Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 17 | Forensic Files

DENNIS FARINA: Next on "Unsolved Mysteries." A journalist is about to blow the lid on some government
corruption but is found dead, his wrist slashed 12 times by a razor blade. Mutant, monster, or figment of some overheated imaginations?
What is this strange creature terrorizing West Virginia? Some call it the Mothman.
Legend has it that just two miles from downtown LA a treasure worth millions is just waiting to be found.
And a flower delivery proves fatal for a woman in Georgia. Five cases, some without endings.
Our team is working on them and perhaps you can help. I'm Dennis Farina and this is "Unsolved Mysteries."
Martinsburg, West Virginia. [knocking] Housekeeping. DENNIS FARINA: It starts off like any other work day
at the local Sheraton Hotel. The housekeeper opens one of the rooms to clean it.
Nothing prepares her for what she finds inside room 517. Oh my god. [screams] DENNIS FARINA: Hotel guest Danny Casolaro is
lying in a tub of bloody water. Danny is an investigative journalist from Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC.
He is clearly dead. What you got here? Seems pretty clear it's a suicide. DENNIS FARINA: Martinsburg police arrive on the scene.
About a dozen slash marks on the wrist. DENNIS FARINA: In the room they find a suicide note and a single razor blade in the bath tub.
Danny's wrists have been slashed 12 times. Eight cuts on his left wrist and four cuts on his right.
One cut is so deep it severed a tendon. There are no signs of a struggle. Danny's body is taken to a local funeral home
later that afternoon. But strangely, Danny's family and friends aren't told about his death until two days later.
JACK ANDERSON: From the moment we heard about his recorded suicide we doubted it, questioned it,
wondered about it. It was not his nature to kill himself so we were suspicious when from the first.
And the deeper we dug into it, the more suspicious we became. Just a few days before Danny Casolaro died,
he told friends that he was on the verge of breaking a huge story. Danny claimed to have proof that some officials in the US
Justice Department were corrupt. Many suspect that Danny's death was not a suicide.
They believe that he was murdered because he was the man who knew too much. First of all, when was the promised software developed
and what was it for? DENNIS FARINA: Danny's advocates believe that the true story
of Danny's death began when he interviewed Bill and Nancy Hamilton. They were the owners of a computer
software company called Inslaw. They had developed revolutionary software to speed up case management for the law enforcement agencies.
The US Justice Department was a major client. What we'll do first is bring up a menu.
DENNIS FARINA: At first, the program was a success. But then something changed. WILLIAM HAMILTON: The Justice Department
began to withhold payments from Inslaw and they withheld a couple of million dollars from Inslaw,
drove Inslaw in to Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Inslaw then discovered that the Canadian government
was also using their software even though they hadn't paid for it. What sort of funny things started happening?
DENNIS FARINA: Bill and Nancy Hamilton told Danny that they were confused by what
was happening until they talked to a man named Michael Riconosciuto. He claimed to have worked for the CIA
and knew about the illegal sales of the Inslaw's software. Well the parties that were involved
in the distribution of this software were involved in covert operations. And they were involved in Nicaragua and Central America
and they were involved in operations in the Middle East. And yes, I have direct knowledge of funds
from the sale of this product being used to finance those operations. DENNIS FARINA: Then Congress began to hear
about the Inslaw scandal. The House Judiciary Committee opened a formal investigation.
The report describes the committee's investigation into serious allegations that high level Department
of Justice officials were involved in a criminal conspiracy to force Inslaw, a small computer company, out of business,
steal it's primary asset. DENNIS FARINA: Michael Riconosciuto began telling his story to committee investigators.
Within a week, Justice Department agents arrested Riconosciuto on drug charges. The committee will reconvene.
DENNIS FARINA: Michael's drug conviction hurt his credibility. But another witness with perfect credentials stepped forward.
His name was Elliot Richardson. He was also Richard Nixon's Attorney General until he resigned rather than participate
in the Watergate cover up. He was now the lawyer for Inslaw. In the case of Inslaw there's a spreading radius
of circumstantial evidence which, at its outer reaches, entails a far more sinister kind of conspiracy
than anything revealed in Watergate. DENNIS FARINA: Danny Casolaro now believed he had uncovered
a sprawling criminal network. He said it was made up of US officials, organized crime
members, and intelligence agents. He called it the Octopus. They have pretty direct connections
with some of the underworld crime figures. Danny Casolaro stepped into a world that he didn't belong in.
The type of people that he became involved with lie just as a matter of course. They lie, they cheat, they are people who have been involved
in numerous murders, dealing drugs, dealing arms, and Danny Casolaro thought he could
find his way through this labyrinth by himself. That was a mistake. I know the guys that I've been working with, my contacts,
and they're calling me and saying, look, Danny, you're getting too close. You're going to get hurt.
Back off. DENNIS FARINA: A week before he died, Danny told his brother Tony that he had
been receiving death threats. I don't recognize their voices, I don't know where they're coming from,
they're just saying, you are going to die. I'll tell you this, though, when I go to Martinsburg
if something happens to me or if I should get hurt don't believe it's an accident.
DENNIS FARINA: Danny arrived in Martinsburg with all of his notes and documents two days before he died.
He was scheduled to meet with several informants and complete his investigation.
He believed to one of these new contacts would deliver key evidence about the finances of the Octopus.
MICHAEL RICONOSCIUTO: Danny had a source inside the IRS' computer data center that was giving him hard copy print
outs of IRS information on certain specific targets that Danny was after. William Turner?
And you are? Danny Casolaro. Get in. DENNIS FARINA: The day before he died Danny met with William Turner.
He was a former employee of a major defense contractor. You have some documentation?
You have some for me? DENNIS FARINA: According to Turner, he gave Danny papers showing the corruption that Danny believed
was tied to the Octopus. But within 24 hours Danny Casolaro was dead. There was no sign of Turner's documents
or Danny's research papers. To this day, not one of those papers has been found.
The media was all over the story. West Virginia authorities opened a formal investigation
and ordered an autopsy. ANTHONY CASOLARO: The assistant medical examiner for the state
of West Virginia said, well, you know, he's already been embalmed and that's going to make it a little difficult.
And I said, what are you talking about he's already been embalmed? And he said, well, he was embalmed apparently already.
He said, you didn't know that? I said, absolutely not. I said, we didn't give any permission.
I'm now going to cut the sutures to examine the wounds. DENNIS FARINA: The autopsy confirmed
that Danny had bled to death from the 12 razor cuts. But more importantly, it revealed
that Danny wasn't alone in his hotel room during his last moments. ANTHONY CASOLARO: There was on the actual autopsy report
described a bruise on the arm and a bruise on the head which were never accounted for.
I was told there were no signs of any struggle. Additionally, the tips of three fingernails
were missing from one hand. DENNIS FARINA: When Danny's hotel room was cleaned the day
after his death by a professional cleaning crew, important evidence was destroyed.
One of the housekeepers saw two bloody towels in the bathroom minutes after Danny's body was found.
It looked like they were used to wipe blood off the bathroom floor. JOHN CONNOLLY: The police reports of the investigation
were certainly not professional. Fingerprints get lost, messed up. They drained the tub without a strainer.
Sloppy work. Police have a rule in this country, government people have a rule, when they screw up,
they cover up. Sad, but true. Do I think they covered up here? Yes I do. ELLIOT RICHARDSON: There is enough evidence
that he was murdered so that there should have been a much more intensive investigation
than there has been. All that I do know makes me believe that it was more likely that he was murdered
than that he committed suicide. DENNIS FARINA: Even Danny's funeral was clouded by mystery.
At the funeral a highly decorated military officer arrived in a limousine near the end of the service.
No one recognized him. The man carefully placed a medal on the casket just before it was lowered into the ground.
ANN KLENK: And we went back to Francis' house, Danny's mother's house, and I said, Francis,
who was the military man? And she said, I thought you'd know. And we asked everyone there, there
had to be 50 people at Francis' house, no one knew who they were. No one. DENNIS FARINA: A short time later,
the official investigation of Danny Casolaro's death was closed. West Virginia authorities and Department
of Justice representatives declined to participate in this story. Many of Danny's family and friends
remain convinced that he did not commit suicide. If you have any information, please log onto our website
at unsolved.com. Coming up: meet the Mothman, a mysterious red eyed creature said to roam the West Virginia woods.
But next, the story of two women who's scam of seduction and theft earned them the nicknames
of Thelma and Louise. Recently, we profiled a pair of cunning criminals, two women the police call the real life Thelma and Louise.
If you passed them on the road you'd think they were just good friends out for a joy ride.
But Rose Turford and Carolyn Stevens stole more than a quarter of a million dollars
over three months from at least 10 men. Their MO was simple, yet devious. Rose and Carolyn lured their victims to hotel rooms
and then robbed them. CLEMENT ROMEO: Rose and Carolyn, from the onset, wanted out to be the real life Thelma and Louise.
They I wanted to experience that thrill. And the only thing is, I don't believe they ever considered what they were
going to do to their families. DENNIS FARINA: A few months later, they were finally arrested in Houston.
Their families put up everything they owned to post the $500,000 bail. But as soon as they were released,
Thelma and Louise disappeared. Update: Five months later a t-shirt just like this one led
to the capture of the Thelma and Louise bandits in Toronto, Canada. Police found Rose Turford working
in a telemarketing firm. Within 24 hours, both she and Carolyn Stevens were back in custody.
I think that anyone who does a series of aggravated robberies are nothing more than criminals.
They're not anything special, they're not anything to admire, they're just robbers.
Turford and Stevens were each charged with four counts of aggravated robbery and one count of aggravated kidnapping.
Carolyn Stephens pleaded guilty to the robbery charges and was sentenced to 10 years.
She served nine and was released. Rose Turford, on the other hand, took a chance.
She pleaded not guilty. But the jury didn't buy it. She was convicted and sentenced to 30 years.
She served her time and has been released. Point Pleasant, West Virginia. These crumbling buildings are home
to one of the most bizarre and terrifying creatures ever to walk the earth. Or at least, that's what some would have you believe.
Oh my god! I could see something standing there that looked like a man but yet it wasn't a man.
It was some kind of a creature. What is that? It stood seven feet tall or better.
Enormous, glowing red eyes, bat-like wings, man-like legs. That was the biggest, by far, and the ugliest bird,
and I do mean bird, I've ever seen in my life. And I hope in this lifetime I never see it
or anything like it again. You have your percentage of citizens who feel that it
was 101% a hoax, you know? I personally think that there was something up there that
scared the wits out of most of the people who came face-to-face with it. DENNIS FARINA: What is this strange creature?
No one knows for sure. But one thing is certain: hundreds of ordinary people have seen something in the woods that they can't explain.
They call it the Mothman. One fall evening Linda Skarberry, her husband, and another couple took a drive to an area
called the TNT. It got its nickname because in World War II it was an ammunition factory.
It was here that the Mothman made his first appearance. Oh my god what-- JEFF WAMSLEY: As they approached it the headlights hit it
and the red eyes were prominent. It was a very huge creature with a wingspan estimated
eight to 10 to 12 feet. There it is! There it is! [screaming] Get out! DENNIS FARINA: When the Mothman let out a horrible screech,
the two couples fled. Even as they drove at almost 100 miles per hour, the creature kept up with them.
JEFF WAMSLEY: It flew above the car, gliding from side to side but never getting in front of the car.
And as they approached the lights of the city the creature backed off and fled. DENNIS FARINA: The next day Marcella
Bennett left her brother's house with her four-year-old daughter. MARCELLA BENNETT: When I got to the car
and reached for the door handle then I saw what looked like legs. Get back in the house!
I kept looking from the feet up. And when I did, I could see that I was looking at something
that I had never saw before. Come back to the house! MARCELLA BENNETT: The creature looked like a man
but it was over six foot tall and it had feathers instead of skin. The way it looked it was something
I never in my wildest imagination would have ever thought would be standing out there.
DENNIS FARINA: Then, as quickly as it appeared, the Mothman vanished. Tom Ury was driving near the TNT factory just a few days later.
He is one of only a few people who have seen the Mothman during the day. I caught something out of the corner of my eye.
Looked like a helicopter coming over the trees first until I saw it. It was a bird, a huge bird that proceeded to circle my car.
Every time it would make a loop that would get lower, lower, and lower and I was getting a little bit scared,
you know? This thing's curious about my car and I sure didn't want to be breakfast.
DENNIS FARINA: The number of Mothman sightings increased over the next year. Eyewitnesses describe the creature in the same way:
part man, part bird with huge wings and hypnotic red eyes. However, others dismiss the so-called Mothman
as nothing more than a large bird called the sandhill cranes. ROBERT GOERMAN: The sandhill crane stands nearly as tall
as a man and has two red patches of flesh that under extraordinary circumstances
might be mistaken for red eyes. But none of the rest of the bird fits the description.
Not even close. DENNIS FARINA: Could the Mothman simply have been a large, frightening bird?
Or something more sinister. MARCELLA BENNETT: Residents of Point Pleasant would go out on farms and find their animals
dead and maybe just the blood out or the heart going. Someone had removed the heart of the animal.
DENNIS FARINA: With mutilated animals came another strange phenomenon. Visits from strangers dressed entirely in black from head
to toe. JEFF WAMSLEY: The men in black were strange out of town visitors who seemed to want to pretty much just
quiet everything down. They would show up on people's doorsteps, show up at their house at night and basically just say,
hey, you know, let's just keep quiet for now. And it terrified a lot of the original witnesses.
DENNIS FARINA: Some believe these strangers may know the secret behind the mysterious creature.
One of the theories is that the Mothman was a government experiment gone awry and it escaped
which would explain a little bit of the man in black. A lot of people tied at that in with the government
as a government experiment. DENNIS FARINA: One final theory focused on the TNT region itself.
Before this area was a weapons factory it was a bird sanctuary. DONNIE SERGENT: One of the theories
is that the Mothman is a mutant bird which was created from the TNT residue left over from the plants
during the World War II effort and combined with the genes of the animals during 1966
and formed a mutant bird-type creature. DENNIS FARINA: Whatever the explanation,
the Mothman terrified everyone who saw it. And some even believe that the creature caused Point
Pleasant's greatest tragedy. After nearly a year of Mothman sightings, the silver bridge leading out of town suddenly collapsed.
46 people were killed. One witness claims to have seen the Mothman man on the bridge
just before it crumbled. It's been years since anyone has seen the Mothman, but it has been the subject of books and even a major motion
picture with Richard Gere. The Mothman has always been there and will always be there.
It will never go away. It's a legend, it's a local legend, and now it's a worldwide legend.
It'll never fade away. DENNIS FARINA: The Mothman is now more famous than ever. He has scared a lot of people, real or not.
Next, a treasure hunt near downtown Los Angeles yields surprising discoveries. Legends of buried treasure usually
take us to remote locations . But it is possible that there is a treasure worth millions
of dollars hidden just two miles from the heart of America's second largest city, Los Angeles, California.
It's hard to believe that 160 years ago this was just a quiet dusty Pueblo. But that suddenly changed in 1846.
War erupted between Mexico and the United States and it's believed that wealthy Angelenos panicked
as the fighting got closer. According to legend, some dug elaborate escape tunnels.
Others buried their family fortunes. ROY ROUSH: This was the best thing that they could do to protect their valuables at the time.
And it was a customary way because there were no banks. And if you wanted to protect something, bury it, hide it.
DENNIS FARINA: Since then stories have circulated that many families did not return for their valuables.
That means they may still be there. Two sisters looking for a long lost family treasure
hired Roy Roush. --Around a lot. You know, this looks like the spot. DENNIS FARINA: Years ago they had searched
for the treasure with their father. Right up in there. DENNIS FARINA: Now they were able to find
a spot that looked familiar. ROY ROUSH: Well the first thing that attracted my attention was on the side of a sandstone bluff
were three indentations. The holes seem to be rather symmetrical and rather smooth
and looked like it could be man made. So keeping that in mind, I'm now looking around
for some other signs and symbols. About 75 feet away on the side of a hill I discovered some initials carved
in the side of another rock. DENNIS FARINA: Roy spotted evidence of an old tunnel
halfway between the two signs. ROY ROUSH: Obviously, it was a treasure shaft. There was no other reason for this hole being there.
DENNIS FARINA: It seemed simple: remove the dirt, claim treasure. They had permits from park officials
but Roy suggested they dig at night to keep the location a secret. ROY ROUSH: We got down about 25 feet
and I got a fairly good signal right in the center of the hole. We all got excited because metal detectors don't
lie in a situation like that. DENNIS FARINA: The instrument had indeed detected buried artifacts, but they were not exactly
what Roy Roush was looking for. ROY ROUSH: We uncovered two very old flashlight batteries.
The oldest flashlight batteries I'd ever seen. DENNIS FARINA: The digging continued.
30 feet further into the tunnel they found the frayed end of a very old crudely made rope.
ROY ROUSH: So after finding the two old flashlight batteries and the piece of rope it was quite obvious
that somebody else had already beat us to the treasure years before. It was a combination of gratification
and disappointment. We had correctly found a treasure tunnel and had excavated it.
But the disappointment was that after all the time and money and work and effort that we put into it,
we had nothing to show for our efforts except a couple of old flashlight batteries
and a piece of rope. DENNIS FARINA: Even though he came up empty-handed, Roy believes there are still buried
treasures in Elysian park. To test that theory we called a nonprofit group that conducts
both ocean and ground searches. All right guys, let's go. DENNIS FARINA: A sensing device sends out radar waves as it's
dragged across the field. A cross section of what lies underground shows up on this monitor.
After the survey is complete computers translate the information. Here's what they found.
These marks suggest it's a 30 foot deep vertical tunnel. They also detected an object less
than 10 feet below the surface. It appears to be made of solid metal. If there is treasure here I would
prefer to see it stay here. I'd like to keep that mystery alive. I think it adds to the mystique of this park.
I think it's something that people would probably continue to talk about in the future and help
to keep the mystique of a treasure that might be in Elysian park alive. DENNIS FARINA: Obtaining a permit
to excavate in Los Angeles is even more difficult than finding the buried treasure.
And digging without a permit is against the law. Violators are subject to arrest and could end up in jail
rather than on easy street. Next, flowers weren't the only thing this man delivered
to a women in Georgia. Atlanta, Georgia. Lita McClinton Sullivan lies dead in the doorway
of her home. She's the daughter of one of Georgia's most politically prominent African-American families.
Her husband is James Sullivan, heir to a million dollar family fortune. Who killed Lita Sullivan?
Some thought she was the victim of a random robbery attempt. Others believed her own husband hired someone to kill her.
The only clue was a dozen blood spattered roses. James Sullivan met Lita McClinton at a mall in Atlanta
where she was training to be a clothing buyer for a department store. -Excuse me. -Hi.
Hi. Can I help you find something? DENNIS FARINA: James was refined and charming
and Lita's soon fell in love. How bout a trip to Paris? DENNIS FARINA: Lita's parents were afraid
that he was marrying their daughter because of the family's political power. EMORY MCCLINTON: I think that was one of his attractions
to Lita. He needed someone who could give him a better social standing and status.
DENNIS FARINA: Eventually, the couple moved into this home in Palm Beach, Florida.
I'm going back to work, you can't stop me. DENNIS FARINA: Lita's parents said that Sullivan tried to control every aspect
of their daughter's life. EMORY MCCLINTON: He had originally said that he did not want her to work.
But then he would give her such a small budget that it was no way practical to quote,
buy groceries, to take care of the household, and things like that. DENNIS FARINA: Finally, Lita filed for divorce
and moved into a townhouse they owned in Atlanta. Her family said that Sullivan was furious
and was afraid that he would lose millions in a divorce settlement. Lita was murdered the day she was scheduled
to testify in her divorce case. Police discovered that a witness saw a man coming to her door
carrying a box of flowers. [knocking] Who is it? Flowers for Lita Sullivan. Are you Lita Sullivan?
Yes. DENNIS FARINA: No one was able to identify the man seen running from Lita's porch.
James was at their home in Palm Beach at the time of the killing. But his alibi didn't rule out the possibility
of a contract hit. JOHN CONNOLLY: 40 minutes later, Jim Sullivan receives a collect phone call from outside Atlanta.
And when I retraced the time from Buckhead where Lita was murdered to where the phone was
was exactly 40 minutes. I believe the killer was calling Sullivan to tell him the job was done.
DENNIS FARINA: Police traced the flowers to a nearby flower shop. The clerk remembered a very nervous man buying
them just before the murder. Telephone records also showed that just before the murder calls were made to Sullivan's home.
They were traced to three men who had checked into a Georgia motel using fake IDs.
Police thought there was enough evidence to go to trial, but they were wrong. The judge dismissed the case for a lack of evidence.
A relieved James Sullivan spoke to the press. I want everyone listening to this to know
that I am absolutely innocent. I had nothing to do with Lita's death. Her death was a great tragedy.
And I thank God and my attorneys that this ordeal is over. DENNIS FARINA: Lita's family believed that Sullivan
was getting away with murder. Jim had Lita killed because of money. Jim loved money.
DENNIS FARINA: Just eight months after Lita's murder Sullivan married again. Perfect.
DENNIS FARINA: His bride's name was Suki Rogers. But three years later Suki and Sullivan were involved
in their own bitter divorce. Suki told police that Sullivan admitted to her that he
hired someone to kill Lita. The McClintons filed a $4 million civil suit against Sullivan and won.
JOANN MCCLINTON: We're not interested in the money. It was really knowing that Jim was
the cause of our daughter's death and we wanted to bring him to trial. DENNIS FARINA: Then 11 years after Lita
was killed Georgia investigators got the break they needed. They arrested a man who supposedly
helped set up Lita's murder. I had a business arrangement with Mr. Sullivan. DENNIS FARINA: The man claimed that Sullivan
had contracted the killing. Finally, a warrant was issued for Sullivan's arrest.
He was charged with murder and aggravated assault. But Sullivan disappeared before the police could arrest him.
JOANN MCCLINTON: He planned it. I really, really feel that he should-- I just feel that he should pay with his life.
DENNIS FARINA: Update: four years later and halfway around the world Royal Thai Police arrested James Sullivan.
He was living in a beachfront condo 100 miles south of Bangkok with a girlfriend.
Sullivan was returned to the US and charged with murder. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Next a young man with autism alone, desperate, and yearning to be reunited with his parents
has disappeared. Perhaps you can help. Grand Rapids, Michigan. These are home movies of Gordon Page Jr., or Gordie,
when he was just 18 months old. He was born autistic but sadly it wasn't until much later in his life that he was diagnosed.
GORDON PAGE: I guess maybe when he is real young we thought something was wrong but we didn't know what.
He didn't walk like other kids and run like other kids. And as he got older, you know, he'd just sat there and look
around and didn't even move. LINDA PAGE: He didn't really seem unusual to us because that was our first child and we just
raised him like a normal child. I mean, he was slow. That's what we thought, he was just slow.
Just slow. Using an expression like that seems a little bit insensitive at best.
But for Gordie's parents it seemed to help make sense of their son's unusual behavior.
But it could hardly explain why Gordie had such an incredible memory, especially
when it came to baseball. Wes Gibson. Batting average, 193. GORDON PAGE: I would say he probably
at 25,000 or 30,000 baseball cards and he knew the names of every player, all the statistics of the cards, and he would just
sit there and memorize them. 223, home runs seven. LINDA PAGE: I don't think he realized that he was slow.
And then as he got older in junior high his peers started getting ahead of him. And when he needed to go into a special ed room
it bothered him. And he had a hard time in 11th and 12th grade because he couldn't keep up with-- everybody
was passing him by. DENNIS FARINA: Finally, Gordie did graduate from high school.
He was ready for his first job. His parents helped him apply at a local grocery store.
GORDON PAGE: He said, dad, I got the job. He said, I start Monday, isn't that great?
And it made me feel so happy and I dropped him off at work in the morning. And it made me feel proud as a father to see him working
and to see him happy. DENNIS FARINA: But soon, the store manager said that Gordie was having trouble
talking to the customers. GORDON PAGE: You're carrying the groceries to my car now
and I say thank you. What do you say? Good. GORDON PAGE: No, you say you're welcome, OK?
Let's do it again. DENNIS FARINA: His father's coaching was not enough. It just didn't work out at the grocery store.
GORDON PAGE: Then you don't-- just smile at them. Let's see that nice Gordon Page smile.
DENNIS FARINA: Linda and Gorden were worried about their son's future. They asked a social worker to evaluate him.
He was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and recommended to start living at a group home.
GORDON PAGE: Finally we agreed to try it and we went to visit a group home and the lady said, well, he can't stay here until he goes
to see if he needs to be stabilized on medication in the hospital. So we did this.
We finally agreed. And the doctor there put him on Ritalin and Valium and Gordon wasn't Gordon after that.
DENNIS FARINA: Eventually, Gordie was accepted by a well-regarded group home. There his medication was adjusted
and he started to feel better. With Gordie in good hands his parents felt that they could finally relocate to Florida
as they long planned. Gordie stayed behind in Michigan. For several months things went well.
But then one day while heavily medicated Gordie stole a truck that was left running
in the driveway of the home. What are you doing? Look at my car. CHET BUSH: We interviewed the lady who
was the victim in the accident. She gave us a description which fit Gordon. Our officers then received another call
from one of our elementary schools that a person fitting Gordon Page's description was at this elementary school
wanting to teach a class. So we responded there and that time picked up Mr. Gordon Page.
Tell me about the voices that you told the doctor about, Gordon. DENNIS FARINA: Gordie was sent to a county hospital.
There, psychiatric social worker Bill Arnold evaluated him. He was brought in with a label of schizophrenia.
People that are schizophrenic will, with medication, over a couple of week period usually they'll
start to clear up in their thinking and their behavior will come in line and they start getting back more to normal.
With Gordon that didn't work. Tell me about your baseball card collection, Gordon.
Woodie Fryman, 1966, Pirates, rookie of the year. DENNIS FARINA: After several months of intensive therapy,
Bill realized that Gordie was not schizophrenic, he was autistic. BILL ARNOLD: Once we got off all those medications
and we started treating him as possibly an autistic and working on training and just giving him some respect,
he was a totally different individual. And we'll need you to sign this. DENNIS FARINA: The Pages found a different group
home in Grand Rapids. One that specialized in autism. Finally, it was time to say goodbye.
GORDON PAGE: We kind of stood there and talked and we hugged and talked a little bit more.
How are you doing, son? GORDON PAGE: And then we walked over to the van and I said,
everything's going to work out. DENNIS FARINA: Gordie desperately tried to get his father to take him.
GORDON PAGE: It's very painful. Now in retrospect I wish I had allowed him just to get in and crawl back and just driven
right to Florida and come home. But you don't think of those things and we didn't know we were going to be facing in the future.
DENNIS FARINA: Four days after his father left Gordie disappeared. An eye witness reported seeing Gordie hitchhiking
towards interstate 96. But a search of the area turned up no leads. GORDON PAGE: We love you, Gordie.
LINDA PAGE: We'll never stop looking for Gordie because we love him we've always been a close family.
He would know that we want him back. And no, we will never stop looking for him.
GORDON PAGE: We just want our son back, we want to be reunited as a family. And we love Gordon very much.
DENNIS FARINA: Gordie Page Jr. is 6 feet 3 inches tall with blue eyes and reddish brown hair.
This is what he would look like today. The Pages say Gordie often gives his address
as 16785 Martha Drive. It's the street Gordie lived on when he was growing up. Gordie also might respond to the names of his two younger
brothers, Lance and Todd. If you have any information about Gordie Page Jr. please log on to our website at unsolved.com

Brief Summary

Danny Casolaro's suspicious death, Mothman sightings, treasure hunt, Lita Sullivan's murder, and Gordie Page Jr.'s disappearance are featured in this episode.

Key points

The Mysterious Death of Danny Casolaro. Investigative journalist Danny Casolaro is found dead under suspicious circumstances, leading to theories of murder.
The Legend of the Mothman. A strange creature with glowing red eyes terrorizes West Virginia, leading to numerous sightings and theories.
Unsolved Mysteries: A Treasure Hunt. Legends suggest a treasure worth millions may be buried near downtown Los Angeles.
Treasure Hunt Disappointment. Roy Roush's team finds old batteries instead of treasure after a long dig.
Murder Mystery Unfolds. Lita Sullivan's murder raises questions about her husband James and a possible contract hit.
Gordie's Disappearance. Gordie Page Jr. vanishes after being placed in a group home, leaving his family heartbroken.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was the man who knew too much.

Referring to Danny Casolaro's dangerous knowledge.

3:30WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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