1 00:00:01,043 --> 00:00:04,172 [♪ intense upbeat music playing] 2 00:00:04,464 --> 00:00:06,174 [narrator] 19-year-old Jodi Sanderholm 3 00:00:06,258 --> 00:00:08,969 is one of those people who knows what she wants 4 00:00:09,052 --> 00:00:11,054 and is determined to get it. 5 00:00:11,930 --> 00:00:13,223 She's an A student, 6 00:00:13,848 --> 00:00:15,976 a caring daughter and sister, 7 00:00:16,058 --> 00:00:18,395 and the star of her college dance line. 8 00:00:18,478 --> 00:00:20,355 She could just command a room. 9 00:00:21,273 --> 00:00:23,858 -[cheering] -You would just stare at her. 10 00:00:25,110 --> 00:00:28,238 [narrator] Jodi pays attention to every last detail. 11 00:00:28,780 --> 00:00:31,157 So, all it takes is a few missing pieces of mail... 12 00:00:32,993 --> 00:00:35,161 to send her family into a panic. 13 00:00:35,787 --> 00:00:38,373 I still kept hoping we'd find her. 14 00:00:38,456 --> 00:00:41,001 Something had just gone wrong. 15 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:43,753 [narrator] And the trail of clues she leaves behind 16 00:00:44,254 --> 00:00:45,547 -sets off a race... -[phone ringing] 17 00:00:46,923 --> 00:00:50,135 So, they start tracking those shoe impressions 18 00:00:50,218 --> 00:00:51,761 into the woods. 19 00:00:54,431 --> 00:00:56,308 The first thing that we saw when we got that close 20 00:00:57,058 --> 00:00:59,102 was her hand sticking out of the brush pile. 21 00:01:00,145 --> 00:01:02,063 It was like she was saying, "Here I am. Come find me." 22 00:01:02,147 --> 00:01:03,273 ♪♪ 23 00:01:03,356 --> 00:01:05,609 [narrator] ...and ultimately, catch her killer. 24 00:01:05,692 --> 00:01:07,694 ♪♪ 25 00:01:09,905 --> 00:01:12,407 [speaker 1] She solved her own murder from beyond the grave. 26 00:01:12,490 --> 00:01:14,242 [speaker 2] The fitness app on the phone. 27 00:01:14,326 --> 00:01:16,077 It was overwhelming evidence. 28 00:01:16,161 --> 00:01:18,705 ♪ I've been haunted by the visions ♪ 29 00:01:18,788 --> 00:01:22,167 ♪ That I've seen with my own eyes ♪ 30 00:01:22,250 --> 00:01:25,253 ♪ And the only way to find you ♪ 31 00:01:25,629 --> 00:01:29,341 ♪ Is to go beneath the lies ♪ 32 00:01:31,301 --> 00:01:34,012 [speaker 3] She did help catch this killer. 33 00:01:36,389 --> 00:01:37,724 [♪ hip-hop music playing] 34 00:01:37,807 --> 00:01:40,518 ♪ I'm living for the spotlight, I'm living for the spotlight ♪ 35 00:01:40,602 --> 00:01:42,395 ♪ From here on out ♪ 36 00:01:43,021 --> 00:01:45,023 [narrator] Arkansas City, Kansas. 37 00:01:45,106 --> 00:01:46,733 -Ark City to locals. -[cheering] 38 00:01:46,816 --> 00:01:49,027 Where everyone knows your name 39 00:01:49,110 --> 00:01:52,364 and Friday Night Lights is a religion. 40 00:01:52,447 --> 00:01:54,824 ♪ I'm living for the spotlight from here on out ♪ 41 00:01:55,533 --> 00:01:58,536 Jodi Sanderholm is a devoted daughter and sister, 42 00:01:59,287 --> 00:02:02,749 the determined star of the Cowley County Tigerettes dance team, 43 00:02:03,208 --> 00:02:05,877 and the valedictorian of her high school class. 44 00:02:06,711 --> 00:02:08,547 At times, high school was hard, 45 00:02:08,630 --> 00:02:11,925 but we all had one thing in common that kept us going, our futures. 46 00:02:12,092 --> 00:02:14,511 [applause, cheering] 47 00:02:15,095 --> 00:02:18,473 [narrator] That's why on January 5, 2007, 48 00:02:18,557 --> 00:02:21,101 when Jodi disappears without a trace, 49 00:02:22,435 --> 00:02:23,603 it's so out of character 50 00:02:23,687 --> 00:02:25,855 that it catches her family by surprise. 51 00:02:26,523 --> 00:02:28,275 ♪♪ 52 00:02:28,358 --> 00:02:30,610 [Jennifer Aldridge] My name is Jennifer Aldridge, 53 00:02:30,694 --> 00:02:32,070 and I am Jodi's sister. 54 00:02:34,531 --> 00:02:36,616 I was pregnant with a little girl, 55 00:02:36,700 --> 00:02:39,119 and it is all Jodi could talk about. 56 00:02:39,202 --> 00:02:42,247 [♪ upbeat music playing] 57 00:02:42,330 --> 00:02:45,750 That day, I actually went out to eat lunch with a friend, 58 00:02:45,834 --> 00:02:47,419 and then we went and walked around the mall. 59 00:02:47,502 --> 00:02:49,296 She was convinced 60 00:02:49,379 --> 00:02:51,631 that we were gonna walk the mall until I went into labor. 61 00:02:52,591 --> 00:02:56,803 I was in a store shopping when my mom called me 62 00:02:56,887 --> 00:02:59,389 a little after noon and said, 63 00:02:59,472 --> 00:03:00,891 "Hey, call your sister. 64 00:03:00,974 --> 00:03:03,059 "I've tried a couple times to call her. 65 00:03:03,143 --> 00:03:05,103 "She's not answering my phone call. 66 00:03:05,186 --> 00:03:07,647 She'll answer if you call. She'll think you're in labor." 67 00:03:08,189 --> 00:03:11,985 -[ringback tone] -I called, and it went to voicemail. 68 00:03:12,068 --> 00:03:15,030 [voicemail] You call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. 69 00:03:15,822 --> 00:03:19,075 [Jennifer] I waited about five minutes or so, 70 00:03:19,159 --> 00:03:20,702 and it just didn't sit right with me, 71 00:03:20,785 --> 00:03:23,538 -so I called again, and she didn't answer. -[ringback tone] 72 00:03:23,622 --> 00:03:27,584 I called my mom right back, and I said, "Something is wrong." 73 00:03:27,667 --> 00:03:30,503 -[echoing ringback tone] -[♪ curious music playing] 74 00:03:30,587 --> 00:03:32,214 [narrator] With her busy life, 75 00:03:32,297 --> 00:03:34,466 Jodi's days are scheduled down to the minute, 76 00:03:34,549 --> 00:03:36,426 and she never misses an appointment. 77 00:03:36,509 --> 00:03:40,263 Jodi was a college student, and so she had her classes in the morning, 78 00:03:40,347 --> 00:03:44,184 and then she had dance practice with the college dance team. 79 00:03:44,267 --> 00:03:45,727 [crowd chattering and cheering] 80 00:03:45,810 --> 00:03:48,438 She would get done around lunchtime, 81 00:03:48,521 --> 00:03:51,858 and she would go home and shower after practice, 82 00:03:51,942 --> 00:03:54,486 and eat lunch, and get ready for the rest of her day. 83 00:03:55,695 --> 00:03:57,530 [narrator] But today, there's a noticeable break 84 00:03:57,614 --> 00:03:59,032 in her routine. 85 00:03:59,115 --> 00:04:00,200 [♪ tense music playing] 86 00:04:00,283 --> 00:04:02,953 [Brian Sanderholm] I'm Brian Sanderholm, Jodi's dad. 87 00:04:04,371 --> 00:04:06,373 Every day, she'd show back home for lunch. 88 00:04:06,456 --> 00:04:07,958 So, she'd get the mail and bring it in 89 00:04:08,041 --> 00:04:10,418 and put it on the kitchen counter and go on with her day. 90 00:04:13,213 --> 00:04:15,882 [Jennifer] The mail was out of the mailbox, 91 00:04:15,966 --> 00:04:19,052 but the mail was not in the house. 92 00:04:19,135 --> 00:04:21,805 So, we knew that she had made it to the mailbox, 93 00:04:21,888 --> 00:04:23,431 but not inside the house. 94 00:04:24,516 --> 00:04:27,227 [clock ticking] 95 00:04:27,686 --> 00:04:31,147 [narrator] To Jodi's family, this is a huge red flag. 96 00:04:31,231 --> 00:04:34,192 [♪ dramatic music playing] 97 00:04:34,568 --> 00:04:36,820 And when she hasn't shown up by dinner time, 98 00:04:36,903 --> 00:04:38,780 they call the police. 99 00:04:39,573 --> 00:04:42,033 [Sean Wallace] My name's Sean Wallace, and I was the chief of police 100 00:04:42,117 --> 00:04:45,787 of the Arkansas City Police Department in 2007. 101 00:04:47,330 --> 00:04:49,916 Ark City, it's-it's a tight-knit community. 102 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:51,960 There's about 13,000 people that live there. 103 00:04:52,043 --> 00:04:53,253 ♪♪ 104 00:04:53,336 --> 00:04:56,256 It's enough people that you, you know a lot of people, 105 00:04:56,339 --> 00:04:57,966 but you can't know everybody. 106 00:05:00,427 --> 00:05:02,387 I was in my office, and the phone rang, 107 00:05:02,470 --> 00:05:05,098 and it was Brian Sanderholm. 108 00:05:05,932 --> 00:05:09,436 Jodi actually went to high school with one of my sons. 109 00:05:10,145 --> 00:05:13,356 So, I had this pretty good relationship with the Sanderholms. 110 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,192 Brian, he was distraught when he called me, 111 00:05:16,276 --> 00:05:19,529 and he said, "I can't, I can't find Jodi. Jodi's missing." 112 00:05:19,613 --> 00:05:20,614 ♪♪ 113 00:05:20,697 --> 00:05:22,699 [Brian] I thought maybe something had just gone astray. 114 00:05:22,782 --> 00:05:24,993 -[birds chirping] -Maybe her car broke down. 115 00:05:25,076 --> 00:05:28,747 Maybe she couldn't use her cell phone to call us for one reason or another. 116 00:05:29,748 --> 00:05:31,499 [Sean] I tried to assure him. I said, "You know, 117 00:05:31,583 --> 00:05:33,126 "we get these calls all the time, 118 00:05:33,209 --> 00:05:36,087 "and 99.9% of the time, 119 00:05:36,171 --> 00:05:38,840 "it's a miscommunication, 120 00:05:38,924 --> 00:05:41,927 "or something happened in the child's-- 121 00:05:42,010 --> 00:05:45,013 this teenager's life, that you weren't quite aware of." 122 00:05:45,096 --> 00:05:48,975 [narrator] But Brian Sanderholm insists that isn't Jodi. 123 00:05:49,059 --> 00:05:52,479 Our relationship with Jodi wasn't like that where she would just run off. 124 00:05:52,562 --> 00:05:54,189 [♪ solemn music playing] 125 00:05:54,272 --> 00:05:57,567 I said, "I'm gonna send a policeman to you to take a report, 126 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,781 and so we can start investigating where she might be at." 127 00:06:02,864 --> 00:06:04,491 ♪♪ 128 00:06:04,574 --> 00:06:07,619 [narrator] Meanwhile, Jodi's family starts to hypothesize. 129 00:06:07,827 --> 00:06:10,080 Could Jodi be with someone? 130 00:06:10,163 --> 00:06:11,915 Did someone take her? 131 00:06:11,998 --> 00:06:15,210 Because Jodi had a lot of admirers. 132 00:06:15,293 --> 00:06:17,087 The Tigerette dance team 133 00:06:17,170 --> 00:06:21,341 was a pretty well-known dance group in the community. 134 00:06:22,968 --> 00:06:26,221 [narrator] Could one of them have turned obsessive and kidnapped her? 135 00:06:27,305 --> 00:06:29,724 Or maybe the answer is closer to home, 136 00:06:29,808 --> 00:06:33,228 because Jodi has a longtime boyfriend named Colby. 137 00:06:34,396 --> 00:06:36,606 When she brought Colby home the first time, 138 00:06:36,690 --> 00:06:38,775 I thought the world of him. I really did. 139 00:06:38,858 --> 00:06:42,737 He had been around, at that point, for five or six years. 140 00:06:42,821 --> 00:06:44,406 So, he was one of us. 141 00:06:44,489 --> 00:06:47,200 [narrator] Right now, anything is possible. 142 00:06:48,785 --> 00:06:52,747 But, the detectives have to start by looking in the obvious places. 143 00:06:53,331 --> 00:06:55,834 Retracing Jodi's daily routine. 144 00:06:56,835 --> 00:06:58,503 Her last whereabouts was a dance line practice. 145 00:06:58,587 --> 00:07:00,589 When we took the report, 146 00:07:00,672 --> 00:07:02,465 then the patrol officers were instructed 147 00:07:02,549 --> 00:07:04,676 to go out and talk to the other dance line girls, 148 00:07:04,759 --> 00:07:06,303 'cause maybe they know where she's at. 149 00:07:07,721 --> 00:07:10,724 The dance line girls knew she hadn't showed up for a couple appointments, 150 00:07:10,807 --> 00:07:13,018 but they had no idea where she was at. 151 00:07:13,101 --> 00:07:15,604 [narrator] The investigators gather as much information 152 00:07:15,687 --> 00:07:18,648 as they can from Jodi's teammates, 153 00:07:18,732 --> 00:07:21,443 and get names of people seen hanging out at rehearsals. 154 00:07:21,902 --> 00:07:24,905 But the team doesn't recall anyone unusual lately. 155 00:07:25,363 --> 00:07:27,991 Now, everyone, even Chief Wallace, 156 00:07:28,074 --> 00:07:29,826 goes out looking for Jodi. 157 00:07:29,910 --> 00:07:31,536 [♪ upbeat music playing] 158 00:07:31,620 --> 00:07:34,623 [Sean] Most of the community comes out for high school basketball games. 159 00:07:34,706 --> 00:07:36,583 [indistinct chatter] 160 00:07:36,666 --> 00:07:39,085 So, I go to the basketball game 'cause I'm thinking 161 00:07:39,169 --> 00:07:40,962 maybe she'll show up at the basketball game. 162 00:07:41,046 --> 00:07:44,466 She was kinda quasi-coaching the high school dance line. 163 00:07:45,050 --> 00:07:47,177 [applause, cheering] 164 00:07:47,260 --> 00:07:48,261 And she did not show up. 165 00:07:48,345 --> 00:07:50,388 And I talked to several students. 166 00:07:50,472 --> 00:07:54,309 None of them could give me any idea of where she might be. 167 00:07:54,392 --> 00:07:56,311 [♪ ominous music playing] 168 00:07:56,394 --> 00:07:58,980 That evening, we started an all-out search. 169 00:08:00,273 --> 00:08:02,901 At that point, I was honestly still thinking 170 00:08:02,984 --> 00:08:03,985 she was in a car wreck. 171 00:08:04,069 --> 00:08:05,237 [glass shattering] 172 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:07,489 [♪ somber music playing] 173 00:08:07,572 --> 00:08:09,991 Her car is turned over in a ditch somewhere, 174 00:08:10,075 --> 00:08:11,117 and she cannot get out. 175 00:08:11,201 --> 00:08:14,579 She needs help. She's probably bleeding to death. 176 00:08:14,663 --> 00:08:16,873 She needs-- We have to find her. 177 00:08:16,957 --> 00:08:19,668 [♪ intense music playing] 178 00:08:19,751 --> 00:08:23,713 My dad was driving up and down every alley in the town. 179 00:08:23,797 --> 00:08:27,384 He was driving on every dirt road, every country road, 180 00:08:27,467 --> 00:08:29,553 searching for her car. 181 00:08:29,636 --> 00:08:31,972 I had friends show up to my house 182 00:08:32,055 --> 00:08:35,559 that, uh, we loaded up in their truck and took off, 183 00:08:36,643 --> 00:08:37,894 looking everywhere we could look. 184 00:08:37,978 --> 00:08:39,479 ♪♪ 185 00:08:41,773 --> 00:08:43,567 We asked the county to look in the ditches 186 00:08:43,650 --> 00:08:46,278 along the 77 highway 187 00:08:46,361 --> 00:08:48,071 and, uh, main routes. 188 00:08:48,154 --> 00:08:49,614 [sirens wailing] 189 00:08:49,698 --> 00:08:53,034 But we did not find anything. Did-- [stammers] 190 00:08:53,118 --> 00:08:56,496 Did not find her vehicle, did not find any signs of an accident. 191 00:08:56,580 --> 00:08:58,582 [♪ ominous music playing] 192 00:08:59,624 --> 00:09:01,835 My mom and dad obviously were up all night the night that-- 193 00:09:01,918 --> 00:09:03,253 the first night she went missing, 194 00:09:03,336 --> 00:09:06,506 and it was probably around 4 o'clock in the morning 195 00:09:06,590 --> 00:09:10,218 when my dad knew that the, the local news in Wichita, 196 00:09:10,302 --> 00:09:12,637 that they would be getting to the news station. 197 00:09:12,721 --> 00:09:16,683 At that point, she had been gone for 14 hours. 198 00:09:17,142 --> 00:09:19,311 So, we figured we've gotta get the news out. 199 00:09:20,103 --> 00:09:23,398 [reporter] 19-year-old Jodi Sanderholm finishes dance practice. 200 00:09:23,481 --> 00:09:26,610 She's supposed to meet a friend for lunch, but never shows. 201 00:09:26,693 --> 00:09:30,280 Flyers with Jodi's picture and description are posted everywhere. 202 00:09:30,363 --> 00:09:33,283 Police also ask for help finding Jodi's car, 203 00:09:33,366 --> 00:09:36,786 telling residents in rural Cowley County to search their properties. 204 00:09:37,621 --> 00:09:39,372 [narrator] The investigator's next stop 205 00:09:39,456 --> 00:09:42,375 is Jodi's longtime boyfriend, Colby. 206 00:09:42,459 --> 00:09:44,628 ♪ You're somethin' special ♪ 207 00:09:44,711 --> 00:09:47,464 ♪ You're somethin' else ♪ 208 00:09:47,547 --> 00:09:50,091 ♪ You got me feelin' ♪ 209 00:09:50,175 --> 00:09:52,344 One of the first things we thought about was that 210 00:09:52,427 --> 00:09:54,262 teenagers sometimes do crazy things. 211 00:09:54,846 --> 00:09:56,765 Maybe something's going on with her boyfriend. 212 00:09:56,848 --> 00:10:00,602 [Jennifer] Jodi and Colby had actually started dating in eighth grade. 213 00:10:00,685 --> 00:10:02,562 ♪♪ 214 00:10:02,646 --> 00:10:05,482 They were in love, and not a normal teenage love. 215 00:10:05,565 --> 00:10:08,985 It was an adult, forever love. 216 00:10:09,569 --> 00:10:12,197 They were going to get married. They were going to have children. 217 00:10:13,156 --> 00:10:14,449 ♪♪ 218 00:10:14,532 --> 00:10:16,660 [narrator] Could Jodi and Colby's storybook romance 219 00:10:16,743 --> 00:10:18,703 have secretly crumbled? 220 00:10:18,787 --> 00:10:21,873 Colby is an obvious person for the police to question, 221 00:10:22,958 --> 00:10:24,501 if they can find him. 222 00:10:25,168 --> 00:10:27,254 [♪ intense music playing] 223 00:10:27,337 --> 00:10:30,340 [Sean] We knew Colby as well, and his family. 224 00:10:31,550 --> 00:10:33,510 But we all found out he was in Texas. 225 00:10:34,344 --> 00:10:38,056 [narrator] Is Colby's absence a case of sheer coincidence 226 00:10:38,139 --> 00:10:40,058 or perfect timing? 227 00:10:40,141 --> 00:10:43,895 Police race to find him, as they can't help but wonder 228 00:10:43,979 --> 00:10:46,898 if he holds the answer to Jodi's disappearance. 229 00:10:46,982 --> 00:10:50,110 [Brian] We realized at that point, there was something wrong, 230 00:10:50,193 --> 00:10:52,195 and it was gonna be bad. 231 00:10:52,279 --> 00:10:54,072 ♪♪ 232 00:10:56,575 --> 00:10:59,286 [♪ intense music playing] 233 00:11:00,036 --> 00:11:02,163 [narrator] Jodi Sanderholm, 234 00:11:02,247 --> 00:11:05,667 the determined dancer and star student, is missing, 235 00:11:05,750 --> 00:11:08,503 seemingly vanished into thin air, 236 00:11:08,587 --> 00:11:11,256 leaving her family and community in utter disbelief. 237 00:11:11,339 --> 00:11:13,216 [♪ curious music playing] 238 00:11:13,300 --> 00:11:17,178 Arkansas City epitomizes small town rural Kansas. 239 00:11:18,096 --> 00:11:19,389 My name's Michael Schwanke. 240 00:11:19,472 --> 00:11:22,601 I'm an anchor and investigative reporter with KWCH, 241 00:11:22,684 --> 00:11:24,728 the CBS affiliate in Wichita. 242 00:11:26,605 --> 00:11:29,024 Literally, people go to bed at night 243 00:11:29,107 --> 00:11:31,067 and don't lock their cars, 244 00:11:31,151 --> 00:11:33,778 and some don't even lock the doors to their houses 245 00:11:33,862 --> 00:11:35,363 because there's that much trust. 246 00:11:36,615 --> 00:11:40,285 It's one of those towns that everyone rallies together. 247 00:11:40,368 --> 00:11:42,287 Friday night football, for example. 248 00:11:42,370 --> 00:11:43,622 -[whistle blows] -[crowd chattering] 249 00:11:43,705 --> 00:11:47,292 And I think everyone there watches out for everyone. 250 00:11:47,375 --> 00:11:49,377 It is a family, in a sense. 251 00:11:49,461 --> 00:11:51,213 [♪ ominous sting] 252 00:11:51,296 --> 00:11:54,341 [narrator] So when Jodi goes missing, almost everybody has a theory. 253 00:11:54,424 --> 00:11:55,800 [echoing phone ringing] 254 00:11:55,884 --> 00:11:58,011 [Sean] I put a police officer on a phone, 255 00:11:58,094 --> 00:11:59,846 a line that he would answer and take all the leads 256 00:11:59,930 --> 00:12:02,057 that, that the community would give him. 257 00:12:02,140 --> 00:12:05,352 [♪ foreboding music playing] 258 00:12:05,435 --> 00:12:08,188 Some of them told us she was in Hawaii 259 00:12:08,271 --> 00:12:12,234 and things like that, and you know, those went to the bottom of the pile. 260 00:12:12,901 --> 00:12:14,861 [narrator] But there's one lead in particular 261 00:12:14,945 --> 00:12:17,739 that the investigators are eager to follow up on. 262 00:12:17,822 --> 00:12:22,035 Jodi's boyfriend Colby, who's coincidentally in Texas. 263 00:12:22,118 --> 00:12:23,370 ♪♪ 264 00:12:23,453 --> 00:12:28,166 I think it's fair to say that when someone like Jodi disappears, 265 00:12:29,209 --> 00:12:33,046 the fingers always go to the boyfriend first. 266 00:12:34,130 --> 00:12:36,132 Jodi and Colby, at that point, 267 00:12:36,216 --> 00:12:39,177 they had been together for five or six years. 268 00:12:39,261 --> 00:12:42,097 He was sticking around here, 269 00:12:42,180 --> 00:12:45,308 waiting for her to finish up at Cowley, 270 00:12:45,392 --> 00:12:48,853 and he said he was in Texas visiting his brother. 271 00:12:48,937 --> 00:12:51,940 [♪ intense music playing] 272 00:12:53,650 --> 00:12:56,987 [narrator] Investigators get to work confirming Colby's story. 273 00:12:58,780 --> 00:13:02,617 [Sean] He returned to town, and he was interviewed by one of our detectives. 274 00:13:02,701 --> 00:13:05,495 We would encourage him, "Look, nobody's in trouble. 275 00:13:05,579 --> 00:13:09,291 "If, if you guys got something going on that you needed to be together, 276 00:13:09,374 --> 00:13:11,918 "and you don't want the Sanderholms to know, you can tell us. 277 00:13:12,002 --> 00:13:13,169 We just wanna find her." 278 00:13:13,253 --> 00:13:15,422 He's like, "I don't-- I have no idea where she's at." 279 00:13:16,298 --> 00:13:19,885 He acted very concerned about where, where she might be. 280 00:13:19,968 --> 00:13:21,803 ♪♪ 281 00:13:21,887 --> 00:13:25,015 [narrator] The anxiety that has taken over the Sanderholm family 282 00:13:25,098 --> 00:13:27,726 has become too much to bear. 283 00:13:27,809 --> 00:13:31,062 Saturday morning, around 9 o'clock, 284 00:13:31,146 --> 00:13:34,274 my mother-in-law came over to the house. 285 00:13:34,357 --> 00:13:37,277 And at that point, she said, 286 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,530 "You need to go to the hospital. You have not slept. 287 00:13:40,614 --> 00:13:43,742 "You are not eating. You are not drinking water. 288 00:13:43,825 --> 00:13:45,410 You are now three days overdue." 289 00:13:45,493 --> 00:13:46,995 ♪♪ 290 00:13:48,538 --> 00:13:49,581 So, I went to the hospital... 291 00:13:49,664 --> 00:13:51,124 [echoing EKG beeping] 292 00:13:51,207 --> 00:13:52,918 [echoing click] 293 00:13:53,001 --> 00:13:55,629 ...and they said, "Yep, you're in active labor." 294 00:13:55,712 --> 00:13:56,838 [beeping continues] 295 00:13:56,922 --> 00:13:59,925 God gives you a baby when you need a baby. 296 00:14:01,218 --> 00:14:04,679 And God knew we needed that baby 297 00:14:04,763 --> 00:14:08,475 right then to keep my mom sane, to keep my mom alive. 298 00:14:08,558 --> 00:14:12,062 [baby crying] 299 00:14:13,355 --> 00:14:17,192 [Emma Mayfield] I am Emma Jolea Mayfield, and I am Jodi Sanderholm's niece. 300 00:14:18,526 --> 00:14:20,362 Her name was Jodi LeAnn, 301 00:14:21,446 --> 00:14:25,450 and my middle name is Jolea as a combination of Jodi and LeAnn. 302 00:14:25,909 --> 00:14:29,663 She was so excited to be an aunt, and she told my mom 303 00:14:29,746 --> 00:14:31,706 that as soon as she found out that she was in labor, 304 00:14:31,790 --> 00:14:34,626 that she was gonna drive all the way up to Kansas City to come be with her. 305 00:14:35,168 --> 00:14:37,587 My mom tried so hard to be strong for everyone, 306 00:14:37,671 --> 00:14:40,882 and she recently told me that she didn't even tell her mom 307 00:14:40,966 --> 00:14:42,717 that she was in labor because she just wanted her 308 00:14:42,801 --> 00:14:44,678 to focus on my aunt. 309 00:14:44,761 --> 00:14:46,680 And I just can't imagine 310 00:14:46,763 --> 00:14:49,474 keeping such an important part of your life a secret 311 00:14:49,558 --> 00:14:51,601 because you don't wanna take away from the tragedy 312 00:14:51,685 --> 00:14:53,687 that's happening in your life. 313 00:14:56,856 --> 00:14:58,608 [birds chirping] 314 00:14:58,692 --> 00:15:02,320 [narrator] The birth of Jodi's niece provides a small glimmer of hope 315 00:15:02,404 --> 00:15:04,281 for the Sanderholm family. 316 00:15:05,031 --> 00:15:08,868 And nearly 24 hours after Jodi's disappearance, 317 00:15:08,952 --> 00:15:11,204 investigators double back to a person 318 00:15:11,288 --> 00:15:14,124 Jodi's teammates mentioned the day before. 319 00:15:14,207 --> 00:15:16,251 There's a Tigerettes fan 320 00:15:16,334 --> 00:15:19,838 who the girls think is a little too interested. 321 00:15:19,921 --> 00:15:23,341 [Sean] They start pointing a finger at this guy, Justin Thurber, 322 00:15:23,425 --> 00:15:26,595 because they had-- would see him almost every day 323 00:15:26,678 --> 00:15:27,971 around the dance line practice. 324 00:15:28,054 --> 00:15:30,807 "He watches us practice." 325 00:15:30,891 --> 00:15:32,559 And then, they tell us stories. 326 00:15:32,642 --> 00:15:35,353 "He followed me home." "He was following me, 327 00:15:35,437 --> 00:15:37,939 and I had to pull into the police station to get away from him." 328 00:15:38,023 --> 00:15:40,942 ♪♪ 329 00:15:41,026 --> 00:15:44,070 We knew Justin as kind of a petty criminal. 330 00:15:44,613 --> 00:15:47,866 He would get caught with some weed, or shoplifting. 331 00:15:48,825 --> 00:15:52,120 He'd get into arguments with his girlfriend, and we'd get called. 332 00:15:52,203 --> 00:15:54,873 [narrator] And it just so happens that the police 333 00:15:54,956 --> 00:15:56,875 have had a recent run-in with Justin. 334 00:15:56,958 --> 00:16:00,629 Justin called around to the bondsmen 335 00:16:00,712 --> 00:16:02,672 to ask 'em if he can work for them 336 00:16:02,756 --> 00:16:05,258 to go out and, uh, capture bond jumpers. 337 00:16:06,468 --> 00:16:08,929 He had this dream of being Dog the Bounty Hunter. 338 00:16:09,012 --> 00:16:12,182 But they said, "If you capture somebody that has jumped our bond, 339 00:16:12,265 --> 00:16:14,726 "we'll pay you a little something if you bring 'em in, 340 00:16:14,809 --> 00:16:17,103 but we can't take you on the payroll." 341 00:16:17,187 --> 00:16:20,315 Now, about a week before Jodi disappeared, 342 00:16:21,983 --> 00:16:25,779 we got a call at a house that there was an individual there 343 00:16:25,862 --> 00:16:27,864 claiming to be an Ark City detective. 344 00:16:28,657 --> 00:16:31,034 Justin thought there was somebody in this house 345 00:16:31,117 --> 00:16:33,328 that had jumped bond for one of the local bondsmen, 346 00:16:33,411 --> 00:16:35,705 -and so he was trying to get in there. -[doorbell ringing] 347 00:16:35,789 --> 00:16:36,790 [police radio chatter] 348 00:16:36,873 --> 00:16:38,500 [narrator] Ark City Police charge Thurber 349 00:16:38,583 --> 00:16:41,461 for impersonating a police officer. 350 00:16:42,045 --> 00:16:44,756 [Sean] That was the only kind of contact we'd had with Justin. 351 00:16:45,966 --> 00:16:49,386 [narrator] Justin's criminal history doesn't sound major league, 352 00:16:49,469 --> 00:16:52,556 but he's one of the only leads the investigators have got, 353 00:16:52,639 --> 00:16:55,100 -and they're going to have to find him. -[phone ringing] 354 00:16:55,183 --> 00:16:58,520 But just then, another unexpected tip comes in. 355 00:16:59,521 --> 00:17:03,024 Someone saw Jodi in her car on the day she went missing. 356 00:17:06,403 --> 00:17:08,196 A witness that knew Jodi, 357 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,783 see her at Kansas Avenue, which turns into 166. 358 00:17:11,866 --> 00:17:13,743 [♪ intense music playing] 359 00:17:13,827 --> 00:17:16,037 She sees Jodi in the passenger seat 360 00:17:16,121 --> 00:17:17,956 and a male driving who she didn't recognize. 361 00:17:18,623 --> 00:17:21,334 She tries to call Jodi, and Jodi doesn't answer the phone. 362 00:17:21,418 --> 00:17:22,794 [phone ringing] 363 00:17:24,170 --> 00:17:26,756 [narrator] A broken routine, a missed call, 364 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:29,885 and a small-town mystery that has everyone on edge. 365 00:17:30,886 --> 00:17:32,846 Who is the stranger behind the wheel, 366 00:17:32,929 --> 00:17:35,140 and where was he taking Jodi? 367 00:17:36,057 --> 00:17:39,311 The answers lead the investigators on a wild chase 368 00:17:39,394 --> 00:17:41,855 to unimaginable places 369 00:17:41,938 --> 00:17:44,608 and an unthinkable end. 370 00:17:44,691 --> 00:17:46,693 [♪ dramatic sting] 371 00:17:50,989 --> 00:17:53,992 [♪ intense music playing] 372 00:17:54,910 --> 00:17:56,953 [narrator] It's January 6th, 373 00:17:57,037 --> 00:18:00,540 and Jodi Sanderholm has been missing for more than a day. 374 00:18:01,625 --> 00:18:03,919 The authorities are racing to follow up on a tip 375 00:18:04,002 --> 00:18:05,795 about a possible sighting of Jodi 376 00:18:05,879 --> 00:18:08,882 heading out of town with a male mystery driver. 377 00:18:09,799 --> 00:18:11,343 But first, 378 00:18:11,426 --> 00:18:14,221 they need to pay a visit to Justin Thurber, the dance line fan 379 00:18:14,304 --> 00:18:17,182 who Jodi's teammates think could be involved. 380 00:18:18,016 --> 00:18:20,435 ♪♪ 381 00:18:20,518 --> 00:18:23,605 [Sean] So, Lieutenant Bert goes up and knocks on the door. 382 00:18:24,731 --> 00:18:28,652 Says to him, "Justin, look, we need to talk some more about your case last week 383 00:18:28,735 --> 00:18:30,445 "for impersonating a police officer. Can I come in 384 00:18:30,528 --> 00:18:32,614 and talk to you about that?" 385 00:18:32,697 --> 00:18:35,742 And so, he comes in, and he asks a few questions. 386 00:18:35,825 --> 00:18:37,244 [investigator] Pretty girl, dark hair... 387 00:18:37,327 --> 00:18:40,080 [narrator] When investigators ask him about his whereabouts, 388 00:18:40,163 --> 00:18:42,249 Justin has a quick answer. 389 00:18:43,333 --> 00:18:46,795 [Sean] "I was out past the state lake with some guys." 390 00:18:46,878 --> 00:18:48,547 And he mentions their names. 391 00:18:48,630 --> 00:18:51,341 "And we got stuck in the mud. 392 00:18:51,967 --> 00:18:54,594 "And I got angry. We had a little argument. 393 00:18:54,678 --> 00:18:56,137 "So, I just started walking home, 394 00:18:56,221 --> 00:18:58,223 and when I got by the state lake, I called my dad." 395 00:19:00,267 --> 00:19:03,019 And his dad was there in the house and said, "Yeah, 396 00:19:03,103 --> 00:19:05,188 "he called me, and he was wet and muddy. 397 00:19:05,272 --> 00:19:07,023 And so, I went out and picked him up." 398 00:19:08,441 --> 00:19:12,112 [narrator] Justin seems to have an alibi the day Jodi went missing, 399 00:19:12,195 --> 00:19:16,116 and investigators have no reason to believe that his father would lie. 400 00:19:17,409 --> 00:19:20,078 The detectives make a note to double check his story 401 00:19:20,161 --> 00:19:23,123 and turn back to Jodi's boyfriend, Colby. 402 00:19:23,206 --> 00:19:26,710 I was convinced it had to be somebody she knew in some way, 403 00:19:26,793 --> 00:19:28,753 had some attachment to. 404 00:19:28,837 --> 00:19:32,257 And which is why the first suspect's gonna be a significant other, a boyfriend. 405 00:19:32,340 --> 00:19:34,384 ♪♪ 406 00:19:35,010 --> 00:19:36,845 [narrator] But Colby's digital footprint proves 407 00:19:36,928 --> 00:19:39,848 he was in Dallas, just like he said. 408 00:19:39,931 --> 00:19:41,933 [Sean] Agent Falletti at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation 409 00:19:42,017 --> 00:19:44,227 was able to determine that Colby was, 410 00:19:44,311 --> 00:19:47,230 at least his phone, was in Dallas, Texas. 411 00:19:47,898 --> 00:19:50,066 Then, you confirm that with the people he was with. 412 00:19:50,150 --> 00:19:53,320 Then, you confirm that with credit card receipts 413 00:19:53,403 --> 00:19:56,698 where he's purchased gas or food in that area, 414 00:19:56,781 --> 00:19:58,491 and not in anywhere near Ark City. 415 00:20:00,493 --> 00:20:03,872 There was nothing to indicate that he was involved in any way. 416 00:20:03,955 --> 00:20:06,750 [♪ eerie music playing] 417 00:20:07,292 --> 00:20:09,127 [narrator] So, with Colby in the clear 418 00:20:09,211 --> 00:20:11,755 and no new information about the mystery car, 419 00:20:12,672 --> 00:20:15,550 it seems like investigators are at a dead end. 420 00:20:15,634 --> 00:20:19,304 [♪ "Falling" by Madison Malone playing] 421 00:20:19,387 --> 00:20:22,515 ♪ I can only do so much ♪ 422 00:20:23,183 --> 00:20:26,436 ♪ I can only say so much... ♪ 423 00:20:26,519 --> 00:20:29,814 [Michael Schwanke] As soon as we begin our coverage on that Saturday, 424 00:20:29,898 --> 00:20:32,984 it feels like we had been there for, for weeks 425 00:20:33,068 --> 00:20:37,072 because of, of how the community was rallying around Jodi. 426 00:20:38,406 --> 00:20:40,825 [reporter] In the meantime, a community pulls together, 427 00:20:40,909 --> 00:20:43,328 praying for Jodi's safe return at nightly vigils. 428 00:20:44,246 --> 00:20:47,165 And there was still this sense of hope, 429 00:20:47,249 --> 00:20:49,626 um, and it was, it was real. It was-- 430 00:20:49,709 --> 00:20:51,127 There was a real hope, 431 00:20:51,211 --> 00:20:54,297 um, in the initial hours after her disappearance, 432 00:20:54,381 --> 00:20:57,467 because everyone, everyone was working together to find her. 433 00:20:57,551 --> 00:20:59,219 [♪ somber music playing] 434 00:20:59,302 --> 00:21:02,889 [narrator] By the following day, there's still no sign of Jodi. 435 00:21:02,973 --> 00:21:05,433 She has been missing for two days. 436 00:21:05,517 --> 00:21:07,978 Her family is getting desperate. 437 00:21:08,061 --> 00:21:11,064 I was just on the phone constantly with my mom. 438 00:21:11,147 --> 00:21:14,609 "Have you heard from her? Have you heard from her?" She was not answering. 439 00:21:15,235 --> 00:21:18,154 [narrator] Hoping to provide Jodi's family with answers, 440 00:21:18,238 --> 00:21:21,533 detectives look deeper into the one person with a record, 441 00:21:21,616 --> 00:21:23,410 Justin Thurber. 442 00:21:23,493 --> 00:21:27,872 Agent Falletti went about clearing those three friends 443 00:21:27,956 --> 00:21:31,293 that he said he was with east of town by the state lake. 444 00:21:31,376 --> 00:21:33,044 One was in Texas. 445 00:21:33,128 --> 00:21:35,964 We confirmed that with cell phone records, 446 00:21:36,047 --> 00:21:37,841 credit card receipts. 447 00:21:37,924 --> 00:21:40,802 One was getting a marriage license at the courthouse. 448 00:21:41,678 --> 00:21:43,221 I think one of 'em said, "He's a weirdo. 449 00:21:43,305 --> 00:21:45,181 I don't-- I don't have anything to do with him." 450 00:21:45,265 --> 00:21:46,725 So, he's lied to us now. 451 00:21:47,142 --> 00:21:49,352 [narrator] With his alibi falling apart, 452 00:21:49,436 --> 00:21:52,480 the investigators zero in on Justin Thurber. 453 00:21:52,564 --> 00:21:55,692 If he does have something to do with Jodi's disappearance, 454 00:21:55,775 --> 00:21:59,070 it's critical that they get him in custody as soon as they can. 455 00:21:59,154 --> 00:22:00,196 [siren wailing] 456 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,450 Asked the county attorney, "Is, is there a warrant filed yet 457 00:22:03,533 --> 00:22:05,994 on the impersonated police officer?" 458 00:22:06,536 --> 00:22:09,039 And he made sure there was. 459 00:22:09,122 --> 00:22:11,291 So, we arrested him on that warrant... 460 00:22:11,374 --> 00:22:14,419 [♪ dark music playing] 461 00:22:14,502 --> 00:22:16,713 ...and we developed probable cause 462 00:22:16,796 --> 00:22:19,174 to get a search warrant on his house 463 00:22:19,257 --> 00:22:21,676 based on all these little things that are pointing towards him. 464 00:22:24,346 --> 00:22:26,139 We collected his Adidas shoes, 465 00:22:27,098 --> 00:22:29,184 the clothes that he said he had on that night, 466 00:22:30,352 --> 00:22:32,354 and some other pieces of evidence. 467 00:22:33,980 --> 00:22:35,857 [narrator] Investigators won't be able to hold Thurber 468 00:22:35,941 --> 00:22:38,860 for long on this minor unrelated charge, 469 00:22:39,819 --> 00:22:43,031 and they still have nothing that links him to Jodi's disappearance. 470 00:22:44,407 --> 00:22:48,119 We contacted Thurber's ex-girlfriend because we thought maybe she might give us 471 00:22:48,203 --> 00:22:50,580 some insight into his thinking. 472 00:22:50,664 --> 00:22:54,125 [echoing ringback tone] 473 00:22:54,209 --> 00:22:58,088 He had gotten violent with her, both physically and sexually. 474 00:22:58,171 --> 00:23:00,549 [♪ foreboding music playing] 475 00:23:00,632 --> 00:23:03,093 So, that's starting to cause us some concern 476 00:23:03,176 --> 00:23:05,095 that there's a propensity here 477 00:23:05,178 --> 00:23:07,722 in, in Justin Thurber we didn't know about. 478 00:23:09,182 --> 00:23:11,977 And so, I asked one of the lieutenants, 479 00:23:12,060 --> 00:23:13,562 "Put her in your car, 480 00:23:13,645 --> 00:23:15,981 ask her to take you everywhere he likes to go." 481 00:23:16,064 --> 00:23:18,400 ♪♪ 482 00:23:18,483 --> 00:23:20,986 So, they go to a few places in town. 483 00:23:21,945 --> 00:23:24,239 But then, she takes him east of town, 484 00:23:24,322 --> 00:23:26,783 out into the Kaw Wildlife Area, 485 00:23:26,866 --> 00:23:28,368 and they go down a dirt road. 486 00:23:28,451 --> 00:23:30,078 [♪ tense music playing] 487 00:23:30,161 --> 00:23:32,622 And she points back into that area, 488 00:23:33,373 --> 00:23:35,625 and she says, "He told me one time 489 00:23:36,293 --> 00:23:39,045 "that you could kill somebody and put 'em in there... 490 00:23:40,422 --> 00:23:42,257 and they'd never find the body." 491 00:23:42,757 --> 00:23:43,758 ♪♪ 492 00:23:44,467 --> 00:23:46,511 Well, of course, that perks up our radar. 493 00:23:47,387 --> 00:23:48,847 First thing we did Sunday morning, 494 00:23:48,930 --> 00:23:52,058 after breaking the briefing, is send out a detective 495 00:23:52,142 --> 00:23:54,269 from the Arkansas City Police Department 496 00:23:54,352 --> 00:23:56,396 to the Kaw Wildlife Area. 497 00:23:56,479 --> 00:23:58,607 [police radio chatter] 498 00:23:58,690 --> 00:24:00,775 And then, it was only a few minutes, 499 00:24:00,859 --> 00:24:04,362 and he called me on his cell phone and said, 500 00:24:04,446 --> 00:24:06,197 "We need to get the trackers out here 501 00:24:07,490 --> 00:24:10,911 "because there's shoe impressions that have an Adidas emblem in 'em, 502 00:24:10,994 --> 00:24:13,496 "just like the Adidas that we collected 503 00:24:13,580 --> 00:24:15,665 from Justin Thurber's house." 504 00:24:15,749 --> 00:24:19,085 [♪ eerie music playing] 505 00:24:20,712 --> 00:24:22,672 And he goes, "And there's another shoe impression 506 00:24:22,756 --> 00:24:25,675 that looks like it could be a flip-flop." 507 00:24:25,759 --> 00:24:28,345 ♪♪ 508 00:24:30,138 --> 00:24:33,975 [narrator] With no time to lose, investigators send a tracking expert. 509 00:24:37,354 --> 00:24:39,022 [Ron Cannon] My name's Ron Cannon. 510 00:24:39,105 --> 00:24:42,108 I was a senior instructor for the county trackers. 511 00:24:43,652 --> 00:24:45,111 ♪♪ 512 00:24:45,195 --> 00:24:46,655 Tracking's a lost art. 513 00:24:46,738 --> 00:24:48,990 [insects chirping] 514 00:24:49,074 --> 00:24:51,368 It's viable 515 00:24:51,451 --> 00:24:53,870 for collecting evidence at crime scenes. 516 00:24:53,954 --> 00:24:56,122 ♪♪ 517 00:24:56,206 --> 00:24:57,707 [Sean] So, they pull into the state lake, 518 00:24:57,791 --> 00:25:00,794 and they get down to a camping-style toilet. A pit toilet. 519 00:25:02,254 --> 00:25:04,130 And they see the remnants, 520 00:25:04,214 --> 00:25:07,926 muddy remnants of the same shoe impression they're following. 521 00:25:08,009 --> 00:25:10,887 ♪♪ 522 00:25:12,347 --> 00:25:15,058 [Ron] And, um, very low lighting. 523 00:25:15,141 --> 00:25:17,143 So, I got my flashlight out, shined it around, 524 00:25:17,227 --> 00:25:19,354 I walked over to the first toilet. 525 00:25:20,188 --> 00:25:21,856 [door creaking] 526 00:25:21,940 --> 00:25:24,609 ♪♪ 527 00:25:24,693 --> 00:25:26,194 And that's where I noticed 528 00:25:26,278 --> 00:25:30,198 Brian Sanderholm's mail sticking up. 529 00:25:30,282 --> 00:25:32,033 ♪♪ 530 00:25:32,117 --> 00:25:35,620 [narrator] The Sanderholm's missing mail, that small break in Jodi's routine 531 00:25:35,704 --> 00:25:39,499 that first set off her family's alarm bells, has been found. 532 00:25:40,542 --> 00:25:43,712 And it's an awful sign of more to come. 533 00:25:44,963 --> 00:25:47,924 It's just evil. Pure evil. 534 00:25:48,008 --> 00:25:49,301 There's no reason for it. 535 00:25:49,384 --> 00:25:50,677 [♪ dramatic crescendo] 536 00:25:54,848 --> 00:25:57,225 [♪ intense music playing] 537 00:25:57,309 --> 00:26:00,645 [narrator] It's been two days since Jodi Sanderholm disappeared, 538 00:26:00,729 --> 00:26:03,690 last seen in her own car being driven out of town 539 00:26:03,773 --> 00:26:05,108 by an unknown male. 540 00:26:07,944 --> 00:26:12,532 After learning that Justin Thurber likes to visit an isolated nature preserve 541 00:26:12,616 --> 00:26:15,201 in the same direction Jodi was going, 542 00:26:15,285 --> 00:26:17,996 law enforcement has uncovered the first evidence 543 00:26:18,079 --> 00:26:20,582 of Jodi's possible whereabouts. 544 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,755 [Sean] It was addressed to Brian and Cindy Sanderholm, had their address on it. 545 00:26:27,672 --> 00:26:32,510 Just laying on top of, of feces and, and just floating there. 546 00:26:32,594 --> 00:26:34,721 ♪♪ 547 00:26:36,681 --> 00:26:39,643 We knew that Jodi's routine was 548 00:26:39,726 --> 00:26:42,354 go straight to the mailbox, get the mail, 549 00:26:44,314 --> 00:26:46,107 then go inside her house. 550 00:26:46,983 --> 00:26:49,653 [narrator] That missing mail, the first clue 551 00:26:49,736 --> 00:26:53,698 that tipped off Jodi's family that something was wrong, has been found. 552 00:26:53,782 --> 00:26:57,035 Chief Wallace races to the scene. 553 00:26:57,118 --> 00:27:00,830 So then, I looked in the other toilet down in there, 554 00:27:00,914 --> 00:27:03,541 and I saw a, a flip-flop. 555 00:27:03,625 --> 00:27:05,043 [shutter snaps] 556 00:27:05,126 --> 00:27:07,170 I said, "There's a flip-flop down there." 557 00:27:07,254 --> 00:27:08,547 Just one. 558 00:27:08,630 --> 00:27:10,799 And then I saw 559 00:27:10,882 --> 00:27:12,509 what could've been a leotard 560 00:27:12,592 --> 00:27:15,136 when they-- we started dragging out stuff. 561 00:27:16,096 --> 00:27:19,558 And I look back in there, and I see the color orange. 562 00:27:19,641 --> 00:27:21,810 I'm like, "There's something orange back there." 563 00:27:21,893 --> 00:27:23,603 I said, "What can that be?" 564 00:27:23,687 --> 00:27:26,523 And I-- so, I asked the fire chief who was there. 565 00:27:26,606 --> 00:27:28,358 I said, "Hook that, let's see what that is." 566 00:27:28,441 --> 00:27:30,652 And as he's pulling it in, it hits me what it is. 567 00:27:30,735 --> 00:27:31,820 [shutter snaps] 568 00:27:31,903 --> 00:27:33,822 That's her Tigerette jacket. 569 00:27:33,905 --> 00:27:36,575 [♪ dramatic music playing] 570 00:27:36,658 --> 00:27:37,826 [police radio chatter] 571 00:27:37,909 --> 00:27:40,537 Investigators collect all that evidence, 572 00:27:40,620 --> 00:27:43,748 the mail, and all the clothes, and the shoes, 573 00:27:43,832 --> 00:27:46,251 and we call it a night. 574 00:27:46,334 --> 00:27:49,754 [♪ somber music playing] 575 00:27:49,838 --> 00:27:53,466 Came back in like at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning just to get prepared, 576 00:27:53,550 --> 00:27:55,635 'cause I knew I needed to contact the Sanderholms. 577 00:27:57,888 --> 00:28:00,640 [Brian] Well, that's about when the world shifted on us. 578 00:28:03,268 --> 00:28:05,645 Once-- Once we found out that 579 00:28:05,729 --> 00:28:09,566 the mail and her clothes were in the outhouse, that was-- 580 00:28:09,649 --> 00:28:13,320 there was no reason for that other than something terrible. 581 00:28:20,827 --> 00:28:22,746 [narrator] Now a potential crime scene, 582 00:28:22,829 --> 00:28:25,206 the Kaw Wildlife Area becomes the focus 583 00:28:25,290 --> 00:28:27,125 of a determined search. 584 00:28:27,208 --> 00:28:30,629 At first, it seems like the trail has gone cold. 585 00:28:31,546 --> 00:28:33,215 But, on the second day of the search, 586 00:28:33,298 --> 00:28:36,509 the authorities bring in a dive team to scan the lake. 587 00:28:37,844 --> 00:28:40,555 [Sean] So, they come to the state lake, 588 00:28:40,639 --> 00:28:44,351 and put the boat in, turned on their sonar... 589 00:28:44,434 --> 00:28:45,769 [sonar beeping] 590 00:28:45,852 --> 00:28:48,021 ...and in about 30 seconds, they said, 591 00:28:48,104 --> 00:28:49,648 [echoing beep] 592 00:28:49,731 --> 00:28:50,815 "Her car's right there." 593 00:28:50,899 --> 00:28:52,525 [shutter snapping] 594 00:28:52,609 --> 00:28:55,779 And they sent in their diver 595 00:28:55,862 --> 00:28:58,365 and took photographs of the car. 596 00:28:58,448 --> 00:28:59,449 [shutter snaps] 597 00:29:01,910 --> 00:29:04,037 [narrator] With the discovery of Jodi's car, 598 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,624 the fear that her body may be inside grows. 599 00:29:07,707 --> 00:29:11,670 As police prepare to drag the car out from the depths of the lake, 600 00:29:11,753 --> 00:29:14,381 they brace themselves for the answer. 601 00:29:14,464 --> 00:29:16,258 [♪ eerie music playing] 602 00:29:16,341 --> 00:29:19,219 [Sean] We pull it out of, of the lake. 603 00:29:20,845 --> 00:29:21,846 There's no body. 604 00:29:23,890 --> 00:29:25,141 She wasn't in the car. 605 00:29:27,978 --> 00:29:31,690 [narrator] With no human remains, the tracking team keeps looking, 606 00:29:31,773 --> 00:29:33,858 and they soon pick up on a new trail. 607 00:29:35,527 --> 00:29:37,487 We had two impressions together, 608 00:29:37,571 --> 00:29:39,823 and we were looking for a flip-flop and a tennis shoe, 609 00:29:39,906 --> 00:29:40,907 and they were together. 610 00:29:40,991 --> 00:29:43,368 [♪ intense music playing] 611 00:29:44,661 --> 00:29:45,662 [shutter snaps] 612 00:29:47,205 --> 00:29:51,167 Right where I'm standing, this area was damp soil. 613 00:29:51,918 --> 00:29:55,171 So, instead of seeing scuff marks coming down off the road, 614 00:29:55,255 --> 00:29:59,217 now we're starting to pick up enough footprint impression 615 00:29:59,301 --> 00:30:01,887 that we can see the geometric design in the footwear. 616 00:30:04,848 --> 00:30:07,225 [Sean] One of the things that they informed us 617 00:30:07,309 --> 00:30:09,227 by radio and cell phone is that, 618 00:30:09,311 --> 00:30:13,565 "Hey, um, we've stopped seeing the, the flip-flops." 619 00:30:14,816 --> 00:30:18,069 And we just get into the woods, and the flip-flops disappear. 620 00:30:18,153 --> 00:30:21,823 But the Adidas continues in-- deeper into the woods. 621 00:30:21,907 --> 00:30:24,618 [♪ eerie music playing] 622 00:30:24,701 --> 00:30:27,454 [Ron] So, we're gonna come off the road into the wooded area 623 00:30:27,996 --> 00:30:32,459 and start continuing the footprint trail into the woods. 624 00:30:34,044 --> 00:30:36,713 [narrator] And then, a gruesome discovery. 625 00:30:41,468 --> 00:30:43,678 Okay, this is-- this is the location. 626 00:30:45,847 --> 00:30:47,724 The tree limbs and brush were all gathered 627 00:30:47,807 --> 00:30:50,769 in a, in a pretty large area right here, 628 00:30:50,852 --> 00:30:52,354 and then brought together. 629 00:30:54,147 --> 00:30:55,982 The first thing that we saw when we got that close 630 00:30:56,066 --> 00:30:58,568 was her hand sticking out of the brush pile. 631 00:31:01,988 --> 00:31:04,366 Well, there was a big hesitation with all four of the trackers. 632 00:31:05,325 --> 00:31:07,786 Obviously, we'd found Jodi. 633 00:31:07,869 --> 00:31:10,038 And, um, so, we just took a moment. 634 00:31:10,705 --> 00:31:11,706 Um... 635 00:31:11,790 --> 00:31:14,084 [♪ dramatic crescendo] 636 00:31:14,542 --> 00:31:15,669 Like I'm doing right now. 637 00:31:15,752 --> 00:31:18,880 [♪ somber music playing] 638 00:31:18,964 --> 00:31:20,590 Pretty emotional for all four of us. 639 00:31:22,008 --> 00:31:26,555 So, we, we didn't wanna bring any evidence into the crime scene, 640 00:31:26,638 --> 00:31:27,806 so we stopped right here. 641 00:31:29,683 --> 00:31:32,894 [narrator] The trackers call in what they found. 642 00:31:32,978 --> 00:31:34,938 [Sean] This is when I get the phone call, 643 00:31:35,021 --> 00:31:36,439 "Chief, we found her." 644 00:31:37,983 --> 00:31:39,859 It was so wooded, 645 00:31:39,943 --> 00:31:43,363 such a remote, thick area, they had to cut down trees 646 00:31:43,446 --> 00:31:46,283 to get their vehicles in there 647 00:31:46,366 --> 00:31:49,286 to process the scene properly. 648 00:31:49,369 --> 00:31:51,246 And also in the course of that, 649 00:31:51,329 --> 00:31:54,374 we found an area where there was a hair tie, 650 00:31:54,457 --> 00:31:55,500 some hair, 651 00:31:55,584 --> 00:32:00,171 um, and it just looked like a scuffle had occurred right there. 652 00:32:00,255 --> 00:32:02,799 She was underneath a pile of tree logs. 653 00:32:02,883 --> 00:32:04,926 Um, the reason they saw her 654 00:32:05,010 --> 00:32:08,513 is because she had one hand sticking out of this pile of logs. 655 00:32:10,265 --> 00:32:12,267 It was like she was saying, "Here I am. Come find me." 656 00:32:13,184 --> 00:32:15,395 And when they removed all the logs from her, 657 00:32:15,478 --> 00:32:17,772 she was posed. No clothes on. 658 00:32:20,483 --> 00:32:23,862 The crime scene was the most horrific crime scene I've ever seen. 659 00:32:24,613 --> 00:32:28,325 And I've seen humans do a lot of awful things to each other. 660 00:32:29,993 --> 00:32:32,329 ♪ This is the end ♪ 661 00:32:33,538 --> 00:32:37,459 ♪ This is the end of it ♪ 662 00:32:37,542 --> 00:32:40,212 Before her body ever left the scene, 663 00:32:40,295 --> 00:32:42,505 I go straight to the Sanderholms' house, 664 00:32:42,589 --> 00:32:45,634 and I sit down with them, and I tell them, 665 00:32:45,717 --> 00:32:49,262 "We have found Jodi, and she's deceased in the Kaw Wildlife Area. 666 00:32:49,721 --> 00:32:53,058 "Right now, we're working the crime scene. 667 00:32:53,141 --> 00:32:55,352 "As soon as we can, we're gonna get her outta there, 668 00:32:55,435 --> 00:32:57,604 "and we're gonna send her up for an autopsy 669 00:32:57,687 --> 00:32:59,773 and to collect evidence that's on her body." 670 00:33:01,816 --> 00:33:04,861 [♪ somber music playing] 671 00:33:04,945 --> 00:33:07,906 [Brian] Well, I can remember it, but I can't tell you 672 00:33:08,615 --> 00:33:10,492 any thoughts that I had in my mind. 673 00:33:10,575 --> 00:33:12,994 It was just all over with. 674 00:33:18,083 --> 00:33:20,377 It was probably three years 675 00:33:20,460 --> 00:33:22,546 after that point in time 676 00:33:22,629 --> 00:33:24,714 where my life was just a blur. 677 00:33:27,259 --> 00:33:30,762 I had learned that her body had been found, 678 00:33:30,845 --> 00:33:33,390 and that she was naked. 679 00:33:33,473 --> 00:33:37,185 And so, obviously to me, I knew that she had been sexually assaulted. 680 00:33:39,145 --> 00:33:41,064 I remember... 681 00:33:41,147 --> 00:33:43,775 a thought of like absolute horror. 682 00:33:43,858 --> 00:33:45,318 "How did I bring a baby 683 00:33:45,402 --> 00:33:48,780 "into this awful, scary world? 684 00:33:48,863 --> 00:33:51,992 "How could I bring a baby into this world 685 00:33:52,075 --> 00:33:54,160 where there's rape and murder?" 686 00:33:55,996 --> 00:33:59,249 [narrator] The news of the discovery of Jodi's body is crushing. 687 00:34:00,041 --> 00:34:02,878 But can any of this be linked to Justin Thurber? 688 00:34:03,128 --> 00:34:05,046 [♪ intense music playing] 689 00:34:05,130 --> 00:34:07,674 Once again, they turn to the trackers, 690 00:34:07,757 --> 00:34:10,802 who discover a critical new piece of evidence. 691 00:34:11,928 --> 00:34:14,890 [Sean] We sent the trackers over to the mailbox area, 692 00:34:14,973 --> 00:34:17,517 and the area around Jodi's house. 693 00:34:18,977 --> 00:34:22,105 Well, they found shoe impressions across the street from Jodi's house 694 00:34:22,939 --> 00:34:26,484 that were consistent with the shoe impressions they were finding 695 00:34:26,568 --> 00:34:29,696 out at the Kaw Wildlife scene. 696 00:34:29,779 --> 00:34:30,780 [shutter snaps] 697 00:34:31,656 --> 00:34:34,034 That told us that that's probably where he abducted her, 698 00:34:34,117 --> 00:34:35,619 right at her house. 699 00:34:36,953 --> 00:34:40,916 [narrator] On June 9, 2007, police charge Justin Thurber 700 00:34:40,999 --> 00:34:43,793 for the rape and murder of Jodi Sanderholm. 701 00:34:43,877 --> 00:34:45,378 [gate shutting] 702 00:34:45,754 --> 00:34:48,882 But what the detectives and Jodi's family soon learn 703 00:34:48,965 --> 00:34:52,385 is that there are more horrific secrets to uncover. 704 00:34:52,469 --> 00:34:55,639 Secrets that suggest Justin is even more dangerous 705 00:34:55,722 --> 00:34:57,891 than anyone could believe. 706 00:34:57,974 --> 00:35:01,478 I learned that Justin Thurber had stalked me 707 00:35:01,561 --> 00:35:03,897 from the time that I was 13 years old. 708 00:35:03,980 --> 00:35:08,443 ♪♪ 709 00:35:12,322 --> 00:35:15,325 [♪ somber music playing] 710 00:35:16,159 --> 00:35:19,204 [birds chirping] 711 00:35:20,205 --> 00:35:21,873 [narrator] Police finally know the fate 712 00:35:21,957 --> 00:35:24,251 of 19-year-old Jodi Sanderholm 713 00:35:24,334 --> 00:35:28,129 after finding her body concealed in a nearby nature preserve, 714 00:35:29,256 --> 00:35:32,759 viciously assaulted and murdered by Justin Thurber. 715 00:35:35,095 --> 00:35:36,763 As soon as they discover Jodi, 716 00:35:36,846 --> 00:35:40,225 there are two storylines. 717 00:35:40,308 --> 00:35:43,353 One still centers around Jodi, 718 00:35:43,436 --> 00:35:47,232 and who she was, the impact she had on the community, 719 00:35:47,941 --> 00:35:51,361 because immediately, the town shifts into mourning. 720 00:35:52,696 --> 00:35:55,073 [mourner] She was very committed 721 00:35:55,156 --> 00:35:57,659 and one of the most consistent people 722 00:35:57,742 --> 00:35:59,536 that I've ever met in my life. 723 00:36:00,328 --> 00:36:04,291 Then, the other storyline turns to the suspect in this case 724 00:36:04,916 --> 00:36:07,794 and the absolute brutality as the details 725 00:36:07,878 --> 00:36:10,380 start to come out... 726 00:36:12,132 --> 00:36:13,592 in how he killed Jodi. 727 00:36:13,675 --> 00:36:16,177 [♪ intense music playing] 728 00:36:17,470 --> 00:36:21,349 It was discovered that her cause of death was ligature strangulation 729 00:36:21,933 --> 00:36:24,811 because she still had the marks of either a cord 730 00:36:24,895 --> 00:36:26,688 or a piece of clothing, 731 00:36:26,771 --> 00:36:29,357 something thin that was used to strangle her. 732 00:36:29,441 --> 00:36:32,903 Also, one of her major arteries in her neck 733 00:36:32,986 --> 00:36:34,029 had been severed. 734 00:36:34,613 --> 00:36:38,325 What the pathologist surmised is that she was hit hard enough 735 00:36:38,408 --> 00:36:41,161 to twist her head enough to tear that artery. 736 00:36:41,244 --> 00:36:44,164 It was also evident that he had tortured her and raped her. 737 00:36:44,247 --> 00:36:45,707 ♪♪ 738 00:36:45,790 --> 00:36:47,292 [narrator] Why would a casual fan 739 00:36:47,375 --> 00:36:51,004 and an apparent stranger target and kill Jodi? 740 00:36:52,547 --> 00:36:55,759 And I remember I told my mom, "I know the name, 741 00:36:55,842 --> 00:36:57,510 I-I-- but I can't put a face to him." 742 00:36:57,594 --> 00:36:59,930 And she said, "You graduated with him. 743 00:37:00,013 --> 00:37:01,556 Go get your yearbook out." 744 00:37:03,308 --> 00:37:06,019 [narrator] Little does the Sanderholm family realize, 745 00:37:06,102 --> 00:37:10,023 Justin Thurber has been nearby, lurking. 746 00:37:11,191 --> 00:37:14,569 I went to school with him from kindergarten on. 747 00:37:14,653 --> 00:37:17,656 He was in-in my elementary school. 748 00:37:18,323 --> 00:37:20,492 I graduated high school with him. 749 00:37:21,952 --> 00:37:24,537 But I didn't really know him. 750 00:37:24,621 --> 00:37:27,624 [Brian] He just lived two blocks to the south of us. 751 00:37:27,707 --> 00:37:28,875 We knew nothing of him. 752 00:37:30,168 --> 00:37:32,295 [narrator] As prosecutors build their case, 753 00:37:32,379 --> 00:37:34,714 they make a chilling discovery. 754 00:37:35,507 --> 00:37:37,926 Jodi was not the only Sanderholm 755 00:37:38,009 --> 00:37:40,262 Justin Thurber was stalking. 756 00:37:40,345 --> 00:37:43,807 I learned that Justin Thurber had stalked me 757 00:37:43,890 --> 00:37:46,059 from the time that I was 13 years old. 758 00:37:46,142 --> 00:37:48,353 [♪ intense eerie music playing] 759 00:37:48,436 --> 00:37:50,689 He started walking over to our house, 760 00:37:51,273 --> 00:37:53,942 sitting in the wooded area across the street from our house, 761 00:37:54,025 --> 00:37:57,529 watching us through the windows, watching me swim in the backyard. 762 00:38:00,198 --> 00:38:03,493 There were a lot of other females 763 00:38:03,577 --> 00:38:05,203 who he made uncomfortable, 764 00:38:05,287 --> 00:38:08,748 who he threatened, who he watched. 765 00:38:08,832 --> 00:38:11,459 I mean, this was definitely repetitive behavior, 766 00:38:11,543 --> 00:38:12,752 and it was escalating. 767 00:38:12,836 --> 00:38:14,129 [chains rattling] 768 00:38:14,212 --> 00:38:18,091 [narrator] In February 2009, Justin Thurber stands trial 769 00:38:18,174 --> 00:38:21,386 for the rape and murder of Jodi Sanderholm. 770 00:38:21,469 --> 00:38:25,432 Both cases entitled State of Kansas versus Justin Eugene Thurber. 771 00:38:27,809 --> 00:38:29,477 [narrator] The prosecution presents evidence 772 00:38:29,561 --> 00:38:33,356 of how Justin quietly terrorized Ark City's young women. 773 00:38:33,857 --> 00:38:35,734 His obsession growing 774 00:38:36,568 --> 00:38:39,905 until things finally went too far with Jodi Sanderholm. 775 00:38:41,072 --> 00:38:44,284 In addition to the footprints outside her mailbox, 776 00:38:44,367 --> 00:38:46,995 they are able to prove that he was following her 777 00:38:47,078 --> 00:38:48,705 on the day she was murdered. 778 00:38:48,788 --> 00:38:52,667 The day that Jodi disappeared, we stopped him on campus 779 00:38:52,751 --> 00:38:54,502 and wrote him a traffic ticket. 780 00:38:54,586 --> 00:38:56,922 He would later claim he was never on campus, 781 00:38:57,005 --> 00:38:59,174 but we had video evidence that he was. 782 00:38:59,257 --> 00:39:02,135 [♪ eerie music playing] 783 00:39:02,219 --> 00:39:04,137 [narrator] But the final piece of evidence, 784 00:39:04,221 --> 00:39:08,683 the one no one can argue against, comes from Jodi herself. 785 00:39:09,893 --> 00:39:13,855 In an attempt to save her own life, Jodi scratched her attacker, 786 00:39:13,939 --> 00:39:17,400 and that person's DNA was discovered under her fingernails. 787 00:39:18,944 --> 00:39:22,447 We later sent that to the KBI lab in Topeka , 788 00:39:23,531 --> 00:39:25,533 where they did a DNA test. 789 00:39:26,493 --> 00:39:28,828 What the KBI Lab concluded 790 00:39:28,912 --> 00:39:31,039 in their analysis 791 00:39:31,122 --> 00:39:33,750 is that it had to be Justin Thurber. 792 00:39:33,959 --> 00:39:36,920 By Jodi's actions, she was able to show 793 00:39:37,754 --> 00:39:39,673 who her killer was. 794 00:39:39,756 --> 00:39:42,509 That right hand, as good as you can get. 795 00:39:42,592 --> 00:39:45,136 [♪ dramatic music playing] 796 00:39:45,220 --> 00:39:47,639 "We unanimously find the defendant 797 00:39:47,722 --> 00:39:50,392 guilty of capital murder of Jodi Sanderholm." 798 00:39:51,351 --> 00:39:52,435 ♪♪ 799 00:39:53,186 --> 00:39:57,148 Justin Thurber was convicted of first degree murder 800 00:39:57,232 --> 00:40:00,527 with aggravating circumstances, aggravated rape, 801 00:40:02,112 --> 00:40:03,613 aggravated kidnapping, 802 00:40:05,115 --> 00:40:07,367 and sentenced to death 803 00:40:07,450 --> 00:40:09,744 by a jury of his peers. 804 00:40:09,828 --> 00:40:11,871 ♪♪ 805 00:40:11,955 --> 00:40:14,165 [narrator] Jodi's determined spirit left a trail 806 00:40:14,249 --> 00:40:16,418 that helped catch her killer. 807 00:40:16,501 --> 00:40:18,587 It began with the mail she clung in her hand 808 00:40:18,670 --> 00:40:20,714 when Thurber abducted her, 809 00:40:20,797 --> 00:40:24,259 culminating with her defiant final show of strength. 810 00:40:28,930 --> 00:40:31,766 [Michael] In the end, it was Jodi herself 811 00:40:31,850 --> 00:40:33,643 that led police to her killer. 812 00:40:34,811 --> 00:40:37,522 A girl who decides at some point 813 00:40:38,356 --> 00:40:41,735 in this crime that it was time to fight, and she did. 814 00:40:43,904 --> 00:40:47,282 By the time this airs, it will be 17 years since my sister died , 815 00:40:47,365 --> 00:40:49,951 and he is still sitting on death row in Kansas , 816 00:40:50,035 --> 00:40:53,914 and we are, um, in the middle of his appeal. 817 00:40:55,749 --> 00:40:58,668 I've gotten to a point where I don't allow him 818 00:40:58,752 --> 00:41:02,339 to control my thoughts, control my mind. 819 00:41:03,131 --> 00:41:06,051 I don't even really think about him that much. 820 00:41:06,134 --> 00:41:08,136 I think about my sister every day. 821 00:41:13,683 --> 00:41:16,186 [Emma] I know that if my aunt was here today, 822 00:41:16,269 --> 00:41:18,021 she would be my biggest supporter. 823 00:41:19,022 --> 00:41:21,858 For pageants, I spread the word about Jodi's Law, 824 00:41:21,942 --> 00:41:24,444 which is a law that my family actually created and passed 825 00:41:24,527 --> 00:41:26,154 in Kansas and New Mexico, 826 00:41:26,238 --> 00:41:30,242 that broadens the definition of stalking and makes it more easy to prosecute. 827 00:41:32,035 --> 00:41:35,664 And so, no one has to go through what my aunt went through, 828 00:41:36,164 --> 00:41:39,584 and that we can make more women and men safe 829 00:41:39,668 --> 00:41:41,294 from any predator. 830 00:41:42,087 --> 00:41:44,089 [♪ somber music playing] 831 00:41:46,216 --> 00:41:49,177 [Brian] Not knowing what she became, 832 00:41:49,261 --> 00:41:50,679 what she was gonna become, 833 00:41:51,221 --> 00:41:53,098 whether or not she'd have children now 834 00:41:53,181 --> 00:41:55,934 or have a big fancy career, 835 00:41:56,017 --> 00:41:58,687 or whatever she'd be doing now. 836 00:41:58,770 --> 00:42:01,690 I just-- I wanna know. 837 00:42:01,773 --> 00:42:02,774 ♪♪ 838 00:42:04,276 --> 00:42:06,444 It was very hard, but... 839 00:42:08,238 --> 00:42:10,615 tried to find closure somewhere, but... 840 00:42:12,450 --> 00:42:13,952 I just don't. 841 00:42:17,872 --> 00:42:21,167 ♪ I don't know where my head is lately ♪ 842 00:42:21,251 --> 00:42:23,545 ♪ Have I lost my mind? ♪ 843 00:42:23,628 --> 00:42:25,922 ♪♪ 844 00:42:26,006 --> 00:42:27,007 [exhale] 845 00:42:31,386 --> 00:42:34,848 ♪ But I know that I have a secret ♪ 846 00:42:34,931 --> 00:42:37,142 ♪ And it's only mine ♪ 847 00:42:38,810 --> 00:42:41,813 [♪ vocalizing] 848 00:42:45,066 --> 00:42:48,445 ♪ And the only way to find me ♪ 849 00:42:48,528 --> 00:42:52,490 ♪ Is to go beneath the lies ♪ 850 00:42:54,242 --> 00:42:56,036 [♪ music fades out]