None of you in this room have dna evidence, no police reports, sketchy memories. Why should we believe you . The cosby accusers speak. But first, a dateline mystery. The kidnapping case straight out of the movies. The details are so crazy i just i couldnt make sense of it. A successful young couple ambushed, they said, in the dead of night. Attacked, abducted. Were like, wow, where is she . I didnt have a clue what happened. But the real question, was their story even true . We were not able to substantiate any of the things he was saying. They branded the couple as liars. Could this be some kind of hoax . Who was really behind it all . Normal people dont do things like this. This whole story could take another crazy turn. He said, i know that i need to pay for what i did. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Josh Mankiewicz with twisted tale. I was asleep in bed. It was about 5 00 in the morning. Reporter frightening doesnt begin to describe what she went through. And the next thing i knew there was someone laying on top of me. Reporter she was instantly the losing player in someone elses game of power and control. Their hand was over my mouth. Reporter if youre wondering, there was no way to fight back. I mustve been screaming. Reporter this woman doesnt want us to use her real name. Were calling her samantha, and shes sharing with us things she has told to very few people. This was a man . A man. Reporter bigger than you . Felt very big and strong. I couldnt move. Reporter september 29th, 2009. The sun wasnt up yet, and in samanthas bedroom a masked intruder was holding her down. She had no idea who the man was or what he was planning. He said, well, this is going to take a couple hours. I was, you know, i was, i think, just in shock. Reporter the details of what happened to samantha are not only frightening but also deeply strange. Shes come forward now because she believes that her long night of terror may shed light on a different case in a different town with victims shes never met. A strange twist in the reported abduction of a california woman. That search continues. Its the reallife abduction ripped from a hollywood script. Reporter its a bizarre mystery that riveted californias bay area then rippled across the country and around the world. March 24th, 2015. A young woman was missing. Miss huskins stands at 5 7, 150 pounds, shes got blonde hair and blue eyes. Reporter her abductors wanted money in exchange for her return. We are treating this as a kidnap for ransom, and were requesting the publics help in locating her. Reporter it happened 30 miles north of San Francisco in the city of vallejo. Henry lee was then a reporter at the San Francisco chronicle. I immediately was struck with the fact that you dont see these kinds of cases too often. And this crime victim did not strike me as someone who would usually be targeted. Reporter the kidnap victim, Denise Huskins, had been staying with her boyfriend, aaron quinn, at his house in vallejo. They dont come from rich families. Denise was 29 years old with a ph. D. In physical therapy. She worked at a nearby hospital. Aaron was 30, also a therapist at the same hospital, was the person who reported her kidnapping. Were doing everything that we can and then some to ensure her safe return. Reporter police dogs and dive teams were soon part of a huge search for Denise Huskins. Across the country, denises good friend ashley saw the news. There was an article posted online. Someone sent it to me and said, oh, my god. This is denise. And i started just texting everybody. Reporter including denise. I tried to text her. I figured better than not doing anything. Reporter there was no reply. She texted another friend, danica. I couldnt even believe what i was reading. It didnt even seem real. Reporter that was pretty much the reaction the vallejo cops had to the story denises boyfriend was telling them. We have a lot of information still to sift through. We dont have all of the facts in yet. Reporter the story aaron told the cops that night, eventually spelled out in an fbi affidavit, would seem frankly preposterous, something invented by someone with too much imagination and too much free time. Aaron said he and denise were asleep at his house when at about 3 00 a. M. He was awakened by a bright light and an electrical noise that sounded like a stun gun. Then a mans voice telling them to lie face down on the bed. Aaron said the man told denise to bind aarons hands and feet. Then he said his eyes were covered with swim goggles, which had been blacked out so he couldnt see. Hes been blindfolded, zip tied. Reporter aaron said the intruder demanded his Private Banking and email information and then put headphones on him that played calming music along with instructions to use denises phone to text her work and say shed be out for a couple of days and to let his work know the same. Aaron also claimed he was given a mixture of nyquil and valium to knock him out and told to stay in one spot in his living room that was outlined in red duct tape and monitored by a webcam. Then, he said, the intruders left with denise. His story sounded so implausible police wondered if he had made it up to hide something even more sinister. At first blush, when a woman is missing and her husband or boyfriend says, oh yeah, she was abducted, well, certainly the first thing i think, maybe because of what i do for a living, is the guy had something to do with it. Right. In these kinds of situations always look at the significant other. Is he a suspect . Is he making it up . What is going on here . Whats the real story . Reporter the police treated aaron less like a victim and more like a murder suspect. They confiscated his cell phone and read him his rights. They were suspicious about why he waited 11 hours before calling 911. Aaron quinn, it took him hours. Wasnt till that afternoon that the Vallejo Police were able to talk to him after he came forward. Reporter aarons mother later told us police polygraphed him five times. He was put in jail clothing, given little food or water and held in a small Interrogation Room for hours. Across the country, denises friends didnt know any of this. But they knew enough to be worried. I mean, someone being kidnapped, to be honest, a lot of those stories dont end well. And you dont want to think about those things, you think maybe theyre not going to be alive. Reporter then, about 33 hours after Denise Huskins disappeared, reporter henry lee was standing outside aarons home when his phone buzzed, an email. What was chilling was that this email came attached with an audio file, and this audio file, there was a womans voice. Okay, my name is Denise Huskins. Reporter the softspoken woman on the recording said she was denise. This very strange tale was about to get much stranger. What had happened to denise . When we come back we still dont know where Denise Huskins is. That cryptic recording. Exactly what kind of message was it . She sounded absolutely calm, not terrified, not distressed. Not like someone in fear for their life. Right. As if shes sitting with a friend with a cup of coffee. Geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. Shift without a disaster. A my bargain detergent couldnt keep up, so i switched to tide pods. Theyre super concentrated, so i get a better clean. 15 cleaning ingredients or 90 . Dont pay for water. Pay for clean thats my tide. So you dont have to stop. , tylenol® 8hr arthritis pain has two layers of pain relief. The first is fast. The second lasts all day. 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Oh, great well, when you get an iphone from at t, you get the network with the nations strongest 4g lte signal. So happy birthday. Thanks. But actually my birthday is not for another 5 months. I just wanted the new iphone, but now im feeling guilty because you went and got me an awesome network. Actually, we offer that to everybody. Even that guy . Yep. You didnt even look. Hes part of everybody. Get the new iphone at at t and the network with the nations strongest 4g lte signal. And right now get 300 credit for every line you switch. Denise huskins boyfriend said shed been kidnapped, but his story seemed hard to believe. Police wondered if hed murdered her and was now trying to cover it up. Then a day and a half after denise disappeared, a reporter received a mysterious email with an audio file attached. She talked about the days biggest news, a german airliner had gone down. Earlier today, there was a plane crash in the alps. 150 people died. She shared obscure biographical details. Trying to prove that, a, shes denise, and b, shes the kidnap victim. And shes aware of events that happened that day . To prove, in fact, she was alive. Clearly this wasnt a murder case, but was it a kidnapping as aaron claimed . We found it odd that denise didnt sound at all frightened. She sounded absolutely calm. Not distressed at all. Not someone in fear for their life. As if she was talking with a friend over coffee. I think the subject line was, wtf. What is this . It was sort of reassuring she was making an audio that clearly dated that day, but also still scary because you still have no idea if the persons safe, how theyre being treated. And if denise isnt sound panicked, her friends say that made perfect sense. After all, the three of them had already lived through what should have been the most traumatic event of their lives. Ashley, deneka, and denise went to watch the Boston Marathon in 2013. They say it was denise that remained calm that day. We were all scared and rocked by it, but of all of us, she was the best equipped to keep her cool. She was the one who was kind of my rock. She grabbed my hand and she was like lets go. Sheryl hurd covered the cover. We still dont know where Denise Huskins is. Were really not sure what her boyfriend, aaron quinn, is telling police. All we know is they cant find her. Then the story took another whiplash turn. About 45 hours after denise was reported missing, police made a dramatic announcement. Approximately 10 30 this morning, ms. Denise huskins was located safely. It seemed over. Denises cousin told knbc how thrilled everyone was. You never know. I was just happy to hear that she was alive and safe and home. But to police and reporters, all professional skeptics, this story hadnt smelled right from the start and denises sudden reappearance did nothing to change that. Shes alive. Shes well and they found her. That was great, but there was still something funny going on because no one had all the answers. For one thing, denise turned up in huntington beach, which was 400 miles south of vallejo and which was also her hometown. She was dropped off by her moms house. She was not released out of state. She was not released in the desert. She was not released in the middle of california. Where did she show up . Right near her parents house. Denise told police in her hometown the same story her boyfriend had told up north about the swim goggles, the nyquil, the threat of electric shock. But then when Vallejo Police wanted to question her Denise Huskins disappeared. After she was released . After she was released. Suspicion was building. Near denise nor aaron made any Public Statement, but they did hire separate attorneys. Everyones thinking why are they doing that. Lots of questions and not many answers, but then less than 12 hours after denise reappeared then we get a tip that police are holding a News Conference. So i jump in the car, the photographer and i, and we haul ass back to vallejo to be a part of this News Conference and thats when the bombshell came down. Coming up we were not able to sub stantuate any of the things that he was saying. Was this all some kind of prank . Was there some chance that denise and her boyfriend were going to be prosecuted . It was a very strong possibility. Emails, some photos. Some strange new clues are about to emerge from the shadows when dateline continues. Low prices on everything you need to make every meal more memorable. Walmart. Cafeteria chaos. School lunch can be difficult. One little struggle. Can lead to one monumental mishap. Not with new ziploc easy open tabs. Because life needs ziploc. Sc johnson. Dont let bad odors escape. Continuously neutralize them with glad with febreze. New glad bags. 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The statement that mr. Quinn provided was such an incredible story we initially had a hard time believing it and upon further investigation, we were not able to substantiate any of the things he was saying. As of right now, we have not heard from ms. Huskins. And then finally this. Mr. Quinn and ms. Huskins has taken valuable resources from our community while instilling fear among our community members. It is mr. Quinn and ms. Huskins that owes this community an apology. After a search and about 54 hours of investigation, Vallejo Police had concluded the whole kidnapping story was a phony. This was one of those made for california dramas. Police seemed to think denise and aaron were for some reason only known to them seeking publicity and telling an elaborate lie. Left unanswered is why anyone would want to become famous for fooling police. Remember no ransom was ever paid. Aaron told police the kidnappers took his bank information, but no one tried to access his accounts. Someone did try to call aarons cell phone a couple of times while denise was missing from a blocked number. According to aarons mother, Police Suspected aaron had somehow programmed another phone to call his own cell while he was with investigators. Was there some chance that denise and her boyfriend were going to be prosecuted . It was a very strong possibility based on those public pronouncements. Denises friends didnt know aaron, but they had every confidence denise was telling the truth. Everyone that knew or knows her personally and cares about her believed her. The day after police branded the kidnapping a hoax, denise finally did show up at vallejo pd to tell the cops they were wrong. She said that not only had she been kidnapped, she had also been raped. That same day reporter henry lee received another email. A long message soon followed by more supporting denises claim that this was no hoax from a person claiming to have been one of the kidnappers. They were very articulate. Clearly written by someone who was extremely intelligent. Ms. Huskins was absolutely kidnapped. We did it. We will provide incontrovertible proof. He claimed to be part of a group. He went into detail a serious of crimes they committed. Some of us have a tech background. Stealing late model cars, according to the email, the group decided to try kidnapping because we wanted something with a high payout that we only had to do once or a few times. What is going on . Why are you apparently confessing . The writer admitted that the reality of the kidnapping was much more upsetting than expected. We fancied ourselves a sort of oceans 11 gentlemen criminals who only took stuff that was insured for people who could afford it. The horrifying reality of what we had become and what we were doing did not fit in until confronted directly with denises suffering and humanity. One of the abductors seemed to sympathize with denise. And now the email said they were angry that denise was being accused of making the whole thing up. We will not stand by and see the life of a really good person ruined. Attached to the emails were photos. One showed a water gun spray painted to look more threatening, at least in the dark, with a laser point and flashlight duct taped to it. Another showed a room with cardboard partially covering a window where denise was supposedly held. Was this visual proof of denise and aarons story or an elaborate deception . You thought legit or more hoax . My thought was certainly part of a prank. In fact, the emails were so cleverly written henry lee wondered if they might have been sent by an attorney for denise and aaron. Reporters started referring to the case as the gone girl kidnapping. That reference infuriated denises friends. When it is not accurate, it makes you mad. It was sort of like a fictional character created out of a good person. You start being labeled as the gone girl. The gone girl. That wasnt denise at all they said. But to the rest of the world, denise and aaron were portrayed as liars, schemers, maybe criminals themselves. That is, until the next big twist. Coming up he said we have your daughter. Another story as strange and eerie as denise and aarons. Terrifying . Yes. They were terrified. Had the mysterious kidnapper struck again . Also ahead i really lost consciousness. I wake up in a room with no clothes. I knew i was rap