Within. Some say she had a history of emotional troubles. Screaming n obscenities and shouting. Reporter could this beloved teacher have multiple personalities . To find what happened an elite group of detectives would launch an elaborate missionch. The staged kid nappings, the fake blood is truly phenomenal. Reporter all leading to a sit downal they called mr. Big. Shattering. The story youre about to witness is all too real though it may seem perhaps implausible likepe a play or a movie with a its dark heart something quite unspeakable. The actors are the family divided across a thin line separating truth and deception. Theres the gambler with that desperate hand, the voice, the presence, someonee, from the beyond. And the audacious undercover caper all to solve an 11yearold mystery and put under the light of intense personal scrutiny a most unlikely villain who depending on whom you choose to believe may not be a villain at all. But in the beginning in the beginning there was wilderness, and a brother and sister who loved each otherr and loved thr mom ander dad. I always thought of our family as a Perfect Little family. Didnt matter wherett we lived. As long as we were together that was home. This is ana and home was a Country Cabinom surrounded by t trees and mountains of British Columbia, canada. Andco this is her little brothe gabriel. And i always thought of my family and my parents as being perfect. Especially when you saw in the Dysfunction Ipfamilies around you. Yeah. And parents get divorced, it just didnt make sense to me. How would you deal with that . And their parents . The story unlikely as romantic as ana and gabriel had ever heard. This Shy Rustic French Canadian laborer who fancied himself a gambler andms wendy, the sweet, wild girl who strayed so far from her middle class roots in the connecticut suburbs, they met at a hotel in reno, nevada, in all places. And he hardly knew a word of english and she hardly knew a word of french. And yeah, they hit it off. And when it came time for them to leave, she said take me with you. And so heak did. All thend way back to canada. And Against All Odds said the sister the marriage of this wayward teachers daughter and a virtual illiterate drop outworked. What i really liked about them is they seemed to be more friends than lovers. The way they talked to each other, the withey behaved. It almost didnt feel like husband and wife. And the kids, anybody could see how close they were. It was always anna and gab. And as their friend loiscook could plainly see denise was protective of all of them. He was going to protect his family and protect his kids. Were you a daddys girl . Yeah, i was. He was the rock that i had. He was calm. He was patient. I always considered him just about as close to a hero as a girlhe could get. A strong, silent hero who preferred long solitary walks in the woods to social gathering, except for poker. It was usually a game in town. The family could certainly use the cash and he figured he was pretty good. I guess he sort of could because he was winning quite a bit. Wendy, an art teacher by trade taught her kids to help others, to speak up to be heard like her. Well, i think youre a little too domineering for me right now. Maybe tomorrow we can talk aboua that. In this video she organized a Peace Project to talk to students including her own son about Conflict Resolution and respect. And thats just then ideal what she tried to do in her every dayhe life. You were close to your mother. What she succeeded in doing is she raised a good son, a good man to live in this world as a sane person. Wendy wanted her children to have the emotional stability she couldnt seem to manage even in here solid middle class upbringing. She was open about it, too, how she was constantly seeking something missing. As a teenager he ran away from home, experimented with drugs, how her parents sent to a Psychiatric Hospital back in connecticut. She wanted b to have a peacel part of er. She wanted to be centered would be the word, but isnt that life . Isnt that something common to all of us . Nor did her quest seem to be over. She was drawn to spirituality and to an time to a little kno religious group that called itself Theou Emissaries of divi light. I remember her saying that she felt she felt at home there. She did that, though. She religion bounced searching for somewhere to belong. Andr then finally she and t familyna seemed to find it, a place to belong. At the edge of the wilderness far from her connecticut past. A small house a few miles outside of Prince George, British Columbia. Denny took a job at a local lumber mill. Wendy found a job as a Substitute Teacher at a local high school. That might have been the whole story really except every drama needs a catalyst, right . One day in 1995 denny returned from work at the sawmill and told his family how a log hit his shoulder, knocked him out cold. And when he tried to return to work he just couldnt. It turned out he had a lot of nerve damage down on the right side of his body so he was left high and dry without being able to workut anymore. Denny could no longer be the family strong, staple protector. Once he lost his job, it was up to her to figure out okay how do we make everything work. And then it was a hot morning in august, 1997 when everything stopped working. Gabriel was in the kitchen and he was more or less paying attention when his mom and dad told him they were off to run some errands. She waved a quick goodbye out the door, walked down the stairs and out the door. The first inkling of something wrong, something off was when the phone rang just after lunch. Gotaf a phone call from dad asking ifom wed seen mom becau she hadnt shown up where they were supposed to meet. And his dad told her their mom had dropped him off downtown so he could run errands and she could tutor a son of a friend and pick him up ought the Hardware Store but she hadnt returned. As worry grew, by nightfall there was still no sign of wendy. Coming up where was wendy . I just kept making phone calls and no one had seen her. No one knew what i was talking about. When dateline continues. Ig about. When dateline continues if you printed out directions to get here today, youre in the right place. My seminars are a great tool to help young homeowners who are turning into their parents. Now, remember, theyre not programs. Theyre tv shows. You woke up early. No one cares. Yes. So, i was using something called Homequote Explorer from progressive to easily compare Home Insurance rates. Was i hashtagging . Progressive cant help you from becoming your parents, but we can help you compare rates on Home Insurance with Homequote Explorer. Guess what. The waiter doesnt need to know your name. So youre a small business, guess what. Or a big one. You were thriving, but then. Oh. Ah. Okay. Plan, pivot. How do you bounce back . You dont, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. Powered by the largest gig Speed Network in america. But is it secure . Sure its secure. And even if the power goes down, your connection doesnt. So how do i do this . You dont do this. We do this, together. Bounce forward, with comcast business. It was late summer, a hot morning when wendy and denny drove off to run some errands. Hours later wendy was nowhere to be found and her daughter then a teenager was worried. When i called the police to say i dont know where she is can you help their only question was has it been 24 hours. And it hadnt been so i couldnt make a report yet. So dark now, ana and her father took the familys old truck and drove to Prince George to look for her. They stopped by a coffee shop one of denny and wendys favorite meeting places. No wendy. But as anna looked around her eye caught something familiar. And there was the van sitting under a street lamp in a Grocery Store parking lot. I was so excited. Because the Grocery Store i think was just closing up and i think maybe shes on her way out of the Grocery Store. But i went and knocked on the door. But then the white voyager had picked up a dent that one remembered. Weird. Inside everything looked normal so anna drove the van home. That night and the next morning i just kept making phone calls. I called every friend of mine, every friend of hers. I called every number in the directory she had and no one had seen her, no one knew what i was talking about. What did all of that feel like . It was like being in a nightmare because mom was never late. Mom didnt miss appointments. She didnt just disappear. The next day denny and the kids filed a report with the Royal Canadian police. They created a Missing Persons poster, a photo of wendy smiling, happy. Her hazel eyes magnified by super size glasses. They plastered it around town. A day went by, then two, then a week. I kept waiting for her to walk through that door. For me it was like shes going to come back, right . Im 15 years old im expecting everything to come and be normal. One of my really vivid memories is we went to see a movie together because we felt like lets have a little distraction from this trauma. So i remember standing in line to go to the cinema just feeling awful, feeling the weight of whats happening and having it feel so odd that were doing that. Like why arent we looking for her . And denny, anna remembered her father going for long walks in the woods alone, seemed devastated, lost, in denial. He broke down for the first time. Id never seen real emotion come from him before. By then wendys disappearance became news all over Prince George. I came into contact with the case as a News Reporter covering the disappearance itself. It was quite a shock that somebody who was apparently normal every day, you know, almost a stereotype in that sense could disappear without a trace. She was everybodys mom and she just disappeared. The disturbing echo stories people he knew all too well. There was a hint i would say even a strong whiff of suspicion this was another highway of tears case. Highway of tears. Now what did that mean . Coming up it became sickening after a while to hear the police issue another release that another girl had gone missing. Was wendy just the latest of a long list of women who disappeared or had been found dead along this stretch of road . You couldnt not look at it as a possibility. Its another woman gone missing in unsubstantiated ways. When dateline continues. W. When dateline continues roty month with heartgard plus, the 1 choice of dogs. Digestive and neurological side effects have rarely been reported. Ask your vet for heartgard plus. A Terrifying Specter haunted the lonely highway that passed through Prince George on the way into the wilderness. The highway of tears. 837 miles of exquisite Natural Beauty winding its way past dramatic snowcapped mountains and Breathtaking Vistas of lush forest. Clear lakes reflecting the blue skies above. And also past the sights of unsolved mystery. There are six unsolved investigates. More missing women on the highway of tears. By the time wendy ratte vanished at least 50 women had either gone missing or been found dead somewhere along this highway. A Serial Killer was on the loose. For me as a reporter it became sickening after a while to hear the police issue another release that another girl had gone missing. Had wendy become Highway Victim number 16 . Her abandoned van wasnt far from the highway. You couldnt not look at it as a possibility. Its another woman gone missing in unsubstantiated ways and for some thats all thats needed and in many ways its perfectly valid. As reporter frank dug into the story he found another so far unsubstantiated theory making the rounds around town. I know the police spent a lot of time thinking about and investigating the jones theory. The jones family. Once neighbors of the rattes, not exactly friends. In fact just four months before she disappeared wendy complained very publicly about the jones, appearing in a newspaper accusing the family of mistreating their animals and using their land as a garbage dump. She was able to get a fairly big News Story Happening which made the city react and get them kicked off the property and the animals taken away. It was not only damaging for the joness, it was humiliating. Allegedly there were threats made from the jones to the ratte. Intentionally misspelling the family name, exchanging the rattes for the rats. I never met the joneses but the stories i heard about them were indeed people would not have been surprised if they had acted out some of the threats they were alleged to have a made. And there was no question said gabriel his mom did feel threatened by the joneses. They did not make their anger any secret. They would hoot and holler at her while she was pass. Having a bad neighbor like that and doing something about it. Fearlessly apparently because she must have known they would not like this obviously. She made an enemy for sure. That was just four months before she vanished leaving nothing but her van in the local parking lot. A van with a dent in the door that nobody could remember seeing before. It was a pretty sizable dent. So what was it . Could it have maybe been some kind of a sign of struggle if my mom was accosted and she was thrown into the van . Something forceful must have caused this dent. You know how people are. They talk. And the longer wendy stayed missing the more they talked about the joneses. So even in the newsroom that was a leading theory. Thats one of your clear first steps in any disappearance or murder case is whats the motive and the joneses could have a motive. There was a grudge. Certainly there were some differences, and it certainly was in the media and we looked at that angle. Prince georges Detective Judy Thomas was leading the Police Inquiry into wendys disappearance. And this early in the investigation any lead was better. Theres no real starting point, you dont have a scene, you dont have remains and it makes it difficult. Thomas decided to focus her investigation closer to home. She discovered that none of wendys clothes or personal things were missing from the house except for her passport. So the obvious question did you have the feeling that this was a woman who might have just up and left . We had to look at all possibilities. You have to keep an open mind when you start on these investigations because we had at that point very limited information on who wendy was. Where do you start . Maybe a phone call to wendys family back in the states. And i hear this story and think oh, for crying out loud, you know, shes done it again. Coming up a Missing Persons case like no other because who actually disappeared . Wendy or a second personality some say lurked inside. We asked and we said what is going on . He said thats not wendy thats shauna. When she does that shes shauna. I met shauna. She was driving a very fast very expensive car. She was bragging about how much money she made, and she said im not wendy anymore. When dateline continues. Nd. When dateline continues you cant plan for your periods. What the gush moments. But the right pad can. Only always Ultra Thins Have Rapiddry Technology and, they absorb 40 faster. The gush happens fast. Thats why always absorbs faster. brad how has apartmentsdotcom helped more renters get into new homes than any other site . By working tirelessly to design 3d Virtual Tours that are so realistic it actually feels like youre there. But thats all thanks to ted, a man who possesses an innate understanding of dimension. Uh. Ted. ted sorry, i was in the zone. Also, my name is brian. brad apartmentsdotcom the most popular place to find a place. Hooh. That spin class was brutal. Well you can try the buicks massaging seat. Oohh yeah, thats nice. Can i use apple carplay to put some music on . Sure, its wireless. Pick something we all like. Ok. Hold on. Whats your buicks wifi password . Buickenvision2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger. Thats really predictable. Thats a really tight spot. Dont worry. I used to hate parallel parking. all together me too. Hey. You really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The allnew buick envision. An suv built around you. All of you. Im dara proun. Heres whats happening. Michigans governor is pleading with residents to take the coronavirus seriously as hospitalization cases surges in the state. Governor whitmer strongly urges citizens to suspend in person classes, sports and Restaurant Dining for two weeks. Meanwhile Duke University is the latest school to require new and returning students stooshow proof of vaccination before enrolling for the fall semester. Other universities like brown, cornell, notre dame and North Eastern have similar plans. Now back to dateline. Wendy ratte, the sweet free spirit of Prince George British Columbia had vanished from her life as swift as a magic act, her passport nowhere to be found. And as unlike lay as it seemed police had to seriously consider could would a dedicated wife and mother of two simply skip town, run away from her own family . Which brings us to the Greyhound Bus station a few blocks from the place wendys van was found abandoned. Gabriel was putting up a Missing Persons poster there and i asked the lady who was there at the Cash Register do you recognize this lady on the poster. She did say that she recognized my mom, and i was just taken aback. You do . And she said, yes, very certainly. We asked her repeatedly and she said i saw her, she was sitting at that table over there. What does it do inside when you hear that . Its hope, you know. And then shortly after wendy disappeared anna was looking through her moms papers in search of clues and found an application for a teachers job in california. Maybe shes there. I know she had spent some time in new mexico when she was getting her Teaching Degree and she loved it. Well, maybe she went there. And then there was that religious group shed been so into years earlier, the emissaries of divine light. Could she give up and join them . They feel they have transcended the conflict and tension of their former lives. The canadian Newsmagazine Show profiled the group and found it it had several branches in the u. S. Id helped the police look into that and give them all information i could and would often ask how much did you look into this because i knew there was an american sect. But still why would her own kids think it possible she abandoned her family without so much as goodbye . The reason for that was history. She had done it before. Just disappeared from her life. This is wendys sister who told how wendy vanished the first time when she was 17 years old. The family finally found her living in a tent in new hampshire. Just at our very approach she began screaming obscenities and shouting and just behaving in a menacing hateful way. And she was not a person id ever met, and we knew she was not well and needed care. And forcibly took her and put her in the hospital. Doctors thought wendy suffered from drug induced manic depression. But parents said they didnt have time make an official diagnosis. Thats because wendy turned 18, checked herself out and disappeared again this time for almost two years. When wendy disappeared all traces of her were gone. She did not call anybody. We couldnt find her. We couldnt track her. She showed up suddenly apparently seeking refuge from an abusive relationship she was in at the time. And then was gone again. And it was a clear disengagement from reality. She didnt understand that her disappearances were hurtful to her family members, didnt get that at all. So it went on and on until one day she turned up and announced she was getting married to denny. The family was overjoyed. Our family thought that he was a very good influence on her and the fact he chose to take a chance and take her away was nothing short of amazing. Wendy became a dedicated wife, teacher, artist, mother. But there were always issues, mood swings for one thing. Some days shed be so happy and other days the world would just weigh down on her. But dennys sister said what she observed when anna and gabriel were still young werent just mood swings but something far more complicated than that. The first time that i really noticed it was with the kids. She was always so gentle with them, softspoken. And All Of A Sudden she was very cold and very abrupt with them. And i started noticing denny when this would happen denny would take her away and hed say oh, were going for a walk now. And when they got back she was back to normal. And finally we asked him whats going on, and he said thats shauna. Thats not wendy. He said when she does that shes shauna. Wait, did wendy suffer from multiple Personality Disorder . That was never diagnosed. The stories were all antic dotal but. I met shauna. Wendy and i met in a parking lot somewhere just to say hi. She was driving a very fast, very expensive car. She was bragging about how much money she made. She was uninterested in anybody else besides herself. And she said im not wendy anymore. Shauna seemed to have been around off and on for quite a while. She even called herself that in a letter she wrote to her parents when she was just 23. Shanna has magic she wrote. So two wendies. Wendy was the good mother, conservative, hard worker, wanted to save the world while shanna was the wild child. She didnt want to be tied down. She wanted to have a good time. She felt restrained by the bonds of marriage and family. Maybe it was shanna who got on that bus or perhaps oshanna. Yes, three wendies. I dont know if they were real or werent real. They seemed real at the time. She was speaking in voices and things. She was very in touch with a spirit, an ancient spirit named oshanna. She felt some peace in that. And one day she said lets hold hands and speak with oshanna. I just remember her transforming into this character, this different self, and it was a surprise to me. I didnt know she did this. She was a completely different person. She wasnt responding in the way my mother usually does. So everybody was looking for wendy said gabriel when really maybe they should have been looking for one of the shannas. I think that she had the capacity to pick up info. She might have reached that Breaking Point where she just thought or she didnt think, just snapped and she just left. Then one day after a month of rumors and unsubstantiated theories followed one after the other there was a break. Wendy had been getting appointment insurance and two of her checks had been cashed as an atm in full view of the banks surveillance camera. Coming up another potential clue was about to surface from wendys past, a crucial moment when a high stakes gamble went very wrong. She was so angry, she just vibrated. What that told investigators, when dateline continues. Told, when dateline continues. A month into the Investigation Police thought they were a big step closer to solving the mystery surrounding wendys disappearance. Someone cashed in her Unemployment Checks at an atm. Was it wendy . Was it someone who had done her harm . Investigator judi thomas checked the banks Surveillance Cameras and there he was. Denny ratte, wendys husband. You asked him about it. Straight out, didnt try to lie. I dont think he can lie about it when theres a picture of him cashing the check. He explained the fact his wife had disappeared, there was no money coming in and he needed to pay the bills. It made me wonder about his character. Denny suddenly became suspect number one though its hardly a Surprise Police would look at the husband. In fact, in the very first week of the Investigation Thomas had questioned him three times. I introduced myself as a Police Officer coming to talk to him, and i said how are you doing . His comment was better. Better. It struck me odd right at the beginning. Did he seem nervous, upset . He didnt strike me as overly concerned, not distraught by any means. Frustrated was what he was. I said get used to, youre the husband. Theyre going to look at you because 99 of the time the husband did it. Didnt help that from one interview to the next denny appeared to change Vital Information about the day his wife went missing. He said shed left with no money but in a following statement he claims that he gave her money. 2,000 in fact money hed gotten in advance for an odd job which he asked wendy to return when he couldnt complete it. It struck me there as going why didnt you tell me that the first time. Yes. Because it was specifically asked did wendy have money on her. Dont think you could get forget about 2,000 . Exactly. And in the fall as investigators they discovered ever since denny had the accident and lost his job two years earlier the Perfect Little family had not been quite so perfect after all. Thats really hard for him as you could imagine. He liked being the man of the house. Sure. And if both your physicality and your ability to provide for your family are taken away from you thats got to be hard on the ego, very hard. It was very hard. Especially hard on the familys finances. Their visa card was almost maxed out. The only income came from wendys work as a Substitute Teacher, not exactly a lucrative profession. So denny did what he always did when times were rough. He played poker. He got a little desperate and started gabbling more and more and gambled too much and started losing money and money they didnt have. And it was one of those smoke filled nights some time around february 1997, six months before wendy disappeared when hunched around the poker table in the company of high rollers denny found himself staring at a hand that spelled salvation. With 25,000 in chips sitting on the table. Every gamblers excuse, my hand was so good no one was going to beat it. So he threw everything into the pot. He bet the highest he could and, yeah, he lost it. So i think that went on as well, and it was terrible. Mom was very vocal. I remember her yelling. She was so angry she just vibrated. Vibrated. Mom was emotional. Id never seen her yell at him like that before. She talk about how much she loved dad but was angry with him, that it was betrayal. And you put years of devotion into someone to be cut down like that. Your fathers addiction is ruining us wendy told anna, and as was wendys way told Everyone Else who cared to listen too. 16yearold anna, daddys girl began to see the tarnish in her fathers halo. When i heard that mom had to change Bank Accounts into her name, she had to protect the familys income, that was the first waver i had with my fathers character. A month before she disappeared wendy decided she needed some distance from denny. She took the kids and went to visit her old friend lois. I feel that the Decision Wendy was making was whether she was going to end the marriage with denny or not. But she knew how much he loved his children and how much the children loved denny. So she decided to give denny one last chance. She went back to presence george, had a hearttoheart with them and then called lois. When she phoned she said ive talked with denny, ive decided were going to give it another try. That phone call was happiness with a lot of relief in it, but my sense was if denny betrayed her trust again it was over, she was finishedch. Denny told wendy hed do whatever it took to save the marriage, but anna could clearly see that wendys very public complaints about his failings had been bothering him a lot. He was a proud man who didnt like his Dirty Laundry aired. And she just had to everyone they knew. His failings had been put on display. And they had never been before. What it took for her to forgive him hurt him deeply. But denny told police again and again his marriage was back on track, he had absolutely no reason he said to hurt wendy or had anything to do with her disappearance. Police said prove it. We were talking on phone and he says they want me to take a Lie Detector Test. And i said denny youre the husband, theyre going to suspect you but dont take a Lie Detector Test. They scare me, dont do it. Denny did not listen to his little sister. Four months after wendy disappeared he volunteered to take the test. How did he seem going in . A lot of people are nervous when they come in, theyre unsure of the procedure. Right. Be pretty scary i would think. If i could categorize him he was that, wondering what was going to happen, what was going to take place . There was a Polygraph Question that had to be asked. Last august did you murder wendy . Denny ratte answered with conviction, no i did not. And waited to see what the machine would say. Coming up the investigation is transformed when detectives run up against a fresh and frustrating piece of evidence. Did it seem to you at the time, hey, this is this cant be . I remember having a thought of its not what i would have expected. When dateline continues. H expected when dateline continues ow breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. Its a new dawn. If youve been taking copd sitting down, its time to make a stand. Start a new day with trelegy. No oncedaily Copd Medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. With three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. It also helps prevent future flareups. Trelegy wont replace a Rescue Inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. Take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy. And save at trelegy. Com. Now, Simparica Trio simplifies protection. Ticks and fleas . Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy. See ya Heartworm Disease . No way Simparica Trio is the first chewable that delivers all this protection. And Simparica Trio is demonstrated safe for puppies. Its simple go with Simparica Trio. This drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions, including seizures; use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. Protect him with all your heart. Simparica trio. Alright, guys, no insurance talk on beach day. Im down. Yes, please. [ chuckles ] dont get me wrong, i love my rv, but insuring it is such a hassle. Same with my boat. The insurance bills are through the roof. [ sighs ] be cool. I wish i could group my insurance stuff. [ coughs ] bundle. The house, the car, the rv. Like a cluster. An insurance cluster. Woosah. [ chuckles ] i doubt that exists. Its a bundle its a bundle, and it saves you money hi. Im flo from progressive, and i couldnt help but overhear. Super fun beach day, everybody. Four months into the investigation of wendy rattes disappearance, no sign of wendy anywhere. Police radar was squarely pointed at her husband, denny, which was no surprise to seasoned Prince George reporter frank peoples. It was just the natural assumption someone of that style, that demographic wouldnt go miing unless it was to someone she knew closely. Reporter Denny Of Course had proclaimed his innocence, took a Lie Detector Test to prove it. But theres no shortage of other theories in the case, though theories like rumors are easy. Separating roumer from fact, thats another matter altogether as Detective Judy Thomas discovered as she chased down the leads. First the highway of tears. For years women had been going missing out here, a buddy occasionally turning up on the side of the road, a horrifying occasion for passersby. But thomas had investigated those cases and expected no such surprise in wendys case, was sure of it in fact. Wendy just didnt fit the profile. Some of the victims we see are hitchhikers also involved in drugs and Organized Crime or some of the folks that are sex trade workers. So you were able to dispense with that one pretty quickly. That was nothing to indicate she was any way connected to the missing or murdered women on highway 16. So judy thomas, no highway of tears. But wendy could have still left Prince George of her own accord. There was that sighting at the Greyhound Bus station. But false alarm. With various files you get a lot of people saying i saw this person but when i spoke to the woman she actually said, no, i wouldnt be able to say that that all. We flagged Bank Accounts, credit cards, social insurance numbers. We put wendy on a canadawide database. We checked the airlines, border crossings. What about the religious group, the emissaries of divine light that wendy had been drawn to years before . We checked into that and had met with dead ends. They said they had never heard of her. Reports wendy was mentally ill, that it wasnt her but her alter ego that may have left town. Thomas interviewed wendys mother about her youth. We spoke at length. She told me all about her wendy and her background and growing up. Did she bring up the idea wendy may have had a mental break down . There was talk of some issues wendy had. We looked into medical records and there was nothing recent. There was a time in her life where she did i dont know if you want to call it disappear, but she lost contact with her family. But thats in a persons youth which is much different than when youre married with children. Thomas interviewed several of wendys closest friends. All told her the same thing. Wendy was first and foremost a mother. You get a sense you know these people when youre looking for what happened to them . You certainly develop an idea of who that person could be. And what idea did you develop . For wendy, very caring loving mother. When i talking with anna and gabriel, the love they had for their mother i knew that it had to be reciprocated, that obviously wendy loved her children very much. And i kept hearing that over and over that she would not leave her children. That was a central fact in your mind. Definitely. Though run away wendy, Investigator Thomas decided no. So what about the jones family, the neighbors who wendy helped evict from their property . They would have had the motive to hurt her. You look at the full circumstances of it that family had moved four months i believe prior. The main person that they alluded to wasnt even in the area, and there was nothing else to support that. The joneses ruled out as suspects in the disappearance of wendy ratte. Which left wendys husband, denny. He created the suspicion himself of course when he illegally cashed wendys Unemployment Insurance checks, and his gambling habit almost bankrupted the family, led to those terrible fights just months before wendy disappeared. But denny remember agreed to take a Lie Detector Test. And now the results were in. The Polygraph Operator came back and told dennis he found him to be truthful. You heard right, truthful. Letting him go as a suspect had to have been difficult. Did it to you at the time, hey, this cant be or i i remember having a thought of thats not what i would have expected. Got a call from her vastly relieved brother. Did the Lie Detector Test and i passed it now it paid off because they know i didnt do it and theyre leaving me alone, see i was right. I was like okay you were right, you win. The case of the disappearance of wendy ratte was at a dead end. Judi told me we dont understand. For other cases theres usually at least bogus information coming in. There was nothing coming in. Was her mom alive . Was she dead . Could she have abandoned the children who loved her so much . Its a very personal thing the way humans react to trauma. For three years after his mother disappeared gabriels way was to forget, force it out of his head. He went to vancouver, registered for college, tried to go on with life. I didnt give it a lot of thought to the point where i could try to remember her face and i couldnt. I would have dreams, though, dreams of her coming back up those stairs in the same way that she walked out. Anguish like that couldnt stay hidden for long. It happened in a drama class. Gabriel was reciting a scene from a play that dealt with abandonment, anger, desperation. The very feelings hed been trying to suppress. I broke down. I was balling. In the performance. In the classroom. They couldnt console me. I was on the ground, i was heaving. This was like three years build up of just holding it ip. I just quit school because i felt like this is too much right now. My brother was lost. I say i always felt i connected with my father more, id always felt that my brother connected with her more. I feel a lot of guilt for not being able to have been able to replace her. Whyd you need to replace her . Because maybe he would have been okay. But were both so lost that we couldnt we couldnt be there for each other. Coming up anna gets word there might be witnesses who know what really happened to wendy. Who are these people, have they told the police . When dateline continues. Te when dateline continues ill be observing your safedriving abilities. Play your cards right, and you could be in for a tasty discount. [ clicks pen] lets roll. Hey, check it out. One time i tripped on the sidewalk over here. [ heavymetal music playing ] [ snoring ] and a high of 89 degrees. [ Electronic Music Playing ] ooh ooh who just gives away wood . The snapshot app from progressive rewards you for driving safe and driving less. Theres an app . [ chuckles ] beth. Save money with progressive. [ tires screech ] well, that came out of nowhere. Hooh. That spin class was brutal. Well you can try the buicks massaging seat. Oohh yeah, thats nice. Can i use apple carplay to put some music on . Sure, its wireless. Pick something we all like. Ok. Hold on. Whats your buicks wifi password . Buickenvision2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger. Thats really predictable. Thats a really tight spot. Dont worry. I used to hate parallel parking. all together me too. Hey. You really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The allnew buick envision. An suv built around you. All of you. So youre a small business, or a big one. You were thriving, but then. Oh. Ah. Okay. Plan, pivot. How do you bounce back . You dont, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. Powered by the largest gig Speed Network in america. But is it secure . Sure its secure. And even if the power goes down, your connection doesnt. So how do i do this . You dont do this. We do this, together. Bounce forward, with comcast business. It had been years since that fateful day that wendy ratte took the family van to run errands for her husband and never returned, but for the couples daughter, anna, the pain of her parents failed to return. Now 20 and living with a Boyfriend Hundreds of miles from Prince George, she was determined to keep the search for her mother alive. Everything else i did was just mechanical motion. My emotion went into finding her. And she began to believe she was quite alone. That the rcmp had let the case go cold. They always promised me it wasnt. They promised they were still looking, but nobody would be working on it. Finally, i was tired of this file shuffle. I went to the media to say dont forget. This was a person in your community. Dont forget. She came in carrying this folder of News Clippings and possible leads that were connected to her mother. I had talked to many families of many disappeared people over the years, and i could see the light in her eyes that way. This was one of those people who was not going to let this go. But annas father, denis, it seemed, had never given up. Not only on never finding his wife again but on himself. He was changing over the years in front of my eyes. This calm, patient, sturdy, steady person was emotional. Falling apart. And angry. He was a mess. I saw him at the food banks. I saw him with girlfriends that he had to pay for. I saw his demeanor change from a proud, working man to a street thug. Denis was in a downward spiral. Desperate for money, he turned to smalltime crime, did a bit of drug dealing, got caught. He was lucky. It was his first offense so he only got probation. He told me that, you know, he did this drug deal because he needed the money to keep her home, wendys home. He said, if i keep the house, shell have a home to come home to. Denis lost the house. Six years after wendy disappeared, he was living in an apartment in the cedeiest part of town, collecting bottles to make ends meet. It was a blow that hed gone that low, but when i tried to question him about it, he just said, you know, hey, my kids are gone, my wifes gone. Dont have much left. But anna had a sense, she said, a nagging feeling that it wasnt just grief that kept denis from being the strong, dedicated father she had known. Was it possible, she wondered, that it was guilt . I thought i thought he was hiding something. What would he know . I dont know. He said, i have gone through my story. If you need to hear it, go see the police. Ask them to tell you the story. He was fed up, over it . He said, im done. Im not talking it it anymore. I understand about being fed up. I couldnt imagine how it would feel to be the one investigated. But i also believe in truth. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to hide. But when anna kept pushing, her dad snapped back, said that he was conducting his own investigation. His target . Suspects police had already eliminated, the jones family. He said that day that she disappeared, friends of his saw the family from down the street that she had had kicked out. She saw them following her. I said, wheres this coming from . Who are these people . Have they told the police . He said, these people dont want to go to the police. Theyre afraid of this family. I couldnt understand that he would be okay with not telling the police. If her father didnt want to go police, anna decided, then she would. I asked, could i have my fathers storyline, and the police said, we dont have a clear picture of what happened that day because every time he tells us a story, there are big holes. What did you think when you heard that . Just at a loss. It felt like there was like he was putting a barrier in front of the investigation. But there was something anna didnt know. The case of her mothers disappearance wasnt cold at all. In fact, police were actively investigating her father. Four years after denis passed his Lie Detector Test, the rcmp reviewed it. Standard practice in unsolved cases. But this time with a quite unexpected outcome. The Polygraph Operator rereads his charts. Sure. And then we find that he was actually deceptive. Deceptive, meaning according to the police polygrapher, that denis ratte lied when he claimed he had nothing to do with wendys disappearance. Investigator thomas wanted to be sure. We had five Polygraph Operators read those charts. Every one of them read to be deceptive. Right. But a failed Lie Detector Test was not enough evidence to arrest denis, let alone charge him with a crime. It was hard for me not to tell anna. I couldnt. You have to balance the integrity of the investigation. You dont want it jeopardized. So all thomas could do was file the results away and try to find more evidence against denis. But as the years slowly ticked by one by one, nothing. Finally in 2007, a decade now since wendy vanished, thomas decided that if she wanted to get closer to denis to find out what he knew once and for all, she would need some help. Thats when we looked at passing it off to the unsolved homicide unit. Vancouvers edivision to be exact. The premier Cold Case Unit in British Columbia. Get ready for an Undercover Mission unlike any you have ever seen. Coming up a sting by investigators worthy of the big screen. Theyre described as right out of hollywood. The staged kidnapping. The fake blood is truly phenomenal. Meet the man they call mr. Big when dateline continues. So you want to make the best burger ever . Then make it that means selling everything. And eating nothing but cheese till you find the perfect slice. Even if everyone asks you. Another burger truck . Dont listen to them that means cooking day and night until you get. [ ding ] you got paid that means adding people to the payroll. Hi mom. That means. Best burger ever. Intuit quickbooks helps Small Businesses be more successful with payments, payroll, banking and live bookkeeping. It was a sweet wedding, happy and a little sad too. Wistful when anna, the bride, danced with her father. It was 2003. Six years since her mother vanished from her life. Her father insisted he had nothing to do with it. And tender moments like these, anna said, reminded her how much she yearned for the bond they once had. I had to believe him. He was still my my hero, My Childhood Hero was still there. But she was sliding. Sliding into a darker understanding of her father. Until the day in late 2007 when anna met reporter Frank Peebles at a downtown cafe. Theres no one else in the room at the time. We were talking quietly. After about an hour of conversation, she finally just shook her head and said, im very sure that it was dad. And the wrench in her eyes when that came out was something i i dont think i can ever forget. By then, the rcmps lead investigator, Robert Burret of the unsolved homicide unit in vancouver, was in charge of the case. One of 800 unsolved cases on the units books. Upon our review, we came to the same conclusion as judy did, that denis ratte was the suspect in his wifes disappearance. But there wasnt quite enough to charge him. Yes. And we decided an Undercover Operation may be the best to move this forward. An Undercover Operation . Yes. The Undercover Operation the unsolved homicide squad came up with was so elaborate and ambitious, it might seem, frankly, unbelievable. They created from scratch a fake criminal Organization Complete with detectives posing as crooks. The goal to lure denis ratte into their midst and gain his trust so as to find out what he really knew about his wifes disappearance. The rcmp have conducted over 350 of these investigations. Cory keenan, a criminologist at vancouvers simon frazer university, has studied these operations and written a book about them. They have creatively fashioned a backdrop that simulates a realworld criminal environment. So much so that fiction is often difficult to differentiate from reality. The rcmp would not discuss the specifics of the Undercover Operation that targeted denis ratte. But we reviewed an rcmp summary of the mission. June 2008 an Undercover Officer approached denis in Prince George. He was looking for someone, he said, but didnt know his way around town. Denis agreed to help him. About a week later, another question would denis like to make some money on the side delivering bags mostly, their contents unknown. No problem, said denis. And bit by bit as days went by, denis became fully involved in what he clearly believed was a criminal gang. After a couple of months, by august, he was helping to smuggle illegal cigarettes and kohl. He exchanged stolen diamonds. He even transport guns, or so he thought. Over time the target is led to believe that he is an upandcomer in the criminal organization. Then it got more serious. Denis was asked to threaten a man. He did, though he said he didnt like it. And he guarded a Hotel Room Door as an Undercover Officer savagely beat a woman. Denis never suspecting it was all an act. These Undercover Officers, theyre amazing actors. And theyre described as right out of hollywood. The types of scenarios that they do. The beatings, the staged kidnappings, the fake blood pacts. Its truly phenomenal. Denis bonded with his Crime Buddies over meals in fancy restaurants and evenings in strip clubs. The pay was good, too, about 12 grand in three months, a little more than he earned in years, he told his sister, without divulging too much. He says, im earning some money. Im not eating at the soup kitchen anymore. I thought, great, he got a job. Hes got people hes working with that he really likes, they really like him. During one of his Delivery Trips to vancouver, denis stopped to see his son gabriel, now 26 and a College Student once more. Gabriel noticed that the old selfassured denis was back. I saw that glint in his eye where he felt proud of himself again. And he hadnt felt that since he since hed been injured. Then three months into the operation, the sting was primed. The real Police Showed up again in denis life, told him the investigation had been reopened, he was the prime suspect. And, by the way, he failed that Lie Detector Test all those years ago. Now suddenly worried, denis, just as planned, had no one else to turn to except his new friends. The Undercover Detectives had him just where they wanted him. Time for mr. Big. Mr. Big is the commanding, allpowerful boss of the criminal organization. Hes the one who calls the shots. If he likes you and wants to bring you in, he can make your Criminal Problems go away. And denis, his Crime Buddies assured him, had all it took to be the main guy all because he had been what the organization valued the most, honest and loyal. Thats a common safeguard of the mr. Big technique, said keenan. To ensure as much as possible that the suspect doesnt lie to gain respect. Just be honest. If youre honest, things will be great. Youll thrive. If you lie, there could be very devastating consequences. Mr. Big will only accept the truth. The truth . So far whenever Undercover Officers had asked denis about his missing wife, about a dozen times or so, he didnt waver from the story hed stuck to for more than a decade. He had nothing to do with it. September 27, 2008. A hotel room in winnipeg. Lead investigator rob burret monitoring the video in a nearby room. So youve got this elaborate setup. What are you trying to get . Ive been involved in investigations where weve been able to clear a person of any wrongdoing. So its not just there to try to find a person guilty. Its there to seek the truth. The moment had come. Time for denis to come clean. Coming up his back against the wall, what would denis say to mr. Big . Im going to tell you honestly what happened. When dateline continues. ve lets make lots of money youve got the brawn ive got the brains lets make lots of uh uh uh oohhh theres a lot of opportunities with allstate, drivers who switched saved over 700. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Allstate click or call to switch today. You cant plan for your periods. Allstate what the gush moments. But the right pad can. Only always Ultra Thins Have Rapiddry Technology and, they absorb 40 faster. The gush happens fast. Thats why always absorbs faster. At air wick, we craft authentic fragrances to bring the essence of nature into your home. But nature cant thrive without wildflowers. Since 2009, weve lost 33 million acres of grassland and wildflower habitat in the us great plains. Air wick scented oils is partnering with World Wildlife fund to reseed 1 billion square feet of native wildflowers and grasslands. Making our connection to nature stronger. Learn more at airwick. Us heres whats happening. Tributes are pouring in from Around The World for the late prince philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth ii. Biden praised the prince of edinburgh for his years of service. And rapper dmx has died after suffering a heart attack in his home. He was 50 years old. Now back to dateline. I want you to take this as a job interview, okay . Yeah, okay. Thats a job interview. We are going to put everything on the table. Sure. Okay . Denis ratte had come to the moment of truth. He was meeting mr. Big, the man he believed to be an allpowerful crime boss. His audition, he believed, for membership, for trust, for help from mr. Big. The Royal Canadian mounted police disguised the identities of the undercover voice on this video. Im going to help you or im not going to help you, okay . Right now were going to see who are you as a person. First, mr. Big told denis hed have to come clean about his past. Especially about the mystery of his wifes disappearance. That is, of course, if he knew anything about it. The Undercover Canadian Investigator posing as the crime boss wanted denis to feel comfortable, so he spoke french, denis mother tongue. We have translated and dubbed over their conversation in english. There are three things i want loyalty, truth, honesty. Translator the last one, i didnt translator honesty. Being honest. Translator honesty, honesty, okay. Then a knock on the door. It was one of the crime bosss alleged cronies with an internal police memorandum. Read it, said mr. Big, as denis sat and listened. Our primary suspect and only suspect, husband denis ratte, had just about finished their investigation. Theyre waiting for Satellite Results from the u. S. Satellite results . That was a lie, of course. There had been no satellite watching denis on that august day back in 1997. Theyre 100 sure hes the one who did it. For the last 11 years, denis had insisted he had nothing to do with his wifes disappearance. Now suddenly for a man he believed to be a crime boss, he changed his story. Translator okay, man. What do you have to say . Translator im going to tell you. Im going to tell you. Im going to tell you honestly what happened. The honest truth. I never told it in my life. I aint happy about it, but i did it. Yeah. Okay . Not happy i did it, but i still did it. Everything worked perfect. With a rifle, one shot, you know, nice and easy. You shot her where . Translator in the head. Translator where in the head . Translator in the back of the head. I didnt really check when i hit her. I was nervous. I guess, around here. He shot wendy, denis told mr. Big, that morning at their house in Prince George. She was feeding the ducks, her back to him, when he took aim with a. 22caliber rifle. Translator right or left side . Translator i got to put myself back there. Eerie. Seeing a husband trying to relive the moment when he said he murdered his wife. Translator okay, you you move over there like that. Yeah. Yeah. Cuz i remember turning. Yeah. And thats your left side, right . Translator that thats my left side. Denis said it was just one shot, not a lot of blood. After wendy fell to the ground, he said, he quickly wrapped her body in a black tarp. And thats when he noticed she was still moving. Translator i took a bumper jack, right . Those old jacks you used to put under a vehicle. Translator yeah, okay, okay, yeah. Translator there was a big thing with a cover on. I didnt want to leave a mark, right . I finished her off with that. Translator okay, where . Translator in the face. Then, denis continued, he put the body in the plymouth voyager, made a left turn onto highway 16, the highway of tears, and drove to an abandoned loggers road, 1. 5 hours away. There was a swamp there. Translator i made sure, you know, the body translator what did you put on it . What did you put on top . Translator there was mud, right . And there was a stick. Translator okay. Translator you know, i stirred it around, and it slipped. Oops. Denis told mr. Big he drove back to Prince George, got rid of the gun and his wifes i. D. Along the way, and left the van in this Grocery Store parking lot. Then he wandered around for a bit before he called anna to report her mom was missing. Later that night, he came back with anna to the coffee shop so that she would discover the van. Right after the curb there, the house is right there. The day after his meeting with mr. Big, denis took two other Undercover Officers to the scene of the crime. Of course, he believed he was talking to fellow gang members. After you shot her, what happened then . I brought her more behind the garage. You just shot the once, right . Once. I dont believe in twice. Then denis criminal friends asked him to take them to where he dumped wendys body. They told him they needed to make sure there was no evidence left. They took a while to find the place. He hadnt been back in 11 years. Finally, he was sure. I walk there, right in there. Everything makes sense. And as they continued searching the area oh, my gosh. What . Im putting my gloves its black thats the tarp. Thats a piece of the tarp. A couple of days later, anna got a call. It was the police asking her to come downtown. And they sat me down and said, weve just arrested your father for the murder of your mother. What was it like to hear that . Shattering. I broke down. But at the same time, its like i knew. I just didnt want to believe it. The signs were all there. He changed so much. And just hearing it made it kind of official that the person i held so dear wasnt there anymore. Not a big surprise really. Anna had doubts about her father all along. But her brother, gabriel . Well, that was a different story altogether. I cant imagine how it anyone would say its 100 certain that my dad did it. Coming up and gabriel isnt the only one with doubts. A confession is one thing. But did police have Anything Else on denis . Im going, wait a minute. They found absolutely nothing to corroborate his story. When dateline continues. Theres an invisible threat in your backyard that could cause deadly Heartworm Disease for your dog. But not if you protect him every month with heartgard plus, the 1 choice of dogs. Digestive and neurological side effects have rarely been reported. Ask your vet for heartgard plus. Introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed. Its the most comfortable, bodysensing, automaticallyresponding, energybuilding, duallyadjustable, dadpowering, wellnessboosting, footwarming, snorerelieving, temperaturebalancing, recoveryassisting, effortlessly lifechanging, proven quality night sleep weve ever made. Dont miss our weekend special. Save 25 on the new sleep number 360 c4 smart bed with any adjustable base. Plus, 0 interest for 24 months. Ends monday. So youre a small business, or a big one. You were thriving, but then. Oh. Ah. Okay. Plan, pivot. How do you bounce back . You dont, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. Powered by the largest gig Speed Network in america. But is it secure . Sure its secure. And even if the power goes down, your connection doesnt. So how do i do this . You dont do this. We do this, together. Bounce forward, with comcast business. Gabriel was at work when the call came. The police. They said they needed to see him right away. It was a big mystery until they brought me in. They put me in a room with a camera, and thats when they broke it to me. They told me that they know it that my father did it and they are 100 certain of it. And your very first reaction was what . It felt like my world came unhinged. Like it was a dream. Like reality had ceased to be. And right then and there, the police asked gabriel to record a message to his father. And so, of course, he did. I spoke to him in french about how i loved him, first of all. And i told him, you know, if this happened, i just want to know more. So please be honest. Please know that im here for you. Then with a heavy heart, gabriel called wendys family in the states. But instead of anger he was surprised to encounter skepticism. I didnt believe it. All of us, i think, saw him as someone who would die to protect his family. That was who he was. That was his source of pride. And at that point, it was the only sense of pride he had left. The only way gabriel thought he could make sense of it all was to confront his father in jail. And i told him right away, i want the truth, whatever it is. I want you to tell me the truth. He told me, no, no, no. Theres no way. I didnt do it. So gabriel wondered what hard evidence had police found that proved his father was guilty of murder. It turned out they hadnt found anything. Oh, my gosh thats a piece of the tarp. No a day after denis led Undercover Detectives to the scene of his alleged crime, they returned to pick up that piece of tarp and sent it to the lab for analysis. But the results were inconclusive. They also searched the area for a body, of course, but found nothing at all. Not so much as a bone. Its not unusual for us to over that kind of time frame because of Animal Activity and things of that nature not to find either any remains or very few remains. But the gun barrel, the bits and pieces of things, the stash places, the drivers license and so on. None of that showed up. Because it had been over ten years. I think its reasonable to expect that a lot of those items would have just disappeared. You didnt have the physical evidence that would back up his confession in the Undercover Operation. It wasnt physical evidence, correct, yeah. Yeah. And im going, wait a minute. They found absolutely nothing to corroborate his story. It was painful for diane to watch the video of her brothers confession in the pretrial hearing. She was shocked to learn that The Confession was the only thing the cops had to convict her brother of killing his wife. Thats when she became convinced. Denis lied to mr. Big. His confession was false. Oops. The proof first, she says, the chilling details of his alleged coldblooded murder. They just didnt make any sense. I cannot see him the way he left her doing that. And not especially not with his kids in the house. Theres no way he would have taken that kind of chance. I asked, you know, do you hear gunshots all the time. He said, no, and especially not first thing in the morning outside my window. There was no gunshot. He said he did it between the house and the garage. You would have heard that surely. I definitely would have heard it. Then there were the Clothes Denis said wendy wore. A little sweater and jogging pants. Couldnt be true because of my recollection of the morning, he said that she was wearing totally different clothes than i saw her leave with. And Something Else bothered him. Something that he told his Crime Buddies when they asked him whether he was capable of murder. Earlier on in the mr. Big sting, he confessed to killing a man with rat poison. And it turned out that he died of natural causes. So it was never happened. It was a fake confession. It was. Why lie . Gabriel said denis was desperate to be accepted by his new tough guy friends. And if he lied about one murder, why not lie about killing wendy, too, especially when what was at stake was his acceptance in the gang and his new job which he loved as mr. Bigs loyal foot soldier. All i remember is the glint in his eye when he told me he was working again and how proud he looked. Perhaps a regular Crime Organization wouldnt have even brought him in, you know. They might not have looked at him twice. Probably. But this Crime Organization was designed for him. He made a lot of money, first of all. He had more money than hed made in a long, long time. He had found a newfound family that respected him, that thought he was intelligent. He didnt want to lose that. But perhaps the most convincing argument diane heard was from denis himself when she went to see him in jail. For all those years he told her, the police just wouldnt leave him alone. And his meeting with the crime boss, he said, was a chance to finally make the investigation stop. Translator were going to talk to each other, and were going to work out these problems. Were going to fix them, okay . Okay. Translator thats what were going to do. Were going to fix them. He said, i couldnt just tell them i did nothing. Then they cant help me. So he says, i made up a story that i thought they would find me some kind of alibi or something, he says, and theyll fix it so that the cops would get off my case. He had such a miserable, lonely life that i believe he at that point would have said almost anything. Relatives of suspects nabbed by a mr. Big sting had every right to cry foul said criminologist cory keenan. A techniques ingenuity is also its achilles heel. While its capable of exposing the guilty, it can also induce innocent suspects to falsely confess to a crime they didnt commit. So the litmus test to me is corroboration. Without it, theres no way to tell whether the suspect is telling the truth or is lying. But anna watched the tapes, too, and she said she could tell. I know my father. I know my fathers mannerisms. I know when hes hiding something, when hes not being truthful about something. And unlike diane and gabriel, unlike her moms family in the states, anna was convinced her father was guilty as charged. I knew when he was talking about moms murder that it was true. Thats what he had done. Theyve just about finished their investigation, and theyre waiting for Satellite Results from the u. S. Satellite results . Thats when he folded. And i saw the look in his eye. Im caught. I saw the im caught look in his eye. The gunshot, the tarp, the carjack, her brother gabriel said it was all a lie. But anna had another word for it thats cold. Thats cold to talk about let alone cold to do. How do you talk about the woman you were married to if you didnt do it, could you really tell that story . Or could he or would he tell it again . Coming up whatever denis was or was not about to say, did it really make sense that he would hurt wendy . She was the breadwinner. She was the brains of the operation. Why would he kill her . When dateline continues. My doctor recommended eliquis. Eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. Almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didnt experience another. And eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Eliquis is fdaapproved and has both. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an Artificial Heart Valve or abnormal bleeding. If you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Whats around the corner could be worth waiting for. Ask your doctor about eliquis. So, uh, yeah, just a silly mistake. I guess i look pretty. Ridiculous. [ chuckles ] no one looks ridiculous, bob. Progressive is always here for you with roundtheclock service. Just so you know, next time, you can submit a claim with our mobile app. Good. Thanks again for for rushing over. Are you kidding . This is what 24 7 protection looks like. Okay. You smell like fish. Sorry. I was talking to jamie. Hooh. That spin class was brutal. You smell like fish. Sorry. Well you can try the buicks massaging seat. Oohh yeah, thats nice. Can i use apple carplay to put some music on . Sure, its wireless. Pick something we all like. Ok. Hold on. Whats your buicks wifi password . Buickenvision2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger. Thats really predictable. Thats a really tight spot. Dont worry. I used to hate parallel parking. all together me too. Hey. You really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The allnew buick envision. An suv built around you. All of you. Denis ratte caught by an elaborate undercover sting, a confessor to murder, sat in jail while outside his two children, anna and gabriel, battled over whether he belonged there. Anna thought The Confession finally proved it. Her father was guilty. But she stood alone. Most of her family sided with gabriel. There was no evidence, said denis sister diane. And no motive. She was the breadwinner. She was the brains of the operation. She was his everything. He lost the house, he lost kids had, he lost his whole life. Why would he kill her . In his confessions, denis said he had a reason that would seem so twisted Neither Police nor anyone else believed it. Wendy, remember, was said to have a split personality, and denis claimed on the day he killed her, he knew wendys Alter Ego Shanna was going to sexually assault anna, and, of course, he couldnt let that happen. Translator i had no choice. Save the little girl. Save my little girl. What did you think when you heard that . I was disgusted. Of all the lies you could have said for why, you had to involve me again. It was all too much for anna. The lies, the betrayals. And now her dear brother refusing to share her outrage. He wants very much to think that your fathers not guilty. I know. And i cant blame him. You think hes living in lala land . I think he didnt see what i saw. He wasnt there. I was up to my neck in investigation trying to find mom. And i can absolutely understand wanting to be blind to to the truth because i was there too. You know, i dont want to speak badly about my sister. I really dont. But she because of her activism in trying to find my mother for so many years, it was a lot easier for her, i think, to put everything aside and create an easy solution. Me, im happy to live with a question mark. Im not going to pretend its Anything Else. Why dont you want to see something, some kind of evidence to back up what youve seen on tape . The look in his eye on that tape was thats all you needed . Thats what i needed. Or is it that you cannot stand living in this kind of doubt any longer . You had to make a decision, and that was the decision you made . Absolutely not. I saw the truth on his face in that tape. The man who ran the undercover sting, lead investigator Robert Burret, insisted his team took all precautions to make sure denis did not lie when he met with mr. Big. Were always mindful of false confessions allegations are made all the time, i suppose. Correct. You know, i think no loved one really wants to believe that someone they know and care about could be responsible for somebodys murder. In fact, the mr. Big undercover technique has been repeatedly upheld by canadas supreme court. And although the rcmp did not find any physical evidence to corroborate denis confession to mr. Big and his gang, it turned out they did have evidence that was perhaps much more compelling, and they got it after denis ratte was arrested. By that point in time, denis rattes read all his rights that hes provided under the canadian law. He had access sure. He could have said, ah, i thought i was talking to a crime boss. I thought i was lying to him. Absolutely. And he didnt. No, he didnt. When denis was arrested, he had no idea hed been caught in a sting and that his confession to mr. Big was on tape. But then Police Showed him the video. Translator does this come back to you . Is it coming back to you, denis . At first for almost an hour, denis seemed to be in denial. Translator i have never said that, that i killed her, first of all. Translator yeah, but, denis, we know that you killed her. Translator i never said it. Translator you said it there, denis. Translator i said it there . Translator yes. Thats when the interrogator decided to show denis another tape, the one police made of gabriel the day they told him theyd arrested his father. Translator so essentially, your son is asking you to tell the truth. And then a couple of minutes later, a silent nod from denis. And he began to confess again. The same details. The gunshot, the tarp, the carjack. Translator she didnt suffer. Translator she didnt suffer. Translator no. Translator it was fast . Translator it still hurts. It had been a heavy burden to carry that with him all those years, said denis. Translator you know, its hard. You know, someone who looks at you and ive always loved my wife. I still love her even. We were friends, okay . Translator you have killed your friend . Translator yes. It took everything for me to do it. I even cried when i did it. There. He admitted it. And this time translator check the tapes. Its all true. Translator its all true what you told them . Translator it was all true. Translator you didnt tell any lies at all . A confession is the strongest evidence anybody ever gets, and, you know, it generally does the deed. Mmhmm. And that was a pretty detailed confession, not just once but twice. And thats the one i dont understand more than anything. Ive asked him more than once, why did you confess when you knew you were in front of a Police Officer . Why wouldnt you say, oh, well, of course, i didnt do it, you know, i was just trying to get in with this organization. And you know, he didnt have much of an answer. So if theres an ounce of of me not believing him, its there. This is the biggest weakness in the story. But given the continued absence of any physical evidence, that second confession still wasnt enough to convince gabriel his father killed his mother. Is it possible, though, that youre living in denial . No. Youre not the first person to ask me. I bet. I definitely thought about it, right . But i think im very balanced about it. I can be swayed by the evidence whether it is going to be for or against my dad. So show me the evidence. Were denis two confessions evidence enough . A jury was about to decide. A brother and sister were prepared to fight for what they believed was right even if that meant losing each other. Coming up anna and gabriel face off in court. What was it like to testify in the trial . It was hard. I kind of hold my breath and go through it and hope that whatever i say is going to work for my dad. When dateline continues. December, 2010. 13 years after wendy ratte disappeared. In a Prince George courtroom, the battle lines were drawn. But this case wasnt only the crown versus denis ratte. It was brother against sister on the witness stand. What was it like to testify at the trial . It was hard. You looked out there and you saw Everybody Else who in the family who disagreed with you. Theyre still my family. Mmhmm. It was tough for all of them. They all felt i should have been with him more, siding with him more. But i had to make it clear that someone has to defend mom. Denis ratte pleaded not guilty and recanted The Confessions he made both to mr. Big and to the police after his arrest. His son gabriel was one of just two witnesses the defense presented to the court. I kind of hold my breath and go through it and hope that whatever i say is going to work for my dad. And im utterly aware that im the only person there who is speaking in favor of my dad. Denis Defense Lawyer hammered Undercover Detectives about the lack of physical evidence and pointed out lies denis had told mr. Big and his gang. Proof, he told the jury, that denis confession should not be believed. And after four weeks, the end to the 13yearold mystery was finally at hand. It took the jury just two hours to find denis ratte guilty of seconddegree murder. So much of my life had been devoted to finding the truth, and now i had the truth. Its not the truth i wanted. But nonetheless, thats what i had. Im happy i have it. Interesting that getting the truth isolates you from the people you love. Thats true, but isnt the truth more important . It doesnt matter that my family might be angry with me for the results of where this trial led. The truth is all that matters. And thats how mom led her life. Anna knows all too well the truth will never replace her mothers soothing voice. Its what she yearns for most these days. If only she could speak to the spirits the way her mom once did. Because i think maybe then i could hear her. Maybe then she could speak to me. If i open up enough, shell come talk to me. But not today. And there was one last moment of melodrama. Right after denis was sentenced to 15 years to life, he suddenly turned to anna. As she was leaving, he said to her, keep looking for your mother. Gabriel was not there for the guilty verdict. He had to leave right after his testimony. Back to vancouver to his College Graduation that very same day. It was such a whirlwind. I was just in the lineup late to get my gown, get ready to go to the ceremony and think, oh, my god, you know, what is this life . Where are my parents to watch this, you know. His father was in prison, and his mom well, his mom do you really believe in your heart that there is a possibility that your mother is still out there somewhere . That she shes still alive . Thats the part of me that is the dreamy, hopeful, optimistic side. You hear the odd story once in a while of someone returning after 25 years of absence. You do hear it. It does happen. So, man, whenever i do hear one of those, i just my heart fills with optimism. There hasnt been a happy ending for anybody no. Except your sister anna thinks its the right ending. Its hard being on the other side of this with her because id love to have a better relationship with her. We try to talk with each other every once in a while. And its kind of a thing where she says, i cant believe you cant see it. Its so obvious. Hes guilty. And i say, how on earth could you think that . Theres no evidence. And we just go back and forth like that. Its impossible to get around. Gabriel is a father himself now with a daughter. His father in prison has met his little girl now, but when we last spoke with gabriel, anna had not. We love each other very much. We have a bond as brother and sister that was very strong as children, and it will always be there. This is a really difficult situation for both of us. Well get through it. Its all thats left of our perfect family is the two of us. We cant let that go. Im craig melvin. And im natalie morales. And this is dateline. I couldnt believe it. The first thing out of my mouth was theres no way he did this. Theres no way. They have the wrong guy. Her mother was nearly killed by a bomb. I remember coming out to the truck, put in the key and then kaboom. The police told me this bomb was meant for you. They say to you who does not like you enough . I could think of no one. But police could. And if the target was a surprise, so was the suspect