I dont know where she is. I just cried. One murder, one disappearance in the same small town but soon police could discover a creepier connection. One of the detectives had gotten his hands on an image of amyja amyjane. In the most of the moment most of us knew it wasnt a coincidence. Was someone stalking the women in this tight knit church. This sounded like a zodiac killer. A truth darker than anyone would image. I dont get that. This is evil. Im lester holt. This is date line. Heres Keith Morrison with someone is out there. Reporter there are children born into this world for whom the dance never ends for whom joy seems uncontained for whom exuberance is uncontainable. Amyjane what are we doing right now . Were riding on the roof of a car reporter there was this young woman. A sprite, really, in a young womans body, who loved adventure and people and who danced to music no one else could hear. Which is why it haunted me. This case haunted me. Reporter haunted the police. Haunted the whole town. Reporter is there a serial killer around . A serial killer with plans for two women in one particular church in one particular photograph . I was like this is insane and Everybody Needs to find this person reporter yes, but it began with that girl, that sprite. Just the freest spirit you can think of, like literally, not having a care in the world. Reporter kate cook is talking about her friend, and fellow missionary Amyjane Brandhagen. Talking about her now that its happened, that its all over. Kate and amyjane went to india and nepal together two short years ago. Small town girls. Kate from wisconsin, amyjane, from oregon. She was always ready to give and pour her heart out to people and give everything that she had to offer. Reporter they were 3 months for something called youth with a mission or ywam for short. Like tourists they went to the taj majal and like preachers they spread the word. To children, mostly. For whom amyjane was magnetic, irresistible. When they would see her they would run up to her and theyd go Dee Dee Deedee which means sister, sister. Yknow . Like so excited. And when the three Month Mission trip was over . She hated it she was like, i dont want to go home. Reporter home for amyjane was a universe away from vibrant, teeming india. Here it is. Pendleton, safely tucked into a small valley on the vast rolling flanks of eastern oregon. Cowboy country. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the pendleton roundup. Reporter home to one of the nations biggest rodeos, the pendleton roundup. Which, each september, celebrates the towns rough and tumble past as a brawlingandbordello filled cowtown. And then . Then good, conservative citizens wave goodbye to departing cowboys and settle into a safe and predictable life, and fill the pews every sunday morning without fail. People like bill caldera, who was like family to amyjane and her parents, dave and cathy brandhagen. They brought amyjane home when she was three days old, and we were there when she she was brought home. Reporter bill knew and adored the remarkable little girl from the very beginning. Reporter you watched amyjane grow up . Yes. Reporter and saw what sort of girl emerge . She was very carefree, loving, didnt know a stranger. Reporter the brandhagens asked bill to speak for them after what happened, when they sorely needed their Church Family at pendleton Free Methodist. Like youth minister jed hummel and his wife lisa, who encountered the dancing sprite when she was in middle school. If she got the feeling that you were left out, shed find you and make sure you knew that you had a friend. A little bit like Pippi Longstocking absolutely. Certainly. Thats exactly oh certainly and i always remembered she knew everyones name she was just fun. Reporter mind you, when she was far away in india, the people who loved amyjane worried a lot. And didnt breathe easy until she returned home to the safety and security of pendleton where she was waiting for god to tell her what to do next whether it was gonna be to travel the world, or go back to ywam or go to school. Reporter she wanted more freedom, too. So she moved out of her parents house and got herself a little apartment in downtown pendleton. Worked two jobs to pay for it including a job cleaning motel rooms at the travelodge across from city hall. She was excited to get this other job, but she wasnt so sure about working at the hotel. She was a little nervous about it. Reporter after all, shed never done that sort of thing before or answered to a boss who, well this one sounded gruff. But she went. And she scoured and scrubbed those little rooms that looked out on downtown pendleton. And then it was august 14th, 2012. 911 what is your emergency . I am calling from travelodge. In pendleton. Theres a girl dead in the barth room bathroom. I dont know. A girl dead in the bathroom . I think shes passed out or okay im gonna get police and ambulance headed that way, okay . Reporter in his office down the hall from the 911 operator, bill caldera listened and felt the dread flood in. It just gave me a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was not good about this call. Reporter bill, remember, was a close friend of the brandhagen family, attends the same church. But hes also a policeman and that day, with the chief on vacation, lieutenant bill caldera was the man in charge. As soon as one of my patrol sergeants arrived on the scene, he requested my presence. Which i knew then we were probably dealing with a homicide. Reporter but as he raced to the motel, he couldnt know what had just been started there, any more than whose life had just ended. What this veteran investigator was about to find would leave his stunned . I just cant tell you the feeling that went through my mind. When we return, a crime that may be impossible to solve, thank to a suspect list that could include anyone and everyone. Within the first hour at being at the crime scene, up wards of 50 people walked by. More saving. More doing. Thats the power of the home depot. Trade in your old lights, and get up to 5 bucks off the latest leds. You could be at the corner of im throwing away money and i had no idea. Well, walgreens has your back. Our expert pharmacists make it easy for you to save on your prescriptions. So you can keep your money where it belongs. Swing by walgreens. Where you could save even more with medicare prescription copays as low as zero dollars. At the corner of happy and healthy. If it doesnt work fast. Youre on to the next thing. Clinically proven neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. It targets fine lines and wrinkles with the fastest retinol formula available. Youll see younger looking skin in just one week. One week . This ones a keeper. Rapid wrinkle repair. 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Reporter lieutenant bill caldera prepared himself as he drove over to the travelodge and then climbed the stairs to room 231. All the preparation in the world would not have been enough. Lying on the bathroom floor, her lifeless body punctured by the startling scarlet of a dozen stab wounds was the sweet free spirit hed known since she was a baby. 19year old Amyjane Brandhagen. It felt like somebody had kicked me in the pit of my stomach. I just cant tell you [ crying ] the feeling that went through my mind. Reporter yeah. Almost like she was your kid, in a way. Very much. Reporter lieutenant caldera took it upon himself to notify amyjanes parents. That was probably the toughest thing ive ever had to do in my career and i just cant tell you the feeling that we all had. We broke down in tears. Reporter but why would anyone want to kill amyjane, of all people . I was just crushed. Like how is this even possible . Im just speechless. And then i sat crying in the bathroom for probably like the next hour, not understanding, craziness. Reporter as word spread throughout amyjanes Church Family so did the questions. High school youth pastor chris thatcher. Early on, was there any indication of who may have been responsible . I dont think anybody had any idea. And i think thats what made it so hard is that, so many of us, we know each other. Were family here. Reporter but there was the dismal work to do. Lieutenant caldera returned to the motel where amy was murdered. Itd be pretty hard for you to take part in an active investigation no. I wouldnt have. I couldnt have. Not with my relationship. Reporter lieutenant caldera turned the case over to detective Sergeant Rick jackson. It was a pretty, pretty horrific crime scene. Reporter it was obvious amyjane fought for her life. Her glasses lay in the bathtub. Blood spattered the walls. Dna of a male, presumably her attacker would be found under her fingernails. But the medical examiner said it was not a sex attack. And it wasnt robbery either. Amyjanes purse and cell phone were still right there on the bedside table. And nobody saw a thing. Even though this was during broad daylight with a motel room door, with motel room doors open. Reporter the only potential witness if he was a witness at all was a painter working at the motel. Who said he saw a young man with longer hair, darker skin, perhaps hispanic or native american, walking near the back parking lot. It may have been the person who did it or it may not have been. It might have been someone just passing by. Sure while we were there shoot, within the first hour of being at the crime scene, upwards of 50 people walked by. I mean this is a pretty busy area of town. Reporter busy, yes. And studded with cctv cameras. Banks. Bridges. City hall. Walking trails along the river that runs through town. Detectives painstakingly went through the footage. There was nothing. Reporter they took dna from dozens of motel guests to check against the sample taken from amyjanes fingernails. Wasnt any of them. So detective jackson went to the people who knew amyjane well, or or perhaps, romantically. Those stab wounds were all focused around her heart, which often indicates some kind of crime of passion, but i think most of the males we spoke to really viewed themselves as her protectors. Reporter Pendleton Police chief Stuart Roberts hurried back home from his abbreviated mexican vacation and encountered a case going nowhere fast. Everybody that knew her characterized her in the same way. She knew no stranger. She didnt have an evil bone in her body. Reporter as the investigation entered its second week, amyjanes family prepared a Memorial Service at the church where theyd raised their daughter. Amy loved thunderstorms. And it was one of her favorite things to do was to go out barefoot and dance in the rain, because she just loved it. And the morning of her Memorial Service there was a loud clap of thunder that came over town about 6 30. And several of us heard it. I think we knew. Up there dancin in the rain somewhere, huh . I think she was. And together we pray, in jesus name, amen. Reporter hundreds crowded into amyjanes church and many, like jed and lisa hummel, were amazed by the strength of amyjanes parents. They were hurting deeply. But they werent looking for vengeance. Me, on the other hand, i was just ticked. I was like, this is insane and Everybody Needs to find this person. oh, they were certainly trying. Even at that very moment. We had about 10 or 12 undercover officers in and about the Memorial Service looking for anybody that would strike us as odd. Reporter but no one stood out. A month after the murder, the famous roundup filled the streets as usual. And then they emptied again. And as the autumn wind turned raw, detective jacksons investigation chased down every lead and got nowhere. We call them rabbit trails. We ran hundreds of rabbit trails down. Reporter the holidays came and went, holidays for other people. Not detective jackson. Not chief roberts. It haunted me. This case haunted me. Reporter and then . A spring breeze dipped into the pendleton valley, curled its warming fingers into secret corners and came out whispering a name. Coming up. Weve gone more months with nothing and now this. Out of the blue, a tip that had cops found their killer. We go out and find his girlfriend and shes i always believed he could have done this. When dateline kins. Continues. Get up to 50 offsears outerwear for the family, and members get up to 100 back in points on Samsung Galaxy tablets. Plus get 50 off all diehard workboots. Start your search at sears. To make dinner more delicious. With eleven plump tomatoes in every jar, our sauce is richer, thicker and more delectable than ever. And bursting with so much taste, it brings families together. Ragu. Make dinner taste better. Reporter six months after the murder of Amyjane Brandhagen, investigators finally caught a break. A county jail inmate looking for a deal got word out to the cops. He claimed to know who killed amyjane. I mean weve gone for months with nothing and now this. Reporter there were two of them, said the inmate. Ira draper. And eric torres. Both, well known to local Law Enforcement who soon confirmed the men were in the area the day of the murder. They found torres first. And . Looked like they were onto something. Torres said yes, he was in on it. But he didnt kill her. It was the guy he was with he said, draper who went into the motel room and came out very bloody. He basically tells em, yeah i was driving the getaway car. Reporter it was his buddy who did the killing, he said. Ira draper. So we go out and find his girlfriend and shes going, i always believed he could have done this. Hes aggressive. And he has these journals they are journal entries about defiling women and killing and burying them. Reporter they found and questioned draper who said he understood why he was a suspect. Have you ever thought about killing anybody . Ive never really planned it out. But maybe thought about, yeah. Reporter but after a few minutes with draper, jackson had a familiar, sinking feeling. He was very much so enamored by the fact that the police were giving him attention. He was playing you. He was playing it for all it was worth . He was getting a little street cred for it. Reporter and the dna confirm. It was all an act. Two unpleasant men, police said, who seemed to be enjoying themselves at the expense of the cops. So back to zero. By august 2013, it had been almost a full year since Amyjane Brandhagens murder in pendleton. Investigators had exhausted hundreds of leads, and themselves. I knew it was having an impact on my Physiological Health as well as my mental health. Reporter on august 8th, the chief took his family out of town for some r r. And the very next day, a woman named karen lange, happened to be a member of amyjanes church, announced to her husband, dan, she was going for a walk. She came down, and ill never forget what she said. She said, well, you know, i was thinking that maybe we can go out for dessert afterward. Reporter karen was an accomplished singer and pianist, dan, Vice President of the local community college. Her walk along the river levee near downtown pendleton the riverwalk was an almost daily habit. It was 4 30pm. Lots of sun left on a warm august afternoon. And the last words she said to me were, well i guess well just have a nice boring evening. reporter dan went back to tinkering on his motorcycle lost all track of time. It was dark when his son walked into the room and asked an innocuous question. Wheres mom . i said, hmm, well, i dont know. Ill give her a call. So i went and i tried to make the phone call and i couldnt get ahold of her. Reporter but it was after 9 30 p. M. Karen usually walked for less than an hour she had been gone for five. In some people, anxiety stokes panic. Dan is not like that. Its a coping mechanism. He stays calm. He made another call. Long day. Ten oclock at night. My phone rings. And so, hey hi dan. reporter remember jed and lisa hummel . Friends of amyjanes from church . Karen always parked her car in front of their house when she took her Late Afternoon walks. He says is karen at your house . No. I just got home. And i asked lisa if shed been over. I said no, havent seen her. And i had looked outside and sure enough the car was still there, so we went out to the car and she wasnt there. Reporter so jed and lisa grabbed flashlights and walked the couple blocks from their house down to the river levee. And there in a parking lot, sat a Pendleton Policeman. What should they do, they asked him . And he just thought it was unusual enough that he got a hold of dan. Reporter as the officer left to talk to dan, jed and lisa kept looking through the dark along the river bank. Theres a fear of not finding anything, and theres a fear of finding something. When i got to the where the policeman was, we were talking and he said you seem to be awfully calm for your wife being missing. and at that point, i thought holy mackerel, you know, if theres something something bad that happened to her, i could be a suspect. Reporter from his patrol car, the officer was able to pull up images from cameras stationed around the river levee. No sign of karen. Then, her cell provider sent a ping to karens phone. It turned up across the main road about a halfmile from the river in the parking lot at walmart. Where again, the officer could not find karen. What was going on . Around and around the riverwalk they went. Pointing their puny flashlights at a sea of dark. I did go home at about 5 00. I w