Zahn: SHE WAS THE PICTURE OF INNOCENCE.
THIS IS MY HOME! YAY!
Zahn: HE WAS A MONSTER.
McBride: THERE WAS A POWER WITH DOING EVIL THINGS,
AND IT GAVE HIM A THRILL.
AND HE MIGHT HAVE TAKEN THEIR DAUGHTER.
WERE YOU TREMBLING INSIDE?
I DON'T THINK YOU CAN KEEP MOVING FORWARD
IF YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE EVIL PART.
WILL THEY FIND A PREDATOR IN TIME?
AND COULD HE STRIKE AGAIN?
Houck: WE NEEDED TO GET INTO HIS BRAIN.
WE WERE NOT GONNA LET THIS GUY BEAT US.
[ HORNS HONKING ]
[ HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING ]
ONCE YOU KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO YOU...
THE POLICE COME TO VISIT YOU.
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]
--Captions by VITAC-- www.vitac.com
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
I'M PAULA ZAHN.
TONIGHT, WE'RE ON THE CASE IN CORVALLIS, OREGON,
WHERE THE DISAPPEARANCE OF A COLLEGE CO-ED
WOULD LAUNCH HER MOM AND DAD ON A JOURNEY
THAT WOULD TEST THEIR FAITH AND LOVE,
BRINGING THEM FACE-TO-FACE WITH ANY PARENT'S WORST NIGHTMARE.
Cammy: IT WAS THIS BEAUTIFUL, SUNNY SPRING DAY,
LIKE YOU SEE IN OREGON.
THE SUN WAS BRIGHT. THE SKY WAS BRIGHT BLUE.
MAY 24, 2004.
THIRD-GRADE TEACHER CAMMY WILBERGER
WAS DRIVING HOME FROM SCHOOL.
SHE CALLED HER 19-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, BROOKE,
WHO WAS HOME ON SUMMER BREAK.
HER BROTHER ANSWERED THE PHONE,
AND SO I SAID, "WHERE'S BROOKE?"
AND HE SAID, "WE DON'T KNOW. WE CAN'T FIND HER.
THE POLICE ARE HERE."
AND WHEN HE SAID THAT, I WAS JUST DEVASTATED.
CAMMY'S MIND STARTED RACING. WHERE COULD HER DAUGHTER BE?
SHE KNEW BROOKE HAD GONE TO WORK THAT MORNING.
NOW SHE HAD VANISHED.
THIS IS MY HOME! YAY!
BROOKE WAS THE FIFTH OF CAMMY AND GREG WILBERGER'S SIX KIDS --
THE SWEET BUT STUBBORN ONE.
SHE WAS A VERY SPIRITED YOUNG GIRL, WASN'T SHE?
YEAH, EVEN FROM THE TIME SHE WAS LITTLE.
WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG, SHE ALWAYS WANTED A HORSE.
AND ONE DAY, I LOOKED OUT
AND SHE HAD DRUG THE PIANO BENCH OUTSIDE INTO THE FRONT LAWN,
AND SHE HAD A SADDLE, AND SHE WAS IN THE SADDLE
AND HAD HER LITTLE SISTER ON THE SADDLE WITH HER,
AND THEY WERE RIDING AWAY.
SO, SHE GOT THE HORSE AFTER ALL.
SHE DID. [ LAUGHS ]
THAT DETERMINATION HAD STUCK WITH BROOKE THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL.
THE STRAIGHT-"A" STUDENT, THE SOCCER STAR --
SHE WAS SOMEONE WHO WOULD STAND UP FOR WHAT SHE BELIEVED IN --
HER STRONG MORMON FAITH, HER FAMILY, HER FRIENDS.
SHE WAS ALWAYS CHEERING EVERYBODY ON
AND MAKING EVERYBODY HAPPY.
SO SHE WAS A VERY POSITIVE GIRL?
REALLY POSITIVE.
BROOKE'S SISTER MANAGED AN APARTMENT COMPLEX IN CORVALLIS,
A 40-MILE DRIVE FROM HER PARENTS' HOME.
BROOKE HAD A SUMMER JOB THERE DOING MAINTENANCE WORK.
SHE HADN'T WANTED TO GO TO CORVALLIS THAT DAY.
SHE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO CLEAN THE LAMP POSTS
AND WORK IN THE SPIDERS AND THINGS.
IF YOU COULD TURN BACK THE CLOCKS, RIGHT,
YOU JUST WOULD FIND A HUNDRED REASONS
NOT TO PUT HER IN CORVALLIS....NOT TO ENCOURAGE HER TO GO.
STILL, BROOKE NEEDED THE MONEY FOR COLLEGE.
SHE LEFT FOR WORK.
BROOKE WENT OUT, THEN SHE CAME BACK,
AND SHE GOES, "JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU 'I LOVE YOU.'"
BROOKE'S BROTHER-IN-LAW CALLED POLICE
TWO HOURS AFTER SHE DISAPPEARED FROM THE PARKING LOT.
I WAS WALKING OUT THE DOOR, AND THE LIEUTENANT SAID,
"HEY, WE'VE GOT A MISSING GIRL."
Zahn: CORVALLIS POLICE DETECTIVE SHAWN HOUCK.
TYPICALLY, THAT MEANS WE'VE GOT A GIRL
WHO'S PROBABLY CRASHED ON SOMEBODY'S COUCH
'CAUSE SHE WAS DRUNK THE NIGHT BEFORE.
Zahn: BUT WITHIN MINUTES OF ARRIVING AT THE APARTMENT COMPLEX,
DETECTIVE HOUCK KNEW THAT BROOKE
WAS NOT SLEEPING IT OFF ON A COUCH SOMEWHERE.
Houck: THERE WAS CONCERN,
SOME QUIZZICAL LOOKS ON SOME POLICE OFFICERS' FACES.
THEY WERE LIKE, "HEY, SHAWN, WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM HERE."
Zahn: THE DETECTIVE LEARNED BROOKE'S SISTER AND BROTHER-IN-LAW
HAD BEEN SEARCHING FOR HER FOR TWO HOURS.
THEY HAD LAST SEEN HER CLEANING LAMP FIXTURES IN THE PARKING LOT
WITH A BUCKET AND SOME RAGS.
NOW BROOKE'S BUCKET LAY ABANDONED
IN A CORNER OF THE PARKING LOT.
Houck: HER WORK TOOLS WERE LEFT NEAR WHERE SHE WAS WORKING
ALONG WITH HER FLIP-FLOPS.
THAT MEANS SHE WOULD HAVE WALKED OUT OF THERE BAREFOOTED,
AND THAT'S JUST NOT REASONABLE.
Zahn: WHAT'S MORE, ONE OF BROOKE'S FLIP FLOPS WAS BROKEN,
AS IF THERE HAD BEEN A STRUGGLE.
BROOKE'S CAR AND CELLPHONE WERE STILL AT THE COMPLEX,
HER WALLET, TOO.
Houck: IT WAS APPARENT THAT THERE WAS SOMEBODY ELSE INVOLVED IN THIS.
THIS WASN'T A WALK-AWAY. THIS WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
SO, WE RALLIED THE TROOPS --
POLICE OFFICERS, DEPUTIES, STATE TROOPERS.
Zahn: OFFICERS FANNED OUT ACROSS THE APARTMENT COMPLEX.
Zahn: THREE RESIDENTS TOLD POLICE
THEY HAD HEARD SOMETHING STRANGE --
A WOMAN'S SHORT, SHARP SCREAM
SOMETIME BETWEEN 10:00 AND 10:30 THAT MORNING,
BUT NOT ONE OF THEM HAD THOUGHT TO CALL 911.
AMAZINGLY, NONE OF THE NEARLY 250 RESIDENTS POLICE INTERVIEWED
HAD SEEN ANYTHING.
HOW COULD BROOKE HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM SUCH A PUBLIC SPACE
WITHOUT A SINGLE WITNESS?
Chilcote: SHE HAD TO BE TAKEN VERY, VERY QUICKLY IN A VEHICLE,
AND THERE WAS, WELL, I GUESS, A HIGH PROBABILITY
IT WAS PROBABLY A VAN THAT TOOK HER.
Zahn: IT WOULD BE HARD TO SEE A GIRL
STRUGGLING THROUGH TINTED WINDOWS IN THE BACK OF A VAN,
HARDER STILL TO HEAR HER SCREAM ONCE INSIDE.
WHILE POLICE KNOCKED ON DOORS, DESPERATE FOR CLUES,
BROOKE'S FATHER DROVE FRANTICALLY TOWARDS CORVALLIS.
AND WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND
AS YOU WERE MAKING THAT DRIVE?
JUST ALL KINDS OF THOUGHTS -- YOU JUST DON'T KNOW.
YOU JUST WONDER.
I REMEMBER DRIVING AS FAST AS I COULD.
WHEN I GOT THERE, THERE WAS POLICE ALL OVER
AND THEY WERE ALREADY QUESTIONING KIDS.
DETECTIVE HOUCK EVEN INTERROGATED
BROOKE'S BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
AND HE DIDN'T GO EASY ON THEM.
THEY WERE POTENTIAL SUSPECTS.
WE WOULD BE NEGLECTFUL IF WE HADN'T DONE THAT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S PAINFUL, BUT WE HAD TO DO IT.
THAT MUST HAVE BEEN AN AWFUL THING
FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO GO THROUGH.
THAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART BECAUSE, AS PARENTS,
YOU ALWAYS TAKE CARE OF YOUR CHILDREN.
BUT WE REALIZED WE ONLY HAD A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ENERGY,
AND SO WE FOCUSED AND BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER
TO FOCUS ON FINDING BROOKE.
THAT BECAME OUR SLOGAN.
DETECTIVE SHAWN HOUCK WAS JUST AS DETERMINED.
WE WERE NOT GONNA LET THIS GUY BEAT US.
IT JUST WASN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
Zahn: AS THE SUN SET, VOLUNTEERS BEGAN PICKING THEIR WAY
THROUGH NEARBY PONDS AND PARKS, LOOKING FOR ANY SIGN OF BROOKE.
HER DAD JOINED THEM.
THEY SEARCHED THROUGH THE NIGHT.
WERE YOU TREMBLING INSIDE
THE WHOLE TIME YOU PARTICIPATED IN THIS SEARCH?
NO, BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T REALIZE,
REALLY, WHAT YOU WERE DOING.
I MEAN, IT WAS LIKE YOU WERE GONNA FIND HER.
THE NIGHT HAD TURNED COLD.
IT WAS HARD TO THINK OF BROOKE
OUT THERE SOMEWHERE IN THE DARK WITH HER ABDUCTOR.
COMING UP...
POLICE ZERO IN ON A SUSPECT.
WAS IT THE MAN WHO ABDUCTED BROOKE?
Iboshi: THEY WENT IN WITH CONCUSSION GRENADES,
PUT HANDCUFFS ON THE FAMILY, AND TOOK THEM DOWN AT GUNPOINT.
BROOKE WILBERGER DISAPPEARED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.
A DAY LATER, POSTERS WITH BROOKE'S PICTURE
WERE PLASTERED ALL OVER TOWN.
FOR HER PARENTS, IT WAS A CRUEL IRONY.
EVEN THOUGH THEY SAW THEIR DAUGHTER'S FACE EVERYWHERE,
THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHEN OR IF THEY WOULD EVER SEE HER AGAIN.
Cammy: THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE A BROOKE HUG.
SHE WOULD SMILE, AND SHE WOULD HUG YOU SO TIGHT.
AND ONE DAY, I WAS JUST DEVASTATED,
AND I JUST CRIED OUT, "I NEED A BROOKE HUG."
DESPERATE FOR A LEAD IN THE CASE,
POLICE QUESTIONED GREG AND CAMMY WILBERGER
OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE DAYS AFTER SHE DISAPPEARED.
AND SOMETIMES THEY WOULD ASK US THE SAME THINGS OVER,
AND THEN I REMEMBER THINKING,
"THEY'VE ALREADY ASKED US THAT."
IT WAS HARD ON THE WILBERGERS,
BUT GREG'S BROTHER, A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE IN ARIZONA,
HAD GIVEN THE FRIGHTENED PARENTS SIMPLE ADVICE --
TALK TO THE COPS AND KEEP BROOKE'S NAME ALIVE.
WE WOULD DO ANYTHING TO BRING BROOKE HOME.
Zahn: CAMMY AND GREG WILBERGER HELD REGULAR NEWS CONFERENCES.
WE LOVE HER.
WE LOVE HER SO MUCH, AND ALL OF HER FAMILY WOULD SAY THAT,
AND WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR HER TO BE BACK WITH US.
Zahn: AS THE DAYS WENT BY,
THE PUBLIC RESPONDED TO THE WILBERGERS' PLEAS.
YOU HAD AN INCREDIBLE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT
AS THE SEARCH STARTED OVER THOSE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS.
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER
ABOUT SOME OF THE GESTURES YOU EXPERIENCED?
Greg: WELL, JUST HOW KIND PEOPLE WERE
AND HOW MANY CAME TO HELP.
EVERY MORNING, AN ARMY OF VOLUNTEERS
MOBILIZED TO SEARCH NEARBY WOODS AND GULLIES,
BUT THERE WAS NO SIGN OF BROOKE.
AND ON THE 11th DAY, THE SEARCH WAS CALLED OFF.
WE KNEW IT WAS COMING.
ON AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL, IT HAD TO BE CRUSHING.
IT WAS TIME FOR US TO GO BACK HOME
AND TO TRY TO START PUTTING OUR LIVES TOGETHER.
A LIFE WITHOUT BROOKE HUGS, AT LEAST FOR NOW.
CAMMY ONLY LET HERSELF CRY A FEW MINUTES EACH DAY.
SHE WANTED TO THINK ABOUT HER DAUGHTER WITH SMILES, NOT TEARS.
MEANTIME, DETECTIVE HOUCK'S SEARCH FOR BROOKE
WAS BARELY BEGINNING.
HE CARRIED A PHOTO OF HER IN HIS WALLET.
HE WAS CONVINCED THE TEEN'S SINGULAR KINDNESS
HAD BEEN HER UNDOING.
Houck: I DO BELIEVE THAT SHE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE OFFERED HELP
TO WHOEVER ABDUCTED HER,
AND THAT PERSON JUST HAPPENED TO, YOU KNOW,
BE A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING.
Zahn: A WOLF WHO HAD BEEN HUNTING FOR YOUNG PREY THAT MORNING.
THE APARTMENT COMPLEX WAS STEPS AWAY
FROM THE OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS.
THIS IS THE MOST LIKELY PLACE TO FIND, YOU KNOW,
A COLLEGE-AGE FEMALE.
Zahn: INVESTIGATORS KNEW THAT KIND OF PREDATORY BEHAVIOR
WAS OFTEN THE MARK OF A SERIAL OFFENDER.
THEY BEGAN A MASSIVE DRAGNET
OF REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS IN THE AREA.
I BELIEVE WE CONTACTED A TOTAL OF RIGHT AROUND 700 PEOPLE
AND QUIZZED THEM ABOUT THEIR WHEREABOUTS AT THAT TIME,
WHAT THEY WERE UP TO.
Zahn: POLICE WERE ALSO TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH
THE THOUSANDS OF TIPS POURING IN FROM THE PUBLIC.
IT WAS ALMOST OVERWHELMING.
TIP NUMBER 537 --
A WOMAN WALKING THROUGH A SECLUDED AREA OF CAMPUS,
LESS THAN A MILE FROM THE APARTMENT COMPLEX
WHERE BROOKE HAD DISAPPEARED,
SAYS SHE'D BEEN APPROACHED THAT SAME MORNING
BY A MAN DRIVING A GREEN VAN.
Chilcote: HE WANTED HER TO COME OVER AND LOOK AT A MAP HE HAD.
SHE BACKED AWAY
AND JUST HAD REALLY, REALLY BAD FEELINGS ABOUT THAT ONE.
Zahn: AND THEN ANOTHER PROMISING TIP --
A WOMAN WALKING BY HERSELF THROUGH AN ISOLATED PARKING LOT,
AGAIN, JUST YARDS FROM THE APARTMENT COMPLEX
WHERE BROOKE HAD BEEN SNATCHED,
SAID A MAN IN A GREEN VAN HAD STOPPED HER FOR DIRECTIONS.
Houck: SHE'S ON HER PHONE, TALKING, AT THE TIME,
AND SHE'S TALKING TO HER MOM.
AND HER MOM SAYS, "HEY, DON'T GET OFF THE PHONE WITH ME.
YOU STAY ON THE PHONE WITH ME UNTIL THAT GUY LEAVES."
Zahn: BUT WAS THERE A CLUE, A PATTERN?
INVESTIGATORS WEREN'T SURE.
Houck: WE RECEIVED TIPS ON, I THINK,
WHITE VANS, ORANGE VANS, AND GREEN VANS.
AND, SO, HERE WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT VANS ROLLING AROUND,
AND WE'RE RUNNING PLATES, AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIND OUT
WHO THE R.O.'s -- THE REGISTERED OWNERS -- ARE.
Zahn: FAR MORE INTERESTING WAS A TIP PHONED IN
BY A DETECTIVE IN A NEIGHBORING COUNTY.
HE SAID, "CHECK OUT THIS MAN" -- 27-YEAR-OLD SUNG KOO KIM,
ALSO KNOWN AS "THE PANTY BANDIT."
WHEN THE INFORMATION CAME OUT THAT HE HAD BEEN STEALING
THOUSANDS OF PAIRS OF WOMEN'S UNDERWEAR AND BRAS
AND OTHER MATERIALS,
AND STEALING THEM FROM COLLEGE CAMPUSES,
THE LIGHT WENT OFF.
EVERYBODY SAID, "LOOKIT, THIS GUY IS FISHY."
Zahn: JOHN HAROLDSON,
THE BENTON COUNTY PROSECUTOR WHO WAS HANDLING BROOKE'S CASE,
SAID THERE WERE GOOD REASONS TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT HIM.
HE WAS INTERESTED IN AT LEAST ONE GIRL
ON THE OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY SWIM TEAM,
AND SHE WAS BLOND, AND YOU COULD SAY
THAT SHE BORE A STRONG RESEMBLANCE TO BROOKE WILBERGER.
Zahn: THE WOMAN WAS ALSO A FREQUENT VISITOR
TO THE APARTMENT COMPLEX WHERE BROOKE HAD DISAPPEARED.
IN FACT, KIM HAD STOLEN DRYER LINT FROM THE LAUNDRY ROOM THERE
A FEW WEEKS BEFORE.
THEN, WHEN POLICE SEARCHED KIM'S COMPUTER,
THEY FOUND A TREASURE TROVE OF EVIDENCE --
IMAGES OF TORTURED AND MUTILATED WOMEN.
AND THERE WAS SOMETHING EQUALLY DISTURBING
POLICE SAID KIM HAD WRITTEN.
IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT HE HAD A DOCUMENT ON HIS COMPUTER
WHICH WAS ENTITLED "OSU.doc."
Zahn: DID "OSU" STAND FOR "OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY"?
THE DOCUMENT LISTED A VARIETY OF VIOLENT ACTS --
"RAPE, STRANGLE, HANG BY NECK."
I WAS SHOCKED BY THE DESCRIPTION OF THE AMOUNT AND THE NATURE.
Zahn: KIM'S MOTHER SAYS SHE WAS EMBARRASSED
BY THE MATERIAL ON HER SON'S COMPUTER,
BUT SHE SAID IT SHOWED HE WAS MENTALLY ILL,
A FAR GREATER RISK TO HIMSELF THAN OTHERS.
NEVER TOUCHED ANY WOMAN IN HIS WHOLE LIFE.
Zahn: BUT THE POLICE WEREN'T SO SURE.
THEY HAD KIM UNDER SURVEILLANCE.
IT WAS FIVE DAYS AFTER BROOKE DISAPPEARED.
THEY SUSPECTED HE MIGHT BE HOLDING HER PRISONER,
SO THEY DECIDED TO MAKE THEIR MOVE.
Kim: ABOUT 3:00 IN THE MORNING,
THERE WAS SUDDENLY A BIG EXPLOSION.
Zahn: KIM'S MOTHER SAYS SHE WAS FAST ASLEEP
WHEN AN OREGON STATE POLICE SWAT TEAM BURST INTO HER HOME.
ONE OF THE MEN WITH, LIKE, ARMY HELMET, WITH GOGGLE,
AND KICKED MY DOOR, KICKED BEDROOM DOOR,
AND POINTED GUN AT ME.
Iboshi: THEY WENT IN WITH CONCUSSION GRENADES,
PUT HANDCUFFS ON THE FAMILY, AND TOOK THEM DOWN AT GUNPOINT.
Zahn: ACCORDING TO KIM'S MOTHER,
A RUBBER BULLET HIT HER HUSBAND AT CLOSE RANGE.
THEN, THE COPS RANSACKED THE HOUSE LOOKING FOR BROOKE,
BUT THERE WAS NO SIGN OF HER.
A WEEK AFTER THE RAID, A COUNTY PROSECUTOR WROTE,
"KIM IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS,
AND WE NEED TO GET HIM OFF THE STREETS."
Man: ANY COMMENT ABOUT BEING A PERSON OF INTEREST
IN THE CASE IN CORVALLIS?
NO COMMENTS YET.
Zahn: ON JUNE 21st, KIM WAS BACK IN COURT
TO FACE NEW CHARGES ON THE ORIGINAL BURGLARY CASE.
A JUDGE SET HIS BAIL AT $10 MILLION TO KEEP HIM BEHIND BARS.
DID INVESTIGATORS FINALLY HAVE BROOKE'S KIDNAPPER BEHIND BARS?
SHOCKINGLY, DETECTIVE HOUCK DIDN'T THINK SO.
TO HIM, THE PANTY BANDIT WAS A DISTRACTION, NOT A SUSPECT.
Houck: READING THROUGH ALL THE DOCUMENTS, THE POLICE REPORTS,
HE RAN AWAY FROM AUTHORITY FIGURES.
HE WASN'T AGGRESSIVE IN THAT MANNER.
HE DIDN'T ABDUCT OR SEXUALLY ASSAULT OR EVEN HARASS WOMEN.
Zahn: HOUCK WAS RIGHT.
KIM HAD AN IRONCLAD ALIBI FOR THE DAY OF THE KIDNAPPING.
WHAT'S MORE, KIM PASSED A LIE-DETECTOR TEST,
WHERE HE SAID HE HAD NEVER HAD SEXUAL CONTACT WITH ANYONE,
LET ALONE BROOKE WILBERGER.
EVENTUALLY, HE WOULD BE CONVICTED ON MULTIPLE BURGLARY
AND A CHILD-PORNOGRAPHY CHARGE,
BUT HE WAS OFFICIALLY CLEARED IN THE WILBERGER CASE.
INVESTIGATORS WERE NOW BACK TO SQUARE ONE.
THEIR MOST PROMISING LEAD HAD JUST GONE UP IN SMOKE.
Haroldson: YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER THINKING TO MYSELF,
"WHAT IF WE NEVER FIND THE PERSON?"
THE THOUGHT STARTS TO CREEP INTO THE BACK OF YOUR MIND OF,
"WOW. ARE WE GONNA GET A BREAK?"
Zahn: DETECTIVE HOUCK WAS ALSO TROUBLED
BY A FRIGHTENING POSSIBILITY.
COULD BROOKE'S KIDNAPPER BE READY TO STRIKE AGAIN?
COMING UP...
A PREDATOR ON THE LOOSE.
Girl: HE GOT OUT OF THE CAR, PULLED ME OUT OF THE CAR,
AND HE PULLED MY PANTS DOWN.
SIX MONTHS AFTER SHE DISAPPEARED,
THE WAR ROOM DEDICATED TO FINDING BROOKE WILBERGER
HAD BEEN DISMANTLED,
BUT DETECTIVE SHAWN HOUCK WOULDN'T GIVE UP.
HE STILL CHASED EVERY TIP THAT CAME IN.
NOW THE INVESTIGATION WAS ABOUT TO GET DARKER
AND MUCH MORE URGENT.
TAKING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING FROM A LOCATION IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
IS A PRETTY BALLSY ACT.
SO YOU'RE REALLY EITHER HIGH ON DOPE,
OR YOU'RE JUST -- [SCOFFS]
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE JUST NOT AFRAID.
Zahn: THE MORE TIME PASSED,
THE MORE CERTAIN DETECTIVE HOUCK WAS
THAT BROOKE'S KIDNAPPER WOULD STRIKE AGAIN.
Houck: I WONDER IF SOMETHING'S GONNA HAPPEN.
IF HE HAS ANY SERIAL TENDENCIES, HE'S GOT TO ACT OUT AGAIN.
Zahn: MONTHS AFTER THEIR DAUGHTER DISAPPEARED,
THE WILBERGERS HELD FAST TO THEIR MISSION --
TO FIND BROOKE AND BRING HER HOME.
THEY CONTINUED TO GIVE INTERVIEWS.
THEY SOLD PINK "HOPE" BRACELETS IN TOWN.
THEY OFFERED REWARD MONEY.
THEY STAYED STRONG FOR THEIR DAUGHTER AND FOR EACH OTHER.
Cammy: WHEN I'D BE HAVING A DOWN TIME,
HE'D BE RIGHT THERE TO KIND OF LIFT ME UP AND SUPPORT ME.
AND THEN WHEN HE'DBE HAVING A DOWN TIME,
I'D, "BUT THINK ABOUT THIS."
YOU NEED TO HAVE SOMEBODY THERE TO HELP YOU.
AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED
A THOUSAND MILES AWAY IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO.
IT WAS 6:00 P.M., NOVEMBER 29, 2004 --
A FEW DAYS AFTER THANKSGIVING.
A BLOND COLLEGE STUDENT
WAS WALKING HOME THROUGH THE FREEZING SNOW.
OUR VICTIM IS WALKING DOWN THIS STREET
WHEN OUR OFFENDER IS PARKED RIGHT HERE.
HE EXITS HIS VEHICLE.
HE COMES AROUND BEHIND OUR VICTIM,
GRABS HER AT KNIFEPOINT,
STICKING THE KNIFE BEHIND HER NECK,
AND THROWS HER INTO THE VEHICLE.
IT'S THAT QUICK.
DOES IT WITHIN SECONDS, NO ONE SEES ANYTHING.
Zahn: THE MAN TOLD THE STUDENT TO TAKE OFF HER CLOTHES AND HER SHOES,
THEN HE DROVE HER TO A PARKING LOT,
WHERE HE ASSAULTED HER AT KNIFEPOINT.
THEN HE TIED HER UP WITH HER SHOELACES AND HER SCARF.
AT ONE POINT, THE OFFENDER LIGHTS A CRACK PIPE
AND THEN FORCES OUR VICTIM TO INHALE THE NARCOTIC.
SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A YOUNG GIRL --
A GOOD, WHOLESOME GIRL --
THAT HASN'T EVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
Zahn: AS INNOCENT AS SHE WAS, THE YOUNG WOMAN WAS TOUGH.
SHE TOOK NOTE OF WHERE THEY WERE PARKED,
THE CAR MODEL, THE COLOR OF THE UPHOLSTERY.
SHE NOTICED SOME KIND OF MONKEY TOY STUCK ON THE WINDSHIELD.
COULD THIS MAN REALLY BE A DAD?
SHE BEGGED FOR HER LIFE AS THE MAN STARTED UP THE CAR AGAIN.
HE PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT.
AT THIS POINT,
OUR OFFENDER TELLS OUR VICTIM NOT TO DO ANYTHING STUPID.
Zahn: THEN THE MAN GOT OUT OF THE CAR.
THE VICTIM TOLD INVESTIGATORS WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
THE TERRIFIED YOUNG WOMAN RAN BACK OUT INTO THE COLD.
WELL, WE WERE DRIVING DOWN THE STREET,
AND WE SEEN THIS GIRL
RUNNING DOWN THE ROAD WITH NO CLOTHES ON.
Zahn: DARA FINKS AND HER DAUGHTERS COULDN'T BELIEVE THEIR EYES.
THEY PULLED OVER TO HELP.
THE WOMAN SCREAMED,
"HE'S GOT A KNIFE! HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!"
DARA'S DAUGHTER TOOK OFF HER JUMPSUIT
TO GIVE THE WOMAN SOMETHING TO WEAR, AND DARA DIALED "911."
BUT THE VICTIM WASN'T SAFE YET.
THE ATTACKER HAD FOLLOWED HER
AND WAS SITTING IN HIS CAR AT THE STOPLIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.
Finks: WHEN SHE SEEN HIM,
THEN SHE TRIED TO JUMP IN THE FRONT SEAT WITH MY DAUGHTER.
AND WE'RE LIKE, "WAIT, JUST, YOU KNOW, GET IN THE BACK SEAT.
LOCK THE DOOR. I WON'T LET ANYBODY HURT YOU."
Zahn: THE MAN DROVE OFF,
PASSING THE POLICE AS THEY RESPONDED TO THE CALL.
SHE WAS SITTING IN THE COP CAR NEXT TO ME,
AND SHE SAID, "THANK YOU."
I READ HER LIPS, AND SHE SAID, "THANK YOU."
Zahn: INVESTIGATORS WERE IMPRESSED BY THE LEVEL OF DETAIL
THE VICTIM COULD GIVE THEM ABOUT HER ATTACK.
'CAUSE SHE'S ABLE TO REMEMBER
THE COLOR OF THE UPHOLSTERY INSIDE THE VEHICLE.
SHE'S ABLE TO LOOK AT THE CAR FROM THE OUTSIDE,
AND SHE SAYS, "IT'S EITHER RED OR MAROON."
THESE WERE ALL THINGS
THAT BECAME CRUCIAL IN OUR INVESTIGATION.
Zahn: WITHIN A FEW HOURS, POLICE FOUND THE ATTACKER'S CAR.
IT WAS PARKED FOUR MILES AWAY
OUTSIDE THE HOUSE OF A KNOWN DRUG DEALER,
AND IT WAS JUST AS THE VICTIM HAD DESCRIBED --
A RED HONDA CIVIC WITH A STUFFED MONKEY
ATTACHED TO THE BACK WINDOW WITH SUCTION CUPS.
Hamby: LOOKING INTO THE VEHICLE,
THEY CAN ACTUALLY SEE ANOTHER SHOELACE
AND POSSIBLY SOME ARTICLES OF CLOTHING.
AND IT'S AT THAT POINT
THAT THE OFFENDER COMES OUT OF THE DRUG HOUSE,
WHAT WE WOULD CALL A DRUG HOUSE, AND HE'S TAKEN INTO CUSTODY.
Zahn: HIS NAME WAS JOEL PATRICK COURTNEY.
HE WAS 38 YEARS OLD AND A FATHER OF THREE,
BUT HE WAS HARDLY A FAMILY MAN.
HIS WIFE HAD FILED A RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST HIM IN JUNE,
CLAIMING, "HE HAD ATTEMPTED TO KILL ME
BY CHOKING ME VERY HARD."
SHE HAD DROPPED HER PETITION, BUT NOW, FIVE MONTHS LATER,
JOEL COURTNEY WAS CHARGED WITH RAPING THE COLLEGE STUDENT.
IF SHE HAD NOT ESCAPED, WE WOULD NOT HAVE FOUND HER.
SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.
Zahn: PROSECUTOR THERESA WELCH WHATLEY
READ THE POLICE REPORT WITH A SHUDDER.
MY FIRST IMMEDIATE REACTION IS THAT WE HAVE A SERIAL KILLER
THAT WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE THE OTHER BODIES ARE.
Zahn: NEW MEXICO INVESTIGATORS STARTED DIGGING INTO
JOEL COURTNEY'S BACKGROUND.
THEY FOUND OUT HE WAS A WANTED MAN IN OREGON
ON AN OUTSTANDING D.U.I. CHARGE.
THEY CALLED NEWPORT, OREGON, THINKING,
"MAYBE WE SHOULD SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THEM
AND ASK THEM HAVE THEY HAD ANY RECENT ABDUCTIONS
OR KIDNAPPING OF YOUNG WOMEN?"
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HE DOES, APPARENTLY.
AND THEY SAID, "NO, BUT YOU MIGHT WANT TO CALL
THE CORVALLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT."
COMING UP...
COURTNEY BECOMES THE PRIME SUSPECT
IN BROOKE'S DISAPPEARANCE,
AND HIS FAMILY IS FORCED TO TAKE
A HARD LOOK AT HIS VIOLENT PAST.
HAD YOU BEEN ABLE TO TELL YOUR PARENTS
THAT JOEL HAD REPEATEDLY TRIED TO ATTACK YOU,
DO YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE CHANGED ANYTHING?
IT SEEMED LIKE A LONG SHOT,
NOTHING MORE THAN AN INVESTIGATOR'S HUNCH.
THE MAN NOW SITTING IN A NEW MEXICO JAIL CELL,
ACCUSED OF A BRUTAL RAPE, HAD NO KNOWN TIES
TO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF BROOKE WILBERGER.
BUT POLICE WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES
WITH SUSPICIONS ABOUT JOEL PATRICK COURTNEY.
THEY WERE ABOUT TO GET A BIG BREAK
FROM THE LAST PERSON THEY EXPECTED -- HIS SISTER.
MY HUSBAND AND I LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND WENT, "NO."
WHEN DINA McBRIDE'S YOUNGER BROTHER
WAS ARRESTED IN NOVEMBER 2004
FOR RAPING A COLLEGE STUDENT IN NEW MEXICO,
SHE WAS HORRIFIED.
NOW SHE COULDN'T HELP BUT SEE ANOTHER TERRIBLE POSSIBILITY.
THE NEW MEXICO ARREST COMES,
WHICH HAD TO SEND CHILLS DOWN YOUR SPINE,
AND THEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR HUSBAND,
AND YOU START POSING THE QUESTION,
"OH, MY GOD.
COULD HE HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE WILBERGER CASE?"
YEAH, WE COULDN'T EVEN SAY THE WHOLE SENTENCE.
WE COULDN'T EVEN SAY IT BECAUSE WE THOUGHT, "NO!"
BUT, "WOW, HOW CAN YOU IGNORE THE PARALLELS?"
DINA, WHO LIVED 80 MILES FROM CORVALLIS,
HAD SEEN NEWS REPORTS
ABOUT BROOKE WILBERGER'S ABDUCTION MONTHS BEFORE.
I REMEMBER PRAYING FOR HER FROM THE FIRST MINUTE,
THINKING, "OH, GOD, WATCH OUT FOR HER.
JUST PROTECT HER AND BE WITH HER FAMILY."
NOW DINA WAS PRAYING FOR HER OWN FAMILY.
THERE WERE THINGS SHE KNEW ABOUT HER BROTHER --
THINGS SHE HAD STRUGGLED TO FORGIVE HIM FOR.
BUT WAS HE A KIDNAPPER... OR WORSE?
YOU WERE KIND OF THINKING ABOUT MAYBE CALLING LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND SAYING, "YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS."YEAH. YEAH. THAT NIGHT.
MY HUSBAND SAID, "LET'S PRAY ABOUT IT.
"LET'S GIVE IT 24 HOURS.
"AND THEN IF WE FEEL LIKE
"WE DON'T HAVE ASSURANCE THAT HE'S NOT INVOLVED,
THEN WE NEED TO CALL."
AND DID YOU MAKE THAT CALL?
LAW ENFORCEMENT CALLED ME FIRST.
DINA TOLD DETECTIVES HER BROTHER'S STRANGE STORY,
HOW HE HAD BEEN AN ANGELIC CHILD.
HE WOULD LAUGH THESE BELLY LAUGHS,
AND THOSE DIMPLES WOULD COME OUT,
AND THEN WE'D LAUGH BECAUSE HE WAS LAUGHING SO FULLY.
AND, UM...
HE WAS A GREAT LITTLE BROTHER.
BUT ALL THAT WOULD CHANGE WHEN JOEL HIT HIS TEENS.
REPORTS OF THINGS STARTED TO FILTER IN.
WHAT KIND OF BAD REPORTS WERE YOU GETTING?
WE HEARD MAYBE HE'D TRIED SOME DRUGS.
THEN WHEN HE WAS 14, DINA TOLD DETECTIVES,
HER YOUNGER BROTHER TRIED TO RAPE HER.
HE CAME INTO MY ROOM, AND I WAS SOUND ASLEEP,
AND ACTUALLY GRABBED AROUND MY NECK AND WAS CHOKING ME,
AND, UM...
PRETTY SCARY.
VERY, VERY SCARY.
DINA SAYS SHE HIT HER BROTHER OVER THE HEAD
WITH A WIND-UP CLOCK.
HE LEFT HER ROOM, BUT HE WAS BACK AGAIN A FEW DAYS LATER.
HE DID ATTEMPT A COUPLE MORE TIMES,
AND... I BASICALLY MADE SURE
THAT I DIDN'T GO TO SLEEP, YOU KNOW?
YOU HAD TO BE TERRIFIED. MM-HMM. I WAS.
SO, YOU WOULD STAY AWAKE SO YOU COULD HEAR HIM COMING?
MM-HMM.
AND HOW WOULD YOU FIGHT HIM OFF?
I WOULD BASICALLY GET UP
AND SAY, "GET OUT OF HERE NOW."
WE DIDN'T HAVE BEDROOM DOORS THAT LOCKED,
BUT I STARTED PUTTING SOMETHING IN FRONT OF MY DOOR
SO THAT IF THE DOOR WERE TO COME OPEN,
I WOULD KNOW.
WORSE THAN THE TERROR,
DINA SAYS HER MOTHER DIDN'T BELIEVE HER.
I REALLY DON'T THINK SHE COULD HEAR IT, EMOTIONALLY.
JOEL WAS... THE LIGHT OF HER LIFE,
AND SHE REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO BELIEVE
THAT HE WAS DOING BAD THINGS.
WHAT A POSITION FOR YOU TO BE IN.
YEAH.
SHE WAS A TEENAGER THEN, SCARED OF WHAT JOEL MIGHT DO TO HER.
NOW SHE LOOKS BACK AND BLAMES HERSELF FOR WHAT WAS TO COME
AND WONDERS IF SHE COULD HAVE DONE MORE TO STOP HER BROTHER.
HAD YOU BEEN ABLE TO TELL YOUR PARENTS
THAT JOEL HAD REPEATEDLY TRIED TO ATTACK YOU,
DO YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE CHANGED ANYTHING?
I WENT THROUGH PERIODS OF TIME WHERE I FELT LIKE,
"WOW," YOU KNOW, "IS IT MY FAULT?
"IF I HAD BEEN ABLE TO VOICE THAT,
"WOULD WE BE HERE?
"WOULD THE HARM THAT'S BEEN DONE,
WOULD IT HAVE BEEN DONE?"
WHEN JOEL WAS 15, HE WAS SENT TO JUVENILE DETENTION,
BUT IT ONLY MADE HIM BOLDER.
THAT'S WHERE HE STARTED READING UP ON SATANISM.
HE SAID TO ME ONE TIME THAT THERE WAS A POWER
ASSOCIATED WITH DOING EVIL THINGS,
AND IT GAVE HIM A THRILL.
IT WAS A REAL SENSE OF POWER THAT CAME THROUGH HIS BODY.
THAT HAD TO BE CHILLING... IT WAS. YEAH.
...WHEN YOU HEARD YOUR LITTLE BROTHER,
WITH THE CUTE SMILE AND THE DEEP BELLY LAUGH
THAT YOU'D DESCRIBED, SAY SOMETHING AS HIDEOUS AS THAT.
YEAH, IT WAS PRETTY FRIGHTENING.
THEN ANOTHERATTACK IN 1984 --
JOEL COURTNEY ASSAULTED A GIRL
WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING HIM HOME FROM A PARTY.
SHE TOLD HER STORY TO THE AUTHORITIES.
JOEL COURTNEY PLEADED GUILTY TO SEX ABUSE
AND WAS SENTENCED TO 90 DAYS IN JAIL AND FIVE YEARS' PROBATION.
AND WITH THAT, DINA SAYS, HE SEEMED TO SHAPE UP.
COURTNEY LEFT OREGON FOR NEW MEXICO,
GOT MARRIED, HAD THREE KIDS.
HE WAS THE KIND OF DAD
WHO HELPED CLEAN UP THE MESSES
AND HELPED MAKE THE LUNCHES.
DINA HAD SEEN WHAT A GOOD DAD JOEL WAS FIRSTHAND
BECAUSE, AFTER YEARS OF BARELY SPEAKING,
JOEL HAD SHOWN UP ON HER DOORSTEP IN APRIL 2004.
HE'D SCORED A JOB WITH HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW
AND MOVED THE FAMILY BACK TO OREGON.
WAS DINA'S NEW IMPRESSION OF HER BROTHER MERELY WISHFUL THINKING?
DETECTIVE HOUCK PAINTED A VERY DIFFERENT PICTURE
OF JOEL COURTNEY -- A MAN LEADING A DOUBLE LIFE.
HE WOULD JUST BE GONE FOR TWO OR THREE WEEKS.
HE WOULD GO ON BINGES OF DRINKING OR DOING DOPE.
Zahn: IN FACT, THE MORE SHAWN HOUCK LEARNED ABOUT JOEL COURTNEY,
THE MORE HE SEEMED TO FIT THE PROFILE OF BROOKE'S KIDNAPPER.
HE HAD BEEN CONVICTED OF A SEXUAL ASSAULT AS A TEENAGER
THAT ALSO INVOLVED A CAR.
BROOKE WILBERGER HAD BEEN SNATCHED
BY SOMEONE IN A VEHICLE.
BUT WHY HADN'T HE BEEN ON INVESTIGATORS' RADAR BEFORE?
HE HADN'T COMMITTED A CRIME OF THIS --
YOU KNOW, A SEX OFFENSE --
FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS.
Zahn: NOW THE ARREST FOR THE RAPE IN NEW MEXICO
PUT HIM BACK ON THE MAP.
THERE'S A MOMENT WHEN A CASE BREAKS OPEN,
AND THE DETECTIVES' NEXT INTERVIEW WAS THAT MOMENT.
JOEL'S BROTHER-IN-LAW TOLD THE DETECTIVE
HE HAD PARTIED WITH JOEL MAY 23, 2004 --
THE NIGHT BEFORE BROOKE'S DISAPPEARANCE --
AND THAT JOEL HAD DRIVEN OFF THE NEXT MORNING
TO SCORE SOME CRACK.
THEN, WITHOUT A WORD TO HIS WIFE OR EMPLOYER, JOEL HAD VANISHED.
HE'S GONE FOR, YOU KNOW, 36 HOURS, ROUGHLY.
HE GETS BACK, AND HE HAS ANXIETY ATTACKS,
AND HE NEEDS MEDICATION.
KIND OF ODD BEHAVIOR.
Zahn: WHAT'S MORE, HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW TOLD COPS
JOEL'S VAN HAD BEEN COVERED IN MUD --
A GREEN VAN.
DETECTIVE HOUCK COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.
A GREEN VAN?
THAT WAS THE SAME VEHICLE
THAT POLICE HAD BEEN TIPPED OFF ABOUT
WITHIN DAYS OF THE KIDNAPPING.
A WITNESS, WHO HAD SEEN THE DRIVER OF THE GREEN VAN THAT DAY
AT THE APARTMENT COMPLEX,
PICKED COURTNEY OUT OF A PHOTO LINEUP.
FINALLY, INVESTIGATORS COULD TELL BROOKE'S PARENTS
THEY HAD A SUSPECT IN THEIR SIGHTS.
GREG READ ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO ATTACK ONLINE.
Cammy: I REMEMBER, THOUGH, GREG,
AFTER HE WENT ON THE INTERNET AND SEARCHED,
HE TOLD ME, HE SAID,
"IT'S NOT GOOD BECAUSE HE USED A KNIFE."
NOW, NEARLY A YEAR AFTER THE ABDUCTION,
EACH NEW DETAIL SEEMED TO POINT TO ONE CONCLUSION --
BROOKE WAS THE VICTIM OF A VIOLENT SEXUAL PREDATOR.
IT HIT CAMMY HARD.
I KNEW.
I KNEW BROOKE WAS DEAD, BECAUSE I THOUGHT
"THE ONLY REASON
"THAT SOMEONE WOULD HAVE AN ANXIETY ATTACK
IS IF THEY KILLED SOMEONE."
MM.
BUT WHAT THE MIND KNOWS DOESN'T ALWAYS REACH THE HEART.
BROOKE'S PARENTS COULDN'T LET GO.
I DON'T THINK YOU CAN KEEP MOVING FORWARD
IF YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE EVIL PART.
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL.
ALL OF US, EVEN THOUGH WE KNEW THAT SHE WAS GONE,
UNTIL WE HAD THAT PHYSICAL EVIDENCE,
YOU HOLD OUT FOR SOME SMALL, EXTREME HOPE
THAT YOU MIGHT SEE HER ALIVE AGAIN.
COMING UP...
THE PRIME SUSPECT IN BROOKE'S DISAPPEARANCE
SPENDS YEARS FIGHTING RAPE CHARGES IN NEW MEXICO.
WILL HE EVER FACE JUSTICE FOR BROOKE'S KIDNAPPING?
HE USED EVERY EFFORT TO DELAY THAT PROCESS.
HAD TO MAKE YOU SICK.
IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT.
Zahn: WANT MORE "ON THE CASE"?
GO TO...
...AND VIEW MORE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS
AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO.
THEY COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE DIFFERENT --
SWEET CO-ED BROOKE WILBERGER
AND CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER JOEL COURTNEY.
SHE HAD COMMITTED HERSELF TO RELIGION AND FAMILY.
HE HAD TURNED HIS BACK ON BOTH.
Houck: WHEN HE WALKED AROUND THE CORNER IN THAT JAIL,
I'M LIKE, "THAT'S OUR GUY. IT JUST IS."
YOU JUST KNOW AS A COP.
YOU JUST KNOW INSIDE, "THAT'S MY GUY."
Zahn: DETECTIVE SHAWN HOUCK MET JOEL COURTNEY FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN A NEW MEXICO JAIL CELL, WHERE HE WAS BEING HELD
FOR THE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF AN ALBUQUERQUE COLLEGE STUDENT.
HOUCK HAD A WARRANT TO COLLECT A DNA SAMPLE FROM COURTNEY.
THAT WASN'T THE ONLY THING HE WAS LOOKING FOR.
WE WANTED TO NOT JUST GET THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
BUT REALLY KIND OF WATCH HIM
AND SEE WHAT KIND OF A PERSON HE WAS.
WE REALLY NEEDED TO GET INTO HIS BRAIN.
Zahn: COURTNEY WAS NOW THE PRIME SUSPECT
IN BROOKE WILBERGER'S DISAPPEARANCE,
WHICH HAD HAPPENED MONTHS BEFORE THE NEW MEXICO RAPE.
AN EYEWITNESS IN CORVALLIS, OREGON,
HAD PLACED HIM NEAR THE SCENE OF THE CRIME DRIVING A GREEN VAN.
HE HAD EVEN BEEN OBSERVED APPROACHING A YOUNG WOMAN
MINUTES BEFORE BROOKE WAS SNATCHED.
THEN COURTNEY HAD VANISHED.
A WEEK AFTER BROOKE'S ABDUCTION, HE KNOCKED ON HIS SISTER'S DOOR.
HE SEEMED AGITATED, OUT OF CONTROL.
HE SAID, "I WAS KIDNAPPED.
"I WAS KIDNAPPED FOR THREE DAYS,
"AND THERE WERE GUYS WITH KNIVES,
"AND THEY HAD GUNS.
THERE WAS A GIRL THERE, AND THERE WAS BLOOD."
THE GIRL HAD DIED, COURTNEY SAID.
WAS IT A CONFESSION OF SOME KIND?
I HAD TO ASK MYSELF, "IS IT POSSIBLE?"
THAT HAD TO BE A HAUNTING MOMENT.
IT WAS...PRETTY CHILLING.
AND THEN HE WAS GONE.
DAYS LATER, COURTNEY WALKED OUT ON HIS JOB
AND FLED TO NEW MEXICO.
BUT HE DID LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND -- THE GREEN MINIVAN.
IT WAS A WORK VAN THAT THE COMPANY HAD PROVIDED HIM.
Zahn: IT WAS NOW PARKED IN ANOTHER EMPLOYEE'S GARAGE,
300 MILES AWAY IN SEATTLE.
Chilcote: I ASKED HIM, "DID YOU BY CHANCE CLEAN THIS VAN?"
AND HE WAS FAIRLY EMBARRASSED
BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT HE HAD NOT.
Zahn: A VAN THAT HADN'T BEEN CLEANED
MEANT PHYSICAL EVIDENCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN PRESERVED,
EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME.
INVESTIGATORS DROVE THE VAN OVERNIGHT
TO A PORTLAND WAREHOUSE
WHERE THEY TOOK IT APART PIECE BY PIECE,
SHIPPING SAMPLES TO THE FBI's CRIME LAB.
ON MAY 24, 2005,
THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF BROOKE'S KIDNAPPING,
DETECTIVE HOUCK GOT A CALL.
THE LAB HAD DEFINITIVE PROOF
BROOKE HAD BEEN IN COURTNEY'S VAN.
Houck: THEY FOUND A HAIR, BUT THEY ALSO FOUND, YOU KNOW,
HER BODY FLUID ALONG WITH HIS SEMINAL FLUID.
IT'S THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN. IT'S THE TOUCHDOWN.
JOEL COURTNEY WAS INDICTED FOR BROOKE'S MURDER IN NEW MEXICO.
HE WAS STILL BEING HELD THERE ON RAPE CHARGES.
AND WE HANDED HIM THE INDICTMENT,
AND EACH COUNT SAYS, "DEATH PENALTY,"
AND HE LAUGHED.
Zahn: THIS WAS THE BEGINNING
OF A CRUEL WAITING GAME FOR BROOKE'S PARENTS.
UNTIL THE CHARGES IN NEW MEXICO WERE RESOLVED,
COURTNEY COULD NOT BE BROUGHT TO OREGON
TO ANSWER FOR BROOKE'S DEATH.
TWO YEARS AFTER HER ABDUCTION,
COURTNEY HAD STILL NOT GONE TO TRIAL.
HE USED EVERY EFFORT TO DELAY THAT PROCESS.
THAT HAD TO MAKE YOU SICK.
IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT.
ONE OF HIS DELAYING TACTICS?
COURTNEY CLAIMED HE WAS MENTALLY ILL.
I REALIZED THAT IF HE WAS ABLE
TO BE IDENTIFIED AS INSANE,
IT WAS A BLACK HOLE FOR US.
BUT THE NEW MEXICO TRIAL JUDGE DIDN'T BUY IT.
HE RULED THAT COURTNEY WAS FAKING IT
AND ORDERED HIM TO STAND TRIAL.
INSTEAD, COURTNEY PLEADED GUILTY
AND WAS SENTENCED TO SPEND 18 YEARS IN A NEW MEXICO PRISON.
OREGON PROSECUTORS HAD OTHER IDEAS.
WE MOVED AS QUICKLY AS WE COULD, AND WE BROUGHT HIM UP HERE.
Zahn: IMMEDIATELY, THE PROSECUTOR OFFERED COURTNEY A DEAL --
"CONFESS TO BROOKE'S MURDER
AND YOU WON'T GET THE DEATH PENALTY."
HE WANTED TO SPARE THE WILBERGERS THE PAIN OF A TRIAL.
EVERY TIME THEY HAVE TO HEAR MORE OF THE DETAILS
AND RELIVE THIS WAS GONNA BE POWERFUL.
Zahn: BROOKE'S PARENTS AGREED
BRINGING COURTNEY TO TRIAL WAS NOT AS IMPORTANT TO THEM
AS FINDING OUT WHERE HE HAD BURIED BROOKE'S BODY.
THEY WANTED TO BRING THEIR LITTLE GIRL HOME.
BUT THEY HAD ONE OTHER CONDITION.
WE DID NOT WANT HIM ON THE STREETS EVER AGAIN,
SO, THAT WAS IMPORTANT.
AND, IN FACT, IT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO US
THAT WE SAID, "IF HE WILL NOT BE WILLING
"TO SERVE WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE,
THEN WE'LL GO FOREVER WITHOUT KNOWING WHERE SHE IS."
THAT HAD TO BE A PIECE OF IT.
THEN, FINALLY, ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2009,
ALMOST FIVE YEARS LATER,
THE PROSECUTOR CALLED BROOKE'S PARENTS
TO TELL THEM COURTNEY HAD CONFESSED
AND DESCRIBED WHERE HE HAD BURIED BROOKE'S BODY.
IT WAS A REMOTE MOUNTAIN LOCATION
A FEW MILES FROM THE ABDUCTION SITE.
WE STARTED EXCAVATING AN AREA ABOUT 200 YARDS UP THIS PATH.
Zahn: TRACKING DOGS GOT A SCENT OF SOMETHING JUST BEFORE NIGHTFALL.
BUT IT WAS THE NEXT MORNING WHEN THEY FINALLY FOUND HER.
BROOKE HAD BEEN BURIED UNDER A FALLEN TREE.
SHE WAS STILL WEARING THE WATCH
HER MOTHER HAD GIVEN HER FOR CHRISTMAS.
WE BAGGED EVERYTHING UP, AND THEN WHEN WE WERE DONE,
WE BROUGHT GREG AND CAMMY AND THEIR FAMILY UP
SO THEY COULD HAVE A FEW MOMENTS BY THEMSELVES THERE.
AND SO THEY SPENT SOME TIME. I THINK THAT'S WHEN IT HIT THEM.
Zahn: THE PROSECUTOR DESCRIBED BROOKE'S FINAL HOURS
TO THE MEDIA THE NEXT DAY.
HE ABDUCTED HER AT KNIFEPOINT, FORCED HER INTO THE VAN.
Zahn: COURTNEY THEN TOOK BROOKE TO THE WOODS,
WHERE HE HELD HER CAPTIVE FOR 24 HOURS.
Haroldson: THERE, MR. COURTNEY RAPED BROOKE WILBERGER
AND THEN FINALLY CAUSED HER DEATH
BY BLUDGEONING HER SKULL.
Zahn: CAMMY SAT IN THE ROOM WHILE THE PROSECUTOR TALKED.
IT WAS AN EXCRUCIATING TIME,
SOFTENED BY THOUGHTS OF HER DAUGHTER AND GOD.
WAS THERE ANYTHING THAT PREPARED YOU FOR THAT MOMENT
WHEN YOU HAD TO LISTEN TO ALL THESE DETAILS?
Greg: NO.
I DIDN'T EXPECT THE BRUTALITY.
I THINK YOU SOFTEN IT IN YOUR MIND.
AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK,
YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT SHE WENT THROUGH
FOR THE LAST FEW HOURS.
YOUR STOMACH STARTS TURNING AND CHURNING AGAIN,
AND YOU CAN JUST FEEL YOURSELF,
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO CALM DOWN.
AND ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS PROTECT HER.
RIGHT.
DID BROOKE EVER HAVE A CHANCE?
WE DON'T THINK SO.
FROM WHAT HE SAID,
HE SAID HER REACTION TO THE RAPE AND ASSAULT
WAS SO ADVERSE
THAT THAT'S WHEN HE DECIDED TO KILL HER.
SO MAYBE IF SHE HAD NOT SAID ANYTHING,
I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT WASN'T BROOKE.
SO, THERE'S A PIECE OF ME THAT SAYS THAT'S OKAY.
Zahn: THEN BROOKE'S PARENTS DID SOMETHING
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HARD TO UNDERSTAND
IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THEM.
OUT OF THEIR GRACE, THEIR GENTLENESS,
AND ABOVE ALL, THEIR LOVE FOR THEIR DAUGHTER,
THEY THANKED BROOKE'S KILLER.
AT THIS TIME, WE JUST REALLY FEEL GRATITUDE,
EVEN TO MR. COURTNEY,
THAT HE COULD SEE FIT TO TELL US WHERE HE LEFT BROOKE.
Zahn: GRATITUDE TO BE ABLE TO SHARE ONE FINAL MOMENT TOGETHER
AND SAY GOODBYE.
WE TOOK A LITTLE BLANKET, A SOFT, PINK BLANKET,
AND WE WRAPPED UP HER BONES IN THAT BLANKET,
AND IT WAS THE LAST ACT THAT WE COULD DO
AS HER MOTHER AND AS HER FAMILY.
THE LONG JOURNEY WAS OVER. BROOKE WAS FINALLY HOME AGAIN.
SHE GAVE US SO MUCH JOY AS A DAUGHTER.
WE HAVE TO BE POSITIVE.
WE HAVE TO GO ON AND SHARE THE LOVE THAT SHE HAD
FOR LIFE AND FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
BROOKE'S PARENTS BURIED HER REMAINS
IN A GRAVE OVERLOOKING THE VALLEY WHERE SHE GREW UP.
CAMMY WILBERGER GIVES TALKS TO GROUPS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY,
AND SHE AND GREG PLAN TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT THEIR PAINFUL ORDEAL.
THEY HAVE TWO PIECES OF ADVICE FOR PARENTS --
LOVE EACH OTHER,
AND WORK WITH POLICE EVEN WHEN IT HURTS.
I'M PAULA ZAHN.
JOIN US NEXT TIME WHEN WE'RE BACK ON THE CASE.