john heckel remarried. the kids grew up. they started new lives out west. icia became a ski pro, john, a fishing guide. but through it all, their mother was never far from their thoughts. >> she missed all those childhood memories. i mean things like going to the prom, and boyfriends, and kisses and just -- just everything. >> yeah, she missed our weddings. i mean she missed our graduations. she doesn't know her only grandchild. >> and you probably thought about her at each one of those. >> mm-hmm. >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: clinton county never forgot kathy heckel either. she'd become a part of history that just wouldn't go away. and as one generation of lawmen retired, another rose to take up the unfinished business and discovered enticing details buried in a very old file. >> coming up -- >> when i came to this case it was 22 years old. >> and it had passed through other hands. >> 68 investigators. >> he was 8 when kathy disappeared. now he was in charge of her case. >> what i remember growing up is where was she? where was kathy at during all this time? >>