place. it's so isolated. somebody got lost out there. a marines wife and gone missing. i never expected to be a huge piece of a murder case. >> my heart just sunk. something had happened. >> we don't know if she was stranded in the desert, where should been held somewhere, can we find her before she meets a horrible end?■ç i was a little suspicious that he waited to report her as missing. >> they treated me as a suspect. >> they were laughing and carrying on. >> there was something big going on there. >> i had no idea what we were getting into. >> one wrong turn can be your last. >> this really can't be happening. >> we did not realize there would be a predator. with a little love, trust, and respect, these majestic creatures can emerge >> this if you are >> this if you are feeling down, it's time to saddle up. with trust and respect, these majestic creatures can emerge his loyal and majestic companions. for both horse and rider there's nothing like it. >> she transformed into these awesome horse handler and she knew what she was talkig) about. >> if only romantic relationships were that simple. this is the story of a young woman, so gentle, so vulnerable. she may have understood what makes horses tics, but humans, a different beast indeed. >> this does not happen to people we know. it just does not. >> it was crushing. i cried. i still cry when i think about it. >> oak ridge tennessee, nestled a long the beautiful clinch river is an unassuming place with a big story. they call it the secret city for its part in the manhattan project which produced the first atomic bomb. oak ridge still prides itself on being a community that values science and education and it's a good plaae@■to raise a family. this is where erin heavilin corwin grew up. >> when erin was three weeks old she joined our family as a hospital -- foster child. she was a tiny little thing. i think she was 5 pounds. we thought she was the sweetest little thing. our oldest girl was 16 and they carried her around. they loved her. lore and her husband officially adopted their little doll when she was three. with the horses she cared for at the east tennessee riding club , that was a different story. >> when i think of erin with horses, i ■çthink of her as bigger. she is very confident, she knows exactly what she wants and what she's going to do. >> erin's friend, abby. >> but, with people, she was much weaker, much quieter, calmer. >> courses would always be erin's first love, but as she entered her teen years, certain young man caught her eye. her name was jon corwin. >> what is it about you that could break through to erin because her mom says how shy she was and she was better with horses than people so what was it about you? >> i guess it's my charming personality. i have no idea. it still surprises me today. i was always able to talk to her, figure out■ç what she was feeling. >> erin's parents had strict rules about when she could start dating. >> we were those parents. we were the main parents. >> jon was sure to get their blessing first. >> i ended up driving over to her parents house and asking if i could date her daughter. >> that's very chivalrous of you to go to her parents. >> that's the way i was raised, always get the parents permission before anything. >> after graduating from high school, jon joined the marines. he asked erin to marry him when she was just 18 years old with an unusual proposal. there was no champagne , but there was a cup of sprite. >> client my hands were clammy and everything, nervous as heck so i grabbed the sprite and put the ring on top of it and ask her to marry me. >> so, the ring was around the straw. did she see it ■çright away? >> no. she drank. >> what was her reaction when she finally looked down? >> she was crying tears of joy, ecstatic and screaming yes, i would love to. >> erin's mom had heard that being a military wife comes a sacrifice. >> and marine corps wife myself and i know that it can be a very lonely life for people, but it is not easy. did you try to warn her? >> no, yes. >> did she listen? >> i know, mom. i know, mom. and of course, when i was 18, i knew also. you probably couldn't tell me a whole lot. >> the couple decided to eloped to las vegas and tie the knot after an annual formal celebration known as the marine corps ball. >> my husband had a lot of fun■ at a ring ball but we never decided to get married. why did you decide to get married there? >> because we were young, it was vegas. it was a spur of the moment type deal and that is how we live. >> jon was assigned to the twentynine palms marine base out in the california desert. in december 2013, erin packed up to join him. her mom saw her off at the airport. >> she's very directionally challenged, and she had two layovers and i'm like, when you get off that plane, you ask somebody where you need to go and you let me know as soon as you get there. >> what emotions were you feeling, letting your baby go to start her new life? >> it was scary for me, you know. i know that it was going to be harder than she ever dreamt. >> like any parent,■ç lore worried about her daughter finding her place in this new life. >> she is very shy and i did have concerns about her making friends. we felt like base housing would be safer for her because her husband was out in the field so often. >> it was not long before jon and erin learned they were expecting a baby. >> she was very excited. i was excited for her. >> sadly, her excitement was short-lived. in early 2014, she suffered a miscarriage. was it hard for both of you to hear that news? >> it was very hard. i was actually in the middle of a training exercise out in the field and i received the message over the radio. my co called me down to his vehicle and said that your wife just had a miscarriage and she's in the hospital, so it was kind of shocking and that night, i got drove back to the hospital and met up with her and she was in tears. >> after ■çshe lost the baby, part of me wanted to go out there and be with her, but i felt like they would do a better job of getting through their grief if ;(#to worry aboue mother, erin vowed to try again. around four months later in june of that same year during a visit to the hospital for nausea, the couple got good news. erin was pregnant again. here you are again. how did it feel this time? >> we were happy but we were also fearfulntam, afraid that was going to happen again. >> were you cautiously optimistic? >> yes. >> she decided to wait to surprise her mom with the news. lore already had a trip planned to visit the following month. >> we had plans of going for walks. we were going to go to san diego to go to seaworld and san diego zoo, but mostly just spend time together. h wdyng . >> you both must've been really wanting, needing this trip. >> absolutely. >> in anticipation of her mother's visit, erin told her husband she was going to scout out some good hiking locations at nearby joshua tree national park. >> she had woken up, got dressed and give me a kiss goodbye and said hey, heading 'v t ng out for the day. said i love you and i said i love you, too and rolled back over and went to sleep. >> a routine goodbye, or so it seemed until erin corwin vanished without a trace. coming up, what had happened to erin? >> i called her throughout the night. >> how many times would you say tried to call or text her? >> at least 50 times. i was so stressed and missing. >> he said erin is missing. u yesterday morning and i haven't seen her since. >> jon was concerned but withdrawn. when you have a spouse that's not extremely frantic, you've got to question why are they super upset . we had a lot of questions for jon. sewha lot of questions for jon. long lasting eylea hd could significantly improve your vision and can help you go up to 4 months between treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness, or allergies to eylea hd, don't use. eye injections like eyla hd may cause eye infection, separation of the retina, or rare but severe swelling of blood vessels in the eye. an increase in eye pressure has been seen. there's an uncommon risk of heart attack or stroke associated with blood clots. the most common side effects were blurred vision, cataract, corneal injury, and eye floaters. and there's still so much to see. if you are on eylea or a similar type of treatment, ask your retina specialist about eylea hd today, for the potential for fewer injections. billy: one second, grandma. this guy is going to buy my car. okay? 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shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. only shingrix is proven over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. but shingrix protects. erin corwin couldn't wait. her mom would soon be making her first trip to see erin and her husband jon at their new home in twentynine palms, california, at the marine base 19-year-old erin corwin 19-year-old erin corwin can wait. her mom would soon be making her first trip to see th erin a her husband, jon, at their new home in twentynine palms, california at the marine base in the middle of the mojave desert. around 7:00 in the morning, erin said goodbye to jon and told him she was coming here to joshua tree national park to scout out hiking trails for her mother's upcoming visit. jon expected her home that afternoon but she didn't show. he tried her phone. no answer. >> did you keep calling? ■ç >> called her throughout the night at least 50 times. i was stressed and worried. >> hours passed and by the next morning, jon was frantic. >> jon calls and he said erin is missing. he said she left yesterday morning and i haven't seen her since. my first question was, how much water did she have with her? >> your thinking this is like maybe a hiking situation? >> this is the child that has no sense of direction so i'm assuming she's lost. >> jon reported his wife's disappearance to the local police station. san bernardino county sheriff's department was soon notified . >> obviously we were concerned, can we find her before something horrible -- before she meets a horrible end. you don't know if she's been held somewhere, if she is stranded in the desert still. >> lore's phone rang again. this time it ■çwas a deputy. >> one of his first questions first you think she's driving home and you think she's just left? and i about laughed because i know how much she hates to drive, has no sense of direction, and is absolutely no way she would give up a trip to seaworld and the zoo. >> back at twentynine palms, jon rounded up some of his marine buddies and headed into the national park. it is a vast expanse of nearly 800,000 acres of rugged rock formations, twisted joshua trees and the desolate, open desert. summer temperatures climb well past 100 degrees. >> we literally drove round joshua tree national park all day trying to find any signs, any closer where she ■1% been. >> do you see any signs of her? her car, piece of clothing, anything? >> nothing. >> there is a certain protocol detectives follow when investigating a missing person. start small and close to home. that inner circle of friends and family, the ones who know the person best, so when jon corwin reported that his wife had disappeared, it was natural they would look at him. >> at the beginning of the investigation you start closest to the source of the missing person so we had a lot of questions for jon. >> investigators learned that one's childhood sweethearts erin and jon settled in twentynine palms, things were far from perfect. >> the relationship was not intertwined. we knew it was a relationship that was■ç rapidly starting to dwindle. >> there was her miscarriage in early 2014. jon says it was heartbreaking and erin had trouble coping. >> she became very enclosed and depressed and would stay at home . i'm definitely not the one who speaks out on his emotions. i've kept it bottled up my entire life when she felt like i didn't care and i did. it actually hurt me a whole lot. it really took a toll on our relationship. >> erin's mom knew that the young married couple also had money problems. >> we gave each of our kids a certain amount of money when they got married and they kept just buying things when all of a sudden i think that huge chunk of money was not there.■ç >> you struggled with finances? >> absolutely. we had food on the table. we just didn't have money for extracurriculars. >> was it hard on erin? i know she had an issue with her credit card. >> yes, we ended up racking up debt. >> times were lean. >> yes, very lean. >> they were grown up problems for a couple barely out of high school. erin shared her worries with her friend, abby. >> it's just hard to transition from being on your own to being married and i think that is what jon was teaching her and she didn't like it. >> detective newport and his colleague, jonathan woods, wondered about jonathan's behavior when his wife did not return home. why did he wait a whole day to call police? >> it was a little suspicious that he waited till the next day to report her is missing.■ >> you see these common things on television now, you can't report a missing person until 24 hours after they've been missing and i truly believe them. >> makes sense, maybe, but detectives noticed something. >> jon was kind of withdrawn. he was concerned but he was withdrawn and at times, we wondered, is it his military background? when you have a spouse who is not extremely frantic , you've got to question why aren't they super excited, why are they super upset? >> jon had gone into the park to search for his wife , the sign of a concerned husband or something else?■ç >> obviously, as an investigator you have to wonder is this person trying to put themselves there? is this person trying to give us a reason why they would be there for the person was last seen or contacted? >> you are seriously looking at him. >> yes. >> i did think maybe jon and i think that's normal. it doesn't make it right but i think that is normal human response to think the spouse. >> but really, they might've been getting ahead of themselves. erin was missing and could well have run off on her own. there was no reason to believe any harm had come to her, much less that jon was responsible. there were other people to talk to, and a new place to explore , a sanctuary for erin wright here in the desert, one that would prove to be full of clues and secrets. >> coming up■ç -- >> they were laughing and carrying on. >> anything flirtatious? >> giggly. i hadn't seen her act like that. i wasn't used to it so it stuck out. >> erin, the shy young wife. exactly what kind of secret was she keeping? >> any time you have a spouse who is missing and you hear that there might be some infidelity there, just human nature not just as an investigator , but as a human being to question whether that person might be involved. - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. when we're young, we're told anything is possible... ...but only a few of us go out and prove it. witness the greatness of anna hall on a connection worthy of gold: xfinity mobile. only xfinity gives you the most powerful mobile wifi network, with speeds up to a gig in millions of locations. and right now, xfinity internet customers can buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity. after a trip to joshua tree national park, detectives started out by questioning her husband, jon. then they widened the circle, trying to learn as much as they could about her life at the marine base here in twentynine palms. they discovered that erin had been lonely when she first moved to the base, but quickly bonded with other military families. when erin corwin went when erin corwin went missing after a trip to joshua tree national park, detectives started out by questioning her husband, jon. then, they widen the circle trying to learn as much as they could about her life at the marine base here in twentynine palms. ke they discovered that erin had been lonely when she first moved to the base but quickly bonded with other military families. >> it's kind of like melrose place and there. everybody's friends. >> everybody's doors 10 foot away from the next couple's door. >> erin and jon grew close with their fellow marine corps neighbors including nichole and chris lee, a couple originally from alaska. >> chris and nichole and jon and erin ■ç. they went out together all the time. i was happy, you know, that she had this. >> erin and nichole shared a common passion for horses. >> i was excited when erin and nichole met because nichole was into horses, and i knew erin needed the horses. >> nichole introduced erin to the white rock horse rescue ranch and its owner . >> you're not very far away from twentynine palms in the marine corps base. is this not only kind of a sanctuary for the animals but maybe a little bit for the marine corps wives? >> yeah. >> as will start at the ranch in 2004. >> the spouses come to the ranch with their husbands or fiances or boyfriends are out in the field. they have nothing to do. most of them don't work, and they get very lonely. loneliness is probably the biggest problem that they have. >> and this is where erin had a horse named cassie ■ç, and tha was very special to her. >> yes, it was. >> come here, cassie. so, your erin's horse. >> she picked a horse that i would never have chosen for her . >> why, what was with the horse? >> the horse was standoffish. it did not like anybody, and it liked her. this force was so bonded to her, and we couldn't believe it. >> before long, erin and jon, chris and nichole were spending more and more time at the ranch together. >> we could go out in the desert and shoot our guns and go out to the horse range and typical shenanigans. i had a little dune buggy that we all could take off routing while the girls were doing horse stuff. >> as will