Narrator: 17-year-old melissa duran
Is taken from her home by force
In front of her mother and siblings.
I heard melissa yell.
It was a scream of terror.
Narrator: A ransom demand changes everything.
The suspects that had taken her
Wanted $150,000 within 24 hours.
Melissa said that if she involved the police
They were gonna kill her.
Narrator: Detectives know they statistically only have
72 hours to find a missing person before
Her chances of survival drop dramatically.
But in this case, they may only have 24.
I'm looking at my clock, hoping and
Praying that we can get more information.
It's like watching an hourglass,
Knowing that time is running out.
Narrator: The ransom leads investigators
To a frightening theory...
It was a preplanned event
By someone who knew the family.
If she can identify her kidnappers,
There's a good chance that
She's not coming home alive.
Narrator: ..And police consider every suspect,
Including a possible mexican cartel connection.
Lieut. Sutton: Ransom kidnappings
Are common practice south of the border.
Trafficking of people - it's all about money.
Narrator: Will police find her...
Toby yurek: The hostage was not
Located inside there.
Hugely frustrating.
This is about as serious as they get.
Narrator: ..And will they find her alive?
We had no idea what was going on.
I was scared.
[ominous music]
Narrator: It is the first week
School's back in session
In henderson, nevada.
The children in the duran household,
Emily, 9, and kevin, 11, get ready.
Their older sister melissa, 17,
A high school senior,
Waits for her friend to pick her up.
Me and my family are very close.
My mom stays at home,
Makes us food and stuff.
My dad owns his own business
And he works a lot.
Me and melissa are probably the closest
Siblings, always, like, hanging out in
Each other's rooms or, like, sometimes we'll
Mess around with my little sister just for fun.
Emily duran: I was sitting on my bed
And I heard the doorbell go off.
[doorbell]
[door opening]
I heard the door open and I thought
It was melissa's friend 'cause they were gonna
Go to school, and then I heard melissa yell.
[scream]
It was a scream of terror.
Emily duran: I went to the top of the stairs
And I saw some man had his hand
Over melissa's mouth.
The guy was trying to get melissa out of the door.
Emily duran: I remember thinking,
What if this is a dream
And I'm just not waking up?
Once I realized that it wasn't a dream,
It made me panic.
Narrator: At the sound of the struggle,
Melissa's mother races from her room.
The kidnapper motions
Like he's going to pull a gun.
Then the kidnapper screams at them
In english:
"don't call the police."
Narrator: The men drag melissa towards
A waiting car and force her into the back seat.
The family rushes out of the house
Just in time to see the car speed away.
[tires squealing]
Mere seconds later, melissa's best friend,
Jennifer arzola, arrives at the house
To give her friend a ride to school.
I see melissa's mom. She's freaking out
Like something bad just happened.
She was just so in shock
And I was trying to calm her down,
Trying to figure out what's wrong.
She told me, "some guys just took melissa!
They just took her!
They took her and they left!"
I immediately called 911.
[sirens]
I've spent 34 years
As a law enforcement officer.
This kidnapping would be a high priority call.
Det. Benjamins:I was working the detective
Bureau and I received a call from dispatchers.
They informed me that there was a
Possible kidnapping, 17-year-old female
By the name of melissa duran.
I am a detective in the robbery homicide unit.
I investigate any type of violent crimes.
The information that was given to me
Was that melissa had been kidnapped,
Taken by force.
Narrator: Detectives felicia benjamins
And joe ebert reach the duran home
And quickly assess the situation.
Det. Benjamins: When I arrived at the scene,
Aurora, who's melissa's mom, was very upset,
And I got to meet melissa's
11-year-old brother and 9-year-old sister.
We spoke with them,
Trying to get information
That we can gather in the very beginning
To establish that this is an actual abduction.
Det. Ebert: We were told by the family
That they had witnessed
Melissa being taken by force.
So this was a straight 100%
Legitimate kidnapping.
So for us, as police,
This is when the clock starts ticking.
[clock ticking]
Narrator: Investigators now have to move fast.
They know they have only 72 hours before
Their chances of finding melissa alive
Drop dramatically.
Det. Benjamins: Kidnappings aren't very
Common here in the city of henderson,
But we do know in these types of investigations
That time is of the essence
And we do have to gather information
As quickly as possible.
Narrator: The family gives police a partial
Description of the car melissa was taken in.
And kevin gives them a rough description
Of the man who grabbed melissa.
Kevin duran: Melissa was 5 foot 4 and the guy
Was just a little bit taller than her.
He was wearing like a worker hat to cover
His face, and then he also had a bandana on
And glasses and then worker clothes
Like baggy pants and a baggy t-shirt.
The bandana that he had was covering his face.
I couldn't see anything at all.
Narrator: As police try to get more information,
Melissa's mother gets a call.
Narrator: Melissa manages to pass on
The kidnapper's message.
She said that the suspects
That had taken her wanted $150,000
Within 24 hours.
Narrator: Then the call ends on a chilling note.
Det. Ebert: Melissa said that
If she involved the police,
They were gonna kill her.
At that point they hung up the phone with mom.
I was scared they were gonna hurt her
When they told us not to get police involved.
I mean, the police were right there.
Det. Ebert: When the suspects make threats
That they want a specific amount
Of ransom, they give you a deadline,
There's anxiety that goes up
For all of us involved.
But we still have to do our job and we're hoping
That it's a bluff on the suspect's part
As we continue to gather the intelligence,
Gather the information, put it together
And try to find where melissa's at
Before anything bad happens to her.
At that moment, my mom was really
Stressed about coming up with that money.
Jennifer arzola: Melissa's the type of
Friend that she's always there for you,
Through thick and thin.
We have a relationship where we can go
A month without talking
And then I talk to her again and
It's like we never even stopped talking.
She's family.
Emily duran: She was very outgoing
And independent.
She was more of like a leader
Rather than like a follower.
I was just like freaking out, like on the inside,
Because I didn't really know what the guys
Responsible for melissa's kidnapping
Were capable of.
We needed to find out what number it was
That was calling melissa's mother because
The number was showing up blocked.
Until we knew what number was calling them,
We wouldn't know for sure who was actually
Making the ransom call.
Off her phone records, it's all logged,
So we needed to get court orders
On her phone to actually obtain
The phone number from their phone company
Of who was making the phone call.
Det. Ebert: It takes a couple hours to try to
Get the information that we need
From these telephone companies.
Narrator: Suddenly, melissa's father alex
Arrives with alarming news of his own.
Melissa's father alex said that he
Had his own landscaping company
And he was out in the field working.
He gets a phone call from one of the kidnappers:
"we've got your daughter
And you better not call the police."
So the first thing he does is he
Goes back home and realizes that
This isn't a prank; this is the real deal.
Det. Ebert: Melissa's father said that the
Phone call was from a blocked number.
Narrator: However, melissa's dad was
Able to get more information
Than they had gotten from the first call.
Det. Ebert: Dad asked the kidnapper
Why he was doing this, and the kidnapper
Had mentioned that he had his orders,
And then he hung up the phone
And that was it.
Narrator: Orders from whom?
Who had their sights on melissa and this family?
Given what police now know, they theorize
The kidnappers believe the family
Has the means to pay the ransom
And therefore must know them.
Ransom kidnappings are extremely rare.
There is almost always a connection
To the family.
This is an act of someone who knew where she lived
And knew that she would be at home.
Shut up! [tires squealing]
It was a pre-planned event
By someone who knew the family.
Narrator: A fact that makes this situation
Much more critical.
If she can identify her kidnappers,
There's a good chance that she's
Not coming home alive.
Coming up:
Investigators receive an alarming break in the case.
Det. Ebert: The potential suspect vehicle
Had been found burned in the desert area.
Was melissa killed and inside the car?
Narrator: And given the evidence,
Police must consider another theory:
Could the mexican cartel be involved?
It made sense that this could be
A cartel-related kidnapping.
They're exceedingly violent,
And if someone interferes with them,
They will kill them in a heartbeat.
Narrator: It has been three hours
Since three men kidnapped
17-year-old melissa duran from her home.
After her parents receive ransom calls,
The investigators work on tracking them down
In hopes it will lead them to melissa
Before the 72-hour clock runs out.
In the meantime, officers canvassing
The neighborhood are looking for
Eyewitnesses who may provide more information.
Fortunately, we did discover that
A neighbor very close
Had some surveillance cameras out front.
We caught a huge break because
The vantage point of the cameras
Were actually out to the street.
The officers were able to view it and it
Captured a great picture of the suspect vehicle.
It was a red vehicle with blue fenders.
Narrator: Police now have a much better
Description of the car, complete with an easily
Identifiable detail: The blue fenders.
We put it out to the public
Through an amber alert.
The amber alert is a method of getting
Information into the hands of the public
Through the news media,
Through telephone systems.
It gives a description of whatever vehicle
Is involved and gets that out to the public
And asks for their help.
The amber alert, once it went out,
It hit television networks;
It hit pretty much every type of
Social media you can think of,
From news stations to facebook, twitter.
News: An amber alert was issued and now
Nevada police are expanding the search.
If anybody has any information
We urge them to contact the henderson police,
And if they do see melissa or the suspect's car,
It's important for people to call 911 immediately.
Narrator: The amber alert fills tv screens
Across nevada and beyond.
And melissa's family faces
A difficult reality.
We had heard the sirens of the amber alert.
It definitely felt more real to see melissa
On tv because it made us feel like
It's actually happening and that it's not fake.
She's not there with us
Because someone else has her.
That was probably one of the first moments
Where I've actually seen my dad get sad and cry.
I started crying. We were all just crying.
She was in danger.
Lieut. Sutton: This family really was
Part of the american dream.
Mr. Duran wanted to provide for his family.
He did so by creating a business.
The kidnappers figured they had enough money
To make this worthwhile.
They're looking for something to sell back.
It could have been any of the children.
Narrator: Police theorize the abduction
Must be connected to melissa's parents
Or their business.
Because it was a ransom,
In nevada we're pretty close,
You know, to the border.
One of the ideas that it could be
Some kind of cartel-type thing.
Lieut. Sutton: The population of las vegas
Has steadily increased and
I think at this point,
The city itself is about 1/3 hispanic.
Ransom kidnappings are a common practice
South of the border.
They're not infrequent in many areas of mexico.
Det. Ebert: We questioned melissa's
Father to find out if he had maybe any family
That was coming across the border illegally,
That he may be paying somebody in mexico to
Assist his family to get here to the united states.
Alex stated that everybody in his
Immediate family was here legally, but he did
Mention that he had been going over to mexico
And then back into the united states
To get medication for his mother,
So we were concerned that maybe
Who he was getting his medication from
In mexico could be involved.
Narrator: Detectives believe
Someone in mexico may have identified
Melissa's father as a man with money.
And that makes him a target.
The major business of cartels is narcotics.
That's where they make most of their money but
That doesn't mean they aren't entrepreneurial.
The trafficking of arms,
The trafficking of people -
It's all about money.
Narrator: A team of officers immediately
Starts checking with federal agencies for
A connection to the cartel association.
At the same time, they start pursuing
A connection much closer to home.
With the kidnappers grabbing melissa
So early in the morning,
Police want to know who else is familiar
With the family's schedule.
We found out that alex did run a business
Out of his home, and these employees
Did come and get their assignments,
Basically, for the day,
Pick up their checks at the residence,
Things like that.
Narrator: Detectives realize the landscaping
Employees have a great deal of information
About the duran family.
Det. Ebert: They knew where they lived.
They knew who melissa was.
They knew the victim's entire family.
Upon interviewing the father, we realized
He had terminated an employee earlier.
Alex gave us the name: Jose sanchez-perez.
Alex had no concern that jose sanchez-perez
Was involved in any way with
The kidnapping of his daughter.
He thought that they were on good terms,
That everything was fine.
Narrator: Despite jose sanchez-perez
And alex parting ways,
Their relationship seemed unaffected.
However, when melissa's aunt was interviewed
By officers, she told a different story.
Det. Ebert: Julie had mentioned that
She knew who jose sanchez-perez was
And that he wanted to date her.
Julie would actually fill in and assist
Her brother with the landscaping business,
So during the course of when she would go out
And work, she would meet some of the guys.
Lieut. Sutton: She was able to remember that
During a brief date that they had,
He was getting phone calls, and she surmised
From the one-sided conversation that she heard
That these were calls that revealed
That he owed a lot of people money,
And this is a pretty good clue
And a red flag.
I think maybe it was jose.
Lieut. Sutton: The motive...
Oldest motive in the world:
Money.
And if he owed a lot of money, a kidnapping
For ransom would get that off of his back.
Narrator: Detectives need to find jose.
Det. Ebert: We asked alex and aurora
If they had any photographs of jose
- Driver's license or anything like that -
That may assist us in the investigation
To identify jose sanchez-perez.
But there was no photo.
It was very difficult because
He didn't really keep great records.
Det. Ebert: And so we ran the name
Jose sanchez through the system.
Lieut. Sutton: You go to look for jose sanchez
And it's like john smith.
The way these databases work,
If you don't have any date of birth
And social security number to go with it,
All those common names are gonna show up,
So that brings a whole different
Set of challenges to this investigation.
So jose sanchez-perez was a suspect,
But we didn't have any piece of evidence
That linked him to this crime.
Narrator: Still, the police begin pursuing
Jose sanchez as their most promising lead.
And then five hours into the investigation
They get a break.
A tip comes in from the amber alert.
About 1:30 in the afternoon
We received information that the
Potential suspect vehicle had been found
In the desert area.
Henderson police and fire.
Hi, yes, I'm on my way to work.
I've seen a car fire
And it was a red car with a blue fender.
It was on fire up on lake mead boulevard.
Unfortunately, the vehicle had been burned.
Was melissa killed and inside the car?
Was she taken from the car
And taken somewhere else?
We didn't really know what we had.
[clock ticking]
Coming up:
The car gives investigators
A new suspect.
That was obviously a great break for us.
You get a little adrenaline rush
And you're like, "let's do this."
We needed to establish surveillance.
Narrator: But with kidnappers threatening
To kill melissa if police were brought in,
Surveillance brings a huge risk to her safety.
The entire time I was thinking that
If they see you, they might kill her.
Narrator: A burned-out car matching the description
Of the one used to kidnap 17-year-old
Melissa duran has been spotted in the desert.
Five hours into the investigation,
This is the biggest lead detectives have.
It was abnormal that somebody
Would take a car and park it out there
In a desert area and it would just be burned
And left abandoned unless it was stolen
Or unless it was evidence to a crime.
Narrator: Police travel down a desolate road
To investigate the vehicle.
The vehicle wasn't even burned that bad.
It was more burned internally,
Not externally.
This is a car that's red with blue fenders and
We're able to spot right away that it matched our
Vehicle description of the suspect vehicle.
But I was afraid that we might find
Melissa in the car, deceased.
Narrator: Detectives quickly search the car,
Including the trunk.
Fortunately, melissa wasn't in the car.
We didn't know where they had taken her and
We were hoping that she was still alive.
Narrator: While detectives process
The scene,
Melissa's family grows increasingly worried.
Jennifer arzola: I was sitting there thinking
That I might not ever see her again,
My lifelong friend that I met in 5th grade.
We used to talk about how our lives
Were gonna be when we grew up.
It was just very sad.
Det. Benjamins: We all have kids.
It's a parent's nightmare to have a kid abducted.
It doesn't matter; from infant to 17,
It's still someone's loved one.
It hits home because you relate it to your family.
Narrator: Back at the scene
Of the burned-out car,
Detectives make a crucial discovery.
The suspects obviously tried to burn the car,
Tried to get rid of evidence.
The vehicle identification number,
The one that everyone knows about
Which is up on the windshield -
You can obliterate that, you can take that out,
You can destroy it, but there are also other
Hidden vin numbers, and the auto theft unit
Is really, really good at tracing those.
There was a vin number on the vehicle still
So we were able to obtain that.
Narrator: Police trace the vin number
And immediately get a hit.
[clock ticking]
We found out that it belonged to a guy
By the name of cesar sanchez,
And that he lived at 233 flower,
An apartment complex in las vegas.
We were also able to find a
Driver's license photo from cesar sanchez.
Det. Benjamins: That was obviously
A great break for us.
When the vin number came back to an address
In las vegas, you actually get a little
Adrenaline rush and you're like,
"let's do this! Let's find this person."
Det. Ebert: So we conduct surveillance
On cesar sanchez's apartment,
To see who comes and goes.
Narrator: Investigators proceed with caution.
If he is one of the kidnappers,
He might follow through with the previous threat
To kill melissa if police are involved.
To do this type of surveillance
Is very difficult... It's the end of August,
It's extremely hot in las vegas.
Temperatures reach over 100 degrees.
You're sitting in your car with your windows
Rolled up.
You don't have the ability to have your
Engine running with air conditioning on
'cause you will get caught or "burned"
By the suspect or people in the neighborhood.
But that's your job and you sit there because
You know melissa's life depends on you.
Narrator: As police watch cesar sanchez's
Apartment, detectives receive good news
From the courts.
We got the court orders back for
Aurora's and alex's phones.
Det. Ebert: We were able to work with the
Telephone companies to unblock the number
Used to make the ransom calls.
That phone number came back to a guy
By the name of alejandro sanchez.
Narrator: Detectives are surprised
To learn that yet another man
With the last name sanchez is involved.
Could these men be related?
Det. Ebert: The vehicle's been recovered
And it was registered to a cesar sanchez
At 233 flower.
We have a phone number identified that was used
To make the ransom calls and that phone number
Comes back to alejandro sanchez, and we have
Ex employee jose sanchez-hyphen-perez
Terminated by the victim's father, alex.
Through the investigation,
We find the three suspects
And they all three potentially played
A huge role in kidnapping melissa.
At this point we're starting to think
We're on the right track.
Narrator: Detective ebert immediately
Relays to his team the name alejandro sanchez
As the registered owner of the phone number
The ransom call came from, and also includes
Alejandro's cellphone carrier, cricket wireless.
One of his officers makes a connection.
Det. Ebert: Alejandro sanchez's phone number
Was a cricket wireless phone number,
And it just so happened that the
Surveillance officer that was sitting on
Cesar sanchez's apartment realized that
The strip mall just to the east of the
Apartment complex had a cricket wireless.
Narrator: A detective immediately goes
To inquire about the number.
Det. Ebert: The detective found out
That there had been a bill paid
By the owner of the phone recently.
Narrator: A surveillance camera leads to a break.
Det. Ebert: Surveillance was
Gathered from that store,
Which allowed us to get a surveillance
Photo of alejandro sanchez himself
Paying the phone bill in person.
The detective also found out that
Alejandro sanchez lived at 225 flower,
Which was within the same apartment complex
Where 233 flower was at.
Narrator: Cesar sanchez, owner of the car,
Lives at 233 flower.
Both men have now been tied to the abduction,
Whether they are related or not.
And police want to know: Is melissa
In one of these two apartment buildings?
And is she still alive?
Coming up:
The family receives another call
From the kidnappers...
I had no idea if melissa was okay.
Narrator: ..Which leads detectives
To deploy their riskiest move so far.
From a swat perspective,
This is about as serious as it gets.
Narrator: Investigators are now
Nine hours into their 72-hour countdown.
They have just learned that their two suspects,
Cesar sanchez and alejandro sanchez,
Live in the same apartment complex.
At this point we don't know where melissa's at.
We don't know if she's in
One of these apartments,
If she's being held at a different location.
All we know is that those two apartments
Are connected, from the burned car to the
Cell phone that was used to make the ransom calls.
We know that alejandro and cesar sanchez
Are connected to this kidnapping.
We needed to establish surveillance
From different rooftops and hopefully identify
Who's coming and going from those apartments.
Narrator: Confident of a connection to the
Kidnapping but not certain of how these
Two men are involved, investigators send the
Surveillance photo of alejandro sanchez
And the driver's license photo of cesar sanchez
To detective benjamins,
Who is still at the duran house.
Our next goal was to try to identify
Who alejandro sanchez was
As well as cesar sanchez.
They did not recognize the suspects.
It was extremely frustrating.
Narrator: Knowing that these apartments
Are the strongest lead and that a
Quick forced entry may be required
Once they confirm melissa is in them,
Police call in the swat team.
I had received a call from my boss
Indicating that detectives were working
A hostage for ransom.
They demanded $150,000 for her safe return
And if there was any indication
That they had contacted police,
They were gonna go ahead and execute the hostage.
The entire time I was thinking that
If they see you, they might kill her.
This, from a swat perspective,
Is about as serious as they get.
I'm looking at my clock the entire time
And hoping and praying that we
Can get more information.
It was a very difficult situation.
It's like watching an hourglass,
Knowing that time is running out.
Narrator: It has been almost 14 hours
Since the last ransom call
And any sign that melissa is still alive.
The family was absolutely devastated.
You could feel the pain;
You could feel the angst,
Especially because you don't have an end yet.
Narrator: And without warning, another call.
At around 10:30 in the evening,
There was another ransom call made to the family.
Narrator: Detective benjamins
Was with the family. She told mr. Duran to
Put the call on speaker so they could listen.
Whose voice would they hear?
It was melissa on the phone.
Ahhh.. She's still there.
We still can get her back,
And that re-energizes those investigators.
We were all so excited that she was still alive.
Narrator: Police immediately put a trace
On the call, hoping to determine the location
Of the kidnapper's phone and melissa.
Det. Benjamins: A trace gives us
Real time tower records, basically,
So if the phone's on and it's pinging,
We're able to track the phone.
Narrator: To pinpoint the kidnapper's location
Police need the conversation
To go on long enough
To give them time to complete the trace.
Mr. Duran keeps melissa talking.
Det. Benjamins: Melissa asked her father
If he had obtained the ransom money.
Det. Ebert: She said that time was
Running out and she didn't want to die.
Narrator: Suddenly, the line goes dead.
Detectives examine the trace
Of the kidnapper's phone.
If it leads to alejandro and the apartment,
Swat is there and ready to rescue melissa.
If it doesn't, they will have to race
To wherever the phone pings.
[beeping]
Narrator: They have a location.
The phone call that came in for ransom
To the family at the house
Led to alejandro sanchez's apartment
On flower street.
That's the break in the case.
That's the major deal.
Narrator: With search warrants secured to the
Apartments of alejandro and cesar sanchez,
It's go time.
[clock ticking]
The plan was to roll in dark
And as quiet as possible.
There is the risk that the suspects are gonna
Know we're there and they're gonna carry
Through with their threat of shooting her
Or otherwise taking her out.
My heart was beating like crazy.
The stress and the pressure of knowing
That anything can happen in this scenario
Was weighing very heavily on me.
And at that point, I gave the order.
Coming up:
Will police find melissa in time?
Narrator: It has been 18 hours since
Melissa duran was forcibly taken
From her home and, for investigators,
It has been a nonstop day.
The frantic search has led them to this moment.
Swat teams prepare to make forced entry
Into the apartments of cesar sanchez,
Who owned the getaway car,
And alejandro sanchez,
Who owned the cell phone
Used for the ransom calls.
Lieut. Sutton: They got two
Search warrants for the apartments
And so it required two teams.
It required two different tactical plans
And a coordinated effort.
Narrator: Detectives have been warned
That if the kidnappers suspect
Police involvement, they will kill melissa.
So swat teams roll in dark and quiet.
They breach the entry
And storm through the door.
[loud crash]
Det. Ebert: Cesar sanchez's apartment:
There was four individuals
Found in there.
Narrator: At the same time,
Another swat team storms the apartment
Of alejandro sanchez upstairs.
Det. Ebert: They find four subjects
Inside that apartment.
Toby yurek: The teams are continuing through,
Making entry into the apartment,
Looking into the bedrooms, closets,
Bathrooms, everywhere, and very quickly
It was reported back to me by those teams
The hostage was not located inside there.
Narrator: There is no sign of melissa
In either apartment.
Every one of these police officers was
Focused on saving this girl's life.
They put all that energy, all that heart,
All that soul, and then they came up empty.
Hugely frustrating.
Narrator: It has been two hours since melissa
Was last heard on the phone alive.
Toby yurek: Now the big hitch was,
Are they gonna follow through
With their decision to execute her
If the police were contacted?
It made sense that this could be a
Cartel-related kidnapping.
They're exceedingly violent,
So if someone interferes with them,
They will kill them in a heartbeat.
Det. Ebert: Our goal was to interview
Each of the individuals to see who they were,
See if we could identify each one of them,
And find out if any of them had seen melissa.
So they were all detained
And brought downstairs.
Narrator: But there is added pressure:
The state of nevada has a very specific rule
With regard to suspects.
Det. Ebert: In the state of nevada
We have a 60-minute rule.
If we can't identify some kind of
Legal reason to hold a suspect
Past 60 minutes, we have no choice but to
Either try to gain their consent to stay on scene
Or we have to release them.
Narrator: With the 60 minutes already
Ticking by, detective ebert
Immediately hones in on his prime suspects.
Det. Ebert: We were able to identify
Cesar sanchez from the driver's license photo
Which we found via the registration of his
Vehicle that was used in the kidnapping, and
Alejandro sanchez based on the photograph that
We recovered from the cricket wireless store
Next to the apartment complex.
Narrator: The first person detective ebert
Wants to question is alejandro sanchez.
Det. Ebert: We asked him about
His cell phone and he said
He didn't have it with him,
But we found a cell phone in his pocket.
Upon looking at the front of the cell phone,
You could see that last number that he had called
Was melissa's father, alex.
When we asked alejandro why he lied
About having his phone, he said that he had
Let two friends use his phone and that
He didn't have anything to do with
Melissa's kidnapping or disappearance.
Narrator: As precious minutes slip away,
Alejandro sanchez continues to deny knowing
Anything about melissa duran or her abduction.
A frustrated detective ebert
Moves on to question cesar sanchez,
The registered owner of the car used
To take melissa from her home.
Cesar sanchez tried to claim
That he lent his vehicle to a friend
And his friend never returned.
Narrator: Cesar sanchez also insists that he knows
Nothing of melissa duran's kidnapping.
But as time is running out on the
60 minute rule, police have enough evidence
Of their involvement in the kidnapping
That they place both men under arrest.
However, there is one suspect that has
Completely eluded them:
The original suspect, the employee fired
From the duran landscaping company,
Jose sanchez-perez.
We still hadn't located jose sanchez-perez.
We had no idea what he looked like
'cause we had no photos.
The family couldn't provide any photos.
He had no identification that we could look up
In the system and see a photo.
Narrator: With the race to find melissa,
And nevada's 60-minute limit about to expire,
The detectives are forced to make quick
Determinations on what involvement, if any,
The other six men found in the apartments
Might have with melissa's abduction.
Det. Ebert: None of them had any type of
Identification of who they were.
None of them have any evidence on them
That links them to the kidnapping of
Melissa duran.
We can only detain them within
That 60-minute time frame.
All we could do was take some photographs
Of each one of them.
It made us angry that we had to let them go
Because we knew that they probably had some
Form of knowledge of where melissa was at.
Narrator: Determined to get answers about melissa,
Detective ebert questions alejandro.
First he hits alejandro with some of the facts
That link him to melissa's kidnapping.
Det. Ebert: The fact that we had pictures
Of him and video of him
Buying minutes for his phone,
The fact that he had the phone on his person,
The fact that we were able to trace the
Last ransom call back to his apartment,
And we knew that he knew
Where melissa was at.
Narrator: Hearing detective ebert lay out the facts
Leads alejandro to make a decision.
And he ultimately decided to come clean.
And that's when he told us that
Jose sanchez-perez was the ringleader.
Narrator: Jose was angry that alex duran fired him.
Plus, he was in debt.
He knew the duran family
And the layout of the house.
Kidnapping one of the children
Seemed like easy money.
For police, this confirms
Their initial suspicions.
Jose's termination and debt were indeed
The catalyst for the kidnapping.
Jose borrowed cesar sanchez's car
And plotted out this kidnap event where him
And alejandro sanchez and alejandro's brother
Mariano sanchez would do the kidnapping,
And they were ultimately
Gonna get paid by jose sanchez-perez.
Narrator: Detectives push alejandro:
"where is melissa being held?"
And alejandro drops a bombshell.
He told us that melissa was in the
Apartment directly across the hall.
Narrator: Melissa has been that close
The entire time.
Detective ebert quickly relays that information
To the swat teams who were still on standby
Ready to look for melissa.
Toby yurek: Immediately I gave
The order to go ahead and breach.
We didn't know if she was in there dead or alive.
Toby yurek: Our entry tactic was a dynamic entry
Because if there was somebody in there
We needed to get to her quickly.
It was a dark apartment;
It was completely black in there.
Our officers are using their
Tactical flashlights, screaming, "melissa!
Melissa, where are you? Swat!
Police department!"
- Trying to get a message out to melissa
If she's in there so she can respond.
The swat team didn't get any responses back.
There was nothing.
Narrator: Police learn melissa duran
Is in an apartment across the hall
From the location they have just raided.
The swat team goes in immediately.
It was completely black in there.
Our officers are using their
Tactical flashlights, screaming, "melissa!
Melissa, where are you?
Swat! Police department!"
The team is making its way through this
Two-bedroom apartment and as our
Officers reached the back bedroom
[music crescendo]
They were able to see that she was inside -
Unharmed to the extent that they could see
Saw a big smile on her face and just
Scooped her up as quickly as they could.
To be able to see her safe..
Just a big sigh of relief,
And an overwhelming sense of joy and
Excitement that came over me at that point.
Det. Ebert: When they bring her downstairs,
We were just ecstatic.
It was awesome to know that we got her in time
And that she was gonna be okay.
Narrator: Detective ebert calls
Detective benjamins at the duran house
To give them the good news.
When I received the phone call that
We did recover her and she was in good health,
I was elated, you know, I couldn't wait
To share that with the family.
As a young girl and being
Snatched out of your house,
[screaming]
Being worried for your life..
The victim herself -
The fact that she kept her cool
Showed incredible fortitude.
Narrator: Detectives show the duran family
Photos of the unidentified men
At the apartments where melissa was found.
They confirm one of them is jose sanchez-perez.
Police finally know what he looks like.
Within days,
Jose sanchez-perez, the ringleader, and
Alejandro sanchez's brother mariano,
Who drove the car the day of the kidnapping,
Are both arrested.
Det. Benjamins: Here in henderson,
We just don't have these type of crimes
Very often so when they do they hit home.
Brings tears to my eyes that we found her.
She could've been dead,
And that's the last thing you want.
I get a little emotional about it.
I really was just thinking about
This can't be how it ends.
There's just so much for me to do,
Like, there's so much I haven't done.
Thinking that kept me sane.
Although it was a very traumatic experience,
It was a huge blessing to me to and my family.
I feel like because of this,
Because of what has happened,
We all have a different outlook on life
So we're just all more positive people.
We now, like, love each other even more.
It's just made, like, all of our lives
- With each other -
And our own lives better.
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