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The Hunt with John Walsh

Still Running 2016. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired June 19, 2016 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:00:20] JOHN WALSH, CNN HOST: For 30 years, you, the public, have been my partners and have helped me track down bad guys and bring them back to face justice.

And last season on THE HUNT, we had some amazing captures.

Here are the fugitives we profiled who aren't running anymore.

Paul Jackson was accused of kidnapping and torturing women for the fun of it, but he vanished in 1991 and hadn't been seen for 24 long years.

After our program on Jackson aired, a HUNT viewer tipped off the U.S. marshals that Jackson was living in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was arrested and brought back to Oregon in chains.

In May 2016, he pleaded guilty to charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual abuse and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Now just one day after we aired our episode on Megan Everett who was accused of abducting her 3-year-old daughter. A viewer's tip led sheriff's deputies and FBI agents to the trailer where she was hiding out in Putnam County, Florida.

Everett was charged with custodial interference. Her boyfriend, Carlos Lesters was also charged after police found evidence that he had helped Everett disappear. Both Lesters and Everett pleaded not guilty. They are out on bail awaiting trial. Their daughter Lilly has been reunited with her very grateful father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. You don't know how much it means to me and my family.

WALSH: In April 2015, alleged murderer Alexander Hill was captured in Buffalo, New York. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty and is currently in jail in Virginia and his trial has been set for November 2016.

In 2014, child predator Johnny Napier was arrested in a Missouri trailer park. He pleaded guilty in Texas to continual sexual abuse of a minor and was sentenced to 28 years behind bars.

And DNA tests have confirmed that human remains found near the town of Turner, Oregon, were in fact those of convicted rapist Paul Winklebleck.

Now that leaves eight fugitives from our second season still out there. Now I want them caught, too, and with your help, we can do that.

(MUSIC)

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

911 OPERATOR: 911, what is your emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God! My daughter!

911 OPERATOR: Are you still in there, ma'am? Ma'am, are you still there?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: This is me and my beautiful mommy.

PATRICIA "TISSIE" OWENS, WIFE OF YASER: My name is Patricia Owens and Amina and Sarah was my girls.

They were beautiful inside and out, I was really blessed when I had them.

I never dreamed that I would get married at 15 years old and have my first baby at 16.

GLENNA WHITLEY, STAFF WRITER, DALLAS OBSERVER & AUTHOR: Yaser had come to America in 1983. He worked at a convenience store. And that's where he met Patricia Owens. He was 30 and she was 15.

OWENS: It was three or four times a week that he would hit me or kick me or --

[20:05:07] WALSH: It's the classic control freak domestic abuse scenario. First, he beats his wife on a weekly basis, then in 1998, the daughters go to the cops and say this guy, our father is sexually abusing us.

GAIL GARTRELL, PATRICIA'S AUNT: I got a phone call from my sister and she said, can you watch Tissie's children?

I said, we are eating. Amina reached out and grabbed my arm and she said, do you know what daddy did?

I said, Amina, I have heard that your daddy did something that no daddy should do.

WHITLEY: On December 17, 1998, Yaser was indicted for sexual penetration of the girls.

The sheriff's department was going forward with this complaint when Amina and Sarah recanted.

So without the girls being willing to testify, then sheriff's department didn't have a case. And so it was dropped. WALSH: They all knew that he was a bad guy, but yet nobody could stop this guy from the huge amount of control, the Svengali-like control he had of this family. He had them by the necks.

GARTRELL: I think he viewed them as objects of -- not fatherly affection, but his property. They were his property.

WHITLEY: On Christmas Eve 2007, Yaser had started waving a gun around at them and threatening to kill them because he had found out that they had boyfriends, and he was furious.

CONNIE MOGGIO, SISTER OF PATRICIA: Yaser had pulled a gun, told Amina that he was going to kill her.

CHUCK, AMINA SAID'S BOYFRIEND: She knew that Yaser's threats were real. She was afraid to die.

And I would be, too, you know?

(GUN SHOTS)

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

911 OPERATOR: 911, what is your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAMING)

911 OPERATOR: What's going on, ma'am?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm dying (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: Are you still there, ma'am?

Ma'am, what is your address? Ma'am?

(END AUDIO FEED)

OWENS: I had to go identify the voice on the 911 call. My baby was begging for her life.

JOE HENNING, DETECTIVE, IRVING, TEXAS, POLICE DEPARTMENT: We immediately had a lot of officers out there driving around, searching parking garages and different areas looking for Yaser Said. He was nowhere to be found. No one knew where he was or anything.

WALSH: There isn't a place in hell deep enough for this guy.

How could you possibly kill your own children?

If you've seen Yaser Said or know anything about his whereabouts, please call 1-866- THE-HUNT, or go to our Web site at CNN.com/TheHunt. You can remain anonymous. We'll pass your tip on to the proper authorities and, if requested, will not reveal your name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He put her at gun point. And he told her, you ever leave me, I will kill you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUGO FUNES, HAWAIIAN GARDENS, CALIFORNIA: I was born in El Salvador. When I was about 3 years old, I was brought here with my sister to the states to reunite with our mom after she came here looking for something better for us.

My sister and nephew was about six years old at the time. My mom, Lydia, got into a relationship with Tomas around 1986. So he was father image for me.

When I was 8 years old, my mom was sick in the hospital. We all slept in one room. I couldn't sleep at night so I was actually awake. I witnessed Tomas walk in, woke my sister up and told her to follow him. They did not know that I was watching.

I told her I just saw you guys on the sofa doing it.

She said, well, it's something that I have to do because if I don't do what he says, then he's going to leave my mom.

WALSH: That threat is used by pedophiles on many, many occasions. Tomas was able to terrorize this little girl and sexually abuse her starting in childhood for years. It's disgusting.

It was about 2001, my mom starts getting sick. All I remember is my mom walking past and I said, you know, take care of yourselves.

RICHARD RAMIREZ, HOMICIDE DETECTIVE, L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT: When Lydia died of cancer, Ana now becomes the surrogate wife, if you will, of Tomas.

FUNES: In mid-2007, she gets into a relationship outside Tomas.

RAMIREZ: That's what enraged Tomas the most. Because she was going on her own, he was now losing complete control.

[20:15:13] FUNES: He put her at gun point and he told her you ever leave me for any other guy, I will kill you.

I get a phone call saying, have you heard from Ana? Ana should have been at work at 12:00. I called her about five times, left a message and never called back.

I get a phone call. It was Tomas' brother.

RAMIREZ: Tomas's brother had told him that Tomas told him that he had done something stupid and that they would find Ana under some blankets.

FUNES: They told me, you know, we found the body. There was a dead woman up there and gave me one of her little bracelet with three elephants. And that kind of did it for me because I knew it was her. Tomas flew out to Guadalajara, Mexico. He took about $40,000 from my mom's social security. So he kind of had everything planned out.

It's not over until he's caught. None of this is over until he's actually caught.

WALSH: If you've seen Tomas Gonzalez or know anything about his whereabouts, please call 1-866- THE-HUNT, or go to our Web site at cnn.com/TheHunt. You can remain anonymous. We'll pass your tip on to the proper authorities, and if requested will not reveal your name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was very affectionate. He'd give you hugs, kisses, but then his kisses got weird.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:20:10] WALSH: This has nothing to do with Hindus. Nothing to do with the Hindu religion, this has to do with a guy who used people's desire to find God or religion that they could believe in to molest children.

This is about a pedophile.

SHYAMA ROSE, FORMER RESIDENT OF BARSANA DHAM: The leader of the International Society of Divine Love is Prakashanand Saraswati, who we all referred to as Swamiji, which is like a generic term for a guru in Hinduism.

VESLA TONNESSEN, FORMER RESIDENT OF BARSANA DHAM: It was sort of understood that Swamiji was God, just on earth.

ROSE: We were told if we said or thought anything negative against the society or against him, we could literally go to hell and there would be, like, repercussions that we wouldn't even be able to handle.

KATE TONNESSEN, FORMER RESIDENT OF BARSANA DHAM: He was very affectionate with everybody. And with the kids, he was really, like, cuddly and he would give you hugs and kisses that just felt like a grandpa, but then some time his kisses got weird.

V. TONNESSEN: I was about 12 years old.

K. TONNESSEN: I was between 12 and 14 years old.

ROSE: I was 11 years old when the abuse started happening.

K. TONNESSEN: The first time that he put his hand up my shirt, I remember.

I felt it was exactly what I thought it was. I thought it was inappropriate touch, and it was pretty devastating to me. He would sometimes, you know, show up at my house at 3:00 in the morning and just come in, then he'd tell me to go lock the door. And he would pull me on to the bed and kiss me and ask me to unhook my bra.

V. TONNESSEN: He lived for the moments in between and you just sort of hoped and prayed that they wouldn't happen too soon.

JERI SKROCKI, LIEUTENANT SHERIFF, HAYS COUNTY, TEXAS: We took the information that we had, and we made a presentation to a Grand Jury that have been convened in Hays County. They heard the evidence of the girls' statements and at that point they returned an indictment against Swamiji.

V. TONNESSEN: As soon as he was arrested I knew that the process had begun. And I think I was excited, but also terrified of what was coming next.

SKROCKI: Out at the temple, there was absolutely no belief whatsoever in these three young ladies. Everyone rallied around Swamiji.

K. TONNESSEN: The devotees somehow came up with a million dollar cash bond overnight. So he spent less than 24 hours in jail.

V. TONNESSEN: The hardest part about the trial was just seeing all these people that I grew up with, all of my, like, family just staring at me with the most evil looks and eyes ever.

K. TONNESSEN: We heard guilty and I think all of us just, like, it was over finally and people listened.

V. TONNESSEN: Swamiji was convicted of 20 counts of indecency with a minor.

K. TONNESSEN: Still, none of us understand why, but Swamiji was allowed to return to the ashram.

[20:25:15] WALSH: Think about it. He's from another country. Start the resources to run. He did. The final slap in the face for these girls.

As best as the marshals service can reconcile, Saraswati left Hays County Sunday night, went to Mexico across the border. Investigators here in Austin began hearing chatter that Saraswati had in fact made it to India.

V. TONNESSEN: He's still out there and he's still abusing people, and I don't think that will stop, until he's imprisoned.

WALSH: If you've seen Prakashanand Saraswati, please call 1-866-THE- HUNT, or go online to CNN.com/TheHunt. You can remain anonymous. We'll pass your tip on to the proper authorities and if requested, we will not reveal your name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something very violent happened very quickly. It was a horrific murder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:31:00] TRACY MURPHREE, FORMER TEXAS RANGER: I received a call from the chief of police in Pilot Point and basically what they tell me is we have a homicide and this is the location.

LARRY KISH, LIEUTENANT SHERIFF OFFICE: Mario's garage is a mechanic shop. It's in the north part of Denton County. It's in the city of Pilot Point. But at this particular place, they worked on cars during the day and they have parties at night.

KISH: When we first arrived, Mario took us out back. From a distance he pointed towards the deceased. She had some serious injuries. Something very violent happened very quickly. It was a horrific murder, and we learned it is Lori Mejia.

AGGIE MEJIA, LORI MEJIA'S SISTER: Lori was a very sociable, intelligent person. People would open up to her.

ELIZABETH BURT, LORI MEJIA'S BEST FRIEND: I was Lori's best friend for many years. She just had a really sweet personality, just real caring. When Lori and I were living together in Denton, she started seeing this guy.

She moved in with him, and I just never heard from her.

MEJIA: Their lifestyle was partying and having people in and out of the home.

She was doing things that wasn't Lori. Just never really hit me, I guess, the severity of it, how far that road she had taken.

KISH: Something wasn't adding up. Mario finally came around and said she was there for prostitution purposes.

Very quickly after Lori got there, she left with a male person. He was only known to Mario and some other people at the time as Vampire.

MURPHREE: About an hour later, there was a knock on the back door.

Mario answers the door and Vampire is there.

Vampire has blood on his clothes. He looks at Mario, and he tells him, I killed her. And that was the last time that any of the witnesses tell us that they saw Vampire.

WALSH: Fortunately, a friend of the garage owner did the right thing. He was able to identify Vampire as Herbert Maldonado. Now cops got a license plate and the hunt was on.

KISH: We get our stuff entered into the computer. We get a hit immediately that says this vehicle has been in contact with the Plano Police Department a couple of hours ago and they had actually arrested a Hispanic male for DWI. The problem was by the time we were on the phone with him, hey, who do you have in jail? They said, nobody. He's already bonded out. And we quickly learned that is Maldonado. We'd just missed him like within an hour.

MURPHREE: Maldonado's brother and other relatives scraped up bond money and he was eventually taken to Dallas and put on a bus to Mexico.

BURT: People make mistakes, but what happened to her, nobody deserves that. Nobody deserves to leave this world that way.

WALSH: If you have seen Herbert Maldonado or have any information as to his whereabouts, please make the call, 1-866-THE-HUNT, or go online to CNN.com/TheHunt. We'll pass your tip on to the proper authorities and if requested, we will not reveal your name.

I have been looking for Dan Hiers for over ten years. He crossed that line. He gives cops a bad name and some day his luck is going to run out.

[20:35:12] LAUREN RAMSEY, NORTH CHARLSTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: At 9 years old, wanted to pick up something new and do something different, so karate.

I made a few friends. One of them, you know, was my age and then the other was Dan Hiers.

KAREN NIX, POLICE INSPECTOR: Dan became friends with the child's mother and offered to be some sort of role model because the girl's biological father was not in her life at the time.

RAMSEY: He offered to start taking me to karate classes, actually. He never said anything about him having a wife or even a girlfriend or anything. It was like he was just living just by himself.

WALSH: But Dan Hiers wasn't living by himself. He was married. Dan Hiers met Mila when she was 15 and married her when she was 16. She thought she met the love of her life. But what she didn't know was she was in love with a monster.

RAMSEY: After four or five months of knowing him and then it all started happening.

We would park and touch me. Touch my chest area, my crotch area. One time, we actually got a hotel room. I had an idea. I already knew what was going to happen.

I would just try not to remember and just try to block it all out, but it was starting to get harder, so I just -- I just came out and told.

NIX: On November 23, 2004, I was contacted to try to intervene at Dan Hiers' residence. He was going to be arrested for charges of lewd acts on a minor.

DENNIS SUSZKO, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL: Dan ultimately turned himself in. I believe that had some bearing or impact on whether or not he was provided a bond which he was granted.

ALESSANDRA COHE, MILA'SISTER: Mila thought it was a big mistake, a big mess. She didn't believe.

SUSZKO: On March 15, 2005, Dan was supposed to meet his attorney at the magistrate's court. He failed to show. Dan's mother and sister- in-law arrived at the residence later that evening to try to make contact with him.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: 911, what is your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got a big problem. A big crisis here.

She's lying in the bed, and she's very stiff, and very cold, and she's not breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUSZKO: Evidence at the crime scene indicated that Mila was shot with a .40 caliber handgun. It is known that Dan possessed a .40 caliber handgun. When Dan could not be found, he immediately became a person of interest.

WALSH: I've been looking for this coward, child molester for years. And how did police say Dan Hiers paid back that child bride of his, that woman that loved him so much, forgave him, stuck with him until the end?

Cops say he shot her in the back of the head.

RAMSEY: I think he killed her because he didn't want her to find out what was going on. He didn't want her to know the truth. I want him caught because he killed his wife and because of what, you know, he did to me, but more for what he did to Mila.

If you've seen Dan Hiers or know anything about his whereabouts, please, make that call, 1-866-THEHUNT or go to our Web site at CNN.com/TheHunt. You can remain anonymous. We'll pass your tip on to the proper authorities, and if requested, will not reveal your name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BING COSBY, SMITH FAMILY FRIEND, SURFSIDE BEACH, TX: Margaret Lorrain Smith is very manipulating and I said George, you need to get rid of her before she kills you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCARLET SEANS, DAUGHTER: My parents were not the traditional type of parents. They were very quirky and fun and they raised us in a very different lifestyle than most children. We were raised on a 10-acre ranch at the beach. COSBY: They were a very close-knit family. I mean, they did everything together. Every time we saw George, you would usually see Lorrain and the kids.

SEANS: My dad's property at the beach was worth about $3 million,$4 million. She wanted him to sell more property and make some money, but he didn't want to sell it. He kept the property because he wanted to pass it down to his, you know, kids.

COSBY: Lorrain was Lorrain, George was George. She wanted to do it her way and he wanted to do it his way. It was like two rocks in a tumbler and knock each other's edges off. There was friction and where there's friction there's fire sometimes and somebody gets burned and that was them.

SEANS: In 2004, my mom met a man that lived down the road from her, kind of started, I guess, dating, per se, but at that time we didn't know how involved they were.

My mom tried to file for divorce. My dad, he did everything he could to try to prevent that.

In 2005, he wrote a will that stated that when he died, my mom got everything.

[20:45:15] COSBY: I mean, sometimes love is blind, and other people have to see for you. He said Bingo, I don't know what to do with her. I love her so much.

You know what I said, George, I think she's a little crazy myself. You need to get rid of her before she kills you.

STEPHEN BUCHANAN, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR: On August 7, 2007, I received a phone call from Missouri County Dispatch notifying me of a death investigation.

KYLE SEITZINGER, DEPUTY US MARSHAL: The scene was real hard. His head was bashed in. There was blood splatter for many feet from the place where his body was laying.

BUCHANAN: We were able to identify the deceased as George Smith.

WALSH: The police immediately suspected that Lorrain Smith was involved, and they concluded that she didn't work alone. They suspect that she contacted a man named Dylan Lowery and together they launched an elaborate plan.

BUCHANAN: Lorrain spent a lot of money getting George drunk on margaritas.

Lorrain drove George out to the beach. No houses around. No lights. It would be dark. And that's when Dylan would come up and kill George.

Dylan and Lorrain were both charged with the murder of George Smith. SEANS: Her bail was set at $500,000 and they lowered it immediately. The judge actually said that since she wasn't the one that actually was the murderer, that her bail shouldn't have been set so high.

WALSH: Dylan Lowery was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Two years later when Lorrain Smith's trial was supposed to begin, guess what? She didn't show.

If you've seen Margaret Lorrain Smith or have any information regarding her whereabouts, call us at 1-866-THE-HUNT, or go to our Web site CNN.com/TheHunt. You can remain anonymous. We'll pass your tip to the proper authorities and if requested, we will not reveal your name.

It's always the most charming guy. It's always the guy that everybody loves that hides that one big, dangerous, dark secret.

There's everything wrong with Bruce Sawhill. He crossed all those boundaries. And I'll tell you what, he's still out there doing it. I would bet my life on it.

JANET GRIFFIN, KATIE'S MOTHER: Katie was a wonderful child. She was fun. She was bright.

She was just a beautiful little girl. Ken and I had divorced when Kate was 5. I had took custody of the kids, but they normally went out there, like, every other weekend. They would go to Ken's house.

KEN GRIFFIN, KATIE'S FATHER: From time to time, I would end up, you know, with something to do and Bruce would actually baby sit for me.

I first met Bruce Sawhill towards the end of high school years. I thought Bruce and I had a very close friendship, and that I could trust him in every way and manner.

J. GRIFFIN: One night, she called me and she said, mom, you've got to come and pick me up. I can't stay here anymore. I could tell she was just really upset. I don't know why, but I just knew.

I said has somebody hurt you. Has anybody done anything to you? She goes, yes.

And she said it was Bruce.

She said he's been touching me and making me touch him, and I just can't go there anymore.

K. GRIFFIN: My immediate reaction was fury. I drove over there, and he admitted what he had done.

[20:50:05] DOC COOMBS, LIEUTENANT SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Mr. Sawhill was charged with two counts of sodomy and first degree. He was released on $50,000 bond and a court date was set for his appearance.

K. GRIFFIN: When I went out to court, I walked into the courtroom and the courtroom is empty. I said I'm here for the trial. And he said there's not going to be a trial. Mr. Sawhill failed to appear.

WALSH: Katie wanted to testify against her abuser, then Bruce Sawhill ran. The coward that he is, he ran. She never got the justice she so deserved and it was more than this little girl could handle.

Huffing is the inhalation of the fumes that are in a paint can. 22 percent of people who huff die on their first try.

J. GRIFFIN: Kate was 12 when she died.

K. GRIFFIN: I failed my little girl. Failed to let her live (ph). I failed that child.

WALSH: If you've seen Bruce Sawhill or have any information as to his whereabouts, please call 1-866-THE-HUNT, or go online to CNN.com/TheHunt. We'll pass your tip on to the proper authorities and if requested, we will not reveal your name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM PITZEN, TIMMOTHY'S FATHER: He could be being home schooled. He could be in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea where he is at.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'll never find him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PITZEN: I dropped Timmothy off at school. He undoes his seat belt, runs off to class. That was pretty much the last image I have in my mind of him.

Amy and I dated long distance for a year or so. Amy revealed a few things about her history with her depression. I figured that eventually Amy would get off the medication and deal with her issues and we could move on with our lives together.

In 2004, Amy became pregnant with our son Timmothy.

LIZ BAUMAN, AMY'S FRIEND: I thought, well, she's doing good and she's going to be OK. But then the marriage started to have problems.

ALANA ANDERSON, AMY'S MOTHER: Jim was angry with her at that time and he kind of said, well, she's brought up divorce, but she's been depressed. She could be committed. I could have her son taken away from her.

BAUMAN: She was deathly afraid of that. I said, Amy, no judge is going to take your son away from you. And she goes, well, but he keeps telling me that.

LEE CATAVU, DETECTIVE, AURORA PD: On May 11th at 8:30 a.m., she arrived at Greenman Elementary School. She told them that they had a family emergency, and that she'd be gone for a couple of days.

PITZEN: I tried her cell phone, 15, 20 times, didn't know where she was or what had gone on. Saturday morning is when they found her.

ANDERSON: So evidently she went to this anonymous hotel room and killed herself.

CATAVUL Timmothy was nowhere to be found. The note stated that Tim is somewhere safe with people who love him and will take care of him. We immediately began treating it as if it were child abduction.

WALSH: Police quickly started tracing Amy's movements from her charges on her credit cards, and were able to get surveillance footage of her three-day trip to Wisconsin. Unfortunately, that was the last video of Timmothy ever.

CATAVU: That same day we see Amy stopping to a grocery store in Winnebago, Illinois.

PITZEN: You see her walking in and a couple of moments later you see her walking out with her bag of food in her hand and no Timmothy.

CATAVU: In this case, there are two viable theories. One that Amy brought harm to her son. The other option is that she turned him over to someone who as she wrote in her note, would love and care for him.

WALSH: Timmothy still has a father and a family that desperately miss him and desperately love him. Do the right thing. Make the call. That little boy deserves to be back with the family that loves him.

If you've seen Timmothy Pitzen or have any information as to his whereabouts, please make that call 1-866-THE-HUNT, or go online at CNN.com/TheHunt. You can remain anonymous. And we'll pass your tip on to the proper authorities. If requested, we will not reveal your name.