>> david: tonight, a young mother goes missing but leaves behind a very revealing diary. >> deborah: as i saw for myself, david in florida, no shortage of leads or police interrogation tape. an all might have new "20/20" begins right now. ♪ i don't even think you can make a movie script with what had happened, it was just so surreal.

>> deborah: what brought you here in the investigation? >> the disappearance of beloved mother and air force veteran tricia todd is still unsolved with no leads. >> i love you! >> love you! >> everyone was going through the woods, everyone was going up and down through every street. we had posters put up, we had flyers. it was a massive effort. >> deborah: all kinds of possibilities are on the table? >> absolutely. >> i feel like i'm living a tv drama right now, oh, the husband comes to town, all of a sudden the ex-wife goes missing. great, that's freaking awesome. >> we've investigated the ex-husband. we've investigated a pastor. >> to have her stop, and she did. she stopped. >> we've investigated a ventriloquist. >> how you doing, man? >> she had dreams that she was going to marry him. >> whoa, didn't see that one coming. >> as we started digging a little deeper, we can see another side of tricia, that maybe she didn't exactly express

to her family. >> she liked to walk on the beach. she liked to go late at night. >> we could pray. >> okay, go ahead and pray, sir, please. >> i pray, lord, wherever she's at, if she's still alive, be with her. >> deborah: where do you go at that point? >> deborah: hobe sound, florida, just north of glamorous palm beach. here, folks enjoy a quieter get their feet in the sand of life, good weather, a chance to get their feet in the sand of this local beach. but for one family here, that tranquil life was interrupted in the worst possible way back in the spring of 2016. >> hobe sound is not a place that we typically have murders or missing people. >> generally speaking, it's an aberration.

>> we don't get high-level homicides. it just doesn't happen. it's unheard of. >> hobe sound is a very quiet place. it's small-town america. it's really centered around the bible college there. >> people, for the most part, kind of know who belongs, who doesn't belong. >> it's just a really wonderful place to live. there's still room to breathe. >> on april 27th of 2016, the sheriff's office here in martin county, we got a call of a missing person. there was a woman named tricia todd who had gone missing. >> deborah: tricia todd is a single mom who's recently been divorced. her 2-year-old daughter faith had been left with her regular babysitter, denise toffanello. >> couldn't get in touch with her, couldn't get in touch with her.

something's not right. >> the babysitter called me or chasity, my wife, and just said, "hey, no one's come and got the child." >> i said, "i have faith. i haven't been able to get in touch with your sister." i said, "what do you want me to do? tricia's just not answering her phone." >> i knew something was wrong right there, because tricia, wherever she was, if she had to crawl to get there, she would've picked up faith. >> deborah: so that's a major red flag for you? >> oh, yeah. >> we just stopped by the babysitter's house on the way home, picked up faith, had no idea what was going on. we were just in full speculation mode of, what in the world could cause this? like, what's going on? >> and then we called the police and told them she's a missing person. >> tricia's other brother, joshua, found her car parked out in front of their shared residence down in hobe sound, but it was parked in the wrong spot. >> it was parked in joshua's neighbor's spot, and i knew she would never do that and make trouble for her brother. >> i went to open the door and the door opened right up, and then there were keys in it. and i was like, that's so weird.

>> missing from her purse was her wallet. and there was no cell phone in the car, and that was very odd. >> in her home, we noticed that her groceries had been left in the kitchen area. >> deborah: not put away? >> not put away. so led us to believe that she left soon after coming home from the grocery store. >> so tricia grew up about a mile north of where i live in hobe sound. she has a large family. she's the only daughter of multiple brothers. >> deborah: tell me about tricia. >> well, when i had tricia, i had to tell myself in the hospital, "you have a girl. you have a girl." >> we were raised in a family with seven boys and one girl, so we were really rough. she was pretty tough. >> she was always up for adventure, and being the only girl with a bunch of boys, you pretty much had to be up for an adventure all the time.

>> she would keep up with the boys. when she got bigger, they had motorcycles. okay. she had a motorcycle. >> deborah: did she talk about her hopes and dreams in life? >> she wanted to be a nurse. i made her a nurse's outfit for christmas and -- she doctored the dog, and doctored her dolls, and that was her dream. >> deborah: she came from a churchgoing family in a town where that's pretty common. >> one of my favorite stories about tricia, there's a man who pulled a gun on her, opened her car door at the stop light, said, "get out, give me your car." and she said, "you should be ashamed of yourself." and she said, "i will pray for you." and he started crying and he got in the car and she drove him home. >> deborah: what a sweet little story of her and the way she approaches life. >> yes. >> there was one christian private school in that little area, hobe sound christian academy, that my sister and i

and several other of my siblings went to. >> deborah: in that high school, she would meet another student by the name of steven williams. tell me about steven. >> he was one of the few african-american students in the school. he was super funny, always had a laugh, always had a smile on his face. he was super smart. >> deborah: steven was raised by a single mom in nearby west palm beach. according to his mother, she moved him into the hobe sound christian academy after a troubled stretch in public school. >> steven was really just smooth and cool and collected. i would always see his name on the honor roll as a straight-a student. >> deborah: what was the connection between tricia and steven, do you think? >> he was a big personality. he seemed fun, and tricia gravitated towards it, like everybody else. >> they started to get more serious right after high school. >> they would walk around holding hands and laugh and flirt with each other. and i just like, okay, they're together. >> deborah: after high school, steven would go on to join the

air force. >> he was working up presently at an air force base in north carolina as an aircraft mechanic. >> deborah: then when tricia graduated, she signed up too. >> it was kind of a means to an end. she knew that she could get nurse training, and then i think it was also the adventure of joining the air force. >> one of our mutual friends called me and said, "you're not going to believe this." and he said that steve and tricia got married. well, i immediately called steve and said, "listen, you're not going to believe what the gossip train is saying now." he just laughed and said, "no, we got married." >> deborah: and when you heard that it was a sudden marriage, no big ceremony did that strike you as odd? >> she was always going to do what she wanted, and that just seemed very tricia-like. >> deborah: impulsive? >> yeah. >> deborah: he's black, she's white. was that an issue for you or the family? >> it wouldn't have been an issue for me if i would've been happy with him. but what's done is done. and i will learn to know him and hopefully like him.

>> i think more the fact that he wasn't associated with the church that she was associated with, that was mostly the issue that came about, especially with her family. >> deborah: tricia went on to serve time in iraq and then came home and began nursing school, where she graduated in 2011. >> that was a big moment for her. she finally reached her dream, her pinning. >> deborah: how sweet. >> i was the same >> deborah: went from here to here. >> yep. >> she would go on mission trips to haiti. she loved helping ailing people. people that were suffering, she loved to bring relief. >> deborah: she wanted to be a mom? >> yes. yeah, that was the most important thing to her, along with becoming a nurse, was being a mom. >> she ended up getting pregnant with faith. that was, for her, the best thing that ever could have possibly happened. her world revolved around motherhood at that point. >> she seemed over the moon. she was so thrilled.

every time faith did something new, giggle or roll over or smile or anything, she would call me. >> i love you! >> love you! >> just ooh and aah about how perfect faith was. >> deborah: so she seemed to be a good mom? >> very much so. >> love you. >> deborah: but by the time faith was 2, the marriage was over. tricia took her daughter and moved out of their home in raleigh, north carolina. >> in speaking with tricia's family, it sounded like the divorce was fairly amicable. >> she did not want any alimony, and she only wanted child support. >> deborah: so she wanted to make a clean break? >> yes. >> deborah: other than visitation? >> right. >> she decided to move back down here to hobe sound because her family and his family were still in the area. >> deborah: how did she handle coming down here as a single mom with her daughter and starting over? >> she had a place to stay. she had a loving family that

were very supportive of her. the first thing she did was get a job with hospice, and she absolutely loved that job. >> she had started a new job. she became a nurse. she was living with her brother at the time. she was happy. >> deborah: but now the 30-year-old mom is suddenly missing. >> it made no sense that trish just vanished into thin air. >> deborah: and a massive search is now under way. >> was it an accident? is she injured somewhere? is it foul play? >> people don't simply vanish. they are either removed or they remove themselves. they had to explore the possibility that she simply left. left on her own. >> i was hoping and praying every day that she would just show up at somebody's door and say, "listen, it was a crazy adventure." at oofos, we don't make footwear. we make shock absorbers. fatigue fighters. mobility maximizers. this is the science of active recovery. revolutionary oofoam technology absorbs impact and reduces pressure. it's the foundation of every pair

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deputies began to search area ponds like this one, looking for any evidence that can point one way or another, if todd disappeared on her own or because of someone's intended crime. >> everyone wanted to know, where is tricia? >> how did this girl just vanish in thin air from hobe sound? >> deborah: a full-scale search is now under way for tricia todd, with dozens of local volunteers. but it won't be easy, because this is an area that is filled with woods, wetlands, even alligator-infested swamps. >> she might be out there somewhere, not able to contact anyone. so time became of the essence. >> this was an all-hands-on-deck operation. >> mothers pushing babies in strollers were handing out

flyers. >> hundreds of people were stepping up saying, we want to help. so we would put them to work, "hey, search this block of woods." >> and you had the whole small town of hobe sound coming together. that was a really encouraging thing for the family. >> deborah: what's that search like for you? >> we were thinking to ourselves, "okay, tricia, she's been in the military, she's been overseas, and she's tough. she's a nurse. if anybody could survive, she would survive." >> deborah: it turns out one of the last people to see tricia the night she went missing was chief deputy john budenseik. >> so i've known trisha todd since she was a baby. i ran it to her in publix as she was checking out. i exchanged pleasantries with her. "have a nice day." and she went her way. so i relayed that to our detectives, and they started pulling videos. >> so we see the last image of her is checking out some groceries at the publix. and it looked like nothing was out of the ordinary. it didn't look like she was in any kind of distress.

>> despite searching miles by foot and atv, the disappearance of beloved mother and airforce veteran tricia todd is still unsolved with no leads. >> people don't simply vanish. they are either removed or they remove themselves. this is not rocket science what we do, okay? so they had to explore the possibility that she simply left on her own. you got to live, you got to eat, you got to have money. so are you drawing money out of your bank? are you using a credit card? >> we check financials. we check phone records. we look to see, is there any abnormal activity? and we didn't really find anything. >> time is 19:09, april 28th. present is detective lac, detective oliver to interview the mother. >> we have to ask these types of things, but did you ever have any suspicions that tricia was maybe thinking about hurting herself? >> no, she's not. >> okay. from what i understand, there's no drug abuse or anything like that? >> yes. she only drank a glass of wine a

year or something. >> deborah: this is a young mom, she's got a 2-year-old daughter. did the idea that she just disappeared strike you as unusual for these parts? >> just talking to her family and her friends, this was absolutely out of the norm for her. there was theories that she had maybe at some point had snapped and maybe just left town. >> but that seemed very unlikely to the family, because she would've made arrangements for faith. she would not have just left her with steven or the babysitter. >> deborah: you know that she's been divorced. do you begin to ask questions about her ex-husband? >> yes. immediately, we focused on the ex-husband. he was the last one to see her alive. >> and look, the primary person of interest is always going to be somebody who's close. i almost feel like that's a cliche. as far as what we knew about steven williams, we knew nothing. and so you really have a blank slate there. >> deborah: tricia's ex, steven williams, had been in florida, spending time with their daughter, faith. by the time tricia was reported

missing, he'd already driven back to north carolina. so you asked the raleigh police department to question him? >> yes. >> i know it's not glamourous -- it's what we've got to work with. >> he was cooperative with them. he was kind. he answering all their questions. >> so, i'm just going to come in here and do the right thing, and hopefully it gets us closer to finding her. because at the end of the day, i want my daughter to have her mother. >> deborah: so he seemed genuinely concerned about her? >> yes, he did. >> we've known each other for a long time. and like i said, yeah, we were married for a good bit and it didn't work. and that's fine. >> marriage is tough. >> but in the end, like said, i don't wish her ill. we weren't good together obviously, we got divorced, but it doesn't mean i want anything to happen to her. my mom never approved of us getting divorced. she always felt like i should stay and fight harder for it and things like that. and i'm like, "no, i'm done. i'm not doing this. i tried." we'd argue about everything. i'm like, "i'm tired of arguing, so i don't want to argue with you anymore. i don't want to fight with you anymore."

i feel like i'm living a tv drama right now, like, oh, the ex-husband comes to town and all of a sudden the ex-wife goes missing, and i'm like, great, that's freaking awesome. i'm not stupid. i get it. but it's like, i don't wish the woman any ill will. she's the mother of our child, and my daughter needs her mother, as far as i'm concerned. >> now, the most important thing is let's get a timeline. and so he gave us detailed events that transpired during the period of time that was here. >> deborah: steven's account of that night focused on his time at this menlgts rental house in hobe sound. what did steven tell you had happened? he had come here to stay, to visit his daughter. >> steven brought his daughter here. he had picked this residence. it's only three miles from tricia's house. and he brought her back here with him. >> deborah: the night before tricia went missing, he called her here? >> about midnight, steven texts tricia and says faith is fussy and asked her to come over to help. >> she got more fussy because she's getting tired, but she won't go to sleep.

and she really wants mommy, she wants mommy. what kind of father can deny his daughter to see his own mother? right? so i text her, "i know it's late, but if you're up," kind of thing. "would you mind coming and calming her," or whatever. and then she would text back, "on my way." >> it was shortly after midnight where tricia left her residence and came to meet steven here. >> from steven's account, he stood by while tricia helped faith go to sleep. however, when she went to go leave, she didn't have any gas in her car. >> she's like, "yeah, i didn't pay attention to it. i really don't have any gas." i'm like, "okay, no gas in your car. great." that really frustrates me. that's her thing. her car never has gas in it. >> so what steven did was he took his car to the gas station and filled up a small gas tank and brought the gas tank back, filled up tricia's car, and then she left. >> tell her good night, basically. "i'll contact you tomorrow or you can call me or whatever." that's it. >> and so what they did is went out to local gas stations and

looked for video. and sure enough, there he is showing up, and he buys a two-gallon can of gasoline and fills it up. >> and as part of stevens statement to us initially was that he the next morning had taken faith to several different places. >> i take her to walmart and buy her a couple outfits and some shoes. >> we pulled surveillance cameras and we confirmed, there he is at walmart with faith. >> deborah: steven says his plan was to drop faith off with tricia, and then he would head back home. >> but once i called and multiple times just went straight to voicemail. i was like, "well, that's odd and not like her." so i called denise and say, "hey, can't really get ahold of trish. i'm not sure if she's took another shift today or something." >> denise is that babysitter who typically took care of faith while tricia worked. >> so everything he's told us in his statement is checking out. everything lines up exactly with what he just told us. >> he spoke to law enforcement and freely and voluntarily gave a full statement, and then authorized the search of his possessions. >> your cellphone? >> yes.

>> would you give us permission to examine it? >> yeah. >> can we look in your car? >> yeah, sure. >> just go in there and open the doors, look in? >> deborah: and they didn't just check his car and his phone. investigators also searched his florida rental house. nothing serious turned up. >> you're just making everything a lot easier, and i appreciate that. >> well yeah, i mean i just want to help. >> and so you had somebody who was gainfully employed in the united states military. in my mind, that gave him a little bit of boost of credibility. and he hasn't lied to us. and so yes, he's -- you know, i wouldn't rule him out, but now you're going to start looking at alternative suspects. >> deborah: so police ask steven if he has any theories. >> what do you think happened to her? >> she likes to go on late-night walks. and i was like, "oh my gosh, she's still doing those." it's like, "at 2:00 in the morning, you're just going to be walking the neighborhood by yourself? you don't even have some pepper spray, you don't have your phone, you're just walking the neighborhood."

>> is she that kind of person that's oblivious to that stuff? >> she's always had that like "god will protect me" thing going on. like, "nothing will happen to me." but it gets to a point where, let's be reasonable here, good people still die every day. >> so the theory at this point in the investigation is that something happened to tricia after she left steven's home. >> as we started digging a little deeper, there was when we can see another side of tricia that maybe she didn't exactly express to her family. >> deborah: such as? >> going through her journals, we saw that she had an infatuation for someone in the community that she didn't really express to her family. >> and this name came up as the ventriloquist as somebody that tricia had taken an interest in. and we should talk to him because what is he? he's potentially a boyfriend. >> deborah: out of all the stories we've reported on for "20/20," it's not often that you run across a ventriloquist as a person of interest. >> obviously that made me very nervous to be a person of interest.

>> deborah: the search for tricia continues, and the anxiety in town is soaring. >> we knew something was catastrophically wrong. it's okay to show off. with dupixent, show off your clearer skin and less itch. because you have plenty of reasons to show off your skin. with dupixent, the number one prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, you can stay ahead of your eczema. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your skin from within. many adults saw 90% clearer skin. some even achieved long—lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief after first dose. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ♪ show off to the world.

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♪ here's my fellow. i'm a ventriloquist and a songer songwriter. i started doing ventriloquism when i was just a kid. and it just stuck. >> deborah: vish sha tricia todd has been missing for days. and investigators have just discovered that she was infatuated with a local performer named brent vernon. >> i just want to tell you all -- and probably a lot of you know this -- sam really is just a puppet, okay? and so i thought that briefly sam might be willing to show you some things. >> he kind of seemed like a hobe sound celebrity. when i went to hobe sound christian academy, they would have him come in and make all the kids, including myself, just die laughing.

>> most of my presentations are in churches like this. >> i've got an extensive repertoire. >> that's a fancy word, isn't it? >> anytime i try to say that word, your mouth moves worse than it usually does. >> in talking with tricia's friends, we found out very quickly that she was enamored with brent vernon. and she even told some of her close friends that she had dreams that she was going to marry him. >> we were just talking about a crush on this guy that she had and that she kind of thought it was going to be going somewhere soon. and she was excited that maybe things were going to finally start looking up. because he was a really nice guy. >> she was absolutely in love with him. but there was concerns that he didn't feel the same about her. >> deborah: brent tells investigators that he had a passing acquaintance with tricia and that he'd recently bumped into her at one of his events. >> i had not seen tricia for so

long, and i was so happy to see her. it was just me like, "what are you doing?" and we chatted for a few minutes, and that was that. >> deborah: he says tricia approached him again at another event, and then she followed up with a facebook message that caught him off guard. >> what she was telling me was that maybe god was bringing us together somehow in this mystical way. and so she kind of admitted that that was a lot to consume. and she's like, "sorry about that." >> deborah: then several weeks after that message, he says he got an alarming call from a friend in the sheriff's department. >> and he said, "brent, tricia thought very highly of you. she's missing. do you know anything?" >> deborah: are you suspicious that he could be involved? >> we were initially suspicious. >> obviously that made me very nervous to be, i guess, sort of a person of interest. was like, "whoa, didn't see that one coming." >> and we watched him for a couple of days.

there was nothing concerning. he was extremely cooperative with our investigators. >> deborah: detectives are no longer suspicious of brent in tricia's disappearance, but it turns out he's able to offer some help in their investigation. >> i was scheduled to be -- share a presentation up at a church in stuart, florida. apparently tricia was planning to be there. was planning to surprise me. i guess she had gone out and got a dress. >> so our hope was that she was going to try to disappear and then make some dramatic re-entrance. >> and in her mind, she was going to wear this dress, walk in mid-song, and he was going to see her and it was going to be like an ah-ha moment, and they just would lock eyes and fall in love and ride off into the sunset together. >> deborah: seems a little quirky. >> yeah. >> deborah: was that her style? >> but that's tricia, yeah. >> he was actually performing

that week. so -- >> deborah: here at this location? >> performing here at covenant fellowship. at that point, she hadn't shown up to work and she still hadn't called her family. >> deborah: and your hope was that, if she was alive, you might find her here? >> absolutely. that was our last lead. would just be happy that she was found. that's all we wanted, was her to be found safe. so we had set up surveillance at the church and came the night of the performance. >> some of the todd family came that night, and -- you know, hoping. oh -- that's just heartbreaking, you know? they were hoping that she would show. >> we sat there. we were in plainclothes. we were in the back. and we watched the whole show. and it was a pretty good show, actually. i was expecting tricia at any moment to come through the door wearing that blue dress. we had a detective out in the parking lot. we were looking for any sign of tricia to show up. people would come and go, and the door would open, but tricia never came through it. >> we were here for a couple hours, and unfortunately, she did not turn up. >> deborah: this was your last hope of finding her? >> this was the last location, last tip that we had where she might actually show up.

>> we knew that brent vernon wasn't involved in her disappearance and that this lead was dried up. i knew that something very bad had happened to tricia. >> now to the latest in that urgent search for a missing florida mom gone for more than a week now. >> time's ticking away, and time is your most valuable asset in a missing persons investigation. the longer it takes, the higher probability that this is going to have a bad outcome. >> deborah: now they need a new lead, and soon they get one. remember those late-night walks that tricia liked to take? >> she likes to walk on the beach and pray. and all of her brothers and i have gotten after her -- if she likes to go to walks on the beach by herself in the early morning, and we tell her she's insane, that that's dangerous, that's stupid. she does it anyway. >> she liked to go for hours sometimes. so there's the potential that something may have happened. >> deborah: well, it turns out she met somebody along the way. a man investigators now want to talk to. >> nobody seemed to know who

this man was. he was a mystery man. >> deborah: but he doesn't remain a mystery for long. >> where'd you meet her? >> she was walking by herself at -- >> on the night she went missing you were down on the beach about 1:30 in the morning. what were you doing down there? (♪) (♪) oh no. [scratching] with chewy, get flea meds delivered before the itching begins. (♪) or after, but before is definitely better. good job. save 20% on your first pharmacy order and get it delivered right on time. ♪ ♪ ♪ tacos. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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the intense search going on right now for a missing mom. police are calling her disappearance suspicious. >> officers, even marine units, are searching the woods where the young mother liked to walk, using dogs and heat-seeking cameras. >> i was hoping and praying every day that she would just show up at somebody's door and say, "listen, this is what happened. it was a crazy adventure." but the longer it went, then it just didn't look good. >> the whole county was on edge. people had legitimate fears that there was a killer on the loose, and we could not rebut that. >> deborah: then a tip comes in.

a woman has discovered what appears to be blood on the beach and in a parking lot nearby. detectives secure the area. but upon closer inspection, they discover it isn't human blood. >> there were so many leads. every piece of trash, every piece of clothing, every time somebody came across a deceased animal out in the woods, we would get a call. we hoped that one of those leads would finally point us to where tricia was. one of the leads that we had was that tricia like to go on walks. she liked to walk on the beach. she liked to go for hours sometimes. she liked to go late at night. >> the beach is about, from where we lived, i think you could walk there in about 15 minutes. >> she would process things, and she would do that by walking. she would get alone with god, she would say, where she was able just to think and not have distractions.

some people would be like, "you're a young, attractive woman walking alone at night in these places. i know it's a small town, hobe sound, but still there might be danger there." >> and those walks were something tricia's ex-husband steven told detectives worried him too. >> it would be 1:00 in the morning, or 3:00 in the morning, and she'd be like, "oh, i wanted to go for a walk." like, you don't even have like some pepper spray, you don't have your phone. >> we had gotten a call that there was a man that would frequently walk hobe sound beach. and tricia had confided in one of her friends that she would stop and talk to him. and nobody seemed to know who this man was. he was a mystery man. we had gone to the beaches, we were watching surveillance cameras, and we came across douglas purchase. >> deborah: a pastor? >> yes. he had actually stopped and asked one of the local police officers in that jurisdiction about tricia. that's how we came into contact with mr. purchase.

>> we wanted him to come in and give us an account of where he was the night that tricia went missing -- did he have any contact with her? and he agreed. >> he was cooperative. he came in for an interview. he initially agreed to do a polygraph. >> is this -- this chair can be positioned, or do i have to sit like this, always looking at you? >> the chair i can do nothing about. it's actually -- >> that's fine. >> it's a $5,000 polygraph chair. >> deborah: douglas purchase tells detectives that he met tricia at the beach twice. >> where'd you meet her? >> she was walking by herself at 6:00 in the morning at north beach. i felt compelled to speak to her. i said, "lord, if you want me to speak to her, have her stop," and she did. she stopped. >> on the night she went missing, you were down at the beach, about 1:30 in the morning. >> that was the night she went missing? >> what were you doing down there? >> i was having my devotions and i -- i got out of the car and

i was going to walk the beach, walk down the beach for a while. >> his statement was that he did not see tricia and had no involvement with her. >> why 1:30 on this night? >> i don't know. i just -- i felt restless that night. >> have you traveled there before at 1:30 in the morning? >> no, that was the first time. >> the first time? >> first time. >> we're not playing games here, doug. i -- i'm not going to play games because that's not my job. >> well, i'm not playing games either. >> no, i -- i realize that. but let me cut to the chase. 1:30 in the morning, you know, that's about the time tricia went missing. >> while the detective's doing the interview, he does make some concerning comments. >> let me ask you this. on a personal level, on an intimate level. and we're men here -- >> all right. >> were you attracted to her? >> um, maybe somewhat. >> okay. >> he seemed to be indicating that he had some romantic interest in tricia. so for him to start saying those things about tricia piqued our interest. >> would you have liked to have met up with her again, doug?

>> i would have -- for the -- what i just explained? no. >> no, no, not for sexual reasons, for the spiritual connection. >> yeah, to talk to her? sure, i would've. >> so doug, we've got to talk about those things that you've not shared with the detectives. >> this is getting to the point where -- >> this is serious. >> -- i want this cleared up. >> and it's serious. >> it is. >> you get to the point where you're taking polygraphs, it's serious. >> it is. >> deborah: with the pastor ready to be hooked up and polygraphed, suddenly there's an unexpected turn. >> the first test that you're going to take is, it's basically a pseudo test. i want you to lie, because what i'm doing is the machine now is going to calibrate itself. >> wait a minute. >> go ahead. >> wait a minute. >> go ahead. >> you said you're gonna want me to lie? under no circumstances will i lie for anybody -- >> i get it. >> -- or anything. >> he refused. he refused to do that, and that basically shut down the polygraph. >> based on the bible and the

commandments, i'm not supposed to lie to you. i won't lie. >> deborah: the sudden refusal to take a polygraph is another red flag for investigators, but the pastor says he's got an alibi. >> i want this cleared out. >> sir, i see that. >> deborah: yet it does little to ease their suspicions. >> it seemed odd, a little farfetched. caplyta is proven to deliver significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. caplyta can help you let in the lyte™.

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>> deborah: vish sha todd has been missing for nearly two weeks, and it's baffling for investigators in hobe sound, florida. but now they think they may have a lead involving a pastor she met on one of her beach walks. >> we learned that tricia had previous encounters with an individual named douglas purchase. >> with tricia, you had contact with her, correct? >> yeah, i talked to her. >> let me ask you a very poignant question. you understand what dna is, right? is there any reason at any point if -- when her body is discovered, that your dna would be -- >> absolutely not. you said as soon as we're done with the paperwork, we could pray. >> okay. go ahead and pray, sir.

please. >> we pray that thou would undertake for the todd family. help her, dear lord, wherever she's at. if she's still alive, be with her. >> deborah: the pastor tells detectives he was on this beach the very night tricia disappeared. now they want to know just exactly what he was doing out here. >> you were down at the beach about 1:30 in the morning. >> that was the night she went missing? >> what were you doing down there? >> there was a turtle laying eggs. and so, you know, all my concentration and everything was on the turtle. i didn't even know that was the night she came up missing. >> and that seemed odd, a little farfetched. but he was adamant that he did not see tricia that night and that he had only been looking at the sea turtle. >> how long were you actually there? >> till -- i stayed there all night. >> you stayed on the beach all night? >> oh, yeah. >> deborah: the pastor says he even called a police unit. >> i said, "there's a big turtle out here laying eggs, and i just wanted to make sure that they

got the location of this turtle." >> deborah: that must have sounded a little strange to you. were you able to confirm that? >> we were able to confirm that he was actually on the beach that morning through surveillance cameras. >> we can see him pull in and that he was there all night watching sea turtles. and at no point do we see tricia pull in with her car or walk through that area or anything like that. >> deborah: he let you search his home and his car? >> yes, and there was nothing that would've led us to believe that he had any involvement. >> deborah: so the pastor is ruled out. >> at this point in the investigation, we were starting to get a little frustrated. because we had investigated the ex-husband. we've investigated a pastor. we've investigated a ventriloquist. there was all these different possibilities, but nothing was leading anywhere. >> deborah: where do you go at that point? >> we already had a team of investigators out in the area getting surveillance footage from around where her residence was, where her vehicle was left, and just up and down federal

highway, just to see if we can see her, if somebody was following her. we were extremely concerned that something really bad had happened to her. >> deborah: are you holding on to hope that you're going to find her alive? >> at this point, there was concern that she wasn't alive. >> deborah: detectives carde and dulac were processing tricia's car, combing it for fingerprints, hairs, fibers. even bringing in a cadaver dog. >> hop up. hop up. >> as of this moment, we have forensically examined tricia's car. we have forensically examined her home. and there is not one scintilla of evidence of a crime. none. >> deborah: investigators now have to go back to the beginning, re-examining tricia's last known steps and that story her ex, steven williams, told them. >> something happened to tricia after she left steven's home. the last account that we have is her getting in her car and driving away from the rental

home that steven and faith were in. >> deborah: in this video, tricia's 2-year-old daughter, faith, is being interviewed by a child protection team to try to figure out if she might have seen anything happen to her mom. >> did mommy hurt her arm? >> no. she face. >> her face? >> mm-hmm. >> oh, how did she do that? >> i don't know. >> deborah: nothing the 2-year-old says gives them any reason to think steven was involved in tricia's disappearance. >> from the beginning, he was always very cooperative with us. there was nothing solid saying, "hey, this is your guy." >> i remember coming to the sheriff's office, telling them, "get on a [ bleep ] airplane and fly to north carolina and have a face-to-face with this guy yourself." >> we sent a team up to go talk to steven, and it was three of our investigators. steven again was cooperative. >> i don't have anything to hide, and that's -- that's why

i've done everything, like -- if they want fingerprints, dna, search, i -- [ bleep ]. please do, you know. >> okay. >> ask all the questions in the world. >> i care about trisha, you know. like, i would never want anything to happen to the woman, you know. but unfortunately something has. >> he gives essentially the same account of tricia coming over to the house and the car being out of gas. >> put the gas in her car, put the gas can in her trunk. >> okay. >> and then, you know, give her her keys, obviously. and i'm like, "well good night," basically. >> after you put the gas in the car, did you hug? >> no, i just told her, "good night," you know, and that, you know, appreciate her kind of coming over. i know it was late. >> the whole story is exactly the same. >> he was consistent with everything. >> deborah: and while detectives are questioning steven williams, in the next room over, they've brought in somebody else. >> there was another person we wanted to interview. steven's live-in girlfriend named laura. >> hey, laura. >> hey. >> i don't think we've met. i'm detective oliver. >> we were concerned that maybe laura was somehow involved.

>> so i was not there. i have nothing to do with this. and now i feel kind of like a suspect. >> deborah: as they're digging, investigators are about to discover something unexpected, something that will break this case wide open. >> the detectives going through video eventually see a shadowy figure walking up the street. >> deborah: how big was that for you? >> that was groundbreaking. >> we had no idea what we were fixing to find. >> we interrupt programming right now to bring you breaking news in the case of tricia todd. >> i got sick to my stomach. >> i don't even think you can make a movie script with what had happened. it was just so surreal. if you're taking an antidepressant, but you're still masking your depression, you could be experiencing a partial response to your antidepressant. partial response happens when your antidepressant alone isn't enough. let's try adding rexulti. when added to an antidepressant, rexulti significantly reduced depression symptoms

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♪ >> deborah: invest encountered a case like this? >> now to the latest in that urgent search for a missing florida mom. >> my ex is unfortunately missing, and i can't explain any of that. >> i don't know anything. i'm stuck in this room, and i don't know anything. >> we had investigated the ex-husband, we've investigated a

pastor, we've investigated a ventriloquist, but nothing was leading anywhere. >> deborah: how critical were these cameras along this way? >> they were key. they were pretty much what broke the case. >> okay, that's a big deal. >> no one suspected anything like this. this was way beyond or wildest imagination. >> deborah: and the neighbor was here and saw all of this after midnight? >> it was all designed not out of just some blind rage, but it was like, i want to get away with it. >> no idea that we were dealing with a sick cowho had watched these shows about how to kill people. i just made a deal with the devil. >> in the all-out search for a missing florida mother, authorities tonight have now released this last known photo of 30-year-old tricia todd, a nurse and air force veteran. >> tricia todd didn't show up to pick up her daughter, which was

completely out of character for her. >> she would not do that. that says something happened. >> the mystery disappearance of a mother in florida. an intense search under way. >> i made a video. say goodbye to the video, sassy cat. >> bye, bye. mommy-mommy. >> deborah: tricia has been missing for nearly two weeks. her 2-year-old daughter, faith, is staying with tricia's brother. >> it made no sense that trish just vanished into thin air. >> we were just in full speculation mode of, "what in the world could cause this? like what's going on?" >> the last person to actually interact with tricia was her ex-husband, steven williams. >> deborah: investigators here in martin county, florida, are running down every lead in the disappearance of tricia todd. now they've headed back to north carolina to again question her ex-husband steven williams, and this time they're bringing

in his current girlfriend too. >> you want anything to drink, ma'am? >> i'm okay. thank you. >> water? coffee? >> i'm good. thank you. >> okay. >> deborah: laura has been waiting nearly five hours. then, detectives finally step into the room. >> hey, laura. >> hey. >> i don't think we've met. i'm detective oliver. we've talked on the phone. >> deborah: while laura is in one interview room, her boyfriend steven is being questioned in another. >> there you go. i'm getting that coffee. you want it just black? >> cream and a little bit of sugar. >> deborah: steven tells detectives that he met laura while he was still married to tricia. >> i messed up, and i found someone else, and i was dating someone else. i mentally just checked out of the relationship. >> did she find out about the other girl? >> yes. and that was pretty much like the straw on the camel's back. >> is it the girlfriend you're with now? >> yeah. >> okay. >> laura was definitely someone we needed to talk to. >> we thought, okay, did she come down here? did she have any part in this? >> you never took a trip down to

florida? never helped him with anything? >> i've never met the woman. i've never been to that part of florida. >> have you ever talked to her on the phone or anything like that? >> tricia? >> yeah. >> i talked to her one time, and one time only on the phone. and that was over a year and a half ago. i was not there. i have nothing to do with this. and i only came down here to help clear steven's name, and now i feel kind of like a suspect. >> deborah: steven was the last person to see tricia. so detectives are curious about whether he said anything to laura once he got home to north carolina. >> you mind if i sit? how old are you, laura? >> 24. >> okay. you love steven? >> yes, i do. >> i think he probably loves you too, and if he did something horrible, generally we do tell somebody close to us what we did. >> right.

trust me. i would love for her to be found. i mean, we both would love for her to be found. this is a nightmare in both of our accounts. >> did steven tell you anything as far as he done, they got into a fight or anything like that? >> no, not at all. >> i don't care if you inspect my car. i don't care if you come inspect my home. i don't care if you look through my phone and my emails, or my computer. i don't care. that's fine. do that. like, if that helps clear me, fine. >> his demeanor stayed the same. he was always very calm, very cooperative. >> he wanted to help. he was trying to be helpful to us. >> i cared about her. i feel bad that i can't do anything. i can't be down there searching. >> laura seemed to be really on his side. >> you're asking me why he wouldn't do it? >> yeah. >> i mean, honestly, he enjoys being a part-time dad. he enjoys having to just skype for 15, 20 minutes a day, going down there when he can. >> right. >> why would he get rid of his ex when now he has to take care of her full time? i know he loves his daughter, don't get me wrong. he loves her, but he enjoys the lifestyle that he has up here. he's always been more than

willing to try to get her checks and the money. >> he never complained about having to pay child support? >> no, he never complained. >> deborah: laura is cooperating with police, even willingly turning over her cell phone. >> i'm just trying to figure out also where i'm fitting in, in this situation. even if there's video of me working while he was down there. >> that would be great. >> deborah: laura tells the detective she has an alibi for the time tricia went missing. she was working at a restaurant. >> i was there a double sunday, monday night, tuesday night. >> not this week. last week? >> yeah. >> okay. >> very quickly we were able to determine that laura was never down in florida during any of this time period, and it didn't seem that she had any involvement whatsoever in tricia's disappearance. laura is ruled out. >> deborah: as for steven, he's being asked if he'll take a polygraph. >> hey steven, we brought up our polygrapher, our polygraph guy. >> oh.

>> will you be willing to take one for us today? >> i actually don't, i really don't want to. >> because you consented last time when raleigh talked to you. >> to a polygraph? >> yeah. >> no. >> he wasn't too excited about the idea. >> i -- i just have a -- i don't like the idea of polygraphs. they -- >> why? >> they scare the hell out of me. >> do they really? >> yeah. >> a polygraph just scares me so much more than anything. >> all right, so we'd let them know, okay? >> mm-hm. >> any time someone refuses or is hesitant to take a polygraph, it starts to raise some concerns. he asked a lot of questions about it, and he was not going to agree to do it. >> lieutenant dougherty explained to steven, "when we tell the family and the media that you refused to take a polygraph, they're going to be at your air force base, they're going to be at your residence questioning you." and steven didn't want that type

of attention. he then agreed to take one. >> deborah: how did he do? >> he was very calm and he answered all the questions, but unfortunately the polygraph came back inconclusive. >> it couldn't say if he was telling the truth or not. we couldn't really prove anything with that polygraph. >> but his story stayed consistent as to his last sighting of her, his last conversation with her. but we had to keep looking. there was something we were missing. >> deborah: the dogged persistence is about to pay off when detectives carde and dulac get the big break they've been waiting for. how critical were these cameras along this way? >> they were key. they are pretty much what broke the case. i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up, i've got symptom relief. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪

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who is out there watching who knows where she is or has any type of clue, to please come forward with the information. >> we went back through and followed up on interviews. and through that process, we started to find little bits of threads that we could pick up on. and the biggest one was a neighbor who was mentioned in steven williams' initial story. >> deborah: so, how did you wind up back here? what were you hoping to discover? >> when we found out tricia was missing, steven had told us the address where he was actually staying. we found that it was a rental property. so, the neighbor here next door happened to be outside one of the times when steven came out to the car. >> the account that they gave us was that they saw steven. >> the last time that he saw the white car, that's the second time when the guy drove away. >> reporter: neighbors next to

the rental property where steven was saying say they saw him drive off in tricia's car around 1:00 a.m. >> and that didn't make sense, because steven had told us tricia had left in the white car. >> deborah: and the neighbor was here and saw all of this? >> neighbor was standing in his front patio there smoking a cigarette. >> after learning that steven was the one who drove the car away, there was a lot of concern that something was left out of his story. >> deborah: so that changed your theory altogether? >> that changed it. and the times that the neighbor gave us, we were able to confirm with the surveillance footage outside of the community here. >> first, i just tracked the car coming and going. and then this is the -- the last time that i can see the dodge neon leaving. i know it has to be the dodge neon because it's the only car that's leaving after the timeframe that we know that they left the house. >> no, it was steven that left in that car, it wasn't tricia. >> our thought process is that

if steven was the one who had put tricia's car at the home in the wrong position, like we learned at the very beginning of this investigation, that he would've had to have gotten back to that rental home. if he was going to get back to that rental home, he would have to walk. >> there really was only one road that would take steven from tricia's home back to the neighborhood that he had rented a home in. >> deborah: that stretch of road is about three miles long, so investigators scour it, searching for any business that might have a surveillance camera pointing toward the road. now, where are we going? >> we are going to one of the businesses where we obtained surveillance footage. >> deborah: how did you wind up here? did you just canvass this entire area? >> we had teams dedicated to just hitting up all the businesses along federal highway. we were able to come across some

businesses that actually still had footage from the timeframe we were looking at. >> deborah: surveillance cameras? >> surveillance cameras. >> deborah: and this is one? >> this business fortunately was one of the ones that had -- that still had the footage. >> deborah: investigators soon find two more surveillance cameras. >> we had collected video, and it was hours and hours and hours of video. and actually one of the other detectives, he was just like, "hey, i got somebody walking on this camera." >> so here is somebody walking at 4:30 in the morning away from where tricia's house is. so that was our first indication that maybe this was somebody that we needed to look at. so we sort of guessed how long it would take to walk from here to the next video source we had, which was the trailer. and sure enough, we can see him continuing to walk by. >> deborah: three different cameras capturing the same figure walking on that stretch of road. and detectives are pretty sure they know who that man is.

grainy video, but enough to be able to tell it was a male? >> grainy video, but still, with all the footage we got, you could tell it was the same male walking from the area of tricia's residence back northbound. we could tell it's a male wearing a beanie cap and a military-style rucksack. >> deborah: the camera caught him walking right here? >> walking on that sidewalk right there up to the community. >> at this point in the investigation, there was no doubt in my mind this had to be steven williams. >> let's not lose sight of the fact that he is the last human being on the face of the earth to have seen tricia alive, okay? that's a big deal. >> deborah: but because of the lack of high quality of that video, they know that proving it is going to be a big challenge. was that enough for you to make an arrest? >> it was all circumstantial evidence.

there was no jury in the world that would've bought that grainy footage as solid evidence, so we had to dig further. >> and then an urgent phone call sends police scrambling in a race against the clock. >> i remember eventually we got the call that we were dreading. >> we were extremely concerned for faith's wellbeing, for her safety. we had to ramp up and change our strategy. bipolar 1, i got help to push back. i got help to push back. we got help to push back with lybalvi. once-daily prescription lybalvi is proven to treat manic or mixed episodes of bipolar 1 in adults to help you push back. elderly patients with dementia have increased risk of death or stroke. do not take lybalvi if you are taking opioids or are in opioid withdrawal. the samidorphan in lybalvi can cause severe opioid withdrawal that can lead to hospitalization or increase risk of life- threatening overdose.

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>> deborah: investigators have discovered a mysterious, shadowy figure on three different surveillance cameras from the night tricia todd disappeared, and they think they know who it is. >> even though you can't quite make out that person, you're convinced that it was her ex-husband, steven? >> we were convinced it was steven. it was dark. not the best footage, but that's all we had. we had somebody walking from the area of tricia's residence and back to where steven was staying. >> deborah: they need more time and more solid evidence to build

their case. but then there's an urgent phone call. >> we had received a call from jonathan todd, he expressed major concern. they had heard from steven. >> we were in communication with steven because we had his daughter, taking care of her while he was making arrangements back in north carolina to integrate her into his life, into his work schedule, into all that. we got the call which was, "hey, i've made all the plans i need to make. i've got everything situated up here for faith. i'm gonna come get her from you guys." >> and we were extremely concerned for faith's wellbeing, for her safety. at that point we had to ramp up and change our strategy, and that's when we had to go to north carolina, beat him to his trip down here. >> deborah: you want to somehow confront him, smoke him out? >> so we had to, let's say, bluff him. we know something happened. i'm going to show you the first place real quick that we got video.

and we explained to him, the witnesses saw you leaving at this hour with her vehicle. you didn't tell us that. so we just started presenting him with that evidence. as we're reviewing more video, and more video, and more video, and connecting all the dots, it still comes back to you. you're the last person to see her. >> deborah: and how was he responding? >> he was calm throughout the whole interview and he tried to say, "well, that's when she left." her car makes the u-turn, right here. okay? >> and back. >> and comes back. we see the car coming back in here. so literally went towards her house, came back. why is that? >> she went home and then didn't go home. >> you said she never left between midnight and 2:00. >> not that i'm aware of, no. like i said, i left to go get gas, and then i came back, and then she left. that's all i know. >> there was no way we can show him the pictures.

he would know immediately, they don't have anything on me, you can't tell that's me. but we also told him that there was surveillance cameras along the route. he became very nervous. >> you know that camera gets footage of the sidewalk all the way up us-1, and into poinciana also. >> and people on foot also. pedestrians around 4:00 in the morning. >> have you ever driven up close enough to where you can see the cameras up here? >> no, i know there's some sort of business there. i don't know what it is. >> it's a computer place. he's probably got one of the best camera systems in hd. you can almost see his heart pounding through his chest, and he started to bead up with sweat. so we knew at that point we got him. >> deborah: detective carde isn't about to let up. she takes the lead. you were taking a tack with him that was gentle. you were trying to almost soothe him a little bit. >> okay. okay. you're still tense. just relax, okay? in order to be compassionate with him and empathize with him on that situation, i had to let

him play the victim. we had to play that tactic where, you know, tricia was the villain. i don't know her, but i could see her doing something to set somebody off. like i think if i know her, i'd probably lose my [ bleep ] because she was just all sorts of crazy. >> deborah: the tactic seems to work. >> i'm straight-up asking, do you remember taking her car and leaving, yes or no? >> yes. >> deborah: and for the first time in the investigation, detective carde gets steven williams to crack. >> i came back, she was lying on the floor, and she wasn't very responsive. and i kind of freaked out because i'm like, "oh, my god, now she's lying on the floor and she's not responsive, and this looks really bad because i can't explain this." >> we kept pressing for a couple more hours, and i just kept telling him, "this is her fault. tell me what happened. we need to bring peace to her family." i just kept saying, "do this for your daughter." >> deborah: and what's his demeanor at this point? >> he's -- crocodile tears.

he's got his head down. he's acting like he's crying, but not one single tear came from that man's eye. >> deborah: how long have you been going on at this point? >> we had been going for several hours. >> and so i just put her in the car, i put the gas in, i leave. and i'm still freaking out because i don't know what to do, and i'm just driving, and thinking, and driving, and thinking. >> and you're telling me you left her lying somewhere out in the open? >> yes. i just let her lay there. >> so you left her lying. was she close to the main road? >> it didn't seem very far down a ways. >> even though he's changed his story and we know he lied, it's still not enough to charge him with anything. he's not admitted to a crime. he's not admitted to hurting tricia in any way. all he's admitted to is moving her, and he's even claiming she wasn't even deceased at that point. >> i knew his intention was still to come back to florida to get faith. so i offered him a free trip back to florida to help us.

"we're inviting you back with us. we'll pay for your ticket. you show us where she's at. you didn't kill her. you say you didn't hurt her, she fell." and so he was going along with that. >> you ready? >> yes. >> let's go. >> deborah: desperate to find tricia, they are hoping that her ex-husband steven williams will finally bring the search to an end. >> the only reason that you would not take us to her is if something else happened at that house and you're not telling me.

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>> deborah: the lead investigators in the tricia todd case have talked steven williams into leaving north carolina and coming back to florida to help them locate his ex-wife. >> i knew we needed some more time with him. i knew we needed to get him back here to florida. >> deborah: williams' new story to police is that he found tricia unresponsive, he

panicked, then put her in the car and left her by the side of the road. >> take me to where she's at. you got to know where she's at, steven. >> i don't know. i just, i don't know. >> do you remember coming to a stop sign? >> i don't remember any of this. none of this looks like anything i've ever seen. >> we were driving in circles. and at this point, we knew he was toying with us. >> you've got to take me to her. >> i don't know. none of this -- >> what would look familiar? this is a long, dusty road that's very dark at night. what wouldn't look familiar about this road? >> 'cause i don't recognize it. i just, i don't recognize. all i remember, it was just dark. >> that's a pretty significant event in someone's life. how do you forget where you put your ex-wife, the mother of your child? >> deborah: you look him in the eye at one point in the car and try to get him to come clean with you? >> the only reason that you would not take us to her is if something else happened at that house and you're not telling me. >> and i got out. >> i don't know.

>> and i opened the front door, and i just kept begging him, "this is for your daughter." do you love your daughter? >> of course i do. of course i do. >> okay, you need to give her mother back to her. >> and i can't, and that's -- >> okay? >> the problem -- >> i told you she's going to need some type of stability, and you're all she's got. >> because i have no idea. >> the next step was to take him back to the house. we took him to the rental home, >> let's get out. >> and we asked him to do a walk-through. >> where was she lying? >> in there. just lying on the floor. >> in the hallway here? >> no. >> where was she? >> she was in here, and she was laying this way. it was over here. she was laying on the floor. i didn't even touch her initially. i didn't even know what to do. i just kind of paced and tried to figure out what i was supposed to do.

>> deborah: detectives have had it with the cat and mouse i've game, but they know an arrest for tricia's disappearance still won't stick. so they come up with something else to detain him. >> it's okay. >> at this point, we were looking at the child neglect because he had already told us that he had left faith unattended while he went to go leave tricia's body on the side of the road. so we get him back to the office, and i proceeded to interview him along with the prosecutor, tom bakkedahl. >> come on in. >> thank you. >> please. >> tom bakkedahl. >> hi. >> oh, we haven't met yet. what's your name? >> steven williams. >> it's risky, number one, 'cause now he's in custody. you have always present the fear that what he's going to do is invoke his constitutional rights. but he continued to talk. >> i had no way to explain how i come back and she's on the floor other than them just assuming i did it. and i -- i would never do that to her.

i would never hurt her. it's just not me. >> essentially, your story is complete b.s. no jury in the world is ever going to believe it. it didn't get him to budge. he stuck to his story. >> we all know -- this is not a question of whether or not tricia is dead. tricia is dead, right? tricia's dead. yes? >> i don't know. >> you know. come on. >> when i left her, it was just a matter of, i hope i'm wrong. >> okay. >> i hope that she's not. >> okay. now, though, 20 some odd months later, let's not [ bleep ] each other. she's dead. you know that, right? we know that. >> no. for all i know, she could have came to and wandered for all i know. >> everyone was sitting there talking and they said, "look, we've had all of the detectives who were involved in the case, everybody's talked to him." and so i raised my hand and said, "i haven't talked to him yet." they looked at me and said, "why not?" >> hi, steven. how are you doing? >> good. >> do you remember talking to me earlier? >> yes. >> i'm dan. >> and i tried to get him on almost a friendly level to see if he would then open up to me.

>> i mean, i talked to your earlier. you're a nice guy, i like you. i mean, i think we could be friends you know in different circumstances. >> i started just pressing him on the details that didn't line up. >> so, you need to explain to us how it was she became injured. because this whole thing where you came back from the gas station, and you just found her like that, i know that's not true, and i can prove that's not true. >> the interview room is wired for sound and audio, and we're sitting in another room watching a screen. so we're watching live. >> i need you to tell me the truth about what happened. i know you were there. i want to give you the opportunity to tell me what happened. >> during the interview, steven became very emotional. >> i didn't want it to happen. i didn't want it to happen. >> i know you didn't. >> everybody just became quiet. you could have heard a pin drop in the room. >> and that's when he reported that they had gotten into an argument over money.

>> he had pushed her when she had gotten aggressive with him and got in his face. >> it just escalated. and then i just moved her away, and then she slipped, and that's when she freaking fell. and i'm like, oh, [ bleep ]. i asked her if she was okay. it was like a weird sound. she didn't say anything, though. and then i freaking panicked. >> i knew now we had him. >> do you know what she hit her head on? was it the floor or -- >> i don't know. she just fell. and then she wasn't responsive after that. i didn't know what to do. i thought then i call the police now, and she says i freaking pushed her and i'm going to jail. >> now that i had a confession that he was involved in tricia's murder, he was under arrest. >> deborah: but without tricia's body, prosecutors know getting a jury to convict steven williams of murder is going to be a long shot. then they get a shocking phone call. >> like a bolt out of the blue.

steven williams will take us to the body of tricia in exchange for a plea to the second-degree murder charge. >> deborah: but investigators aren't prepared for what they're about to hear. >> our heart just sunk. >> we knew he had done something horrific. >> i just made a deal with the devil. peaker 2) blue buffalo, huh? (speaker 1) yeah. purina one... (speaker 2) yeah. (speaker 1) i used to feed purina one, but then i read the ingredients. (speaker 2) oh, yeah? (speaker 1) yeah, it's right there. (speaker 2) chicken, rice flour, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, chicken byproduct meal. what's in blue? (speaker 1) deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, barley, oatmeal. (speaker 2) yeah, but those ingredients cost a lot more. (speaker 1) blue is only about 50 cents more a day. that's not too much for my chester. where'd you go? i can't find you. we're in home, surrounded by vases. these prices. i'm gonna get all of these. wait. i like abstract art. i don't get it, but i like it. let's never leave. introducing a new home collection.

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we got a call a couple days after we filed the charges saying," steven williams will take you to the body." and then said, "he'll plea." >> we met with the family telling them, "look, we know he killed her. we're trying to bring closure " >> their ultimate goal was to get their daughter back. so, two days after he's arrested, we're in court, arranging a plea deal. that was unheard of.

>> guilty of second-degree murder. sentence him to 35 years in the department of corrections. >> as soon as the judge banged the gavel and accepted the plea, the defense attorney went out in the hall with lieutenant dougherty and carde. >> and i remember turning around and watching whoever it was from law enforcement walk into the room, and they were sheet white. >> and when he said we were going to need a hazmat team, our heart just sunk. we knew he had done something horrific to her body. >> deborah: he said you will need a hazmat team to retrieve her body? >> "you will need a hazmat team to retrieve her body from the ground." >> deborah: after a month of searching, a month of wondering what happened to 30-year-old tricia todd, it's time for steven williams to hold up his end of the deal. >> yes, sir, we're waiting at the entrance. he took us to the area, which is called hungryland preserve. it's about 16,000 acres and it's

all woodlands, swamp. >> there's not a lot of traffic in there. it's kind of a secluded rural area. >> and it was actually one of the areas we had searched at the beginning. >> one of those things that just gnaws at your soul is, they were out there. hundreds of hours of overtime was expended by the sheriff's office on air, on land, on sea, to include hungryland. >> yeah, we're here. you can just park here. >> steven, is it too far for you to walk in that? now, when we get there, i need you to put this, place it where she's at so we have, uh, some type of marker, okay? >> steven did not hesitate. he walked in a straight line directly to where the storage bin was buried. he had planned this out. he knew where it was. >> so, where you placed the flag is where she's -- okay. and about how far down are we going? >> it's not much off the surface.

>> okay. it's about two and a half feet down. okay. >> yeah, it's going to be a plastic barrel. >> a plastic barrel. okay. >> we videotaped the entire thing because we wanted it preserved. we didn't know what we were going to find when we actually dug up this storage bin. >> deborah: the full reality of what steven did to tricia isn't clear until her remains are uncovered from that shallow grave. >> we had no idea that we were dealing with a sicko who had googled "acid" and "how to get rid of a body." >> and when they lifted it, all you can see was a portion of her torso. the rest of her was gone. and immediately we thought, what do we do? how do i explain this to her family? >> deborah: you get a call from lieutenant carde. what did she tell you? >> i really appreciate her. she called me and she said, "i don't want you to hear this from the media, so i'm going to tell you this myself."

and she told me what he did and how they found her. so i just -- i can remember, i just kind of froze. >> had we stumbled on that burial location in hungryland before this deal went down, this guy's on a one-way trip to death row without question, in my mind. i just made a deal with the devil, and there's nothing i can do about it. >> deborah: prosecutors may have one more play, a hail mary pass of sorts. one that they hope will keep steven williams from ever walking free again. >> because steven williams was still active air force during the investigation, the air force osi investigators were able to get involved. >> steven williams was an active-duty military officer. they are responsible for him. they let him into my community where he committed the most

horrendous murder. >> the way the laws work at the federal level for military court martialing, they can potentially charge someone even if they've been charged at the local level. >> and so as soon as this deal got done, i called them and i said, "look, everybody's in agreement. 35 years is not enough. you've got to come in and prosecute him." and so not only did they look into it, they interviewed him, and he confirmed the full truth finally. >> deborah: authorities say air force officials came to the prison where williams was being held, to speak with him alone. but this was one conversation that martin county detectives were not about to miss. >> i mean, it had to look like something out of a comic book. we were leaned up against the door listening to what we could hear through the crack, and i'm taking notes the whole time. >> deborah: during that interview, martin county investigators say they overhear

graphic, disturbing details. >> the day prior to meeting up with tricia and getting faith, he had left his hotel and went out to that area to sight out where he was going to actually bury her. he did dig a hole, and he did this all in the middle of the night. >> he drove all the way down here for 10 hours thinking about this with the equipment in hand. >> he'd gone online, he'd ordered the acid, he'd ordered the barrel, he'd ordered the bags. >> he had chopped her body up into small pieces and covered it in acid. no one suspected anything like this. this was way beyond our wildest imagination. >> williams had done his homework and realized that we do dental work to identify bodies. so, he had pulled all of her teeth out and then thrown them in the canal. that created a whole different dynamic for us. now we're dealing with the florida alligators, which were there. so we had our s.w.a.t. guys

standing there with rifles while we're now diving this canal to retrieve a pair of pliers he had used to take her teeth out. >> it's the essence of cold, calculated, and premeditated. it almost belies explanation. >> that's actually completely consistent with how steven would do it, because it was meticulous, it was calculated. it was all designed, not out of just some blind rage, but it was like, "i want to get away with it." >> i don't know who the person was that i was friends with, it's something i wonder every day. >> there was some issues with the marriage, domestic violence issues, verbal abuse. there was constant infidelity as well. >> tricia had mentioned when they first were separated that he was a true sociopath. and then when everything came out, it clicked. she was right. she saw him for what he was. dencht the question so many are asking -- why? why would steven williams commit such a grisly crime?

as it turns out, he may have answered that question himself. >> she's just going on and on and on. now i owe her more money and back child support. and now she's talking about how she's going to go to court and all this other stuff, and it's my fault. >> deborah: if money was a motive behind tricia todd's murder, will the air force step in now to keep steven williams behind bars? >> i mean, let's bring the full weight to the federal government to bear on this guy. ♪ jardiance! ♪ ♪ it's a little pill with a big story to tell ♪ ♪ i take once-daily jardiance ♪ ♪ at each day's start! ♪ ♪ as time went on it was easy to see ♪

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comfortable footwear. ♪ >> david: it's been eight long years since tricia todd's death. investigators who worked so hard to bring her home say they'll never forget this case. you've been at this a long time.

have you ever encountered a case like this? >> doing this for 22 years, i can say i never came across someone like him. it was very surreal. and i explained to him. i said, "you had more hatred in your heart for tricia than you did love for your daughter." >> really, looking back on it now, he would've tortured her forever. he would've tortured her with her daughter, which is the worst way you can torture a mom. >> deborah: are you content with the time that he's going to serve? >> deep down, i don't think any of us that were involved in this case were content with 35 years. that's not enough time. >> we got partial justice for her and partial justice for her family. we were sure that the united states air force would come and take him and federally prosecute him. they were very engaged and very

interested and willing to take the case. and then they simply called us back and said that the decision has been a no-go. >> deborah: we reached out to the air force about steven williams' case. they tell us, "while the air force has jurisdiction over any daf member for crimes committed while on active duty, if crimes occur off base, then civil authorities can claim jurisdiction over the crime." as of now, the air force says it has no plans to prosecute steven williams. >> and that's a bad call. i'm sitting here on national television saying, i take responsibility for what happened in this case. that sometimes you just eat it and do the right thing. >> deborah: the murder of tricia todd had a ripple effect throughout the community of hobe sound and beyond. tricia's friend marnie has a permanent reminder of their friendship. >> the day she went missing, there was a cardinal that kept pecking at the window.

i got the cardinal tattoo on me, and i have the wings opened up, so she's flying, so she's free. >> deborah: and tricia's mom rebecca says she draws strength from a particular song. >> one thing that really helped me a lot, lauren daigle's song. ♪ i will trust i will trust i will trust in you ♪ >> i must have listened to it a thousand times. ♪ i will trust in you ♪ >> deborah: what does the song say that gets to you? >> what it says is that i will trust you forever, god. yeah, that song makes me cry, sorry. >> deborah: faith, now 10 years old, was adopted by tricia's brother, jonathan. he says steven wrote him a letter asking if he'd bring faith to visit him in prison. >> it's just totally inappropriate, totally narcissistic that you're going

to put that on little child after what you've already done. he's the one that threw his future of parenting faith down the tubes. he's the one that made all the choices. and then instead of being remorseful about it, it's, "how can i still get what i want?" faith was already friends with her cousins. and now she's went from being a cousin to a sibling. >> deborah: remarkably, the todd family says that today, they've found the grace to forgive steven williams. >> i can forgive him. i don't have angry thoughts all the time. i actually pray for him. >> deborah: you forgive him? >> but forgiveness does not include trust, necessarily. i wouldn't trust him at all. he doesn't ever need to get out. >> we encourage faith to forgive, to not let that be something that she gets angry about, that she holds a grudge on. and then also, we just tell her about what a great mom that

trisha was and how trisha loved her so much. >> how are you? >> they'll never forget, but they forgive him. they were very happy that tricia left faith for them. tricia lives through faith. >> deborah: faith indeed, which has a double meaning, david, for this family. they're still hoping that the u.s. air force will reconsider its decision not to prosecute steven williams. >> david: by the way, he's scheduled to be released from prison in january of 2049 when he is 63. that's our program for tonight. i'm david muir. >> deborah: i'm deborah roberts. from all of us here at abc news and "20/20," good night.

wild chase through multiple bay area counties as a shooting suspect avoids several attempts by police to spike the car's tires. it led to an hours long standoff that shut down interstate 80. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm ama daetz the whole thing. finally came to an end just before seven this evening in fairfield. it shut down the freeway at green valley road, creating a massive backup. the chp says the suspect was wanted for shooting at someone this morning along highway