her front door. she never made it. >> we can't explain what happened in those 20 steps. >> it just didn't make sense to me. >> a working mom murdered. >> it was hard to imagine that anybody would be capable of something like that. >> reporter: police started with the men in her life. was one of them behind her death? >> everybody was a suspect. >> the estranged husband. >> you know you are a person of interest. >> the ex. >> oh susie where are you? >> the brand new boyfriend. and the unbelievable thing, they were all there the morning of the murder. so who did it? >> my stomach was in my throughout. >> all of us were a little taken aback. >> it was hard for my brain to wrap around that. the spring air was a cold blanket around the pickup >> reporter: it was early morning. still dark. the spring air was a cold blanket around the pickup parked an runs near the main street of little glendive, montana. at 5:20 a.m., the passenger side door opened, the woman got out and made it to her apartment. her coat disheveled. the bra slung over one arm. the man's eyes on her. to her, to the woman now crossing the sidewalk to her doorway. susie. lightning the a bottle. >> they were all there. >> reporter: there at susie's front door. >> each one of them was part of that crime scene. >> reporter: but how many and who? who are the eyes in the dark that started that awful cascade of events? of terrible things? >> i just dropped the phone and cried and cried and cried. i just couldn't believe that could happen three times. in one family. >> reporter: sunlight in the badlands of eastern montana is like nothing else. that wide blue arch of unsollied sky. the vast rolling prairie. dotted sparsely with tiny old hamlets in which business is personal and friends and families have worked the same sun baked places for generations. places like circle. population 600. susie's hometown. >> she livened thins up a lot. >> reporter: this was susie's sister carleen. she was the fifth of six kids. >> she loved them horses and she loved to go riding. her and i would go riding quite a bit. >> reporter: susie's love affair with horses grew as she did and shaped her work ethic. her sister-in-law val. >> she was not afraid to be out there shoveling manure or fixing a fence. she was a feisty thing. >> reporter: but if there was one word most used to describe susie, it wasn't so much feisty as. >> fun with capital f. >> she was very impulsive so she didn't think a lot ahead. she just kind of went with the moment. >> reporter: and so when susie went off to a technical school three hours away in billings and got herself a boyfriend, perhaps what happened next shouldn't come as a big surprise. >> she was pregnant. and you get married. that's just what you do. >> reporter: and so, she did. they made a big happy thing of it. the whole family gathered in circle for a real country church wedding where susie introduced her parents and siblings to her new husband. a kid named marty. >> what was that like for you two? finding out she was pregnant and things were going to be a little different than you thought. >> you know, the whole family accepted it because it was susie's choice. >> reporter: before long, susie gave birth to a little girl named mariah followed by a son, shaye. but no surprise, the marriage didn't last. >> she loved her kids. they were a big part of her life. and when her and marty split, they were really everything in her life. >> reporter: so late 90s now, susie was working as a medical transcriptionist in a town less than an hour from circle. a place called glendive. that is where she met ted casey. he was the real deal. a grown-up this time. a rancher, 14 years older than susie. >> he had horses and that was just right for her. >> reporter: wedding number two. this was 1998. the kids called ted dad. then there were two more kids. girls. and for almost a decade, the marriage seemed to be just fine. but by then, susie was sharing secrets with val about ted. >> he wanted to tame her i think. i guess i joke around and said he wanted her to be home in time for the 10:00 news. he didn't want her to stay out and have fun. fun was just beginning. at 10:00. >> reporter: but the casey ranch, love started to feel like one more chore to be put off until tomorrow. >> they grew awe part. >> reporter: then one liquid evening at a bar, things went seriously sideways. ted got mad, dumped a beer on susie's head. slapped her. spent the night in jail. not long after, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault. susie was gone from the ranch. >> she wasn't very happy with ted and she was starting to make some good decisions to find some happiness again. >> reporter: and so by the spring of 2008, susie and the kids were living at the ponderosa apartments here in downtown glendiver. a little town like this, people noticed what susie was up to. liked her, but noticed. >> people thought of her as someone who was going through a time. kind of sowing some wild oats. she liked to have fun. and she was having a lot of fun. >> reporter: then it got to that friday evening in april. >> when she came in to see me, she was really happy. and, she had makeup on. so i knew something was up. >> reporter: so val watched as susie bounded out the door to take her two youngest kids to ted for the night while the two older kids fended for themselves and susie headed out on the town. >> i'm like this girl's got to have a date tonight. >> reporter: and the very next morning. >> mom, pick up. >> reporter: when susie worried children and increasingly frantic family called to check on her. >> call me when you get the message. >> reporter: susie who always kept her phone within reach did not answer. coming up, susie casey's sudden disappearance triggers a desperate search. >> what do you do? how do you find somebody? >> i was going to backtrack all of her steps. you could tell the house was dark and it was kind of, it was an eerie feeling. >> reporter: when dateline continues. line continues. but shingrix protects. only shingrix is proven over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. i'll be honest. by the end of the day, my floors...yeesh. but who has the time to clean? that's why i love my swiffer wetjet. it's a quick and easy way to get my floors clean. wetjet absorbs and locks grime deep inside. look at that! swiffer wetjet. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. toward another glorious spring day in glendive, montana. marya larson (recording): hi, mom. >> :reporter: the morning sun warmed to another glorious spring day in glendive, montana. but in the ponderosa apartments it was anxiety in the air. as 14-year-old mariah tried again and again and again to get her mother susie. she knew her mother enjoyed evenings out and trusted her two older children to look after themselves in the apartment. but she never once failed to come home. mariah's next call was to her grandparents. >> she told grandma. mom ain't around. >> reporter: so mariah's anxiety affected jack and marlene too. >> mariah was pretty growed up and smart. >> the more level headed one. >> right. >> reporter: soon phones were ringing all over. susie's sister carlene. >> i thought this is silly. she went somewhere and the kids forgot. >> reporter: the kids were sufferly independent to get themselves up and leave for their respective activities but from susie, not a word. across town, sister-in-law val had not heard yet that susie failed to come home. >> we had a craft show in town and i thought maybe she would want to come with me. then she didn't respond that morning. and i thought that was kind of odd. when i was at the actual craft show i got the call from rusty. >> reporter: her husband, susie's little brother. >> what did he say? >> he told me the kids couldn't find susie when they woke up and everybody was just really worried because that just wasn't susie. she would never just not tell her children or be there for them. and she wasn't there. >> reporter: val's next attempt to reach susie wasn't quite so calm. >> you need to call me back as soon as you get this message. your dad's freaking out because nobody can find you. >> what do you do? how do you find somebody? >> i was a detective. i was going to backtrack all of her steps. so that's exactly what i did. >> reporter: cal made some calls. found susie had been drinking with friends the night before until about 11:00 p.m. when she left for what was apparently a date with a new boyfriend. someone susie had just started seeing after her separation from her husband, ted. val's mind was racing. >> i also thought that maybe she had just fainted somewhere. or had a heart attack or accident or anything. >> reporter: still, when her mind settled her first move was. >> i justifying youred that i had to go to ted's. >> because? >> maybe she was at ted's and they were having an argument and she couldn't answer the phone. >> maybe something happened. >> maybe something happened. >> reporter: remember, ted casey had pleaded guilty to assaulting susie six months before. that is why she moved off the ranch to the apartment. but when val arrived at ted's place? >> you could tell the house was dark and there were no cars there and it was kind of an eerie feeling. i just felt like i couldn't get out of the car by myself. >> reporter: so she decided to leave and picked up her husband rusty. the two of them got a key to susie's apartment. they opened the door. and here's what they found. this was a video tape the police made later. >> as we kind of walked through the apartment, and realized she wasn't there, the adrenaline burst that something isn't right. something isn't right. >> it's empty. she's not here. she's gone. >> she's not here. yeah. >> reporter: so val decided to go find that new boyfriend susie had a date with. the last person to be seen with her. his name was brad holzer. >> he would know where she was. >> reporter: brad lived with his soon to be ex-wife less than five minutes from susie's apartment. val drove over, knocked on a door. >> i said susie's not home. we can't find her. we are really worried. and then i remember exactly what he said to me. he said what do you mean she isn't home? i dropped her off at 5:00 a.m. that's when it hit that we are going to the police. something is not right. >> reporter: it certainly wasn't. a man whose marriage was breaking up, the last man to be with her, didn't know a thing? really? coming up, susie's new boyfriend fields a few questions down at the station. >> did you guys make out or anything before? >> probably for five minutes yeah. >> before she exited the truck? >> yeah. >> did you ever wonder about brad and whether he was capable of any bad thing? >> when she went missing i wondered about everybody. everybody was a suspect. >> when dateline continues. sus. >> when dateline continues. h. well, with your home, auto, boat and rv all bundled with progressive you've got the peace of mind to really wander. yeah. yeah, i just hope it stays this way. once word gets out about these places they tend to -- -are you done? -aaand there it is. well, at least your vehicles are protected. let's hit the road. hey fam! i'm just at this beautiful lake that i just discovered. practicing gratitude, manifesting abundance. 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(announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. hi, i'm janice, (announcer) and i lost 172 pounds on golo. when i was a teenager i had some severe trauma in my life and i turned to food for comfort. a friend told me that i was the only one holding me back from being as beautiful on the outside as i am the inside. once i saw golo was working, i felt this rush, i just had to keep going. a lot of people think no pain no gain, but with golo it is so easy. when i look in the mirror, i don't even recognize myself. golo really works. all the time in america. many of them turn up again. >> reporter: people disappear all the time in america. many of them turn up again. and, maybe in some big cities somewhere, susie's absence wouldn't have raised the alarm quite so fast. but here? olivia was a young lawyer then. >> i just thought you got to be kidding. this is glendive. she has to be around somewhere. >> reporter: but when susie's brother and sister-in-law roared around town looking, it only made them more upset. >> you know as a kid when you are younger you always wish you had things you didn't have. i just always wished i had a big sister. and when i met susie, she was my big sister. and i just imagined she wouldn't be in my life. >> reporter: mid afternoon, val and her husband rusty drove over to the glendive police department. they sat down with then captain ty orech. >> they said susie always answers her phone. always. and i went to my office twice and tried to call. and to voice mail. >> reporter: in a town the size of glendive, the police were keenly aware of susie's history. the abuse six months prior from husband ted. then val told the chief susie's life had just become more complicated. the night before she disappeared susie was with another man. a guy named brad who she said she was crazy about. and who had to have been the last person to see her before she vanished. >> did you ever wonder about brad and whether he was capable of any bad thing? >> when she went missing i wondered about everybody. everybody was a suspect. your mind just continues to play and play different scenarios of what could have happened and where she is. >> reporter: while that question remained unanswered, brad came in for an interview. >> appreciate you. >> no problem. >> reporter: brad told the police that he and susie actually had quite a long history. >> how long have you known susie? >> we went out in high school. she was 16, i was 19. >> reporter: then they lost touch two decades until saint patrick's day, 2008. just three weeks before she disappeared. when their eyes met in a bar downtown. >> she came up to me and said hi. i knew who she was right away. recognized her immediately. >> reporter: in the weeks since, they spent every possible moment together. though given her kids and their respective tangled marital issues, it was complicated. the night before she disappeared, said brad, susie had been drinking with a couple of girlfriends before he picked her up and they drove out of town to sit by the yellowstone river. >> that's where we were about 10:45 or 11:00 until 5:00 a.m. drove out there and parked. did the same thing we usually did. talked, kissed, stuff like that. >> reporter: it was just about 5:00 in the morning when he drove back to town and parked across are the street from susie's apartment. >> did you guys make out or anything before? >> probably for about five minutes yeah. >> before she exited the car? >> yeah. >> she got out. walked back to her across the street to her place like she normally does. i know she was at least halfway across the street when i turned. she was that close to get into that apartment. >> reporter: brad swore he drove straight home and went to bed. then brad cast suspicion elsewhere. >> brad, do you know where susan is at? i have no idea. >> where do you think she is? >> my guess would be ted. he has to be behind this somehow. >> reporter: and there was one more thing. someone sent him a weird email the moment before his last date with susie. maybe ted was behind it somehow. here it is. it reads how's your government loosened? how does your wife feel about it? the sender? a denise johnson. >> still in the dark as to who sent that and who the hell denise johnson is. >> reporter: a missing woman, a mysterious email. one guy pointing toward another. >> there is somebody out there. some jealousy. i needed to find out who sent the emails. >> reporter: so they told brad don't leave town and they set out to talk to susie's soon to be ex ted casey. coming up. >> so much pressure and after a while, you know, it explodes. >> reporter: the scorned husband in the interrogation room and details of a confrontation with susie. >> thoughts about ted were not friendly ones at that point? 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>> reporter: susie's mother was afraid something awful had happened. she called sister carleen, two hours away in north dakota. >> i knew something was really, really wrong so we packed up and headed to glendive to help. >> reporter: but where could they look? glendive is the largest town in a sparsely populated county the size of delaware. >> we had four wheelers, people on foot. and nothing. >> reporter: meanwhile, they processed susie's chevy trailblazer. for any sort of evidence. same in her apartment. and found nothing. nothing of particul