abcnews.com/wwyd. of course you can always join in on the conversation on facebook and twitter. i'm john quinones. "2ow. tonight on "20/20," could a mother ever quit looking for her pregnant daughter who vanished? >> i don't think i can survive if i don't find her. >> the mother who won't give up. >> mysterious disappearance. >> the disappearance of kelsey. >> she fears the worst possible outcomp. >> we do not have a record of her ever being here. >> with an on again, off again boyfriend, a high school hoop star as a person of interest. >> you're on video in her car with her credit card. >> he is not scared. what can i do? how can i help? the call you're making to him is kelsey, the mother of your child, is missing. we are desperate to find her. >> but then a mysterious late

night facebook message blows everything apart. >> your daughter is not dead. and she is not alone. another family with a missing daughter gets a very similar message. >> if i know where she is, then i can get her back. >> i see him. that should be him. >> tonight, "20/20" goes undercover in search of a man in a red cap. a money drop in a mcdonald's parking lot in exchange for missing girls. >> i have got to tell you. >> to collect $75,000, a lot of people would say that sounds like a criminal enterprise. >> i'm as shocked as you guys. >> it's the ultimate showdown with lives on the line. >> maybe she is out there. maybe she is alive. >> it was just what if, what if, what if. good evening. i'm david muir. >> and i'm amy robach. this is "20/20." new developments on a story ryan smith continues to follow.

>> reporter: february, 2013. dawn breaks cold and clear on a tuesday morning in denver, colorado. and as morning turns to midday, a question hangs in the thin air of the mile-high city, "where is kelsie schelling?" the vivacious 21-year-old recently discovered she's pregnant. now, she's late for work at this denver housewares store. >> she didn't show up for work. i tried calling her, i think from my cellphone and my store phone, couldn't get a response. >> reporter: at his hardware store in holyoke, colorado, kelsie's father doug also has trouble connecting. >> and i thought, "well, i'm gonna call and see how she's doin'." she didn't answer her phone, which is pretty rare. >> reporter: tuesday turns into thursday. and the silence gets louder. concern morphs into panic especially for her mother laura. >> all of her friends, like, started contacting us saying, you know, "we've been trying to reach kelsie. and we can't reach her." and when that happened that is,

like, when i got really, really scared. >> reporter: but since that fateful february week, no explanation has arrived. with no word from kelsie, laura's spent years searching on her own. >> the disappearance of a denver woman. >> a 22-year-old woman. >> she disappeared on a trip to southern colorado. >> help us to find clues today. >> reporter: with no word from kelsie, she has spent years searching on her own knocking heads with the local police department for their handling of the case and getting wrapped up in a mystery of her own involving allegations of sex trafficking and extortion. more on that later. >> it's unbelievable to me, doing all of the things that i'm doing to just, you know, get out and fight people like i have. >> reporter: the story traces back here to a town called holyoke, a couple hours east of denver where the scenery looks

more like kansas than a coors commercial. this is where kelsie was born and raised. >> she liked to be silly, liked to laugh. you look at, like, these pictures and you can just see that. >> reporter: mother and daughter develop a tight, unbreakable bond after laura and her husband doug split up when kelsie was just 11 years old. >> it was just she and i together, alone, for a lot of years. so we were very close, pretty inseparable, basically. >> reporter: kelsie attends nearby northeastern junior college with plans to study psychology. and at school, a key figurefigue enters her life. donthe lucas. their backgrounds cannot be more different. donthe hails from the central colorado town of pueblo, a place more walmart than little house on the prairie. blue collar pueblo has a reputation as the most dangerous town in colorado because of its high crime rate. at central high school, donthe

stands out as a 6'7" basketball star. >> he just had a mad passion just for basketball. and hopin' that he -- you know, go onto a division i basketball school. and then maybe make it to the nba. >> reporter: but the big college recruiters never come calling. instead, donthe ends up playing ball at tiny northeastern junior college literally the big man on campus, and in a whirlwind romance with kelsie schelling. to kelsie's friends, the relationship turns toxic from the start. >> he would be putting her down, calling her names, saying that she was fat and ugly and nobody else wanted her. and she was lucky enough to have him in her life. because she wasn't going to get anything else. >> reporter: after a couple of tumultuous semesters, the two split up. by 2012, kelsie has quit school and is living in denver, working at that home goods store.

donthe, his hoop dreams slipping away, is back in pueblo. to the alarm of kelsie's friends, the two reconnect. >> she loved him. >> reporter: you think he loved her? >> no, you don't treat someone that you love like that. you don't treat them with disrespect the way did with her. >> reporter: december rolls in like the snow drifts in denver. kelsie and donthe spend the christmas holidays together. and shortly thereafter mom is asking, "what child is this?" >> she called me when she found out she was pregnant. she was stressed. >> reporter: did she tell you anything about donthe's reaction? >> she said he was mad. she said he was very angry. >> reporter: on sunday, february 3rd, kelsie writes to donthe, "i know now how you truly do feel. you have no obligation to me. and you don't want to have anything with me." the next morning, kelsie has a prenatal checkup. and the doctor delivers the news. she's eight weeks pregnant. and her unborn child is in perfect health.

she excitedly texts the sonogram to donthe and her family. she sent you a picture of the baby. what did you think when you saw the baby? >> i was happy. i knew that she was happy. >> reporter: after that checkup, donthe presses kelsie to drive down to pueblo, saying he has a surprise for her. "just wait and see for yourself. you probably wouldn't believe me if i told you." kelsie responds, "tell me what it is and i'll come." donthe, "come see for yourself. i know it'll put you in a better mood." kelsie relts and at about 10:00 p.m., the young mom-to-be finishes her shift and pulls away in her black chevy cruze, making the lonely two-hour night time drive to pueblo. did you have any idea she was going there? >> no. if i woulda knew she was, i woulda made her take a friend. or i woulda made sure and went with her. >> reporter: during the drive, donthe texts her to "go to walmart" in pueblo to meet him.

at 11:20 p.m., kelsie pulls into the walmart parking lot. she waits almost an hour for donthe to show up, finally messaging him that she's "tired of waiting" and will come to him. at 12:15 in the morning, donthe texts her to meet him on this street. they've met here before. it's near his grandmother's house, donthe's current crash pad. again, she's left waiting in the car. "where are you," she messages him. "i've been here over an hour just waiting." kelsie is never seen again. by the end of the week, her phone shuts off. and her mother is melting down. >> just sheer panic and disbelief. i mean, i can't even remember how scared i felt. >> reporter: coming up, donthe's tells his story to the cops. >> man, you didn't hurt this girl, right? >> we are now leaning towards foul play. >> reporter: is the basketball star a piece of a larger puzzle?

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now to the mysterious disappearance of a denver woman -- >> she seemingly disappeared. >> the disappearance -- >> the disappearance of kelskelsie kelsie schelling. >> reporter: this much we know. on the night of monday, february 4th,

kelsie schelling -- very troubled, very pregnant -- and maybe still very much in love, makes that late night drive from denver to pueblo, colorado to visit her boyfriend donthe lucas. >> pregnant woman who vanished, kelsie was eight weeks pregnant. >> she was last seen in pueblo. >> reporter: when kelsie's family reaches out to donthe, they say he seems oddly unconcerned. >> and i just said, "if you hear from her, you need to tell her that we're taking this very serious and that we're calling the police." and so he was like, "okay, i will." >> reporter: what did he sound like on the phone? because the call that you're making to him is kelsie, the woman that you are with, the mother of your child, is missing. we are desperate to find her. >> nothing. no, not worked up. not, you know, just -- >> reporter: he's not scared? "what can i do, how can i help?" >> no, no. no, he just says, "if i hear from her, i'll -- i'll let you know." >> reporter: the pueblo p.d. take over the case. as the last person known to have seen kelsie alive, donthe falls under immediate scrutiny and is called in for questioning. >> how you doing? >> i'm good. >> reporter: he gives a detailed account of what happened. corroborating kelsie's texts, he says kelsie arrived at the

walmart meeting point after 11:00 p.m. after waiting there in vain for 45 minutes, she and donthe finally rendezvous on manor ridge drive, near his grandmother's house where he'd been staying. >> she came down to pueblo and we were talking, whatever. and then we ended up, she ended up getting mad at me, whatever. i went back home that night, i thought she was gonna go back home. she ended up staying until the next morning. >> reporter: donthe claims kelsie never went home. instead, he says she slept in her car, and at about 7:00 that morning, she said she wasn't feeling well and asked him to take her to a local hospital because she wasn't feeling well. >> so we went to parkview, and she went in say for about almost two hours, hour and 45, two. she came back and told me that she wasn't pregnant. >> reporter: now that's an eyebrow raiser right there, since just the previous morning, a doctor in denver had confirmed the pregnancy and a healthy baby with that ultrasound.

still, donthe proceeds with his story, claiming at about 9:00 a.m., the two drove from the hospital and ended up at that walmart where they parted ways, as it turns out, forever. >> she went to get us some snacks, something to eat, because we're hungry. and then, we came back and we ended up talking. she ended up telling me like, "get out of the car," at walmart. "i'm not taking you home." so i just left at walmart and started walking home. >> man, you didn't hurt this girl, right? >> i would never hurt her. >> reporter: could kelsie have harmed herself, distraught over a supposed miscarriage? in his interview, donthe described her as a troubled, erratic young woman. >> she has, like, bad anxiety. she has anxiety attacks, so she has pills for that. >> what can you tell me about that? >> um, she told me before, like, that she's ended up in like the hospital a few times for like, overdosing on drugs. >> reporter: donthe cast her to police as someone who had

troubles with drugs. >> i don't believe that, no. >> reporter: so do you think that donthe made all these statements up? >> yes. >> reporter: and why do you think he did? >> to try and throw the attention some other direction. i mean, even if kelsie did commit suicide, which i don't believe she did, because she was happy, she wanted that baby. she wanted to be a mom. but if she committed suicide, you would find her body. >> reporter: donthe is allowed to leave. and then, eight days after the disappearance, a breakthrough. >> the car of a missing denver woman has been found in pueblo. >> reporter: kelsie's car is discovered at a different pueblo hospital. the car was abandoned in the parking lot but andrew mclachlan, deputy police chief at the time, says police are unable to determine who left it there. >> we did not have any good security footage that could tell us who dropped off the car, how the car got there. >> reporter: but you find the car and no kelsie. >> and no kelsie. normally, if someone was gonna

go away for a few days, they'd take their car with them. so we are now leaning towards foul play. so we accelerate the case. >> reporter: attention now returns, with some urgency, to donthe's version of events. and already, some things aren't adding up. remember how donthe said he dropped kelsie off at this hospital at around 7:00 a.m. on february 5th? he said he waited outside for her. >> she went in say for almost two hours. >> reporter: but there's just one problem with his story. >> we have no record of kelsie schelling ever being here at parkview medical center. >> reporter: now what do you check to find out if she was here or not? >> we have a medical record that keeps track of every patient that's ever walked through our doors. >> reporter: so for you, there's no way she's ever here? >> that's correct. >> reporter: we went to parkview hospital and they said, "we have no record of kelsie ever being here." would that be a suspicious set of circumstances in the way you look at donthe? >> yes. it, it is. >> reporter: in fact, much of donthe's story is going to start to crumble quite shortly. >> well, this is another glaring hole in his statement.

>> reporter: because there were security cameras almost everywhere along the way. and police say they show no sign of kelsie, only donthe. >> you're on video, dude. she's not in the car. it's on the video. >> reporter: stay with us. ♪ dear foremothers, your society was led by a woman, who governed thousands... ...commanded armies... ...yielded to no one. when i found you in my dna, i learned where my strength comes from. my name is courtney mckinney, and this is my ancestrydna story. now with 2 times more geographic detail than other dna tests. order your kit at ancestrydna.com.

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>> reporter: you're looking at surveillance video of that walmart parking lot from tuesday at noon. this is kelsie schelling's black chevy cruze entering a parking spot. remember, donthe told police he and kelsie then went inside the store to grab something to eat. >> she went to get some snacks, like something to eat, 'cause she was hungry. >> reporter: but watch closely.

only one person is seen emerging from that chevy, and it's donthe. he gets out of the driver's side and walks toward the front of the store. abc consultant and former fbi special agent brad garrett reviewed the video for us. >> this is another glaring hole in his statement where he contends the two of them are together and clearly, based on the surveillance, it's one person. >> reporter: donthe is later seen walking through a parking lot in the rear of the store, where his mother arrives to pick him up. but what happens next to that parked chevy -- could kelsie still be in the car? well, watch as it sits, and sits and sits through the day, through the night. and over an 18-hour period, nobody is seen getting in, or out of the car. but then at 7:17, the following morning, a walmart camera captures this man in a grey

hoodie walking across a parking lot. now, watch the camera trained on kelsie's chevy. the man with the hoodie approaches the car without hesitation. he opens the driver's door, gets in and moments later, drives the car away. >> it's a car that that person is familiar with, and we know earlier that donthe had the key. so, who is this? i don't know. it's hard to imagine it's not anyone other than donthe. >> reporter: who do you think that someone was that came back and drove that car away? >> you know, there's similarities to donthe, but it's nothing that we can 100% say that is the person who drove it away. >> reporter: and other security cameras captured something donthe omitted from his account to police. remember, he said after leaving the hospital that morning, he and kelsie drove to the walmart. but it turns out he did make a stop at this pueblo bank. this video was shot at about

11:40 a.m., before he arrived at the walmart. donthe is seen pulling up to a drive-thru atm in kelsie's chevy cruze, and he's using kelsie's bank card to withdraw $400 from her account. kelsie is nowhere to be seen. is it suspicious for you that he uses that card? >> it is, it is part of the suspicious activity, yes. and that is one more addition that we have in the case. >> reporter: cops now believe that donthe knows much more about kelsie's disappearance than he's letting on. time for cops versus donthe, the rematch. >> this is the second time we've talked to you. you're afforded certain rights by the constitution >> these detectives had a wealth of information to go at him that i and other people would've died to have had in an interview. >> reporter: playing a game of two on one, the pueblo detectives confront donthe about his visit to the atm using

kelsie's bank card. >> i don't know a nice way to put this, but why'd you get the money? >> the money, what money are we talking about? >> 11:39 at the bank, you're on video, dude. in her car with her credit card. you're on tape. >> oh, the $400 that you are talking about? it was for my phone bill. >> why didn't she go with you in the atm? she's not in the car. it's all on the video. >> it may have been while she was over at the hospital. honestly i'm not sure about that. like i said, my time frame has been messed up. >> reporter: the detective moves on to another topic, pressing the power forward about why there's no record of kelsie ever showing up at that hospital. >> there's no record of her ever being at parkview. >> that's like -- that's like all i have to say. like -- >> sit in my shoes, and you know, you see these questions. >> like, i understand where you

are coming from. i completely do. i get it but i just don't really know what to say right now. >> it's clearly an opening. the light's almost coming on like i'm boxed here, and i feel like i'm in trouble. >> reporter: but garrett believes right at that moment the cops make a blunder. instead of cornering donthe on these contradictions, they hopscotch over to an unrelated topic. >> when you dropped her off, and she dropped you off at walmart where were you parked at? >> i mean like apparently you guys already know. so, like, i don't understand why you, like i told you one time, like that's all i can say about it. >> she dropped you off. when was that again? >> can i speak to a lawyer? please? all you keep doing is asking the same question over and over and like, i'd just like to speak to a lawyer. >> reporter: and with that, game over. the detectives walk out of the room and the interrogation is concluded. with key questions, about that walmart video for instance, left unasked. >> unfortunately, this is a very poorly executed interview. i think it's a tremendous missed

opportunity because you have a case that you don't have physical evidence. >> reporter: pueblo police wouldn't discuss details of the interrogation, but they acknowledge that it was their last shot at talking to donthe about the case. >> once he shut down, our avenues of trying to talk to him end. >> reporter: how did you read that? >> we read it as, you know, the possibility that he knows something. >> reporter: now the police still have donthe dead to rights using kelsie's bank card. so, they arrest him and charge him with identity theft. but just a month later, to kelsie's family's horror, the charge is dropped. >> how do you prove she did not or did give him permission at that time? you don't know that. and since you had him permission to do it before, it makes it a very difficult case to prosecute. >> reporter: he's out there walking around free as a bird. why would that be the case if he's in that interrogation room lying to your officers? >> lying to someone is not evidence of the crime. >> reporter: i just have to ask you. how does all of this make you

feel? >> sick. angry. we just want an effective investigation done into kelsie's disappearance. >> reporter: bad blood develops between kelsie's family and the pueblo police department. angry that the police refuse to even classify kelsie's disappearance as a criminal case, her family takes matters into their own hands. >> her family is pleading for your help. >> reporter: they go public, holding a press conference to bring attention to the case. >> and law enforcement has informed us that donthe lucas accessed her bank account. >> reporter: the family's plight strikes a chord in pueblo. hundreds of residents join in the search for kelsie. kelsie's family offers a $50,000 reward, and creates this "help find kelsie" facebook page with detailed information about the case and a call out for any tips. but despite these efforts, nothing turns up.

>> the ride home is always really tough. going home empty handed. >> reporter: two years pass. hope fades. but coming up, a startling message is about to come through that facebook page, giving laura hope that maybe she can get her daughter back without the pueblo police. a mystery e-mailer is about to deliver shocking news. he claims he knows all about what donthe was up to, and that kelsie is alive, being held along with other kidnapped women, and there's video to prove it! >> that there was video of kelsie screaming for help. >> reporter: maybe she is out there. maybe she is alive. >> i mean it was just, what if? what if? >> reporter: when "20/20" continues. ♪ oh baby. let me give myself a hand ♪ ♪ uh-huh. whoo! ♪ let me give myself a hand. uh-huh. ♪ ♪ tell myself get up and dance. ♪

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his name is tickle. >> reporter: as laura saxton tends pigs in her yuma, colorado home, she's convinced another kind of swine has taken her daughter. but was kelsie murdered? or could she somehow be alive? >> what if she is still t there somewhere? >> reporter: our story is about this is portsmouth, ohio, a stone's throw from the kentucky border. this former meat-packing hub now

plagued by prescription drug abuse would seem to have nothing to do with the disappearance of kelsie schelling 1,200 miles away in colorado. but listen to this mother's story. >> i want her to come running down that street, come walking around the corner. >> reporter: marcella lancaster has never met kelsie's mom laura saxton. but she knows all about her pain. >> you've got to just like try not to cry every day in front of my grandson. >> reporter: just two months after kelsie schelling disappeared, leaving behind no trace but her abandoned car, a strikingly similar fate befell marcella's 25-year-old daughter megan. she vanished from portsmouth, also leaving behind no trace but her abandoned car. >> at first glance, there are a lot of similarities between these two cases, which one could conclude that the same individual or a group are involved in both of them. >> reporter: the portsmouth police are drawing a blank. but marcella and her family have

been relentless in their search. >> an eerie feeling like there's something, like we're gonna find something. >> reporter: megan's sister-in-law kadie runs point for the family. and so, for more than three years, parallel family tragedies playing out in separate time zones. both families organizing searches, setting up facebook pages to field leads and doing whatever they can to keep public attention on their respective cases. >> many in pueblo are not giving up on finding clues that could help find kelsie schelling. >> reporter: and in both cases, both families realizing it could all be for not. >> as far as finding her, my hope for that dwindles every day. >> reporter: but last october, as donthe is playing basketball in pueblo, and laura is reconciling herself, a startling development. a mysterious message of hope

comes through that help find kelsie facebook >> it was from a woman who i'm not familiar with saying, "if i have information about kelsie, can i remain anonymous?" >> reporter: the woman says her name is jenna mcclain. and that it's risky for her to come forward. her life is in danger. she passes the conversation on to a male associate, who writes, "ma'am, please, your daughter is not dead. she will be back home alive." the man knows all sorts of details of the case and offers a troubling account of what really befell kelsie, claiming her baby daddy donthe had hired a friend to kill her. "donthe has no idea she is alive. he thinks she is dead. cliff who was ordered to kill her, opted to keep her and sell her." >> and that the friend did not kill her, he sold her into sex trafficking. he had a fake grave dug and

showed that to donthe as proof that he had killed kelsie. the baby had been aborted. there was a video of it being done, of kelsie screaming. >> reporter: how did that affect you? >> it's really hard to find words to use for it. because it's so awful. it made me sick. i mean, i -- i could barely function. >> reporter: that same month, 1,200 miles away in ohio, a nearly identical development. one "jenna mcclain" reaches out to megan lancaster's family through facebook, says she has information, then passes the conversation on to a male associate who knows all about megan's case. >> out of nowhere, he pops up. he says i know where megan is. and i can get her back. he tells me how she was tortured and that that she was in sex trafficking.

and he told me that they kept her on chains. >> reporter: both families get a nearly identical, highly bizarre proposition. the e-mailer says he can help each missing woman escape. but he needs money. he tells kadie to bring $50,000 dollars in cash, $25,000 up front to vancouver, washington, specifically to this mcdonald's, and deliver it to a man named "marcus" who will be wearing a red hat. >> the exchange was that if i would come to washington, that i could have megan. >> reporter: laura gets the same offer. >> once the money was exchanged, then this courier person would go and get kelsie and bring her back to the mcdonald's. >> reporter: needless to say, the whole thing sounds fishy. in fact, it could be one of the most diabolical scams ever conceived. and yet, "how can a desperate mother say no?" >> i just thought what if she's been out there.

and i could've found her and we haven't? >> reporter: despite her skepticism, laura decides to play ball, writing back she's ready to make a deal. >> i'll have to sell some stocks which will take about a week. but i can push to expedite the process. >> reporter: kadie also agrees. but there's a twist. both families are working with "20/20." when it's time for the drop, the deliveryman will be one of our producers. >> right when they are at the tung. get ready, we're about ten seconds away. >> reporter: stay with us. street name. r but allstate agents know that's where the similarity stops. if you're on park street in reno, nevada, the high winds of the washoe zephyr could damage your siding. and that's very different than living on park ave in sheboygan, wisconsin, where ice dams could cause water damage. but no matter what park you live on, one of 10,000 local allstate agents knows yours. now that you know the truth,

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>> reporter: the mystery of kelsie schelling's disappearance has brought us all the way here, vancouver, washington, and an ordinary mcdonald's where somebody is about to conduct some extraordinary business. >> a picture was sent. a name was given. very specific instructions. >> reporter: laura saxton has arranged this meeting with a mysterious e- mailer. he's promised to return kelsie from the clutches of a sex-trafficking ring if she will hand deliver $50,000 here to a man named marcus wearing a red hat. concerned about possible criminal involvement, kelsie's family has asked the vancouver police to meet the courier undercover. >> we didn't know if this actually was a sex trafficking issue or if it was extortion. i felt like, you know, law enforcement should have been involved in this situation. >> reporter: but just before the appointed time, the vancouver police back out, believing it to be a scam, and not an actual human trafficking plot.

but "20/20" has that golden arches under surveillance, and our cameras are rolling as a man with a red hat enters.he sits q order a mcshake, waiting for his take-out order of cold hard cash. but after no one shows up, he takes his leave. we showed the video to laura. >> i'm really surprised that somebody actually showed up. it is weird, eerie to see that they actually were, you know, going through with this. >> reporter: laura is more determined than ever to uncover the truth. is this for real? or is this a scam? >> it was just all a matter of trying to get down to the truth of this. >> reporter: now "20/20" has uncovered the key to cracking this mystery. it's that other tormented family in ohio. the family of megan lancaster. >> what if he really does have her and i can bring her home? >> reporter: they've also been promised to get their missing loved one back if they bring a

supersized bag of benjamins to that same golden arches, and deliver it to a man named marcus wearing, you guessed it,a red hat. >> it's almost a relief to know that they were doing this to somebody else in a way because then that's just 100% clarification that, some dirt bags out there, are trying to get money off of these poor families. >> reporter: both families now convinced they're being conned, and ready to fight back. >> i was like, hell-bent on this person being found. >> i wanted to know why. why did you randomly pick us? why did you randomly pick the other family? why? >> reporter: kadie, you said this morning that they sent you a text message. to answer that question, kadie has agreed to work with "20/20" to set up a sting operation. >> they will be sending marcus. >> reporter: just two weeks after marcus came to scoop up laura's cash, kadie arranges a similar meeting of her own.

but there's a twist. she will be bringing abc news producer gerry wagschal, and a hidden camera. kadie and gerry walk into that vancouver mcdonalds at the appointed meet time. they spot "marcus", the man with the red hat, and walk over to him. kadies' been instructed not to ask any questions. so, they tell marcus they've brought the money, but the cash is in the trunk of a car parked outside. >> okay. let's get ready. >> reporter: they all head out to the parking lot, but before the trunk is open, it's time for a little heart to heart with marcus. ryan smith. abc news. how you doing? >> pretty good. >> reporter: good. why'd you come here to take $25,000 from kadie? >> i don't know. >> reporter: you don't know why you're here to take $25,000 from kadie? >> nope. >> reporter: what are you here for? >> oh, cause, to collect some money. >> reporter: marcus claims he was suckered, too. lured online into a supposed jewelry venture. he says he was supposed to pick up the money, and wire it to someone he's never met. so a random guy tells you to go

to a mcdonald's twice in less than two weeks to meet people to pick up money, and you don't think anything of it? >> i didn't think nothin' of it. >> reporter: we were told you were going to deliver megan to kadie today. is that true? >> i have no idea about no megan or no kidnapping or anything like that. >> reporter: see how this doesn't make sense? do you see how it sounds like you're involved? this would be a scheme to extort money from families who have family members that are missing. >> i didn't know nothing of this. >> how could you even, i guess, even start this? we're talking human trafficking. >> i had no clue anybody -- anybody was supposed to be exchangin' nothin' for a human being. if i did know, i would not have been involved in the situation. >> reporter: we showed our confrontation with marcus to laura. >> just feel shaky inside. definitely a big scam. >> reporter: it's important that you be real honest with me. >> yeah. yeah, i'm real honest. >> reporter: you have never heard of kelsie schelling. >> never. >> reporter: you have never heard of megan lancaster?

>> never. >> i guess marcus is the fall boy. i wanna know who's behind it. >> reporter: so who was sending those e-mails? well, it turns out they may be a little tougher to get to. an fbi analysis of the e-mailer's facebook page revealed that it utilized an ip address, which is traced back to, of all places, russia. >> that's the frustrating part about internet scams is they're difficult to identify and even more difficult to hold the people accountable. >> reporter: but since we confronted marcus, both laura and kadie have stopped receiving those tormenting messages. >> i'm really grateful to know that we know the answer, and this needs to just be a warning to other families who have tha these people are out there. they're looking for you. they're studying you. they don't have a problem with hurting you and taking your money. >> reporter: coming up, the extortion plot may be laid to rest, but laura now returns her focus to her prime suspect,

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a missing pregnant woman and her unborn baby remembered in pueblo today. >> reporter: on the third anniversary of kelsie schelling's disappearance, hundreds turn out in pueblo to honor her memory, and to protest how the police handled the case. pueblo police strongly defend their investigation. >> it's never been closed. that is the most manpower hours intensive case we've ever worked. >> reporter: can you understand why the family might look at this like, "i feel like i'm dealing with the keystone cops here? >> i understand. the family's going through a lot

of difficult times. they're frustrated. but, you know there are many things that they feel we have the power to do we don't have the power to do. >> reporter: the family frustrated, because no action had been taken against kelsie's ex-boyfriend donthe lucas, the only person of interest named in the case. lucas could still be seen occasionally playing ball on a pueblo court, which is where "20/20" caught up with him. >> the family of kelsie says that you're responsible for her disappearance. is that true? >> no. >> what do you have to say to kelsie's family about the disappearance? >> why are you stalking me, man? >> nothing? anything to say? >> reporter: what do you want them to do right now? >> i want them to give the case to somebody else who's gonna work it. i want things that need to be done to be done. >> and right here tonight, a major new development. >> reporter: then in may of 2016, on the very day our original "20/20" report aired,

laura's wishes come true. >> "20/20" has just learned that the pueblo police department is prepared to turn over kelsie's case to the colorado bureau of investigation. >> reporter: the cbi joins the investigation into kelsie's disappearance, and it's upgraded from a missing persons case to a homicide. sudd suddenly, after months of apparent inactivity, the investigation is re-invigorated. >> pueblo police and the cbi police searched a property where kelsie schelling's ex-boyfriend once lived. >> reporter: police are even seen digging up lucas' former backyard in their search for new evidence. >> and right now, detectives are just in the backyard just digging up, and excavating some areas and just looking for any evidence that would help us resolve the case. >> a major development, the ex-boyfriend of a pregnant denver woman who went missing four years ago. >> reporter: and then, last december, the huge breakthrough that laura had been waiting for. police arrest donthe lucas, and charge him with kelsie's murder. >> it is the first time donthe lucas has been officially connected to the death of kelsie schelling. >> reporter: at a pre-trial hearing this may, police testify that lucas admitted to them that

he, in fact, was the hooded mystery man seen in surveillance video, picking up kelsie's chevy cruze in the walmart parking lot. detectives also say in court that lucas told them that he was the one who dropped off the car in that hospital parking lot where it was eventually found. lucas' attorney told "20/20" that the prosecution has to show that kelsie was murdered, but with no body and a lack of forensic evidence, there is no proof of a homicide. >> a lot of people thought we were picking on donthe. or whatever. we weren't. we've been validated in a lot of things we believe to be true. >> reporter: but even with lucas now behind bars and awaiting trial, laura still doesn't know where kelsie's remains are. and just like the family of megan lancaster back in ohio, laura vows she will never give up until she is finally reunited with the person she loves most in this world. >> i want to bring her home. i want to lay her to rest.

she deserves to be honored, and we deserve a place to go visit her. >> and as that mother continues to wait, we now know that donthe lucas is scheduled to be arraigned in court later this month. he is expected to enter a plea at that time. >> our question for you tonight, if you were one of those family members, would you have shown one that exchanged money if you thought it could free your daughter? >> let us know on facebook and on twitter using had #2020. >> i'm amy robach. >> i'm david muir. thanks for watching. have a great weekend.

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