The answer was in the details. It was right there. And you wont believe how. You walk out of there thinking i spooked it. It worked. I wasnt quite sure. The night lynsie disappeared. Thanks for joining us. Im lester holt. It stumped police for years, the case of a Young College student who had gone missing but they finally get their big break from a very small thing. Take a look at this photo. There is a key clue here. A single detail spotted by an eagle eye detective. And thats what helped him turn this 9 year mystery into a slam dunk case. Watch now and see exactly how he did it. Heres josh mancowitz. Sometimes the facts are as clear as the california sky but other times, you have to know where to look to see the truth. This man has made a career of noticing what others do not. Whats his reputation . Meticulous investigator. Just pores over the volumes of evidence. Finds things others dont find. The evidence whisperer. Correct. Does this man act guilty . Does he know more than hes saying . I didnt know anything was going on. All right . What about this man, can you believe the story hes telling . I was supposed to pick her up twice and so out of character. Didnt show up on either day. The evidence whisperer wasnt present at either of those interviews but watching them helped him solve the mystery of what happened to a vivacious young woman and bring answers to the mother who loved her. I was always proud of her. She was a real fighter. Lynsie ekelund arrived on july 22nd 1980. She was the youngest of three. Maybe that fighting spirit isnt visible in her photos but her mother nancy said it was always there. Lynsie had a passion for animals. She helped out in her spare time at a local shelter. Kim davidson who worked at lynsies middle school remember young lynsie also had a sense of compassion. Outside, it was freezing cold. I didnt bring a jacket that day and i felt these little hands up on my shoulder and a sweater come up around me and it was lynsie and said i just cant stand sitting here watching you shiver and just wrapped me up in her sweater. She just melted me. Lynsie gave back in other ways. Lynsie would lie about her age to give blood. Remarkable because lynsie struggled with her own disabilities. Her left arm was paralyzed, her left leg impaired. Did she ever talk about how she became disabled . She brought to me that she was in a car accident and she was thrown when she was a little girl and very very just like matter of fact. Not, poor me or feel sorry for me or anything like that. But growing up lynsie needed so much care. Her mother nancy was with lynsie like her shadow. Somebody had to be with her 24 hours a day. That was you. Yes. It was her and i alone. She was my only purpose in my life is to make her as normal as she could be. By the time kim met lynsie lynsies dad and brothers had moved away. Kim remembers a very tight family unit of just two. How close were lynsie and nancy . Unbelievably extremely. But as lynsie reached adolescence, that started changing. Like a lot of teens, she wanted her own identity. She changed the spelling of her name from this to this. By high school they werere were girlfriends and even some boyfriends. After years of moms and daughters being best friends and confidants lynsie began to keep some things in her life to herself. Like where she was really headed. One night in february 2001. Does it make any sense that she would like to you about what she was going to do that night . I had never known her to lie to me but you dont know what you dont know. It was a friday night. Linynsie was in college parttime and working but still living at home. She told her mom that instead of her usual friday night dinner she was staying the night with a girlfriend named andrea. Someone nancy had never met. And then a young man named chris came to the door to pick lynsie up. She introduces you to this guy chris. Did chris say hello to you . Yes. Was he polite good manners . Mmhmm. But nancy said something felt wrong. I had a feeling about him. What feeling . I dont know. But you put it aside. Mmhmm. Of course she was used to things going wrong, spent years worries about lynsie. It was a struggle to let go but she did. Last thing i said wear your seat belt and looks over and said back at you mom. Love you. Last thing she said to me. Locked up the house and went to bed. The next day, lynsie was supposed to call after she was done tutoring two girls from the neighborhood but when the call never came nancy drove over and found out lynsie never showed up at her job. All of the sudden my daughter is not where shes supposed to be. She had taught these little girls about four months about. And you had no way to reach her. I had no way. Nancy ekelund was frantic. I started calling hospitals, the morgue. I was desperate to see if there was a jane doe in the morgue. There was no jane doe. And there was no Lynsie Ekelund. Most people who disappear like that they come back within a couple of days. If not 24 hours, yes. Is that what you thought was going to happen . I think we did. Corinne lou mas with the Placentia Police department. No unidentified bodies. No unidentified bodies. You checked the er. We checked everybody, we checked everything. There was just no sign. It was as if she vanished. When we come back lynsie had a secret that she kept from just about everyone. Whens the last time you saw lynsie . A week ago, no, i dont think so. Her daughter was missing. Nancy ekelund began handing out flyers and counting the days without lynsie. Ticking them off on little post postit notes and talked to corrine loumas with the Placentia Police department. She wanted to know how they were best friends. It was a speech Corinne Loomis heard before. Parents sometimes give you the idea it was an idyllic family life because theres the fear if they dont paint a rosy picture of the person theyre not going to be sympathetic of them. Not going to work hard. Not going to work hard. I think that was a little bit of that with nancy. Placentia pd was working the case and brought in the usual suspects like the boyfriend. When you guys were dating hadnt been dating anyone else to your knowledge. His name was matthew ramirez. Off and on. On thursday when i went to her house, she said i want to break up. As can happen with young romance what was off was soon back on. Lynsie and matt were back together in time for the weekend. But not in time to make plans for that friday night. And then shes like im getting ready. Im going to san diego. I would her, im like have fun. Be careful. Shes like okay. And then the last known person to have seen her, chris mcamis, 21 years old out of school. Told the cops she was unemployed. Lynsie met him through friends about four months prior and turns out he never drove lynsie to andreas house for a sleepover. Chris said that was a lie lynsie made up for her mother. The real plan was to go clubbing all night in san diego. Dont tell my mom were going to san diego because my mom wont let us or wont let me go or Something Like that and definitely dont tell her that were clubbing. Chris told police when their night of clubbing went bust they headed home earlier than expected. He dropped off the other girls, he said and then headed to lynsies house. Chris said it was after 4 00 a. M. When he finally got back here to lynsies neighborhood. And he said that lynsie was worried that her mom might hear his truck pull up at that hour so lynsie asked to be dropped off not at her house but the corner about 50 yards away. That sounded strange to police until they heard from lynsies friend. But another time she asked to be dropped off right here. Chris said he then drove home and police even found a photo from a bank atm of what looked like chris truck heading north on the right street at the right time. To the cops, chris story added up. And that was when police learned matthew and chris were not the only men in lynsies life. There was someone else who both matthew and chris mentioned to investigators. An older man who drove lynsie around no one knew his name. They had heard lynsie refer to him as her friend. All anybody knows him by. As her friend. Yeah. Nancy had no idea lynsie was friends with any older man. She was about to find out. Two days after lynsie vanishes you get a phone call. Yes. Youre pretty much at your wits end at this point and the phone rings, its a guy named marty. Did you know a marty . No. As far as you know did lynsie know a marty . No. He said he went to pick lynsie up at school but she wasnt there. Said he had money of lynsies she needed for tuition. None of that made any sense to nancy. After lynsie goes missing, nancy, her mother gets a phone call. A guy named marty. Marty rossler. And what did marty rossler say to her . Marty said hes befriended lynsies and concerned because he hadnt heard from her. What did you learn . Marty rossler was not marty rossler. He was really marty pregenzer. He did not have a criminal record. What he did have was a relationship with lynsie that he hadnt told his wife about. He told police hed often pick lynsie up and give her rides but that was about it. Marty was 58. And she was 20 . She was 20. And they were boyfriend and girlfriend . Dont think so. So Police Brought in marty. Over two days they recorded those interviews. At times on video and sometimes just on audio tape. Whens the last time you saw lynsie . A week ago. No. I dont think so. Absolutely. No absolutely not. And marty said he had last seen lynsie the day that she went to san diego on that friday. Did you believe him . We really didnt believe him. They didnt believe him because of a tip theyd received, a clerk at a local Clothing Store had called to say shed seen lynsie and a much older man who matched martys description together at her store after the day lynsie went missing. I wasnt there on that day, okay . I have been in that store, all right, and i said im like you. I mean, im easily identified. Okay . I mean probably every place ive been with her would know i was in there with her, okay . It was a very long very long interview. Friendly . No. No. I remember drilling down on him because i really thought that he might know where lynsie was. Youre a parent . Yes. How many kids . Two. If you had a child gone for 8 days and then vaporized in thin air. Would your heart not be broken . Oh absolutely. Do you not feel some compassion for nancy . Unbelievable. I think this is a nice girl and, you know, this family has had their share of hardships, and this is just, you know i feel so helpless. I dont think you are helpless. I think you can help us. Marty insisted he couldnt but he didnt know what had happened to lynsie. Detectives werent buying. Have you harmed lynsie . No. Either by accident . Accidents happen. Never touched her. Never touched her. Okay. This girl have you put her someplace . No no. Police searched martys home and found nothing. No proof that marty had anything to do with lynsies disappearance. So they moved on to a new suspect. Someone closer to lynsie than anyone else on earth. Coming up i was shocked that they even suspected me. Lynsies own mother. Were investigators ruling her out or roping her in . I dont know around here, were all about fast. Thats why xfinity is perfect for me. With millions of wifi hotspots all over the place including one right here at the shop now we can stream all things fast and furious. Youve done it again, carlos with the fastest inhome wifi and millions of hotspots xfinity is perfect for people who love fast. Dont miss furious 7 in theaters now. Nancy and lynsie had been together all lynsies life. Now nancy waited alone ticking off the days worrying about where her daughter was and the investigation. Police not keeping her in the loop and so she was delighted to hear they were going to visit. So marty, the older guy, the relationship. Nobody knew about. He denies it. Chris, said i dropped her off, never saw her again. Right. And you look at lynsies mother. We did look at lynsies mother. You have to. So i made my cookies and all this stuff, like i do. The cops werent coming for coffee. They arrived with a search warrant, shovels and cadaver dogs. I was shocked that they even suspected me. I didnt know what a search warrant was. The house nancy and lynsie had once shared was torn apart. How much of a suspect was nancy . I dont know that nancy was on the radar for a long time. She was on the radar long enough to set her aside. After that search they did just that. They believe this anguished mother had nothing to do with the disappearance of her daughter. So they took nancy off the list. They also took off the boyfriend, matthew. He had an alibi that held up putting him somewhere else at the time lynsie went missing. So that left just two. I havent seen her since that day. Marty who police didnt trust because of his secret relationship with lynsie and because he had lied about his identity. And the man who dropped lynsie off at that corner the last person to see her before she vanished. Chris. Come on in here. Grab a seat. You remember her . Detectives decided to start over. They brought chris back to see if his story still held up. I really would like to think that lynsie has been like either abducted or somethings happened to her. Id rather than to think with friends or Something Like that. Lets cut the bull and being positive. Lets just get down to the nittygritty and strip away the id like to think. You know how things are in a perfect world, then id, what shes, okay . Its a possibility shes dead. Thought chris seemed oddly calm talking about a friend who may have been murdered. It turns out somebody killed her. What do you think should happen . Find them. Find them. Then what . They go to jail. How long do you think they should go to jail . As long as it takes. Like what . I dont know. Go to jail for a while. Thats as strong as you could get out of him. As strong as we could get out of him. Personally electrocute him. He should get the gas chamber. She was my friend. She didnt deserve that wouldnt hurt a fly. His lack of emotion was suggestive that perhaps chris should move to the top of the list. But it was not evident. After the interview, chris was free to leave and detectives werent any closer to learning what happened to lynsie. And neither was nancy who remained convinced her daughter would just come home one day. You thought one day she would walk back through the door. Yes. She believed it because she wanted to. And because over the years, several people had told her, theyd seen lynsie. They never saw the front of her face. They always saw the back of her and i held on to every word they said. Her friend kim, remembers how hard it was on nancy thinking lynsie had just left her. She went through the period of being angry at her and thought, maybe she did leave me. And threw some pictures out, clothes out. She threw lynsies stuff away . Yes, because she was so angry and thought, how could she do that . How could she leave me . It was torture for nancy no matter what version of events you believed and police still werent telling her anything. Nancy, during all this time feels like shes been sort of cut out of the loop. Yes. Like youre not telling her anything. Maybe youre not actually working on it. Right. Whatever you are doing, youre certainly not sharing it with her. Nancy was pretty angry. We worked this case diligently for a long time. At some point, you hit the wall. There are nine detectives working every night, drugs, gangs, rape murder and cold cases. But 2008 it was clear plasencia pd hit a wall would need help and who they needed was a guy named larry. Tell me about larry. Larry is phenomenal. Phenomenal because what he sees things other cops dont see . Phenomenal because he sees things cops dont see. I dont know anybody who could have done a better job than larry. The evidence was for about to listen what the facts of this case were really saying. When we come back was there something that police had missed . You bet. That picture of a truck spotted on the night of the crime, something about it just doesnt seem right. And the evidence whisperer is all over it. When the night lynsie disappeared continues. By 2008 Lynsie Ekelund had been missing for seven years. The case had gone from cold to frozen in time. To placentia pd decided to outsource the investigation to the cold case unit at the Orange County d. A. s office to a guy named Larry Montgomery. With more than 30 years working homicide larrys put away his share of bad guys. Not usually by shocking on doors. Instead, larry worked by looking very closely at the evidence. He doesnt work fast. In fact larry is meticulously slow and that was just what this cold case needed. Was there anything in the original investigation that struck you as something that you needed to reexamine . Everything. Everything that had led Placentia Police into that wall trying to decide between two suspects. I mean, im concerned about this girl. Okay . You know and shes missing. Marty, lynsies older friend who kept their relationship a secret and lied about his name. And chris in my heart it seems like she might be alive. Last person to see lynsie when he dropped her off. I dont know until i see the details. Youre no doubt aware you have a reputation for believing, i dont know god in the details but guilt in the details. In essence. Guilty or innocent . Was it marty or chris . Larry even considered another possibility. Could it have been random someone who had seen lynsie at just the wrong time . So youve got a bad guy just waiting, head coaching that theoping that the guy drops out and then consider it weigh it. Go it doesnt, a good possibility, probably not, but still keep an open mind. So larry sat down and read through the entire case file. All the witness statements. All the interviews. He did that for two years. He watched the february 2001 interview with a very unhappy marty. Did it strike you as tremendously suspicious that marty would call after lynsie disappears talk to lynsies mother and give a phony name . If you didnt know the background of marty, then absolutely. When i talked to the mother on the phone, i just gave an identifier. Marty rossler. Which is a lie. Which is a lie. Watching that interview, marty chalked up dishonesty as an attempt to save his marriage. I dont want my wife to be brought into this thing. Larry also took a closer look at the idea that marty and lynsie were together at that Clothing Store after she went missing. I wasnt there on that day, okay . No one ever found any security video of that and larry learned over the years that well meaning people often get dates wrong. And larry learned a key fact. Marty had actually participated in those early searches for lynsie. You eliminated marty fairly quickly then. Yes. Martys behavior matched up with that of an innocent person not with a guilty one. Thats correct. He is doing exactly what you would do if youre looking for lynsie. He was searching. So Larry Montgomery turned his at