>> until my heart stops beating, i will never give up. >> can he get her back? and should he? can you see why people would say, well, maybe she's better off where she is? also tonight -- >> this doesn't happen in our happy little world. >> their world shattered, a young mother murdered. >> i love you. >> who could have killed her? >> we had a homicide, no suspects. >> also, no evidence. but police found a dark side behind that bright suburban facade. >> she slept with the children and the door locked. >> and finally a vital clue. >> it's the most pointed piece of premeditation. >> what happened to nancy? the day she disappeared. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. welcome to a dit line." i'm lester holt. it it's the battle that can cause deeper heartbreak, the vicious tug-of-war over a child. for the father you're about to meet, the story began with young love. but because of an unusual law, he lost someone he cared for more than anything else in the world, his baby. here's kate snow. >> you can't just take someone's child like that. that's a human being's life. it it's not anything to be played with. >> this story is about what happens when the most primal bond there is between parent and child collides with the law. >> they could go into any state and take anybody's baby. >> a case of courtroom wrangling. >> people are outraged. >> and raw emotion. >> when is it going to stop? how many more kids? >> all leading to the bottom-line question -- how far would you go for your child? >> until my heart stops beating, i will never give up. until the day i die, i will never give up. >> john wyatt is 23 years old and sometimes he seems even younger. you know how some people marry their high school sweetheart? john found the woman he loved much earlier than that. >> i have memories of her back in second, third, fourth grade. >> his little classmate was named killeen. what did you like about her? >> i thought she was very beautiful. i liked her smile. like the people who speak the least, you know, really have the most to say. >> john and colleen grew up in virginia, 30 miles from washington, d.c. they started dating in middle school, stayed together in high school. did you ever think about marrying colleen? >> i mean, i loved her since middle school so i talked about it since middle school. >> about marriage. >> yeah. >> pretty young to be thinking that far ahead. >> i know. well, when you know, you know. >> maybe he knew, but he says colleen's parents didn't seem so sure. >> at first i got along good with her had family. but as i got older i felt like i wasn't good enough in their standards for their own daughter. i just felt like i was being looked down upon. >> it didn't it help that, after high school, john didn't go to college. colleen attended george mason university. but they still dated, and then the surprise of their lives. >> when she found out she was pregnant, then she started crying. she was really scared. i just held her and told her everything was going to be all right. >> clearly this wasn't planned. >> no. >> how old were you? >> i was 19 at the time. >> 19. pretty young to become a dad. >> yeah. >> a lot of guys might have been looking for a way out. not john wyatt. you must have been a little scared. not even a little? >> i mean, what's to be scared about? it's the most beautiful, precious thing in the world. >> john found an ally in his own mom, gerri. did you ever think for a second, they're too young? >> no. because i know john takes had his role seriously. i knew how he felt about kids and i knew how he felt about wanting a baby. >> but 19 years old. >> i know. it's tough, but he can do it. >> john and his mom say they didn't even discuss alternatives. >> abortion is out of the question. i don't -- >> adoption? did you ever discuss it? >> no. no. >> perhaps, they admit, because of a terrible thing that happened when john was just 10 years old. his father committed suicide. do you think he felt abandoned? >> yeah, i think to a degree he did. he did feel abandoned. he loved his dad. i loved my husband. it it was a terrible time in our lives. >> ever since he has died i've had kind of like a yearning to fulfill those shoes as far as i wanted to make sure that i don't fail means everything to me. to make sure i'm there for my children. >> so at the wyatt house there was total agreement, the baby belonged with its parents. but across town at colleen's house, john was seeing signs that colleen didn't feel the same way. >> i used to feel her kick and move around. i would talk to her because the doctor said, you know, they can hear what you're saying. >> she didn't do that? did she talk to the baby as well? >> she would feel it kicking, but, i mean, she never really talked to her. >> john went to prenatal doctor's appointments. he picked out names. >> i liked the name emma. that was her grandmother's name as well so i decided on if it was a girl, emma. >> but then, he says, in the ninth month of the pregnancy everything changed. colleen called him and said she was considering an adoption. the next day she sent a text saying she'd contacted an adoption agency in utah. that seemed odd, he says, since neither one of them had ever been there. were you angry? >> yeah. that's putting it itlightly. she assured me later that night i was going to be there for the birth and that we were going to make a decision together. she assured me of that. promised me. >> five days passed. john said he and colleen spoke every day and he felt he was talking her out of adoption. he says they even discussed marriage. then on february 10th he says he called as usual but colleen didn't answer. >> her phone was off. i thought that was weird. >> the whole day passed with no word from colleen. >> so then i wake up around 6:00 in the morning on the 11th, and i felt like something was wrong. >> he says he called again. her phone was still off. >> so that's when i started to get really worried. that's when i called my mom. >> and he said, something's wrong. colleen's phone is off. her phone is never off. there's something wrong. >> my mom had the idea to call down to the hospital to make sure if my daughter or colleen was in the hospital. they both confirmed there was a baby girl salen and emily colleen salen in the hospital. >> how are you walking in the hospital? >> i'm walking like my hair is on fire, trying to find my daughter. >> you're on a mission. >> yes. i asked the lady at the defk, is there a baby girl salen here? she said, i can't tell you that. >> there is no patient here by this name. >> to which you said what? >> i said, you're lying. i told them that i knew that this baby was here and that this mother was here, that her parents' cars were in the parking lot, there was an empty car seat box. please do not lie to me and treat me like i'm some fool. >> the wyatts say they later learned that, while they were tangling with hospital administrators, colleen was checking out with the baby. >> colleen was being snuck out the side exit maybe like 50 feet to my left like down the hallway out to the side exit. >> sneaking out the side door. >> uh-huh. >> so you wouldn't see her. >> yeah. so that i couldn't find my child. >> where is his child? why can't he see his child? who's playing god with his life? that he can't see his baby? >> it would take weeks for john and his mom to learn the truth. what they found broke their hearts and plunged them into the battle of their lives. coming up -- a father's desperate search for his baby. following a trail thousands of miles. >> they said that she had been placed with a couple in utah. on february 10, 2009, john wyatt's girlfriend colleen gave birth to a baby girl, then disappeared. john suspected she planned to give the baby up for adoption without his consent. he wanted to stop it, but first he had to find his girlfriend and his baby. >> did you talk to colleen's family? >> no. >> you were completely cut off. >> yeah. i was -- it was like i didn't exist. >> the hospital would not confirm colleen had even been there, citing its policy to protect patient confidentiality. but john was determined to get the truth. he roam the hospital corridors looking for someone who would give him answers. >> i talked to one of the women who works in the records room in the hospital, and i told them what was going on. they were withoutraged. they helped me. >> someone secretly told me what your baby looked like. >> all the information. >> john texted colleen. she didn't respond. he hired a lawyer. >> your lawyer tries to intervene right away. >> yeah. >> john's lawyer wrote a letter asking for john to see and visit with his daughter. it hand-delivered to colleen's home february 12th, two days after the baby was born. john says the response came from colleen's lawyer. >> saying that the only way i could see my child is if i agreed to sign my rights away. >> on february 13th, his lawyer faxed a second letter saying john would oppose any adoption adamantly and that he planned to file a petition for custody. february 18th, a week after the birth, john did go to court and file for custody of his daughter. at that point, are you thinking, okay, good, i've got a lawyer now, should be no problem. i'm a parent. i have rights. >> i was thinking, surely they won't take my child away since i have filed a custody action. >> days passed, then weeks. john says colleen would not return his calls and texts. where was she? where was the baby? in the months that followed, john's mom gerri pieced together colleen's trail from the moment she left the hospital. she started with hotels. >> i didn't call. i walked into them, and i thought, you know, if i have to go into every hotel in wood bridge to find out where they are, i will. >> it was old-fashioned detective work by a self-appointed detective. you went from hotel to hotel. >> i did. >> telling your story. >> i did. >> asking if they knew who these people were. >> and you know people were so nice because they were dumbfound that somebody would do something like this. >> but even with the help of sympathetic hotel clerks, finding the truth wasn't simple. no one had any record of colleen checking in or out, but someone did remember a newborn baby. gerri thought it had to be colleen's, even though there was someone else's name on the hotel receipt. >> they go to the fairfield inn where are there were two rooms for two nights. they left that hotel and went across the street to the sleep inn. >> why would they jump between hotels? >> because they didn't want john to find them, i think. >> something she and john believed even more strongly when they learned that the name on the hotel bill, the name they didn't recognize, belonged to an employee of an adoption agency called a act of love. >> you think they were purposely evading you. >> there's no doubt in my mind that's what they were doing. >> and he says he soon found more evidence of it. on the day the baby was born, colleen had signed an affidavit. she had identified john as the father but you in the space for john's address there was a question mark, even though she had known john since second grade, dated him since middle school and had seen him at least once a week for years. it didn't seem possible, but what really surprised them was something else colleen had written in adoption paperwork ten days earlier. the line where she clearly stated john wants to keep the baby. yet the adoption went forward anyway. >> it seemed really easy for them, put a question mark here, question mark there. then she's gone. >> and they have a baby. >> yeah. >> but of all the things john learned in the months of after his baby was born, he says the biggest shock was when his lawyers told him this. >> they said that she had been placed with a couple in utah. >> utah. his baby was in utah, 2,000 miles away. >> did you know anything about the state of utah? >> no. >> but john wyatt was about to learn plenty. >> he was about to learn more about utah's laws and what they mean for some biological fathers. >> it felt like someone had p ripped my heart out. i cried my eyes out. >> when "date line "continues. and before you know it zebras were out. so i tried this paint that promised to do the job fast. but it didn't. yep. and that's why i came to lowe's. our hi-def color system from valspar has an ultimate hiding formula. plus nobody beats our prices. nobody. now it's just the shade of green we wanted. which goes with his new interest. dinosaurs? yep. 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[ female announcer ] welcome to busch gardens williamsburg where d.c. goes to get away. maybe it's because washington d.c. loves the legendary coasters. or that your entire family will have fun, even the little ones. it could be that water country usa has more of the waves, slides and rides everyone wants. so plan your getaway and come play. you never know who you'll run into. get started at buschgardens.com/dc. in early 2009, john wyatt learned that his girlfriend colleen had put their baby girl p up for adoption. john also learned had his baby was now in utah, thousands of miles awayand she was live aring withare ing ing with a marry couple who flew to virginia who planned to adopt her, all of it without his consent. >> i was appalled that people actually took my child not only from me and fled halfway across the country and no one has taken any action to stop or prevent it. >> john wanted to get his baby back. he was contacted by an attorney in utah and was startedled what he heard. >> biological lawyers are set up to fail. >> he said utah's adoption laws can seem like a maze. >> you have to go through a whole series of steps here in utahment a layperson can never be charged with knowing how to maneuver their way through the different steps you have to take. >> john found out, for example, that the odd text message colleen had sent him a few days before the birth was extremely significant. the exact words -- do you understand that i'm receiving information from a utah agency for proceeding with an adoption? out of the blue, this text message says, i'm thinking of a utah adoption. >> yeah. >> john says he didn't know it at the time, but the moment he received that message, a clock started ticking. under utah law, colleen's text counted as legal notice, giving john just 20 days to file for his parental rights in utah or lose them. >> and "almost" isn't good enough unless the father complies with every single requirement of the statute, they're out of luck. >> in this case, john admits there was no almost about it. he says he didn't even know at the time that his baby was in utah so even though he filed for custody in virginia he missed utah's deadline. but, remember, john also says colleen misled him saying she wouldn't give the baby for adoption without had his consent. that has to count for something, right? not in utah. laws in this state says even if a fraud is committed, money damages can be sued for but the adoption stands. >> people who want an expedited adoption, something that isn't going to take too much time with the birnl father's rights, if you want something like that, the word "utah" does roll off the lips. >> adam pertman is director of the evan b. donaldson adoption institute, a leading research institute. he's author of a adoption nation" and also "an doptive parent he and others say utah's longstanding pro-family values have resulted in laws that when it comes among unmarried birth fathers are among the strictest in the country. >> it's a aes's conservative state. state vz values. people have values. i'm not saying that in a bad way. >> john's lawyer says in most cases utah's deadline is not a problem, quite the contrary. >> a lot of fathers don't have any interest in raising their children, and to some it's probably a relief. they get excused from child support obligations and everything else that goes along with being a parent. >> but for unmarried fathers who want to raise their children, it it can be a different story. john and his mom say they've found at least a dozen other men who say utah's laws made it hard to claim their rights as fathers. nick thurnwood, for example, says his girlfriend gave their baby up for adoption without telling had him. he fought all the way to the utah's supreme court. the ruling? nick did a lot of things right but failed to sign one key document. you lose all your rights to your own child because you didn't sign a piece of paper? >> it felt like someone had ripped my heart out. i couldn't function. i cried my eyes out. >> cody owe day's ex-girlfriend told him she had a miscarriage, then months later out of the blue she called him. >> she said, i'm in utah. you will not father this child. dow understand what i'm saying? >> she mentioneds utah. >> just i'm in utah. that was after the phone call. she gave birth and gave it up within 24 hours. >> you missed the deadline. >> i missed the deadline. >> ramsay shaud said he did not miss the deadlines. his lawyer filed records with the utah department of vital records the day before the baby was born. >> and it was stamped received there january 14, 2010. >> and yet he later found -- >> it had an "x" drawn through it and rescamped january 20, 2010. >> why does that matter, it it's january 20th? >> because it's one day late. >> one day late. >> yes, ma'am. >> ramsay is still contesting the adoption, still hopes to get had his child back. nick and cody have run out of option option. do any of you know the names of your children? >> no. >> know where they live? >> no. >> seen recent photos? >> no. >> are you aware there's controversy about utah's laws? >> oh, absolutely i am. yes. >> utah attorney general mark shurt shert live is not involved in the wyatt case but it's his job to enforce and interpret utah law. he's also the father of five children, three of them adopted. >> i would agree we have a pretty strict requirement when it comes to the unmarried biological father. we do. >> why? why is that? >> because in a situation where birth mother who carried that child and who has made a decision that is in the best interest of her child to go to an adoptive child, we ought to have the same interest in the father. he ought to step up and show the same kind of commitment he had to that child in order to stop that. >> shirt live says the 20-day deadline requires fathers to show that commitment and also protects adoptive children and parents. >> there is an impact on a child to be in a home for 30 days, six months, a year and then have that changed and shifted. so there has to be some point where there's a cutoff. some may say utah's too short with 20 days, but we're comfortable with it and we think it provides an opportunity for a birth father to step forward and expresses his desire for custody. >> how can it be that a father who has baby and wants to raise it isn't allowed to do that? >> again, you have to have rules and procedures in place. you can't say, well, in this case we really, really feel strongly about this so let's not apply the law. >> none of that means much much to john wyatt. >> i really don't care about the state of utah. i just want my child back. >> but could he get her back? and should he? can you see why people would say, well, maybe she's better off where she is? coming up -- some troubling facts about john wyatt's background. you called a bomb threat in to your school. that's pretty serious. i can't let allergies stop me from leading the way... so, i get claritin clear... alright... let's move on team ! claritin works hard to relieve my worst symptoms. and only claritin is proven to keep you as alert and focused as someone without allergies. no other brand can say that not even allegra. watch your step ! i couldn't do this without you ! don't let allergies hold you back. live claritin clear with non-drowsy claritin. we'll never stop sharing our memories or getting lost in a good book. we'll always cook dinner and cheer for our favorite team. we'll still go to meetings make home movies and learn new things. but how we do all this, will never be the same. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ kmart's got the looks, and you've got what it takes - to make this year, epic! now that's kmart smart! ♪ jif to go goes here goes there ♪ ♪ jif to go goes anywhere ♪ ♪ jif to go goes here goes there ♪ ♪ jif to go goes everywhere ♪ ♪ goes here, goes there ♪ ♪ jif to go, wherever you go ♪ [ male announcer ] a photo on your desk. a memory on your wall. coziness over your chair. it's a little taste of home at the office. marie callender's gives you one more. smoky cheddar mac with bacon with homemade touches like cheddar cheese and crispy bacon for a surprising 380 calories. just one of 11 steamed meals for under 500 calories. perfect for lunch. marie callender's fresh flavor steamers. it's time to savor. 3q new odor detect from air wick. a new air freshener so smart that it detects and overcomes unpleasant odors. odor detect works on more than a thousand odors, to keep your world at its brightest. new odor detect. something in the air wick. in the spring of 2009, john wyatt found out that his girlfriend put their baby girl up for adoption without his consent and the baby was living with a couple in itutah. john wants his daughter back, but when he researched utah adoption laws, he found out he faced an uphill battle at best. his response? so what? >> i don't care how they do things out there. this isn't like the wild, wild west. we have laws that you must abide by. >> the question is, whose laws? john went to court in his home state state of virginia, where his daughter was born. when his daughter was 6 months old, he won a big victory. or so he thought. >> a judge granted you temporary custody of your daughter. >> yes. >> it you get her? >> no. >> just because a day later a court in utah issued exactly the opposite ruling ordering temporary custody to the adoptive parents. then in december 2009 when the baby was 10 months old, a virginia judge again ruled in john's john's favor. he granted you full custody of your daughter. >> yes. >> did you get her back? >> no. >> the courts in utah still maintained since john missed utah's filing deadline, he had no right to be with her, right to intervene with the adoption. utah attorney general mark shurtleff. a virginia court found in john wyatt's favor. why didn't utah recognize that? >> why doesn't virginia recognize our law? that's the debate you have. >> he's out of luck. >> that's right. that's where the adoption occurred, where the child is now. that's where the law applies. i don't want to say, so sad, too bad. that's not my attitude for the father. i hurt for the father. but we have to have laws and rules in place so we have consistency in the application of the laws. that's what we think is provided here. >> hard to paccept for a father who never met his daughter. have you seen her at all? >> no. >> not in person, but he did see pictures. and from an unlikely source, ex-girlfriend colleen, the baby's mother. a few months after giving birth, after some tense conversations, she sent him a few precious snapshots. you have a picture of her? >> uh-huh. >> do you carry it with you? >> uh-huh. >> can i see it? >> yeah. >> how often do you look at that every day? >> every time i look at my phone. that's why i put it as my background. >> do you feel like you know her? >> uh-huh. i feel like i know her very well. >> the photos made john more determined than ever to get his daughter back. over the course of a year, we followed him to hearing after hearing. >> we're hoping to get a contempt of court order and hopefully bring my daughter back to the state of virginia. >> but it didn't happen. the utah court did not recognize the virginia court's order. federal courts generally stay out of adoption cases so john's baby remained in utah. months passed. milestones flashed by. you missed her first birthday. >> i missed a lot of pivotal moments in her life. >> yet john and his mom set p upup a nursery just in case. do you come in here and look at these things. >> i don't like to. it's hard. >> i come in here every day. >> john won a small victory in april 2010 when his daughter was 14 months old. the utah supreme court agreed to hear john's case, placing the adoption on hold. still, his daughter remained with the uteutah couple. john found out the couple were in their 40s, lived in suburban slssalt lake city, the husband had a phd, the wife had a professional career but took a leave to care for the baby. all of that john knew stood in stark contrast to him, in his 20s, single, still living with his mom, and attending community college. >> just because someone has a better car or a better house or a better education, that makes them more fit to raise a child? than someone who has less of those things? >> what if they could give her a better life, though? >> they could never give her a better life than what i could give her because i will always there for her telling her how much i love her. there no one who could do a better job raising her than me. >> the adoptive parents may disagree. they may cite this as an argument. john wyatt has a criminal record. the trouble started when he was in high school. >> that was a very dark time. i was young and stupid, made a lot of mistakes. >> one mistake was marijuana possession, another mistake was this, you called a bomb threat into your school. that was pretty serious. >> i made a mistake. i owned up to it. i paid my debt to society. i did everything i could and more to pay it it back. and here i am. >> and he says his brief stint in jail does not disqualify him from being a dad. >> i really don't care if i don't fit anyone's criteria or meet their bar or whatever because i know i'm good enough to raise my daughter and i know what type of father i would be towards had her if she was here. and that would be a great one. >> of course, the utah couple believe they, too, will be great parents. they declined to speak with us on camera, but their attorney sent us a statement saying they did not want to try the case in the media and were concerned about the impact of media coverage on the child. the statement continued, the birth mother made the difficult and courageous choice to place the child with the adoptive parents because she believed that the child deserved a loving, stable, two-parent home. their primary concern has and always will be the best interest interests of the child. and that it loving, stable couple has a good lawyer, attorney jenkins. jenkins doesn't just handle adoption cases. he actually helped write utah's adoption laws. do you have the sense these are powerful people out in utah you're dealing with? >> absolutely. >> maybe more powerful than you and your son? >> oh, absolutely. >> they also learned more about that adoption agency, a act of love. the agency's web site makes clear it it will arrange an adoption even if the birth father objects. a act of love is run by a woman who, judging by the video on her web site, believes in the value of adoption. >> my name is kathy, and this is my husband. we have eight adopted children out of ten. >> but she did not return are our phone calls about this case. >> the truth of the matter is, they take babies from people that they shouldn't. they're able to take these babies and call it an adoption when it's not. >> what is it? >> it's really, in my opinion, kidnapping. >> which is precisely the argument they planned to make before the utah supreme court. after months of battles, the wyatts faced a showdown that might finally determine whether they'd ever see john's baby. >> and the court will ve to the next case on our calendar. >> they knew it baz a long shot, but john also knew he now had support from perhaps the last place you'd expect. a new and important ally in his struggle. what did she say to you, do you remember? 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[ falcon screeches ] . in september 2010, john and gerri wyatt arrived in salt lake city on the eve of the utah supreme court hearing that could determine whether john would get to raise his daughter or even meet her. john's case led the local news that night. >> john wyatt says a utah couple adopted his daughter without his consent. >> emotionally, this has consumed my whole life. this means everything to me. >> they had allies in the fight, a kind of community that formed among the birth fathers who felt cheated by utah's laws. often the women in their lives, their own mothers or sisters or girlfriends, were the most vocal. remember are cody o'day whose child was adopted in a case similar to john's? he's married now and his wife tonya shares his pain. >> there is a lot of anger and hurt and knowing that cody is a good father and nobody deserves this. >> she had driven 375 miles from wyoming to be with john and gerri. they had connected online but had never met before. >> hi! >> hi. nice to finally meet you. >> yes. >> john also had support from a much more unlikely source. he says a few months after she gave their baby up for adoption, his former girlfriend colleen called him and deliver it some amazing news. what did she say to you exactly? do you remember? >> i messed up. i made huge mistake. if i could take it back, i would take it back every day of my life. >> a remarkable turns about. and even though colleen denied our interview request, she confirmed in a sworn affidavit that she now regrets her adoption decision and wishes she and john were raising the child. so she's essentially on your side now. she thinks the baby should come back, too? >> uh-huh. >> even so, on the morning of the hearing, john and his mom walked up the steps of the utah supreme court with no idea what to expect. >> it's scary. >> the case was called in the matter of baby ez, john's lawyer who joined the case after the lower court ruled pointed out that in virginia john was legally the baby's father. >> virginia court interpreted their statutes that he complied with what he was required to do. >> he also tried a new argument, that a federal law called the parental kidnapping prevention act or pkpa require ared that virginia, not utah, should stied decide the case. >> virginia found that notice was given. >> lar jenkins, representing the adoptive parents argued here in utah the adoption was perfectly legal and the pkpa did not apply. >> it doesn't make complete sense to apply the pkpa completely to adoptions. >> john's lawyer tried to make another point, that utah's adoption laws sometimes had unintended consequences. >> the inherent risk of becoming a magnet seeking opportunities for biological fathers. i think that is reflected by the attention this case has received, that people are are becoming aware of that and rightfully so outraged. >> counsel, i appreciate your comments in that regard, but i want to remind you and all the involved parties that we don't decide cases based on public opinion. we decide cases based on the law and the facts. >> the hearing adjourned. the justices deliberate for months, even a year, before they issued an opinion. but the arguments continued outside the courtroom. larry jenkins, attorney for the adopted parents, said john wyatt missed utah's deadline. >> biological fathers need to take certain steps to preserve their rights to contest an adoption. our point is that he didn't take them in it a timely manner. >> he said the adopted parents were committed to raising the baby. >> they're going to continue to fight. they've bonded with this baby. the baby only knows them as her parents, and they have a good, loving family unit. this is very hard on them. >> minutes later, cody o's day's wife tonya confronted jenkins, who was also involved in cody's case. >> i'm cody's wife and you've ruined my whole family. do you have any sympathy, empathy? how would you feel if your five children, one of them it, was taken from you? over the law? you have ruined -- >> i understand -- >> can you look me in the eye? >> i understand the issues you're dealing with. >> no, you don't understand. >> you've never lost a child. >> look in my eyes. you can't even look in my eyes. >> thank you. >> you have no sympathy for what you're doing. how can you sleep at night? that's what i would like to know. how do you sleep at night? >> a case full of anger and love was nearing a decisive moment. which family will keep the baby? the utah supreme court issues its decision. >> i will never, ever forget that day. and later in our second hour -- what happened to nancy? the day she disappeared. . >> it all seemed like just a bad nightmare. >> a young mother went for a run and vanished. found later strangled, dumped in a drainage ditch. >> we had a homicide, we had no suspects. >> who would want her zmed. >> i'd often point-blank, what have you done? >> her husband did have an affair with had her best friend. >> took place in her home, in the closet of the master bedroom. >> a bad marriage, but was it murder? finally, on a computer map, one crucial clue. >> it's the most pointed piece of premeditation. 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[ male announcer ] when you buy at&t's unlimited messaging plan, families can call any u.s. mobile phone for free. at&t.. i know i never wanted it to end. well, hey, at least the pasta's never ending. really? yeah, you choose your pasta, choose your sauce, as many times as you want! a dish i create and it's never ending. i'm in! i'm in! the never ending pasta bowl is back. for just $8.95 try new sauces like roasted mushroom parmesan and hearty pizzaiola meat. enjoy any sauce and pasta combination, then try others. have all you want along with our unlimited fresh salad and warm breadsticks all for just $8.95. try it tonight at your olive garden. when you're here you're family. o'day. we appreciate it. we'll take the case under advisement. >> hours later, john wyatt paid a visit to the home of her baby daughter and adoptive parents and invited local news crews along. >> i figured if they were home i could talk with them patient to parent and we could talk to some kind of agreement where i could see her or visit with her or at least get a picture of her. >> he also brought a gift for his daughter. >> i felt really nervous just to know that she could be, like, within 5 or 10 feet. >> but no one was home. and heehe when he tried to talk to a neighbor -- >> she proceeded to tell me she would call the cops on me if i didn't leave. >> the utah couple's statement said, the adoptive parents have been the victims of mr. wyatt's belated challenge to the adoption of their child who is now very much a part of their family. but remember john wyatt says his challenge was late because of the other side made it almost impossible to figure out where the baby was or what he had to do to claim her. and even as the utah supreme court deliberated his case, wyatt's lawyers found new evidence they say packs up his claim. >> from are the adoptive parents to the lawyers to the parents, all the way around, it it was one big conspiracy. >> wyatt's team filed documents they say paint a picture of what happened behind the scenes of the adoption. we've only seen excerpts included in the court record. one is part of a private e-mail written by the adoptive parents' lawyer larry jenkins. we all knew going into things there was a possibility wyatt would contest things and you agreed to take the baby knowing that. >> clearly, most human beings with any heart at all wouldn't come into another state knowing a man wants his baby and just say, too bad, we want a baby, and we're going to take her. >> also included in court documents filed by wyatt's team, an e-mail from the adoptive father in which, referring to his own lawyer, he describes larry's strategy to keep john wyatt trying to figure out what truly needs to be done. >> first thing that goes through my mind is, how could they do this to a child that they claim to love? when in all reality these people are doing the most vile, you know, shady thing you can do, which is basically steal someone's child. >> an allegation the couple vigorously denies. in their statement, they wrote, mr. wyatt has asserted that the adoptive parents have kidnapped the child. this cannot be further from the truth. and there's no proof anyone broke the law. utah attorney general mark shurtleff seemed concerned when he heard about the allegations that wyatt was kept in the dark. >> i don't know whether that's true or not. i haven't seen the documents. i would expect adoption agencies license nd this state to follow the law. because utah law clearly recognizes the right of a nonmarried biological father to certain rights. >> what about the bigger question, do utah laws, no matter how well intended, harm some father snz. >> i would be willing to look at it and talk to our legislature. >> as an attorney general you'd be willing to look at this issue closer and see if there's something happening inadvertently to hurt birth absolutely. i think our legislature would look at it. >> on july 19th the state's highest court issued its opinion in john wyatt's case. the justices wrote, since wyatt failed to raise the kidnapping angt in lower considerate, he could not argue in now. they concluded, mr. wyatt failed to timely assert his parental rights under utah law. that cleared the way for the adoption to proceed. john's mom gerri got the news first. >> it's been a tremendous blow to me. i will never, ever forget that day. >> john himself took the news more calmly. >> to be honest, i was not surprised. this is what utah does. i wasn't shocked they ruled against me. >> john is hoping he may have better luck in federal court the he's filed a federal suit against the utah couple, their attorney larry jenkins and the dopgs agency. the civil suit accuses them of fraud, of denying john's civil rights and of kidnapping john's baby. it seems millions of dollars in damages. all the defendants deny the allegations saying there is no factual basis for the lawsuit. and even if wyatt wins, he may get money but not his daughter. his only chance now of gaining custody, the u.s. supreme court. if the court agrees to hear the case, it could take months, maybe years, and the child is already 2 1/2. you don't worry about the emotional damage if she's wrenched out of the arms of her adoptive family? >> to it think she could be harmed because of this, it breaks my heart. but she belongs here with had her family. >> how long can you fight this? >> until my heart stops beating, i will never given up. until the day die, i will never given up. our next story involves a young mother who disappeared one morning. her husband said she went for a run and never it came home. it was a puzzling case. it it happened in a safe, suburban neighborhood, the kind of place where crime is unexpected. even more unxpektsexpected, the tiny clue buried in a computer that unlocked the mystery. here's keith morrison. >> nothing about that morning made any sense. >> it itall just seemed like such a bad nightmare. this doesn't happen in our happy little world. >> it was a saturday morning in july. the happy little world is a sweet and leafy suburb of raleigh, north carolina, called cary, a place a young family would aspire to, if you were someone like hannah prich ert, for example. >> there's always lots of friend making going on through someone you meet, lots cookouts and family functions. >> like the one in the neighborhood the night before. so hannah would have heard party stories that saturday morning