>> reporter: robert anglen, investigative reporter for "the arizona republic." >> in this case, that's what appears to have happened. a healthy, successful american man with a wife and kids fell off the face of the earth. >> reporter: our story begins with a one-way trip. eric departs from the phoenix airport, headed for a business conference in san diego. but days later, he's m.i.a. his daughter, kirsten, just 8 years old at the time, can't comprehend why daddy disappeared. >> i think probably because of my age, i think it's safe to say i took it the hardest. i was just really sad. >> reporter: did you cry yourself to sleep? did you -- >> every night. i remember screaming that i wanted him back every night for weeks. >> reporter: eric's parents, especially his mom joann, are dumbfounded. >> well, you know you have to keep going for your other children, and you have to survive and -- yeah, yeah, it was -- it was very hard and very hard. >> reporter: eric myers did not appear to be a magnet for trouble. a handsome real estate manager, he and wife anne were the picture of success. five c