Dateline Presents: Something About Cari

Hello, I'm Keith Morrison from Dateline NBC. Here's a special preview of our new podcast, Something About Carrie. The lights of the city skyline seemed to wink as they picked up the ripples on the river. And the muted hum of city sounds drifted across the Missouri to the Iowa side, as if those winking lights knew something, as if that hum was gossip. A jet plane descended to Epley Airfield. Broke the spell. Because, of course, cities don't really know secrets or when something is about to happen. Though something certainly was any minute now. It was unusually mild for Midwest evening so late in autumn. Snow was sparse and threadbare in the park on the Iowa side of the Missouri River. It was the first week of December in the year of our Lord 2015, just past 6.30 p.m. Quite dark now. And then... No question what that was. It was followed by this. I want to get a severe emergency. Oh, yeah. I been trying to wait It was a woman in pain obviously She told the 911 operator she had come to the park alone in her car How are you in the park ma I'm in the parking lot on the, um, west side. I have a little red Toyota and I'm flying. Okay. Is the estate agent still there by? I don't think so. It's probably burning. Okay, okay, okay. We're getting help started, okay, ma'am? The woman said the bullet had gone clean through her thigh, in one side and out the other. Through and through is what first responders call that kind of wound, so a quick response would be crucial. Is there any serious bleeding? Oh, my, my, she's going to kill the blood. Oh, Jesus. And the shooter or shooters? Long gone, said the woman. Do you know who did it? An attacker roaming free with a gun in a city park? Well, that gets some immediate attention. So the dispatcher quickly called in squad cars from the Council Bluffs Iowa Police Department. Hold on. It's radio traffic, okay? You're not going to hear me for a second. Oh, Jesus! An agency assist came from across the river. The helicopter from the Omaha PD was in the air with its spotlight scouring a city park the size of 150 football fields for any sign of a suspect Back and forth it flew looking for whoever had fired the shot Looking, essentially, for a drop of water in a pitch black pond. How many people were there? Oh, I don't know. I only heard one. About whom the victim offered at least one clue. You know if it was male or female? It was female. The shooter was a woman. The fact that flew in the face of all those statistics that law enforcement collects about gun violence. Officers arrived. This is a recording from their dash cam. Asking their questions as the victim was bundled into an ambulance. Did she run down the trail? And why fired this victim, an unassuming mother of two who'd made her living as the owner of a business that cleaned houses? She had just gone to get five minutes' peace in a quiet place and got a bullet in the leg. She would live, by the way, but the shooter? Okay, we need to know which way she went. Yes, and well, we imagine them looking for a woman with a gun in the dark in that giant park by the river, across from the hum of the city with its sparkling towers. A mystery as opaque as the Night Black River began finally to reveal itself in all its confounding weirdness Had you ever encountered a thing quite that elaborate before No nothing like this This is a unique case, to say the least. Here was harassment, stalking, assault, arson, and of course, murder. All I heard was, open up, please. What was that like? traumatizing. I was freaked out. And of all the smart investigators who worked on the case couldn't connect the dots. Well, perhaps it was understandable. Detective 101 rarely covers this sort of diabolical scheming. But whatever the reason, it went on and on and on for years. You're on edge as to what's going to happen next. Until that night by the river. This night Finally, it began to make some sort of sense The best part of it was being able to tell her You've arrested somebody for the murder of your daughter That was what made working this whole case worth it I'm Keith Morrison Thank you for listening Search for Something About Carrie To listen to the full episode now Completely free or subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts. Subscribers get early access to new episodes and can listen to all Dateline podcasts ad-free.