july 2nd, 2008, about 11:00 p.m. steve democker, his daughter charlotte, and charlotte s boyfriend jake were eating a very late dinner. he had taken a few more bites of his dinner and then by that point charlotte and i were pretty close to being finished. reporter: that s when steve told them about a strange phone call he received from carol s brother. who told him that apparently carol s home phone suddenly cut out when she was talking to her mother ruth, and nobody could reach her. how did charlotte react to that? she was worried. reporter: charlotte said she texted her mom earlier that evening. everything seemed fine then. but now? she called her mother. voice mail. hey mom. its char. i heard from grandmother that something happened while you guys were on the phone and she was kind of worried about you. so i wanted to text you to see if everything was okay. now i m kind of getting worried about you. so if you want to text me back or call me or something, just let me know
reporter: july 2nd, 2008, about 11:00 p.m. steve democker, his daughter charlotte, and charlotte s boyfriend jake were eating a very late dinner. he had taken a few more bites of his dinner and then by that point charlotte and i were pretty close to being finished. reporter: that s when steve told them about a strange phone call he received from carol s brother. who told him that apparently carol s home phone suddenly cut out when she was talking to her mother ruth, and nobody could reach her. how did charlotte react to that? she was worried. reporter: charlotte said she texted her mom earlier that evening. everything seemed fine, then. but now? she called her mother. voice-mail. hey mom. its char. i heard from grandmother that something happened while you guys were on the phone and she was kind of worried about you. so, i wanted to text you to see if everything was okay. now i m kind of getting worried about you. so if you want to text me back or call me or something jus
reporter: july 2nd, 2008, about 11:00 p.m. steve democker, his daughter charlotte, and charlotte s boyfriend jake were eating a very late dinner. reporter: that s when steve told them about a strange phone call he received from carol s brother. who told him that apparently carol s home phone suddenly cut out when she was talking to her mother ruth, and nobody could reach her. how did charlotte react to that? she was worried. reporter: charlotte said she texted her mom earlier that evening. everything seemed fine, then. but now? she called her mother. voice-mail. hey mom. its char. i heard from grandmother that something happened while you guys were on the phone and she was kind of worried about you. so, i wanted to text you to see if everything was okay. now i m kind of getting worried about you. so if you want to text me back or call me or something just let me know that you re okay and that everything s okay.
reporter: july 2nd, 2008, about 11:00 p.m. steve democker, his daughter charlotte, and charlotte s boyfriend jake were eating a very late dinner. he had taken a few more bites of his dinner and then by that point charlotte and i were pretty close to being finished. reporter: that s when steve told them about a strange phone call he received from carol s brother. who told him that apparently carol s home phone suddenly cut out when she was talking to her mother ruth, and nobody could reach her. how did charlotte react to that? she was worried. reporter: charlotte said she texted her mom earlier that evening. everything seemed fine, then. but now? she called her mother. voice-mail. hey mom. its char. i heard from grandmother that something happened while you guys were on the phone and she was kind of worried about you. so, i wanted to text you to see if everything was okay. now i m kind of getting worried about you.
reporter: july 2nd, 2008, about 11:00 p.m. steve democker, his daughter charlotte, and charlotte s boyfriend jake were eating a very late dinner. he had taken a few more bites of his dinner and then by that point charlotte and i were pretty close to being finished. reporter: that s when steve told them about a strange phone call he received from carol s brother. who told him that apparently carol s home phone suddenly cut out when she was talking to her mother ruth, and nobody could reach her. how did charlotte react to that? she was worried. reporter: charlotte said she texted her mom earlier that