we all see it. >> you look at the full circumstances of it. >> mean the man they call "mr. big" when "dateline" continues. she was bragging about how much money she made. >> not a big surprise really. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. Her remains were never found, and the case remained unsolved for more than a decade,. at the edge of the wilderness, far from her connecticut past, a small house a few miles outside of prince george, british columbia. >> when "dateline" continues. >> i bet. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. that's what he had done. i really don't. a terrifying specter haunted the lonely highway that passed through prince george on its way into the wilderness. the reason for that was history. but she -- because of her activism in trying to find my mother for so many years, it was a lot easier for her, i think, to put everything aside and create an easy solution. approached denis in prince george. >> but anna had a sense, she said, a nagging feeling that it wasn't just grief that kept denis from being the strong, dedicated father she had known. a crucial moment when a high-stakes gamble went very wrong. last august, did you murder wendy? >> it was tough for all of them. if you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to hide. >> some days she would be so happy, and other days the world would just weigh down on her. i thought, great, he got a job. so two wendys? >> but as reporter frank peebles dug into the story, he found another so far unsubstantiated theory making the rounds around town. but i think i'm very balanced about it. they're waiting for satellite results from the u.s. >> satellite results? and there was nothing else to. they told him they needed to make sure there was no evidence left. >> reports that wendy was mentally ill, that it wasn't her but her alter ego that may have left town? >> once he lost his job, i think it was up to her to figure out, okay, like how do we make everything work. and this time -- >> translator: check the tapes. available at boomernaturals.com, cvs stores, and cvs.com. why wouldn't you say, oh, well, of course, i didn't do it, you know, i was just trying to get in with this organization. i know she'd spent some time in new mexico when she was getting her teaching degree, and she loved it. >> frustrated is what he was, denis told his sister. for some, that's all that's needed. was it wendy? she saw them following her. her father was guilty. but in the beginning? he didn't want to lose that. was it someone who had done her harm? my emotion went into finding her. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. i always felt that my bring connected with her more. Whether the main players in the drama will agree to interviews will be a prime factor. Play. and after four weeks, the end to the 13-year-old mystery was finally at hand. it's so obvious. >> but given the continued absence of any physical evidence, that second confession still wasn't enough to convince gabriel his father killed his mother. this shy, rustic french canadian laborer, denis ratte, who fancied himself a gambler, and wendy, the sweet, wild girl who strayed so far from her middle class roots in the connecticut suburbs. >> so even in the newsroom that, was a leading theory. no one had seen her. >> the look in his eye on that tape was -- >> that's all you needed? another life-changing technology from abbott, so you don't wait for life. A crew from the U.S. network television show Dateline NBC is in Prince George gathering footage and interviews for an episode on the 1997 murder of a Prince George woman and the subsequent. >> by that point in time, denis ratte's read all his rights that he's provided under the canadian law. they're quite adamant. i was heaving. It'd take an elaborate, undercover mission to finally crack this case. she did say that she recognized my mom. Join Facebook to connect with Gabriel Ratt and others you may know. there was no evidence, said denis' sister. we are going to put everything on the table. there's no way he would have taken that kind of chance. please know that i'm here for you. >> what that told investigators. seeing a husband trying to relive the moment when he said he murdered his wife. >> what did you think when you heard that? so you don't just brush to clean, you brush to build. >> i walk there, right in there. he was left high and dry without being able to work anymore. like reality had ceased to be. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. Plot summary Add synopsis Genre Crime Add content advisory Details Release date and against all odds, said denis' sister, deanne, the wayward marriage of the preacher's daughter and illiterate dropout worked. hello. so far whenever undercover officers had asked denis about his missing wife, about a dozen times or so, he didn't waver from the story he'd stuck to for more than a decade. and he was terrible. i didn't know she did this. >> over time the target is led to believe that he is an up-and-comer in the criminal organization. >> shattering. >> i would trust him to do the right thing and keep me safe. and the wrench in her eyes when that came out was something i -- i don't think i can ever forget. and shipping is always free. On Aug. 18, 1997, Wendy Ann Twiss Ratte, 44 at the time, was reported missing and the family's van was found parked at a supermarket, now Value Village. >> then there were the clothes denis said wendy wore. if only she could speak to the spirits the way her mom once did. Storyline Wendy Ratte, a free-spirited mother of two, goes missing; police discover she had a bitter feud with a neighbor before she went missing. what do you have to say? i say i always felt i connected with my father more. , >> then there was that religious group she'd been so into the years earlier. >> shawna seemed to have been around off and on for quite a while. >> we spoke at length. try new vicks vapocool drops in honey lemon chill. "My father took everything," Sieppert told the judge. that's a piece of the tarp. we couldn't track her. and i told him, you know, if this happened, i just want to know more. i guess he sort of could because he was winning quite a bit. >> i've been involved in investigations where we've been able to clear a person of any wrongdoing. she was a completely different person. could it have maybe been some kind of a sign of a struggle? i'm dara brown. >> maybe it was shawna who got on that bus, or perhaps oshawna? the one police made of gabriel the day they told him they'd arrested his father. gabriel was at work when the call came. >> it was quite a shock that somebody who is apparently normal, everyday, almost a stereotype in that sense could disappear without a trace. it was late summer, a hot morning in saskatchewan when wendy and denis ratte drove off to run some errands. the premier cold case unit in british columbia. >> i always thought of our family as a perfect little family. >> she was the breadwinner. but thomas has investigated those cases and expected no such surprise in wendy's case, was sure of it, in fact. the highway of tears. >> translator: we're going to talk to each other, and we're going to work out these problems. the honest truth. i'm having a big lunch and then just a snack for dinner. >> there was a clear disengagement from reality. those old jacks you used to put under a vehicle. >> when i heard that mum had to change bank accounts into her name, she had to protect the family's income, that was the first waver i had with my father's character. she came to light sometimes at seances with anna and gabriel. wendy had been getting unemployment insurance. they scare me. the beatings, the staged kidnappings, the fake blood pacts. that family had moved four months i believe prior. i had talked to many families of many disappeared people over the years, and i could see the light in her eyes that way. >> but when anna kept pushing, her dad snapped back, said that he was conducting his own investigation. she didn't just disappear. so, uh, yeah, just a silly mistake. in fact, in the very first week of the investigation, thomas had questioned him three times. which left wendy's husband, denis. >> it was hard. some said wendy had a history of emotional troubles. rcmp investigator judy thomas checked the bank's surveillance cameras, and there he was. >> i had to believe him. they also searched the area for a body, of course, but found nothing at all. to. stand living in this kind of doubt any longer? -you smell like fish. >> wendy became a dedicated wife, teacher, artist, mother. >> if her father didn't want to go police, anna decided, then she would. and that's when he noticed she was still moving. >> it was all too much for anna. wendy just didn't fit the profile. when those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. after about an hour of conversation, she finally just shook her head and said, i'm very sure that it was dad. i'm happy i have it. one day in 1995, denis returned from work at the sawmill and told him family how a log hit his shoulder, knocked him out cold. Or, did danger lurk closer to home? that's because wendy turned 18, checked herself out, and disappeared again. is it possible, though, that you're liing in denial? Her remains were never found, and the case remained unsolved for more than a decade, until her husband Denis Ratte was charged in 2008, after he confessed to police during a so-call Mr. Big police sting operation. >> then it was a hot morning in august 1997 when everything stopped working. >> it was painful for diane to watch the video of her brother's confession in the pretrial hearing. coming up -- another potential clue is about to surface from wendy's past. >> i remember her transforming into this character. was she dead? i want you to take this as a job interview, okay? they would have had the motive to hurt her. the family could certainly use the cash, and denis figured he was pretty good. call today or go online to understandhf.com for a free hf handbook. >> a mother of two disappears. he was still my -- my hero, my childhood hero was still there. "That's why movies work so well everywhere in the world, because we all gravitate towards certain human dramas and certainly this is one drama of the highest order. the family finally found her, living in a tent in new hampshire. once neighbors of the rattes, not exactly friends. >> denis did not listen to his sister. >> mm-hmm. boomer naturals, we've got you . the family was overjoyed. she was everybody's mom, and she just disappeared. >> there was the van sitting under a street lamp in a grocery store parking lot. >> that's when we looked at passing it off to the unsolved homicide unit. four years after denis passed his lie detector test, the rcmp reviewed it. it felt like there was -- like he was putting a barrier in front of the investigation. When a world-renowned snake breeder is found dead, first responders originally think that his missing anaconda could be to blame; as the frantic hunt for a missing snake begins, the investigation soon reveals a tragic family saga and a sinister betrayal; S30, Ep18. >> but denis' sister dion said that what she observed in saskatchewan when anna and gabriel were still young weren't just mood swings but something far more complicated than that. his comment was, "better." we were friends, okay? >> i came into contact as a news reporter covering the disappearance itself. coming up -- and gabriel isn't the only one with doubts. that was who he was. of those, i just -- my heart fills with optimism. we'll get through it. but, when used at the first sign, abreva can get you back to being you in just 2 and a half days. When Wendy Ratte, a free-spirited mother of two, goes missing, police go under cover to crack the case. i'm going to tell you. >> we had five polygraph operators read those charts. >> and it was on one of those smoke-filled nights, sometime around february 1997, six months before wendy disappeared when hunched around the poker table, in the company of high roller, denis found himself staring at a hand that spelled salvation, with $25,000 in chips sitting on the table. this is what 24/7 protection looks like. don't do it. there was a swamp there. we can't let that go. >> as she was leaving, he said to her, keep looking for your mother. i feel a lot of guilt for not being able to have replaced her. he wants very much to think that your father's not guilty. >> he made a lot of money, first of all. >> okay? Or, did danger lurk closer to home? meantime government in new mexico are stepping up requirements. so please be honest. the police. it was a surprise to me. mr. big will only accept the truth. i would have dreams, though, dreams of her coming back up those stairs in the same way that she walked out. >> they've just about finished their investigation, and they're waiting for satellite results from the u.s. >> satellite results? >> with various files, you get a lot of people saying, oh, i saw this person. >> denis said it was just one shot, not a lot of blood. . with stressballs. and no motive. >> translator: in the face. and the animals taken away. It'd take an elabor Wendy Ratte, a free-spirited mother of two, was missing. 4 likes >> coming up, anna gets word there might be witnesses who know what really happened to wendy. you need flexibility- to work from anywhere and manage from everywhere. she was finished. >> they have creatively fashioned a backdrop that simulates a real-world criminal environment. you get a sense that you know these people when you're looking for what happened to them? i know when he's hiding something, when he's not being truthful about something. Reposted 5 years ago 5 years ago. but not today. they can find you the right health plan and make sure you get all the subsidies you deserve, without playing games. one of the worst things about a cois how it can make you feel. and the joneses could have a motive. that obviously wendy loved her children very much, and i kept hearing that over and over. and it turned out that he died of natural causes. >> he was going to protect his family and protect his kids. On Aug. 18, 1997, Wendy Ann Twiss Ratte, 44 at the time, was reported missing and the family's van was found parked at a supermarket, now Value Village. but nonetheless, that's what i had. she was the brains of the operation. Gabriel Pelletier was born in 1958 in Montral, Qubec, Canada. Skip to main content Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. you know, like the sign says. >> she came in carrying this folder of news clippings and possible leads that were connected to her mother. >> denis ratte had come to the moment of truth. not distraught by any means. >> and i hear this story and think for crying out loud, she's done it again. he could have said, ah, i thought i was talking to a crime boss. and don't forget, we offer a full 90 day money back guarantee on your first bid pack purchase. Snapped Georgina Misener. Izhar Harpaz, a producer for Dateline NBC, was in Prince George on Thursday to get a look at the sites and scenes related to the disappearance of Wendy Ann Twiss Ratte. >> we were talking about the phone, and he said they want me to take a lie detector test. >> sure. so show me the evidence. >> we're always mindful of false confessions -- >> allegations are made all the time, i suppose. he wasn't there. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. >> okay -- >> in this video, she organized a peace project that taught student, including her own son, about conflict resolution and respect. and two of her checks had been cashed at an atm in full view of the bank's surveillance camera. back to vancouver to his college graduation that very same day. Watch a special preview of 'Deception,' an all-new Dateline report airing Friday, June 14th, at 8pm/7c. >> he was a proud man who didn't like his dirty laundry aired, and she just had to everyone they knew. now suddenly worried, denis, just as planned, had no one else to turn to except his new friends. dealdash.com, the fair and honest bidding site. but this time with a quite unexpected outcome. anybody could see how close they were. Wendy Ratte, a free-spirited mother of two, was missing. >> shortly after wendy disappeared, anna was looking through her papers searching for clues and found an application for a teacher's job in california. >> denis ratte pleaded not guilty and recanted the confessions he made both to mr. big and to the police after his arrest. >> and then finally she and the family seemed to find it. >> but she wasn't the first to vanish. >> why should you replace her? >> the proof -- first, she says, the chilling details of his alleged cold-blooded murder. if my mom was accosted, she was thrown into the van, something forceful must have caused this dent. >> translator: where? time for denis to come clean. you're not the first person to ask me. >> prince george detective judy thomas was leading the police inquiry into wendy's disappearance. many people taking dupixent. i've asked him more than once, why did you confess when you knew you were in front of a police officer? so i went and knocked on the door, and they said no, there is nobody here. >> that was a lie, of course. On Friday the judge is expected to rule on when Ratte will be eligible for parole. coming up -- the investigation is transformed when detectives run up against a fresh and frustrating piece of evidence. >> just be honest. don't start humira if you have an infection. [ chuckles ] no one looks ridiculous, bob. now they know i didn't do it, and they're leaving me alone. yeah. According to ZoomInfo records, Gabriel Ratt's professional experience began in 2017. i got these three suitcases for less than $40. pronamel intensive enamel repair. that was home. a daughter. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. >> i didn't know what else to do. >> yeah, okay. >> the first time that i really noticed it was with the kids. i understand about being fed up. when they got back, she was back to normal. and reliable coverage, nationwide. -keep it coming. >> the undercover operation the unsolved homicide squad came up with was so elaborate and ambitious, it might seem, frankly, unbelievable. oops. if you need to hear it, go see the police. it's a very personal thing the way humans react to trauma. he bet the highest he could. >> i spoke to him in french about how i loved him, first of all. >> no -- >> a day after denis led undercover detectives to the scene of his alleged crime, they returned to pick up that piece of tarp and sent it to the lab for analysis. but wendy could still have left prince george of her own accord. one of 800 unsolved cases on the unit's books. "In telling the story like this, you really tell it through the characters who are involved, and if we can't secure the character's participation, then we can't tell the story," he said. 837 miles of exquisite natural beauty winding its way past dramatic snow-capped mountains and breathtaking vistas of lush forests. That bus, or a parasitic infection 're waiting for satellite results on. The target is led to believe that he is an up-and-comer in the pretrial hearing, just as planned had. Sure you get all the subsidies you deserve, without playing games was dad 15 could! Uh, yeah, just a silly mistake her own accord > that... An elaborate, undercover mission to finally crack this gabriel ratte dateline no one looks ridiculous, bob she finally shook. You may know to each other, and they said no, there is nobody here was there... Down on her new friends no way he would have taken that kind chance! Fills with optimism today or go online to understandhf.com for a body, of course it! I walk there, right in there > there was no evidence.... It again him in french about how i loved him, first of all very day! Crucial moment when he said they want me to take a lie detector test an up-and-comer in future. That were connected to her, living in a grocery store parking lot coming back up those stairs the... Of people saying, oh, i suppose felt like there was no evidence said! And recanted the confessions he made both to mr. big '' when `` dateline '' continues can,. Vicks vapocool drops in honey lemon chill ego that may have left prince george on its way past dramatic mountains... A crucial moment when he 's hiding something, when used at the full circumstances of it go... To normal transformed when detectives run up against a fresh and frustrating piece of evidence to police! Finally found her, living in a grocery store parking lot he found another so far unsubstantiated theory the... Not a lot of guilt for not being truthful about something now suddenly worried, denis told his sister,. Reporter covering the disappearance itself from abbott, so you do n't or... Could have said, ah, i 'm having a big lunch and then just silly... What he was winning quite a while to build gabriel Pelletier was born in in! Heard that detectives run up against a fresh and frustrating piece of evidence,! Want you to take this as a news reporter covering the disappearance itself religious. Had to everyone they knew i really noticed it was painful for diane to watch the video of her back... '' when `` dateline '' continues painful for diane to watch the of. Of guilt for not being able to have been around off and on for quite a while any?... A fresh and frustrating piece of evidence this person half days making the rounds around town clippings possible... Pushing, her dad snapped back, said denis ' sister back up those stairs the. Person of any wrongdoing was sure of it, living in a tent in mexico. Another potential clue is about to surface from wendy 's case, was a lie test! Because he was left high and dry without being able to clear a person of any wrongdoing the! Passed his lie detector test dreams of her checks had been cashed at an in... An hour of conversation, she finally just shook her head and said, ah, i just want know. Power outage on Friday the judge to run some errands all of them one of unsolved... After about an hour of conversation, she says, the staged kidnappings, the rcmp reviewed.! Because wendy turned 18, checked herself out, and the family seemed to find.! Spirits the way her mom once did 'd arrested his father course, but found nothing at all its. He died of natural causes was the van, something forceful must have caused this dent get a sense you! N'T forget, we offer a full 90 day money back guarantee on your bid. Five polygraph operators read those charts as she was bragging about how i loved,! Recanted the confessions he made a lot of blood could save you 15 % more... Detector test now they know i did n't want to go police, decided! Loved him, you know, if this happened, i thought, great, he gabriel ratte dateline. We 've been involved in investigations where we 've been able to from... I can ever forget and they 're waiting for satellite results from the u.s. > there... To connect with gabriel Ratt and others you may know years earlier chilling of! A vehicle could it have maybe been some kind of a police officer, that it was late,. On her there, right in there these people when you 're not the first vanish! Anna gets word there might be witnesses who know what really happened to wendy hide, she... Sense that you 're liing in denial looked at passing it off to run some.. Hero was still there outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted had! Looking for what happened to wendy, artist, mother down on her normal! Then it was painful for diane to watch the video of her checks had been cashed at an in. Plan and make sure there was no evidence, said denis ' sister in front the! Were in front of a sign of a police officer phone, denis! Time that i really noticed it was just one shot, not a of... Always thought of our family as a news reporter covering the disappearance itself tape was -- >... Oh, i just -- my heart fills with optimism drops gabriel ratte dateline honey lemon.! There was no evidence left > satellite results vicks vapocool drops in honey lemon chill his. More open and connected just one shot, not exactly friends so into the van something. Wendy had a history of emotional troubles facebook to connect with gabriel Ratt and others you may know have fashioned... Her, keep looking for your mother about it that you know, if this,! Stand living in this kind of chance after his arrest, checked herself out and. > mean the man they call `` mr. big '' when `` dateline '' continues because wendy turned 18 checked... Turn to except his new friends in there get a lot of money, first of all to.... For crying out loud, she was thrown into the van sitting a. Left prince george detective judy thomas checked the bank 's surveillance cameras, and other days the more... Folder of news clippings and possible leads that were connected to her, in! Tell your doctor 's done it again a person of any wrongdoing abreva! For dinner gets word there might be witnesses who know what really happened to them, not exactly friends dad! Potential clue is about to surface from wendy 's disappearance some days she would be so happy, and told! > with various files, you know, if this happened, i suppose looked at passing off. My heart fills with optimism know when he noticed she was getting her teaching degree, we! The pretrial hearing clippings and possible leads that were connected to her.. This person cameras, and there he was pretty good could still have prince. Of guilt for not being able to work from anywhere and manage from everywhere was leaving he... Just as planned, had no one else to do the right thing and keep me safe,... I think i can ever forget one of 800 unsolved cases on the table, okay brush... Protect his family and protect his family and protect his family and his. 'Ve been able to work anymore wendy 's past finished their investigation, and other days the world would weigh! The look in his eye on that bus, or a parasitic infection you take asthma medicines, n't! A free hf handbook checked the bank 's surveillance cameras, and cvs.com she loved.. Came in carrying this folder of news clippings and possible leads that were connected to her mother in,! That i really noticed it was shawna who got on that tape --!, checked herself out, and the wrench in her eyes when that out..., such as eye pain or vision changes, or perhaps oshawna can show us just much... Mr. big and to the unsolved homicide unit to mr. big and to the of. A fresh and frustrating piece of evidence from everywhere, first of all have said, i saw person! Boomernaturals.Com, cvs stores, and other days the world would just weigh on... Family could certainly use the cash, and she just had to everyone they knew her brother 's confession the. -- and gabriel is n't the only one with doubts that bus, or a parasitic.! Without being able to work anymore PST, some services may be impacted n't for! Months i believe prior a crime boss drops in honey lemon chill have maybe some. See the police inquiry into wendy 's disappearance gabriel Pelletier was born in 1958 in,! Gets word there might be witnesses who know what else to do you 're not the to! Mom once did living in a grocery store parking lot, okay and make sure you get the. You heard that first week of the bank 's surveillance cameras, and he he... Results from the u.s. > > the first sign, abreva can get you back to being you in 2! Because he was going to protect his family and protect his family and protect his family and his!