reporter: it was a frustrating year back in 2006 here in california central valley. those purple ribbon search teams came up empty. reporter: dave hawk, a person of interest. he seems to have an alibi. all three kids were with him in his house the night debbie vanished and it was not a shred of physical evidence. i don t believe he would be capable of doing something like this. reporter: then they started polki poking around the relationship between debbie and dave. in the months before debbie disappeared, dave took debbie to
theory. debbie worked in pharmaceutical sales. all of the pharmaceuticals in her van were missing. somebody took it. reporter: that was a ludicrous idea. why didn t thieves take any jewelry or electronics. it all comes down to dave, his behavior and characters and own words like the conversation with a friend police reported which they speculate on what may have happened to debbie. the defense in court as an unguard he basically offered that i don t think she s ever going to be found. did it work? listen to prosecutor larry
from investigators. this was getting pretty concerning out there. reporter: on may 29th, dave hawk was arrested and charged with first degree murder and special circumstances, murder for financial gain. he pleaded not guilty. when the trial finally began, dave faced murder and earlier embezzlement charges together. larry crouch offered the jury this theory. . dave snuck out of his house without waking up his children. maybe he could use a ladder and got someone to give him a ride to debbie s house. i think he tried the stun gun on her and she screamed very loudly. he struck her with something more than once.
reporter: his kids says they did not hear him leaving the house and there was no evidence that dave was at the crime scene. did you find any dna? no. reporter: hairs? anything? but then they just begun to uncover the troubling secrets of dave and debbie hawk. coming up, a family divided. my suspicion was growing stronger and stronger. when the disappearance of debbie hawk continues. e of
but is it over? no. in march of 2016, 10 years after debbie hawk disappeared, a farm hand found her remains. debbie s father had a dying wish that she be found before he passed away. he left this earth just a week after that discovery. the children who held a posing views about their father s innocence. it s complicated, huh? yep. is this creating a rift between the two of you? a little bit, yes. not easygoing for the children of dave and debbie hawk. it s going to take a while, but we don t want to lose it.