I probably haven't been around enough to know, but when I see people talking about and posts mentioning "rare segments" I'm wondering exactly what some of these are (ie. Case names or who they involve)

So maybe a few people could enlighten me, which cases exactly are considered to be "rare segments"?

Are there those which were once considered "rare segments" but now are no longer are?

Thanks for the heads up :wave:

I've never seen Donald Webb profiled on UM(Stack or Farina) on TV. I've seen his clip on youtube. Brad Bishop I've seen once but they show the clip from 1989. Joe Maloney I've never seen his segment from the 80s(only the youtube clip). All 3 of them have been on the run over 25 years and are in doubt whether they are still alive.

I probably haven't been around enough to know, but when I see people talking about and posts mentioning "rare segments" I'm wondering exactly what some of these are (ie. Case names or who they involve)

So maybe a few people could enlighten me, which cases exactly are considered to be "rare segments"?

Are there those which were once considered "rare segments" but now are no longer are?

Thanks for the heads up :wave:


I'm not active in trading, but I believe it's ones that were shown once, and the only copies are those that people had videotaped from the original airing. There are also others that were changed when reran or shown on Lifetime.

When you mention rare segments, one name comes to mind: Ed Barbara.

I've never seen Donald Webb profiled on UM (Stack or Farina) on TV

You mean Donald "Eugene" Webb? I thought I had seen this "mystery" screened a few times over the years. Didn't realise there was anything rare about this...

I believe it's ones that were shown once, and the only copies are those that people had videotaped from the original airing. There are also others that were changed when reran or shown on Lifetime.

By changed, how do you mean? Were they edited or shortened or for what reason changed? When I say changed, I'm only referring to Stack episodes here and probably pre-2000, ignoring any Farina related eps.

By changed, how do you mean? Were they edited or shortened or for what reason changed? When I say changed, I'm only referring to Stack episodes here and probably pre-2000, ignoring any Farina related eps.

Sometimes they were shortened, other times, things were added. One case comes to mind, and that's the murder of Jasper Watkins. They showed an actual picture of his face from his autopsy in one version, and the other had only a police sketch. I'm only referring to Robert Stack episodes.

I probably haven't been around enough to know, but when I see people talking about and posts mentioning "rare segments" I'm wondering exactly what some of these are (ie. Case names or who they involve)

So maybe a few people could enlighten me, which cases exactly are considered to be "rare segments"?

Are there those which were once considered "rare segments" but now are no longer are?

Thanks for the heads up :wave:

When UM was syndicated on Lifetime, there were a fair number of stories that were not shown on the Lifetime network. These were stories that aired once or twice when the show was on NBC, but were apparently never shown again.

Here is a pretty decent list, along with a lot of speculation about why certain stories probably didn't make it. I should point out that this is speculation. I have yet to hear a good explanation for this phenomenon that I am truly satisfied with. Perhaps there is a different reason for each story...

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=219882

Interestingly enough, many of the stories that weren't shown on Lifetime did make it to Spike. Of course, they were "edited" to be cool for Spike consumption.

Joe Maloney: I had forgotten about this case. Just re-watched it. I'd love to know what the heck kind of poison it was that he was able to use on his wife: she ingests it, remains conscious and functional, if feeling a little ill, for something like 24 hours, then lapses into a coma and finally dies, all apparently without any repeat doses. This poison is colorless and odorless. The UM segment is careful not to mention what the name of the poison is.

The REAL unsolved mystery here: what is this mystery substance?

I remember the first time I saw the Donald Eugene Webb case on Lifetime. I don't think I saw it a ton but it was definitely on the network.

Joe Maloney: I had forgotten about this case. Just re-watched it. I'd love to know what the heck kind of poison it was that he was able to use on his wife: she ingests it, remains conscious and functional, if feeling a little ill, for something like 24 hours, then lapses into a coma and finally dies, all apparently without any repeat doses. This poison is colorless and odorless. The UM segment is careful not to mention what the name of the poison is.

The REAL unsolved mystery here: what is this mystery substance?

This link here mentions "methyl alcohol". Not sure how accurate/reliable that is, though.

http://www.dun-laoghaire.com/michael_maloney.html

"Joe Maloney: I had forgotten about this case. Just re-watched it. I'd love to know what the heck kind of poison it was that he was able to use on his wife: she ingests it, remains conscious and functional, if feeling a little ill, for something like 24 hours, then lapses into a coma and finally dies, all apparently without any repeat doses. This poison is colorless and odorless. The UM segment is careful not to mention what the name of the poison is.

The REAL unsolved mystery here: what is this mystery substance?"

I think I saw this story on another TV show. Is Joe Maloney a red-haired guy that used to work as a radio DJ or something like that?

If I'm thinking of the right case, he would put anti-freeze in her Gatorade bottles. She liked to drink Lime Gatorade and anti-freeze is naturally green, so that's how she couldn't detect the anti-freeze.

Joe Maloney: I had forgotten about this case. Just re-watched it. I'd love to know what the heck kind of poison it was that he was able to use on his wife: she ingests it, remains conscious and functional, if feeling a little ill, for something like 24 hours, then lapses into a coma and finally dies, all apparently without any repeat doses. This poison is colorless and odorless. The UM segment is careful not to mention what the name of the poison is.

The REAL unsolved mystery here: what is this mystery substance?


My guess is that it was thallium sulfate, which has all the properties you mentioned above and is soluble in water. It also could be found in older chemistry kits (and Maloney was snooping around in his friend's lab).

There is a case that I haven't seen in YEARS. I don't remember the man's name, but it's the one where he grabs onto a small plane wing trying to catch a ride and ends up falling into the airport fence. Any info on this case would be appriciated.

There is a case that I haven't seen in YEARS. I don't remember the man's name, but it's the one where he grabs onto a small plane wing trying to catch a ride and ends up falling into the airport fence. Any info on this case would be appriciated.

His name was Brian Stanley Duecker ("Duecker" being an uncommon name, makes for an ideal search term here on the forums). Lots of threads going on him, over the years. Here is one of the best, including a link to his "findagrave" page.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=257961

His name was Brian Stanley Duecker ("Duecker" being an uncommon name, makes for an ideal search term here on the forums). Lots of threads going on him, over the years. Here is one of the best, including a link to his "findagrave" page.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=257961

Appriciate the info on that case. Might as well throw out 1 more case I haven't seen in forever: The case where a man lived in a house and took in a stranger. Somehow through years of influence, the stranger got the home owner to obey him through religious threat. The man ended up living in the basement and dying down there. You guys are good help me out!

Might as well throw out 1 more case I haven't seen in forever: The case where a man lived in a house and took in a stranger. Somehow through years of influence, the stranger got the home owner to obey him through religious threat. The man ended up living in the basement and dying down there.

That was the Tim Good homicide by his employee Winston Jelks, AKA Dave Freeman. Someone who was burglarizing the farm after it was abandoned by Jelks and his wife found Good's body in the basement and notified the police. Jelks was later apprehended and charged with Good's murder.

The Thomas Drake Final Appeal segment just doesn't air, period. I've only seen it air once.

The Thomas Drake Final Appeal segment just doesn't air, period. I've only seen it air once.

Was it on Spike or NBC that you watched it? Just curious...

Was it on Spike or NBC that you watched it? Just curious...
Spike. According to most info i've found it never aired on NBC, correct?

Spike. According to most info i've found it never aired on NBC, correct?

I know it didn't air in the east coast. Not sure what other time zones got that nght.

If it didn't air on NBC at all, then the Spike version is all that we have of this story. A depressing thought right there.

The one segment that I've tried to find is the River wild case. It involves a son and mother being harassed during a vacation. Very hard case to find.

I've also tried to find the Charles Southern case. Southern was a professor and he was supposedly abducted by a cult.

LOL, I am finding it hard to believe that some of the cases being mentioned are coming up in this thread.
Donald Eugene WebbTim GoodThe River Wild segment
These are cases that seemed to me were on lifetime almost every other day. I was setting my Togo for them every day for over a year and each time one of these came on I remember thinking, "crappy, this one again?" They may not have been shown as much.as Gilbert Ortiz, but they were definitely show.

The UHAUL segment. There is one that to my knowledge aired twice on NBC and I have been told aired a couple times on lifetime. I have not seen it since the second NBC airing. Also, the Stack version of the first segment on Robert Kennedy. Not the one with the kid taking the photos. The first one questioning one or two shooters.

I forget the offenders name, but it took place in my hometown. Lifetime showed it now and again. It was about the child molested that befriended a young girl at a pet shop. Then he raped and killed her. It was not shown too often.

Another that the name escapes me is the doctor accused of killing his wife. He picked up his daughter from school and went home to find her dead. He fled when the case against him piled up as the police never even thought about anyone other than him. He was captured in some other country. He was in prison on a final appeal and was in need of a heart transplant. (totally innocent IMO BTW)

Those are all I can think of at the moment. The last two were shown on lifetime, just not as often as other segments.

PS if anyone knows where I can Di.d that UHAUL segment, please let me know.

LOL, I am finding it hard to believe that some of the cases being mentioned are coming up in this thread.
Donald Eugene WebbTim GoodThe River Wild segment
These are cases that seemed to me were on lifetime almost every other day. I was setting my Togo for them every day for over a year and each time one of these came on I remember thinking, "crappy, this one again?" They may not have been shown as much.as Gilbert Ortiz, but they were definitely show.

The UHAUL segment. There is one that to my knowledge aired twice on NBC and I have been told aired a couple times on lifetime. I have not seen it since the second NBC airing. Also, the Stack version of the first segment on Robert Kennedy. Not the one with the kid taking the photos. The first one questioning one or two shooters.

I forget the offenders name, but it took place in my hometown. Lifetime showed it now and again. It was about the child molested that befriended a young girl at a pet shop. Then he raped and killed her. It was not shown too often.

Another that the name escapes me is the doctor accused of killing his wife. He picked up his daughter from school and went home to find her dead. He fled when the case against him piled up as the police never even thought about anyone other than him. He was captured in some other country. He was in prison on a final appeal and was in need of a heart transplant. (totally innocent IMO BTW)

Those are all I can think of at the moment. The last two were shown on lifetime, just not as often as other segments.

PS if anyone knows where I can Di.d that UHAUL segment, please let me know.As I recall, the David Fisher case was shown often on UM. (AKA, the guy who killed the young girl) About the U-HAUL case, are you speaking about the murder of Eva Shoen?

About the River Wild case, I haven't been able to find it on the internet. To add to that, it wasn't on my 16 disk set either. BTW, all three cases you mentioned are on my disk set. Are you sure the River wild case was shown often? :p

Another case I've had a hard time finding is the William Hendrick case. He was a young gay college student who disappeared. This case could have been on Lifetime often but it's non-existent on the Internet streaming websites. No one seems to discuss it either.

I think the question of rarity is subjective.

There were a handful of stories that I maybe saw once or twice on Lifetime and never again. However, I didn't watch the show daily so perhaps it was a case of me not tuning in at the right times to see those stories again.

I would say the rarest case at this point is Todd Mcaffee, as I don't know anyone who has a copy. Runner up would be episodes of the short lived Final Appeal series, although some of those have been shown in the Farina episodes, so maybe that shouldn't qualify.

I would say the rarest case at this point is Todd Mcaffee, as I don't know anyone who has a copy.

you have to wonder what on Earth would possess UM to air Todd Mcafee during an episode that was otherwise comprised of repeat segments. It certainly didn't give the case the exposure one would hope for, or the ratings NBC would hope for. I noticed another case they did that with in the first season was Sheldon Weinberg. Now had they been able to come up with a couple more segments for that first season, then you could have those, Todd Mcafee and Sheldon Weinberg in an episode. At least Weinberg was caught (and did make it to lifetime)

you have to wonder what on Earth would possess UM to air Todd Mcafee during an episode that was otherwise comprised of repeat segments. It certainly didn't give the case the exposure one would hope for, or the ratings NBC would hope for. I noticed another case they did that with in the first season was Sheldon Weinberg. Now had they been able to come up with a couple more segments for that first season, then you could have those, Todd Mcafee and Sheldon Weinberg in an episode. At least Weinberg was caught (and did make it to lifetime)

I don't get it either. Plus, I found articles indicating that the mother/family were still offering cash rewards for information as late as 1998, so its not as if they gave up.

I think it was a ratings ploy that never panned out. I believe they also aired the Mike Reimer case during that summer in a similar manner. Of course it's also possible that these segments were leftovers from season one and they never had a chance to incoporate them into any episodes during the regular season.

But then why not just hold them over until Season 2? I agree with Wiseguy it really doesn't make any sense.

I think it was a ratings ploy that never panned out.

Bingo. The episodes that aired a week or two before the actual season premiere were called "fall previews". Maybe the concept on UM was to mix some old material and some new to attract viewers.

In this case, it was detrimental since the segment in question seemingly never made it into normal rotation.

I want to get ahold of that extremely rare, hard to find, episode that featured the guy who was suffering from amnesia and was found in the desert. He no idea who he was or where he had been, completely obvlivious about his past. Then a surprise twist...it tirns he out he's NOT wanted for anything at all!! There is NO felony arrest warrant he's ducking and no family he has skipped out on. He's NOT just a crook who ran out on his life and has decided he can't be alone but still doesn't want to fess up to what he did!!

I want to get ahold of that extremely rare, hard to find, episode that featured the guy who was suffering from amnesia and was found in the desert. He no idea who he was or where he had been, completely obvlivious about his past. Then a surprise twist...it tirns he out he's NOT wanted for anything at all!! There is NO felony arrest warrant he's ducking and no family he has skipped out on. He's NOT just a crook who ran out on his life and has decided he can't be alone but still doesn't want to fess up to what he did!!

LOL so much right now at this!

I think the question of rarity is subjective.

There were a handful of stories that I maybe saw once or twice on Lifetime and never again. However, I didn't watch the show daily so perhaps it was a case of me not tuning in at the right times to see those stories again.

I would say the rarest case at this point is Todd Mcaffee, as I don't know anyone who has a copy. Runner up would be episodes of the short lived Final Appeal series, although some of those have been shown in the Farina episodes, so maybe that shouldn't qualify.

I agree.

Was Thomas Drake ever shown on the Farina episodes? I was under the impression that was a pretty hard-to-find FA segment. I think Marilu Geri would be one as well, although it's come back with Farina.

Was Thomas Drake ever shown on the Farina episodes?

Yes and there is a decent possibility that this is the only airing of this segment period. The segment was originally scheduled to air on the "Final Appeal" spinoff on 10-28-92, however there seems to be some doubt as to whether or not it actually ever made broadcast.

I only saw these segments on lifetime once. Never seen them again. Some of these were from the 1996/1997 season, so they probably aired on NBC, but for whatever reason, lifetime only aired them one last time...or maybe I'm wrong...

1. Chupacabra
2. Bible Code
3. Young girl kidnapped by a vampire guy she met off the internet
4. Bombing at a stadium event
5. Asteroid crashing into earth/end of the world scenario.
6. Russell and Jean Johnson christmas miracle.
7. Aphrodisiac
8. Mothman
9. Boston Strangler
10. Tupac Shakur
11. Oklahoma City Bombing
12. Alcatraz 1 hour Special - This is where they had Robert Stack on a boat and a big scuba diving team.
13. Bigfoot creatures in a small town (older segment from the early 90's) (a town says there are bigfoot creatures in their city, they interview a guy and his son)
14. Adam Hecht
15. Magic Rock
16. Poison Blob rain

I remember seeing the show in 30 minute blocks at like 2am in the morning. I don't know why they bothered doing half an hour shows like that so early. In the early 2000's I used to watch the show almost everyday on lifetime. They used to show it at 8pm after Golden Girls. I remember the advertisement of a "new season" of unsolved mysteries with a whole new look and all new cases (around 2001). After stack died in 2003 they switched all the schedules around or something. They took it off 8pm slot and put the old segments back on at 12 noon to 2 in the afternoon....

There was one segment from the mid 90's about a girl who was kidnapped in the woods, and other children reported seeing her be abducted by a man in a jogging suit with a blue hat. It's the segment where the girls mother says the children were just "diddybopping along"...I think I've only seen this once or twice as a re-run on lifetime. Anyone know what case this is?

There was one segment from the mid 90's about a girl who was kidnapped in the woods, and other children reported seeing her be abducted by a man in a jogging suit with a blue hat. It's the segment where the girls mother says the children were just "diddybopping along"...I think I've only seen this once or twice as a re-run on lifetime. Anyone know what case this is?

I don't think that phrase was ever used in the segment but it's a pretty famous case. It's the case of Nyleen Kay Marshall who was abducted from the Elkhorn National Park in Helena, Montana in 1983. Children saw Nyleen talking to a man in a jogging suit who invited her to play a game that he called "follow the shadow". Nyleen was never seen again.

Several years later, a man who claimed to have abducted Nyleen called into or wrote various agencies who aide in the recovery of abducted children telling them that he had Nyleen and provided intimate details about the case that were never released to the public. UM displayed portions of the letters the man sent into the agencies during the segment some of which suggested that the man was sexually abusing Nyleen. Although it has never been directly stated, after years researching the case I've come to believe that the intimate details revealed in the letters and phone calls may have something to do with information regarding the clothing Nyleen was wearing on the day of her abduction. As far as I'm aware this information has never been released to the public and may have been held back as a method of identifying Nyleen's abductor.

Also of note is that Nyleen's mother Nancy who was featured heavily in the UM segment is believed to have been murdered during a trip to Mexico in the mid nineties. The Mexican authorities however ruled her death a suicide and refused to allow the United States jurisdiction to investigate the case.

Nyleen Kay Marshall remains missing to this day.

I don't think that phrase was ever used in the segment but it's a pretty famous case. It's the case of Nyleen Kay Marshall who was abducted from the Elkhorn National Park in Helena, Montana in 1983. Children saw Nyleen talking to a man in a jogging suit who invited her to play a game that he called "follow the shadow". Nyleen was never seen again.

Several years later, a man who claimed to have abducted Nyleen called into or wrote various agencies who aide in the recovery of abducted children telling them that he had Nyleen and provided intimate details about the case that were never released to the public. UM displayed portions of the letters the man sent into the agencies during the segment some of which suggested that the man was sexually abusing Nyleen. Although it has never been directly stated, after years researching the case I've come to believe that the intimate details revealed in the letters and phone calls may have something to do with information regarding the clothing Nyleen was wearing on the day of her abduction. As far as I'm aware this information has never been released to the public and may have been held back as a method of identifying Nyleen's abductor.

Also of note is that Nyleen's mother Nancy who was featured heavily in the UM segment is believed to have been murdered during a trip to Mexico in the mid nineties. The Mexican authorities however ruled her death a suicide and refused to allow the United States jurisdiction to investigate the case.

Nyleen Kay Marshall remains missing to this day.

Maybe I'm mixing up two segments, but I am almost positive that there was a segment of a missing girl where one of the adults (either her parent or grandparent) said the children got ahead of them, as they were "diddybopping". I've just always found that word funny, which is probably why I remember it.

I only saw these segments on lifetime once. Never seen them again. Some of these were from the 1996/1997 season, so they probably aired on NBC, but for whatever reason, lifetime only aired them one last time...or maybe I'm wrong...



Being in Canada, we did not have Lifetime, but I do recall seeing most of the segments you mentioned. NBC must have ran all of those.

Another segment I've only seen once on Liftetime was the story about the grandparents who kidnapped their grandchildren.

Another segment I've only seen once on Liftetime was the story about the grandparents who kidnapped their grandchildren.

Very true. I don't think I have seen that case aired since NBC. However, they did air the update of this segment on its own at least a few times on Lifetime. I might be mistaken, but I thought that case had finally been solved and the children returned home. I could be confusing it with another though.

I don't think that phrase was ever used in the segment but it's a pretty famous case. It's the case of Nyleen Kay Marshall who was abducted from the Elkhorn National Park in Helena, Montana in 1983. Children saw Nyleen talking to a man in a jogging suit who invited her to play a game that he called "follow the shadow". Nyleen was never seen again.

Several years later, a man who claimed to have abducted Nyleen called into or wrote various agencies who aide in the recovery of abducted children telling them that he had Nyleen and provided intimate details about the case that were never released to the public. UM displayed portions of the letters the man sent into the agencies during the segment some of which suggested that the man was sexually abusing Nyleen. Although it has never been directly stated, after years researching the case I've come to believe that the intimate details revealed in the letters and phone calls may have something to do with information regarding the clothing Nyleen was wearing on the day of her abduction. As far as I'm aware this information has never been released to the public and may have been held back as a method of identifying Nyleen's abductor.

Also of note is that Nyleen's mother Nancy who was featured heavily in the UM segment is believed to have been murdered during a trip to Mexico in the mid nineties. The Mexican authorities however ruled her death a suicide and refused to allow the United States jurisdiction to investigate the case.

Nyleen Kay Marshall remains missing to this day.


How did you find out that Nyleen's mother was murdered in the mid 90's in Mexico? I never saw that update on Unsolved Mysteries. Did you hear about the dead mother on the news or did you google search it?

How did you find out that Nyleen's mother was murdered in the mid 90's in Mexico? I never saw that update on Unsolved Mysteries. Did you hear about the dead mother on the news or did you google search it?

I can answer that one. Someone from the board (years back) saw a post on websleuths where a cousin of Nancy Marshall's said she was killed several years ago while looking for a house in a relocation move to Mexico. From the horrid details it definitely seemed a murder (I believe she was hanging from the ceiling fan) but the authorities there ruled it a suicide. I did talk to someone I know who works at the doe network and they were able to talk to LE and verify that she did die but couldn't confirm any details (possibly since it happened in another country). I take the post by the cousin as truth though. Just when you thought the Nyleen Marshall story couldn't get any worse....:(

I think it was a ratings ploy that never panned out. I believe they also aired the Mike Reimer case during that summer in a similar manner. Of course it's also possible that these segments were leftovers from season one and they never had a chance to incoporate them into any episodes during the regular season.

But then why not just hold them over until Season 2? I agree with Wiseguy it really doesn't make any sense.

ah, good catch. Reimer originally aired on 9/6/89, which would make it 2 weeks before the season premiere. The rest of the segments on that episode were repeats. So yep, you're right about that.

Does anyone know what the differences (if any) between the Spike revamped version of the Marilu Geri segment and the original one that aired on NBC?

Does anyone know what the differences (if any) between the Spike revamped version of the Marilu Geri segment and the original one that aired on NBC?

Dude, you saw this? Did you think he was guilty or innocent?

I've only seen the NBC version, so I can't compare the two unfortunately.

I haven't seen the spike version either and it's been years since I saw the original segment. Wish I had this one in my collection. :(

Dude, you saw this? Did you think he was guilty or innocent?

I've only seen the NBC version, so I can't compare the two unfortunately.

I have seen the SPIKE version. I believe it has also aired on Lifetime (the Farina hosted episode). Stephen Geri is guilty IMHO, I just got done doing a post in the Marilu Geri thread explaining why I think so. The SPIKE version made a big deal about the settlement issue and also made no mention of Stephen Geri being indicted on a felony theft charge.

I have seen the SPIKE version. I believe it has also aired on Lifetime (the Farina hosted episode). Stephen Geri is guilty IMHO, I just got done doing a post in the Marilu Geri thread explaining why I think so. The SPIKE version made a big deal about the settlement issue and also made no mention of Stephen Geri being indicted on a felony theft charge.

Just watched the Spike version online. I think it plays out much the way the NBC version does. The only obvious differences in the narrative I noticed were the NBC cut mentioned that Geri filed for bankruptcy a year or two after the murder (will have to double check time frame). Also, the NBC version mentioned that the court records were sealed for two years, not indefinitely. Therefore I presume it may be possible to find out today the exact details of the settlement and possibly who asked for it. Spike didn't go there obviously.

Just watched the Spike version online. I think it plays out much the way the NBC version does. The only obvious differences in the narrative I noticed were the NBC cut mentioned that Geri filed for bankruptcy a year or two after the murder (will have to double check time frame). Also, the NBC version mentioned that the court records were sealed for two years, not indefinitely. Therefore I presume it may be possible to find out today the exact details of the settlement and possibly who asked for it. Spike didn't go there obviously.

I see the settlement as a non-issue anyway. Regardless of who asked for it, it still doesn't mean Geri isn't guilty of orchestrating his wife's murder.