Gone (2017) s01e03 Episode Script
Paradise Lost
1 So many years, so many memories.
She was very, very beautiful.
And he was a very beautiful baby.
Barnes: It's sort of like a landmine in the mind, you know.
You go, "Wow, I wonder where they are.
I wonder what they're doing.
" Monnheimer: I just wanted my mom.
I was angry that the adults in my life were not solving this for me.
Barnes: Had it been in my power, I would have, you know, grabbed the island, turned it upside down, and shaken it to try to find Charlotte and Marx.
Fitchett: I didn't know if we would ever get results with this case after 30-plus years.
Monnheimer: I couldn't believe that this story could take a turn and just blow up.
I never saw it coming.
Barnes: Everything seemed to be going great.
Charlotte seemed to be very happy.
I was sort working into the position of being a father and all that good stuff.
I mean, everything was great.
It really was.
Narrator: 26-year-old Mark Barnes lives on the island of Oahu with his 31-year-old girlfriend, Charlotte Moriarty, and their six-month-old son, Marx.
The couple plans to spend the day working on the house where they'd been living rent-free in exchange for maintaining the property.
Barnes: So I had had built a deck.
And we were planting birds of paradise on the corners.
Hey.
I'm gonna go down to Kapula's to pick some stuff up.
Charlotte said she was going down to the little store that was three blocks away, and that she'd be back shortly.
I'll take Marx with me.
So I said, "Fine, great, see ya soon.
" Narrator: Several hours go by, but Charlotte and Marx don't come back.
Barnes: I walked down to the little store, but they were not there.
Narrator: Instead, he finds Marx's stroller abandoned at a bus stop.
Barnes: I figure she got on a bus, so I took the stroller and walked home, figuring she had gone somewhere.
And I waited.
Narrator: That evening, there's still no sign of Charlotte and Marx.
Mark wonders if maybe Charlotte took a bus to see one of her girlfriends on another part of the island.
Barnes: She would go and see people, and, you know, sometimes not come back for two or three days.
She had a baby bag with bottles and everything in it, so, no, I was not overly concerned.
Charlotte was just sort of living for the day, which was pretty much the way it was in the '70s.
Narrator: In 1976, Mark is a freelance writer from California who landed on Oahu after a tour in Vietnam with the Navy.
Barnes: I was pretty much living by myself, you know, and just trying to take care of odds and ends and write.
One evening, I was writing, and Charlotte arrives with a gentleman.
- Hey, man, how are you? - Hi.
Can you tell me how to get to? Barnes: They were lost.
Asked for directions.
Mile down the road, right hand side.
Oh, so it's around.
You can't miss it.
And then the next morning, I'm up, and who's at the front door, but Charlotte.
Hi.
She'd evidently lost her gentleman.
She was alone, and she wanted to see the island.
What are you doing today? So I volunteered to take her around.
Narrator: The connection between Mark and Charlotte is instant.
Whoo! She was a very free spirit, very smart.
Very beautiful.
She had a great sense of humor.
And very set in what she wanted to do, and when she wanted to something, she did it.
Mark and Charlotte were antiestablishment.
I mean, that was part of their attraction to each other.
They moved in together up the hill from me, and so they were neighbors, and a happy couple.
They were both kind of nuts, you know.
Frivolous and happy.
It was a great combination.
Narrator: Charlotte tells Mark she was previously married and has a 7-year-old daughter who lives with her father in new Mexico.
My mother was a very deep thinker.
She was a searcher, I think even before it became a little bit popular.
She definitely was raised with sort of an upper-middle-class lifestyle.
I think the expectation for her was that she would marry well, and she did.
But she wanted something a little bit more free, a little bit more bohemian.
My dad tried very hard to make her happy, and It wasn't enough for her.
And they split up.
So I ended up living with my dad.
And my mom was very much in and out of my life at that point, but I was always happy to see her, you know.
I remember she picked me up from school one day, and I'll never forget it.
It was just 'cause I didn't see her.
We went to the woods, and we discovered a little butterfly larva, and we took it home.
We put it in a jar, and we just watched it over time.
And it was incredible.
Now that I'm an adult, looking back, I can see that that was kind of symbolic of where she was at that time in her life.
She was changing, she was transforming into something else.
Narrator: In 1976, Charlotte moves to Hawaii.
Soon after meeting Mark Barnes, she becomes pregnant with their son Marx.
Barnes: I was sort of shocked.
I wasn't ready to be a parent, but, you know, you're never ready for that sort of thing.
So I embraced it, and said, "Well, you know, let's do it.
" And we did.
[Baby coos.]
Murray: I remember that he was pretty stunned about it.
It's a life-changing event.
But he was stoked, as we would say, and very proud.
Barnes: We loved that little boy.
We were having a great time and living the Hawaiian life, and Charlotte seemed to be very happy.
And everything was just rolling along very smoothly.
[Baby coos.]
Narrator: For two days, Mark continues to work on the house and waits for Charlotte and Marx to come home, but they never do.
Barnes: I became a little worried.
So next day, I called the Honolulu police.
Narrator: According to Mark, he tells police that Charlotte is a free spirit who sometimes takes off for a few days on a whim and doesn't call.
They said, "Well, you know, give it a little time.
" So I said, "Fine.
" Then after several days, I called again and said, "My wife is missing with my child.
" They took down a description and everything, and, if I recall, they never sent anybody to the house.
Narrator: But after almost three weeks pass, Charlotte and Marx still haven't surfaced.
Barnes: At that point, I was really worried.
You know, it was several weeks later, I hadn't seen my son, hadn't seen Charlotte.
Don't know what the hell happened.
Narrator: Around this time, Mark learns that his good friend, Jim Murray, had spotted Charlotte with Marx a few days after she went missing walking along a busy road.
Murray: I was driving to Honolulu, and the kid was over her shoulder.
Couldn't stop.
Everybody's going 50 miles an hour, and I thought it was really strange, because it's miles away from anything else.
Barnes: When he told me that, I was surprised.
Because I couldn't imagine why she had gone to Honolulu unless to pick up something or there was someone there that I didn't know about.
I just had this feeling like, you know, what is she up to now? Barnes: I went down to the police station to see what the progress was, and I discovered that they had no record of any phone calls I had made reporting her, they had no record of a missing person, they had no record at all.
Sundquist-Decaires: On July the 10th of 1977, Mark Barnes contacted the police department to initiate a missing persons case for Charlotte and for his son.
At that time, he said the last time that he had seen her was on June 21st at 9:00 at a residence.
It was mentioned in the report that Charlotte had taken off prior and returned prior, so that was a known factor in regards to this case.
Barnes: I don't believe that I said anything about her psychological state of mind.
I said she was, you know, a free spirit and very determined, and, you know, she did what Charlotte wanted to do when Charlotte wanted to do it.
I was fairly desperate to have them do anything Move in any direction as far as finding her and Marx.
I'm gonna head out to Kapula's.
Narrator: According to Mark, Charlotte seemed happy on the morning she went missing.
Great, see ya soon.
But just after their son was born, her behavior had alarmed him.
Barnes: It was a very crazy period of time when Charlotte came back with a baby from the hospital.
For a week to 10 days, she walked around the house with a blindfold on so she couldn't see.
I was doing most of the heavy lifting.
I was in charge of the baby and taking care of the diapers, and, eventually, she took off the blindfold.
And she seemed to be a very doting mother.
Narrator: Mark assumes Charlotte had suffered from postpartum depression and some who know her would say she is prone to mood swings.
I do remember that Charlotte had bouts of going in and out.
She wanted to be alone a lot.
I never noticed anything that was radically wrong or anything, but she would go off sometimes all by herself and, you know, disappear for I don't know how long.
Narrator: But this time is the longest Charlotte has ever stayed away from Mark.
Her daughter, Jennifer, has a theory about what may have triggered her disappearance.
Monnheimer: The last time I saw my mom was in Santa Fe.
She was four months pregnant.
It was wonderful for me to see her.
I didn't I didn't want her to go.
I remember she put her hand on her belly, and she put my hand on her belly, and You know, it was just powerful.
I'll never forget that.
She said that she would come back at Thanksgiving, and then we took her to the bus stop.
That was it.
Narrator: After Marx is born, Charlotte starts making plans for Jennifer to come to Hawaii to meet her new brother.
My father was working with my mother's father and my mother.
They were trying to organize a time for me to come out to visit in July of 1977.
Narrator: But a few weeks before Jennifer is supposed to arrive, the plan falls apart.
Monnheimer: My dad was very protective and concerned.
During the '70s, it was hard if there was a separation or a divorce and a child was in another state.
Sometimes it could be hard to get that child back.
So my dad was worried that I may not be sent back from Hawaii, that my mother would keep me in Hawaii with her.
I think that, when I did not come, my mother fell apart.
That's the sense that I get.
It was the last straw.
I think she just spiraled.
Narrator: After Mark files a report, Honolulu police issue an official missing persons advisory and launch a search for Charlotte.
Sundquist-Decaires: They check with friends, family members, check for the hospitals, to see if there was anyone that might be there.
Barnes: They took down a description and everything, and "Thank you very much, and give us a call if she comes back.
" I don't think they were overly concerned about it.
I mean, people would go off with someone else, they'd be living with someone and say, "Well, I'm gonna go with this person.
" That sort of behavior was sort of rampant during the time we were there.
Murray: She just disappeared.
Lots of people did that in those days and on an island like Hawaii, and with her background, I think that she could have made a phone call and got a plane ticket and just left.
I mean, that happened all the time.
Narrator: After a brief mention in the local news, the case goes quiet.
Mark continues the search on his own.
Barnes: Well, I hitchhike up and down the north shore, you know, stopping at all the beaches and everything.
And I look around With no luck whatsoever.
I mean, I did everything I could in my power to try to find her.
Monnheimer: I don't know when I found out, but I think my dad pulled me into a room, shut the door, and told me that my mom was missing, and nobody knew where she was.
I remember just being so sad.
I was just so wanting to meet my new half-brother, and I was on the swing There were two swings And I would kind of swing the other swing and pretend I was talking to him, and, you know, we were just sharing, like siblings.
I really wanted to know him.
But I [Sighs.]
I just knew that, you know, they were gone.
Narrator: For years, everyone assumes Charlotte chose to leave, taking Marx with her.
But a new lead is about to surface, suggesting a much darker answer to the mystery.
Fitchett: We started knocking on neighbors' doors.
Can I help you? to try and see if anybody had been there back in the 1970s.
Mr.
Murray? Yes.
It was really surprising.
I had no idea that this was going on.
Mind if we ask you a few questions.
They said they argued a fair amount.
What would you say if we said we believe Mark is a suspect? We were all looking for Charlotte and Marx.
You just get disappointed and discouraged every time you come back without finding anybody.
It was just a really, really dark time.
I just sort of withdrew, you know, and, you know, stayed by the house and, you know, did whatever odd jobs I could to keep a subsistence lifestyle.
You have to come to a realization, at least I did, that she has gone somewhere to make a better life.
And they were, I hoped, happy and, you know, prosperous and living the family life.
Narrator: With still no sign of Charlotte or Marx, the case officially goes cold.
Mark decides to leave Hawaii.
Employment opportunities were not there, and so it was just time to come back to the States and try to start again.
Narrator: Mark moves to northern California and continues to work as a freelance writer.
I got married, and the outcome of that was two beautiful daughters.
Narrator: But Mark still can't put Charlotte and Marx's disappearance behind him.
It's sort of like a landmine in the mind, you know.
It will just pop up at the most unexpected times.
You know, and you go, "Wow, I wonder where they are, I wonder what they're doing.
" My first and second marriage were both dissolved because I was preoccupied with Charlotte and Marx.
Yeah, it's tough to feel deeply enough for someone when you have someone else on your mind all the time.
Monnheimer: I just wanted my mom, and nobody could tell me where she was.
Anything important like birthdays or high school graduation, college graduation You want to celebrate that milestone or whatever it is in your life, and you You're not able to.
It was sad.
I was very sad.
Narrator: More than two decades have passed without any news of Charlotte and Marx.
Around 2004, 2005, I got involved in a really pretty big way.
I wanted it to become front and center because, again, I needed to have some kind of answer as to what happened.
Narrator: In 2004, the State Attorney General's office decides to take another look at the case.
Jennifer travels to Hawaii to meet with Honolulu police.
I'm Detective Fitchett.
When we obtained copies of the initial missing persons report, the first thing we noted was, when Mark was interviewed regarding the missing persons case, he waited over approximately three weeks before he made the actual report.
Sundquist-Decaires: He reported it on July the 10th.
All right, thank you.
Said that the last time he had seen her was 9:00 in the morning on a Tuesday June the 21st.
Because it was reported late, there was no one else to corroborate it.
Narrator: Mark claimed that he called the police twice in the first few days after the disappearance.
But there's no record of Mark's prior calls.
There's a lot here.
Mark Barnes was a person of interest because there was a delay in reporting and there was no subsequent information about where she was.
And I agreed with Jennifer that we could take a look and see where it would go with the investigation.
Just give me a few days on this.
Thank you.
Narrator: Detective Fitchett and his partner returned to the neighborhood in Hau'ula where Charlotte and Mark lived.
We started knocking on neighbors' doors to try and see if anybody had been there back in the 1970s.
And we were very fortunate to find a neighbor that remembered these two people that lived in the residence at that time.
Can you tell me anything about them? Yeah, they lived right here, right next door.
The relationship, he said, was kind of a volatile one.
They did get into arguments.
There was a lot of yelling, a lot of fighting.
They weren't real friendly.
So, you know, pretty odd.
Narrator: The investigative team starts tracking down anyone who was close to the couple back then.
Jim Murray was the first person that we located in Gresham, Oregon.
Narrator: In 2005, Mark's friend from Hawaii, Jim Murray, gets an unexpected visit.
Jim Murray? Yes.
Mind if we ask you a few questions.
Sure.
Concerning what? Jim and Mark have kept in touch over the years.
But Jim doesn't know that Charlotte's case has been reopened.
It was really surprising.
I had no idea that this was going on.
What about Mark? They told me that Mark was a suspect.
Mark?! No.
That really upset me because I didn't believe that at all.
He wasn't that kind of guy.
I was convinced that Mark didn't do this, that, you know, it just wasn't in him.
He's too mellow of a person.
Fitchett: He was adamant that Mark would never commit such a crime Or hurt Charlotte in any fashion, and especially an infant child.
And he really wanted to make sure that we understood that.
Narrator: Jim's answers are later confirmed when he takes a polygraph test.
Murray: It actually never occurred to me that Mark was guilty of doing this.
It really never entered my mind.
All right, thank you.
Fitchett: We decided that we would approach Mark based on what we knew and see if he'd be willing to talk with us.
Narrator: Mark is still living in northern California, and this is the first he's heard anything about the case in years.
Barnes: I get a phone call from a cold case detective from the Honolulu Police Department.
He says he'd like to talk to me.
It's tough to digest.
I mean, for Christ's sakes, now I'm a suspect of murdering my girlfriend and my son.
Barnes: What are you guys trying to do here? We're just trying to solve the case, Mark.
When they indicated that they thought that I was, you know, the primary suspect in this, I told them it's ridiculous.
I mean, I had no motive.
It certainly wasn't for money.
And if it was to get custody of Marx, there was plenty of legal ways.
Just a few things that we've been going about the case that we want to clear up.
He gave me the information.
Pretty much it was consistent with the missing persons case that he filed back in 1977.
Let's see.
Narrator: But investigators want to know why Mark waited three weeks to file a missing persons report for Charlotte and Marx.
He discussed the fact that she had been missing on several occasions previous to this, and after a week or three or four days, she had come back.
You didn't find that worrisome? Sometimes she would just Need to go, and I guess be gone for a couple days.
And she'd come right back.
Narrator: They also inquire about witness reports of loud arguments between Mark and Charlotte.
Fitchett: He admitted to several arguments, but he felt he was not physically violent towards her.
So after completing the interview, he adamantly denied having any involvement in her disappearance physically.
We asked him if he's participate in a polygraph.
I said, "Sure.
" So they hooked me up to a lie detector.
Have you ever lived in new Mexico? No.
They asked me all these rather inane and don't make any sense sort of questions.
You know, questions like, "Did you ever want to kill someone?" No.
Fitchett: He's one of the few guys, we couldn't even read him.
Both of us had a hard time determining whether or not Mark was actually telling us the truth.
But it's just we didn't know.
The polygrapher wanted to call the test inconclusive at that stage.
Narrator: Despite the lack of concrete evidence against Mark, Detective Fitchett believes the case against him is strong.
Fitchett: I met with the Honolulu Police homicide lieutenant, and he agreed to move it from a missing persons case to a homicide case.
Narrator: Investigators take a closer look at the property where Mark and Charlotte had lived.
Fitchett: We ended up going back with the help of ground-penetrating radar.
We just felt that maybe he would dig a hole in the back yard under the cover of night and bury the body there Or bodies there.
It took us a day and a half to dig this area.
We could not locate any type of human remains.
Narrator: With the case at an impasse once more, all investigators can do is file Marx's profile and age-progressed photo with the national center for missing and exploited children.
Mr.
Barnes agreed to submit to a DNA process, also.
So that information was registered and put on file.
We had DNA from me and from my grandmother on file.
We're still hoping, right, that something would come of this, even though we hit a dead end.
Narrator: For the next six years, Mark Barnes remains a suspect, though police have yet to find any incriminating evidence against him.
Barnes: So this is all building up and, you know, having the police come in and out of my life.
Unless you've been a suspect as a murderer, it's It's tough to digest.
And so that plays with you, and you think, "Well, you know, are the police gonna pull up at the door and say, 'Well, you're under arrest'?" You have that sort of anxiety all the time.
Narrator: Then, in November 2011, comes the most stunning moment in this 34-year mystery.
I got a call from the Honolulu Police Department Saying that "Your son is alive.
" Barnes: I got a call from the Honolulu police department, not long after I gave the last DNA samples.
And they said, "Well We have a match with your DNA To your son.
Your son is alive.
" I was elated.
"Can I talk to him? Can I see him?" But they won't tell me anything else.
Carter: My name is William Stevens Tenzin Carter.
Growing up, I never really had any questions about my lineage or where I was from.
It was, I was adopted at three and a half, this is my family, and this is who I am.
Narrator: 34-year-old Steve Carter knew he had lived in Hawaii until he was adopted, but he had very little information about his origins.
Carter: I didn't really start to contemplate my birth parents until I was in college, and didn't really want to do anything else until I started having children of my own.
Narrator: In the spring of 2011, Steve hears about an adopted woman who discovered her true identity through a website run by the national center for missing and exploited children.
Kind of triggered my head to think, "Hey, go check it out.
" It was at lunch that day that I shut my office door and went to the web site, missingkids.
com, and actually entered the criteria.
State Hawaii.
Sex male.
And then how long you'd been missing.
The top response was Marx Barnes, who went missing at six months, had a birthday very similar to mine.
And the age progression photo they had was a lot like looking in a mirror.
As soon as I saw the picture, I immediately copied and pasted and e-mailed to a number of different individuals, saying, "Hey, what do you think? Is this me?" Everybody was like, "Oh, yeah, that's you.
" Narrator: Later that day, Steve calls the Honolulu Police Department.
The results are in, sir.
They ask him to submit a DNA sample.
It's a match.
The DNA sample confirmed that Steven Carter was in fact the offspring of Mark Barnes and Charlotte Moriarty.
It's a tremendous emotional feeling for me, locating this infant after all of these years.
I never in my wildest dreams thought it would ever have a result like this after 30-plus years.
Narrator: After Steve's parents adopted him in Hawaii, the new family moved to an affluent town in New Jersey, where he grew up.
Carter: I was so lucky to have these parents.
My reaction to finding out that I was Marx Panama was a difficult one.
You know, you grow up a good portion of your life believing one thing, and then to come to realize that there has been a family out there that's been looking for you It's tough.
Narrator: When Steve gets the DNA test confirming he is Marx Barnes, he calls Mark.
Hello, is this Mark? Yes.
The conversation I first had with Mark was probably one my more difficult ones.
I introduced myself, and the first thing Mark said to me was, "How's your mother?" Mark was very shocked that Charlotte wasn't with me.
Barnes: I Truly believed that they were just living the family life.
I was absolutely floored.
Narrator: In new Mexico, Steve's half-sister Jennifer gets the news that her little brother is alive.
When I heard that Marx was found, that it was Marx, I went into shock.
I never imagined that they would find Marx alive and living a really nice life.
He's extremely happy and well-adjusted.
And it's just incredible.
Narrator: Steve provides police with a key piece of the puzzle, his birth certificate from the orphanage in Honolulu, where his name is listed as "Tenzin Amea.
" Detective Fitchett is now able to trace back Charlotte Moriarty's steps on the day she and Marx disappeared.
Fitchett: Looking through records at h.
P.
D.
, I was able to determine that Charlotte left Mark that day, left the stroller, went riding on a bus.
Somehow turned up on the other side of the island.
Narrator: On June 22, 1977, the day after Charlotte and Marx disappeared, a woman now believed to be Charlotte shows up at a stranger's house carrying an infant.
It's my little girl.
[Baby crying.]
Fitchett: Based on the police report, this person that was Caucasian but gave a Japanese name identified the baby as a female, and asked the homeowner for milk and a diaper change.
I'll see if there's something for her.
- Okay.
- Okay, I'll be right back.
Narrator: The homeowner, alarmed by the woman's state, calls the police.
So this is where things get really crazy.
My mother gives a false name, she says her name is Jane Amea.
She gives a false name to Steve.
She says his name is Tenzin Amea.
They felt that she was in need of mental help.
So he escorted the female to the Hawaii State Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Monnheimer: They admit Jane Amea, and they take the child into protective custody.
I don't know why she gave false information.
To me, it seems like she wanted to hide her child for some reason, maybe knowing that she would come back for him.
Narrator: According to the police report, Jane Amea remains at the hospital for five days, where a social worker tries to reunite her with her baby.
The social worker had come to say, "You know what, we want you back with your child.
Here's the address.
" And then Jane Amea leaves, against medical advice, into the night.
They don't know where she went.
There's just no trace of her after that.
Barnes: I can't see Charlotte giving Marx up.
I mean, I truly believe that she would have kept him as tight as she possibly could.
But, evidently, she must have had some sort of psychological break that she just She just lost it.
Carter: I don't have any animosity towards Charlotte.
Nor would I have any mother or father who gives a child up for adoption.
If she found it better to move on and do something else, I don't blame her for it, you know.
I've had a pretty amazing life.
Now I've just got a larger family, a family that I'd like to spend more time with.
To this point, I've met my half-sister Jennifer twice.
Meeting Jennifer is amazing.
Growing up your entire life, thinking you're an only child, and finally find somebody who is related to you.
Monnheimer: I feel a deep connection to him.
You know, he's like my little brother, you know, who's been through a lot.
Narrator: But Steve has yet to meet his biological father, Mark.
Carter: I'm fearful to bring everybody together too quickly.
I've talked to him on the phone a handful of times.
We've exchanged letters and texts.
I would say that I'm ready to meet Mark very soon.
I would love to.
You know, just to be able to see him.
Hopefully, at some point, when he's ready, we'll get together.
Narrator: Since Steve's identification in 2011, there have been no additional leads in Charlotte's case.
I can't really leave new Mexico because, even though it's 40 years on, there's a part of me that still thinks that she'll come back for me.
So I have things out that remind me of my mother.
It feels extremely safe and very comforting, and I feel That she's with me.
Barnes: I still wonder every day about Charlotte.
Whoo! If Charlotte ever shows up, which I'm almost positive she will at some point, what would I ask her? Well, you would have to take a legal pad, divide it into four different columns, number them down.
I have that many questions to ask.
I miss her a lot.
I miss her presence.
I know she's out there somewhere, I just can't find her.
Hopefully, she'll find me.
She was very, very beautiful.
And he was a very beautiful baby.
Barnes: It's sort of like a landmine in the mind, you know.
You go, "Wow, I wonder where they are.
I wonder what they're doing.
" Monnheimer: I just wanted my mom.
I was angry that the adults in my life were not solving this for me.
Barnes: Had it been in my power, I would have, you know, grabbed the island, turned it upside down, and shaken it to try to find Charlotte and Marx.
Fitchett: I didn't know if we would ever get results with this case after 30-plus years.
Monnheimer: I couldn't believe that this story could take a turn and just blow up.
I never saw it coming.
Barnes: Everything seemed to be going great.
Charlotte seemed to be very happy.
I was sort working into the position of being a father and all that good stuff.
I mean, everything was great.
It really was.
Narrator: 26-year-old Mark Barnes lives on the island of Oahu with his 31-year-old girlfriend, Charlotte Moriarty, and their six-month-old son, Marx.
The couple plans to spend the day working on the house where they'd been living rent-free in exchange for maintaining the property.
Barnes: So I had had built a deck.
And we were planting birds of paradise on the corners.
Hey.
I'm gonna go down to Kapula's to pick some stuff up.
Charlotte said she was going down to the little store that was three blocks away, and that she'd be back shortly.
I'll take Marx with me.
So I said, "Fine, great, see ya soon.
" Narrator: Several hours go by, but Charlotte and Marx don't come back.
Barnes: I walked down to the little store, but they were not there.
Narrator: Instead, he finds Marx's stroller abandoned at a bus stop.
Barnes: I figure she got on a bus, so I took the stroller and walked home, figuring she had gone somewhere.
And I waited.
Narrator: That evening, there's still no sign of Charlotte and Marx.
Mark wonders if maybe Charlotte took a bus to see one of her girlfriends on another part of the island.
Barnes: She would go and see people, and, you know, sometimes not come back for two or three days.
She had a baby bag with bottles and everything in it, so, no, I was not overly concerned.
Charlotte was just sort of living for the day, which was pretty much the way it was in the '70s.
Narrator: In 1976, Mark is a freelance writer from California who landed on Oahu after a tour in Vietnam with the Navy.
Barnes: I was pretty much living by myself, you know, and just trying to take care of odds and ends and write.
One evening, I was writing, and Charlotte arrives with a gentleman.
- Hey, man, how are you? - Hi.
Can you tell me how to get to? Barnes: They were lost.
Asked for directions.
Mile down the road, right hand side.
Oh, so it's around.
You can't miss it.
And then the next morning, I'm up, and who's at the front door, but Charlotte.
Hi.
She'd evidently lost her gentleman.
She was alone, and she wanted to see the island.
What are you doing today? So I volunteered to take her around.
Narrator: The connection between Mark and Charlotte is instant.
Whoo! She was a very free spirit, very smart.
Very beautiful.
She had a great sense of humor.
And very set in what she wanted to do, and when she wanted to something, she did it.
Mark and Charlotte were antiestablishment.
I mean, that was part of their attraction to each other.
They moved in together up the hill from me, and so they were neighbors, and a happy couple.
They were both kind of nuts, you know.
Frivolous and happy.
It was a great combination.
Narrator: Charlotte tells Mark she was previously married and has a 7-year-old daughter who lives with her father in new Mexico.
My mother was a very deep thinker.
She was a searcher, I think even before it became a little bit popular.
She definitely was raised with sort of an upper-middle-class lifestyle.
I think the expectation for her was that she would marry well, and she did.
But she wanted something a little bit more free, a little bit more bohemian.
My dad tried very hard to make her happy, and It wasn't enough for her.
And they split up.
So I ended up living with my dad.
And my mom was very much in and out of my life at that point, but I was always happy to see her, you know.
I remember she picked me up from school one day, and I'll never forget it.
It was just 'cause I didn't see her.
We went to the woods, and we discovered a little butterfly larva, and we took it home.
We put it in a jar, and we just watched it over time.
And it was incredible.
Now that I'm an adult, looking back, I can see that that was kind of symbolic of where she was at that time in her life.
She was changing, she was transforming into something else.
Narrator: In 1976, Charlotte moves to Hawaii.
Soon after meeting Mark Barnes, she becomes pregnant with their son Marx.
Barnes: I was sort of shocked.
I wasn't ready to be a parent, but, you know, you're never ready for that sort of thing.
So I embraced it, and said, "Well, you know, let's do it.
" And we did.
[Baby coos.]
Murray: I remember that he was pretty stunned about it.
It's a life-changing event.
But he was stoked, as we would say, and very proud.
Barnes: We loved that little boy.
We were having a great time and living the Hawaiian life, and Charlotte seemed to be very happy.
And everything was just rolling along very smoothly.
[Baby coos.]
Narrator: For two days, Mark continues to work on the house and waits for Charlotte and Marx to come home, but they never do.
Barnes: I became a little worried.
So next day, I called the Honolulu police.
Narrator: According to Mark, he tells police that Charlotte is a free spirit who sometimes takes off for a few days on a whim and doesn't call.
They said, "Well, you know, give it a little time.
" So I said, "Fine.
" Then after several days, I called again and said, "My wife is missing with my child.
" They took down a description and everything, and, if I recall, they never sent anybody to the house.
Narrator: But after almost three weeks pass, Charlotte and Marx still haven't surfaced.
Barnes: At that point, I was really worried.
You know, it was several weeks later, I hadn't seen my son, hadn't seen Charlotte.
Don't know what the hell happened.
Narrator: Around this time, Mark learns that his good friend, Jim Murray, had spotted Charlotte with Marx a few days after she went missing walking along a busy road.
Murray: I was driving to Honolulu, and the kid was over her shoulder.
Couldn't stop.
Everybody's going 50 miles an hour, and I thought it was really strange, because it's miles away from anything else.
Barnes: When he told me that, I was surprised.
Because I couldn't imagine why she had gone to Honolulu unless to pick up something or there was someone there that I didn't know about.
I just had this feeling like, you know, what is she up to now? Barnes: I went down to the police station to see what the progress was, and I discovered that they had no record of any phone calls I had made reporting her, they had no record of a missing person, they had no record at all.
Sundquist-Decaires: On July the 10th of 1977, Mark Barnes contacted the police department to initiate a missing persons case for Charlotte and for his son.
At that time, he said the last time that he had seen her was on June 21st at 9:00 at a residence.
It was mentioned in the report that Charlotte had taken off prior and returned prior, so that was a known factor in regards to this case.
Barnes: I don't believe that I said anything about her psychological state of mind.
I said she was, you know, a free spirit and very determined, and, you know, she did what Charlotte wanted to do when Charlotte wanted to do it.
I was fairly desperate to have them do anything Move in any direction as far as finding her and Marx.
I'm gonna head out to Kapula's.
Narrator: According to Mark, Charlotte seemed happy on the morning she went missing.
Great, see ya soon.
But just after their son was born, her behavior had alarmed him.
Barnes: It was a very crazy period of time when Charlotte came back with a baby from the hospital.
For a week to 10 days, she walked around the house with a blindfold on so she couldn't see.
I was doing most of the heavy lifting.
I was in charge of the baby and taking care of the diapers, and, eventually, she took off the blindfold.
And she seemed to be a very doting mother.
Narrator: Mark assumes Charlotte had suffered from postpartum depression and some who know her would say she is prone to mood swings.
I do remember that Charlotte had bouts of going in and out.
She wanted to be alone a lot.
I never noticed anything that was radically wrong or anything, but she would go off sometimes all by herself and, you know, disappear for I don't know how long.
Narrator: But this time is the longest Charlotte has ever stayed away from Mark.
Her daughter, Jennifer, has a theory about what may have triggered her disappearance.
Monnheimer: The last time I saw my mom was in Santa Fe.
She was four months pregnant.
It was wonderful for me to see her.
I didn't I didn't want her to go.
I remember she put her hand on her belly, and she put my hand on her belly, and You know, it was just powerful.
I'll never forget that.
She said that she would come back at Thanksgiving, and then we took her to the bus stop.
That was it.
Narrator: After Marx is born, Charlotte starts making plans for Jennifer to come to Hawaii to meet her new brother.
My father was working with my mother's father and my mother.
They were trying to organize a time for me to come out to visit in July of 1977.
Narrator: But a few weeks before Jennifer is supposed to arrive, the plan falls apart.
Monnheimer: My dad was very protective and concerned.
During the '70s, it was hard if there was a separation or a divorce and a child was in another state.
Sometimes it could be hard to get that child back.
So my dad was worried that I may not be sent back from Hawaii, that my mother would keep me in Hawaii with her.
I think that, when I did not come, my mother fell apart.
That's the sense that I get.
It was the last straw.
I think she just spiraled.
Narrator: After Mark files a report, Honolulu police issue an official missing persons advisory and launch a search for Charlotte.
Sundquist-Decaires: They check with friends, family members, check for the hospitals, to see if there was anyone that might be there.
Barnes: They took down a description and everything, and "Thank you very much, and give us a call if she comes back.
" I don't think they were overly concerned about it.
I mean, people would go off with someone else, they'd be living with someone and say, "Well, I'm gonna go with this person.
" That sort of behavior was sort of rampant during the time we were there.
Murray: She just disappeared.
Lots of people did that in those days and on an island like Hawaii, and with her background, I think that she could have made a phone call and got a plane ticket and just left.
I mean, that happened all the time.
Narrator: After a brief mention in the local news, the case goes quiet.
Mark continues the search on his own.
Barnes: Well, I hitchhike up and down the north shore, you know, stopping at all the beaches and everything.
And I look around With no luck whatsoever.
I mean, I did everything I could in my power to try to find her.
Monnheimer: I don't know when I found out, but I think my dad pulled me into a room, shut the door, and told me that my mom was missing, and nobody knew where she was.
I remember just being so sad.
I was just so wanting to meet my new half-brother, and I was on the swing There were two swings And I would kind of swing the other swing and pretend I was talking to him, and, you know, we were just sharing, like siblings.
I really wanted to know him.
But I [Sighs.]
I just knew that, you know, they were gone.
Narrator: For years, everyone assumes Charlotte chose to leave, taking Marx with her.
But a new lead is about to surface, suggesting a much darker answer to the mystery.
Fitchett: We started knocking on neighbors' doors.
Can I help you? to try and see if anybody had been there back in the 1970s.
Mr.
Murray? Yes.
It was really surprising.
I had no idea that this was going on.
Mind if we ask you a few questions.
They said they argued a fair amount.
What would you say if we said we believe Mark is a suspect? We were all looking for Charlotte and Marx.
You just get disappointed and discouraged every time you come back without finding anybody.
It was just a really, really dark time.
I just sort of withdrew, you know, and, you know, stayed by the house and, you know, did whatever odd jobs I could to keep a subsistence lifestyle.
You have to come to a realization, at least I did, that she has gone somewhere to make a better life.
And they were, I hoped, happy and, you know, prosperous and living the family life.
Narrator: With still no sign of Charlotte or Marx, the case officially goes cold.
Mark decides to leave Hawaii.
Employment opportunities were not there, and so it was just time to come back to the States and try to start again.
Narrator: Mark moves to northern California and continues to work as a freelance writer.
I got married, and the outcome of that was two beautiful daughters.
Narrator: But Mark still can't put Charlotte and Marx's disappearance behind him.
It's sort of like a landmine in the mind, you know.
It will just pop up at the most unexpected times.
You know, and you go, "Wow, I wonder where they are, I wonder what they're doing.
" My first and second marriage were both dissolved because I was preoccupied with Charlotte and Marx.
Yeah, it's tough to feel deeply enough for someone when you have someone else on your mind all the time.
Monnheimer: I just wanted my mom, and nobody could tell me where she was.
Anything important like birthdays or high school graduation, college graduation You want to celebrate that milestone or whatever it is in your life, and you You're not able to.
It was sad.
I was very sad.
Narrator: More than two decades have passed without any news of Charlotte and Marx.
Around 2004, 2005, I got involved in a really pretty big way.
I wanted it to become front and center because, again, I needed to have some kind of answer as to what happened.
Narrator: In 2004, the State Attorney General's office decides to take another look at the case.
Jennifer travels to Hawaii to meet with Honolulu police.
I'm Detective Fitchett.
When we obtained copies of the initial missing persons report, the first thing we noted was, when Mark was interviewed regarding the missing persons case, he waited over approximately three weeks before he made the actual report.
Sundquist-Decaires: He reported it on July the 10th.
All right, thank you.
Said that the last time he had seen her was 9:00 in the morning on a Tuesday June the 21st.
Because it was reported late, there was no one else to corroborate it.
Narrator: Mark claimed that he called the police twice in the first few days after the disappearance.
But there's no record of Mark's prior calls.
There's a lot here.
Mark Barnes was a person of interest because there was a delay in reporting and there was no subsequent information about where she was.
And I agreed with Jennifer that we could take a look and see where it would go with the investigation.
Just give me a few days on this.
Thank you.
Narrator: Detective Fitchett and his partner returned to the neighborhood in Hau'ula where Charlotte and Mark lived.
We started knocking on neighbors' doors to try and see if anybody had been there back in the 1970s.
And we were very fortunate to find a neighbor that remembered these two people that lived in the residence at that time.
Can you tell me anything about them? Yeah, they lived right here, right next door.
The relationship, he said, was kind of a volatile one.
They did get into arguments.
There was a lot of yelling, a lot of fighting.
They weren't real friendly.
So, you know, pretty odd.
Narrator: The investigative team starts tracking down anyone who was close to the couple back then.
Jim Murray was the first person that we located in Gresham, Oregon.
Narrator: In 2005, Mark's friend from Hawaii, Jim Murray, gets an unexpected visit.
Jim Murray? Yes.
Mind if we ask you a few questions.
Sure.
Concerning what? Jim and Mark have kept in touch over the years.
But Jim doesn't know that Charlotte's case has been reopened.
It was really surprising.
I had no idea that this was going on.
What about Mark? They told me that Mark was a suspect.
Mark?! No.
That really upset me because I didn't believe that at all.
He wasn't that kind of guy.
I was convinced that Mark didn't do this, that, you know, it just wasn't in him.
He's too mellow of a person.
Fitchett: He was adamant that Mark would never commit such a crime Or hurt Charlotte in any fashion, and especially an infant child.
And he really wanted to make sure that we understood that.
Narrator: Jim's answers are later confirmed when he takes a polygraph test.
Murray: It actually never occurred to me that Mark was guilty of doing this.
It really never entered my mind.
All right, thank you.
Fitchett: We decided that we would approach Mark based on what we knew and see if he'd be willing to talk with us.
Narrator: Mark is still living in northern California, and this is the first he's heard anything about the case in years.
Barnes: I get a phone call from a cold case detective from the Honolulu Police Department.
He says he'd like to talk to me.
It's tough to digest.
I mean, for Christ's sakes, now I'm a suspect of murdering my girlfriend and my son.
Barnes: What are you guys trying to do here? We're just trying to solve the case, Mark.
When they indicated that they thought that I was, you know, the primary suspect in this, I told them it's ridiculous.
I mean, I had no motive.
It certainly wasn't for money.
And if it was to get custody of Marx, there was plenty of legal ways.
Just a few things that we've been going about the case that we want to clear up.
He gave me the information.
Pretty much it was consistent with the missing persons case that he filed back in 1977.
Let's see.
Narrator: But investigators want to know why Mark waited three weeks to file a missing persons report for Charlotte and Marx.
He discussed the fact that she had been missing on several occasions previous to this, and after a week or three or four days, she had come back.
You didn't find that worrisome? Sometimes she would just Need to go, and I guess be gone for a couple days.
And she'd come right back.
Narrator: They also inquire about witness reports of loud arguments between Mark and Charlotte.
Fitchett: He admitted to several arguments, but he felt he was not physically violent towards her.
So after completing the interview, he adamantly denied having any involvement in her disappearance physically.
We asked him if he's participate in a polygraph.
I said, "Sure.
" So they hooked me up to a lie detector.
Have you ever lived in new Mexico? No.
They asked me all these rather inane and don't make any sense sort of questions.
You know, questions like, "Did you ever want to kill someone?" No.
Fitchett: He's one of the few guys, we couldn't even read him.
Both of us had a hard time determining whether or not Mark was actually telling us the truth.
But it's just we didn't know.
The polygrapher wanted to call the test inconclusive at that stage.
Narrator: Despite the lack of concrete evidence against Mark, Detective Fitchett believes the case against him is strong.
Fitchett: I met with the Honolulu Police homicide lieutenant, and he agreed to move it from a missing persons case to a homicide case.
Narrator: Investigators take a closer look at the property where Mark and Charlotte had lived.
Fitchett: We ended up going back with the help of ground-penetrating radar.
We just felt that maybe he would dig a hole in the back yard under the cover of night and bury the body there Or bodies there.
It took us a day and a half to dig this area.
We could not locate any type of human remains.
Narrator: With the case at an impasse once more, all investigators can do is file Marx's profile and age-progressed photo with the national center for missing and exploited children.
Mr.
Barnes agreed to submit to a DNA process, also.
So that information was registered and put on file.
We had DNA from me and from my grandmother on file.
We're still hoping, right, that something would come of this, even though we hit a dead end.
Narrator: For the next six years, Mark Barnes remains a suspect, though police have yet to find any incriminating evidence against him.
Barnes: So this is all building up and, you know, having the police come in and out of my life.
Unless you've been a suspect as a murderer, it's It's tough to digest.
And so that plays with you, and you think, "Well, you know, are the police gonna pull up at the door and say, 'Well, you're under arrest'?" You have that sort of anxiety all the time.
Narrator: Then, in November 2011, comes the most stunning moment in this 34-year mystery.
I got a call from the Honolulu Police Department Saying that "Your son is alive.
" Barnes: I got a call from the Honolulu police department, not long after I gave the last DNA samples.
And they said, "Well We have a match with your DNA To your son.
Your son is alive.
" I was elated.
"Can I talk to him? Can I see him?" But they won't tell me anything else.
Carter: My name is William Stevens Tenzin Carter.
Growing up, I never really had any questions about my lineage or where I was from.
It was, I was adopted at three and a half, this is my family, and this is who I am.
Narrator: 34-year-old Steve Carter knew he had lived in Hawaii until he was adopted, but he had very little information about his origins.
Carter: I didn't really start to contemplate my birth parents until I was in college, and didn't really want to do anything else until I started having children of my own.
Narrator: In the spring of 2011, Steve hears about an adopted woman who discovered her true identity through a website run by the national center for missing and exploited children.
Kind of triggered my head to think, "Hey, go check it out.
" It was at lunch that day that I shut my office door and went to the web site, missingkids.
com, and actually entered the criteria.
State Hawaii.
Sex male.
And then how long you'd been missing.
The top response was Marx Barnes, who went missing at six months, had a birthday very similar to mine.
And the age progression photo they had was a lot like looking in a mirror.
As soon as I saw the picture, I immediately copied and pasted and e-mailed to a number of different individuals, saying, "Hey, what do you think? Is this me?" Everybody was like, "Oh, yeah, that's you.
" Narrator: Later that day, Steve calls the Honolulu Police Department.
The results are in, sir.
They ask him to submit a DNA sample.
It's a match.
The DNA sample confirmed that Steven Carter was in fact the offspring of Mark Barnes and Charlotte Moriarty.
It's a tremendous emotional feeling for me, locating this infant after all of these years.
I never in my wildest dreams thought it would ever have a result like this after 30-plus years.
Narrator: After Steve's parents adopted him in Hawaii, the new family moved to an affluent town in New Jersey, where he grew up.
Carter: I was so lucky to have these parents.
My reaction to finding out that I was Marx Panama was a difficult one.
You know, you grow up a good portion of your life believing one thing, and then to come to realize that there has been a family out there that's been looking for you It's tough.
Narrator: When Steve gets the DNA test confirming he is Marx Barnes, he calls Mark.
Hello, is this Mark? Yes.
The conversation I first had with Mark was probably one my more difficult ones.
I introduced myself, and the first thing Mark said to me was, "How's your mother?" Mark was very shocked that Charlotte wasn't with me.
Barnes: I Truly believed that they were just living the family life.
I was absolutely floored.
Narrator: In new Mexico, Steve's half-sister Jennifer gets the news that her little brother is alive.
When I heard that Marx was found, that it was Marx, I went into shock.
I never imagined that they would find Marx alive and living a really nice life.
He's extremely happy and well-adjusted.
And it's just incredible.
Narrator: Steve provides police with a key piece of the puzzle, his birth certificate from the orphanage in Honolulu, where his name is listed as "Tenzin Amea.
" Detective Fitchett is now able to trace back Charlotte Moriarty's steps on the day she and Marx disappeared.
Fitchett: Looking through records at h.
P.
D.
, I was able to determine that Charlotte left Mark that day, left the stroller, went riding on a bus.
Somehow turned up on the other side of the island.
Narrator: On June 22, 1977, the day after Charlotte and Marx disappeared, a woman now believed to be Charlotte shows up at a stranger's house carrying an infant.
It's my little girl.
[Baby crying.]
Fitchett: Based on the police report, this person that was Caucasian but gave a Japanese name identified the baby as a female, and asked the homeowner for milk and a diaper change.
I'll see if there's something for her.
- Okay.
- Okay, I'll be right back.
Narrator: The homeowner, alarmed by the woman's state, calls the police.
So this is where things get really crazy.
My mother gives a false name, she says her name is Jane Amea.
She gives a false name to Steve.
She says his name is Tenzin Amea.
They felt that she was in need of mental help.
So he escorted the female to the Hawaii State Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Monnheimer: They admit Jane Amea, and they take the child into protective custody.
I don't know why she gave false information.
To me, it seems like she wanted to hide her child for some reason, maybe knowing that she would come back for him.
Narrator: According to the police report, Jane Amea remains at the hospital for five days, where a social worker tries to reunite her with her baby.
The social worker had come to say, "You know what, we want you back with your child.
Here's the address.
" And then Jane Amea leaves, against medical advice, into the night.
They don't know where she went.
There's just no trace of her after that.
Barnes: I can't see Charlotte giving Marx up.
I mean, I truly believe that she would have kept him as tight as she possibly could.
But, evidently, she must have had some sort of psychological break that she just She just lost it.
Carter: I don't have any animosity towards Charlotte.
Nor would I have any mother or father who gives a child up for adoption.
If she found it better to move on and do something else, I don't blame her for it, you know.
I've had a pretty amazing life.
Now I've just got a larger family, a family that I'd like to spend more time with.
To this point, I've met my half-sister Jennifer twice.
Meeting Jennifer is amazing.
Growing up your entire life, thinking you're an only child, and finally find somebody who is related to you.
Monnheimer: I feel a deep connection to him.
You know, he's like my little brother, you know, who's been through a lot.
Narrator: But Steve has yet to meet his biological father, Mark.
Carter: I'm fearful to bring everybody together too quickly.
I've talked to him on the phone a handful of times.
We've exchanged letters and texts.
I would say that I'm ready to meet Mark very soon.
I would love to.
You know, just to be able to see him.
Hopefully, at some point, when he's ready, we'll get together.
Narrator: Since Steve's identification in 2011, there have been no additional leads in Charlotte's case.
I can't really leave new Mexico because, even though it's 40 years on, there's a part of me that still thinks that she'll come back for me.
So I have things out that remind me of my mother.
It feels extremely safe and very comforting, and I feel That she's with me.
Barnes: I still wonder every day about Charlotte.
Whoo! If Charlotte ever shows up, which I'm almost positive she will at some point, what would I ask her? Well, you would have to take a legal pad, divide it into four different columns, number them down.
I have that many questions to ask.
I miss her a lot.
I miss her presence.
I know she's out there somewhere, I just can't find her.
Hopefully, she'll find me.