struggled with denial. >> i believed flying back that if i got there she might even be at the airport saying, mom, i'm sorry. it wasn't me. it's all just been a terrible mistake. >> reporter: but no, bonnie was not at the airport to meet karen. her body was at the funeral home. >> i only got to see her face. it's just incredibly sad. and you think, my god, it is her. and you can't believe that your baby's lying there cold and lifeless. >> reporter: the next day karen saw her baby again, saw more than her face, and noticed something that seemed to confirm what she already believed -- it wasn't a hiking accident. she called the alaska state troopers. >> her knuckles were broken. so i'm on the phone screaming to them saying, no, you've got to get back. you've got to take more pictures.