>> he got a little desperate and started gambling more and more to try to get money for the family. >> what was it like to testify in the trial? >> translator: yeah, but, denis, we know that you killed her. Or, did danger lurk closer to home? but anna had another word for it. >> did he seem nervous, upset? i had talked to many families of many disappeared people over the years, and i could see the light in her eyes that way. she was everybody's mom, and she just disappeared. 11 Mar. >> just disappeared from her life. >> or maybe the enemy lurked within. thanks again for -- for rushing over. >> when "dateline" continues. >> it's hope, you know. >> so it was -- >> never happened. denis ratte answered with conviction, "no, i did not." >> when "dateline" continues. hope you got dental. >> you wouldn't think he'd forget about $2,000. >> he said he did it between the house and the garage. According to ZoomInfo records, Gabriel Ratt's professional experience began in 2017. >> translator: that's what we're going to do. >> wendy was the good mother, conservative, hard worker, wanted to save the world. >> as their friend lois cook could plainly see, denis was fiercely protective of all of them. >> it was. maybe a phone call to wendy's family back in the states. once neighbors of the rattes, not exactly friends. that is, of course, if he knew anything about it. could she have up and joined them? until the day in late 2007 when anna met reporter frank peebles at a downtown cafe. he was the rock that i had. you have to keep an open mind when you start on these investigations because we had at that point very limited information on who wendy was. >> straight out? fearlessly it appeared because she must have known they would not like this, obviously. >> that's true, but isn't the truth more important? >> probably. we looked at that angle. Uploaded by Advertisement In 2003, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, residents were shocked by the news of a heinous crime inflicted upon a 22-year-old New Mexico State University . progressive is always here for you with round-the-clock service. >> so gabriel wondered what hard evidence had police found that proved his father was guilty of murder. and he hadn't felt that since he -- since he'd been injured. and it turned out that he died of natural causes. >> so he did, all the way back to canada, to northern saskatchewan. the beatings, the staged kidnappings, the fake blood pacts. it looks like your blood pressure's a little high. and that's how mom led her life. >> shattering. Or, did danger lurk closer to home? >> translator: she didn't suffer. >> i didn't believe it. it felt like there was -- like he was putting a barrier in front of the investigation. so please be honest. we're going to fix them, okay? with humira, remission is possible. oops. >> it was quite a shock that somebody who is apparently normal, everyday, almost a stereotype in that sense could disappear without a trace. >> shortly after wendy disappeared, anna was looking through her papers searching for clues and found an application for a teacher's job in california. >> the moment had come. when we use it to improve things, then that change can last within us. >> i was tied up and tortured. a stand mixer for less than $20. investigator thomas decided no. about a week later, another question -- would denis like to make some money on the side delivering bags mostly, their contents unknown. all auctions start at $0 and everything must go. with anna to the coffee shop so that she would discover the van. The horrendous crime occurred on the night of August 31, 2003. they also searched the area for a body, of course, but found nothing at all. >> anna's dad told her her mom had dropped her off downtown so he could run errands while she drove on in the family van to tutsi area student and then meet a friend, then pick him up again at the hardware store, but she hadn't returned. but as anna looked around, her eye caught something familiar. >> and this is "dateline." that came from me. he had found a newfound family that respected him, that thought he was intelligent. >> i was disgusted. >> but she was sliding. >> no. when "dateline" continues. i know when he's hiding something, when he's not being truthful about something. it was 2003. six years since her mother vanished from her life. >> and denis, anna remembered her father going for long walks in the woods alone, seemed devastated, lost, in denial. the undercover detectives had him just where they wanted him. 0. and so, of course, he did. letting him go as a suspect must have been difficult. did he have an explanation that made any sense? so we're using a speakerphone in the store. he said, "if i keep the house, she'll have a home to come home to." they're afraid of this family." disappearances were hurtful to her family members. >> oops. they put me in a room with a camera, and that's when they broke it to me. >> translator: yeah, okay, okay, yeah. >> and he hardly knew a word of english and she hardly knew a word of french. and don't forget, we offer a full 90 day money back guarantee on your first bid pack purchase. >> then, denis continued, he put the body in the plymouth voyager, made a left turn onto highway 16, the highway of tears, and drove to an abandoned logger loggers road, 1.5 hours away. she was in touch with a spirit, an ancient spirit with -- named oshanna. >> it was like being in a nightmare because mom was never late. most of her family sided with gabriel. there was a swamp there. >> that night and the next morning, i just kept making phone calls. she was incredibly nurturing, and i think what she succeeded in doing is that she raised a good son and a good man to live in this world as a sane person. the pay was good, too, about 12 grand in three months, a little more than he earned in years, he told his sister, without divulging too much. >> what? when we understand what's possible, we won't settle for less. And even if all the pieces fall into place, Harpaz could not say when it would be broadcast, but that detail is not of significant concern. a confession is one thing. Facebook gives people the power to. just so you know, next time, you can submit a claim with our mobile app. >> but she wasn't the first to vanish. a brother and sister were prepared to fight for what they believed was right even if that meant losing each other. >> didn't help that from one interview to the next, denis appeared to change vital information about the day his wife went missing. by nightfall, there was still no sign of wendy. he was lucky. proof, he told the jury, that denis' confession should not be believed. time for mr. big. >> they feel they have transcended the conflict intention of their former lives. >> some days she would be so happy, and other days the world would just weigh down on her. she chased down the leads. >> and something else bothered him. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. >> they're described as right out of hollywood. coming up -- the investigation is transformed when detectives run up against a fresh and frustrating piece of evidence. >> so all thomas could do was file the results away and try to find more evidence against denis. anywhere, police radar was squarely pointed at her husband, denis, which was no surprise to seasoned prince george reporter frank peebles. that was his source of pride. and he began to confess again. On Friday the judge is expected to rule on when Ratte will be eligible for parole. there's resources that can inform us, and that spark can make a difference. that was a central fact in your mind? >> okay. but as the years slowly ticked by one by one, nothing. denis was asked to threaten a man. you don't want it jeopardized. we have translated and dubbed over their conversation in english. >> his father was in prison, and his mom -- well, his mom -- do you really believe in your heart that there is a possibility that your mother is still out there somewhere? the faster, easier way to clean as you go. don't have much left. >> a couple of days later, anna got a call. voltaren is powerful arthritis pain relief in a gel. you don't have remains. as well as a playstation 4 for under $16. Sign in or register for your free account, Fort St. James man arrested, charged with attempted murder, Thinner forests key to industry prosperity, Man homeless after BC Housing buys building. available over the counter. and after four weeks, the end to the 13-year-old mystery was finally at hand. one of the ways i do that is to get them out of the home. >> yeah, like parents get divorced? >> the jones family. >> the rcmp have conducted over 350 of these investigations. >> translator: no. and we just go back and forth like that. it's a very personal thing the way humans react to trauma. one of the worst things about a cois how it can make you feel. and it makes it difficult. 555 Followers, 615 Following, 901 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Gabriel Ratt (@grattehandy) grattehandy. >> a mother of two disappears. but karen said they didn't have time to make an official diagnosis. he hadn't been back in 11 years. Denis Ratte arrives at a moment of truth in meeting "Mr. Big", the man he believed to be an all-powerful crime boss but was really all part of an undercover operation. and also past the sights of unsolved mysteries -- >> you say there are six active investigations -- cbc news -- >> more missing women on the highway of tears. >> this is the difficulty with missing person files. there is the gamblers/desperate hand, the voice, the presence summoned from beyond, and the audacious undercover caper, all to solve an 11-year-old mystery and put under the light of intense personal scrutiny a most unlikely villain, who depending on who you choose to believe may not be a villain at all. and finally we asked him, you know, "what is going on?" i won these bluetooth headphones for $20. seeing a husband trying to relive the moment when he said he murdered his wife. >> he said that's not wendy, that's shawna. >> translator: so essentially, your son is asking you to tell the truth. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. >> i didn't give it a lot of, thought, to the point where i tried to remember her face and i couldn't. it doesn't matter that my family. i couldn't understand that he would be okay with not telling the police. >> $2,000, exactly. read it, said mr. big, as denis listened. that's when she became convinced. >> you would have heard that surely. >> sure. i guess he sort of could because he was winning quite a bit. >> he broke down for the first time. and i've also had anxiety, headaches, insomnia, and panic attacks. i was up to my neck in investigation trying to find mom. the highway of tears. >> the strong, silent hero who preferred long solitary walks in the woods to social gatherings. >> i kind of hold my breath and go through it and hope that whatever i say is going to work for my dad. >> and he admitted it. this time for almost two years. and i told him, you know, if this happened, i just want to know more. >> did she bring up the idea that wendy may have had some sort of mental breakdown? >> that was just four months before she vanished leaving nothing but a van in the local parking lot. so on. it took everything for me to do it. try move free ultra now. i thought, great, he got a job. >> upon our review, we came to the same conclusion as judy did, that denis ratte was the suspect in his wife's disappearance. 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