tonight on "nightline," murder mystery? new questions in the disappearance of a colorado man jet skiing on a mexican border lake. we visit the scene and question the victim's wife who insists he was shot by pirates. what really happened on falcon lake? speed freak. he was the son of a celebrity. with an addiction to fast cars and then this happened. >> 911, what is your emergency? >> there's been a horrible accident. >> reporter: in his first interview since leaving jail, nick hogan tells all. and hotel fakeouts. the website promised you this. you checked in to find this. or, you went for the bait and

got the switch. why misleading hotel claims are a "sign of the times." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," october 7th, 2010. >> good evening, everyone. we begin tonight with the strange disappearance on the mexican border. tiffany hartley told police that pirates attacked her and her husband david while they were jet skiing on the mexican side of fall con lake and that they shot her husband to death as they tried to flee. but mexican officials and others up. tonight, ryan owens goes to answers. >> reporter: search crews spent a second day on the waters of fall con lake, looking for the body of david hartley. or for his jet ski.

there is growing skepticism on border, and she knows it. >> i'm in a tough spot. i really am. but i can't do anything until we can get over there and find him. >> reporter: tiffany says she waters on their jet skis to partially submerged in the lake that straddles the border. why did you want to go? >> actually, my husband wanted to do the church. he loves history. >> reporter: people will say, come on, he was willing to risk his life and what he knew was a dangerous area to take pictures of a church? >> he didn't feel it was going >> reporter: david worked in mexico for an oil company and only recently moved with his wife, just north of the border. but tiffany says once they finished taking pictures at that church, three small boats began

>> we just started going as fast shooting. >> reporter: tiffany says she turned around and tried to help. that's when i saw he was shot in kind of pointed the gun at me a couple of times. i think they were trying to and they left. i mean, they could have easily >> reporter: this fo4'10" woman says she tried to lift her couldn't. the pirates came back. >> then i saw the boats coming so i had to put him back in the water. >> reporter: one of the things that is confusing to a lot of people about the story is that shooting at both of you and

suddenly, david falls off and >> yeah. i don't know. >> reporter: so that part >> not at all. >> reporter: tiffany says she raced back to the u.s. and >> are you sure that your >> yes. and he was thrown off the jet ski and i couldn't pick him up >> reporter: this man says he actually saw a boat chasing tiffany on her jet ski. who backs up at least part of he says he now fears for his life and would only come forward if we didn't show his face and altered his voice. had a boat kind of trailing behind it, looked like it was chasing behind. >> reporter: but you didn't hear any shots or any anybody shooting?

>> i didn't hear any shots. >> reporter: based on what you saw that day, do you believe this woman's telling the truth? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: the local sheriff says he believes tiffany based largely on that account. >> there's no reason why we should not believe her. independent witness, when she was coming over here, actually >> reporter: he's knowledge tno one. >> i don't think we're doing >> reporter: texas politicians from the governor down are lining up to support tiffany and point to her story as an example of why they need more federal tiffany is also getting strong support from her husband's do you believe what you've heard from tiffany? >> absolutely. >> every bit of it. >> 100%. >> reporter: no hesitation. >> no hesitation whatsoever. >> it's like -- for her to have to go through this, and people doubt her, that hurts all of us. >> reporter: most of those doubts come from south of the border.

the mexican district attorney in charge of that area told a south texas newspaper, we are not certain that the incident happened the way they are telling us. one of the reasons the mexican authorities may not be helping you, it's fair to say some of them say, look, we didn't find a body, we didn't find a jet ski. we don't think this happened. i can understand from their point of view. i have to put myself in their view that i can understand why there. i have no cameras. i have nothing. >> reporter: tiffany has been on a media blitz the last few days, telling her story to anyone who will listen. >> you can't imagine how awful it was not being able to help questions. did her husband's death have something to do with drugs? did she have something to do with it?

>> i would never even think about hurting my husband. i loved him. i know what i was in and >> reporter: that proof, she we took a ride through the channels where american authorities say they can't go search. that is the old church where the hartleys allegedly came deep pictures. and where tiffany hartley believes her husband still is. wednesday, she returned to lake falcon, flank bid a flotilla of they held a prayer service on and then tiffany tossed a single confirmed, that there would be pictures of the church, there would be a camera, there would

be a bullet wound to the head it may sound, would make sense >> yes. and this would be all over and done with. >> reporter: i'm ryan owens for "nightline" on the mexican side of lake falcon. >> our thanks to ryan owens tonight. and when we come back, nick hogan, son of the pro wrestler hulk hogan, talks about his time in solitary confinement and the regret he wakes up with every day. boss: our breakout session is gonna be great. got the gecko t-shirt... "4 mllion drivers switched!" gecko water bottle... notebok... chamois... gecko: sir, i feel a little bit uncofortable with all... you know... with all this. i mean, it's not about me. should be about how geico's the "third-largest car insurance company in the nation. things like that. boss: oh, of course! we're not gonna get carried away. gecko: uh...yeah... all right as long as we don't overdo it. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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as the son of hulk low gap, a star of his family's reality show and an avid race car driver, nick hogan appeared to live life with more throttle their break. his best friend with an iraq veteran. then, he made a mistake that cost his his freedom and nearly cost his friend his life. tonight, nick hogan speaks out, and andrea canning has our report. >> there's been a horrible accident. >> is there any smoke or flames coming from the vehicle? >> yeah, they were racing. >> it was two cars drag racing. >> reporter: it was august 26th, 2007. the day life in the fast lane finally caught up with then 17-year-old nick hogan. while driving to a restaurant with his best friend, john graziano, hogan lost control of his car and hit a palm tree. in an instant, his life was photographer changed. >> i remember waking up in the car and just a heavy feeling of

what had happened. it almost seemed like i was in a dream state. >> reporter: hogan is best known as the son of iconic wrestler hulk hogan. as a teen, nick appeared to have it all. he raced cars. got in the ring. and he and his family even starred in the hit reality show "hogan knows best." today, he's 20 and a lot has changed. what's the biggest difference about you from that teenager that we knew on "hogan knows best" to now? >> i would say the biggest difference is that i wasn't that person at all. that was just, you know, producers and stuff saying, hey, we need stuff that's going to fit the role. >> reporter: but hogan's teen antics went beyond harmless pranks. he had a problem. a need for speed. evident from his license plate -- does that coehsp ring a

bell? >> yes. >> reporter: capable of alluding high speed pursuit was on your license plate. >> yes. >> reporter: to this video that shows the teen getting pulled over. one of many times he saw flashing lights. you had quite a few tickets. 57 in a 30. 82 in a 45. then you got pulled over twice in one day with your dad, doing 100, got a warning, then 19 miles later, doing 115. >> it's disgusting to see the driving habits that i made. and it's being young and honestly just stupid, not mature. >> reporter: moments after the accident, hogan's famous dad just happened to drive by the crash site and recognized his son's car, a yellow toyota. >> i remember the look on his face was just trying to see if i was alive or not and i remember that i did everything i could to

hold him a thoumen's up to let him know i'm still here. >> reporter: hogan's best friend, then 22-year-old john, wasn't wearing a seat belt. he was alive, but severely brain damaged. >> it's just something that i pray to got every day for the strength to deal with, because it's -- it's hard. there's days where i can't even get out of bed. >> reporter: today, the retired marine and deck rated iraq war veteran needs 24-hour care. >> it just -- it didn't even seem real. john's my brother, brand, we practically lived together. and -- i remember finding out about how bad everything was, it was -- it's still hard for me to think about, i'm sorry. it's -- still, at this point, it's too much to think about. i -- i still don't really entirely know how to deal with

it. it's something that i carry every day. >> reporter: do you ever see him? >> i've reached out and tried but at this point, i'm not allowed to visit john. >> reporter: in a just released statement to abc news, the graziano's family says nick has done nothing to show his remorse. we haven't heard a word from him. police say hogan had been drinking and speeding at the time of the accident. some witnessed believed hogan and a friend in another car were street racing. something he adamantly denies he has ever done. he accepted a plea deal for reckless driving and was sentenced to eight months in a florida jail. >> i've apologized to the gr grazia grazianos, but i want to say,ly never be able to say sorry enough. >> reporter: but for john's father, the apology was not enough in the courtroom, he lashed out against nick hogan, whose birth name is nick bolea. >> what al qaeda could not do to my son, nick did in a matter of

minutes. >> i remember hearing that for the first time, and it just remember wanting to stand up and just scream that i had no intention of ever hurting john. >> reporter: but the extent of his contrition was brought into doubt when 36 hours of jailhouse phone calls were released after a reporter made a public records request. >> i don't know what to do, mom. >> baby, i didn't know you were going to go in that kind of a thing. >> i would do anything to get out of this room. >> i know. >> reporter: he even asked for his father's help in securing a lucrative television deal. >> will you work on that real-ality deal? >> yeah. >> for me, and get that thing lined up so the minute i walk out of wherever i walk out of, it's there? i want to do it where i'll make the most money. >> we could call it "the new nick" or something. >> reporter: i think people were angry because they heard the tapes and thought you were complaining when your friend was in a much tougher situation. >> yeah. there was a significant amount

of complaint because at the time, i was in the middle of really, really going to the deepest depths of mental insanity, being in solitary confinement. >> reporter: after serving five months of the eight-month essential answer, hogan was released from jail, and the hogans settled a lawsuit believed to be worth millions. >> there was nothing that i wanted more than to be able to spend time with john and be there to help with the recovery. >> reporter: today, hogan has a new passion, making music. >> i have michael jackson playing here and i can put on my new song, over here. >> good to see you. >> reporter: and he founded keep it on the track. >> i can remember being right here at this line with my race car and my friend john sitting there, you know, helping me refrul.

>> reporter: a group to prevent teens from street racing and speeding, as he used to frequently do. why do it, though? the thrill of speeding, the thrill of getting away with it? >> i think it was just a culmination of just being young and i wouldn't want to say it was fun in any way, because it was dangerous, but i was just -- it was really just immature. not understanding what the repercussions would be. >> reporter: and while nick works on slowing his life down, the graz yan nope's live with those repercussions every day. i'm andrea canning for "nightline" in calabasas, california. >> tragedy all the way around. our thanks to andrea canning tonight. and up next, we talk travel, with the hotel wash dog site that polices the line between advertising fantasy and grown that polices the line between advertising fantasy and grown inducing reality. zrzrzrzr nighttime nasal congestion meant, i couldn't breathe right.

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"maryland is moving forward"... ...and moving maryland forward. [ female announcer ] ...this jobs report tells the truth... maryland's economy stalled. [ male announcer ] "we face an uphill struggle in trying to regain the jobs lost." [ female announcer ] o'malley attempts a cover-up, falsifying the jobs report to help his campaign. [ male announcer ] "whatever we can do to make it disappear, we need to do it. that's coming straight from the top..."

[ female announcer ] martin o'malley. first he makes stuff up. when caught, he covers stuff up. we need a governor who tells the truth.

>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with bill weir. >> it has been said that you can fool all of the people all the time, as long as you have the right advertising agency. tonight, we found a new weapon in the quiver of the american travelers, all those that expect the ocean view without the parking lot in between. it is called oyster.com, and for vicki mabrey, it is a "sign of the times." >> reporter: you've waited all year, and you're finally going on vacation. how about a steamy hot tub for two in montego bay? or an intimate wedding in pun that can that? and check out that delicious buffet in the dominican republic. they're decadent, lavish, they're fakeouts?

or photo fake youments, according to oyster.com, where, when it comes to hotel brochures, ceoeli sideman says pictures can be deceiving. >> this is a vacation, it's your precious time and money. you want to go some place that's good but be great. and what we experience is that sometimes you go away and when you get there it's not what you saw in the bro sure. >> reporter: oyster.com went online in june of last year to expose the good, the bad and the ugly in hotel advertising. how bad are we being fooled? >> pretty badly. >> reporter: take that destination wedding in the dominican. >> so, it's you and your beloved on that wonderful wedding on the beach. and it's just the two of you, you know, going to be nice and quiet. and then, you know this is what's going on. we pull back a little bit, we unzoom, and oh, your friends gawking -- well, not your friends. >> reporter: everybody is standing there watching.

>> in their speedo. that's what you need. you have to buy them drinks? >> reporter: oyster has a seeing, we're picky, but not petty. the site gets 250,000 hits per month. shoppers looking for the real deal on that luxury hotel. some, though, come just for what the website calls those photo fakeouts. that hot tub? that surf board in the pool? >> what's the deal with having a surf board in a pool to begin with? forget about the pool, why do have a surf board? and then we zoom out and we found it's just a hot tub. so, the whole thing doesn't make sense on any level. >> reporter: the secret weapon behind their xan did cameras? real journalists, like jennifer jarfinkle. we're in this hotel in manhattan legally. 3 1/2 to 4 pearls in oyster's ranking, by the way, to show how they work. >> i would go to each corner of the room and when i'm done wp that, i start doing the closeup. >> reporter: a mission to shoot every angle, every object. >> we certainly take things like the tv, the mini bar, the things

that people really care about, that's the most important. >> reporter: even the pill lopes. >> zoom in on the pillows. the comforter. >> reporter: from the toilet. >> the bathroom is so important to people. you'd be surprised how many people spend time on our website looking at the bathroom photos. >> reporter: to the thread count. >> we'll peel back the sheets and take a look. >> reporter: no detail is too small or too insignificant. >> reporter: the pencil holder? >> why not? we're here, we have the camera, we may as well show everybody the most that we can. we take pictures that we don't edit, we don't doctor them. no photoshop. so, when you see our photos we take, you're getting, that's the real photo. >> reporter: what's wrong with hotels putting their best foot forward? >> well, i think the problem is that this is a prop that you can't see before you buy and you can't return once you arrive. our mission is to bring truth so you can see what you're going to get before you go. no false advertising here. >> reporter: they've

photographed more than 1,000 low items so far. snapshot of your chosen destination, warts and all. this is vicki mabrey for "nightline" in new york. >> one more way to let the buyer beware. thanks to vicki mabrey for that report. when we come back, lou dobbs and the people who work for him. that's the subject of tonight's closing argumenargument. first, here's what's coming up next on "jimmy kimmel live." >> jimmy: we have a new show tonight with joaquin phoenix, science bob pflugfelder, music from primus and "this week in unses censorship." "jimmy

i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. the real andy harris. his past attacks have been called deceptive, his new attack, false. harris voted for deregulation increasing our electric bills by 72% it's not surprising, harris always sides with the big guys. he opposes cracking down on wall street and supports tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. harris even opposed making big insurance cover cancer screenings. andy harris' extreme ideas will cost us.

two governors, two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%, cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of education while serving in congress. but in the toughest of times, martin o'malley has made record investments in public schools, new school construction, and o'malley froze college tuition four years in a row. with martin o'malley, our children always come first. more bold flavor!onds! more variety! more value! more of what you want... not what you don't. blue diamond almonds.