and he could have dropped out at this point and let police handle it from here. but karl pushed ahead, feeling he had to do this himself, convinced that only he could find standefer. and an investor told me that dennis will tell you he s going up north if he s going south. it s always misinformation. reporter: ryll called harold karaka, who began working the phones and e-mail. and seemed to hit paydirt. we tracked him through malaysia, through the hotels he ripped off there by not paying his hotel bills or phone bills. reporter: the bills and other documents like this were clear evidence that standefer had been there. but the trail was cold once again and was going nowhere. until one more victim heard about karl s hunt. and called him from jakarta, indonesia. like the philippines and malaysia, a nation in the south asia sea. he called me and said, he s over here. he said, i didn t see him. but i missed him by about two hours but i got a business card. it says dennis austin. t
and they took me to several departments. we signed complaints. and they told me exactly what needed to be done. reporter: back in los angeles, the other investors who first told karl not to go after dennis were now firmly behind him. they understood why this hunt seemed to possess karl, take him over. dennis probably made the mistake of hitting at the core of karl s character. and my observations, he s a very honorable man. and he couldn t let that go unchallenged. reporter: but in jakarta, as so often before, the question cropped up again. where to look for dennis standefer? police thought they would start in the antique district of jakarta. karl and his home video camera went along. and it turned out that, yes. a lot of dealers in this part of town were quite familiar with an american named dennis. dennis, no title. just nickname. dennis. reporter: they knew him only as dennis.
running out of money and time, high school teacher karl ryll headed to jakarta, indonesia, tracking down one, last lead on treasure hunter and alleged con man dennis standefer. unlike the philippines, few people here spoke english. and in the summer of 1999, indonesia was in the midst of rebellion. americans were outsiders, often unwelcome in a nation battling internal strife. it was not a safe place for americans. it was very dangerous. so, i was a little apprehensive going in. i wasn t sure what to do. reporter: armed only with a letter from filipino prosecutors, karl went to the jakarta office of interpol, the international police agency. they heard my story.
reporter: it could be another near-miss. standefer could be long gone once again. or he might still be in jakarta. this might be karl s last best chance to end his two-year hunt. by this point, he says, his time with dennis and the search for him had cost him more than $30,000. he didn t have much cash left. just enough for one more shot. should he take it in jakarta? there was only one way to find out. karl ryll had to go to a country where he knew no one, and had no contacts at all. and if he found the man he was looking for, what could he do? and what might happen to him? coming up, karl ryll hits the streets of jakarta. had standefer slipped away again? i had pretty much given up. i thought, it ain t going to happen. mommy says brush up and down, like this. [ mumbles ] mommy taught me bunny ears.
that s his middle name. reporter: it could be another near-miss. standefer could be long gone once again. or he might still be in jakarta. this might be karl s last best chance to end his two-year hunt. by this point, he says, his time with dennis and the search for him had cost him more than $30,000. he didn t have much cash left. just enough for one more shot. should he take it in jakarta? there was only one way to find out. karl ryll had to go to a country where he knew no one, and had no contacts at all. and if he found the man he was looking for, what could he do? and what might happen to him? coming up, karl ryll hits the streets of jakarta. had standefer slipped away again? i had pretty much given up. i thought, it ain t going to happen. [ horn honks ]