A trail of sinister clues. There was three wet blood spots in the hallway. There was all sorts of ammunition and guns. Firearms on magnets behind tapestries, firearms in drawers all over this house. He had his arm around a big roll of plastic. And my brain goes, theres a body. Could anyone put it all together and sleuth out the truth . What did that say to you . Well, it says a lot to me. Reporter october 28th, 2009. Routine call, middle of the day. Dispatch sent a squad car to talk to the two ladies whod phoned it in. What was it they said . Two cars where they shouldnt be . Someone moving something bulky from one to the other. Back when it started, the love birds should have known probably that it was too good to be true. Or too good to last anyway. After all, he seemed something of a selfmade mutt and she the purebred heiress type, the goldenhaired daughter of a wealthy alpha male. Whatever. By the time they promised their eternal love, the clock to its end was ticking. Inaudible to them, of course. Like a whistle only a dog can hear. Which, come to think of it, begs the question how did he, of all people, miss it . His name was mark stover. And he discovered quite early that he had some special, eerily mystical connection with dogs. When he talked to them, they listened. He was born with a gift. Reporter stover had become known as seattles dog whisperer. I mean, its not as simple as just giving them treats or clicker training or Something Like that. He spoke to the animals. Reporter with talents that amazed his loyal clients. Starbucks chairman howard schultz, pearl jams eddie vedder, Major League OutfielderIchiro Suzuki brought him their dogs. You know one of his phrases was, we trained everybody in seattle from nordstrom to nirvana, but he was much more than a dog trainer to the stars. Reporter a longtime employee. Come on, sampson. He trained everyone, you know . It didnt matter to him who they were. It was about the person and the dog and the relationship between the person and the dog, not who they were. Stormy, come. Reporter this woman liked him so much as a client, she went to work for him. He would connect with you. Hed find something that he could talk to you about, and then hed help you train your dog. Reporter and the setting for marks dog whispering business . Incomparable. Oh, its beautiful. Its a wonderful place. Reporter kiket island is what its called. An 84acre teardrop of primeval forest and meadows and beaches plunked a few feet offshore, a 90minute commute north of seattle. The dogs could go swimming in the water there. Theres plenty of trail walks. And it was just really, really outdoorsy and beautiful. Reporter outdoorsy and beautiful are words which also happen to describe the human love of marks life, Linda Opdycke. The willowy blonde daughter of Wally Opdycke, the wealthy investor whod once helped found chateau ste. Michelle winery. Linda seemed a Perfect Match for mark, according to the clients and friends who knew him best. She was mark two. You know, i mean, they were peas in a pod. They had similar hobbies. Theyd hunt and fish, you know, go camp somewhere. That kind of stuff. He just thought she was the most wonderful thing since sliced bread basically. Reporter very protective of his linda was mark, as clients could clearly tell. He just thought she was beautiful, wonderful, smart. Never, never, ever said anything bad about her. Never. Reporter seemed to be in love . He was. He was totally totally crazy about her. Reporter it was lindas father, Wally Opdycke, who owned kiket island. Mark and linda lived there on wallys island and grew their very successful business together. And then in 2002, they made their union permanent. An intimate wedding ceremony in the president ial suite of the las vegas four seasons. Here was Wally Opdycke toasting his new soninlaw. Mark, welcome to the opdycke family. Reporter but maybe nothing is forever. It was just three years later when linda told the employees she was taking an extended vacation. Alone. And that vacation kept extending and extending, and she just never came back. Reporter so separation. There was a brief affair. Linda with one of marks best friends, and then divorce. About as ugly as divorce can be. I was shocked. I really was. Reporter so was mark, apparently. Quite thoroughly devastated, by all accounts. Because now he had lost not just the lub love of his life, but he had to leave kiket island, too. Losing her, losing all this. It was, we hardly need say, a black period for just about here. Some quite disturbing episodes, actually. Well get to those later. Suffice to say for now that, eventually, life went on. It was just divorce, after all. Not death. Not yet anyway. Mark found a new property in nearby anacortes, washington. If it wasnt kiket island, it was not bad. He moved into a new house, new kennels, new start. He had found the place that was gonna be perfect for him, and it was going to be all his, and i think he was very much looking forward. He wasnt looking back. Reporter eventually, there was also her. Her name is teresa. On our third date, though, he let me know that he wanted to marry me. Reporter third date . I was pretty shocked, yeah. Reporter what was it about you that he liked . He liked that i listened and that i was careful with the information that he gave me. Not just information but with his heart. Reporter which had been really badly damaged, and he worried about that. Didnt want it to happen again . He saw a safe harbor in you. I think so. Reporter safe harbor . Well, maybe she was, as they made plans for a life together. But even then, in the fall of 2009, an ill wind was picking up. Marks employees couldnt help but notice it. He was off somehow. He was very different, and he told me that he was very paranoid. Hed actually been locking his doors. Reporter even though, as everyone knew, marks highly trained guard dog, ding, would have protected him from anything. I asked him why he was locking his doors because he had ding. And he said, i dont know. Im just a little weirded out about something. Reporter he didnt say what . No, he didnt say what. And mark, it would take a lot to spook someone like mark. He was always very aware of his surroundings. Reporter mmhmm. Almost doglike. And if there was something there, someone there, he knew it. Reporter and then, october 28th, mark stopped calling teresa. No explanation. So i hadnt heard from him all day and i thought towards the end of the day, it started seeming odd. But then the next day when i hadnt heard it from him by 9 00, i got one of the employees on the phone, and i said, what is going on there . Wheres mark . So they told me, you know, we havent seen mark. We hadnt seen him all day yesterday. And i knew in my heart something terrible had happened. Reporter but what . Well, theres the puzzle. Does anybody know, even now . Strange goingson at mark stovers place. The dogs are restless. And neighbors are about to find out why. It took my breath away. [ computer beeps ] [ male announcer ] finally a paint thats stain resistant and scrubbable. Introducing new valspar reserve. Now the colors you love stay the colors you love. Exclusively at lowes. Put pantene to the test. Healthier hair . Now the colors you love stay the colors you love. When hair loses protein, it splits. Pantene helps stop split ends before they start. So your hair passes the needle test. Get hair so healthy you shine, with pantene. All the goodness of milk, all the deliciousness of hersheys syrup. That new guy is like yeah but youll regret it. What about him . Healthy like this super smoothie. Yeeeeuk the perfect man and the perfect snack, dont exist. You sure . Try dannon oikos greek nonfat yogurt. Perfect cause its healthy with 0 fat and 12 gr. Of protein and so creamy. Mmm. 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Mark stover was a bit like one of his welltrained dogs. He was a creature of habit. Always on time. Never missed an appointment. In bed early. Up with the sun. And every wednesday mark hit the road for the hourandahalf drive south to seattle for sessions with his loyal clients, a schedule which employees amber we used to always joke that he was up, he beat the rooster out of bed. Reporter and beth he was usually on the road by 7 00. Reporter and stephanie he had his breakfast and beat seattle traffic. Reporter knew very well. But on the morning of wednesday, october 28th, 2009, nothing was routine, nothing at all. First, stephanie, whose own house is right next door to the kennels, woke up to a chorus of barking dogs. It was, she thinks, about 6 00 a. M. And the kennel dogs were very, very upset. It was a huge ruckus next door. Reporter occasionally, that sort of thing would happen. Very seldom. Very seldom to that extent. Reporter then, 8 00 a. M. , amber arrived at the kennels. And still the dogs were upset. They would not settle in that morning. Reporter odd. Then someone told her mark was still around. He mustnt have left yet for seattle. And i thought that was strange because he was supposed to be gone over an hour prior. Reporter she walked to the house where mark made a habit of leaving the carport door unlocked so the employees could use the bathroom. And i noticed a little bit of blood in the driveway. I was afraid that his dog had opened her stitches because shed had surgery. Reporter marks dog, ding, wasnt just any pet. She was a highly skilled protection dog. A lot of blood, a little blood . A little blood. Reporter but noticeable. Noticeable. And i proceeded towards the house and tried to go through the back door, and it was locked, which was very, very odd. Reporter then not long after, stephanie arrived and noticed perhaps a hundred yards from where she stood down in the field marks Station Wagon was backed up to the carport area of his house. I was kind of surprised that it was parked where it was parked because it was never parked there. It was really hard to get it into that position to begin with. Reporter anyway, why hadnt he left for seattle . It was then she noticed, must be mark up at the house. Someone who had marks hat on, you know, which i thought was mark, was bringing Something Big into the back of the car. Reporter big, big, big . It looked like to me. So i was thinking he was carrying ding and putting her in the back of the car. Reporter ding, who, remember, was recovering from surgery. And then he went to get into his car. He was wearing marks hat, marks coat. And closed the car door and then proceeded to like scream down the driveway which mark would never have done. Reporter did you call out to him or wave . I waved and i went, ugh, i hope thats mark. Reporter i hope thats mark . Well, of course it must have been, stephanie thought, rushing a bleeding ding to the vet. About 20 minutes later, stephanie walked up to the house to use the bathroom. This time the door was unlocked. About this was weird. Before i even got to the door, there was this immense smell of bleach. Reporter bleach . Yeah, like it took my breath away. Reporter and inside the house . There was three wet, what looked like blood spots in the hallway that had, obviously, been just cleaned, and they were still drying. Reporter perhaps ding had bled on the carpet and mark had cleaned it up . But why would he take the time . He wouldnt stop and spend half an hour cleaning. His main thing would be getting ding to the vet, then getting to his appointments. Reporter but other than those wet spots, Everything Else appeared to be the way mark would have left it. I was looking for bloody towels. I was looking for bloody paper towels. The bathroom was immaculate. There was absolutely nothing in the washing machine. There was nothing in the tub. Reporter stephanie wasnt sure what was going on, but it all felt kind of creepy. My thoughts were, well, that was freaky. And i got out of there, and i didnt go back up to the house the rest of the day. Reporter you went on with the day . Mmhmm. Reporter but a strange day it was. And as the hours ticked by, there was no word from mark. No one could reach him by phone. It was very odd that we had not talked to him. It was very strange. Reporter the following morning, october 29th, still no sign of mark, no word from him at all. Again, stephanie went up toward his house. And i looked up and there stood ding by the back door. And she was obviously hurt. She was growling. And so i started talking to her nicely thinking, oh, my god, what is she doing here and whats going on . And i backed down the driveway. Reporter at about the same time the phone rang in the kennel. It was marks fiancee, teresa. When they told me ding was out, there was blood. Ding is never out, ever. She is either in the house or shes with mark. Shes not just out barking at people. Reporter no mark. Injured dog. Teresa, frantic now, called the Skagit CountySheriffs Department. All of those circumstances were very suspicious. Reporter this is detective dan luvera. Oh, i immediately thought foul play. This is huge. Theres more to the story, and there definitely was. More to the story . Yes, there apparently was. Starting with a secret history, stories of a marriages ugly aftermath. She had been calling key clients and saying really horrible things about him to damage the business. Not that great at yoga. Yeah, but when i slipped a disk he paid my claim in just four days. Ahh four days . Yep. Find out how fast aflac can pay you, at aflac. Com. Are you about to spend that on paper towels . Mom well, i use bounty. Kerri ooo use sparkle®. Its just right for cleaning up everyday little messes without cleaning out your piggy bank. Sparkle®. The bright way to clean. And when your chocolatey cravings begin. Theres special k. Chocolate almond cereal. Treat yourself with our. Chocolatey collection. An unguilty pleasure. What will you gain . Hi can i help you . Im looking for a phone plan. It has to be a great one, and i dont compromise. Ok, how about 10 gigs of data to share, unlimited talk and text, and for a family of four, its 160 a month. Wow, sounds like a great deal. So im getting exactly what i want, then . Appears so. Now, um, im not too sure what to do with my arms right now cause this is when i usually start throwing things. Oh, thats terrifying at ts bestever family pricing. For instance, a family of four gets 10 gigs of data, with unlimited talk text, for 160 dollars a month. It was evening, october 29th, the day after mark stover disappeared. Skagit county sheriffs detective dan luvera, now retired, told us how he stood in the dark and looked at mark stovers big new house and just knew something very bad happened here. But what . There was no signs of a struggle. There was just a little bit of blood here and there. Reporter of course, marks protection dog, ding, was clearly injured. That could explain those bits of blood. Reporter but in here, earlier that day, just inside the carport door, luveras Investigation Team had been knocked back by the overwhelming odor of bleach. And here in the bathroom off the hall, they found clorox bottles. Looked like someone tried to wash away evidence. This had to be more than just an injured dog. Mark stovers employees told about the strange events the previous morning. The barking dogs, the odd business of the locked carport door, the man wearing marks clothes, roaring down the driveway in marks white chevy Station Wagon. Mark never drove that fast. It didnt look good. The policemen poked around, sniffed, measured. And still no mark stover. The evidence, even without a body, seemed clear. This was homicide. So by now, a couple of days after marks disappearance, his employees were shifting from puzzled to shocked to griefstricken. Mark took a role in my life like a surrogate father. And i truly loved mark as a parent and a friend and a family member. Reporter sometimes the clues in a mystery such as this can be very personal, more about relationships than fingerprints or dna, as detective luvera knew full well. And in the days after mark stovers disappearance, the detective repeatedly encountered a disturbing story. These former lovers were afraid of each other. What happened to that marriage, the one on the heavenly island . In fact, there was a record, the detective discovered. And it was more hell than heaven. Well, mark had issues with linda, and linda had issues with mark. Reporter to put it mildly. Heres the story marks fiancee teresa told the detective. The story, she said, mark told her that linda seemed to be doing her level best to destroy marks dog training business. She had been calling key clients and saying really horrible things about him to damage the business. She called and tried to shut the website down and tried to shut his phones down. Reporter which is why again, this is the story teresa said mark told her why he snooped in her garbage one march morning in 2008. This was a threehour drive from his own house. He went there, said, teresa, to look for a paper trail to prove linda wanted to destroy his business. You know, divorce is never pleasant. Reporter right. But theirs just became very visible and fighting involved the business and reporter he is afraid of losing it . Very much so. Reporter after the garbage incident, linda came up with a whole slew of accusations, that mark had been harassing her ever since she left him. A Domestic Violence protection order was issued against mark in april 2008. Mark was later charged with criminal stalking. He swore up and down that many of the allegations were not true, but he was caught going through her garbage. He eventually took whats known as an alffrd plea, which means he agreed to plead guilty conceding a judge or jury would probably convict him. Even though, he claimed he didnt do it. Much of it, anyway. But here was the deal, and this was important, as part of that arrangement, mark was ordered to give up h