actually happening. how soon could they meet geri, the sisters wanted to know. and what s she like? how did she know shirley? we arranged a reunion for the next day. geri arrived first and told us how she saw the long lost girls on our program. i saw the picture of shirley and went crazy. i was hysterical because i knew who she was. and then when i saw the girls, i knew they were mine. after how all those years? 37 years. there they are. what did that feel like? it felt great. i had been hoping to find my children before i die because i m getting old. and it was like a miracle. geri s story that shirley who took the girls had been her friend turned roommate turned babysitter. she said i ll babysit for you. i ll take care of her while you work. i said, well, that s great
yep, that means it s confirmed. i can t believe this is actually happening. how soon could they meet geri, the sisters wanted to know. and what s she like? how did she know shirley? we arranged a reunion for the next day. geri arrived first and told us how she saw the long lost girls on our program. i saw the picture of shirley and went crazy. i was hysterical because i knew who she was. and then when i saw the girls, i knew they were mine. after how all those years? 37 years. there they are. what did that feel like? it felt great. i had been hoping to find my children before i die because i m getting old. and it was like a miracle. geri s story that shirley who took the girls had been her friend turned roommate turned babysitter. she said i ll babysit for you. i ll take care of her while you
a five-day break in trial. reporter: the amazing discovery of the long lost videotape could very well be grounds for a mistrial because the defense got it after the start of the trial. for five days the prosecutors researched case law, marshaled their arguments and worried about yet more relays in the trial. but then, good news. the defense attorney decided he would not request a mistrial. back in court prosecutors played the crime scene tape. the public s first chance to see what investigators did the day of the murder. i recalled prior to playing the tape my dread on, boy, what s the family going to feel? reporter: it was trooper beatty who took the stand when the video rolled. this was the first time they ve seen their daughter in this horrible position. dead floating in the water. unbelievable. unbelievable. i couldn t stop crying, but i made myself watch everything.
and prove that, you know, she had been murdered and she didn t fall off the cliff. reporter: his co-counsel jenna gruenstein was a 13-year-old anchorage school girl when bonnie was murdered. i remember very vividly how much this impacted the community. everyone s sense of security when you know that somebody was kind of literally snatched off the street. reporter: here in anchorage they were under intense pressure. the courtroom was packed, standing-room only. then on the second day of the trial, a new problem. the defense attorn told the jury in his opening statement that the initial investigation at mchugh creek was inadequate and, in fact, the crime scene video was missing and had been for years. confirming karen s worst fears about the troopers. it just made us sick. reporter: which made the news that came the next day all the more shocking. out of the blue, somebody at the alaska state trooper s office found the crime scene tape. good news? well, you d think. but my
thank you so much. arthel? arthel: the family of a world war ii veteran finally reunited with his purple heart after it was last seen in the early 60s. new york senator chuck schumer presenting relatives with the long lost award helping to right what can surely be seen as a story bookending. we have the story now from our new york city newsroom. hi, brian. about a decade ago a man named joseph ridlin was walking a friend s dog along a road in new york when he found a shiny object lying in the dirt. it was a purple heart. the medal carrying the inscription on the back reading for military merit, bj mcnamara december 9, 1943. he told fox news he tried to locate its owner for years before eventually putting it in a box at home and forgetting about it. in july he gave the medal to a friend, a former navy corpsman who then enlisted new york democratic senator schumer s office to help locate its long lost owner. and today senator chuck schumer