11x24 - Water Hazard

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Narrator: a -year-old girl

Claimed she had been kidnapped,

But police weren't so sure.

Her memory was too clear, her

Manner too unemotional, her

Heroism too unbelievable...

Until some fibers on her

Clothing forced police to

Captions paid for by the courtroom television network, llc reconsider.

Reconsider.

It happened on a wednesday

Afternoon in freeport, texas.

-Year-old dana stenson walked

To her bible study at church

Just a few blocks from home.

Two hours later, when the class

Was over, dana didn't return

Home.

Her mother went looking for

Her and was advised by the

Teacher that she had never

Appeared in class.

And then police got involved.

I knew it right away.

My stomach went into knots, my

Legs were shaking -- I was just

Certain something had happened.

Narrator: their neighbors

Joined in the search but found

No sign of the young girl.

Dana's father was a local prison

Guard, and he feared that an

Ex-convict had taken revenge by

Targeting his daughter.

That something might have

Happened, one of the offenders

Might have abducted her, was the

First thing that came across my

Mind.

Might have been wrong or right

About it at the time -- I don't

Know.

Narrator: several hours

Passed.

Then, shortly after : p.m.,

A few miles away in

Oyster creek, texas, dana walked

Up to some boys playing

Basketball and claimed she had

Been kidnapped.

This was a deserted road.

It was dark, not a lot of

Traffic.

If you were there at night, you

Would think you were in the

Middle of nowhere.

Narrator: dana was taken to

Police headquarters and reunited

With her family.

She was, like, real calm.

There was a real calmness about

Her, and to me, that is very

Strange.

She had a very flat affect,

And it was extremely odd to me,

Her demeanor.

Narrator: dana told police

That she was in the church

Parking lot and couldn't locate

Her classroom.

Then a white, middle-aged man

Gave her directions.

He walked her towards the

Door...

Then grabbed her and forced her

Into his van, tied her up, and

Put her in a wooden box lined

With carpet.

Dana said he drove the van

Somewhere near the ocean.

She could hear the waves.

Then he sexually assaulted her.

An hour or two later, he

Assaulted her again in a motel

Room.

She said the man had a Kn*fe.

And she told him, "don't k*ll

Me, don't do this to me.

Don't k*ll me."

And he said, "I'll let you go,

And you better not tell nobody,

Because I know everything about

You, and I'll k*ll you."

And he pushed her out of the

Van.

I was extremely skeptical

Because the horrible things that

He did to her -- there was no

Emotion when she told us about

These things, so, initially, I

Had a difficult time believing

That.

Narrator: police were

Skeptical.

She said she was kidnapped in a

Church parking lot in broad

Daylight, yet no one saw it.

And the kidnapper released her

In an area not far from the home

Of one of her friends.

She was released in an area

That a young man lived that she

Knew personally, and some people

Described their relationship as

Maybe "girlfriend and

Boyfriend."

Narrator: investigators told

Dana they thought she was lying.

That was the first sign of

Emotion that we saw from her.

And she said, "you can do what

You have to do.

I'm not lying."

And, I mean, she was closer to

Tears then, when she was accused

Of that, or told that, than she

Was during the entire interview.

I couldn't believe why they

Were, like, questioning her,

Interrogating her and stuff and

Saying that she might have made

This up or this might have been

A prank.

Narrator: police confiscated

Dana's clothes for analysis,

Then asked her to return the

Next day for another interview.

And it gave investigators a new

Insight into the case.

Narrator: the day after

Dana stenson's alleged

Kidnapping, she returned to

Police headquarters for a second

Interview.

They wanted to make sure her

Story didn't vary.

This time, investigators saw

Something that wasn't clearly

Visible the night before.

I can see what looked to be

Burn marks or red marks around

Both of her wrists, red marks at

The outset of her eyes, red

Marks around her mouth where it

Appears there's been some type

Of tape or something placed

Around her.

Narrator: dana said these

Were caused by the tape the

Kidnapper used over her mouth

And around her wrists.

[ Muffled screaming ]

Narrator: gradually, police

Began to believe her.

And she told detective

Dietrich in no uncertain terms,

"I am not lying.

Exactly what I told you has

Happened."

Narrator: her parents took

Dana to the hospital for a

Physical examination, but by

This time, potential forensic

Evidence was gone.

She should have gone to the

Hospital sooner.

She didn't.

Had she gone sooner, I'm not

Sure they ultimately would have

Recovered any dna, but we always

Try to, as part of procedure,

Get the victim to the hospital

As soon as possible to be

Checked out.

Narrator: fortunately, police

Had dana's clothes --

A pair of jeans, a pullover, and

Some socks were given to

Trace-evidence analyst

Devin crago-stasicha.

Using tape lifts, she found

Numerous fibers.

It wasn't like I just found

One or two of these carpet

Fibers.

I had multiple of these fibers

From different articles of her

Clothing.

That, to a fiber analyst, is

Amazing.

That's wonderful.

You could not ask for much

Better than that.

Narrator: magnified

Times, devin noticed that there

Were two different types of blue

Fibers, presumably from two

Different sources.

One was a light blue, and it

Was a very sharp, angular,

Triangular shape.

And then there was a lighter,

Kind of a bluish-gray fiber

That was also triangular, but it

Was more round.

The nodes weren't as sharp.

Narrator: triangular, or

Trilobal, fibers are usually

From carpet.

There were other fibers on

Dana's socks.

These were round and small, the

Type normally seen in ropes.

This was consistent with dana

Saying her ankles were tied with

Rope.

[ Muffled screaming ]

Narrator: the investigation

Was taking a -degree turn.

Now the forensic evidence was

Corroborating much of what dana

Was saying.

I was extremely impressed.

Even to the most minute detail,

She remembered, and through the

Things that she went through,

Most adults wouldn't be able to

Remember the things that she

Remembered.

Narrator: dana said her

Assailant was white with blond

Hair, blue eyes, in his mid s,

And had a medium build.

He was driving a white van with

Tinted windows and the word

"Wood" painted on the glass.

She said she was forced into a

Coffin-like box covered with

Blue carpet.

And she remembered something

Else.

My victim described inside

The van, an orange ice chest,

Cooler-type object.

She said that it said "igloo" on

It, and it had some other

Writing on it.

She couldn't remember exactly --

Lowes, home depot, something of

That nature.

And inside that cooler were

Dr peppers.

Narrator: investigators

Decided to go public with dana's

Description of the van.

It hit the papers that

There'd been a kidnapping at the

Catholic church, and that there

Was possibly a white van as the

Suspect vehicle.

Narrator: they were hoping

That someone in the area might

Have seen the van or witnessed

The abduction.

Narrator: two days after

Dana stenson's kidnapping, one

Of her neighbors contacted

Police, saying he might have

Witnessed at least part of the

Abduction.

He said, "I saw a white van

In the area.

It said 'surfside floor and

Tile' on the side of it.

I saw it in and around circling

The church all afternoon.

I saw it park at the church.

I saw it leave the church around

:, :, And it never

Returned."

Narrator: this was consistent

With information dana told

Investigators.

The child in the case was

Able to describe a word.

She remembered "wood" that was

On the side of the van.

Narrator: investigators

Checked the phone book and found

A business called surfside

Installation -- ceramic, vinyl,

Tile, and wood.

The owner of the business was

-Year-old randy lee allen,

Married for years and the

Father of a -year-old boy.

He had no criminal record.

He was told that he may have

Been a witness to a crime, and

Would he voluntarily follow us

To the police department?

His response was, "sure!"

And voluntarily drove towards

The police department.

Narrator: randy lee allen

Said he knew nothing about any

Kidnapping.

He told police he was in a

Restaurant having dinner with

His wife and child around the

Time of dana's abduction.

His wife corroborated his alibi.

The case appeared to have hit a

Dead end.

But police wanted one more thing

From randy allen -- they wanted

To look inside his van.

And he readily agreed.

There was no coffin-like box in

The back of his van like the one

Dana described.

But one thing particularly

Caught the attention of

Detectives.

There was an orange ice

Chest, igloo, with the word

"Home depot" on it that the

Lid's off of.

And inside that ice cooler are

Dr peppers.

Narrator: dana described

Seeing the same kind of ice

Chest in the abductor's truck as

Well as the same color carpeting

In the van's interior.

Investigators also found some

Blue-and-white rope.

Blue fibers from the carpet in

The van seen on the right with

The same shape and size of

Fibers found on dana's clothing.

Both samples were put under

Infrared light, causing the

Molecules to vibrate in unique

Ways.

These can be charted to

Determine a sample's chemical

Makeup.

So if it's a nylon, it's

Going to show up as a nylon.

If it's an acrylic, it'll be a

Totally different pattern.

If it's a rayon, it's going to

Be a totally different pattern.

Narrator: samples from the

Van and from dana's clothing

Were both made of a compound

Called nylon /.

To take the comparison one step

Further, analysts turned to a

Microspectrophotometer.

That is basically a

Microscope that measures color.

We pass light through a sample

And it measures the absorbance,

How much light is absorbed by

Our sample, and that actually

Tells us basically what color.

It gives us a spectra of the

Color representation.

Narrator: the colors in both

Samples were identical.

The same set of tests were

Conducted on rope in allen's

Truck and the rope fibers on

Dana's clothing.

Again, they were virtually

Identical.

When we get the phone call

From the lab that those fibers

Match, we know we have

Randy allen.

We are expecting at that point

He's going to plead.

Narrator: in randy's home,

Police found pieces of lumber

Similar to pieces that would

Make a wooden box.

Police asked randy if he would

Put the pieces back together.

Surprisingly, randy agreed.

While doing so, he made an

Incriminating statement.

When we asked him to

Reconstruct the box inside the

Van, he got inside the van and

He started putting the box

Together, and he said, almost to

Himself...

"Well, she was a little one.

She was a little one, so, yeah,

This is how I did it."

Narrator: investigators

Noticed there was blue carpet

Lining the inside of the box.

Fibers from this carpet matched

The last-remaining piece of

Forensic evidence found on

Dana stenson's clothing.

Finally, police prepared a photo

Lineup and showed it to

Dana stenson, telling her that

Their suspect may or may not be

In the lineup.

Less than five seconds.

Less than three.

Immediately.

As soon as I gave it to her, she

Scanned it, and she pointed to

His picture, and she said, "he's

The man that took me from the

Church and did that to me."

Narrator: randy lee allen was

Confronted with dana's

Identification and the forensic

Evidence.

He confessed and read his

Statement on videotape.

I saw a little girl, grabbed

Her, and started walking her

Towards my van.

Narrator: but one thing

Bothered investigators.

If randy allen was the

Perpetrator, how could he have

Been at dinner with his wife and

Child while the abduction took

Place?

The answer is unbelievable.

Narrator: when

Randy lee allen confessed to the

Abduction and sexual as*ault of

A -year-old girl, his friends,

Business associates, and

Particularly his wife could

Hardly believe it.

She had been married to him

For quite some time.

They had a child together.

She, of course, didn't want to

Believe that he was capable of

This behavior.

No one in his family wanted to

Believe that he was capable of

This.

Narrator: and with good

Reason.

The evidence showed a

Particularly calculated crime.

Prosecutors believe allen was

Cruising the neighborhood near

Dana's church, looking for a

Victim.

He saw dana stenson, who

Appeared to be lost, so he

Offered to show her where her

Classroom was.

Yeah, that's actually right

Over here.

I can take you if you want.

I'm headed that way anyway.

Narrator: as they passed his

Van...

Allen forced her inside, gagged

Her with tape, wrapped it around

Her hands, and tied her feet

With rope.

Then he forced her into the

Coffin-like box with the lid on

Top, making it soundproof.

He drove out near the ocean,

Parked his van, and sexually

Assaulted her.

Then allen put her back in the

Coffin and, incredibly, drove

Home.

He got out of the van, walked

Upstairs, got his wife and his

Child, walked downstairs, got in

His wife's car, and they went to

Dinner.

They were gone at least over an

Hour.

He came back, his wife and child

Went upstairs.

He told his wife he had more

Work to do.

He went and got in the van with

The child still in the box and

Drove off.

Narrator: he took dana to a

Local motel, but this time, dana

Fought back.

She refused to do what he asked

And demanded that he let her go.

This, experts say, altered the

Balance of power in dana's

Favor.

She became demanding.

"I'm not doing that anymore.

I want you to let me go, and I

Want you to let me go now."

And I think, in the end, that

Shook the suspect a little bit.

I wish more of us could

Handle things that way, but most

People aren't going to have that

Kind of strength, and most

People aren't going to show that

Type of resilience early on, and

Are going to need more help

Coping with that long-term.

Narrator: randy allen

Acquiesced, drove her to a

Deserted location, and let her

Go.

Prosecutors believe he had

Intended to k*ll her.

I don't think that

Randy allen ever thought he

Would be caught in this case and

Never considered forensic

Evidence being something that

Could link him back to this.

I think that because I think he

Intended to k*ll his victim.

Narrator: almost all sex

Criminals exhibit some type of

Deviant sexual behavior in their

Teens or early s.

Randy lee allen appeared to be

One of the few exceptions.

I just found it incredibly

Strange, all of a sudden one

Day, he woke up and decided to

Commit such a horrific crime.

When somebody decides to learn

To dive in the water, they don't

Usually jump off of a cliff

First.

They'll jump in off of a pool.

And to me, this was jumping off

Of a cliff.

There had to be more in his

Background -- we just were

Unable to uncover anything.

Narrator: randy lee allen

Lived in the dallas/fort worth

Area of texas at the time when a

Number of young girls were

Abducted.

I feel like there's probably

Other victims.

And that's our department's

Opinion.

The investigators that worked on

This case, the investigators

That have read this case outside

Of our department, the

Prosecutor's office, all believe

There are probably other victims

Out there.

Narrator: but none has been

Found, and randy lee allen made

No more confessions.

In september of , he was

Convicted of kidnapping and

Sexual as*ault and received two

Consecutive terms of years.

I detected no remorse.

The only remorse I detected from

Him was the fact that he got

Caught and was looking at a

Lengthy prison term.

Well, you think hell's too

Good for people like that.

I mean, let them suffer.

You know?

Narrator: "dana stenson" is a

Pseudonym for the remarkable

Young girl who showed courage,

Determination, and whose

Near-photographic memory helped

Solve the case.

And the forensic evidence

Helped, too.

It stuck to her clothing and

All that, her body.

That's amazing.

I can't believe how they can

Pick up something that small and

Make something stick like this,

Which I'm glad it did...

Through science and all that.

It's amazing how the world of

Forensics, how interesting it is

And how from a tiny, tiny piece

Of nothing, they can find

Evidence, you know?

That is very amazing.

I find it very, very amazing.

And like I told you, if I was

Young and I had to do it all

Over again, yes, I think I would