Narrator Joel Patrick Courtney was sitting in jail in albuquerque. It was december 2004. The married father of three was facing decades in prison if convicted of kidnapping, sexual assault, and battery charges. As investigators began checking out the possible link to Brooke Wilbergers case, a call went out to her family. They had waited more than six months for news, any news, about their daughters disappearance. Now, there was a man in custody who they thought might be able to reunite them with their daughter, just as Elizabeth Smart had been returned to her family. What are you thinking in that when you hear this . Actually, i had prayed so faithfully all fall that whoever had done this would make a mistake. And when i heard the news, i thought, they made a mistake. They tried it again. And No One Else knew what id prayed, because i hadnt told anyone else, because it was always, Find Brooke. You know, help us to Find Brooke. I guess that was a selfish prayer, you know, to help whoeve
door, i love you. and that was last time i talked to her. i said worth broke, he said we can t find her. a college student vanishes. i had this chill go through my whole body. they asked us do of the crime scene? no we don t, we have flip-flops in a parking lot. we had a community that was scared, who is going to be the next victim? 1000 miles away, another student in danger. she said he s got a knife and trying to kill me. there was a girl there and there was blood. this is not the first time that he s done this. one case would help solve the other. one man behind two mysteries. this was dynamite to us, that is the smoking gun. you re not going to believe what we found. we ve gotten so close. i want to know where she is. some images are eternal. timeless. one moment of the future seems immeasurable, the possibilities endless. but, in an instance, you can be left with only memories to hold until the end of time. brooke wilbur lived as if she had
in the months after joel courtney had emerged as a suspect in brooke wilberger s disappearance, brooke s mom had desperately tried to hold on to the hope that her daughter was still alive. but cammy wilberger s heart was finally giving in to what her head was telling her. i just had this sick feeling, even though i would never give up hope, you know, my motherly hope was always there. i knew deep down that she was probably gone. and it would be another mom in another state who would move the story forward. joel courtney had already been interviewed by the fbi but refused to answer any questions. and when shown her photo, denied ever knowing brooke. but when confronted by his own mother, courtney came perilously close to a confession. she actually asked him, point blank, joel, did you do this?
in the months after joel courtney had emerged as a suspect in brooke wilberger s disappearance, brooke s mom had desperately tried to hold on to the hope that her daughter was still alive. but cammy wilberger s heart was finally giving in to what her head was telling her. i just had this sick feeling, even though i would never give up hope, you know, my motherly hope was always there. i knew deep down that she was probably gone. and it would be another mom in another state who would move the story forward. joel courtney had already been interviewed by the fbi but refused to answer any questions. and when shown her photo, denied ever knowing brooke. but when confronted by his own mother, courtney came perilously close to a confession.
in the months after joel courtney had emerged as a suspect in brooke wilberger s disappearance, brooke s mom had desperately tried to hold on to the hope that her daughter was still alive. but tammi wilberger s heart was finally giving in to what her head was telling her. i just had this sick feeling, even though i would never give up hope, you know, my motherly hope was always there. i knew deep down that she was probably gone. and it would be another mom in another state who would move the story forward. joel courtney had already been interviewed by the fbi but refused to answer any questions.