So, this is a gentleman that hes a veteran, and he had been using dentures for over 40 years. He had already been told that he could not get dental implants, so he came to our center, saw us at clearchoice. We took the c. A. T. Scan, we looked at his bone. We told him, youre a great candidate. And so he was able to get implants to replace his missing teeth. Oh, my goodness. On both the upper and the lower jaw, and now look at him smile. I mean, you do these consults. Do you ever geex like, they tell you their hardluck story. Do you ever go, oh, this is gonna be good . Or even better than they think its going to be . I get so excited because i can already know where were heading, and i can already tell how their lives are gonna be changed. And its very rewarding to be able to do this every day. Were out of time. Okay, final message. Somebody wearing a denture, but theyre worried about pain, theyre worried that theyre too old, or whatever their excuse them . Come see us. Well present you with a treatment solution thats going to help you get rid of those dentures. Were gonna take good care of you, and youre gonna start enjoying the rest of your life with your third set of teeth. I want to thank you for coming on the show. Very good. Always good. Thanks for coming back. Thanks for the invitation, randy. Youve been watching the wellness hour. Im randy alvarez. For now, i wish you good health. Announcer thanks for watching the wellness hour, the leader in medical news with your host, randy alvarez, the theres a way for a lifechanging smile to fit your budget. The clearchoice way. Meeting people is my life. I had to be careful how wide i would open my mouth because i was embarrassed to show my teeth. I was getting ready to buy a new shiny red pickup. As i was getting ready to purchase it, i made a decision it was time to do something for myself that was gonna be permanent. Announcer you might be wondering if dental implants are worth it, but what if you never or cover up your smile ever again . What if you could have beautiful new teeth at a cost that works within your Monthly Budget . I dont know how you would put a price on such a change in your life. To make the investment wasnt a tough decision at all. Clearchoice gave me that. She was an 18yearold girl. It broke my heart. It destroyed me. What do you do . You just keep fighting. Heidi allen was sweet, spirited and super smart. Yeah. She took a job here to earn cash for college. She wanted to be responsible. She was working the early shift on Easter Sunday. Thats when she vanished. They called from the store, they cant find heidi. They noticed somebody wrestling with somebody in a van. The theory became two brothers did it together. Mystery solved . Maybe not. Years later during a chance encounter he said, you really want to know what happened to her . He said, i grabbed her like this. An old case blown wide open. I said, we cant let this go. Two women, teaming up for the truth. If they think im going to walk away, they are mistaken. Uncovering an astonishing twist. Attached was a photograph of heidi allen. It had a code name, Julia Roberts. A teenager with a secret identity. Did she also have a secret enemy . Theyre going to want to shut her up permanently. Dateline. Heres Dennis Murphy with the informant. Tonya priest never wanted to be a star witness, least of all in a longago abduction and murder investigation. But after that guy blurted out what he did, she felt she had to come guard. Would you you live with it . Could you live with all of that . And she found herself on the phone talking to a district tonya believed she knew who done it, who done that terrible thing at the Convenience Store on an Easter Sunday morning many years ago. That store clerk abducted and never seen again. They probably only took maybe 60 seconds to do what they needed to do. What tonya reopened was a wound that had never really healed in Oswego County, new york. I cant let it go. I wont let it fighting for her. If they think im going to walk away, they are mistaken. I am not. Even today just say the name heidi allen and a swirl of memories come back. Some of them fuzzy now. It was 1994, that missing girl, the van, was it blue or was it white . And didnt they get the guy who did it and send him away . Or did kids talk about it in school . I knew they were looking for a van. Thats basically all i knew at that point. Heres whats not in dispute about that snowy Easter Sunday morning. 18yearold heidi allen, taking the early shift for a coworker, opened the Convenience Store about 5 45 a. M. It was a parttime job for her. A way to defray some of her Freshman College bills. Lisa is and a risktaker. Did she like school . She liked school. She didnt have to study. She was a smart kid. Bhafs about the convenience senator. It was close to home. Our friends owned it so mom and dad felt safe. Before the early birds started showing up for their newspapers, cigarettes, a few boyfriend was there. He would take her so the people when traffic was picking up, and then he would go. Thats what happened that day. Yes. Gary thibodeau saw her. I was there for two basic packs of cigarettes, paid her. I said, have a nice day. A few more cars pulled up to the store. Reporter john obrien of syracuse. Com. Some customers had come in and didnt realize she wasnt there unt for a while. They flagged down a deputy and no heidi. Heidis sister lisa woke up that morning to very bad news. My aunt was on the machine and she said, lisa, heidis missing. Missing. We saw her the night before. When she delivered our easter baskets in her usual goofiness. It was shocking an 18yearold girl could just strung with crime scene tape bit time heidis sister arrived. I just really felt like i was watching a movie. Inside the store, not promising. They found heidis purse, her car keys, money undisturbed in the register. No signs of a struggle and her car was parked in the lot. I just remember sitting and just watching. I didnt know what to do. The community made heidi volunteer command center at the Old Fire House while authorities readied their first news alert. We have an 18yearold girl bit name of heidi allen who lives here in new haven, who was the clerk. Someone listening to that bull ton was Richard Thibodeau who recognized heidi from the Convenience Store where he shopped earlier. He turned to his girlfriend, theresa, and said as much. And richard said, my god, i was there. I bought two packs of cigarettes. Called. Called the sheriffs and set in motion a sequence of lifechanging events he could not stop. Other callers that morning offered tips about a suspicious van at the store. The sheriff was undersheriff at the time. They noticed someone driving very erratic, wrestling or struggling with somebody in a van. This van, sheriff, did you get a make, model, color, anything . Different color, blue, light blue. In the early hours, in the days before smartphones and ubiquitous security cameras, nothing was coming together. Volunteers searched, the National Guard was called out. But heidi was gone and stayed gone. We followed up on every lead. We had no major people. Weeks went by without an arrest, without answers. And then a couple of months passed. They had brought in a criminal profiler with the fbis correctly profile the Oklahoma City bomber. But in this instance, Clint Van Zandt was the agent in the unit who got assigned to the heidi allen case in upstate new york. His take, look for someone with a history of violence and someone obsessed with the case. The person who committed this is somebody who was really interested. I mean, the community was interested in the case, but this is mosh interest. Obsessed . Could not let it go. This is someone who would be and there would be many newspaper articles. Decades of them, in fact. The case of heidi allen was just getting started. When we come back, clues to the mystery. Who would grab an 18yearold girl . Our theory then was probably a sex crime. And then, unbelievably, the killer seems to out himself. He says, yeah, i killed this girl. He gives it up. He gives it up. My hygienist said the most random thing. Her advice . Use a toothpaste and mouthwash that strengthens both. Go pro with crest prohealth advanced. Its uniquely formulated with Activestrength Technology to strengthen teeth inside and is better at strengthening the outside than colgate total. Crest toothpaste and mouthwash makes my whole mouth feel amazing. Advance to healthier gums and stronger teeth from day one. My checkup was great. kids laughing whats going on . Shhh gasp you going to shut it down . This is totally going viral. I wanna go viral. Going viral . 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So all they feel is love heidi, the teenager behind the Convenience Store counter selling sunday papers and cigarettes had vanished that easter morning. Sheriff reuel todd. Who what was your working theory . Whod grab an 18yearold girl . Our theory then was probably a sex crime. Reporter abducted, and after weeks of fruitless searching, presumed murdered. Shes the 18yearold girl she was a good kid with goals. Reporter but the Sheriffs Department was pursuing a promising lead. And it concerned a guy who had bought cigarettes from heidi that morning, Richard Thibodeau. Did the cops on the phone start to ask you questions . They sent someone over to the house and asked me a bunch of questions. Reporter investigators, it turned out, were suspicious of him from the getgo. Theyd even put him under surveillance. The reason . Thibodeaus was the last transaction recorded on the white van, one that seemed to match a vehicle described by a witness at the scene. At first it was blue. It changed to white as time went on. But he did say in the end that van, the thibodeau van, that was the van. Reporter the witness reported seeing more than one man, so investigators also brought in richards brother, gary, for questioning. The brother said he was home asleep that morning and his girlfriend vouched for him. But Gary Thibodeau didnt have a a minor drug charge in neighboring massachusetts. They extradited him to massachusetts, which was an odd thing on a drug charge. Reporter in the county jail, thibodeau struck up a conversation with a fellow prisoner. Him and gary are sitting in there shooting the breeze, and they get talking about Something Like all of them do. He says, yeah, i killed this girl from oswego. Reporter he gives it up, though . He gives it up. Reporter brother gary is eventually said to have told involvement in the crime. That he and heidi used drugs together and that she feared gary was going to screw her over in a drug deal. And with that jailhouse confession, investigators now believed they had their case. The two brothers, drugs, an abduction and murder. I was waiting for my school bus to come. Reporter this is Richard Thibodeaus stepdaughter, amanda. She was just 11 at the time. And police cars came pulling into my driveway. I dont know how many, but they stopped quickly. Reporter both brothers were arrested and charged with kidnapping in the first degree. A major break in the heidi allen case. Reporter whats the motive, sheriff . Whats the theory that goes with them in their van and being at the Convenience Store . Do you know what the motive is . Opportunity. They stopped in there to get the cigarettes, and that was the opportunity. Reporter its about abduct this young, cute girl, huh . Appears to me. Reporter there would be two separate trials for the brothers. Two separate juries to decide their fates. And in the summer of 1995, the first of the two, gary, went on trial. Joe fahey, now a retired judge, was garys defense attorney. He says the case was forensically and circumstantially light. There was no indication that gary had ever been near the d w that morning. Reporter gary testified that he was home asleep that morning. And the jailhouse snitches who got him indicted were flatout lying. He figured they must have been angling for favors from the had to contend with were the two guys from massachusetts. They said gary kind of boasted about they were looking for me, but theyll never find her. Reporter but they were statements a jury apparently believed. It took just four hours to render a verdict. How do you find the defendant on count one kidnapping in the first degree . Guilty. Reporter brother richard, owner of the van, the one who bought the cigarettes and placed himself at the store, went on trial a few weeks later. His stepdaughter, amanda, was ceai well. It didnt make sense for them not to find him guilty because they found uncle gary guilty. And theyre saying that uncle gary did it with him. Reporter richard was, without a doubt, heidis last customer. And witnesses testified theyd seen a van like his at the scene. Richards van, however, showed no trace of blood or anything connected to heidi. This time the jury deliberated eight hours. Reporter two trials, two opposite results. So, heres the strange thing about the two brothers it seems, sheriff. Youve got richard, whos acquitted. And yet, he is the one that says, yeah, i was in the shop. And his brother, who doesnt put himself in the shop, is the one who goes down for it. But dont they have to be in cahoots together for this to make sense . I would say so, but it still doesnt matter. And thats what happens with different juries. Reporter do you believe good arrest, good conviction . Absolutely. Reporter heidis family wasnt quite sure what to make of the two trials. Missy searles. It was confusing to have basically the same evidence just different jury and then you end up with two different verdicts. Reporter and there was something that always bothered cousin missy about the trial. The jailhouse informants testified that it was a drug deal gone bad. Didnt make sense. She wasnt a drug user herself. She didnt participate in that. His profile predicted the person responsible would be an obsessive stalker type. Did you think you maybe missed something in your evaluation . The thibodeau brothers did not add up to my profile, so i was trying to figure out what i missed. You know, was it something that i didnt know about, that i didnt have a handle on . Reporter the years went by. A fading sign at the center of town was the lingering reminder that once thered been a girl named heidi allen whose life was taken from her. Heidi allen has been huge in everyones mind for years. I mean, because shes never been found. Reporter and there was a lingering feeling in the town among some people that just maybe there was more to the story. I didnt know what to do. It broke my heart. It destroyed me. Coming up a chance encounter and the shock he said to us, do you really want to know what happened to her . Are we about to learn heidis fate. He said, i grabbed her like this. When dateline continues. . Music . Extraordinary starts here. It was an odd conclusion to the heidi allen case. One brother convicted. The other brother, the one who admitted to being at the store, acquitted. And even though Richard Thibodeau was found not guilt y in some peoples minds, hed simply had a lucky day in court. Stepdaughter amanda. Growing up, we were known as the kidnappers kids. We kids. We werent treated nicely. Reporter for the allen family, it was an unsatisfying result. They still didnt know what had happened to heidi. And her body had never been found. Shes out there somewhere and somebody knows. Thats right. And someday were going to know. You cant give up hope on your missing loved one. Reporter even after the dust settled, the case stayed in the news for years to come. Some young people like tonya priest never really forgot. Nothing like that had ever reporter a full decade rolled by. Tonya was now in her mid20s. One day while visiting a friend named vicki, the tv was on. Up popped a story about the heidi allen case, an anniversary report. When the news flashed about heidi, i said to her, i wonder what happened to heidi. And she said, yeah, me too. Reporter it wasnt really a question, just an outloud thought. But someone in the room decided to answer. It was the friends boyfriend, a guy nicknamed thumper. Want to know what happened to her . We were, like, okay, yeah. Reporter and this next version of that easter morning is one that needs close attention. Because it didnt involve the thibodeau brothers at all, but put thumper himself and two young buddies at the epicenter of heidis abduction. He said that they pulled in right up by the doors with the vehicle running. They left the back doors open. And he said, i grabbed her like this. He said, we dragged her out of the store. Van, we hit that van hard with her. Reporter could he be serious . I mean, is this a guy just flexing his biceps for the girls . No. The more we didnt believe him, the angrier he became. I said, okay, well, how did the white van get involved . He said, we just got lucky. One showed up before we did. I said, thumper, there is an innocent man in prison. He said, not my problem. Reporter so did she run to the police then and there . Scream out to anyone who would listen . It wt tonya, why didnt you go to the Sheriffs Office at that point, say, i got a story to tell you . Well, he lived a mile down the road from my house. Reporter tonya says she was paralyzed by fear of thumper. I went home and cried. I didnt know what to do. Reporter but she never forgot about that chilling conversation. She tried to cut off contact wit