One murder, one disappearance in the same small town. But soon police would discover a creepier connection. One of the detectives had gotten his hands on an image of Amy Jane Brandhagen and karen lang together. Oh, my god. The dead teenager and the missing mom arm in arm. In that moment most of us knew that that wasnt coincidence. Was someone stalking the women of this tightknit church . This sounds more like a zodiactype killer. Absolutely. A race to connect the dots revealing a truth darker than anyone imagined. I dont get that. I mean, its just evil. Im lester holt. And this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with someone was out there. There are children born into this world for whom the dance never ends. For whom joy seems uncontained. For whom exuberance is uncontainable. Amy jane. What are we doing right now . Were riding on the roof of a car. There was this young woman, a sprite really in a young womans body who loved adventure and people and who danced to music no one else could hear. Which is why it haunted me. This case haunted me. Haunted the police. Haunted the whole town. Is there a serial killer around . A serial killer with plans for two women in one particular church in one particular photograph . I was like this is insane and Everybody Needs to find this person. Yes. But it began with that girl, that sprite. Just the freest spirit that you could think of. Like literally not having a care in the world. Kate cook is talking about her friend and fellow missionary Amy Jane Brandhagen. Talking about her now that its happened, that its all over. Kate and amy jane went to india and nepal together back in 2012. Small town girls, kate from wisconsin, amy jane from oregon. Shes always ready to give and pour her heart out to people and just give everything she had to offer. They were there three months for something called youths with a mission. Or ywam for short. Like tourists they went to the taj mahal. Like preachers, they spread the word. To children, mostly. For whom amy jane was magnetic, irresistible. They would see her and run up and say the word that means sister, sister. So excited. When the threemonth mission trip was over. She hated it. She was like i dont want to go home. Home for amy jane was a universe away from vibrant teeming india. Here it is. Pendleton. Safely tucked into a small valley on the vast rolling flanks of eastern oregon. Cowboy country. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the pendleton roundup home to one of the nations biggest rodeos, the pendleton roundup, which each september celebrates the towns rough and tumble past as a brawling and bordellofilled cow town. And then good conservative citizens wave goodbye to the parting cowboys and settle into a safe and predictable life and fill the pews every sunday morning without fail. People like bill caldera, who was like family to amy jane and her parents, jim and kathy brandhagen. They brought amy jane home when she was three days old. And they brought her home. Bill and knew the remarkable little girl from the very beginning. You watched amy jane grow up. Yes. And saw what sort of girl emerge . She is very carefree, loving, didnt know a stranger. The brandhagens asked bill to speak for them after what happened when they sorely needed their Church Family at pendleton Free Methodist. Like youth minister jeff hummel and his wife lisa who encountered the dancing sprite when she was in middle school. If she got the feeling that you were left out, shed find you and make sure that you knew you had a friend. Little bit like pippi longstocking. I always remember she knew everyones name. She was just fun. One year when she was far away in india, the people who loved amy jane worried a lot. And didnt breathe easy until she returned home to the safety and security of pendleton. Where she was waiting for god to tell her what to do next. Whether it was going to be to travel the world or go back or go to school. She wanted more freedom too, so she moved out of her parents house and got herself a little apartment in downtown pendleton. Worked two jobs to pay for it including a job cleaning motel rooms at the travelodge across from city hall. She was excited to get this other job, but she wasnt so sure about working at the hotel. She was a little nervous about it. After all shed never done that sort of thing before, or answered to a boss who this one sounded gruff. But she went. And she scoured and scrubbed those little rooms that looked out on downtown pendleton. And then it was august 14th, 2012. 911, what is your emergency . I am calling from travelodge, theres a girl dead in the bathroom. I dont know. A girl dead in the bathroom . I think shes passed out. Okay. Im going to get the police and ambulance headed that way, okay . In his office down the hall from the 911 operator, bill caldera listened and felt the dread flood in. Just gave me a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was not good about this call. Bill, remember, was a close friend of the brandhagen family, attends the same church. But hes also a policeman. And that day with the chief on vacation, lieutenant bill caldera was the man in charge. As soon as one of my patrol sergeants arrived on scene he requested my presence which i knew then we would probably be dealing with a homicide. As he raced to the motel he couldnt know what had just been started there any more than whose life had just ended. What this veteran investigator was about to find would leave him stunned. I just cant tell you the feeling that went through my mind. 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Lying on the bathroom floor her lifeless body punctured by the startling scarlet of a dozen stab wounds was the sweet free spirit hed known since she was a baby, 19yearold Amy Jane Brandhagen. It just felt like somebody kicked me in the pit of my stomach. I just cant tell you the feeling that went through my mind. Almost like she was your kid in a way. Very much. Lieutenant caldera took it upon himself to notify amy janes parents. And that was probably the toughest thing that ive ever had to do in my career. And i cant tell you the feeling we all had. We broke down in tears. But why would anyone want to kill amy jane of all people . I was crushed. Like how is this even possible . I was speechless. And then i just sat crying in the bathroom for probably the next hour like not understanding, like craziness. As word spread through amy janes Church Family, so did the questions. High school youth pastor chris thatcher. Early on was there any indication of who may have been responsible . I dont think anybody had any idea. I think thats what made this so hard is that so many of us, we know each other. Were family here. But there was the dismal work to do. Lieutenant caldera returned to the motel where amy was murdered. It would be pretty hard for you to take part in an active investigation. No, i wouldnt have. I couldnt have. Not with my relationship. Lieutenant caldera turned the case over to detective Sergeant Rick jackson. It was a pretty pretty horrific crime scene. It was obvious amy jane fought for her life. Her glasses lay in the bathtub. Blood spattered the walls. Dna of a male presumably her attacker would be found under her fingernails. But the medical examiner said it was not a sex attack. And it wasnt robbery either. Amy janes purse and cell phone were still right there on the bedside table. And nobody saw a thing. Even though this is during broad dayligd motel room doors open. The only potential witness, if he was a witness at all, was a painter working at the motel who said he saw a young man with longer hair, darker skin, perhaps hispanic or native american, walking near the back parking lot. It may have been the person who did it and it may not have been. Could have been somebody passing by. Sure. While we were there she was in the first hour of being at the crime scene. Upwards of 50 people walked by. I mean, this is a pretty busy area of town. Busy, yes. And studded with cctv cameras. Banks, bridges, city hall, walking trails along the river that runs through town. Detectives painstakingly went through the footage. There was nothing. They took dna from dozens of motel guests to check against the sample taken from amy janes fingernails. Wasnt any of them. So detective jackson went to the people who knew amy jane well, or perhaps romantically. Those stab wounds were all focused around her heart, which often indicates some kind of crime of passion. But i think most of the males we spoke to really viewed themselves as her protectors. Pendleton police chief Stuart Roberts hurried back home from his abbreviated mexican vacation and encountered a case going nowhere fast. Everybody that knew her characterized her in the same way. She knew no stranger. She didnt have an evil bone in her body. As the investigation entered its second week, amy janes family prepared a Memorial Service at the church where theyd raised their daughter. Amy loves thunderstorms. It was one of her favorite things to do go out barefoot and dance in the rain because she just loved it. The morning of her Memorial Service there was a loud clap of thunder that came over town about 6 30. And several of us heard it. I think we knew. Up there dancing in the rain somewhere, huh . I think she was. Together we pray, in jesus name, amen. Hundreds crowded into amy janes church. And many like jed and lisa hummel were amazed by the strength of amy janes parents. They were hurting deeply, but they werent looking for vengeance. Me, on the other hand, i was just ticked. I was like this is insane. And Everybody Needs to find this person. Oh, they were certainly trying. Even at that very moment. We had about 10 to 12 undercover officers in and about the Memorial Service looking for anybody that would strike us as odd. But no one stood out. Hang in there, caleb. Hang in there. A month after the murder, the famous roundup filled the streets as usual. And then they emptied again. And as the autumn wind turned raw, detective jacksons investigation chased down every lead and got nowhere. We call them rabbit trails. We ran hundreds of rabbit trails down. The holidays came and went, holidays for other people. Not detective jackson. Not chief roberts. It haunted me. This case haunted me. And then a spring breeze dipped into the pendleton valley, curled its warming fingers into secret corners and came out whispering a name. Coming up weve gone for months with nothing and now this. Out of the blue, a tip. Have cops found their killer . We go out and find his girlfriend. Shes going i always believed he could have done this. There are no medals won for earning a living. Its just what you do for family. But its hard to build a future if you cant see past today. Thats why walmart is investing in the most important part of our company our people. Because a raise in pay, raises us all. Brandois heaven in a jar. Thats because our ingredients come from. Farmers committed to responsibly sourced oils. Blended with ingredients like cagefree eggs. Mmm. Heaven. Real ingredients. Thats how were working to bring out the best. Steak and unlimited shrimp is back for just 15. 99 for a limited time. Try unlimited garlic herb butter. Or crispy shrimp for just 15. 99 and let the bold flavors. Speak for themselves with unlimited shrimp at outback and now, with the iphone everyoneforever from sprint, you can always get the latest iphone so you never have to wait to upgrade. No more waiting and no more being jealous of that guy who always has it. Join the iphone forever revolution. Now, get an iphone for 15 mo. And you can bring it back to us and upgrade to the latest anytime again and again. Thats forever. Its included in your monthly rate. Only from sprint. Trouble hearing on the phone, visit sprintrelay. Com six months after the murder of Amy Jane Brandhagen, investigators finally caught a break. A county jail inmate looking for a deal got word out to the cops. He claimed to know who killed amy jane. I mean, wed gone for months with nothing and now this. There were two of them, said the inmate. Ira draper and eric torres, both wellknown to local law enforcement. Who soon confirmed the men were in the area the day of the murder. They found torres first. And looked like they were on to something. Torres said, yes, he was in on it. But he didnt kill her. It was the guy he was with, he said. Draper, who went into the motel room and came out very bloody. He basically tells them, yeah, i was driving the getaway car. It was his buddy who did the killing, he said. Ira draper. So we go out and find his girlfriend. Shes going, i always believed he potentially could have done this. Hes aggressive. And he has these journals. And there are journal entries about defiling women and killing and burying them. They found and questioned draper who said he understood why he was a suspect. Have you ever thought about killing anybody . Ive never really planned it out, but maybe thought about it, yeah. But after a few minutes with draper, jackson had a familiar sinking feeling. He was very much so enamored by the fact the police were giving him attention. He was playing you. Playing it for all it was worth. He was getting a little street cred for it. The dna confirmed it was all an act. Two unpleasant men, the police said, who seemed to be enjoying themselves at the expense of the cops. So back to zero. By august 2013 it had been almost a full year since Amy Jane Brandhagens murder in pendleton. Investigators had exhausted hundreds of leads. And themselves. I knew it was having an impact on my Physiological Health as well as my mental health. On august 8th the chief took his family out of town for some r and r. And the very next day a woman named karen lange happened to be a member of amy janes church announced to her husband dan she was going for a walk. And she came down. And ill never forget what she said. She said, well, you know, i was thinking that we can maybe go out for dessert afterward. Karen was an accomplished singer and pianist. Dan Vice President of the local community college. Her walk along the river levee in downtown pendleton, the river walk was almost a daily habit. It was 4 30 p. M. Lots of sun left on the warm august afternoon. And the last words she said to me were, well, i guess well just have a nice boring evening. Dan went back to tinkering on his motorcycle. Lost all track of time. It was dark when his son walked into the room and asked an innocuous question. Wheres mom . I said, well, i dont know. Ill give her a call. So i went i tried to make the phone call, and i couldnt get hold of her. But it was after 9 30 p. M. Karen usually walked for less than an hour. Shed been gone for five. In some people anxiety stokes panic. Dan is not like that. Its a coping mechanism, he stays calm. He made another call. Long day, 10 00 at night. My phone rings. I answer, hi, dan. Remember jed and lisa hummel . Friend of amy janes from church . Karen always parked their car in front of her house when she took her Late Afternoon walks. Says, is karen at your house . No. I just got home and i asked lisa if shed been over. And i said, no, havent seen her. And i had looked outside and sure enough the car was still there. So we went out to the car and she wasnt there. So jed and lisa grabbed flashlights and walked a couple of blocks from their house down to the river levee. There in the parking lot sat a Pendleton Policeman. What should they do they asked him. He just thought it was unusual enough that he got ahold of dan. As the officer left to talk to dan, jed and lisa kept looking through the dark along the riverbank. Theres a fear of not finding anything. And theres a fear of finding something. When i got to where the policeman was, we were talking, and he said, you seem to be awfully calm for your wife being missing. And at that point i thought, holy mackerel, you know, if theres something if theres something bad that happened to her, i could be a suspect. From his patrol car the officer was able to pull up images from cameras stationed around the river levee. No sign of karen. Then her cell provider sent a ping to karens phone. It turned up across the main road about half a mile from the river. In the parking lot at walmart. Where again, the officer could not find karen. What was going on . Around and around the river walk they went pointing their puny flashlights at a sea of dark. I did go home at about 5 00. I wrote an email saying karens gone. I dont know where she is. I just have to go to bed. And i went and i just cried. He did not sleep long. The phone call that startled him awake brought news. Some good, some very, very bad. Coming up amy janes murder a