Page 36 - Kenia News Today

Asked, where was she? >> then there was a dead area. and the next text that came in was about 7:00 p.m. that night. >> reporter: but this one? this one jumped off the screen and was just plain weird. >> the message said, hey, this is travis, the guy with the creepy white bear and smiley face. did you get home okay? >> reporter: travis? who was travis? nobody in kenias circle of friends had heard of anybody named travis. >> i kept calling that number but they didnt answer. >> reporter: at this po...

Give it to her. it was kenias ring. give it to her. >> it was kenias favorite ring. >> i gave it to her and she was so happy. she said thank you, and she was holding me. and that moment i was holding her, its like i was holding kenia. >> we are related in tragedy. weve got a connection with each other unfortunately for the rest of our lives, and -- because of travis. >> reporter: tony and his family built a memorial here on the high plains where kenia was found. and while she continues to live t...

Me were, thank you, daddy. ill never forget that as she hugged me. >> reporter: so connecting with the family took no time at all. >> i always thought about a song from "the brady bunch," how we all came together and became a family. it was pretty much that was kind of how it worked out. it clicked from day one. >> and theres all the girls, all the wonderful women in my life. >> thank you, daddy! >> reporter: and for kenias little sister, kimberly, it felt like the best thing that ever happened....

Indifferent, that i didnt think anything. i didnt think anything. i didnt think she would -- she was going to disappear. >> when the reporter asked him -- >> did you murder her? >> i did not, no. >> he says, no. >> reporter: then as the interview was wrapping up, travis seemed to remember every little detail of that night. had trouble recalling one small but rather critical fact. >> whats her name? >> kemia. >> kenia, yeah. >> we were all watching and we lost it. that was the only name in town a...

Happened to travis forbes that weekend. he apparently had second thoughts about his own second thoughts. >> and when i got back on monday, i got a call and they said the deals back on, its being finalized, we should be able to be going next week. >> sometimes taking a weekend away is quite profitable. >> yes. the weight of the world just got lifted from me. >> the deal with travis was quite straightforward. no death penalty, no sex crime charges. and in exchange he would give them a complete con...

She was very adamant that he didnt do anything wrong. >> why did that happen? >> i would talk to her sometimes daily and she was his biggest supporter. >> she wouldnt believe that he was a dangerous guy. >> absolutely not. not the travis forbes she knows. there is no way that he did anything to kenia. >> but here was the problem. without the stolen car charge there was no way to keep travis in jail. they had to let him go. deputy d.a. kerry lombardi was -- >> nervous. i mean, i was really worrie...

It was kenia. i hate to say that. but im glad she was able to escape the monster. >> yeah. >> it was overwhelming, you know, to see the amount of her strength and her will to live. you know, and what she did during her court proceedings on the day that he was sentenced for what he did to her. >> reporter: what she did that day was simply amazing. hard to believe. sitting just feet away from the man who raped her, smashed her face and body, doused her with bleach, set her on fire, lydia tillman s...

And i was shocked. we were shocked. >> yeah. >> reporter: but they still didnt know what happened to kenia. quickly, the lee family called a news conference and delivered a message to travis forbes. >> anybodys going to relay any messages to him, tell him, or if you guys talk to him, tell him weve got just one question. where is kenia? thats it. >> reporter: but travis wasnt talking anymore. so lee offered a radical idea. >> i called assistant d.a. lombardi, and i said make a deal. >> you wanted...

Town an hour east of denver. >> he used his credit card. and i had his bank records. so i saw that he swiped it at this gas station so we went up there and got the surveillance tape, and thats him trying to get gas. >> this was not traviss first trip to keenesburg. remember he was tracked here soon after kenia disappeared. so what was he doing here? had he brought kenia out here? was there a body hidden somewhere on the high plains? detectives scoured the fields again and found nothing. and then...

>> i was devastated. i was devastated. i hung up the phone. my wife looked at me. and she says, you okay? and i looked at her, and im crying. i said, theres nothing more i could do. i got him there. i led him there. i led him to the trough. >> reporter: gurule and his wife went on their trip anyway, and for three long days he was left twisting in the wind once again by travis forbes. kenias family knew nothing of this, still holding out hope that she was somehow alive. >> every time i was drivin...