i thought pegye would be right there. she wasn t. the boat was just going in circles, and i couldn t see her. i could just see that pegye wasn t standing there on the wheel. and the boat kept going farther and farther away. and i couldn t see any other boat. i was screaming and looking around. it was my fault. if only i could see her right now. and so pegye bechler was simply gone. maybe even within sight of the same beach that had spawned her marriage. eric seemed devastated fearing his wife and business partner was dead, but eric s mother, linda, saw things quite differently. i was sure that they would find her, that it would all turn out well. not just because pegye was a strong swimmer. everyone knew that. linda knew more. a secret about her daughter-in-law. and you thought, what? pegye faked her death?
their way out and said there was a pretty good swell in the ocean. was it as high as the side of the boat? probably. it was, you know, big enough to notice. reporter: eric said they stopped out here on the water to enjoy some margaritas pegye had made. and then later in the day they decided to try the body board again, this time on their way back to the harbor. pegye was driving. eric was being pulled on the board. well, i mean there s a wave and all of a sudden it got real big, and of a sudden it just jerked out of my hand. oh, ok. you know, i just couldn t hold on. so i came up. i thought pegye would be right there. she wasn t. the boat was just going in circles, and i couldn t see her. i could just see that pegye wasn t standing there on the wheel. and the boat kept going farther and farther away. and i couldn t see any other boat. i was screaming and looking around. it was my fault. if only i could see her right
what did you take with you on the boat? we had a couple bags and a cooler. we wanted to see catalina, but it was so hazy. i told pegye that it was, you know, it was too hazy, we shouldn t go too far out. reporter: eric told the coast guard he tried to body board on their way out and said there was a pretty good swell in the ocean. was it as high as the side of the boat? probably. it was, you know, big enough to notice. reporter: eric said they stopped out here on the water to enjoy some margaritas pegye had made. and then later in the day they decided to try the body board again, this time on their way back to the harbor. pegye was driving. eric was being pulled on the board. well, i mean there s a wave and all of a sudden it got real big, and of a sudden it just jerked out of my hand. oh, ok. you know, i just couldn t hold on. so i came up. i thought pegye would be right there. she wasn t. the boat was just going in circles, and i couldn t see her. i could just