and then finally, the morning sun lit up the banks of the umatilla river.nd -- >> the policemen called. he said, "we found your wife." >> reporter: she was found and alive. but what the policeman said next was terrifying. >> well, when he said, "we found your wife and she's alive" that was a great relief. but he certainly made it sound like it was a tough, tough thing. >> reporter: oh, it was. karen had been struck from behind by some heavy, blunt object. her skull was crushed. the wound was massive. right away, the detective called the chief on vacation in the mountains five hours away and described the way they found her. >> did he think she was dead already? >> he thought she was dead. tremendous amount of blood. he indicates that he reaches for her, her wrist to see if she has a pulse. and her leg moves and she gasps. >> reporter: but it didn't look like she'd be alive for long. the detective drove dan lange to the hospital. told him, prepare for the worst. as he arrived at the emergency room, dan ran into a nurse he knew. >> and she took one look at me