- [Narrator] Suzanne Lyall,
better known to her friends, family, and coworkers as Suzy, was an extremely intelligent, thoughtful, and compassionate human being. Her interests in technology and
talents for computer science were cut short by an unexplainable,
untraceable vanishing in March of 1998,
leaving all who knew her, both in life and through
the World Wide Web, grasping for answers in a sea of evidence that drowned us all in doubt. Amateur sleuths and
professional investigators have spent the better
part of almost two decades digging theoretical tunnels
and holding magnifying glasses up to anything and everything that might shed that one decisive clue in the ultimate reasons
behind Suzy's disappearance. These probes and perusals, combined with assorted
observable evidence, have only created headaches more than they've solved questions, leaving the uncracked mystery up for grabs by anyone willing to tackle it. As a hope to provide a
more substantial reasoning built upon observable evidence
and situational analysis, this is an examination of the
disappearance of Suzanne Lyall and the proceeding
mystery at Collins Circle. This is Cold Case Detective. (tense music) (somber music) Suzanne Lyall was born
on April the 6th, 1978, in Saratoga Springs, New York. She was the youngest of three siblings to parents, Doug and Mary, who hadn't planned for a third child but welcomed Suzy into their world. Suzy was a quiet, shy, yet unbelievably introspective young girl. Growing up close to her
older brother, Stephen, Suzy would stick to herself at school instead of forming many
social relationships. However, she nonetheless
developed a deep understanding of human nature and wrote
poetry in her notebooks, so passionate that she would jump out in the middle of a shower
with the water still on and run into her room just to jot down her latest inspiration. This sensitivity and dedication
soon bled into the realm of science and technology, where Suzy would research all day and build machines and
trinkets from scratch by night. In high school, Suzy discovered
her love for computers and by extension, the internet. As a teenager, Suzy would
form virtual friendships with other tech lovers on message boards, eventually joining a computer club in the nearby town coffee shop. It was at these informal meetings where Suzy met her long term
boyfriend, Richard Condon, a fellow intellectual and computer whiz. Over the next few years, Suzy
and Richard grew very close. Even after he left high school, a couple of years before she did, Suzy maintained a romantic relationship with Richard despite their age difference. In 1996, Suzy finally graduated
from local high school and attended State University
of New York at Oneonta to officially study computer science. However, just a year at
Oneonta proved to be too easy for Suzy as her coursework wasn't challenging her
actual level of intelligence. To increase her studies, Suzy transferred to the
State University of New York at Albany, or SUNY Albany for short. Doug and Mary believed that
Suzy had actually transferred to be closer to Richard, who
lived much closer to Albany. Doug described Richard as
being very mature for his age, and Mary felt that he had
been a little controlling in regards to his relationship with Suzy. It didn't affect Suzy's
independence, though, as she worked two off-campus
jobs at local computer stores, including a Babbage's game shop at the local Crossgates Mall
in Guilderland, New York. As time passed through the winter of 1998, all seemed normal to Suzy and
the rest of the Lyall family. Doug and Mary were happy as empty-nesters with their three children
achieving their goals and moving on to greater things. Suzy was balancing classes
with work, a relationship, and of course, her passion for computers. Everything proceeded smoothly, despite the occasional
school-related stress, until March of '98 brought
an unexpected gloom and doom to not just Suzy Lyall, but
her family and friends as well. Sometime during the years of 1993 or 1994, Suzy meets up with her
boyfriend, Richard Condon, on the internet and
joins his computer club at a local New York State coffee shop. They soon enter a relationship
whilst both in high school that lasts for the next few years. At various points through
the next few years, Suzy and Richard's
relationship fluctuates, almost breaking apart during
a few unstable moments, but never creating a
hostile or harsh situation. In the summer of '97, Suzy transfers to a State
University in Oneonta to SUNY Albany to engage
in more demanding courses and supposedly be closer to Richard. Later that year in the autumn of '97, Suzy supplements her income
with a couple of jobs. Not long after the turn of
the new year in winter of '98, Suzy tells an anonymous
coworker at the mall that she feels as if she's being stalked by someone she doesn't recognize. Suzy shows little fear or
anxiety despite the hunch, and never reveals further details to either the coworker or her family. On Valentine's Day, Suzy's mother, Mary, drives her to Richard's house in the afternoon for a quick stop. Mary theorizes that Suzy was delivering a Dear John letter as
preparation for a final break-up. She concludes that Suzy's tension increased as a result
of seeing someone else. Who this someone could be was unknown. Throughout the remaining
days of February, 1998, Suzy goes to work at
Babbage's under immense stress from upcoming exams,
often appearing uptight and in a variety of moods
around her boss at the shop. On March the 1st of that year, Mary talks to Suzy for the last time. Mary recalls Suzy being
concerned about her finances and waiting for the
next paycheck to arrive. Mary attempts to offer a bit
of money to her daughter, but Suzy declines the proposal. On the morning of March the 2nd, Suzy completes the big exam
she had been anxious about in the preceding weeks. Either right before,
or right after the exam on the same fateful day, Suzy withdraws her usual
$20 from an ATM machine located near the bus
terminal at Collins Circle, the normal stop for Suzy
before she leaves for work. Later in the afternoon on the 2nd, Suzy makes another
uncharacteristic ATM withdrawal at about the same time her
shift at Babbage's starts in Crossgates Mall, at a
machine located near the store, again, in the amount of $20. Moments later, when Suzy
actually clocks in for work at 4:00 p.m., she appears
more like her average self, much calmer than she'd been
in the month of February, at least according to her manager. At about 8:00 p.m., on the 2nd, the manager of Babbage's
leaves for the day, leaving Suzy to finish
up her shift per usual. Everything is how it should be, but unknowingly to the manager, this is the last time he'll
make contact with her. Around an hour later, at 9:20 p.m., a nighttime security guard at the back lot of Crossgates Mall, cannot
confirm with 100% certainty that he saw Suzy Lyall leave the store, but does mention that nothing
was out of the ordinary, even though the employee
exit area was poorly lit. It's understood that, at that time, Suzy boards a Capital District
Transportation Authority bus headed towards campus, profiled by the bus driver at the time. This is the last confirmed sighting of Suzanne Lyall before her disappearance. After a 25-minute commute, at 9:45 p.m., the bus makes its scheduled
stop at Collins Circle. The driver at the time could not remember if Suzy had exited,
though a friend of hers claims she saw her get
off the bus and walk away. This would be the last
unconfirmed sighting of Suzanne. The next morning, on March the 3rd, Suzy's boyfriend, Richard,
makes a call to her parents, informing them that he never
received a call or email from Suzy the night before
after returning from work and couldn't reach contact with her. Just a few hours pass
by before Doug and Mary contact SUNY Albany campus police to officially announce
that Suzy is missing. The campus police do not
immediately react, however, and say periods of absence for
college students is common. One of the officers
attended Suzy's next class to look for her, but she never arrives. At 4:00 p.m., on March the 3rd, Mary has the idea to call Suzy's bank and inquire about her spending history. The bank reveals that Suzy's
bank account had been accessed at an undisclosed ATM machine mere minutes before Mary's phone call. The amount taken was Suzy's
normal withdrawal of $20, but the location wouldn't
be known until the next day. The morning of March the 4th, Suzy's bank calls Mary again to inform her that the location ping
for the ATM came through, and was recorded by a machine at Stewart's Shop
convenience store in Albany, a few miles away from campus and in a part of town
rarely visited by Suzy. When the mail arrives
later on March the 4th, Mary Lyall discovers a birthday card from none other than Suzy herself. It seems like a normal gesture, but the timing is certainly peculiar and a bit unsettling,
as Suzy included a note that said, see you soon, inside the card. On March the 5th, after attending another
one of Suzy's classes, in which she was unaccounted for, the case had become an anomaly compared to most missing
college student profiles, and calls in New York State Police to assist in the impending search. In the following weeks during
heavy police investigation, Richard Condon is interviewed but quickly understood as innocent. Richard provides an alibi for
the night of March the 2nd, in which he was playing video
games with another friend. Police also interview the bus driver on Suzy's route to and from work, who says he remembered Suzy
get on the bus in the evening, and was for certain she didn't get off at the last stop at night, but wasn't sure if she did indeed exit the bus at Collins Circle. A few weeks of analysis
of the ATM withdrawal also lead police to unrelated
security camera footage of an unidentified man shopping at Stewart's Shop convenience store around the time of Suzy's account usage. The man was wearing a ball cap and jacket, and a sketch of his face
was shown to the public, his profile titled the Nike Man. In May of 1998, authorities
discover Suzy's name tag from Babbage's in a parking
lot on the SUNY campus, 90 feet from the bus stop. However, it's never determined how long the tag had been lying there, and police recover zero traces
of DNA or other forensics. Later that year, the supposed Nike Man from the police sketch comes forward and cooperates with investigators, in which he is interviewed regarding the events of March the 3rd. His story removes any suspicion, and is quickly dropped as
either a witness or suspect. Despite endless searches and
efforts over the next 20 years, no new evidence or leads turn up. The most recent development
in the case is in 2016, when Mary Lyall teams
up with local experts in detailed underwater mapping after she repeatedly felt odd feelings while driving over the Crescent Bridge on top of Mohawk River. Unfortunately, nothing of
significance is reported, and the disappearance of Suzanne Lyall remains cold as of this moment. (somber music) When dissecting the entire case, the most scrutinized and
heavily referenced pieces of evidence are the ATM
withdrawals and complete mystery regarding who exactly accessed the machine with both Suzy's debit card and the respective personal
identification number. The most glaring detail
with this case point is the time in which it happened. Somebody accessed Suzy's account well after she was last seen. This alone makes little sense. If Suzy was robbed and then kidnapped, why would the culprit wait almost 24 hours before actually using her debit card? It's been clarified that only
two people knew the exact PIN for the bank account,
which were Suzy herself and Richard, her boyfriend. However, while this seems
suspicious on the surface, it wouldn't take too much
coercion for a kidnapper or perpetrator to coax
the information from Suzy if she was held captive. That's not the only strange aspect to the ATM ordeal, though. Doug and Mary Lyall were
certain the location of the ATM, at an Albany convenience store in a different part of the town, was nowhere near the usual route Suzy took to either work or leisure activities. It wasn't a popular place for purchases made by fellow SUNY students, either. The clerk at Stewart's Shop did not recognize Suzy's picture, and didn't remember seeing her on March the 3rd or any day prior. Police thought they had
the ATM mini-mystery solved when they viewed CCTV
footage at Stewart's Shop and noticed a suspicious figure, who walked inside of the convenience store around the same time the
ATM machine was operated under Suzy's account. This spawned the Nike Man
suspect and conspiracy theories, but ended up being nothing more than circumstantial theory
and rumored racial profiling. Of course, the frustrating part about the CCTV footage and the ATM use is the fact that the cameras do not actually cover
the ATM machine itself, instead they are positioned above the counter inside of the store. Thus, anyone can use the ATM without exposing their identity. This adds a wrinkle in Suzy's case. Not only are we blocked from seeing who was exactly
activating her information, but we must take into consideration that this location was used
on purpose by the user. Whether it be a kidnapper
or even Suzy herself, the user might have known this specific ATM was
protective of identity, and could only be traced by GPS, rather than facial profiling. In the grand scheme of things, the ATM controversy is certainly
the biggest case point, but also a fruitless trail
of conspiracy and confusion, rather than telling us
anything useful at all, besides the fact that someone involved was risking their plan at
4:00 p.m. on March the 3rd. (somber music) Since the day Suzanne Lyall went missing, the ATM conspiracies sparked up, and her name tag was discovered in the parking lot near Collins Circle, countless theories have been proposed across the internet and
publications all over the world, trying to unlock the secrets of the seemingly unexplainable mystery. The most popular theory centered around Suzy's longtime
boyfriend, Richard Condon. Despite his alibi clearing him of any potential guilt or wrongdoing, followers of the case stuck
with their gut feelings. Many pointed out that he
was the only other party to have Suzy's bank account
PIN in his possession, and would probably be aware
of her $20 withdrawal pattern. However, as previously mentioned, anyone could force Suzy to share the PIN under the right circumstances, and it wouldn't make any sense for Richard to leave such
an obvious clue behind when people knew he would
use the ATM at will. Because so many kidnappings and murders involve two familiar parties, Richard was an easy target, due to his close connection with Suzy. They did initially meet over the internet, which immediately drew red
flags for Suzy's parents. Doug Lyall described Richard as an incredibly intelligent individual, mature beyond his years, and devoted to he and Suzy's relationship. Mary Lyall thought he was too clingy and a controlling boyfriend, always checking in on Suzy in the evening and accessing her computer from his own, violating what most would see
as an invasion of privacy. In fact, a few internet
conspirators proposed that Richard hacked the Stewart's Shop ATM from his computer, to purposely
throw off investigators. Regardless of Richard's
perceived characteristics, Suzy never outwardly
complained of his persistence or overbearing personality. Police weren't ever 100% willing to give up on Richard as a suspect though. After a couple months of investigation, and around the time that Nike Man theories went up in flames, police attempted to conduct a second round of interviews with Richard. However, Richard refused this time, citing he wouldn't talk anymore
without a lawyer present and rejected a request to
take a lie detector test. Without any actual
evidence connecting Richard to Suzy's disappearance, authorities took this
as a sign to move on. Yet the same persistent conspirators, both online and in person, viewed Richard's later absence to be a potential admittance of guilt. In rebuttal, it's important to remember that Richard fully cooperated
with all questioning in the first time around. Police questioning is
not an enjoyable process, and having to deal with
a heated interrogation with an already established alibi, couldn't have been very
helpful to the search anyways. Polygraph tests are also
incredibly unreliable and often inaccurate. It would make sense for Richard to fear that his own anxieties
and nerves bubbling up during an interview would
skew the lie detector test and falsely imply his guilt, a common issue seen in
criminal investigations throughout the years. When one thinks about the point in which police went back to Richard, it becomes obvious that, after the Nike Man suspect fell through, authorities were desperate
for a concrete lead or new suspect, and figured Richard to be a probable receptor. In the end, Richard
maintained his innocence throughout the process,
eventually remarried, and moved on from the case entirely. A couple of other potential
suspects were considered at one point or another, although both were cleared almost as fast as they were encumbered. One of the suspects
wasn't actually profiled as a specific person, but instead hypothetically drew up from a very similar case
exactly 13 years prior to Suzy's disappearance. In March, 1985, another SUNY
Albany undergraduate student named Karen Wilson was last seen getting off a public transit
bus one mile away from campus. Much like Suzy's vanishing, an intense search bore no
evidence or traces of Karen, leaving the case just as cold. When combing through
other criminal records in the upstate New York area, police also came across documents from an anonymous convicted rapist, who just so happened to be on the move at the exact same time Suzy disappeared. However, upon extraditing
the felon from Illinois back to New York for questioning, he revealed a solid alibi and was excluded for any
further consideration. Another convicted criminal was reckoned to be a suspect seven years later in 2005, when a man named John Regan faced trial for attempted abduction of a female high school student in 1993. The kidnapping occurred on the streets close to
Saratoga Springs High School, just a short distance away from the Lyall's hometown of Ballston Spa. Both Suzy's parents and investigators thought the similarities
of the cases were peculiar, and attempted to question John about any possible involvement. Unfortunately, John refused
to discuss any outside cases with authorities, and ended
up in jail for his own crime. Police skeptically crossed
his name off the list. One of the biggest theories
churned from the mystery is one that many people
are afraid to consider and do not want to discuss, the fact that Suzanne
Lyall might have left on her own accord. While there is no explicit evidence that confirms such a belief, it must be considered in a case with no solid rhyme or reason. Suzy was a very private person with little social interaction. She had her boyfriend, her family members, and her coworkers, but that was about it, at least to our knowledge. It's important to remember
she spent a lot of time on the internet, connecting virtually to a whole other community. That's how she met Richard
in the first place, so it's not out of the
realm of possibility that she met others in
anonymous message boards. What if she met a group of people that persuaded her to leave? While incredibly unlikely, there wasn't anything forcing her to stay in the Albany area. In the same vein, Suzy's
mother said multiple times that Suzy was living paycheck to paycheck and specifically worried about her funds in the days leading up
to her disappearance. Mary even tried to loan a little money but Suzy was quick to reject the offer. Another internet-related possibility was Suzy found an alternative
method to make money or received an offer she couldn't refuse from someone out there in the web. If it were far away from home, she would most certainly
need a little money to supplement the journey, which would explain the
frequent ATM withdrawals, both on the 2nd and on the 3rd of March. Everyone wants to say that someone must have coaxed the account PIN from Suzy and used the machine themselves, but because Suzy was
one of only two people to know the security number, it was Suzy herself to
make the withdrawals. Both Doug and Mary Lyall agree that their daughter was
a creature of habit, and wouldn't venture away
from her normal way of life, which, on one hand,
explains the consistency of the $20 money orders, but also makes one question why she'd make such a drastic decision to leave home as well. It would also be very
cold-hearted to leave without telling a single soul, but to also send her
mother a birthday card promising to see her soon. On the other hand, it's more likely that Suzy had a secret
mission only she knew about, and was kidnapped, or worse,
somewhere along the way. She very easily could have
wanted to remain quiet about an errand or internet-related task, but ran into trouble
without anyone knowing. This would still explain
the random ATM usage, and why she disappeared without a trace, while leaving her possessions behind. The one argument against such a claim, and the biggest wrinkle in
the entire Suzanne Lyall case is the employee name tag
found in the parking lot near Collins Circle two months
after the disappearance. If Suzy left on her own accord, why in the world would
she, or her kidnapper, come back to SUNY Albany campus to place her name tag near
the place she was last seen? The only reasonable thought
is Suzy dropped it off after departing the bus and
rerouting to another destination other than her dorm, considering the parking lot
in which the tag was found is in the opposite direction
of Suzy's living quarters. Some reports have stated
the name tag found isn't even the one she
would have been wearing the night she worked last. It's also peculiar that the
clue wasn't even discovered until two months after she went missing. If the SUNY Albany campus
was combed by investigators as rigorously as they maintained it was, the whole scenario is as mind
boggling as the case itself, leaving most theories up in the air. When looking at the big
picture, it's nearly impossible to confidently give
forth a solid conclusion regarding Suzanne Lyall's
mysterious disappearance. However, taking everything
into consideration, only one theory truly makes sense. Suzy was taken by someone only she knew, anonymous to even her
closest friends and family. This hypothesis stems from two major clues hinted at by Suzy's
coworkers and her mother. The coworker revealed
early on in the search that Suzy had mentioned she
felt she was being followed by an unknown figure, but wasn't worried, meaning it could have been someone she either vaguely recognized or wasn't even sure it was a stalker. Then Mary Lyall shared she believed Suzy had been seeing someone
outside of Richard, due to a little bit of strange behavior and the crumbling connection
with her ex-boyfriend. Both propositions are quite possible, and while neither can be confirmed, they would both play intricate roles in a possible kidnapping, and could easily be
connected to one another. How did Suzy know this theoretical person? The internet. Records indicate that police
did a technical analysis of Suzy's computer, but whether or not they
sourced her browsing history or frequented message boards is unknown. Even if they did, it's not difficult to
hide virtual relationships that aren't tethered to
a physical hard drive. If Suzy was indeed stirring something up with somebody she wanted to keep a secret, the internet was probably
her only communication. Inclusion of the fact that
Suzy was incredibly gifted with computer science and
a long-time internet user, only legitimates this theory. She could have hidden this
information from Richard, who had access to her files,
and took the secret with her. We've also concluded
that the prime mystery at Collins Circle didn't actually happen at Collins Circle at all, instead happening at
an unspecific location between the Crossgates Mall
and SUNY Albany campus. This conclusion arises
from the lack of assurance in supposed eyewitness sightings of Suzy after she clocked off work. The night security guard at the mall said nothing was out of the ordinary in the back employee parking lot, and the bus driver of the specific vessel that picked up Suzy on
the night of March the 2nd confirmed that he saw her
get on board at 9:20 p.m. However, the assurances stop after that. The bus driver never
remembers Suzy exiting the bus at Collins Circle, but knows she got off before the last stop. In addition, the student,
who claims to have seen Suzy on campus at 9:45 the night she vanished, only thought she saw Suzy, and was interviewed an entire
48 hours after the fact. These wobbly, unsure
sightings are too fragile to believe with certainty. In terms of after boarding the bus, we believe Suzy met with her
contact in the Albany suburbs and was either abducted that night, or sometime during the following day. She was most likely meeting a secret lover or virtual friend, probably needing money to explain her random withdrawals
throughout the afternoon, and then was forced to take
out more the following day after the suspect showed
their true colors, explaining the ATM
withdrawals on March the 3rd. The perpetrator probably strategized using an ATM without a
dependable security camera, and utilized the Stewart's
Shop hidden machine and out of the view of CCTV. We believe Suzy was still
alive on March the 3rd, and was the person to
actually use the bank PIN, since it had been entered
in correctly only once and her usual $20 amount was withdrawn. After this moment, while under
the threat of her captor, Suzy's fate dissolved into darkness. She never returned to campus, as her tap card for the dormitory wasn't used after March the 2nd. In terms of the mysterious name tag found in the SUNY Albany parking lot, we figure the true perpetrator discovered that was the assuming location of Suzy's last confirmed
activity a couple of months after the initial disappearance. So, they thought of an item
that would link to Suzy, cleaned her work name tag,
traveled back to the campus, and placed it near the
Collins Circle bus stop, all to try and keep
authorities on the wrong trail. It may seem like an unnecessarily
and extensive scheme, but the clues lack
plausibility in the first place and fits within the ultimate findings. We are confident she intended
to resume her normal life after the meeting with
an assumed stranger, resting in the fact that
she told her mother, in her birthday card, see you soon. What eventually happened to Suzanne Lyall will not be speculated to save her case from the endless pits of
inconsiderate conspiracy theory. Her parents have attempted the same grace, and through finding the positives of such a confusing tragedy, have managed to sustain laws
regarding the time period state and federal law enforcements investigate missing persons cases. Young adults like Suzy,
specifically college students, have historically been mishandled
when reportedly missing, and the Lyall's legal efforts have made their daughter's age
group just as much a priority as young children. It's regular people like us who can help aid these programs, and help fight the growing
number of missing persons cases. We wouldn't report this if we didn't think it could
help remind the world, spread awareness, and
potentially help bring a new clue or lead to the forefront of the search. Until we find her, Suzy
will remain a symbol of inspiration and remembrance. It's important not to forget
that, before her case froze, she was a human being, a woman with a future in computer science and leader in technology
advancement in the 21st century. She was quietly bright, with intelligence unlike any of her peers. Her dedication to poetry and creativity sparked a light across all
she came into contact with, and we hope that light continues
to shine again here soon. Until then, the search continues, as we push for persuasiveness
and fight for answers to the disappearance of Suzanne Lyall and the mystery at Collins Circle. This is Cold Case Detective. (somber music)
