Page 39 - Kenia News Today

>> reporter: but then it all came out. travis told them how he spotted kenia on the street. how he raped her, how he strangled her, how he stuffed her in his cooler, drove around with the body in his white van for a whole day, then stored it in the bakerys freezer while he cleaned out his van with bleach and burned her clothes. and then early the next morning he buried her body near a clump of cottonwood trees. >> after we were done with our interview i walked up to him and stuck out my hand. i ...

We didnt know what to do first, so we just tried to figure out what do we got to do. >> reporter: then one terrifying day later, the mysterious travis finally returned tonys call. and travis had some rather stunning news about kenias whereabouts and just who she might be with. coming up, tony on a mission that would leave his wife paralyzed with fear. >> i grabbed a .9-millimeter pistol, i packed it in my waist, and i told her, im on my way to meet this guy.

>> what was that like? >> that was the hardest thing ive ever done. then i -- >> she had been hanging on to hope. >> she had been hanging on to that hope. >> you had to finally -- >> i had to snatch that rug out from under her. and she lost it. and there was nothing i could do for her because i had already lost it myself. >> reporter: then tony had to tell his children. kenias little sister and brother. >> and the first question out of both of their mouths at the different times, is she alive? a...

Schools, was now considering careers in tv production or criminology. here she is directing a student film. all the more remarkable because just seven years earlier, kenia didnt know more than a word or two of english. and not a single person in denver. apart, that is, from her mother, maria, who had migrated from honduras a few years before. and when she and kenia were finally reunited -- >> it was a happy day in my life when i got to hold her. oh, my god. i was so happy. and we went home and i...

>> you just have to be strong and just pray for the best. >> reporter: and now family and friends were not alone in the search for kenia. a veteran denver police detective named nash gurule started looking too. to say detective gurule is imposing is perhaps an understatement. looks more like a character from "the sopranos." but hates when children go missing. >> i wanted to find her. i wanted to give her family closure. i wanted to give the city of denver closure. i was determined to bring her h...

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 driving down the street and i seen a skinny l...

>> reporter: and because maria called 911, the denver police were at the gas station, too. so the cops, not tony, did most of the talking with travis. >> he told them that same story that he told me on the phone, and it was very consistent. the story that he told them matched exactly. i told the officers, i said man, everything hes told me just dont sound right. it just dont sound right. >> reporter: it didnt sound right to the cops either. but they had nothing to hold travis on. hed been cooper...

The first time. the first words that she said to me were "thank you, daddy." ill never forget that. and she hugged me. >> reporter: so connecting with the family took no time at all. >> i always thought about the song from the brady family, how we all came together and became a -- became a family. it was pretty much that was kind of how it worked out. and it clicked from day one. >> and theres all the girls there, all the wonderful women in my life. >> thank you, daddy. >> reporter: and for keni...

No tips, no clues, and no kenia. >> we were just trying to be strong because we dont want to think negative or anything. we had a lot of thoughts. i dont know. maybe we should have done that. >> done what? >> going out to -- you know, we were just 19. we were not 21. >> yeah. and you should have looked after her. >> yeah. she wasnt with me. because i know if she would have been with me she would have been safe. >> reporter: even her sister kim, with whom kenia texted constantly, hadnt heard a wo...

With another man but was travis telling the truth or was he the last person to see kenia alive? again is keith morrison. ♪ kenia monge was at a downtown denver nightclub with her friends one week ago. >> reporter: kenia monges disappearance was big news in denver. >> she was last seen wearing a black skirt, black jacket, and red high-heeled shoes. >> reporter: kenias family was frantic, desperately hoping she was still alive. >> i couldnt sleep. id pray. id get on my knees every day, god, pl...