keith morrison : al brocchini, the first detective on the case watched as searchers scoured the area. keith morrison : they were everywhere, right? they were just al brocchini: oh, yeah. they did a grid search, meaning they wouldve they wouldve been in eye contact and walked this whole area. keith morrison : brocchini and jon buehler, his partner at the time, had a feeling from the start, laci peterson missing wasnt going to end well. jon buehler: because she didnt lead an at-risk lifestyle. keith morrison: yeah. jon buehler: she didnt hang around at the bars. and she wasnt out two- timing him or doing anything like that. i mean, she was a girl that was just ecstatic, from everything that i learned about her, of being a mother. keith morrison : so she wasnt someone who would just walk away. and yet, in the anxiety, hope. an idea formed in the minds of those who loved laci, that somehow this might turn out all right. sharon rocha: we know were going to find laci. we know were going to
i was screaming her name. keith morrison : no sign of her anywhere. lacis friends spent the early hours of christmas morning making missing posters. rene tomlinson: the next morning, i walked in. was it christmas day? we had fliers and tape and everything. rene tomlinson: were going to start passing these out to the family and volunteers. its awesome. just one that another way to get her the cheer out there. stacey boyers: we hit the ground running. we just lori ellsworth: go, go, go. sharon rocha: yeah. stacey boyers: get up the next day and i mean sharon rocha: i know i didnt sleep for days. female voice: yeah, didn t put makeup on. that was the last thing from my mind. female voice: i mean, we pretty much cancelled christmas- female voice: yeah. didn t have christmas with our fam didn t have christmas dinner- female voice: my daughter s first christmas. i was not with her. unidentified man: this is to oakdale. unidentified woman: yeah, thats where im going to be. keith morriso
sharon rocha: it does. it does. it absolutely does. keith morrison : laci petersons mother sharon, remembers telling her son-in-law scott, check with the neighbors, call lacis friends. keith morrison : and he did? you all rene tomlinson: yeah. lori ellsworth: mm-hm. rene tomlinson: we all got a call. stacey boyers: yeah. he asked me if id seen her that day. have you seen laci at all today? lori ellsworth: and then he called back. stacey boyers: i said, no, i havent. and hes like, well, shes shes missing. and keith morrison: did he seem frantic, or worried, or what? lori ellsworth: a little bit. keith morrison : worried enough to ask for their help. keith morrison : so, did you all go over to his lori ellsworth: yeah. sharon rocha: yeah. keith morrison: to their place? keith morrison: sharon rochas long-time boyfriend ron grantski called the cops. operator (911 recording): can i help you? ron grantski (911 recording): my son-in-law called he was playing golf. my daughters been miss
sharon rocha: he wasnt rene tomlinson: he wasnt on the stage. sharon rocha: no, he wasnt on the stage. rene tomlinson: he was not. lori ellsworth: no, he was on the phone. keith morrison : sharon wouldnt know for a long time the truth about scotts phone call that night. but it was that night after the vigil that privately, sharon first allowed her mind to go to that very dark place. sharon rocha: i remember it was new years eve lori ellsworth: yeah. sharon rocha: when i started going back and forth, but just to myself. i wouldnt say it out loud. i was afraid to say it out loud. but i started just kind of thinking, could he be involved with her disappearance? keith morrison : sharon was a frantic mess and she looked at him and he just seemed so detached somehow. sharon rocha: never once did he say, oh, my god. where is laci? stacey boyers: no. sharon rocha: where could she be? i hope shes okay. i hope, you know, shes not harmed. never, ever, ever keith morrison: you were feeling tha
keith morrison : heres lori, rene and stacey along with another friend in january of 2003. rene tomlinson: you know, theres a five-hundred-thousand-dollar reward for her and, you know, the babys safe return. just take that, you know? take the money and give us laci back. keith morrison : so, in those first days an exhausted sharon rocha, her ex-husband, lacis father dennis beside her, went on tv and pleaded with a kidnapper. sharon rocha: wed just like to send a message out there that whoever has her, please, please, please let her go. bring her back to us. dennis rocha: we love her so much. keith morrison : early on, there were clues the cops uncovered that made kidnapping seem plausible. remember the couples dog with the leash attached? scott found it in the backyard? a neighbor said she saw the petersons dog wandering the street earlier that day. so, maybe laci was kidnapped while walking the dog. and just about the time laci disappeared, there was a burglary right across the street