Estaban equivocados misterio en sun going down, air cooling down to a fine evening warm. Here at the towns historic rodeo grounds, refugees from the summer heat in phoenix, 2 hours and 25 degrees away settled into the stands to enjoy the annual exploits of the cowboys. At the very same time, a few miles away on the edge of town, a woman named Carol Kennedy jogged along a well worn path at the base of granite mountain. Sometime after 7, she turned in at her big back yard here on a street called bridle path. Trotted past the stone labyrinth shed laid out here years earlier to mark the turn of the millennium, and arrived at the back door of the house she intended to inhabit for the rest of her natural days. But of course, Carol Kennedy had no idea that this was going to be her last day. And, no, it would not be natural at all. That is the biggest loss of my life to this day. Its profound. Its piercing. Its constant. Reporter Carol Kennedy was in, as they say, a good place in her life. This is her friend Katherine Morris. Carol was the epitome of kindness and living a life from a perspective of having an open heart and being loving. Reporter before she became a close friend, Katherine Morris was carols student at prescott carols friend. She was very wellrespected and admired, her classes were always full, very difficult to get into. What was she like . She was magnetic. And she was always sort of searching for the truth. And you just were gravitated to her. Charisma that kinda pulled her students in, especially maybe you. Uhhuh, uhhuh. She was soft and inviting. Im Carol Kennedy. I live in prescott, arizona. Reporter you get a sense of her personality in this 2006 interview, in which she was asked about her passion for teaching. Its such a gift to feel like you get to give seeds to this first row here and then they turn around and give it to rows behind them. Reporter and in fact she shared those passions with the man who was her husband for 25 years. Love of her life, really, Steve Democker. They were crazy for each other. Reporter sharon democker is steves sister. Carol was really easy to love. She was kind of a natural fit in the family. She was just immediately a sister to all of us. Reporter all of us being the democker family. High achievers, all of them. Sharon is a doctor. Its an accomplished bunch. One of my friends said, theres not a weak link in this group. Reporter carol and steve got married in his parents backyard overlooking lake ontario, near an outdoor wedding for a couple who loved adventure. Steve was the one that kind of w started the adventuring side of things. So first there was hiking, and then skiing, and mountain climbing, and kayaking. Reporter they moved around a bit, as people do, and wound up eventually prescott. Which proved to be the Perfect Place to raise their two bright, attractive, daughters, katie and charlotte. Theyre amazing. I think that its really a testimony to the kinda parents that steve and carol were. The girls were their first priority. Reporter steve became the dean of prescott college. Carol taught psychology there. But life is a river. Never the same for long. Steve decided to change careers. Left the academic life became a financial advisor. Very successful too. And there were other changes. More difficult ones. Nobody knows all of what goes on inside a marriage. But i did talk with both of them about it. And they both struggled but their lives were moving in different directions. Reporter and, much as they still cared for each other, there were infidelities. Steve had an affair. They decided to separate. Carol loved steve fiercely. She fought hard for her marriage until the end. Reporter but, in 2008, after more than 25 years of marriage, 5 living apart, steve and carol divorced. It was a long, painful process and after it was final, carol went to a nearby lake where she called katherine. She was sobbing. And at first when she called me i was like, oh, oh no. And then i realized that the that the sobbing and the wailing on the phone was it was a mixture of it was cathartic. Yeah. Yeah. It absolutely. Reporter time for a fresh start. Carol had left teaching by that time, was focused on a new passion, painting. Her art was developing. She was really doing well with that and taking off with that. Reporter of course she remained close to her daughters, but she also stayed close to steve. And in fact, just a few days before that july morning, the whole family went to the airport together, to see katie off on a study abroad trip to south africa. Charlotte was staying with her dad in prescott. Nothing ahead now but the long, easy, days of summer. As she jogged the last few yards to her house, carol passed by the guest cottage shed rented out as a way to help her pay expenses. Its 50 feet away from the main house and it has all of its own kitchen and bath and shower and rooms. Reporter it was comforting, in a way, to have someone else with her on the property, out here at the edge of things. Mans name was jim knapp. Divorced father. Bit of an odd duck, some people said. But easy to get along with. At least, thats what carol told her friends. The man didnt cause any jim knapp was just sort of this freespirited surfer dude from hawaii who hang ten. But she took him in as a border . It was my understanding that he was, had been diagnosed with cancer. And i think they sort of cosupported each other through a lot of the painful times that they were both experiencing. Reporter once inside her house, carol put together a salad for dinner, answered a few emails. Settled in for an evening alone. She picked up the phone and called her mother ruth who lived way off in nashville, tennessee. She was an amazing daughter who still called her mom every day. Reporter ruth was 83. The call, a nightly ritual. And then at 8 pm, the oddest thing. The line went dead. But not before ruth heard something rather terrifying. Ruth tried to call back. And there she was, so far away, and now worried. So she decided to call the Sheriffs Department, whose headquarters is here in downtown prescott. Sheriffs office, maria. How can i help you . Ah, yes. My name is ruth kennedy and im calling from nashville, tennessee. I was on the phone with my daughter and she screamed and said, oh no and the phones gone dead. And is there anything you can do . Can you go check . Reporter oh no. Those two words played back, again and again, in ruths worried brain. And so began a mystery. And a story too unbelievable even for some of its most intimate participants. What happened to Carol Kennedy . The answer to that question would take years to answer. But who was behind it . We were just stunned. And if we announce your team on nbcs sunday night football, youre automatically a winner. You could even win 500,000. Its time to play game time gold. Whos your team . 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Im 83, and she worries about me, and so we were just having our conversation, and then all the sudden she just screamed and said, oh no, and then i have not been able to get her to answer the phone back. Im afraid something bad happened. Okay, ruth, who does your daughter live with . Shes recently divorced, shes alone. Whats your daughters name . Carol kennedy. Reporter notice what she said . Recently divorced. The operator heard it. Do you believe shes concerned if her husband or exhusband came back . Oh, i dont think so. No, i dont think its that kind of a thing. Okay. They knew they cared deeply for each other and the two daughters. The connection of the two of them interested me. They took time to nurture their relationship and to spend time together. And do things they continued to do bringing up katie and charlotte. Carol wasnt answering our her phone and ruth was frantic. All right, well send them out to check on her and have them give you a call. Reporter you can imagine what that was like for ruth so far away waiting for a phone call. She knew carol had a border, jim, but steve would know what to do. She called him on the cell phone, and when he didnt pick up, she left him this message. Hey, this is ruth kennedy, in nashville. I was on the phone with carol and screamed and said oh no, and i cant get her to answer me back. What you could find out and let me know something. By that time it was dark. Steve and carls daughter charlotte and her then boyfriend were, at that moment, at steves house waiting for him to come home. Jacob was actually living there trying to sort out a few issues with his parents. Reporter what was your relationship like with him, and what was charlottes relationship like . Charlotte was very close with steve. Hed offered me to stay with him before, you know, try to figure something out, just to make my situation with my parents better, and i had a lot of respect for him. I looked up to him. That evening, steve, an avid outdoors man was overdue from a Mountain Bike ride. And it was getting late, really late, actually. It was very, very odd. And he would usually wed usually have dinner pretty late there. It was, you know, normal to have dinner at 9 oclock, 9 30. When he hadnt come home around that time, it was when we kind of started to get a little worried. That may be he had crashed or gotten hurt or something. What did you do . Charlotte called his cell phone and no answer. No answer. Did it go straight to voicemail or something . Yeah. Reporter anyway, hungry for dinner, they went to the store for groceries. While we were at the store, it was probably around 10 00, 10 15 was when we got a call from steve. And he told us that, he got a flat tire and he was at the workout center, he was going to finish up his workout there. And what his phone had been off or something or what happened to his phone . He said his phone had died. While he was out there having a flat tire . Correct. Reporter steve was in the shower when charlotte and jake arrived back at the condo. They made a quick dinner, vegetable stirfry. It was late, but then again, it was a mild summer night. Not a care in the world, it seemed. No idea what was happening at the house on bridle path. Im kind of getting worried about you. Panic begins. A daughter rushes to the scene. What would she find . She immediately broke down. Think your heartburn pill works fast . Take the zantac it challenge zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. Nexium can take 24 hours. When heartburn strikes, take zantac for faster relief than nexium or your money back. Take the zantac it challenge. Wish your skin could bounce back like it used to . Neutrogena hydro boost water gel. With hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. For supple, hydrated skin. Hydro boost. From neutrogena [makes siren noise] im watching that. Eew. Every christmas is memorable. But a gift from kay jewelers. Makes it unforgettable. Because its more than a gift. Its a memory shell wear forever. And right now you can save up to 30 on diamond fashions like the incredible diamonds in rhythm at kay, the numberone memorymaker in america. Thank you so much. Did you say honey . Hey, try some . Mmm that is tasty. Is it real . Of course. Are you . Nope animated you know im always looking for real honey for honey nut cheerios well youve come to the right place. Great, mind if i have another taste . Not at all mmm youre all right bud . Never better i dont know if he likes that. Yeah reporter july 2nd, 2008, about 11 00 p. M. Steve democker, his daughter charlotte, and charlottes boyfriend jake were eating a very late dinner. He had taken a few more bites of his dinner and then by that point charlotte and i were pretty close to being finished. Reporter thats when steve told them about a strange phone call he received from carols brother. Who told him that apparently carols home phone suddenly cut out when she was talking to her mother ruth, and nobody could reach her. How did charlotte react to that . She was worried. Reporter charlotte said she texted her mom earlier that evening. Everything seemed fine, then. But now . She called her mother. Voicemail. Hey mom. Its char. I heard from grandmother that something happened while you guys were on the phone and she was kind of worried about you. If everything was okay. Now im kind of getting worried about you. Or call me or something just let me know that youre okay and that everythings okay. Panic bubbled up in charlottes brain. She and her boyfriend called around to local hospitals. But nobody named Carol Kennedy had been admitted to any of them. So this is night time, was there any thought of going over there . Yeah. We talked about it. Reporter steve was concerned about carol, of course. But, as her now exhusband, he had another concern too. Steve had expressed that he wasnt really comfortable with it because, you know, they had just finalized their divorce and, you know, he didnt feel comfortable invading her privacy if she was with, you know, another guy on a date or Something Like that, so. Mmhm. We had decided that charlotte and i would go out there and check on her. Just kind of see, you know, if anything was out of the ordinary. Reporter it was around midnight when they drove out to carols place on bridle path. Having promised to call steve the minute they got there. Do you remember what it was like driving over there . It was very quiet. I dont really think we spoke very much at all on the way there. Because . Just nervous, you know. Little anxious . Right. Do you remember pulling up to the house . Yes. Very vividly. Reporter at that moment charlotte was on the phone with her dad. As soon as we got to the top of the hill you could see, the police, you know, the sheriffs know, just the worst thoughts are kind of going through, you know, my mind at that point. You know, the almost kind of thing that hits you here before it hits you here. Right. Yeah. Kind of feel it in your stomach first, for sure. And we got closer to the house and we saw a caution tape and all of, you know, people running around and everything. We had pulled up and stopped on the side of the road and two sheriffs walked up on either side of the car and we rolled the windows down. Did this person know who you were . I think he had asked, you know, were you guys just passing through . And charlotte said, no this is my moms house. And so, im sorry to tell you but, you know, carol passed away. At that point she just immediately broke down, started crying pretty hard. Reporter charlotte dropped the phone. Were you frightened . Scared a little bit. Really more so for charlotte, just you know not really, i mean, even now i dont think i could i could figure it out how to console someone in that situation. Reporter maybe steve would know what to do. I picked up the cell phone and told steve what had happened. He needed to come down and be with charlotte. And steve . He was taken aback. You know, it was almost kind of disbelief, like he didnt really know what to say really. Kind of hear him choking back, some tears a little bit. And that was, you know, was hard. Reporter right away steve rushed over to carols house. A detective had a recorder rolling. You can hear charlotte sobbing. And steve talking. The last time i was out here was i dont know. Im sorry. I dont know. Its been a while. Reporter someone else talked to the detectives, too. A man who showed up just minutes after the deputies got there. Jim knapp, carols boarder. The man who had been living in the guest house. I cant remember the month i moved in. 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