Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 5, Episode 15 - Updated Full Episode | Forensic Files

this program is about Unsolved Mysteries whenever possible the actual family members and police officials have
participated in recreating the events what you about to see is not a news broadcast 1971 the
Philippines Roger roas an amateur treasure hunter found an intricate system of tunnels dug by the Japanese
during World War II roas claims that deep inside he discovered an amazing hidden treasure a
solid gold Buddha and countless boxes of gold bars but roar's joy was short-lived
he soon found himself imprisoned and tortured at the orders of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and as for
the treasure possibly worth billions its whereabouts remain an unsolved mystery Caitlyn arette was a popular
vivacious honor student who dreamed of becoming a doctor but in 19 1989 Caitlyn was brutally and senselessly gunned down
leaving her family haunted by unanswered questions who killed Caitlyn and why 20 years ago a large caring family
in California took in a 4-year-old girl whose father needed help to care for her
now that family asks for your help to find the young child that they loved and accepted as their
own join me for these fascinating stories perhaps someone somewhere has at one vital clue that can help solve a
mystery perhaps that someone is watching perhaps it's you [Music] [Applause] [Music]
from 1965 to 1986 Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines first as an elected leader then as a virtual Dictator by the
time Marcos was deposed his personal wealth was estimated at $10 billion much of it allegedly looted from his own
people view Dare Challenge Marcos publicly but on May 5th 1971 newspapers in the Philippines carried a startling
front page story a Filipino locksmith and part-time treasure hunter named Roger roas was accusing marcos's
henchman of ransacking his house and stealing a rare solid gold Buddha which roas had found while Excavating near his
home just days earlier Roger's brother had taken this photograph of Roger and the
Buddha Roger was 27 years old at the time and in the prime of [Music] Life Roger Roan is Now 49 but his health
is ruined wrecked by torture and Years of Living On The Run Roger's Nemesis Ferdinand Marcos died in Hawaii in 1989
a fabulously wealthy man today his estate is a target of a number of lawsuits including one file by The
Humble but unbowed locksmith Roger roas who dared to cross one of the most powerful men in Asia
[Music] in 1970 Roger roas and his family lived 200 mil north of Manila on the Philippine island of Luzan Roger worked
in nearby bagio city on weekends he was part of a large group of Filipinos whose
avocation was treasure hunting one of Rogers fellow treasure Hunters was Albert fuchigami whose
mother was Filipino but whose father had been an officer in the Japanese Army during World War II fuchigami had
painstakingly recreated from memory a map of which his father had showed him as a youngster the map pinpointed the
location of a secret tunnel system where a fortune and gold bars had allegedly been left behind when the Japanese were
driven from the Philippines we were friends for a long time before he told me that he knew of a
hidden treasure he revealed to me what he knew about the tunnels I had very high hopes because
fuig was the son of a Japanese soldier Roger roas and Albert fuchigami hired a crew to excavate in the first
few minutes of digging they found a layer of Japanese shrapnel a few weeks later the crew broke through into the
tunnels which the Japanese had apparently dynamited shut the tunnel system was elaborate
complete with railroad tracks for the next few weeks roas and fuchigami explored the Labyrinth they found that
one explosion had blocked all access to the main underground passageway undaunted they dug a narrow tunnel
around the Rocks I was the first one who went in because I was concerned for my companions if there was a booby trap
then they would die because I was the leader I was the one who went in first to my surprise I found several Japanese
skeletons there must have been more than 10 Roger had stumbled Upon A forgotten tomb Japanese soldiers had apparently
been trapped Underground when their own retreating Army set off explosions to hide the tunnels
[Music] [Music] [Music] foree [Music] the Explorers were stunned in a hidden cavity a Buddha which appeared to be
made of gold stood solemn [Music] guard Roger knew that the Buddha was not native to the Philippines he assumed
that it had been plundered from one of the Southeast Asian countries conquered by the Japan Japanese during World War
II while their crew attempted to move the 2,000lb Buddha roas and fuchigami ventured farther inside the
[Music] [Music] tunnel just as a map had predicted there were boxes upon boxes of solid gold bars
roas and fuchigami hit on a plan they would Dynamite the tunnel Clos to safeguard their find then sell the
Buddha to buy trucks and equipment to transport the gold Roger roas took the Buddha home a
potential buyer confirmed that the Buddha was solid gold he offered Roger 1 million pesos 160 ,000 as a down
payment after the buyer left Roger and his brother decided to take a closer look at the Buddha Roger had noticed
that the buyer paid special attention to the Buddha's neck my brother and I had a suspicion
that there was a joint an opening inside the Buddha so what we did was we got a piece
of wood and we hit the Buddha several times with this piece of wood Roger says there were several
handfuls of diamonds inside the Buddha some were rough cut some fine Roger hid the diamonds in a
closet that night Roger's brother took these pictures of Roger with the Buddha Roger thought the photographs would
protect him but news of Discovery had already spread fast and far all the way to the president's Palace in
Manila although the Philippines was still nominally a democracy Ferdinand Marcos along with his wife Amala ruled
with virtual autonomy when Roger found the Buddha in 1971 Marcos was in his prime and his
primary tactic was Brute Force two months after Roger brought the Buddha home soldiers swarmed his house
the red ribbons on their rifles indicated that they were members of President marcos's Elite Palace guard in
effect his personal Army out of nowhere the buyer appeared Roger had been double
crossed with the buyer was another civilian who seemed to be in charge he ordered the soldiers to ransack the
house I took everything even the piggy banks of my children even the picture album whatever
my wife inherited all her jewelry all the diamonds in the closet they took all of
it what would have happened if we had fought back they would just have killed us the next day Roger and his brothers
reported the incident to the local police then he went to visit judge po Marcos a family friend for whom Roger
had once worked as a chef I told him judge why did you let them confiscate my treasure we're
friends he said Roger there is nothing I can do I said why he said because the prince asked for
it I said who's the prince and he said the prince president [Music] Marcos [Music]
for in June of 1971 on the Philippine island of Luzan members of President Ferdinand marcos's Elite Palace guard
seized a Golden Buddha from the home of Roger roas the next day a judge warned Roger that there was a price on his head
Roger and his family fled to an isolated jungle Village while Roger remained secluded
Filipino reporters had already gotten hold of the story maros did allow the press to view the Buddha but his
political opponents felt that Marcos had substituted a fake one opposition Cabinet member hoping to embarrass the
president convinced Roger to come to Manila to identify spee spe spee for Marcos and his minions were outraged
once again Roger fled Manila but 2 weeks later he says he was tracked down by the
palace guard three men approached me and pointed their guns at me they knew me they told
me Roger come with us in the car we will bring you to Manila I could not Escape I knew they
were soldiers they had guns they were so happy they were drinking whiskey saying so
finally we got him the famous the famed Roger roas they called The Palace and they
were speaking English I knew that it was Marcos that they were talking to because
they addressed him as Mr President Marcos must have asked them are you sure it is Roger roas that you captured and
they said yes we're sure thank you Mr President the boss is is really happy to hear we have you in our
[Music] custody the soldiers demanded that Roger sign a confession authenticating the
Buddha and saying that he had been paid off by the opposition party Roger says that when he refused a
palace thugs brought in a crude electroshock machine fashion from automobile batteries
[Music] then they showed me a picture and they said Roger do you know who this is in
the picture and I said yes that's my wife and my kids they said Roger if you love your
family cooperate with us show us where you found the Golden Buddha Roger says he endured hours of
torture which permanently damaged the nerves around his left eye I made a promise to Mr Fuigi his
name is Albert I told him Albert even if they try to kill me I will not tell them
where the tunnel is so they had to persecute me and while I was conscious I really
tried not to tell them where the location of the tunnel was that was my promise to Mr
[Music] chami Roger says he was held captive at a hotel in Manila and tortured almost
daily for several weeks finally he agreed to sign a document stating that he had been paid
off by the opposition party son was a courthouse [Music] Roger's captors allowed the worst of his
wounds to heal then they took him to a courtroom in bagio city and ordered him to point at marcos's
Buddha he was photographed several times giving this tasset sign of approval [Music]
I went to my wife first and my kids my wife was crying she was surprised she said what is happening to you you know
they might kill you and I said just [Music] pray I stayed with my family for about
10 minutes and then the soldiers took me again Roger was sarily reimprisonment been
tortured I knew they were going to kill me but you know I'm a locksmith I know how to open
locks so I went to the restroom there was a small window with a small [Music] lock Roger roas went into hiding and
never again saw the Golden Buddha the strain of living underground tore his family apart and eventually led to a
divorce Roger who has remarried continues to make his home at an undisclosed location in the
Philippines when Ferdinand Marcos died in 1989 his personal assets exceeded the entire Philippine national
treasury Roger roas is convinced that the source of that wealth was a countless boxes of gold bars
as for the Buddha no one knows exactly where it is in 1975 at least two witnesses claimed to have seen it at one
of marcos's Summer palaces rumor has it that the Buddha is still somewhere in the Philippines hidden by a member of
the Marcos [Music] family of course it's very painful I worked very hard for it I spent so much
time about 7 months that we really labored hard and then in 1 hour they take it all
away it's very very painful through a corporation Roger Ro has formed with a friend in the United
States a suit has been filed against the Marcos estate the case is currently on the docket in
Honolulu Roger established a foundation to assure that a large portion of any settlement money he may receive will go
to provide education Medical Aid food and job training in the Philippines next a young woman is gunned down in her
car was she the victim of a random shooting or the target of a hired assassin [Music]
on June 14th 1989 18-year-old Caitlyn arette graduated from Highland High School in Albuquerque New Mexico Kate
was an outgoing popular honor student who'd been accepted at the University of New Mexico she planned one day to attend
Medical School shortly before graduation Kate moved into an apartment with her boyfriend using money she had received
from an insurance settlement he um we're almost finished honey let me take you out to dinner tonight as far as we could
tell Kate and her boyfriend did get along very well I can call a couple friends over well I was just kind of
hoping it could be just the two of us he was 8 years older than she but we didn't
know it because they lied to us uh she knew we wouldn't let her date someone that much older uh we thought he was
only four years older he seemed like a nice guy he was around the house a lot we liked
him 6 weeks later on the afternoon of Sunday July 16th Kate admitted to her mother that she and her boyfriend had
been having serious problems almost from the moment they moved in together mother
all you have to do is tell them you don't know where I am and you don't know when I'll be back it's a lie it's not
fair he's going to be worried about you mother please you don't understand she told us
she'd had a big fight with her boyfriend she was breaking up with him and she was
going to a girlfriend's house for dinner and she would either spend the night there or come back and spend it at our
house she was not going to go back to the apartment Kate visited her girlfriend from 9:30 to 10:45 p.m she then headed
east along lus Road toward her mother's house [Music] a little bit before midnight the phone
rang it was phone call from the emergency room of the hospital they said Kate is there that she's been injured
and I said what's happened and they said they wouldn't tell me they said we can't
tell you in the phone so my husband and I drove to the hospital and had been shot twice in the head she was in a
coma 5 hours later the police arrived at Kate's apartment her boyfriend was Home
Alone seemingly unaware that his girlfriend had been shot and was near death we with the aloc Creek police
department just like to come in and talk to you a minute sure what's this about just want to ask you a couple of
questions look around you mind no just tell me what's going on on just like to know where you were tonight I was at
with the Caitlin's boyfriend told me that he had been out with a couple of friends uh they had eaten they had
played pool and they had a couple of drinks what's going on while I was there myself and the other detectives we
discovered a note on top of the kitchen table and the note read something to the
affect uh hun I'll be home at a certain time that sort of thing uh it was my belief that he indicated to me that the
note came from Caitlyn it must have come from Caitlyn because he was not home and
when he got home he found the note there yes you did I think you should sit down
Caitlyn's boyfriend uh stated that he and Caitlyn did argue and they did have their disagreements but he was not aware
of her uh at any time wanting him to leave the apartment or move out or anything that
severe to re when the police left the apartment Kate's boyfriend went straight to the
hospital and joined her family in a bedside [Music] vigil less than 24 hours later Caitlyn
darket was de head her boyfriend had remained by her side until the very end 6 months after cait linar cat's
murder the Albuquerque Police Department announced that she'd been the victim of
a quote random act of violence Caitlyn's mother Lois Duncan refuses to accept their ruling following her daughter's
death she began to uncover the first dark hints that Kate is somehow gotten mixed up with a major criminal
organization to this day the police continue to pursue the random om victim Theory but Lois Duncan is convinced that
her daughter was executed by a hired [Music] assassin we're all set no questions
asked 2 and a half months before she was killed Caitlyn and her boyfriend took a
trip to Southern California it was at that time that Kate apparently became involved in a lucrative car insurance
scam one of our daughters told me that that March a couple of months before the boyfriend
had staged an accident a fake accident in a car that Kate had rented for him with our credit card
the scheme was allegedly orchestrated by an organization comprised of powerful members of Southern California's
Vietnamese Community everyone in the accident complained of soft tissue injuries to the neck and lower back
which were later treated by a doctor who was part of the organization ultimately a pargal working
out of an Orange County California law office handled the insurance claim Kate and her boyfriend were given $1,500 as
their share of the settlement which they used to to rent the apartment everything
went well it was evidently a major multi-million dollar insurance scam and Kate had found out about
it at the time we didn't know how we could fit this in with with her shooting but all of a sudden there was another
element there something that suggested a possible motive because if Kate was breaking up with her boyfriend at that
time then maybe maybe she was a danger to the people who had arranged this a few weeks after Kate's death Lois is
putting her daughter's Affairs in order when she made a disturbing Discovery three phone calls had been made from
Kate's apartment at virtually the same moment she died in fact they were made just minutes
after she was pronounced dead when her boyfriend was with us at the hospital and the apartment should have been
unoccupied the number turned out to belong to a Vietnamese pargal in Orange County uh a pargal who lived in Santa
Ana but worked in a law office in Garden Grove and it was the same pargal who set
up the car wrecks Lois wanted uh me to look into Caitlyn's uh relationship with a
boyfriend uh she felt that Lois felt that not everything was right there uh that there had been uh some real
problems and that the police had failed to to take a look at it what was going on Mike Gallagher first met with Kate's
former landlord mostly with her boyfriend's friends they didn't treat I had the impression from
Neighbors that Caitlyn was more afraid of uh her boyfriend's friends rather than her
boyfriend she would get Disturbed when they only spoke Vietnamese around her uh the the friends uh her boy boyfriend's
friends tended to uh make fun of her uh and cause friction between her and a boyfriend and she did not like his
friends uh I think the feeling from what I could gather was Mutual how come you let them treat me so lousy they do not
treat you that way they do they make fun of evidently things were much more stormy than we had ever guessed and it
wasn't just a little lover spat there was something very major happening in Kate's life after she moved in with her
boyfriend and she told us she was very sorry that she had ever let him move in with her it had been a big mistake she
wanted him to move out so her girlfriend could move in instead Mike Gallagher was able to
obtain a copy of the note which Kate allegedly left for her boyfriend on the day of the shooting he compared it with
another sample of her handwriting it was obvious just by comparing the handwritings of the not
note with uh Caitlyn's writing that she did not write that note and that led me to believe that within hours of her
shooting um her boyfriend was already lying to police the landlord also told Gallagher
that on the night Caitlyn died three of her boyfriend's Associates were in her apartment drinking Kate's mother is
convinced that one of them made the phone calls to Santa Anna I don't think that the Vietnamese
connection uh is related to this case uh thus far I have not received any information and to
indicate uh positively that the Vietnamese is involved in this homicide was Caitlyn arette executed
because she had learned too much about the auto insurance scam while Kate's family and Mike Gallagher were pursuing
their investigation the police were going in a completely different direction I'm trying to cooperate with
you guys I'm telling you the truth I don't remember what 6 months after the murder an informant led the Albuquerque
Police to a young man named Robert Garcia in this AR killing Garcia was interrogated for two hours finally he
admitted that on July 16th 1989 he was out with three friends when one of them shot a woman in her car on a
dare based on Garcia's statement police arrested Dennis Martinez henal oscoo and
Miguel Garcia who is not related to Robert according to Robert Garcia it was Miguel who did the actual
shooting on the same day that Robert Garcia was interrogated the police discovered that es ccoo had recently
sold his car a brown Chevrolet Camaro suddenly an eyewitness report that they had initially disregarded took on a new
significance on the night of the murder a truck driver said he saw Brown Camaro chasing a young woman in a car similar
to Caitlyn's in the area where she'd be gunned down an hour later the police believed that the men
in the Camaro had been out joy riding and Kate became their random victim it was later learned that Robert
Garcia had in fact been in jail on the night cait was shot ultimately all charges against the three suspects were
dropped for lack of sufficient evidence well talk to you guys later we certainly
appreciate you coming in and talking to us again and all your cooperation got a few questions finally under pressure
from Kate's family the police questioned her boyfriend once again of this time he
admitted that he and a friend from Albuquerque had taken part in the auto insurance scan our relationship was
going great we had our arguments but nevertheless charges have never been pressed against him or any of his
friends in connection with that scam in addition Caitlyn's boyfriend is not considered a suspect in her murder you
or anytime in the past been involved in a Vietnamese gang I I think it's important for the police to remember and
anybody who looks at this case to remember that Caitlyn's boyfriend's friends were involved with large scale
organized criminal activity in Los Angeles and multi-million dollar insurance frauds I don't think the
police ever took that seriously Caitlyn Arquette was killed in July of 1989 in this most bizarre case there
seemed to be two viable theories leaving Kate's family to wonder who in fact was
responsible and why did they target Kate our family doesn't have any real idea who pulled the trigger on Kate the
one thing we feel very strong about is that she was not shot randomly as just people out on a spree having fun
shooting a pretty girl in a red car we believe Kate was killed because she was going to talk was going to expose
illegal activities involving her boyfriend and his companions uh it might have been that
she was shot by the Vietnamese it might have been that they hired someone else to shoot her the one thing we're
absolutely sure of in in our own minds is that this was not a random shooting Kate was
[Music] assassinated next a family's poignant search for the young girl they raised as
their own [Music] on August 4th 1990 24-year-old Shannon Tim Payne was married in San Francisco
California surrounded by all eight of her brothers and sisters but one very important person was not there to share
the joy of that special [Music] day 20 years earlier when Shannon was still just a toddler a 4-year-old girl
named Terry ly Smith had come to lived temporarily with the Tim payes in Orange California she stayed for 6 years and in
every way became a member of the family it seems that some families no matter how large have more than enough
love to go around the Tayes have not seen Terry Smith for more than a decade and they feel that without her their
family will never be complete perhaps someone watching tonight can help bring Terry ly Smith back to the ones who
still love her as their own John and Jerry Tim pay met in 1945 he was an intern specializing in
obstetrics she was a nurse between 1953 and 1965 John and Jerry had nine children six boys and
three girls the tempay household was boisterous and bustling the entire family loved animals and enjoyed an
active outdoor life in the summer of 1967 at the ranch where they boarded their two horses the Tim
pays came to know the manager of the ranch herb Smith I tell you what why don't you go get this big guy some
carrots Terry help Shannon with the carrots wait please was that your little girl herb herb was divorced his daughter
Terry and Son Mark lived with him in a small trailer but herb felt that the ranch was no place for a young girl he
believed that Terry needed a real family hey there you are I think the first time
I saw her I thought she was rather for laor here was this little girl on this large Ranch and while she loved horses
there were no children for her to play with they were mostly Cowboys I was drawn to her because she
was so sweet and she came she was so happy to come and talk to me and uh I just decided to talk to my husband about
it and see if it would be feasible for us to take another one we always had an extra bed in the the house for
somebody herb Smith took Jerry Tim pay up on her generous offer in return herb insisted that the Tim pays allow him to
take care of their horses free of charge they promised herb that they would bring
Terry to visit him whenever he wanted in August of 1967 Terry Smith moved into the already overflowing Tim
pay home hi Herb hi is she okay about stay I think in the beginning uh she was little girl that was staying with us but
as she as the time grew longer and longer she stayed with us as a sister and she was included in everything in
the family so she therefore became part of the family all the Tim pay children grew to
love Terry but for Shannon the youngest Terry's arrival was a dream come true there was a succession of boys in
my family and I was you know the youngest little girl and I couldn't really hang out with them because they
didn't want me to I think Terry and I were especially close because we were so close in age
and things seem to happen to us at the same time we we both learned to swim around the same time and you know she
basically taught me how to ride and we got the chickenpox at the same time kind of scary for
you I think Terry loved being part of the family family she'd call them her brothers she'd call them her sisters and
I think she enjoyed it very much years passed the temporary Arrangement had in effect become
permanent none of the Tim pays could remember life without Terry she shared in all the family's
Joys and in all their sorrows on May 2nd 1972 the family was scarred by tragedy 46-year-old John Tim
pay succumbed to cancer Jerry Tim Payne was forced to go back to work as a nurse because she had
teenage children who could take care of the younger ones at night Jerry worked the graveyard shift that way she could
be at home every afternoon when the children returned from school and every morning to see them
off of course it was tough but there was nobody else to do it and I decided I had
to do it there was that was going to be my future and I had nine children or 10 children to raise hi everybody so I did
was work oh it's fine I'm just a little tired is everybody up Shannon and Terry are still sleeping I think Brendan is
too it's okay money became a very big concern and my mom was not around as much anymore because she was now the um
primary supporter in our family so that also changed because she used to to be there all the time come on girls it's
time to get up come on even though the Tim pay family managed to cope having one more mouth to feed was now a problem
come on with a heavy heart Jerry Tim pay realized that she would have to send Terry back to her father right awake
don't bother sitting down go brush your teeth and when I told the kids they said
no they didn't want me to send her back and I said but it has to be and I don't want to do it but it's one of those
things that happens and she has her father and she's going to go with him in the summer of 1974 herb Smith
came to take his daughter home Terry had lived with the Tim pays for more than 6
years Terry come over on Saturday she was very sad she didn't want to leave um we were her family she'd grown attached
to us goodbye everyone bye bye on the other hand I think Terry was really excited to
go home and and live with her father again she loved her father a great deal and um when she went to visit him on the
weekends it was always a real special thing and she came home with many stories of what they did and where they
went and if it was summertime she would come and spend a week with us and she loved coming back she loved having in
the swimming pool there she loved having uh the friends that she had made and the
family around her and unfortunately uh these started to get less and less because they had moved to a different
part of the state and it was difficult to get her here in 1980 when Terry was 16 she
surprised the Tim pays with one final visit well it was great seeing you Terry you should come by more often the
reunion was bittersweet Terry was no longer living with her father and though she had brought her boyfriend with her
to meet the Tim pays she seemed uneasy and uncertain about her future by by Shannon
got a sense of feeling that she was not as happy as she could be we talked more and then she her friend said that it was
time to go and they left and that was the last time I saw her I didn't realize that would be the
last time I saw Terry because if I would have known that I would have stopped her
there would be no way I would have let her go it was very confusing and um we were
trying to get her to stay and we never asked where she was going cuz we were trying so hard to get her to stay and we
lost touch I don't think that we ever forgot Terry everyone has a special place in
their hearts for Terry they have their own special relationship and they they would not forget that and they they want
to make sure that she's safe and secure they miss her a lot everybody talks about her all the time you know
when we reminisce we reminisce and everything always includes Terry you [Music] know join me next time perhaps you may
be able to help solve a mystery [Music]

This episode includes: Marcos' Buddha, Pts. 1 & 2 & UD, Who Killed Kaitlyn?, Nine Isn't Enough & UD.

Brief Summary

Roger Roas's treasure was seized by Marcos, Caitlyn Arquette was murdered, and the Tim Pay family seeks their lost daughter.

Key points

The Tragic Death of Caitlyn Arquette. Caitlyn's family believes she was murdered for exposing illegal activities.
The Tim Pay Family's Search for Terry. The Tim Pay family reflects on their lost daughter, Terry, and their enduring love.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This was not a random shooting.

A family believes Kate was targeted, not just a victim.

34:01WatchMar 16, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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