[music playing] ANNOUNCER: This program is
about unsolved mysteries. Whenever possible, the
actual family members and police officials
have participated in recreating the events. What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast. [music playing] ROBERT STACK: In
Illinois, a lonely widow met a fortune teller
who seemed to create money out of thin air. Joan was amazed, and
within the next two years gave the fortune teller
$80,000, most of her jewelry, and a brand new Cadillac. Then the fortune
teller disappeared. On a lonely country
road in North Carolina, a teenage girl was murdered
by a single bullet fired through the trunk of her car. An eyewitness has
now come forward and under hypnosis
may have described Rhonda's unknown killer. 77 year old Howard
Drummond was an eccentric who died as he lived-- alone. Howard Drummond left behind
50 empty coffee jars, 80 pairs of white
socks, and an unclaimed fortune of over $250,000. Someone watching
may be his heir. Also, tonight a different
kind of mystery in the world of medicine and science. Doctors had given
up nearly all hope for young Don Hammond,
who accidentally shot himself while hunting. Don lost more than
half of his blood, had no blood pressure and
virtually no brain activity. Yet Don's family
never lost faith and never left his bedside. Incredibly, Don recovered. Modern medicine has no
explanation, but perhaps there is one-- a miracle. Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas. ROBERT STACK: During the
holiday season, office Christmas parties are a
traditional way of easing into the festive spirit. The night of December
22, 1981 marked the first company Christmas
party for a 19-year-old girl named Rhonda Hinson. Rhonda had recently graduated
from high school in Valdese, North Carolina and
was celebrating her first job as
a clerical worker for a local steel company. At midnight, Rhonda left the
party with two girlfriends. At approximately 12:30, after
dropping off her companions, Rhonda would begin the
10 mile drive to her home where she still lived
with her parents. At exactly 1:00 AM, Rhonda's
mother awoke from a sound sleep with a strange premonition. JUDY HINSON: I woke
up feeling panicky, scared because I
felt like something had happened to Rhonda. I felt like Rhonda was dead. I felt like she had been
in an automobile accident. I got up and I had
an old CB scanner that you listen to--
you know, accidents and all that stuff on it. And for some odd reason,
I just turned it on. I thought maybe if
there'd been an accident, I'd hear on the scanner. And the minute I turned
it on, it came over that there'd been a homicide. POLICE OFFICER (ON RADIO):
120, go ahead Bert. POLICE OFFICER
(ON RADIO): 120, I checked a vehicle in the ditch. Near Mineral Springs
Mountain and I40. Complainant reports
there's blood in the front seat of the same. ROBERT STACK: Rhonda's
car was discovered on Mineral Springs Mountain
Road just a half a mile from her home. The driver's door was open,
and just a few feet away Rhonda was found dead. She was lying on her
back and her arms appeared to have
been deliberately placed at her side. Tests showed that
Rhonda Hinson had been killed by a single bullet
fired by a high powered rifle. This bullet had passed
through the trunk of her car, through her seat, and
penetrated her heart. JUDY HINSON: The hardest
thing is living every day wondering who did this. Rhonda was the most
loving, caring person that you've ever known. Rhonda was the type of
daughter that everybody would like to have. The murder of
Rhonda Hinson at first appeared to be a
random act of violence. But as the
investigation proceeded, disturbing clues
began to surface, suggesting that Rhonda may
have been murdered by someone who knew her closely. Eight years of passed
since Rhonda's death and police are still at
a loss for an explanation or a suspect. In high school, Rhonda
was a popular girl, an expert tennis player
who had many close friends. But several weeks
after her graduation, she began to behave strangely. Though normally
happy to drive alone, Rhonda began to ask her father
to accompany her on trips into town, and on
one of these trips she made a disturbing statement. Dad, I've got something to
tell you but I'm afraid to. BOBBY HINSON: I said
what is it, Rhonda? I said no matter whether
it's good or bad, tell me. MAN: Now what do
you have to say? And she said I'll think about
it, and she never did explain, never did tell me why-- what it was she was
afraid to tell me. Now, you keep your
mind on your job, OK? ROBERT STACK: Her
mother also recalled an uncharacteristic conversation
shortly before Rhonda's death. Mom, I was
wondering if it's ever OK to go with a married man? JUDY HINSON: I said,
Rhonda, there's never a time that it's all right to
go with a married man. The only thing that comes from
that is people getting hurt. I didn't ask her if she
was asking for herself or if she's asking
for somebody else. I don't know what she-- Rhonda wanted to do the
things that pleased us. ROBERT STACK: In the weeks
prior to Rhonda's murder, her parents began to notice
that she suffered from insomnia. Rhonda also began
getting up in the middle of the night to take showers. According to authorities,
such obsessive behavior is common in women who've
been sexually abused. JUDY HINSON: The shower
would wake me up. She'd turn the shower
off and answer me and say, I just can't sleep. I feel dirty. I'm really angry at myself. I should have talked to her. I should have asked
her what was wrong. If I had asked enough, I would
have gotten some answers. ROBERT STACK: This
unusual behavior suggested to police that
Rhonda was under some kind of personal pressure. Could this pressure have
resulted in her murder? The police investigation
began to uncover evidence that someone may
have been stalking Rhonda the night of her death. JOHN SUTTLE: Between 12:15
and 12:30 on the morning that Rhonda Hinson was
murdered, a witness drove under the
Interstate 40 bridge on Mineral Springs
Mountain Road. She observed a blue
General Motors Chevrolet facing in a northerly
direction with two white males in the vehicle. ROBERT STACK: The car was
parked next to the same off-ramp that Rhonda would use to exit. It was spotted 30 minutes
before the fatal bullet was fired and just 200 yards
from where her body was found. Later that evening, another
witness traveling down the same road passed a similar
blue vehicle with a single man at the wheel speeding away
from the murder scene. As he continued down
the road, the witness saw Rhonda's vehicle
parked at the same spot where her body would be found. A woman was slumped
over the steering wheel and a man was standing
at her car door. The witness was unable to
get a close look at this man, and assuming the couple
were drunk, drove off. JOHN SUTTLE: There were some
latent prints on the driver's door, but these latent
prints have not been identified, as of this date. ROBERT STACK: With so
few clues to go on, police put their
witness under hypnosis and asked him to recall more
details about the murder scene. This is the actual audio tape
from the hypnotized subject. Surprisingly, the
witness also recalled seeing a second car parked down
the road from Rhonda's vehicle. This car was a black
or dark blue Trans Am. Some believe that car may have
been driven by the murderer. RALPH JOHNSON: There are so
many unanswered questions. We have a very attractive young
girl whose life was taken. And as far as we know, her
character is unblemished. It's just it's hard for me to
understand why a young person like this would-- life would be taken away and
not have an answer for it. ROBERT STACK: Who killed
Rhonda Hinson and why? Authorities are certain
that she would never have stopped for a stranger. Was she pulled over by
someone who knew her, someone who then
fired the fatal shot? Who was the man seen at
Rhonda's car, the murderer or a passerby who left the
area when he discovered that Rhonda was dead? Police still have no idea. RALPH JOHNSON: We have
some different stories, but to really be able to
substantiate these stories, we don't have that information. That's what we're
looking for, those little pieces of
information that we can substantiate what happened. ROBERT STACK: Eight years have
passed since that Christmas party ended in tragedy. Rhonda's mother still keeps her
daughter's room exactly the way it was when Rhonda was alive. JUDY HINSON: I
can almost imagine Rhonda's still in there. We have a baby doll that
she had years and years ago. We've kept that out. We've kept some of
her trophies out. The grave marker I
think says it all. On the grave marker
there are the words "Always a ray of sunshine." That's the best description
that we have of Rhonda. It's a perfect description. [music playing] ROBERT STACK: In a moment,
we'll see how viewers helped capture an
alleged con man who infiltrated a nudist camp. We'll also tell
you how you may be able to help authorities track
down two con women posing as fortune tellers. Last September, we examined the
case of a Florida nudist resort whose members were
allegedly victimized by a smooth-talking con
man calling himself Rusty. Hey, Rusty.
How are you? Hey, Steven. ROBERT STACK: In
February of 1988, Rusty arrived at the
Sunny Sands Nudist Resort and quickly ingratiated
himself with many of the club's members. He opened a video rental
store at a nearby town and convinced some
of Sunny Sands' residents to invest thousands
of dollars in his business. But just seven months after
he arrived at Sunny Sands, Rusty's upstanding
reputation in the community began to crumble when a
neighbor's 11-year-old daughter accused him of molesting her. Rusty was arrested for sexual
battery against a child under 12 and ordered to
be held without bail. However, many of
Sunny Sands' residents believe that Rusty was unjustly
accused and convinced the judge to release him on $25,000 bail. Two days later,
Rusty disappeared, allegedly taking with
him more than $50,000 of investors' money. INVESTOR: No matter
what happens, we know we'll never get our money back. But right at this point,
the money is immaterial. Right now the big thing
I want Rusty caught is what he did to that child. ROBERT STACK:
Police later learned that Rusty's true identity
was William Eugene Hilliard, and that he was wanted in both
Florida and Texas for fraud. Within minutes of our
broadcast, several viewers from South Carolina
called our telecenter to report that they recognized
William Eugene Hilliard. The morning after our
broadcast, Hilliard was arrested by Georgetown
County Sheriff's deputies at a convenience
store in Murrells Inlet, South
Carolina, a small town just south of Myrtle Beach. He was living under the assumed
name Ronald Edward Kant. On October 20, Hilliard
was returned to Florida to face charges of fraud and
sexual battery against a child under 12. If convicted of the
sexual battery charge, Hilliard could receive
the death penalty. Fortunes told, tarot
cards, and tea leaves-- it sounds intriguing. And many of us
have wondered what goes on inside a
fortune teller's parlor after the door is closed. But let the buyer beware. The sad fact is
that some of them are more interested in fortune
taking than fortune telling. Across the United States
each year, tens of thousands of victims are milked out
of millions of dollars by fraudulent fortune tellers. Tonight, we present the
story of two of these victims who, embarrassed by
their own naivete, have requested anonymity. Peoria, Illinois, August 1987-- a respected educator
we will call Karen had been devastated
mentally and physically by an automobile accident. Friends urge her to
see Ann Correcelli, a fortune teller who is
reputed to have psychic powers. KAREN: The last thought of my
mind was to go see a psychic. But I thought, well, if it
doesn't work, it doesn't work. It's 10 bucks for
a half an hour. What have I got to lose? I see that you've had
family problems lately, and you've been very
depressed lately. Yes, I have. PSYCHIC: Have you
considered suicide before? KAREN: She told me that I
had had suicidal thoughts, and I had never
told anyone, so I was convinced that
she was psychic and she had the
answer to my problem. This is a curse that
someone has put on you. And I looked at her like
you have got to be kidding. God loves you,
and you have to-- KAREN: But she said
it so believably. I have to be your friend. KAREN: And she held my hand,
and she leaned forward and said we can do something about this. I'll help you and we can
overcome this together. I'll help you. At the point she told me
there was a curse on me, I think I would have been
ready to believe anything. It was an answer to a problem. ROBERT STACK: Ann
told Karen that she must follow a strict regimen
in order to lift the curse. KAREN: I was taking ritual
baths in scented oils. I was blessing the doors,
the windows, the cars, people with holy water,
but I couldn't let anyone know what was going on. Each time that I saw her, she
gave me more things to do, which was great. I loved it. I felt like I was beginning to
get control back of my life. ROBERT STACK: Ann told
Karen to come with her to a nearby bridge and
bring $4,000 wrapped in a white handkerchief. I brought the money. This money has taken all
of the evil from your body. We have to get
rid of this money. KAREN: She told me that we had
to destroy the money, because-- - Do you believe in Jesus?
- I do believe in Jesus. KAREN: --Satan was of the
earth and what better way-- - Do you believe in god?
- I believe in god. - In the name of the son.
- In the name of the son. KAREN: --to control him but
with his own dirty money. - In the name of the holy ghost.
- In the name of the holy ghost. I'm going to get
rid of this money. I'm going to get
rid of it right now. KAREN: So we took
the bundle of money and threw it off the bridge. Is it gone?
PSYCHIC: It's gone. It's gone. [interposing voices] ROBERT STACK: Karen now
believes that she was duped by Ann Correcelli, the
daughter in a sophisticated mother-daughter
fortunetelling team. Lena Marie Wilson-- 53 years old-- is Ann's
mother, though she sometimes pretends to be her grandmother. Together, they prey mainly
on vulnerable women. Another victim of the
fortunetelling scam in Peoria is a 69-year-old woman
we will call Joan. When her second
husband died, she was left with a considerable
amount of money. Despite the financial
security, Joan felt lost. [interposing voices] JOAN: I think at
the time I was very vulnerable, because I had lost
my husband two years before. I was lonely. I was searching, maybe for
answers in different places. And so, it was only
$10 to go and see her. And I thought, why not? Find out and see what
she says about my future, my life, and things in general. [knocking] ROBERT STACK: When Joan
visited the fortunetellers, they were operating under
the name of [inaudible]. The first person she
met was Ann Correcelli. Just follow me this way. Thank you. JOAN: It was a regular house. There was a small room
off the living room. And there was an altar. I appreciate that very much. JOAN: And many holy
pictures all over the wall, many, many candles, and
many pictures of Jesus. I can tell that you've had
a recent spiritual crisis in your life. I can also tell that you have
a recent death in the family. Well, yes, my
husband two years ago. OK, I can also see that
there's something evil in your charts, something
that I am going to have to ask my grandmother to help us with. And I'm going to go
ahead and get her now. Is that all right? JOAN: That's fine. OK. Hi. My granddaughter told
me you need help? JOAN: Yes. I can help you. JOAN: Please. She told me there was evil
in those cards, but I-- I'm doubtful of that. Let's see. I have the power to
reveal your problems. Take this thread
and tie three knots. Three knots? PSYCHIC: Yes. JOAN: She told me that
my life had had a curse on it for over 40 years that
was put on by a girlfriend of my first husband. And she actually named
the person that my husband went with before he married me. She said will you come
back and bring with you a $1, $5, $10, and a $20 bill? Did you bring
the money with you? Yes, just as you asked me. ROBERT STACK: Lena
Marie had also instructed Joan to bring a
sheet, which she had tied around both of their necks. God gave me the
power to multiply and restore this money. Rip this money and I will
prove I do have the power. JOAN: She told me to
tear these bills in half. And she said if this
money will go back together and become whole,
then I can help you, otherwise I can't. And then she wrapped them
up in the white handkerchief and tied it all together. Our father, who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name. ROBERT STACK: Lena Marie held
the torn money under the sheet and rubbed it over
Joan's arms and legs. Do you believe I will have
the power to restore the money? JOAN: I believe it. Yes, I believe you
have the power. Do you believe in Jesus? Yes, I believe in Jesus. Do you believe
I have the power? JOAN: Yes, I do believe
you have the power. ROBERT STACK: When Lena
Marie unwrapped the money, the bills appeared
magically restored, and indeed even multiplied. To Joan, it seemed
like a miracle. [inaudible] I can't believe it. You must go down
and thank God. JOAN: She said kneel
down and thank God. Our father, who
art in heaven-- JOAN: And so, I knelt
down before the altar and kept saying
over the our father. If you tell anybody, the
curse will be back on you. Do you understand? Oh, yes. I understand. LEX BITNER: They
always associate-- Do you believe
I have the power? I believe. LEX BITNER: --their
special powers with god, or religion, or the church. And, more importantly, with
this particular type of trick with making the money multiply
is to get in the victim's mind that money means nothing. The next step is to convince
the victim that they are cursed. I'll show you that
I do have the power to take the devil out. ROBERT STACK: Lena
Marie told Joan to fill a shoe box
with dirt and leave it in her garage for three days. What are you doing? Now look at this,
what I'm going to do. JOAN: She had a
pitcher of water. And she said, now we will
pour this over the box and see whether or not
the devil is in there. She took a stick and
moved the dirt around. And then I saw this
water turn to blood. - You see this blood?
- Oh, you did it. The devil! You did it! JOAN: She had put
this fear into me that all this would happen if
we didn't get rid of the devil in my life. And here it was in
front of me in this box. She said we've got to
get rid of this devil. It is in your life and
it is all around you. And she said she had to
have money, because this would give her more power. And the more money I could
give her, the more power she would have to help me. ROBERT STACK: Over the
next year and a half, Joan gave Lena Marie more
than $81,000 in cash. She also gave Lena Marie
most of her jewelry and bought her a
brand new Cadillac. Well, this money will help to
take the evil out of your body. Money is evil. JOAN: Marie had the type of
personality that made you feel that she was helping you. Do you understand? And I believed in her. She had me so convinced. I believed everything. She had me so controlled
that anything she would ask me to do I would do. JOAN: Sister, I'm so
glad to see you today. Are you feeling fine today? I'm just feeling great. ROBERT STACK:
Finally, Lena Marie had Joan hand over the
last of her life savings. - No, never.
- Now let's pray. ROBERT STACK: $40,000. [inaudible] JOAN: She said now we
have to burn this money because money is evil. She put it in a garbage can,
and then put lighter fluid on it and burned it. She had me so convinced
that all material things, all possessions-- You put money before god. JOAN: --all money was
evil because the curse had been on me and everything
that I owned and possessed. She had actually brainwashed me. The money that the individual
thinks is going into the fire does not actually
go into the fire. Kneel down and pray. Money is evil, and in
order to purify you-- FRANK WALTER: There might be
a $1 bill or a $100 dollar bill wrapped around play money. --the evil. Money is evil. FRANK WALTER: FRANK WALTER: And this is what
actually goes into the fire and is actually burnt. Real money never
goes into the fire. Did you see this? It's evil. FRANK WALTER: The crime
that they're committing is they're taking
valuables from people by the means of deception. But the majority of the
people would just as soon cut their losses and
not come forward. They do not want to
suffer the embarrassment of the community, of their
peers, of their family. The embarrassment is a very
hard thing to overcome. I gave her close
to $150,000 in money, possessions, and jewelry. I look at myself and I say,
how could I be so stupid? I'm a college educated person
and I'm a professional. I've seen enough news reports. I've lived in the
world long enough to know what real crime is and
that people in any opportunity are very willing to
steal your money. And I cannot believe that I
was a victim of this crime. I feel like the stupidest
person on the face of the earth. The evil from your body
has gone into this money. KAREN: The money that
was in the bundle had been wrapped
in a handkerchief, and she had refolded it
several times before it was ever thrown into the river.
- In the name of the father. In the name of the father.
KAREN: I never saw-- - In the name of the holy ghost.
- In the name of the holy ghost. KAREN: --the actual $4,000. I had my eyes closed in prayer. Is it gone?
PSYCHIC: It's gone. It's gone! Do you believe in the power? I do believe in the power. KAREN: Every time
she handled money she could have switched it. [interposing voices] You believed in the power. KAREN: What confirmed
that a switch probably happened was that she took off. Do you believe in the power? Yes, I do. Praise the lord! ROBERT STACK: Based on the
testimony of Karen, Joan, and 16 other victims,
warrants were issued in Illinois for the
arrest of Ann Correcelli and Lena Marie Wilson. The two women were
nowhere to be found. Four days later, police in
North Kansas City, Missouri noticed some suspicious looking
people in a motel parking lot. Boy, did you see them
looking at us, Cal? POLICE OFFICER: I want
to check those plates. POLICE OFFICER (ON RADIO): 10-4. ROBERT STACK: They ran
a license plate check and found that the
car belonged to Lena Marie Wilson's daughter. Do you have any
identification? What's going on? ROBERT STACK: Ann Correcelli
was not in the car-- Do you have any
identification on you? ROBERT STACK: --but
Lena Marie was. - Are you Lena Wilson?
- Yes. Why?
- You're under arrest. Step out of the car, please. What's in the bag? Nothing. You have no right
to do this to me. ROBERT STACK: When
police searched the car, they found over $250,000
worth of stolen jewelry. PSYCHIC: You have
no right to do this. It's like a jewelry
store in here. WOMAN: You guys are
wrong for doing this. ROBERT STACK: The police
never found Ann Correcelli. Lena Marie Wilson
jumped bail six days after she was apprehended. Lena Marie Wilson is
4 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. She is 53 years old and
has a dark complexion, brown hair, and brown eyes. She uses the aliases
of Lena Calvin, Marie Marx, and Lena Marx. Ann Correcelli is 5
feet tall and weighs between 140 and 170 pounds. She's 26 years old, has
a medium complexion, brown hair, and brown eyes. She uses the
aliases Lori Wilson, Lori Calvin, and Ann Marx. The police are also
searching for Joe Marx, a convicted male accomplice. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall
and weighs 120 pounds. He is 39 years old,
has a dark complexion, brown hair, and brown eyes. Update-- Joe Marx
has been captured. Within minutes of our broadcast,
the Springfield, Missouri police department received
a call from a viewer who recognized Joe Marx. On November 20, Greene County,
Missouri Sheriff's deputies arrested Marx at
his parents' home where his mother was operating
a palm reading business. Four days later, Marx
was extradited back to Illinois, where
he is currently serving a six year prison
term for theft and conspiracy. In a moment, the fascinating
story of an eccentric recluse who lived in
a tiny room at a YMCA. His friends were astounded when
he left behind an unclaimed fortune of $250,000. [music playing] Our next story is
about one of the most frugal and unusual people
we have ever encountered. He was reclusive,
eccentric, A man who spent his time dreaming
up the most peculiar ways to conserve money. When he died, he left a fortune
valued at more than $250,000. This mysterious man
devoted all his time and energy to saving money. Yet, ironically, the fortune
he amassed now sits unclaimed. Perhaps someone in our
audience tonight is his heir. Howard Drummond moved to the
Lansing, Michigan YMCA in 1985 when he was 74 years old. He rented a room
for just $49 a week, but chose not to pay
an extra $5 a day for his own private bathroom. He always ordered the same
breakfast-- fried eggs, bacon, and rye toast for only $1.99. He also bought two
extra breakfasts, packed them in his
ever-present gym bag, and took them back to
his room at the YMCA for lunch and dinner. Howard's daily expenditure
on food was only $6. Howard was a pack rat. He saved money and
everything else. In his room at the Y, he kept
50 coffee jars, all empty. He collected
hundreds of magazines and countless rubber bands. Howard owned 80 pairs of white
socks and eight identical suits and hats so he could wear the
exact same outfit every day. Howard lived his life according
to a rigid set of rules that only he fully understood. He seemed to have no friends
and only a few acquaintances. Good morning.
Good morning. Howard, how are you? DARNELL JONES:
Primarily, Howard had a very regimented lifestyle. He would pay his rent at a
certain time every month, the same amount every month. His receipt he would want
stapled to a certain piece of paper a certain way
every time it was done. However, there was
another side to Howard that I found that
people rarely saw. He was a very gentle person. He was very appreciative
of all the small things that you did for him, and he was
very willing to say thank you for everything that you did. ROBERT STACK: Every
day, Howard went to the downtown
Lansing post office. He subscribed to the "Wall
Street Journal," "Forbes" magazine, "Psychology
Today," "Foreign Affairs," and "Soviet Life." He regularly received
envelopes from banks and sent out registered
letters to banks. Howard never failed to stop
for a visit with postal worker Frances Dodge.
- Good morning. Good morning, Frances. ROBERT STACK: He
often presented her with unusual shopping
lists, written on the backs of old envelopes. Just a courtesy. ROBERT STACK: Howard
always gave Frances money to cover the items he asked
for, and she was usually able to find what he needed. Do you have any rubber bands? And I need some coffee. FRANCES DODGE: I've
got some coffee. HOWARD DRUMMOND: Oh, good. Yeah, I brought you some
coffee and I brought you some-- just a minute. Let me look. Oh, good. I also brought
you some washcloths. Oh, I can use those. How are you today? Oh, I'm feeling fine. FRANCES DODGE: Good. I-- I'll see you tomorrow, OK? FRANCES DODGE: OK. I thought he didn't
have anything. Why would anyone go around in
the same clothes all the time? He just looked
really poor to me. I'll see you tomorrow. FRANCES DODGE: I always
asked him why he wore that same hat all the time. And he said, well,
it's not worn out. ROBERT STACK: After completing
his daily routine in Lansing, Howard returned to
his room at the YMCA. He never allowed anyone inside. He died on January 28, 1989. Two days later, Paul
Rosenbaum-- a county appointed attorney--
visited the YMCA. Since Howard had
left no will, it was Rosenbaum's job
to settle the estate and find Howard's heirs. Looking for clues, Rosenbaum
spread the contents of Howard's room at the Y
over the conference table at his law office. PAUL ROSENBAUM: It took
probably two and a half weeks to sort out everything. He had every single piece of
paper from probably 25 years. He had a diary that was one of
the most unbelievable things I have ever witnessed in
my life in which he kept an hour by hour account of
the headlines in news stations across the whole United States. He had three watches
that wouldn't work. There was thousands
of used shoe laces, unlimited amount of newspaper
clippings-- with a lot of it had to do with the royal
family and Princess Di. He was infatuated with her. It was unique, to say the least. To the best of my knowledge,
he had eleven separate bank accounts from coast to
coast with a quarter of a million dollars in
cash in the bank accounts. And that quarter
million dollars is not even the tip of the iceberg. He has a whole lot
more money out there. ROBERT STACK:
Strangely, the gym bag Howard always carried with
him was not found in his room. Some say Howard kept his most
important papers in that bag. Among Howard's
possessions, Rosenbaum did find a key marked number 29. The key seems to open a
standard locker-- the type you might find in a bus station. Could Howard's missing gym
bag be in the unknown locker? Could the papers inside lead
the way to even more money? Authorities in Michigan
are still searching for Howard's missing heirs. We have very little information
about Howard Thomas Drummond. He was born in Houston,
Texas in 1911, the only child of impoverished parents. He served in the Army
from 1942 to 1945. He was fired from a job
at a California bank for stealing scotch
tape, then became a postal employee in Pasadena. He lived at YMCAs in
Pasadena, Denver, and Dayton before moving to
Lansing, Michigan. He died at the age of
77 and went to his grave holding the secret of
his $250,000 fortune. In a moment, a mystery
with a happy ending-- a mystery of a life saved
when all hope was gone. [music playing] June 10, 1989-- Don Hamilton and Donna
Johnson are married in Maple Plain, Minnesota. This happy day is
in a way a miracle. Sponge, pull back-- let's
isolate that vein and artery, retraction. ROBERT STACK: Just 20 months
earlier, teams of specialists had been working around the
clock to save Don's life. He was in a deep coma. Some of the doctors thought
Don was already dead. CARSON GARDNER: Don
was not breathing. He did not have an
effective heartbeat. He had serious damage to
body organs when he arrived. Statistically, Don's
likelihood of surviving was very, very low, maybe zero. And that night I stood by
his bedside most of the night and just wiped the blood,
because they said this probably would be his last night. And he was bleeding from his
eyes, nose, and mouth again. And it was just like
it was the last thing I could do for my son. Don Hamilton's recovery
as a shining example that happy endings do occur. His story is one of those
unexplained events in the field of science and medicine, which
proves that medical science and simple faith
can turn out to be wondrous and
mysterious partners. November 8, 1987,
just before dawn-- Don Hamilton and
a group of friends set out deer hunting 175
miles north of their hometown, Maple Plain, Minnesota. I'll go way off to the
right here, down at the end. OK. I think we're going
to take off over here. All right. Well, see you guys. DON HAMILTON: We all
got ready to leave. And they took my ATV and
drove out through the field, and parked at the
edge of the woods and then walked into
the woods to the tree that I had previously planned
out that I would be in. And with my climbing
harness and straps, I got myself strapped
into the tree. And then I pulled
the gun up to me, and loaded it, and just sort of
sat back, relaxed on a branch. And I just loosened
up on the gun. I had it balanced on my legs
and apparently I shifted it enough so it got off balance. And when I loosened
my grip, it slid off. [gunshot] [scream] Glen! Steve! It sounds like
somebody's been shot. Donny! ROBERT STACK: For 25 agonizing
minutes, Don Hamilton's friends search the dark woods. There he is. ROBERT STACK: Finally,
they found Don in the tree. A bullet from his
own rifle had severed crucial veins in his leg. Don seemed completely lifeless. 20 minutes later,
an ambulance rushed Don to the nearest hospital. NURSE: [inaudible]
- OK. Is he breathing? No. ROBERT STACK:
Technically he was alive, but he had no blood
pressure at all. Bag him. [inaudible] DOCTOR: Yeah. NURSE: I'll run these
for you right away. Get those blood pumps on. This guy has
nothing circulating. Somebody call Liz. Let's get another unit-- CARSON GARDNER: When
we started work on Don, he was not breathing, he was
not moving, he was comatose, and his heart was
not pumping blood. There was no blood to pump. DOCTOR: Stop CPR. OK, check that pulse. No carotid pulse. DOCTOR: OK. He's in electromechanical
dissociation. Let's go. Continue CPR. CARSON GARDNER: He'd
lost more than half of his total blood volume, and
maybe close to 2/3 or more. I was afraid through the whole
process of working on Don. I was afraid simply
because I knew it would take
everything our team could do to pull him through. The farther along we
went, the more afraid I became in a different way. I was afraid that we as a team-- doctors, nurses, anesthetists,
respiratory therapists, lab personnel-- would have
saved a body but not a brain. DOCTOR: One more. That's it. One more, Kelly, please. Hold these, Jan. CARSON GARDNER: We ran out of
options for Don in our hospital very quickly. We resuscitated him. Our surgeon operated to
repair massive damage to the veins in his left leg. We gave Don all the blood
and blood products we had, and he needed more. Hold and I'll cauterize, and
we'll come off with him-- off. CARSON GARDNER: The only thing
we could do was transfer Don. ROBERT STACK: Don
was helicoptered to the North Memorial Medical
Center in Minneapolis, 200 miles away. There, a team of
specialists waited for him. They stabilized Don's
physical condition, but his brain showed
no sign of life. --tests. The first thing I'm going
to do is open your eye and shine a light in. BRUCE NORBACK: When I did the
initial evaluation on Don, he failed all the tests. In essence, he basically
did not have any breathing, any response to pain,
any basic, deep-seated reflexes that are very well
protected in the brain. I'm sorry to tell you this,
but your son is brain dead. I can't accept that. MARILYN HAMILTON:
Dr. Norback said that it's the same
as if someone has been underwater for an hour. He said, have you ever heard
anybody underwater for an hour, and had lived, and had a brain? And I still told him that
I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't accept that yet. BRUCE NORBACK: She had
that feeling in her eye that said, OK, I've heard
your side of the story. Well, let's just see. I have my own side of the story. Oh god, our heavenly
father, we earnestly pray for Don's recovery. MARILYN HAMILTON: We knew that
our church was praying for him, and they were a
support the whole time. --beyond their help. We pray that you'll be the great
physician and bring healing-- MARILYN HAMILTON: From 7 o'clock
in the morning till 11 o'clock at night, we were never alone. There was someone with us. And they even had a
schedule made up so that we wouldn't be alone when he died. ROBERT STACK: Tragically,
Don's body began to fail him. First, his kidneys stopped
functioning, then his lungs. Once he even suffered
a cardiac arrest. Donny, it's really
going to be nice to get you out there again. ROBERT STACK:
Nevertheless, Don's family talked to him as if he could
hear every word they said. Don, it's Donna. ROBERT STACK: They prayed
and searched in vain for a glimmer of response.
- It snowed last night. You'd like to get your
snowmobile out now? ROBERT STACK: Doctors offered
them the option of turning off Don's life support systems. They refused, and despite
the overwhelming odds, never gave up. WOMAN: You just show us how
hard you'll fight for it. GEORGE NEMANICH: They kept
up the hope of survival, even when it seemed like
it would never occur. And lots of times when we
would bring bleak news, they would accept it because
they had to accept it, but you could tell that they
were going to rise above that and somehow Donny
was going to make it. My feeling was very
positive all the time. I just knew that he
was going to be OK. I just couldn't
help but know that. After five weeks, his
friend, Karen Speeder and I went in to see him. Hi, Don. How are you doing? MARILYN HAMILTON: Don, Karen
Speeder is here to see you. He nodded. You do know Karen
Speeder, don't you Don? To me, this was
the breaking point. And I said, isn't
that nice of Karen to come and see you and
those three same short nods. So we knew because it
was answers to questions, and he was nodding
yes three times. So we knew that
he was hearing us. BRUCE NORBACK: By
that time, of course, we'd been dealing on
a day-to-day basis with the family and kept giving
this news that was always couched with, well, I don't
think things are still going to go well long range. And then all of a sudden to
see just like a flower opening that he started to get
markedly better over a period of just a day or
two was just a great feeling all the way around. ROBERT STACK: In four
weeks, Don Hamilton made the miraculous
journey from brain death to walking away from the
hospital on crutches. Within six months, he
threw the crutches away. The doctors and
Don's family were united in the awesome
feeling that they had witnessed a wonderful
and mysterious event. [inaudible] BRUCE NORBACK: This was
a very memorable case. We love being wrong in
situations like this. It sort of balances
the ledger, shall we say, a little bit for
all those other ones where things don't quite go as well. CARSON GARDNER: If
you believe in god, you'll call Don Hamilton's
survival a miracle. I happen to believe in god. The doctors don't
know why I lived. And I think god had a reason
why I'm supposed to be here and he pulled me through. ROBERT STACK: 20 Months
after his accident, Don married Donna Johnson. Every day, Don
Hamilton feels awe. He no longer takes life's joys
or life itself for granted. [music playing] Next week on "Unsolved
Mysteries," in 1962, Sonny Liston was
the toughest man on earth, the heavyweight
champion of the world. Nine years later he was dead. Police say he killed himself,
but his friends and family say Sonny Liston was murdered-- also the story of
Sharon Stevens, a woman whose life has
been haunted by the abuse she suffered as a child. But Sharon does have
one happy memory-- a couple who briefly
were her foster parents and taught her the true
meaning of the word love. SHARON STEVENS: I know that it
hadn't been for them I probably would have been a child abuser,
a drug addict, a prostitute, a very active alcoholic. I feel I would have
turned out very bad if it hadn't been for them. ROBERT STACK: Sharon wants
to reunite with this couple and thank them for
literally saving her life. Join me next week
for another edition of "Unsolved Mysteries." [music playing]
