her mission. so how many names did you have? about 2,300 names. could cutting-edge technology crack an ice-cold case? i was like, no way. i believe in the devil, and people that don t believe in the devil, i think, they re in for a big surprise. hello and welcome to dateline. michella and jenni were just like most kids their age. they loved riding bikes, and playing outdoors. the fun-loving girls didn t know each other. but they would be forever connected, through tragedy. decades later, a detective would leave no stone unturned, on a quest for justice. and in the process, uncovered a twist that left investigators speechless. here is keith morrison with evil was watching. again and again, she came here. stood under the ancient canopy. walked the damp, narrow paths, to the places the killer used to hide what he had done. as if looking, once more, after all these years would tell her something. as if the dense undergrowth would part and finally reveal a name
angles. was it a kidnapping? maybe, they were going to ask for ransom. we just didn t know. or maybe, jenni got lost or was badly hurt. there were, literally, hundreds of people looking through the park for her. everybody wanted to find jenni. gene miller helped run down hundreds of suspected sightings. there was a lot of good-faith effort, on the part of citizens, to call in. and say i think i saw her here or i think i saw her there. pattie waited. still, hoping her jenni would walk right in the door. she was at home, when she got a visit from another mother. barbara. michella s mom. there to offer support. just seemed like the thing to do. she was very, very sweet. very nice. i said, thank you. she left. and i said, to a friend who was sitting there, i m not sure why she came. jennifer s not dead. you represented the outcome she kpraetly did not want to
saying that i need to come home. jenni was hours late. pattie heard the fear in her husband s voice. she drove home, terrified. police were looking in the park. told her, stay home, and wait. and then, about 11-or-so at night, there is a knock on the front door. it s somebody, with the police department, with the bloodhounds. oh, boy. they want a piece of jennifer s clothing. something they can get a scent off of. they didn t find jenni, that night. or the next day. tacoma police closed point defiance park for three days. hundreds of people joined the search. nbc affiliate, king 5, covered it. jenni s sister, theresa, pleaded for help. just take time. just think back. just sit down, and remember. any, little bit would help. meanwhile, police worked the
especially worrisome. a man out jogging reported seeing someone who looked like the sketch in a different park. a place called point defiance park. a few miles away. scouting his next victim? fear gripped the city. though, for barbara, it felt more like rage. she got a gun permit. kept a gun in her car. i d go pull up at a stoplight, and i remember looking over and there is a man in the car and i was thinking, could you have done this? did you do this? because they had no clues, for months, months, and months. and it was fog. you just living in a fog. then, it was summer. five months had passed. august, that year, was fabulous in the pacific northwest. and woke up a little late. jenni woke up a little late. just the two of them. pattie bastian and her 13-year-old, jenni. and we were sitting in the dining room, on the floor. in front of the patio doors, bathing ourselves in the sun.
ask for ransom. we just didn t know. or maybe, jenni got lost or was badly hurt. there were, literally, hundreds of people looking through the park for her. everybody wanted to find jenni. gene miller helped run down hundreds of suspected sightings. there was a lot of good-faith effort, on the part of citizens, to call in. and say i think i saw her here or i think i saw her there. pattie waited. still, hoping her jenni would walk right in the door. she was at home, when she got a visit from another mother. barbara. michella s mom. there to offer support. just seemed like the thing to do. she was very, very sweet. very nice. i said, thank you. she left. and i said, to a friend who was sitting there, i m not sure why she came. jennifer s not dead. you represented the outcome she kpraetly did not want to have happen.