >> Yeah, I'll continue looking forever. As long as there's a lead to follow,
we're going to continue looking. >> [music] >> With just 3 days left to dig, Tiffany's
mother, Hillary, is adamant the search will be over. >> This is [music] definitely the one. You
know why? The pieces are fitting. Everything is fitting in place. This is it. >> Is it hard to imagine that Tiffany
might be in that spot? >> I don't know what's worse, having absolutely no idea what happened
to her, or having [snorts] someone as bad as Paul Rhodes having done it. >> Believing serial killer Paul Rhodes
murdered his daughter makes it even harder for Pat Sessions to understand how, after receiving a life sentence in
1976, he was ever released from prison. >> That makes me sick. Tiffany would probably be alive today if they hadn't
let the guy out. >> On day three of the excavation, >> we're really moving some dirt. There
isn't a chance we're missing anything. >> Pat starts to wonder if Rolls may have
buried Tiffany someplace else. >> Am I losing optimism that we're going to find Tiffany this go around? It's hard
not to. >> Later that day, Pat's fears come true when excavators finish digging in the
areas where the cadaver dogs alerted and find nothing. >> Certainly dogs are very good at finding
the recently dead who are giving off these these human specific uh scents. >> Forensic anthropologist Dr. Michael
Warren says cadaver dogs sometimes can be unreliable when trying to solve cold cases.
>> Skeletons are a different thing. They just don't have any odor uh you know, associated with them.
>> And with no focus on where to dig, by the end of the week, the excavation comes to an end.
>> [music] >> We have not found Tiffany Sessions. Was it disappointing? Yeah, really
disappointing, but we're never going to find out if we don't keep trying. >> Good morning everyone and thank you for
being here. This is uh been a long journey. >> And then, just 3 weeks after the dig,
Sheriff Darnell goes public about Paul Rolls. >> He was in this community. He murdered in
this community. He had made comments about this site being a dump site. >> Darnell hopes that someone will know
something that leads them to Tiffany's remains. >> If you had any involvement with him, if
you know of anyone who had involvement with him, bring it forward. >> For Pat >> and Hillary, there's a sense of finality
to this moment. They think they have their man, even if they don't have their little girl. And above all, they're
grateful. >> I want to thank the people who have come over the last 25 years. >> They're especially thankful to Detective
Kevin Allen. >> This is the guy that's made everybody work. >> He's the one who gave Pat and Hillary
the answers they've been longing for. >> I think he solved the case. I think we found who took Tiffany.
I believe that. >> I think anyone who has children is touched by the case of Tiffany Sessions,
especially myself. I know the sheriff, too. >> Oh, yeah, you take care. >> It was an emotional day for all of us.
>> Tiffany's case is still officially open, but over the years, Pat and Hillary have
tried to bring closure to other parents of missing children. Hillary has worked with advocates on child protection
legislation, and Pat works directly with families. >> You know, you try to find something, as
corny as it sounds, try to make some meaning out of something, try and do something positive out of a terrible
thing. And I think that's the best thing I could do. You know, somebody calls me,
I'm there. >> [music] >> My cute little missy. I'm very comfortable here in her room.
On bad days, like sometimes her birthday, I come and sleep here in the room because I just
feel very close to her at that time. >> I honestly do think that if Tiffany were
here, she'd say, >> [music] >> "Get over it." I don't think she'd want me to be spending my entire life,
having already spent 25 years of this, trying to do something that isn't going to bring her back.
>> So, if you imagine that she would tell you, "Knock it off, Dad. Move on." Why do you keep doing it?
>> For my own benefit. To try and to do what I think I should have done. I I don't want to ever
if she walked in the door tomorrow, you know, I want to be always be able to say
that I did the best I could do. It's all I can do, anybody can. >> [music] [music]
[music] [music]

A college student missing for 25 years. Has a Florida sheriff's office solved one of the state's biggest mysteries? "48 Hours" correspondent Tracy Smith reports in this episode from August 2015. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "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 details Tiffany Sessions' disappearance and the ongoing search for her remains, focusing on her family's enduring quest for answers.

Key points

The Disappearance of Tiffany Sessions. Tiffany Sessions, a 20-year-old college student, vanished without a trace in 1989.
A Mother's Love. Pat Sessions expresses his unwavering commitment to finding his daughter Tiffany.
A Cold Case Reopened. Sheriff Sadie Darnell prioritizes the Tiffany Sessions case, hiring a detective to investigate.
The Search Efforts. Pat organized one of the largest missing person searches in Florida history.
Paul Rolls: The Psychopath Unveiled. Detectives uncover the chilling history of Paul Rolls, a serial killer with sadistic tendencies.
The Discovery of a Link. Detectives find a crucial piece of evidence linking Rolls to Tiffany Sessions' disappearance.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I can't stop.

How long will you look for her?

2:00WatchMay 12, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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