tv Dateline MSNBC September 25, 2022 10:00pm-11:00pm PDT
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i'm andrea canning, and this is dateline. >> she was my first friend. i remember walking by her classroom that day, it was the last time i saw her. >> what do you think had happened? >> i did not know. i was scared though. >> she vanished one october afternoon, ten year old amy mihaljevic. >> is amy there? is amy? there she never came home from school. >> she's got to meet somebody, go buy a present for her mother. >> whatever is wrong, come home. >> it's been a mystery for more than 30 years. who took amy? >> these are photos of a lot of
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your evidence. >> now, investigators are opening their files to us. >> this is more like you're ted bunny guy. >> correct. >> and you'll get the chance to help crack this case. >> we want to hear for you. >> just called with that new piece of information. >> pick, and pick, and pick, and boom, it solved. >> there is still a killer out there. and somebody has to know something. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, and welcome to "dateline". never stop investigating until the mystery itself. that's the mission of detectives determined to crack the canavan case of amy mihaljevic. there are many clues, and though decades have passed, the trail of evidence has not grown cold. so, police decide to do something rare, ask for your help to answer a burning question. here's josh mankiewicz with
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what happened to amy? ♪ ♪ ♪ >> you see here, these are all boxes of leaves. and they're all numbered. so, the first lead we ever got in this case. down over past over 10,000 leads. >> so, these have all been checked out? >> they've all been checked out. >> mark spencer is a patrol office in bay village, ohio when amy mihaljevic disappeared. he worked the case for decades, along with a team of investigators including detective jay elish, an fbi agent torsney. i know it kind of goes against your creek to be opening up the evidence locker and showing pieces of evidence to reporters. >> we feel that the benefit would be to show people what we have and what we are looking for. >> you're willing to listen to anybody about anything involving things they remember from back then. >> there's a lot of evidence, there's a lot of good work been
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done. but these things always involve one missing piece of the puzzle. if somebody could bring that to us, even now, we were happy to get it, and we want it. >> it is a piece they have been searching for ever since october 27th, 1989, the day amy 's mom came home from work to find her daughter missing, and called everyone in the neighborhood. >> and she sounds different? >> hysterical, hysterical, is amy there? is amy there? please tell me if amy is there. no, she's not. i am sorry. where is she? why, why are you looking for her? she never came home from school. she never came home from school. i, i do not know what to do. >> it's a day amy's father mark has lived with for more than 30 years. >> talking to a customer, somebody, oh your amy mihaljevic's father, i still got it today even. >> what do people say? >> oh, i'm so sorry.
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and i'm so sorry to hear that. i did not realize you are amy's father. and the one thing i never do, i try not to, oh, you or -- i'll never answer that. what i was say no, i am amy's father. so, -- >> and it's a day these investigators have poured over for decades. here is what they have learned, and what they want you to know about the day amy mihaljevic disappeared. october 27th, 1989. >> she went to school at about 7:20. she rode her bike from her home. usually she rides with her friend, and this particular day she did. not >> one of the friends amy normally road with was christy save oh. >> i live further from the school met amy, so i would buy to her house together, and we'd bike to school. >> tell me what you remember about amy? >> i remember her being really
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sweet, and really fun. she was also my first friend, my first sleep over. >> i knew guys were inseparable? >> yeah, we were. >> kristy's home was just a few streets over from amy, who lived in this quiet cul-de-sac with her mother margaret, her dad mark, and her big brother jason. >> it was a town where everybody knew each other growing up. you knew your neighbors. it was a great place to learn how to ride bikes. >> amy made a short trip to school. she parked her bike in the wrap, and headed in. that date, amy was wearing short black boots along with silver and turquoise earrings she -- shaped like horses heads. you can see them in the drawings. just normal school kid items that as you will see would become vitally important in the months ahead. ♪ ♪ ♪ at 7:45 am, the bell rang. amy began her day in the fifth grade gifted class.
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she was a good student that love to read. here she is giving a book report. >> they're trying to get to their aunt stills house because their mom left her. >> amy adored animals, especially horses and her dog jake. and wanted to be a vet when she grew up. she also love to draw, and would leave little notes for her dad, mark. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> dear, that you are the specialist person in the world. and for that, i want to give you this little gift. >> how old was she? >> i don't know, probably fourth grade. >> i like how she said amy mihaljevic, otherwise he would not know who it is. >> [laughs] >> she was very accomplished for her age. kristy came in with this little girl, and said this is my new best friend, amy mihaljevic. and i said well, hi, amy how are you?
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>> and with that, you are kind of amy's second mom? >> oh, absolutely. i adored amy. >> during one of amy's classes that day, a young patrol officer visited the school to give a talk about safety. amy sat there and listened, along with her friend kristy. >> if anybody calls you, don't go with somebody who calls you. and if somebody tries to pick you up in a car, don't go with someone who's in a car that you do not know. >> and he was there for? that >> yeah. >> that young officer, mark spat sal rose to the ranks to become chief of police. >> you have to have had look back on that talk to the students -- >> i do, and it's one of those things, you know, is there something else i could have said? >> lunchtime, up till this point it had just been a regular day at school. then in the cafeteria amy mention something to one of her friends, something she said was a secret. >> talking with their friends, we learned that amy received a
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call or calls from a mail, this mail wanted to take her to go buy a present from her mother, who had received a promotion from work. and they're going to go to the mall with $45 and by this gift. >> did she say that the man told her to keep the secret? >> yes. >> that secret would become the focus of intense investigation for the next 30 years. >> lured by the chance to surprise her mom, amy heads out to strip mall and into a trap. coming up -- >> she didn't say anything about her plans that day? >> no, she was a ten out ordinary at home. >> she was seen walking down towards that shopping center as if she's walking with a purpose. >> the kidnappers plot is set in motion. >> the 2:10-year-olds actually who saw this both describe that a male walked up to her, and keyshawn conversation. they looked away. and when they look back, amy was gone. >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues hey, what's the lowest you'll go on one of these mugs?
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>> no, no plan at all. i wish you. what if >> amy and kristy either. >> that's when i went. >> and you saw me? >> that is the last time i saw her. >> after school, for the afternoon, like came home like she normally would. a couple friends to -- >> all kind of strip mall shopping. it's only a quarter mile from -- so kids would often walk to the -- base square -- there is this ice cream store the -- >> right on time and -- >> fbi -- torsney >> down towards that as if she's walking towards -- >> walk towards the plaza with, i mentioned the man -- that girl later -- the conversation. >> told her, you know, i'm going -- she thought nothing of it.
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okay, have fun, i'm don. >> decided to walk here, to the plaza to the right -- >> detective -- claude very few -- that day >> completely -- hanging around. >> a lot of kids from -- in here -- you can see how many cars are here. it would've just been like 80. nine >> two kids saw -- >> anybody? i bet somebody walked up to her and -- d --
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how are the mandate, it worked. amy walked off with him willingly right in front of everyone. the spot where amy was taken was directly across the street from where the police station was, barely 500 feet away. this was mark spaetzel's view from his old office window. >> amy was standing about four stories down, and right down that sidewalk there, when she was last seen. >> you literally could have seen it happen if somebody had been looking out the window that moment? >> yeah, yeah. >> just after three that afternoon, amy's big brother jason got home from school and noticed amy was not there. >> i walked in the door where she would've normally been in, you know, the tv room, watching tv or doing homework or outside
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with jake. so, i noticed she was not around their. i looked in around the house, in a, room made a phone call to our mother, hey, where she? >> their mom, margaret, was at her job working for a local newspaper called -- times. she was not too concerned, because amy had told her earlier that she would be at choir practice that afternoon. >> i hang up, go back to do my own homework and whatnot. >> not long after that conversation, eight another phone call would become one of the most haunting moments of the case. >> at 3:30, market gets a phone call from amy. >> the mids would call market edward when they got home, and we are safe. >> and so, margaret assume that cave came from home. what did market say? >> you know, good to have you home amy, make sure you have a snack. there is no, there is no sense of urgency. >> in that moment, margaret did not realize that phone call at the time almost too routine for her tormentor, would be a call
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she would never forget. >> coming up -- >> when amy calls her mother, she does not appear upset. there is no indication anything is wrong. >> that phone call from aimee did not come from home. >> you left amy call her mom. i mean, he's taking a huge. chance >> he's willing to take risk. >> this is someone who can come across as charming and creating. more like a ted bundy type. >> correct. >> someone who's intelligent will commit a heinous crime. it's a very unusual pairing. when dateline continues. when dateline continues. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal.
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disappeared, amy mihaljevic called her mom to check in the way she always did, even though she was at that moment with her kidnapper. >> when amy calls her mother, she does not appear upset. there is no indication anything is wrong. there is no red flags up. she does not say anything to her mother. >> that shows an astonishing amount of daring and planning by that man. i mean, he is taking a huge chance. and yet, he goes ahead. he lets amy call her mom. he has no idea how that conversation is going to. go >> he's willing to take risks, but risks he's
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comfortable with. and people do that when they plan things out. >> suggesting that he knew if amy's mom received a phone call, she would not start looking for her right away. >> right, and he bought himself also some time to make sure amy still felt comfortable. >> police do not know where amy was when she made that call because back then, local calls within an area code were not even logged. they do know this, amy was in the hands of a calculating and devious planner. >> you've got somebody who's intelligent, yet will commit a heinous crime, it's a very unusual pairing. >> fbi agent still torsney wonders if amy may have called from the west skate mall, which was about six miles from the shopping plaza where amy was last seen. >> it's very likely during the initial part of this abduction she's, she is still shopping. >> torsney says a woman gave a
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detailed description of a little girl who look like amy in the west cape may that day between 3 and 4 pm. , roughly an hour after amy was taken. she said the girl was with a man. >> it was really her walking through a food court into the mall with a white male. now, police want to know if anybody out there remembers seeing anything similar at the westgate mall that day. even though this is 30 years old, you're going to hope that somebody remembers this? >> 5:30 pm, that's when amy's mother returned home from work and realize amy was not there. she raced to the school and to a horrifying sight, her daughter's blue bike was still park in the rack. >> we immediately took it at face value that yeah, this child was missing. >> amy's dad mark arrived home from work to a chaotic scene.
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>> margaret was running around the house you know, amy's not here. >> could you tell something was wrong? >> oh yeah. >> you couldn't tell that margaret was overreacting? >> no, this is the real thing. >> mark took the family dog and went right out to search for amy himself. >> he took jake down to the shopping center, and they try to find amy. >> neighbor gene silver rushed to the local nbc station with amy's class photo. >> and i said, look, i am not leaving until you put this picture on. and i did not leave until they put the picture. and i drove in the yard, i heard this primal scream. margaret was screaming because she saw amy's picture on a television. >> and realized, all the sudden, she is that mom and this is
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that kid. >> yes, she did. she, she was heartbroken. >> amy had been missing for about five hours, in the company of a man who had lured her with lies, a man who had meticulously planned the whole thing. who was he? investigators have an idea about his profile. and now, they want you to hear it too. so, that's another thing you want viewers to think about is, who was around back then? who likes kids, can get kids to trust them, is a planner, is manipulative, and is methodical and not impulsive. >> all those things, manipulative is the key. and may be able to interact socially with other people. some of the people who are like this, people tend to find of somewhat charming. >> so, you're not looking for some frightening freak, at least that's not how they
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present themselves? this is more like you're ted bundy type. this is somebody who comes across, or can come across, as a charming and ingratiating. >> correct. >> as the sun began to set that october night, amy's parents hunker down, desperately hoping to hear from their daughter. >> we had this phone in the kitchen, wall phone, and that's where margaret slip that night, underneath that phone. >> indication, on the floor? >> on the floor. yep. >> the long night past, and the coal margaret long for did not come. >> coming up -- >> we want to know if anybody else out there, any other school children in this age group had received similar phone calls. >> was amy the only target? >> the person on the phone introduced themselves as my mom's boss, by name. >> two women speak from the shadows. >> just the unknown is scary. >> there had been a moment where you thought yourself,
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here's what's happening. tropical storm eta is forecast to become a category three or greater hurricane is heading towards florida. governor desantis has declared a state of emergency. and more than 2000 national guard members have been activated. and officials in canada say you could take several months to restore infrastructure damage by hurricane fiona. hundreds of thousands of residents across nova scotia, prince edward island, new brunswick, and quebec are without power on sunday. and now, back to dateline. ack to dateline. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome back to dateline. i'm andrea canning. amy mihaljevic's mother spent all night by her phone hoping to hear that her daughter was safe. that call never came. police were now searching for both amy and her kidnapper, a
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man believed to be intelligent, manipulative, and possibly well practiced. turns out amy may not have been the first little girl on his wish list. back to josh mankiewicz with what happened to amy? >> we have called everyone we know. >> the day after amy mihaljevic was taken, her parents went on tv asking for help. >> just find it, tell her to come home, whatever is wrong, whatever is wrong to have or come home. >> if anybody has seen her get into a vehicle, we need, i think, that would help quite a bit. >> detectives pushed forward with their investigation, looking for any information about the man who had called me at home. >> we want to know if anybody else out there, school children of this age group, had received similar phone calls. >> they sent out a letter to thousands of local students and received a frightening response.
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in the months before amy disappeared, to young girls living in a neighboring town received calls almost identical to amy's. police believe the girls may have actually spoken with amy's kidnapper. those two girls are now grown women. even all these years later, they've asked us to shield their identities, a measure of the lasting damage this crime has inflicted on so many. they still wonder if that man is out there watching. >> the person on their phone introduced themselves as my mom's boss, by name. >> he knew your mom's boss's name? >> we're calling this woman pam. she was ten years old when the man called her. >> what did he want? >> he expressed that my mom was getting a promotion. he was really excited about it. and he was not sure what to get her for a gift. and they wanted it to be a surprise. and he wanted to pick me up
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after school to go pick something up because he want to go get something special. >> but when the man overheard pam tell her brother about the call, his tone suddenly changed. >> he was like angry almost, like, you are going to ruin it. and at that point i was, like, i can't go. >> you really saw several different sides of the sky. because at the beginning he was, sort of you know, trying to charm you. >> it was like excitement and wanting to collaborate and all that. and it was oh, wait, she is not an easy target. >> and just the unknown is, is scary. >> this woman, who we will call katie, spoke with the man several times before her older sister made her hang-up. >> these calls would only happened when your mom was out of the house? >> yes. >> as if the person knew your mom was out of the house, or just a coincidence? >> i think they definitely knew that my mom was out of the house. >> katie says she noticed a car
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parked outside her home around the time the man was calling, and remains convinced he was watching her. >> there had to be a moment when you thought yourself this could be me on the posters? >> over the years, i thought about that a lot. i mean, i would pray on it. and i would pray on my family, and i pray for my family, and on amy's family. and you know, the family apart, ripped the town apart. >> armed with this new information, investigators search for a link between the children who were called. they got all the families together in a room and had to fill out questionnaires. >> the show up in the sub? loses to the same dry cleaners? to they go to the same dentist? did i get the car fixed in the same place? you know, where they frequent? so we asked all these questions to try to draw questions and commonalities to get some investigative leads. >> great idea, didn't go anywhere? >> unfortunately not. >> there is one undeniable link,
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the story the man told about knowing each girl's mother. it's his signature, and it's unique. investigators want to know if that ammo rings a bell with any other law enforcement agency out there. >> it's not gonna be something that this person is going to be able to just turn off after he of ducks amy. it would most likely be a person that maybe did before, because he did a very good job of luring amy to the shopping plaza on october 27th of 89. >> so maybe what you're looking for is a case like this that happen before this that was not as refined. and this was, the ag case was him getting better at it. >> possibly, maybe not a case where somebody was abducted and killed, but maybe a case where this guy had some type of sexual relationship with a child, and got away with it. or maybe he did do time for it.
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and he was out at that point. >> fall turn to winter the. there is still no trace of amy. >> snow covered ribbons remembering amy shiver all over town. >> life changed a lot. there is times when we would cry and just be scared, just be scared. not knowing what's going on. talking about when is she going to come home? >> december 11th was amy's 11th birthday. she had been missing for 45 days. >> margaret invited me in on amy's birthday. >> connie deacon was a reporter for nbc station w. k y c, and lived just down the street from amy. >> she still believe that amy was alive, and that she was going to throw this birthday party that she hoped that if there was some publicity, someone would see this, someone would decide to let her go.
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there were birthday present stacked up on the fireplace. >> it's very difficult to have a birthday party without the birthday girl. >> i was holding back tears, so was my photographer. >> even kristy sabo, just ten years old, did her best as she reached out to her friend the only way she could. >> i miss amy, i hope you're still alive, i hope you can hear me, and i hope you come home soon. >> weird feeling to be talking to your friends through television? >> it was weird, i was nervous. >> i felt for jason. when we were off camera, he would just cling to jake. he was their dog, their big black dog. >> along the way i handled it was to not be in the way. i-lot of days were spent riding my bike with jake, going up to the lake. and just sort of watching the
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water. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> mark tried to keep the family routine as best as he could. >> amy had a paper route. it came out every thursday. and i would get up before i went to work and her and i would -- excuse me, her and i and the dog would deliver the papers before school. >> and after she disappeared? >> i kept the paper out running for maybe three weeks, but i still deliver the papers on thursday morning, me and the dog. >> so, she would have something to come back to? >> yep. yep, we deliver the paper. [laughs] sorry. >> for margaret, there is the added torment that the kidnapper had used her name to lure amy away. >> it's the constant pain, it's
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the constant torment, the wondering what she's -- going through, where she is, and why, we keep asking why. >> it would be months before amy's mother would find out what had happened to her little girl. >> coming up -- >> i talked to mrs. mihaljevic this afternoon. >> he was adamant, connie it's not her. it's not amy. >> a discovery on a country road, heartbreak in bay village. >> i remember putting my head down and cry. >> and how you can help solve this case. >> so, one of the things you are looking for is whether anybody has seen these earrings? or a pair of child's boots like that? >> correct. >> these items are extremely unique items that if anybody had ever seen them before, they would probably recollected. >> when dateline continues.
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>> deacon had been come friendly with amy's mother margaret, and had called her right away. >> i talked to mrs. mihaljevic this afternoon. >> she was adamant connie, it's not her. it's not amy. she honestly thought amy was somewhere in the area being cared for by someone who wanted a child. >> within hours authorities, had their answer. it was amy >> it all came to a heartbreaking and about a quarter of a mile down this quiet country road. >> we came home, and the chief of police was at the house. our minister came to the house. i think some from the fbi came to the house. and we all sat around and held hands and they explained what they found. >> christy heard the news at school. >> we all found out it was amy, and there is guidance counselors at school, and i just remember putting my head down and crying. >> you went to the funeral?
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>> yes, yeah, it was huge. it was my first funeral. for my friend. >> all of bay village their? >> yes, and then some. it was packed. it was -- her poor mom and dad and brother, and poor family. >> the thing that still sticks in my mind is going past the bay village police department seeing the flag at half staff. after that, excuse me, after that it was just the police all the time, always questioning you, always asking, always looking for something. they would never stopped. >> for 105 days, we were looking for amy. we were not looking for a killer, we were looking for amy. the day her body was found, we
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are not looking for a killer. >> that search began here, county road 1181 in ashland county, 50 miles from bay village. >> perpetrator more than likely is comfortable with this area to dispose a body. >> because this is not just a place would stumble onto or drive. i >> not at all, as well off the highway. it's not as if you take a couple rights off the highway and you're there. it's very rural, very out of the way. >> yeah. >> for some reason, this perpetrator chose this location. >> investigators collected every bit of debris within eight miles of where amy was found. her body yielded few clues. there was some indication of sexual assault, but nothing conclusive. medical examiners believed she had been in the field for a while. and was most likely killed shortly after she was taken. amy had been hit on the head and step in the neck. the most telling clue might be what was not found at the scene,
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her backpack was not there. it contained a buick binder like this one, which her dad had given her from his job. it said best in class on the clasp. also missing, amy's boots and those horse head shaped earrings, the ones she put on that last morning. >> is it reasonable to believe that the items that were missing from amy, her backpack, the binder, the boots, the earrings, those were retained by her killer? >> it's possible, possible they were kept as a trophy. >> so, one of the things you are looking for is whether anybody has seen these earrings? or a pair of child's boots like that? >> correct, but these items are extremely unique items that if anybody had ever seen them before they would probably recollect it. >> the decades have brought many theories about what happened to amy mihaljevic. recently the case was in the
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headlines again with a possible person of interest. no arrests have been made, and police have said their overall investigation continues. >> we could go on and on about just the number investigative leads to follow up on. >> 10,000 tips, 30,000 interviews, and 100,000 man hours later, they are still looking. >> every officer that works in our police department is aware of the amy mihaljevic case. whether they work there in 1989, or they start after that. and it is something that we never will forget about. >> there is one more clue, a very important one. and investigators want you to know about. it might just be the key to solving this whole case. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> discarded cigarette butts, maybe a soda can, this is the kind of evidence detectives might use to zero in on a killer. in this case, the clue that
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caught their eye is something you may have seen. will you be able to help? coming up -- >> it's so unique that we're hoping somebody can identify that. if you saw it someplace, we want to hear from you. >> we think that it would be someone who would recognize it and say to themselves you know, i suspected this guy, maybe of this? it's like a needle in a haystack, but we are hopeful. >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues ♪ ♪ this is how it feels to du more with less asthma... ...thanks to dupixent. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. and can help improve lung function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks...
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welcome back. for three long months, police search for amy mihaljevic, hoping to bring back alive. but after the little girl's body was found, the hunt was on for her killer. and it never stopped. investigators are looking at old clues with fresh eyes. and there's one piece of evidence they hope leads to a breakthrough. here's josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of what happened to amy? >> when detectives found amy mihaljevic in this field, they gathered every shred of evidence they could find. >> anything that didn't grow there, we basically grabbed up. could've been cigarette butts, papers, whatever. >> including this green curtain. >> it's very unique. it's a homemade curtain. almost looks like a bedspread was made into a curtain. >> the curtain, along with all the other evidence, was
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periodically tested over the years because maybe the constant march of dna science might one day yield a clue. and in 2016, it did. >> what we found was there were minute hairs identified on this curtain. and these areas were identified as being dog hairs. >> and not just any dog hairs. >> when amy met missing, one of the things investigators did was take samples of their dog jake's hair for later comparisons. >> jake is long gone, his hair outlives him, carefully collected and preserved in this file for decades. a lab compared to the hairs on the curtain. the result was a huge leap forward. >> so, the dog hair on the hair on this current matchup. so, based on that, there's the theory that possibly she was wrapped in that curtain.
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>> jake, amy's constant companion during her short life, may have provided a crucial key to finding her killer. >> she loved jake very much. >> and now, jake may help solve her murder? >> ten, 13 years after's death, he's still trying to solve amy. he was a good dog. he was the best dog. >> and now, the curtain has yielded a new clue, one detectives are revealing for the first time. ♪ ♪ ♪ further testing uncovered even more hairs, this time, they were human and they were 80s. strengthening the theory that amy was wrapped in that curtain, and the killer may have used it to transport her body. investigators really want you to take a close look at it. >> it does not look professionally made. >> no, it's not something that back in the day would've blotted -- it's something made quickly out
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of something they had. but it's so unique, we're hoping someone can identify. that >> you want our viewers to look at that curtain and say whether they have seen anything like that before. >> yeah, you saw it in a house, you saw some place, we want to hear from you. >> remember, the curtain may have been a brighter green back in 1989. the quilting and design are unique, as is the crude way in which it was sewn together. >> we think that it would be someone would recognize it and would say you know, i remember that curtain being inside so-and-so's house, or that couldn't be inside so-and-so's barn. we're hopeful that someone will see that curtain and say to themselves, you know, i suspected this guy may be of this. oh, and by the way, i remember seeing that curtain on his property. it's like a needle in a haystack. but we're hopeful. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we are not made to bury our
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children. it leaves parents shattered, sometimes and mentally so. shortly after amy disappeared, her parents marriage fell apart. mark says the relationship was all ready on the rocks before the abduction. 12 years after amy's disappearance, margaret died. she was only 54. >> whoever killed amy, kind of killed margaret to. >> oh yeah, definitely. margaret sold her house and moved out to las vegas, where her mother lived. >> she was broken by that. >> oh yeah, she was broken. >> mark mihaljevic keeps in touch with the investigators. >> well the police solve it? yes. >> you're convinced they will? >> yes. >> mark spaetzel, who spoke with us before he retired as police chief, kept amy close right up until he left. >> you still have the poster of amy in your office? >> i do. i do not need it as a reminder.
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but i keep it there just so we know we are still doing. it >> phil torsney retired from the bureau and moved away, but still works the case when he can't. >> i've been doing this along time. and here's what i know. the only time the case doesn't have the potential to be solved is when nobody is doing anything. and i feel good about it. we're doing something. and we're always doing something. >> i hope this is some help. >> i hope this is the last interview i have to do on this before it is solved. >> amy's bike still sits in a small room at the bay village police department. her case notes remain front and center. she has been gone for more than 30 years, but amy mihaljevic is still here and she is waiting for justice. maybe you can help her find it. >> if you have any information that may help with amy's case,
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please call the bay village police at four 408711234. investigators are offering a 50,000 dollar reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning, thank you for watching. for watching how could this happen? a very healthy 31 year old just winds of dead? >> a young father's death, so sudden, so strange. >> we wanted answers. >> the word poison just kept coming up. >> it was antifreeze poisoning. >> he can't smell it, you can't see it. >> someone wanted him dead. someone who was hiding something. >> the details of the case are very salacious. there are six. there is the allegation of the
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