People on UM You Liked

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

I liked Tom Sawyer. Not only was he great with the quotes (anybody that can say "no-no" twice in one sentence gets a thumbs-up in my book), but by all accounts, he just seemed like a real, genuinely nice and positive person. I also liked that one goofy face he made in one of the pictures at the beginning of his piece. I was saddened to learn he died several years ago, but at least he now has the chance to explore Heaven a lot more in-depth.

I second this. Always liked Tom Sawyer.

[wiseguy182]

Diana Nyad.

[TheCars1986]

William Byram from the Kathy Bonderson segment. The guy is a hero, IMO. Without his insistence and actual police work, Kathy's death probably would have still been classified as an accident to this day.

[WishfulDreamer]

In the astrology and investment episode, a lady is interviewed on the streets. Can't remember the exact quote but she says something along the lines of ''If I knew that my husband was investing our money in x stock based on astrology, I would grab the thermometer and call the doctor because I would know that he had lost his mind.'' Just the way she said it was really funny, too.

[MegtheEgg86]

Det. William Eskridge of the South Lyon (MI) Police Department, who searched for John Burns for over a decade before he was found. You could tell he not deeply cared about capturing John Burns, but was probably just as captivated and perplexed by the case as we UM viewers would eventually become. I'm sure he probably didn't intend to do it, but he made some great quotes that really highlighted how truly mysterious the case was:

"I really don't know where John Burns is from. Nor do I know when he was born. As a matter of fact, I can't be positive John Burns was born in the United States."

"I think it's very conceivable that John Burns is still alive. And maybe even watching this TV show."

I also read a news article featuring John Burns' capture and insistence that Eleanor Farver's murder was accidental, and that what happened was that his finger was on the trigger as she violently pushed the muzzle of the shotgun away from her. Det. Eskridge was quoted as saying something to the effect of, "What he can't explain is how exactly that happened three times."

[WishfulDreamer]

I know he (obviously) wasn't interviewed, but definitely Alejandro Espinoza. He risked himself to get the Night Stalker incarcerated and didn't seem to be into the monetary reward at all. I really hope he wasn't murdered and just went into hiding.

[MegtheEgg86]

I liked Sally McNelly's friend Helen Williams a lot. Even though you could tell Sally might have exasperated her a little bit, it seems she stuck by her until the end and was overall a compassionate friend.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

I liked Sally McNelly's friend Helen Williams a lot. Even though you could tell Sally might have exasperated her a little bit, it seems she stuck by her until the end and was overall a compassionate friend.

She seemed nice, innocent enough and a little naive. My only issue with her was her brushing off the seriousness of that last phone call with Sally. I'm sure she regrets it now and she probably will the rest of her life. But the way that whole scenario unfolded frustrated me.

Sally called her very upset, scared and told her that some person is probably going to kill her. Helen didn't believe her. She didn't ask for details. And she said herself that it never dawned on her to call Sally's mother and let her know what Sally told her.

This issue wasn't just restricted to Helen. There were a number of segments over the years that involved people telling family members or loved ones about death threats and I was always amazed at how these people never seemed to believe them or take them seriously. To me, that's something that can never be joked about. If someone close to me said that someone was going to kill them, sure I'd be skeptical at first but I would bug the hell out of them until I got details about why they said that. Then I would know how to react. I wouldn't immediately brush it off.

[here_thar_be_yetis]

Originally Posted by MissFit29

Harry Easterling from the Dave Bocks segment. He was the only one at that plant that gave a darn about Dave. I also liked Dave's daughter who was interviewed in the segment.

*time to quote a 2-year-old post!*

I liked Harry Easterling a lot. He seems like a good bro to know. He's concerned about Dave, is observant and recognizes when things are clearly not right, follows up on his hunches, gets security involved, tells his story in a very straightforward and factual manner. Great guy on the segment.

And while on the subject of the Dave Bocks segment, which is one of my favorites, there are two other people from that segment that I find memorable.

Dave's daughter is definitely my biggest UM crush. In spite of her bad period haircut, she's definitely a looker. Great eyes.

And DC Cole is without question my favorite UM interviewee to laugh at. That guy is just so weird.

[gluserty]

I liked harry Esterling as well; him and Dave Bocks had a good buddy system going on.
Yeah, I thought Dave Bocks' daughter was really pretty (on my short list for UM crushes); I even like the rodeo hairdo!

[RobinW]

You know, even though he was considered a suspect in the murder, I actually liked Eric Smith from the Eric Tamiyasu segment. I think it's very unlikely he had anything to do with Tamiyasu's death and only became a suspect because Don Dixon pointed the finger at him. Smith definitely comes off a lot better than Dixon or Sheriff Wampler.

I think I like Smith mostly because of his hilarious delivery of the line: "Don lives in a fantasy world". I also like how when Smith says that Tamiyasu was his best man, the segment immediately cuts to a photograph of them together at his wedding. Unlike Dixon, the guy actually has credible evidence to back up his claims about Tamiyasu's friendship.

[gluserty]

Oh, that sheriff was dubious; I mean, who burns a mattress that could have trace evidence? He's either a real yokel, or he had something to hide. I think it's unlikely that case will ever be solved.

[Kiki88]

Originally Posted by RobinW

Jim Fontes, the police officer who had his two sons abducted by his ex-wife. Seemed like a very nice man and loving father and even though his kids were stolen from him for nine years, I was glad to see them get a happy ending together.

Just recently rewatched this segment and it irks me how much the Iowa child protective services dropped the ball on this case. I just don't get how after going through all the trouble of investigating Terry & Kathy Durkin, going through their trash, etc., they couldn't wait a few more hours for Jim to get to Iowa to retrieve his children after Durkin was arrested. Then it was another nine years before he saw them again. Could have so easily been avoided and saved the poor guy the years of anguish. He seemed like such a nice guy and I really felt for him. So glad it was a happy ending.

[WishfulDreamer]

Judge Geiler's first housekeeper, Sophia. Not only did she help the Judge while on the job, even after she had to leave she stayed with him to make sure he got new housekeeper that could suit his needs. You could sense that she really tried to find a good housekeeper and it wasn't negligence on her part that led to him being swindled.

She even continued to drop by for years after having to resign to check on him and help him out. She actually cared about him. May Andelina Gonzalez, her complete opposite, rot.

[wiseguy182]

Originally Posted by WishfulDreamer

Judge Geiler's first housekeeper, Sophia. Not only did she help the Judge while on the job, even after she had to leave she stayed with him to make sure he got new housekeeper that could suit his needs. You could sense that she really tried to find a good housekeeper and it wasn't negligence on her part that led to him being swindled.

She even continued to drop by for years after having to resign to check on him and help him out. She actually cared about him. May Andelina Gonzalez, her complete opposite, rot.

I agree wholeheartedly. I distinctly remember liking Sophia from the first time I saw the segment in the 90's. Went above and beyond the call of duty. You could tell she actually cared and she wasn't just there for a paycheck. Sadly, that type of thing isn't as common these days. I can't tell you how many people I've worked with in the last several years that were solely interested in what they could get out of our employer and were totally disinterested in what they could provide for our company (and in most cases, they didn't contribute much to the company).