his sister says he could be quiet and shy but always wanted to be around heidi. they did everything together. i don t think they that they really did much without each other. reporter: in 1998, stephen and heidi moved to this rental townhouse in dundalk, maryland. stephen s dad steve sr. says after living together for nearly two-years, the couple was talking about taking the next step. was it your understanding steve, they were going to get hitched? yes, in vegas and every time i talked to em that s that was their plans. it never changed. he loved her. reporter: the timing seemed good. heidi had just gotten a promotion at the insurance company where she worked. she was finally a 9-to-5- er after years of temping. she was just gettin started or gettin settled into a niche when-when things happened. reporter: strange things that rattled heidi. in april of that year, it appeared someone was trying to break into their townhouse there was chipping around a lock on their
and then it was pushed. anybody that would have been on that side, they would have been dead. as you can see, it s solid block. reporter: and there were 13 people who died here in new york city and several of them in queens because the water was just that ferocious. it was more powerful than a concrete wall and certainly more powerful than people could hold back with just a regular front door or a basement door. so another woman was literally in tears as she was clearing out her basement yet again, but this time from a storm that she and no one here had ever anticipated to be this fierce. she said she doesn t know what to do and she is literally crying for help, hoping that the president will understand this is not just a one-time event for them. they have seen water come into their property before and have been begging for years for an upgrade in the infrastructure. they are hoping with all hope that something will happen this time with the president s visit.