Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20170619

Walk vanishes. Karens gone. I dont know where she is. I just cried. One murder, one disappearance in the same small town. But soon police would discover a creepier connection. One of the detectives had gotten his hands on an image of Amyjane Brandhagen and karen lang together. Oh, my god. The dead teenager and the missing mom arm in arm. In that moment most of us knew that that wasnt coincidence. Was someone stalking the women of this tightknit church . This sounds more like a zodiactype killer. Absolutely. A race to connect the dots revealing a truth darker than anyone imagined. I dont get that. I mean, its just evil. Im lester holt. And this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with someone was out there. There are children born into this world for whom the dance never ends. For whom joy seems uncontained. For whom exuberance is uncontainable. Amyjane. What are we doing right now . Were riding on the roof of a car. There was this young woman, a sprite really in a young womans body who loved adventure and people and who danced to music no one else could hear. Which is why it haunted me. This case haunted me. Haunted the police. Haunted the whole town. Is there a serial killer around . A serial killer with plans for two women in one particular church in one particular photograph . I was like this is insane and Everybody Needs to find this person. Yes. But it began with that girl, that sprite. Just the freest spirit that you could think of. Like literally not having a care in the world. Kate cook is talking about her friend and fellow missionary Amyjane Brandhagen. Talking about her now that its happened, that its all over. Kate and amyjane went to india and nepal together back in 2012. Small town girls, kate from wisconsin, amyjane from oregon. Shes always ready to give and pour her heart out to people and just give everything she had to offer. They were there three months for something called youths with a mission. Or ywam for short. Like tourists they went to the taj mahal. Like preachers, they spread the word. To children, mostly. For whom amyjane was magnetic, irresistible. They would see her and run up and say the word that means sister, sister. So excited. When the threemonth mission trip was over. She hated it. She was like i dont want to go home. Home for amyjane was a universe away from vibrant teeming india. Here it is. Pendleton. Safely tucked into a small valley on the vast rolling flanks of eastern oregon. Cowboy country. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the pendleton roundup home to one of the nations biggest rodeos, the pendleton roundup, which each september celebrates the towns rough and tumble past as a brawling and bordellofilled cow town. And then good conservative citizens wave goodbye to the parting cowboys and settle into a safe and predictable life and fill the pews every sunday morning without fail. People like bill caldera, who was like family to amyjane and her parents, jim and kathy brandhagen. They brought amyjane home when she was three days old. And they brought her home. Bill and knew the remarkable little girl from the very beginning. You watched amyjane grow up. Yes. And saw what sort of girl emerge . She is very carefree, loving, didnt know a stranger. The brandhagens asked bill to speak for them after what happened when they sorely needed their Church Family at pendleton Free Methodist. Like youth minister jeff hummel and his wife lisa who encountered the dancing sprite when she was in middle school. If she got the feeling that you were left out, shed find you and make sure that you knew you had a friend. Little bit like pippi longstocking. I always remember she knew everyones name. She was just fun. One year when she was far away in india, the people who loved amyjane worried a lot. And didnt breathe easy until she returned home to the safety and security of pendleton. Where she was waiting for god to tell her what to do next. Whether it was going to be to travel the world or go back or go to school. She wanted more freedom too, so she moved out of her parents house and got herself a little apartment in downtown pendleton. Worked two jobs to pay for it including a job cleaning motel rooms at the travelodge across from city hall. She was excited to get this other job, but she wasnt so sure about working at the hotel. She was a little nervous about it. After all shed never done that sort of thing before, or answered to a boss who this one sounded gruff. But she went. And she scoured and scrubbed those little rooms that looked out on downtown pendleton. And then it was august 14th, 2012. 911, what is your emergency . I am calling from travelodge, theres a girl dead in the bathroom. I dont know. A girl dead in the bathroom . I think shes passed out. Okay. Im going to get the police and ambulance headed that way, okay . In his office down the hall from the 911 operator, bill caldera listened and felt the dread flood in. Just gave me a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was not good about this call. Bill, remember, was a close friend of the brandhagen family, attends the same church. But hes also a policeman. And that day with the chief on vacation, lieutenant bill caldera was the man in charge. As soon as one of my patrol sergeants arrived on scene he requested my presence which i knew then we would probably be dealing with a homicide. As he raced to the motel he couldnt know what had just been started there any more than whose life had just ended. What this veteran investigator was about to find would leave him stunned. I just cant tell you the feeling that went through my mind. When we return, a crime that may be impossible to solve thanks to a suspect list that could include anyone and everyone. 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If god had a plan for pendleton, oregon, on the afternoon of august 14th, 2012, one could hardly have imagined it would be this. 911, what is your emergency . Theres a girl dead in the bathroom. Lieutenant bill caldera prepared himself as he drove over to the travelodge and then climbed the stairs to room 231. All the preparation in the world could not have been enough. Lying on the bathroom floor her lifeless body punctured by the startling scarlet of a dozen stab wounds was the sweet free spirit hed known since she was a baby, 19yearold Amyjane Brandhagen. It just felt like somebody kicked me in the pit of my stomach. I just cant tell you the feeling that went through my mind. Almost like she was your kid in a way. Very much. Lieutenant caldera took it upon himself to notify amy janes parents. And that was probably the toughest thing that ive ever had to do in my career. And i cant tell you the feeling we all had. We broke down in tears. But why would anyone want to kill amyjane of all people . I was crushed. Like how is this even possible . I was speechless. And then i just sat crying in the bathroom for probably the next hour like not understanding, like craziness. As word spread through amy janes Church Family, so did the questions. High school youth pastor chris thatcher. Early on was there any indication of who may have been responsible . I dont think anybody had any idea. I think thats what made this so hard is that so many of us, we know each other. Were family here. But there was the dismal work to do. Lieutenant caldera returned to the motel where amy was murdered. It would be pretty hard for you to take part in an active investigation. No, i wouldnt have. I couldnt have. Not with my relationship. Lieutenant caldera turned the case over to detective Sergeant Rick jackson. It was a pretty pretty horrific crime scene. It was obvious amyjane fought for her life. Her glasses lay in the bathtub. Blood spattered the walls. Dna of a male presumably her attacker would be found under her fingernails. But the medical examiner said it was not a sex attack. And it wasnt robbery either. Amyjanes purse and cell phone were still right there on the bedside table. And nobody saw a thing. Even though this is during broad daylight with a Motel Room Door with Motel Room Doors open. The only potential witness, if he was a witness at all, was a painter working at the motel who said he saw a young man with longer hair, darker skin, perhaps hispanic or native american, walking near the back parking lot. It may have been the person who did it and it may not have been. Could have been somebody passing by. Sure. While we were there she was in the first hour of being at the crime scene. Upwards of 50 people walked by. I mean, this is a pretty busy area of town. Busy, yes. And studded with cctv cameras. Banks, bridges, city hall, walking trails along the river that runs through town. Detectives painstakingly went through the footage. There was nothing. They took dna from dozens of motel guests to check against the sample taken from amyjanes fingernails. Wasnt any of them. So detective jackson went to the people who knew amyjane well, or perhaps romantically. Those stab wounds were all focused around her heart, which often indicates some kind of crime of passion. But i think most of the males we spoke to really viewed themselves as her protectors. Pendleton police chief Stuart Roberts hurried back home from his abbreviated mexican vacation and encountered a case going nowhere fast. Everybody that knew her characterized her in the same way. She knew no stranger. She didnt have an evil bone in her body. As the investigation entered its second week, amyjanes family prepared a Memorial Service at the church where theyd raised their daughter. Amy loves thunderstorms. It was one of her favorite things to do go out barefoot and dance in the rain because she just loved it. The morning of her Memorial Service there was a loud clap of thunder that came over town about 6 30. And several of us heard it. I think we knew. Up there dancing in the rain somewhere, huh . I think she was. Together we pray, in jesus name, amen. Hundreds crowded into amy janes church. And many like jed and lisa hummel were amazed by the strength of amyjanes parents. They were hurting deeply, but they werent looking for vengeance. Me, on the other hand, i was just ticked. I was like this is insane. And Everybody Needs to find this person. Oh, they were certainly trying. Even at that very moment. We had about 10 to 12 undercover officers in and about the Memorial Service looking for anybody that would strike us as odd. But no one stood out. Hang in there, caleb. Hang in there. A month after the murder, the famous roundup filled the streets as usual. And then they emptied again. And as the autumn wind turned raw, detective jacksons investigation chased down every lead and got nowhere. We call them rabbit trails. We ran hundreds of rabbit trails down. The holidays came and went, holidays for other people. Not detective jackson. Not chief roberts. It haunted me. This case haunted me. And then a spring breeze dipped into the pendleton valley, curled its warming fingers into secret corners and came out whispering a name. Coming up weve gone for months with nothing and now this. Out of the blue, a tip. Have cops found their killer . We go out and find his girlfriend. Shes going i always believed he could have done this. Six months after the murder of Amyjane Brandhagen, investigators finally caught a break. A county jail inmate looking for a deal got word out to the cops. He claimed to know who killed amyjane. I mean, wed gone for months with nothing and now this. There were two of them, said the inmate. Ira draper and eric torres, both wellknown to local law enforcement. Who soon confirmed the men were in the area the day of the murder. They found torres first. And looked like they were on to something. Torres said, yes, he was in on it. But he didnt kill her. It was the guy he was with, he said. Draper, who went into the motel room and came out very bloody. He basically tells them, yeah, i was driving the g yay car. It was his buddy who did the killing, he said. Ira draper. So we go out and find his girlfriend. Shes going, i always believed he potentially could have done this. Hes aggressive. And he has these journals. And there are journal entries about defiling women and killing and burying them. They found and questioned draper who said he understood why he was a suspect. Have you ever thought about killing anybody . Ive never really planned it out, but maybe thought about it, yeah. But after a few minutes with draper, jackson had a familiar sinking feeling. He was very much so enamored by the fact the police were giving him attention. He was playing you. Playing it for all it was worth. He was getting a little street cred for it. The dna confirmed it was all an act. Two unpleasant men, the police said, who seemed to be enjoying themselves at the expense of the cops. So back to zero. By august 2013 it had been almost a full year since amy jane brandhagens murder in pendleton. Investigators had exhausted hundreds of leads. And themselves. I knew it was having an impact on my Physiological Health as well as my mental health. On august 8th the chief took his family out of town for some r and r. And the very next day a woman named karen lange happened to be a member of amyjanes church announced to her husband dan she was going for a walk. And she came down. And ill never forget what she said. She said, well, you know, i was thinking that we can maybe go out for dessert afterward. Karen was an accomplished singer and pianist. Dan Vice President of the local community college. Her walk along the river levee in downtown pendleton, the river walk was almost a daily habit. It was 4 30 p. M. Lots of sun left on the warm august afternoon. And the last words she said to me were, well, i guess well just have a nice boring evening. Dan went back to tinkering on his motorcycle. Lost all track of time. It was dark when his son walked into the room and asked an innocuous question. Wheres mom . I said, well, i dont know. Ill give her a call. So i went i tried to make the phone call, and i couldnt get hold of her. But it was after 9 30 p. M. Karen usually walked for less than an hour. Shed been gone for five. In some people anxiety stokes panic. Dan is not like that. Its a coping mechanism, he stays calm. He made another call. Long day, 10 00 at night. My phone rings. I answer, hi, dan. Remember jed and lisa hummel . Friend of amyjanes from church . Karen always parked their car in front of her house when she took her Late Afternoon walks. Says, is karen at your house . No. I just got home and i asked lisa if shed been over. And i said, no, havent seen her. And i had looked outside and sure enough the car was still there. So we went out to the car and she wasnt there. So jed and lisa grabbed flashlights and walked a couple of blocks from their house down to the river levee. There in the parking lot sat a Pendleton Policeman. What should they do they asked him. He just thought it was unusual enough that he got ahold of dan. As the officer left to talk to dan, jed and lisa kept looking through the dark along the riverbank. Theres a fear of not finding anything. And theres a fear of finding something. When i got to where the policeman was, we were talking, and he said, you seem to be awfully calm for your wife being missing. And at that point i thought, holy mackerel, you know, if theres something if theres something bad that happened to her, i could be a suspect. From his patrol car the officer was able to pull up images from cameras stationed around the river levee. No sign of karen. Then her cell provider sent a ping to karens phone. It turned up across the main road about half a mile from the river. In the parking lot at walmart. Where again, the officer could not find karen. What was going on . Around and around the river walk they went pointing their puny flashlights at a sea of dark. I did go home at about 5 00. I wrote an email saying karens gone. I dont know where she is. I just have to go to bed. And i went and i just cried. He did not sleep long. The phone call that startled him awake brought news. Some good, some very, very bad. Coming up amyjanes murder and karens disappearance. Could they be connected . Investigators are about to discover a disturbing clue. I think in that moment most of us knew that that wasnt coincidence. Fivesecond rule protection. New lysol kitchen pro eliminates 99. 9 of bacteria without any harsh chemical residue. Lysol. What it takes to protect. This clean was like pow everything well . My teeth are glowing. They are so white. Step 1 cleans. Step 2 whitens. 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She was found and alive but what the policeman said next was terrifying. Well, when he said we found your wife and shes alive, that was a great relief. But he certainly made it sound like it was a tough thing. 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 wrist to see if she has a pulse and her leg moves. And she gasps. But it didnt look like shed be alive for long. The detective drove dave lang 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, and it was so heartbroken that i, of course, broke down. And then i had a chance to see karen. The doctors gave her a slim chance, 1 in 100, maybe. She was airlifted to a bigger hospital in portland for specialized care. As dan kept watch at her bedside, he remembered an odd comment karen made a few days before she was attacked. Her boys were in college, nearly grown. She wasnt sure what her purpose was any more. As she told dan i really wish that i could be, you know, more useful, if im going to remain here. On planet earth. On planet earth. I would assure her that god has a plan. And you will be used. But what kind of use was this . If she lived, she might never regain consciousness. If she regained consciousness, she might never be the same. How useful could that be . And then suddenly, the case in the murder of Amy Brandhagen and the attack on karen lang seemed to take on a new and terrifying meaning. Chief roberts returned from his vacation to be handed this photograph by investigators. It had been taken four years earlier. One of the detectives had gotten his hands on an image of Amyjane Brandhagen and karen lang together dated august 14th. Oh, my god. Amyjane brandhagen was murdered on august 14th. Karen lang was assaulted on august the 9th one year after amyjanes murder. You think somebodys targeting them or someone within the church has some strange motivation . It could be a member of the congregation or it could be somebody who they provided Outreach Services to. In pendleton at the Free Methodist church, the word spread quickly. I think in that moment most of us knew that that wasnt coincidence. And i cant tell you how we knew. Well, small town, same church. Small town, same church. We all knew each other. I think we just knew. In a town where murder is rare, two women, one photo, and dates that lined up like a message. Had to be a connection. Certainly crossed my mind. Crossed my mind. So they scoured hours of video recorded by dozens of cameras stationed around town looking for a suspect. Good luck. When amyjane was murdered in broad daylight, those videos turned up exactly nothing. But then, then luck turned. They saw this. Recorded by one of the cameras stationed around the river walk, 6 31 p. M. Karen lang, there she is right there, out for her walk. And following her, a man watching her with what looks like a pipe hidden behind his back right there. They cross a small foot bridge. Theres a short stretch there maybe 50 or 60 yards where theres just no visibility from any direction unless youre actually on the path. And right there is where he attacks her. Is that where she was found . She was found about 30 feet down the path. And then they found this video recorded by another camera about an hour after the attack. Same man enters a park bathroom. And minutes later emerges to use a drinking fountain. I immediately said its the same guy. Weve got to show its the same guy. Wait, same guy as who . Chief roberts remembered after amyjane was murdered the only witness who saw anything reported a young man with dark hair wandering near the motel. Basically the description was fairly generic. Male, 20something, dark hair, a little bit longer, with dark toned skin. Now we have this second crime a year later, almost to the anniversary, and heres a male profile or image on our Network Camera system that fits. It fits. But who was he . And why was he targeting women from the same church . Within hours a very unusual kind of pendleton roundup was underway. The order was clear find him. Fast. Coming up the evidence that was about to send this case into overdrive. It gave me chills. If youve got a life, you gotta swiffer tha. Oh, burnton gravy . Ie. Gotta rinse that. Nope. No way. Nada. Really . Dish issues . Throw it all in. New cascade platinum powers through. Even burnton gravy. Nice. Cascade. New degree ultraclearnt saving black white. Othes. No yellow stains on white clothes. 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When the Free Methodists of pendleton, oregon, went to their Weekly Worship Services that sunday in august, 2013, they offered their prayers for karen lang lying in a portland hospital in a coma. Her husband dan a constant presence at her bedside. The prognose was poor, but dan, optimistic by nature, struggled to hang on. Its just a faithful attitude that says no matter what happens its gods plan. And his plan is to prosper us. Even if i were to lose karen, i had to hold on to that and realize that. In those first two days since karen was found in the brush alongside the pendleton river walk, shock spread like bad electricity. Someone came up to our Senior Pastor and said, you know, i think im glad im not part of your church if all these things that have happened. Yeah. Youre thinking is there a serial killer around . Not fear exactly, not yet. But someone was out there, was among them, had killed once perhaps twice. And so the unease grew. Dark places were avoided. The odds of a stranger picking two people that were as connected difficult to wrap your mind around. Umatilla County District attorney dan primis. This sounds more like a zodiactype killer. Like one of those weird puzzles. Absolutely. As youre working these investigations, youre thinking all those things. Trying to determine what connection is there between karen lang and Amyjane Brandhagen. It seemed very likely to the police and the d. A. The man seen in the Surveillance Video was the one who attacked karen lang, and that he might also have been the killer who stabbed amyjane to death in that motel room one year earlier. But who was it . The chief asked his street cops to look at that video. Anybody recognize him . And what do you know . One of them did. He looked at the image for a second and said thats danny wu. How did he know . Because hed encountered him four times in the previous year. Minor infractions, though. So they never confirmed that his name actually was danny wu. But there was one thing that might help i. D. Him. He had a very distinct tattoo on the inside of his left wrist which read, semper fi. Hes a marine. That was my initial reaction. While chief roberts didnt know who the man really was or where he was now or why he targeted two women who once taught bible School Together, he knew they had to track him down right away. This is a community on edge. And now hes out there. Hes out there. And weve got to find him. There could be more victims. The chief canceled all time off, called in every available officer. A manhunt was on. And then a bit of luck. The very same sharpeyed detective who found karen noticed something odd nearby. A wooden panel on the back of an old batting cage beside the river walk looked not quite right. So the officer reached behind the loose panel and found a pipe that appeared to have blood on one end. The dna confirmed it was karens blood. And then when the crime lab compared a dna sample from the other end of the pipe with the material found under amyjanes fingernails . I get that call on a sunday afternoon. Now weve connected the dots. The man who assaulted karen and Amyjane Brandhagens killer were one in the same. Right away the police chief shared the news with the d. A. I was at home. Chief asked me if i was sitting down. He told me that the dna from the pipe matched the dna found underneath amyjanes fingernails. And it gave me chills. But though chief roberts officers scoured the town, even distributed flyers with wus picture on them, they found nothing. Hours piled up, days, more than a week. No danny wu. But anxiety . Oh, yes. You didnt leave garages unlocked. No. Sheds, doors, windows, cars. Yeah. You do. You feel like theres a serial killer in town. And then a call from the local Convention Center. Two Catering Company employees told the dispatcher theyd gone in through a side door to the kitchen. And here sits this person who they readily recognize as this danny wu that we had disseminated the images of and he was sitting there drinking a coke. And he basically picked up his stuff and disappeared into the facility. So hes in the building somewhere. Its a big building. Its a big building. Within minutes the police surrounded the Convention Center. A search dog trained to bite joined in. They set up a command post outside one of the centers windows. The dogs just woof, woof, woofing at the door. And the oregon state trooper behind us says i can see a leg hanging out of the ceiling. Looking through a window. I take about two steps back from where im standing and i can see it. So i give him the command to enter. They enter, go straight to this location in the stairwell and there he is. Minutes later the suspect, the man known as danny wu, the man who may have murdered one woman, possibly even two and terrorized the town of pendleton walked out in handcuffs and into the flashing cameras of the local paper. Later, officers took this video of his hiding spot in an airconditioning duct in the Convention Center ceiling where he had a blanket, radio and some clothes. It looked like a nest. And looked like hed been there for a while coming and going, hiding in plain sight. Hed been here all year. But now what . Would he talk . Lawyer up . Or even would he reveal who he really was . And why it appeared he was targeting the women of the Free Methodist church. Coming up inside a heart of darkness. I didnt understand that. Ive never heard that before. Revelations that would leave this town and its investigators shattered. I didnt know whether to cry, i didnt know whether to scream. I was just dumbfounded. Here he was, the man they here he was, the man they knew as danny wu, the Man Detective Sergeant Rick jackson had been chasing for a year. Im Sergeant Rick jackson. I work here at the Pendleton Police department. I know im not dressed like a normal police officer. Jackson was out hunting elk when they caught danny wu. And rushed in still in his camo hoping finally to get answers to his year of questions. Are you willing to talk to me . To a certain point. The chief and the d. A. Watched from a nearby office. I didnt expect him to say anything. I expected him to ask for a lawyer. I wasnt sure how he was going to respond to any of the questions. But d. A. Primis and all of them were in for a big surprise. Whats your name . My name is lukah chang. I want to write it down. Whats your last name . Sure enough not danny wu. Lukah chang, 23 years old, the son of christian missionaries. A deserter from the u. S. Marines who drifted into town without any plan and stayed in that Downtown Motel where he encountered a maid named amy jane. Did you talk to her . No. Only in passing like she would knock on the door. Soon he was broke, living on the street, spending his days at the town library across the street from the travelodge. You walked by and saw saw working. I saw her working and just. How long did you have to wait . Probably a half hour. Youre weighting there a half hour, youre thinking to yourself what . Im going to do it. Grabbed her, brought her into the motel room or into the bathroom and then what happened . I stabbed her. With what . A knife. When detective jackson tried to get into this young mans head, the conversation veered off into a cold and disturbing place. As a missionarys son, was lukah chang rebelling against his parents, against god . Detective jackson asked the question on just about every mind in pendleton, oregon. Why . To see how it felt. See how what felt . Taking a life. Why . I was curious. How did it feel . Empowering. Saddening. Empowering and saddening . Yes. At the same time . Yes. Empowering because i took a life. Saddening because i realized ive seen life is precious. That was it . To see how it felt . I didnt understand that. Ive never heard that from a killer before. But why the Second Attack . Did he target those two women because they taught bible School Together . Because they appeared in that photograph together . Not really. It was approaching the anniversary of the first time. And that was just about it, said lukah chang. She was walking by, i noticed, followed, attacked. He was a brick wall. If the real answer was buried in his religious past or his failed military career or some other secret corner, we were not to know. Ever. Do you feel remorse . Not really. Why is that . I got tired of feeling. Emotions and stuff like that. I got tired of feeling the feelings. So im like all right. Lets just cut that out. Then having had his say, the man the police had been chasing for so long was safely tucked away in a jail cell soon to plead guilty to murder and attempted murder. And to begin serving 35 to life. I cant even describe the relief. Its like the world is lifted off your shoulders. I didnt know whether to cry, didnt know whether to scream. You know, i just didnt i was just kind of dumbfounded. Across the state in portland dan lang told his comatose wife karen they caught him. Though, of course, she couldnt hear that. And then in a few days later dan turned on his video camera. And, well, see for yourself. Karen, can you raise your hand again . Yeah, can you raise that hand up . There you go. Yeah. Very good. To the astonishment of her doctors, life flooded back. Im doing very well. I feel great. And just a year after that vicious attack, here she was, karen lang, the woman whose ordeal wound up catching a killer. Not exactly the purpose she expected when she talked to her husband dan that day. Like i told him not that long ago i said dont ever pray for more to do with your life because, boy, do you get answered on that. The recovery took a long time of course. Three hospitals, surgeries to rebuild her skull, months in a protective helmet. But of that awful night, she had no memory at all. What was the sense you recall at least of coming out of this blackness into back up into life again . Well, a lot of it was just a feeling that i didnt know what was wrong. I didnt know why i was in a hospital. I didnt know i was in portland. The langs troubles are not over. A few months after dan brought karen home from portland, he was diagnosed with cancer. So a skeptics question. You know, you two have been through so much in the last year that, i mean has this not damaged your faith . Youre not angry at god for picking on you . No. I mean, if theres a plan for you, its your plan to be so brutalized by an attack and by cancer . Well, the beauty is that we also see the blessings, see how its had such a positive effect on people and how it could be so much worse for me. I see it as we need to go through it. It will be a season of recovery for us. And then september 2014 it was pendleton roundup time again. And the emcees voice boomed through the arena. Miracles happen, said the announcer. No one in pendleton knows that better than our singer today. For our National Anthem please welcome miss karen lang. O say can you see by the dawns early light i looked at it as an opportunity to really just thank the people of pendleton for all the support and things that they did for me and for my family. Home of the brave in pendleton the world was back on its axis. Though perhaps a smaller and sadder place without the girl who always reached out to the lonely, to the strangers just like the one who drifted into town and killed her. Pretty remarkable, huh . I mean, isnt he exactly the sort of person she would have sought out . I find that very ironic. And its also the same person that if she were here today she would say take the way of forgiveness, its the better way. Lets pray. And every sunday the faithful still fill the pews at the pendleton Free Methodist church. And a barefoot sprite who loved to dance lives on, at least in memory. Amys life was great. And i think the people who knew her would want to live better lives because of knowing her and knowing who she was. Thats all for now. Im lester holt. Thanks for joining us. And represent the whole of the american people. And george on our minds, why tuesdays special Congressional Election is the biggest test yet for the trumps presidency. Joining me is david brooks, amy walter, and danielle pletka. Welcome to sunday, its meet the press. The longest running show in television his celebrating its 70th year. Good sunday more and happy fathers day to all of the dads out there. We want to update you on the progress of one father in particular, congressman Steve Scalise who was shot at the republican baseball practice on wednesday, his condition has improved from critical to serious. The hospital says he is more responsive and peaking with his loved ones. Now, back to our main focus this morning, President Trump has been in office for a few months and now they are under fgs for obstruction of justice. She was seemingly acknowledging that it was true, he said i am being investigating for firing the fbi director, that was not an acknowledgment that he was being investigated. Another strange twitter turn. They are preparing for historical implications