whitney's family think of them? the families met at the rehab center. shortly after the cerakse reunited with whitney. >> i think suzy had some of those feelings of, you know, they're going to hate us and, you know, we've kept them from their daughter all this time and -- but it was the look on colleen's face, wasn't it? >> mm-hmm. >> comforting? >> compassion. >> compassion. she knew -- she would know exactly how i was feeling at that moment. because she had been there. and i would know how she felt getting her daughter. knowing that her daughter had survived. >> they gave us a hug, and i remember them saying, they're so happy for us. and i -- i just had to say how sorry i was to them for their loss. >> your family's had a miracle, but it means that their family has just had a tragedy? >> yeah. i was -- it was really hard. we had so much to be grateful to them for, but we knew what they were feeling. >> you said something, don, i think, when you addressed them. you must think we're the world's biggest dopes, not knowing our own daughter. >> i said idiots. i said that to collee

. >> whitney cerak was 18. she grew up in gaylord, michigan, with her parents and her older sister carly. >> whitney was just an amazing girl. i know i'm partial because i'm her mom. she was a lot of fun to be with. she made people feel special. she made us feel special. >> whitney was a freshman, laura a senior at taylor university. a small evangelical christian school in indiana. >> this sounds maybe quaint, but a real family feeling that you connected with so many other people there. >> laura and whitney were both outgoing and athletic with a wide circle of friends. they didn't know each other well, but one night they work ed together at taylor's fort wayne campus setting up a banquet. >> suzy, did you talk to laura that day? >> actually i had tried to call her phone between 8:00 and 8:30 that evening. i didn't get through. and so i thought, well, i'll call her later. >> how about you, lisa? >> we had been playing phone tag up to that day. she left me a message, i believe, on their trip up to fort wayne. i di