kinds of things? >> no. not at all. >> what is her secret? >> i have no idea. i think she is just a good woman. >> that is pretty much the opposite of what raised daughter, monica, thanks. for her, this is all very personal. >> this was my dad, this was justice. this is the way that it should be. you killed my father. somebody is going to pay for this. and dam well right she is going to. >> that's all for this edition of dateline, i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching! e terror >> hello, i'm craig melvin, and on her face. this is dateline. >> she had this look of absolute tear on her face, she was scared, she really was afraid and i don't really know why. >> she was a sunny, free spirit

who endured to make it in hollywood. but she made headlines instead, when she vanished. >> one day she was gone, her pets were gone. >> i knew that something had happened. >> did something drive her away? or maybe someone? there was that old friend. turned enemy. >> they seem to be very panacea about hating each other. >> there was the new kid, young, handsome, a man of mystery. >> he said i'm not what people think i am. >> and i thought, i wonder what that means? >> i told her this could end up killing you. >> a brother and sister desperate to learn the truth. >> it's just chilling for me to think about that. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, and welcome to dateline. she was a woman who lived life on her own terms. brittany tavar, was generous, opening her life to anyone she thought needed help. whether that meant pets are people. but after, she disappeared

without a trace, her family discovered that her nature exposure to more danger than she realized. here is keith morrison with, the stranger. >> they noticed it first, and her favorite place. that private beach club faces out of the south atlantic, took a little longer for the story to spread up and down the historic streets of this oldest, all american serially. until they reach the heirs of a young reporter named justin griffin, who worked the crime leak at st. augustine, florida times. >> this was definitely one of the most bizarre that i've covered. one day in her car, she was gone, her pets were gone. >> that she, justine was talking about. was a local fixture in st. augustine, florida. a striking and friendly woman named brittany tavar. who hadn't uttered a word to anybody, up and vanished.

part of a big story, obviously, people come and go around st. augustine. but july 2010, heat ratcheting up. no time to head north maybe. >> as the weeks went on, it got a little more strange. >> a little bit strange? in fact, the disappearance of brittany tavar was about to become the biggest and perhaps strangest story of justine griffin's young career. not just did brittani just appear, but she vanished on such an important day for her. the day that she was due to appear in the st. augustine court and bring charges against a bitter enemy. >> she had enormous amount of anxiety. >> this is britney's sister pat bellemont, pat made clear across the country in portland, oregon. so she couldn't do much about her sister's worries. couldn't help her confront her nemesis in court. but pat had been aware that britney was pretty good at looking at her herself. >> we were polar opposites. i was more academically oriented than she was. and was more state, and

analytical. she was very agile, and athletic. and i was not. so i spent my childhood following her up trees, and jumping into creeks. and she could do it. i couldn't. >> five siblings in all, angelo, one of brittani's three brothers took track of her from his place up in the northeast. >> she was an expert. she marched to the beat of her own drum. >> so, when they heard she was messing. pat and andrew had to consider the possibility that britney had decided to try something new. >> she very much had a sense of inventing herself, her whole life. >> like the time she went to hollywood, years ago.

wanted to be a movie star. >> she wanted certain things in life, and she just thought of she believed in herself, and went out and tried, she would get those things. >> did not get those things. up to now, at least. but she had some family money. settled comfortably in st. augustine. took up photography, scold real estate, bought a nice house. and joined a part of it beach club called the sarah mata. where she developed a group of very close friends. for example, linda. >> she was a single woman, living on her own. and i just thought she was very strong, and very brave. she had money, she didn't have to worry about that. but still, she had to create a life for herself. a social environment. she was interesting. she was imploring. >> joanna simmons was also a

friend from the sarah matter. >> i invited her to come to acquire one night at this church, and she seemed to really enjoy it. so she joined the choir. >> was she a spiritual woman? >> i think she had a very spiritual side to her. >> they enjoyed her personality. she could be very sort of, spiraling and by vicious. i was impressed that she had so many close friends who cared so much about her. >> so, because britney's family members lived so far away, it was members like joanna and brenda who first tried to solve the puzzle of her absence that we can july. >> i called a few times, i did not hear anything. and then thursday came. and i called thursday, and i knew. i knew thursday that something happened. >> so, brenda called brittany's family. and they asked her to go around to the house. but frankly, just looking at the place from the outside. she did not see any sign of foul play. back in portland, britney's sister pat did not know quite what to do. >> i actually have a longtime friend who is a police officer, i called him, i said what do we do? he said while, just get a locksmith. spend brenda back with a locksmith and have her go into the house. >> which by now, several days after brittani dropped out of sight. brenda did. and inside?

nothing seemed amiss. although, she had apparently taken some of her pets. her two little dogs. >> her dogs were gone. kiwi and uber. her little white johns. >> but brittani also had cats. and they were still in the house. alone. >> one of the doors was open for the cats to go in and out. >> some people do that, it is true. but britney? >> my sister loved her cats, very very much. and she would never just go away on the trip and leave them. to fend for themselves. >> where had brittani gone? why would she take her dogs, leave her cats, and take off? vanished on the very day she was all set to appear in court to resolve a bitter feud? a feud which she told her family, kept her in constant fear. >> it was very strange that all of a sudden, the day that she was supposed to be in court, now she is gone. >> brittany tavar was a master reinventer. had she simply run offer a fresh start or did this free spirit put her trust in the wrong person? >> coming up! >> over the years, eight different people lived in her

spare room. >> when dateline continues! but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't 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. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ [laughing] ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. kayaking is my thing.

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keith morrison: asomething was off,. something very wrong. in the trippy hate of the st. augustine summer. friends of brittany tavar, had been unable to reach over several days. >> everyone who knows brittany, knows that she would never take up and leave like that without telling me.

>> so britney's family, frantic, but far away in opposite corners of the company. called a locksmith. asked brittani's friends to go inside of her house, have a look around. and the place seemed perfectly normal. except one or two little things, that didn't quite make sense. >> there was some anomalies, like the air conditioned was blasting. she never would've left the air conditioner blasting. >> another thing, it wasn't so much wrong as it was a little bit too right. one of the friends who searched brittani's house was tim. a man britney had been data. >> she was an organized, but the houses very clean. so it looked like someone was going somewhere. >> someone had flicks the place up? >> yes. >> the good news was everything was tidy, there was no sign of a crime scene. the bad news is, the home looked to clean. >> it certainly could be that

brittani seemed simply clean the place more than usual. then caught up in left, and left the back door open for the cats. the police told the family that in the absence of foul play, there wasn't much they could do. no law against it. grown woman taken off without telling anyone. >> had a private investigator, who started looking around. trying to find something that would get the police involved in the case. >> while the p. i. made his inquiries, over the next few days brittany's family began their own investigation. and soon discovered a very brittani ask seek what. things that she never told them about. >> we didn't know that over the years, a different homeless people lived in her schitt spare room. she usually had an arrangement with these fellows, that they would help her with stuff. like the first guy, help her with the yard work. we would never, she would never tell us that. because that idea. you can't just invite strangers to live in your house. >> that is a very interesting thing that ended up. a single woman, living on her own, would do. she wasn't really practical.

>> the risk of hurt, she would've dismissed it. or maybe that was what was interesting about it. i think she really like the idea of helping people. >> kind of like bringing home a bird with a broken wing, and you have to fix it. or something like that. >> well, she also grew up in a family were serving the poor was part of the environment that we lived in. >> britney had recently been hosting a handsome young man named joel roberts. that she met at a barnes and nobles store. >> she was trying to start of some enterprise, and he was going to help or do the computer work. >> according to friends, brittani was a doting landlady. brought him new clothes, even a computer. brittani got to know as someone who she showed off at the beach

club. >> here she is, joe and joanne. i want you to meet the guy in the hot club. he's so good-looking, so nice. >> he seemed like he could bring my brother, or my younger brother. he just seemed like such a nice guy. that he was just, he really wanted to try. >> they accepted him as someone that brittani was trying to help. and who might help her. >> very charming. i thought he was well mannered. he thought the girls were really shallow at his age. they just wanted to go out and have one night stands. and he didn't want to be involved in relationships like that. he really wanted sincere relationships with women. >> in addition to which he was, those women could plainly see, a bit of ahady. and of course, you know how gossip could be. good-looking young guy? brittani treated him very

quietly. >> he stayed in the master bedroom? where did she stay? >> he had -- she had a place by the pool. the swimming pool. she likes to listen to it at night. >> speculations that there was something romantic? or sexual about inviting this young man in? >> i joke with her about it. she would always say no, he likes megan fox. he is not interested. i'm too old. >> still, who really know what went on behind closed door. anyway, they couldn't as joe. he didn't say a lot of for very long, and he wasn't around to shed light on his ex landlady's disappearance. so surrounded by this, they asked the very question. was there anyone here in st. augustine, who might want to harm britney? the answer was, a resounding gas. friends like joanna symonds told how the beach glove, in the days before she disappeared, brittani seemed terrified. >> i saw her one day leaving the hopped up area to go into the pool. she had this look of absolute terror on her face. >> why brittani was terrified? began with a very weird story.

about a neighbor that she had begun to know. this woman, her name is and lighten. >> everybody knew brittani. and she stopped you, she wanted to chat. and get into your life. >> couldn't get away from her for a while? >> no. she's a busybody. >> and if and doesn't speak very kindly of britney now, you had to understand it was very different at the beginning. then, they were friendly enough to become partners in a little dog breeding venture. >> she wanted to breed huey with one of mine. >> but then, complications. brittani began a romance with a fellow named billy. a friend of anne and her husband's. billy, as a new boyfriend, moved right in. and everything was hunky dory. until, well, love is unpredictable. and in this case, it did not last. >> i got into some stupid fight. and billy calls up, and says i'm coming to get my stuff. and she sat home by herself. >> but, billy did not go there alone. he was accompanied by an

leighton and her husband. >> brittani said don't come in the house, and they came in. >> and she was cussing, and screaming, and whatever. and i said, okay, i'm leaving. >> and what happened? >> she hit me over the head with a wine bottle. she was sitting on top of me, strangling me. and michael in billy pulled her off. >> two sides to every story, of course. brittani said that ann and her two men refused to leave. >> and you think, that's her house. if i say get out of my house. you should leave my house. >> and yes, it was true they fought. said brittani. but in a report to police. brittani claimed that she did not start it. in fact, after the fights subsided. it was brittani who called the police to accuse ann of assaulting her. but. >> i went over and talk to an, and i came back. and they arrested brittani. >> arrested brittani? but why her?

>> she admitted that she put her through hand on ann's throat. and they arrested her based on that. >> they charged her with battery. she spent the night in drill. >> it was a very traumatic experience, she called me up crying. >> in court, a sentenced to probation. anger management classes, community service, and a one -year order to stay away from ann leighten. but an, oddly perhaps, chose to be closer to brittani. at least physically. she and her husband joined brittani's sanctuary, the beach club. >> i felt so bad for her. because that was a place that she really, really got a peace. she was able to socialize with people, and enjoy herself their. and then, all of a sudden, here they show up in a hot towel all the time. >> and before long, the conflict. the growing fear. was all brittani could talk about. >> she was fearful for her life. and i told her this could end up killing you. >> coming up.

that britney's character driver hundreds of miles away? >> her dogs are found roaming the streets. >> that's just the beginning of a long, strange tale. >> they were following her credit card transactions. north carolina, idaho, oregon. >> when dateline continues!

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the combat symptoms and boosts immunity. biovanta really works. keith morrison: what a respite was the serenata beach club, what a lovely perch from which to enjoy the brilliant sun, >> what a respite, was the the warm, soothing currents. beach club.

what a lovely perch from which to enjoy the brilliant sun. the warm, soothing current. on the summer days in 2010, those in serenada were too warm. day after day, the swarm enemies face each other across swimming pools, and hot tubs. and all the while, brittani seat. an expanding collection of insults, in incidents, heap don by her ex friend, dan. >> i was like brittani can't you just let this go? and she couldn't let go of it. it was an obsession, actually. >> brittani accused ann of keeping her car. so she began carrying around a bridge video camera. as a visual bodyguard. till one day, and, tired of being taped. swam over to the camera. at that point, poolside inside of britney's bag.

>> yes, and i knocked the camera in the pool. she push my buttons. she went around telling around the hold neighborhood. i'm scared for my life. >> it was after the dunking of the video camera, that brittani launched legal action against an. by then, she invited joe to the house. so she enlisted the help of the young border, to prepare an incident to show the judge. when she got to court, said brittani, she was going to tell the judge just how dangerous an was. and in fact she was afraid and was going to kill her. >> i think all her friends made very clear she was quite traumatized by this. she was very much afraid of this ann. >> court date was wednesday, july 7th, 2010. the morning arrived. and came with her attorney. and was in court, waiting. and waiting. and britney? did not show. nope, that was the very day that she disappeared. a convenient reprieve from ann.

bizarre, said the crime reporter, justine griffin. in light of how importance that court date was to brittani. >> she had become obsessed with the restraining order. everything she was doing was to make sure that this restraining order was going through. >> perhaps brittani was afraid to show up, afraid what might happen? >> these were not necessarily genteel ladies? >> no, they seem to be very passionate about hating each other. especially towards the end. >> so in the days following brittani's disappearance, some people around town wondered just how much ann knew, or what she might have to do with it. after all, if anybody had a motive, it was ann. all the anger, all the emotion, the bitterness. had it finally culminated in some violent confrontation? >> where they looking at you as a suspect? the media? >> of course, that's the first thing you're going to think of. i already had with all the news, and all the helicopters.

all of that. filming the front of my house. >> the local police department got wind event, of course. >> that is basically where this effective started answering questions. >> but not many questions, but not for long. according to an, there was really only one thing that those detectives asked her. to chino anything about where her arch enemy have gone? >> what did you tell them? >> have not seen her. because that's all i need to know, never heard from it again. >> and proof, just like that, the police ruled out any involvement on the part of an. there were other reasons to of course we're doing that, one of which was that brittani was just fine the day before she was due to show up in court. >> they had surveillance footage at this gas station that showed her getting out of her car, putting gas and it. and driving away. nothing unusual. >> and between the time that that video was recorded on july six, and in court in the morning. it turns out that and had an unassailable alibi. so what could brittani's family do? for all of their efforts, they couldn't persuade the police that the crime had occurred. that something bad may have

happened to brittani. thus, the investigation stopped. though, those who loved brittani had to follow what was the work on their own. >> we were keeping cool heads, trying to be vigilant. trying to coax them into doing things that they had not done. did my sister go on a cruise? did she leave town for a week or something? search this area. you have been search this area. why haven't you done this? >> but they had hired a private investigator, remember, and they had an idea. if they couldn't find brittany, maybe somehow, they could find the dogs. >> we were checking the pounds. we were doing anything and everything you could possibly imagine. >> worried about the dogs. and a week after the disappearance, a call came in. and what do you know? >> heeney, white dogs. >> it looked like a rabbit that first. >> her dogs are found in columbia, south carolina. without collars. just roaming the streets. and they were both found separately. >> how did they managed to collect two dogs in south

carolina to her? >> she had microchips implanted in the dogs with her information on them. so the vet clinic were able to scan them, and figure out these dogs were from florida. >> and belong to brittani? >> yeah. >> now, all of a sudden the case broke loose. because one of the dogs is found, two or three states away. no tags. now finally there is probable cause. there is no question, that was a key break. >> that was enough to get the police involved, but unfortunately, at that point it was 11 days after she had disappeared. >> finally, said augustine police, they took over from the ban of amateur sleuths. pat flew to florida to do what you could to help. met with the police, did the rounds of local media. try to keep the search for her sister front and center in the publuc mind. >> the family rolled out long ago that this was the possibility of a purely

innocence departure for her. it is just not possible that she would abandon her pets, and stop calling her friends. >> i really felt like it was the short--, a brief window of opportunity while there was still some publicity and the case. then people move on, there will be other stories. >> quite good reason to worry, especially since the search for brittani seem to be going nowhere. >> her picture had been everywhere. and had she been anywhere, somebody in florida, somebody would've seen her picture. that's why we started to think she really has disappeared. >> and then, suddenly, a break. almost two weeks after brittani disappeared. the police finally picked up her trail. looked like she was on a long winding road trip. what they found were her credit card transactions. which headed north of florida. to south carolina where her dogs were found. >> they were following her credit card transactions, there were transactions in north carolina, idaho, oregon. >> the question was, is brittani alone?

or was she with someone else? which you the driver? the willing passenger? or was there something else going on. >> coming up,! and what about that young drifter who disappeared along with brittani? >> he said, i'm not what people think i am. and i thought, i wonder what that means? >> when dateline continues! what can you do with sensitive skin? ♪♪ cetaphil gentle skin cleanser does more than clean. it actually protects skin by keeping it hydrated. so you're always ready for the unexpected. cetaphil. we do skin. you do you. hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? we really need to work on your people skills. want the power of 5 serum benefits in 1? new olay super serum

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here we go. it's my best skin yet. can we land? you're old enough to do it in the sky now. but it's gross. there is no way we're landing. are you sure no one is watching? gwen mallard! do it now, or we leave without you. ok. keith morrison: a spouse is late for dinner. a teenager stays out all night. >> a spouse is late for dinner. the awful sinking feeling when a loved one is out of touch. a teenager stays out all night.

the awful, sinking feeling when a loved one's out of touch. usually of course, everything rights itself. but not for the family of brittany tavar, in july of 2010 they found themselves stuck fast in a purgatory of missing persons. the place where families must go to wait. for what? they do not know. >> you alternate between it is not real, is it really happening? to having these terrible, terrible moments where you realize it is something irreversible that has happened. >> brittani's to little got dogs had been found abandoned by the road three states away, in south carolina. brittani love those dogs, would never abandon them. and yet? the credit card record made it look like she had done exactly that. that she had been driving her car clear across the country. at last, a nationwide alert was issued for brittani's car. now, with the whole nation's law enforcement on watch. the answer of what happened to brittany tavar was should not be long and coming. the family held its collected breath, waded, and hold. >> they were talking to the

police, if there was any activity, one guy had a pager on him with all of the cards. if anything tries to put anything on the card. our guys pager is going off. >> by then, they had been joined by the marshals and the fbi. -- 26 year old joe roberts. it seemed that joe had left around the same time that brittani disappeared. and police now had to consider that a distinct possibility that britney had washed her hands in the feud with an, and taken off on a cross-country trip with joe. -- only made the story more interesting. >> living in the house for free? so. >> makes you think, doesn't it? >> they thought maybe the two of them had just left.

got on the trip together, lost town. >> it was all speculation. nobody had a clue about what those two did. and then, another lucky break. or, it seemed lucky. the good news? in mid july, police found out that just four days after brittani vanished, a cop stopped her toyota on a highway out west. but brittani wasn't driving, joe was. >> july 11th, roberts was actually stopped by police in wyoming. for speeding. >> the bad news? knows that cops stopped the car before the alert went out. he wasn't looking for a car, or brittani, or anybody. he said he didn't recall seeing a passenger, but he wasn't looking for one. >> they let him go with a warning. >> now that car, and whoever was in it. is long gone.

but that stop triggered a serious effort to find joe roberts. >> it was after that that they had released an arrest warrant with him. with grand theft charges. >> so the investigation took a turn, the police hoping that finding roberts would lead to finding brittani. they went on tv hoping to raise public awareness. >> what we really need is for the broadest possible audience of people to be looking for joseph roberts. that's the linchpin, that's the key, the only way we're gonna get any answers. >> the police went on tv to, hoping to raise public awareness. >> we believe that the car is going to relate to people more so than him, because it is a raab for dark blue color vehicle with florida tags. him, he can very much blend in with any crowd. >> trouble, was police soon discovered. that only a few days after brittani disappeared, just after the time of that track stop. the credit card trail abruptly ended. they must have stopped using the card.

and without the credit card trail, the police had no idea where roberts and brittani were now. or even if they were stowed together. and, if not, where would she? and what was he up to? >> what we are concerned about what is, did he meet someone else at a coffee shop? is he living with someone else right now? that's why i think it's very important to get the story out as much as possible. >> all that effort finally produced another break. or what seemed like a break. and, justine's next big story. police discovered that somebody caught roberts on videotape. just four days after he and britney disappeared. >> there was for surveillance footage of him walking into a walmart in ontario, oregon. and him buying tents and some clothes. >> just him, no brittani. again, by the time someone found the walmart video. and got it to the florida police, roberts was nowhere to be found. >> so they have alerted police in that area.

had started putting out flyers. it looks like once he got out of walmart, he was going to go off the grid. in his, ten to live in the woods. >> who is this kid anyway? what was his story? before brittani took him in? a lesson in recent history seemed an order. the curious story of young joe roberts. >> he said to me, something really interesting. which i thought was kind of stopping me for a second. he says, i'm not what people think i am. and i thought, wonder what that means? >> coming up. that strange and charming director. was he hiding a shady past? >> the more got to know him, the more he started scaring me. >> when dateline continues! and calms the nerve down. and my patients say you know doc, it really works. what can you do with sensitive skin? ( ♪♪ ) cetaphil moisturizing lotion hydrates for a full 48 hours. because a lot can happen in 48 hours.

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welcome back to "dateline." i'm craig melvin. joe roberts was a handsome 20-something charmer living in brittany tavar's home. >> welcome back to dateline. but now she was missing, and so was roberts. i'm craig melvin. joe roberts was a handsome, 20 something charmer, living in brittany tavar home. but now she was messing. and so was roberts. so who is this mysterious man? the more investigators learned, the more concern they got. we now return to keith morrison with the stranger. >> it is a strange thing. rather cruel how an answer so desperately sought can slip away. police had finally sniffed out the trail left by joe roberts. the one who seems to know what happens to brittany tavar. but before they could catch up to joe, he was gone.

in a puff of oregon fog. >> the investigators had alerted police and law enforcement all the way up through washington, past seattle, and the pacific northwest. because they thought he was headed in that direction. >> meanwhile, investigators had warned her family. >> they told us that this had fallen off the radar screen. >> and sure enough, that's what he did. and days turned into weeks. summer turned into fall. no sign of him. police suspicions turned darker. >> i think it is important for us here in florida not to lose interest, and not just be thinking. putting it off at this guy who's seen it miles away. because he might be in our backyard, are coming back to the backyard for all we know. >> life went on for the rest of the world. but not for those who loved brittany tavar. and who knew full well that time is not on the side of the missing. >> i do feel that the more time went on. the less likely we would be to find her.

>> brittani's family found themselves in limbo. a landscape shared by more people than they had ever imagined was possible. >> people would say, you need to talk to so and so. his sister disappeared. there are hundreds and thousands of missing persons. all heartbreaking stories and you are just a number in a pool of people who are going through this. or who have gone through this. >> back in florida, police had been digging up everything that they could find about joe roberts. as crime reporter, justine wrote. joe had been on the road, running out of money by the time he got to st. augustine. where he had been living off the kindness of local women. >> he got a job looking as a clerk at a gas station. and when he couldn't afford to have a local hotel, he would sleep in his car. but a few other women in st. augustine. >> one of them was a coworker, and single mother, name cheryl

davenport. since he needed a place to stay, cheryl invited him to her place. put him right down the hall from charles and her two children. >> he was a nice guy. he was good around the kids. >> so cheryl was not worried about joe. no reason apparently. >> joe had too much of a pretty boy face. he wasn't that imitating. or maybe i was more intimidating than he was. >> but cheryl told some rather more disturbing things about joe. >> he told me about the reason why he had left home. he had run an internet scheme where he was getting people's credit card numbers, and stuff like that. and they had found out. so he took off. >> he confesses to you? >> yeah. and he said that him and his family do not get along. because they believe he has mental issues. he is severely messed up in the

head, and that he was convinced that he did not have issues. >> when they moved, and said cheryl. he told her that he used to have a drug problem. but swore he'd stay cleared. at least while living with cheryl and her family. >> he actually looked for a job for the first month. and then he slowly just got lazier, and lazier. >> what was he doing? >> he was going on drug [whispering] binges. that was when the anger started coming out. the more i got to know him the more he started scaring. they started upsetting me. >> and that's where she said she demanded that joe get out of her house. and then? >> it was about this close into my face and then he went like this. like he was going to punch me in the face. and i just looked at him. with a dead stare. and i was like joe? i swear to god if you hit me. i will take you down. [laughter] >> so he left. and found brittany. who police had told her friends, not long before she disappeared, that she was getting a little exasperated with joe too. >> she said that he she would come form and he would've gotten through her stuff if they went through a few fights. i was kind of worried, i asked her about that.

and she would go, no, it's okay. it's okay. >> did you warn her? >> i did. i did. i warned her about having people into her house. >> and now? still no word. >> we still didn't stop believing that there was a chance that she was alive. >> police rededicated their efforts. to find the elusive jo roberts. >> we have run out of leads, frankly, when it comes to his trail going west. it is less populated than we are. and if he doesn't have this vehicle on the road, and he's keeping a low profile. hopefully somebody will see him in the store when he comes for some provisions, or groceries. and that's when we turn up the heat. we are looking for him, there is no question about that. >> then, sure enough. >> we figured it would be something petty that he would be caught for. sure enough that is what happened. >> coming up! the director makes a mistake and brittany's family learns the truth. >> it is just chilling for me to think about that. >> when dateline continues!

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welcome back. the search for a missing woman had now expanded into a hunt for her roommate. >> welcome back. investigators had discovered joe roberts was a drifter who the search for a missing woman had expanded into a hunt for her roommate. investigators had discovered that joe roberts was a director who live the habit of living off a couple of strangers. >> as those who loved brittani held on to a sliver of hope that she would be found alive. investigators were hoping for a

bit of luck too. the clue that would lead them to their prime suspect. here is keith morrison with the conclusion of the stranger. >> for three long months, brittany tavar was just missing. and all searches by agencies from the canadian mounties, to the fbi, had produced no sign of britney or joe roberts. the young border who had disappeared along with her. nothing. not a thing. and then on october 12, 2010. >> he was caught in seattle in a grocery store in the area. trying to steal lunch meat. >> the stopper was a clerk in a grocery store. >> he wasn't a sheriff, wasn't a police officer, he was someone employed by a grocery store to deter theft. >> it wasn't so long after that the seattle police had arrested robert and discovered that this was one very wanted man. and so called the police in

augustine, florida. >> sometimes we have to count on look, and sometimes we have to count on their mistake. and in this case he made a mistake and we had a little bit of luck on our side. >> and then a little bit more luck. >> they found brittany tavar's car parked in the north seattle parking lots. the keys had been locked inside of it actually. >> so police had the car. but no brittani. it wasn't long before policemen from florida were sitting in a tent ration room with mr. roberts. the family waited again. just to hear what roberts would say. only he could resolve the mystery, why she had been out of touch for months. >> you hold out the small amount of hope that she would be alive. and you never give up hope. >> and then, within three hours. there, in that police station.

joe roberts finally answer the question that had been hanging over everybody, half hope, half dread. what happened to brittany tavar. that answer was perhaps the most dreadful story this young crime reporter had yet written. taken right from the confession that roberts gave police. >> she woke up early in the morning, and what came up angry that something wasn't done correctly. or he did not do it at all. and it was bugging him, early in the morning. trying to get him out of bed. yelling at him. >> now why would she do that? couldn't take about a minute for her friends to figure it out. >> this whole big argument was joe, was him not being able to get this cd up to perfection about what they would take to court. >> the court case against ann, of course, so her friends

speculated about what happened that last moment of her life. she might have vented her temper on the man that had a drug habits, possible anger issues, and it anger problem. >> i think it got to the point where, he got pushed to the point of no return. >> and a statement to police, robert said they argued the night before her disappearance. and then the next morning, brittani went off about something. which was when. >> he grabbed a hammer, and hitter in the head a couple of times. >> that anger issue again? >> right. she was laying on the kitchen floor. bleeding. and in that report he says there was lots and lots of blood. and at first he tried to stuff her body in the attic of the house. but he said she was too heavy for him to carry all the way of those stairs. and then decided that he was going to leave town and dump her body in the woods. roberts hotel investigators said that he brought the dogs to buy him sometime. because people that knew her well would think it was strange she left without her animals. >> it was strange, of course. but then joe roberts answered another question. this one was a good answer. where was brittani? >> she was found on that

interstate road. where some homeless camps are in the area. but it's really just woods. >> one of the most terrible things would be to know that someone you loved, died. in fear. died in a moment of terror. and pain. and that was a very, very hard thing to get -- it's chilling for me to think about that. we never would have found the body if he had not told us. it was in a forest somewhere. like maybe it would show up in 20 years, but we would not have found it. >> having offered his detailed confession to the police. roberts pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. but ultimately, his case did not go to trial. after years of legal wrangle -ing. >> can you say your name? >> joe roberts. >> roberts pleaded guilty to second degree murder. on an amended indictment in may of 2014. >> and you think this plays in your best interest? >> yes sir.

>> and was sentenced to 30 years in a florida state correction facility. as britney's family struggled with the aftermath of her loss. her friends look after brittani's dogs. and her friends morurned. as does her family. >> my sister was the one my parents worried about the most. she was the one that they were concerned about because she had the hardest time getting her feet on a path in life. finding her way. we never, ever dreamed of anything like this happening. that anything violent what happened to her. i guess you have a point from which you move on, but there really isn't closure. and that actually is something that homicide deceptive snow there really isn't closure. that's a cliché that people use. but there is no closure. >> brittani lived life on her own terms. naive, maybe. reckless? sometimes. and it cost her daily. >> she just thought she was

invincible. she didn't think anything bad would happen. >> that's part of who she was. she did have a very big heart. >> so she did, and lived out loud. and was exuberant, and generous. and for those who loved her, is eternally missed. for all of those things. >> she was my sister. and i have been robbed of the rest of my life, of my sister. i've been robbed of that relationship. i've been lucky robbed of those conversations. i've been robbed of that friendship. >> that's all for this edition of dateline, i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> hello, i'm craig melvin. and this is dateline. >> they fancy themselves as the girls from sex in the city.