>> what if you were ripped away from your family? >> when you live in fear, it changes you. >> kidnapped by a killer? >> i came out of that just really messed up. >> held for years as a prisoner, and what if prosecutors never believed you? >> bobbi parker was not the woman she was portraying herself. >> absolutely. >> it was a mystery with a mind-boggling twist. this wife and mom taken hostage, was she really a hostage at all? >> their relationship was not one of kidnapper and victim, it was one of husband and wife. >> his prisoner, or his lover? >> i really do love you. sounds like a pretty heartfelt love letter. >> in this hour, she shares her side of the story. will you believe her? >> i was fighting for my life. >> hello, and welcome to you "dateline". i'm craig melvin. bobbi parker was a prison officials wife, a teacher, leading a quiet life with her beautiful family in granite, oklahoma. until the day she went missing. for more than ten years, her family waited and hoped. and then, bobbi was rescued. she said she had been kidnapped, taken hostage by a dangerous inmate and forced to live on the land. but her story left investigators wondering, was bobbi parker a woman held captive, or was she a woman in love? >> on april 4th, 2005, a texas county sheriff near the louisiana border heard there might be a fugitive in his area. >> i received a telephone call from a local texas ranger. >> the call lead sheriff newton johnson and his deputies 65 miles from the nearest big city to a rundown mobile home on a chicken farm, the home of a couple calling insoles richard and samantha deahl. >> if you wanted to hide, would this be a good place to do it? >> well, if a person keeps a low profile, a person could stay out of circulation for a while, yes. >> the deahls have been here for five years, until the law descended on their home. >> why did he say? >> i knew you were coming, i just did not know when. >> agents found mrs. deahl working on another farm just down the road. >> what shape was she in? >> she seemed to be fine. >> the man and woman were placed in handcuffs, a routine arrest. but it turns out the rest of the story was anything but. that is because richard and samantha deahl were not husband and wife at all, but instead, the oddest of odd couples. his real name was randolph dial, an escaped convict and self confessed hitman, who claimed to have mob connections and also happened to be a talented artist and a relentless schemer. >> the whole idea, after you get to prison is one way or another do your best to get out. >> and the woman? her real name was bobbi parker, a school teacher, the wife of a deputy warden from the prison where dial had escaped more than ten years earlier. bobbi's friend, brenda hickerson. >> she was just an amazing present. she had life with her family, she volunteered everywhere, at school. >> what brought these two together and kept them together for more than a decade was a sensational mystery back in 2005. >> now, the bizarre twist in an 11 year old story. >> an escaped prisoner randolph dial was recaptured. >> a woman missing for more than a decade suddenly discovered alive and well. >> everyone was talking. was it a prison break and kidnapping? was bobbi parker a hostage? >> there was no doubt in my mind she had been kidnapped by this man. >> or was bobbi dial's partner in crime and maybe much more than that? >> she says yes, i am fine. i am happy. >> nothing made sense. nothing. >> if you had to pick a woman to star in a sensational true crime story, you probably would not pick bobbi parker. >> i grew up on a farm in north central kansas. i had a good childhood. for me, it was a very normal upbringing. >> bobbi went to college just over the border in oklahoma, that's where she caught the eye of randy parker. >> the way she talked, the way she laughed. there was something special about her. >> he had a balance in his life. he was good for me. he gave me confidence. >> they married in 1982 and within four years, had two little girls. bobbi was a teacher, and randy worked in corrections. at one point, they both worked at the same prison, randy in administration, and bobbi teaching inmates with special needs. >> we walked in together, at the end of the day, we walked out together. >> bobbi was named teacher of the year, and randy moved up the ranks quickly. in 1992, he was named deputy warden at the oklahoma state reformatory, in a tiny town called granite. bobbi and randy lived right on prison grounds, just outside the wall. >> what was life like in granite? >> it slowed down for me and my family, but it was good. >> if there was not much happening in granite, inside the prison, it was the opposite. there was a new warden, determined to shake things up. his name? jack cowley. >> i did not sit behind my desk a lot, i was in the yard with the guys. i let inmates call me jack. >> and one inmate that got cowley's attention? randolph dial. >> he was an unforgettable character. intelligent, manipulative, a quick study, meaning i was not going to have any trouble with him. so, we hit it off. >> dial was one of the most illustrious and infamous inmates in oklahoma back then, a murderer who confessed to killing a karate instructor for money. >> he told me to get off his property and i pulled my piece out and fired once. >> yet dial was also an accomplished artist. one of his pieces was featured on the set of the old tv series, "dallas." >> he had all of these plans, wanting to do something with his art. i wanted to promote the institution and inmates. >> the warden decided to start an art program where inmates would make pottery to sell. dial would run it from the parker's garage. >> now in order to do this, he was going to have to be allowed? >> outside the wall. >> and in order to do that, he had to have his security clearance lowered to minimum security status. >> right. >> what did you know about him? >> i knew that he was a murderer. he made that clear to everybody. >> he was said to be very charming, charismatic. >> i am not sure who put that out. >> you did not find him charming or charismatic? >> no. >> with time on her hands, bobbi offered to help sell the inmate's pottery. and dial was eager to teach her the art of making ceramics. >> he started in the garage. i told him i would prefer it out front. >> why did you not want to learn it in the garage? >> i was not comfortable. >> with him? >> yes. it is never good to be one on one with an inmate, it never is. >> nevertheless, she once drove dial into town by herself to meet shopkeepers, a trip she says it was okay by warden cowley. >> did it strike you as off that you are given permission to take a murderer off of prison grounds? >> yes. >> not long after that, one hot august morning, bobbi parker's life turned upside down. >> i just remember being woozy, not feeling good, thinking i would be sick. and then it was shortly later then, dial was in front of me. >> dial, the convicted murderer, was in her home. >> i remember thinking, what are you doing in here? but then, it happened so quickly. he was there, pulled me up, and my legs went out from under me. >> the next thing bobbi says she remembers, is waking up and, well, it does not make a lot of sense. she was somehow driving somewhere in texas. she says dial was crouched on the floor, pointing a knife at her. >> i had blood on my arm, blood on my leg. >> by that evening, bobbi's husband randy and the whole prison began to realize bobbi was missing, along with convicted killer, randolph dial. >> what did you imagine had happened? >> everything from her being kidnapped to her being killed. everything that was bad. >> had bobbi parker been kidnapped? she takes us inside her decades long drama. >> coming up. >> it messes with you, mentally. >> when "dateline" continues. sometimes, the lows of bipolar depression feel darkest before dawn. with caplyta, there's a chance to let in the lyte™. caplyta is proven to deliver significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. caplyta can help you let in the lyte™. ask your doctor about caplyta find savings and support at caplyta.com. hi, i'm sally and i lost 52 pounds with golo in a year and a half. i struggled with my weight for a long time due to my thyroid issues but since being on the golo plan and taking release, the weight has not come back. >> nothing made sense in the (upbeat music) nothing made sense in the environment that i lived in in the world i lived in. environment that i lived in, in the world i lived in. it was insanity. >> on august 30th, 1994, bobbi parker, wife of the deputy warden at a prison in oklahoma, says she somehow found herself in texas with a convicted killer. randolph dial, serving a life sentence, had broken out of prison and escaped in the parker van. he took bobbi with him. she says she's not sure how it happened, that he may have drugged her, and he had a knife. >> i just remember at some point there was blood on me, blood on my arm, blood on my leg. and dial wanted to get those covered. he took me to a store, bought a few items, and i was able to make a phone call. >> later, some had found it odd bobbi called her mother, not her husband at the prison. she says she was happy to be calling anyone. >> making a phone call, to me, was a good thing. because i was hoping we could be traced. >> back in granite, bobby's husband randy was coming to terms with the fact that his wife was missing, and so was a convicted murderer. >> it's just mind numbing. just get through the day, make sure the girls are doing okay. >> the parker girls were eight and 11. >> i just told them the truth. she's missing. she's gone. they were devastated. >> the community was devastated. yellow ribbons, prayer vigils, and a huge manhunt ensued. dial was on the fbi's most wanted list. meanwhile, bobby says she was in a texas motel at the mercy of randolph dial. >> he bound my wrist. he bound my ankles. and he beat me with his belt. it was a very severe beating, very severe. what i remember him saying is, this is nothing compared to what the people i know can and will do to you. >> what did he say he would do if you tried to get away? >> he would either find me or my family, and he would harm them, kill them. >> by this time, they had ditched her van. she says dial, who claimed to have mob connections, managed to get a hold of some cash and a gun. >> he put it to my head and he said, this is what happens if you don't cooperate. and i just nodded. i wanted to get home. >> instead, they boarded a bus for houston, where she says dial locked her in an abandoned apartment, tied her up, and forced alcohol and drugs on her. >> he has complete control over everything, everything. >> he's feeding in? >> yes. >> bathing you? >> yes. >> cleaning me. >> having his way with you, sexually, when he wants? >> by instrumentation, yes. >> meaning? >> by objects, rape by instrumentation. it is a violent act. it degrades you. it embarrasses you, humiliates you. it messes with you mentally. >> days passed, then weeks, then months. >> time just ran together. i didn't know always what day of the week it was. it didn't matter. >> eight months after bobbi's disappearance, in april 1995, the federal building in oklahoma city was bombed. the fbi focused its resources on that case. the hunt for randolph dial and bobbi parker, long since cold, was quietly back burnered. >> every time i would hear of a body been found, i would hold my breath and wait. but i just wouldn't accept she was dead. >> by now, bobbi and dial were working on a small farm in east texas. dial, calling himself richard deahl, and introducing bobby as his wife, samantha. >> to survive, i became samantha. >> and who was samantha deahl? >> she was lonely, hurt and trying to make it day-to-day, minute to minute. >> when you would approach another human being, did you want to just shout out, i'm being held against my will, get me out of here? >> actually, i became fearful if i did something that was not approved, the revenge of dial was great. >> dial seemed ever more confident. in 1997, after three years on the lam, he started a pottery company called terracotta gardens. >> dial advertised it on the radio, did an interview on the radio. >> unbelievably, the attention led to an invitation for the fugitive killer to speak at a woman's luncheon at a local country club. >> womankind are very near and dear to my heart. >> where were you while he was out front entertaining the ladies who lunch? >> i was back at the trailer tied up. >> from there, dial and bobbi went to work on an industrial chicken farm owned by debra grace. she never doubted they were married. but she could see dial was abusive. >> he's like, i can beat her. she's my wife, i can beat her. and i said, no, not on my farm you're not. i try to talk going to come into the house she wouldn't go. she said no, no, no. he wouldn't like it. >> in 2000, bobbi and dial moved again, to another bigger chicken farm. bobbi's daughters were teenagers now. she did missed five anniversaries with randy. >> there were times that the loneliness was so great that my body would physically eight. >> and she says dial never ceased his campaign of terror, killing two of her dogs to punish her, one right before her eyes. >> he shot the dog. then he blamed me for it. it may have been only just a dog, but me, it was family. >> only wants, says bobbi, did she openly defy him. dial, artists turned killer turned fugitive, had already been the subject of a true crime book. and one night, he decided to phone the author, an ex-cop named charles sasser. >> he says for the last seven years we've been making it honest living. living a happy country life. >> sasser figured, included bobbi parker. but he wanted proof she was still alive. >> he said of course she's still alive, do you want to talk to her? >> i was in bed sleeping and he told me he was going to put me on the phone. and i said, i'm tired. i'm really tired. and he reached back here for his gun and i just put my hand up and said, and he told me just stick to the questions that he asked you. >> but even with dial right next to her, bobbi says she dared to go off script. after all, sasser was a former detective. this might be her chance. >> i said, have you seen my children? i knew i would probably be beat for it. but sometimes it's worth it. i thought he would say, would you like me to make a phone call to them? and he didn't. >> still, she says, the conversation filled her with hope. >> i thought the fbi will be here. surely, charles sasser will call them and they'll be here. >> sasser did call the fbi, but he didn't know where bobbi and dial were. no one came. bobbi says she was broken, resigned to her fate. and the years dragged on until one day in spring 2005 when her life took another wild turn. >> coming up -- a rescue is in the works. or, was it a rescue at all? 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we sure are. ♪ ♪ ♪ mr. dial had had a violent past. are we in in an ad? >> mr. dial had had a violent past. the best opportunities of success is to get hard and fast. >> it was april 4th, 2005. bobbi parker and randolph dial had been missing for ten years, seven months, and five days. bobbi was just finishing up work at a chicken farm near her home. she had no idea the place was surrounded by cops. >> i was greeted with three law enforcement officers in assault gear. >> what's the first thing you told them? >> my name. i actually said my name for the first time in so long. it was a good feeling, but it was the oddest feeling, because i had not used bobbi parker for so long. >> an anonymous tipster had called authorities after seeing the long cold case on "america's most wanted". and just like that, bobbi parker was free. >> it was a wonderful feeling. it was, this is over. this is over. >> randy parker, still working for the oklahoma department of corrections, was home that night when he got a frantic call from his boss. >> as soon as i pick up the phone, and i said i'm coming to get you. he said bob he's been found. so all i can think about was getting to texas as soon as we could. >> randy anxiously drove six hours through the dark to east texas, while bobbi spent a tearful night in a hotel with then deputy sheriff donna clayton. >> it was just a mixture of so many different emotions, the fear, the anticipation. but yet, being afraid to get excited about seeing her husband and family, because what if they didn't want her anymore? >> and finally, the moment arrived. after more than a decade, husband and wife were reunited in a hotel lobby. >> i just walked up to her, put my arms around her, told her she was going to be okay now. >> it was very natural to see him, to talk to him, to hug him. >> did you see any doubt in his eyes? >> none. none. >> you took her back, no questions asked? >> there was no taking her back. it was to go get her and bring her back home where she belonged. >> taking her back? you don't like those words? >> not for me. no, i don't like those words. >> why not, tell me? >> because it sounds like i'm doing her a favor. when the fact is, she's my wife. she's been missing. she's been found, finally. and i'm going to go get her and bring her home. >> the following day, bobbi and randy returned to oklahoma. she saw her daughters, little girls when she last seen them. now, young women almost 19 and 22. randy says they lowered the shades to keep the world out to try to heal. >> did you ask her anything about what she had been through? >> no. i told her that we would start today and move forward. >> but he could see could see that bobbi was different. >> she would say, i'm going to get a coke, can i have one? she says, i'm going to the bathroom, is that ok? >> she was still acting like a prisoner? >> yes, she was. >> it certainly seemed like a triumph of survival and love, except for something the sheriff remembered. >> the only thing that i heard her say to mr. dial was, i'm not cooperating. i'm not cooperating. >> not cooperating with the authorities? why would bobbi say that after being kidnappe