Dateline NBC - Ransom

Episode Date: September 18, 2021

In one of his most memorable classic episodes, Josh Mankiewicz reports on a kidnapping mystery that changes the lives of a Florida couple.  

I'm Josh Mankiewicz. This story was so off the wall, so downright weird, that it was our Dateline season opener one year. It's about a young mom who disappeared, and all anyone could find was a ransom note, the kind left by kidnappers. Here's something to keep in mind. The kind of kidnapping that happens in books and movies and old TV shows where a wealthy family's loved one is snatched and held for ransom? Well, that hardly ever happens anymore. That's one reason why nothing here seemed to make any sense at the start. I would say that only later would it all become clear,

except that even after all the twists have played out, I guarantee you will still have questions. I sure did. This is Ransom. This is the sheriff's office. My wife made a phone call to me a minute ago. She was all found to say that she was held by gunpoint. Businessman Reed Gray was on the line with the sheriff's office in a panic. He told the 911 operator his wife had just phoned him minutes earlier to say she'd been kidnapped. It's not like a fricking rumor that it's not. his wife had just phoned him minutes earlier to say she'd been kidnapped.

The call would turn out to be just the beginning of an unbelievable saga that would baffle investigators and turn this husband's life upside down. The next few days would bring one setback after another, and no one could have predicted how it all would come to an end. It was around 5 p.m., September 4, 2009. Reed's wife, Quinn, had called him at work and told him she'd just been kidnapped right out of their $4 million home. Reed couldn't believe what he'd heard and went to his office parking lot to try and think straight. Did she tell you where she was at? No. There's a note at the house with the gunman's name.

The news was as shocking as it was terrifying. Quinn, a mom of two young daughters, was a trained nurse who was now raising her children full-time. Her husband was a self-made man who'd finally hit it big in the health care business. This frightened husband told the 911 operator he didn't know what to do next. He said, Reed, you call the police, they will shoot me dead. It could be three seconds long, but the gun's a gun, man. Reed Gray took a gamble and did just the opposite of what his wife had told him. Soon, multiple law enforcement agencies would be on the case. Check and make sure that fire rescue is going to be coordinating with us.

St. Johns County Sheriff David Shore. I mean, all bets are off. There's nothing more important than a victim who's being held against their will and who has been threatened with homicide. So you roll out what you have. While Reed went to the sheriff's office, a SWAT team was deployed to his home. They cautiously entered the multi-million dollar residence. The house sat eerily empty. A photo album opened on a couch. A happy Quinn on her wedding day.

Crime scene tech swept inside and out, looking for fingerprints, tire tracks, any clues to the kidnappers' identities. On the dining room table, they found a sheet of yellow paper, the ransom note. It looked to be in Quinn Gray's handwriting. Dear Reed, I need you to read this and be calm.

Reed, do not be a hero. This is professional. And there are three men holding me right now, and they want $50,000 cash. I will be okay if you get them the money. What do you know about the victim? We knew she was a housewife, raising children in one of the prettier parts of our county. Reed and Quinn Gray were new to St. John's County, having just moved into their beachfront home in Ponte Vedra. It's an area known for its world-famous golf course and luxe homes. I don't want to use the term the perfect kidnapping victim, but it fit. And her husband made a lot of money.

And her husband made a lot of money. So the worst-case scenario is we make one wrong move, they kill her. On the day Quinn was kidnapped, the 37-year-old PTA mom had made appointments for her daughters to have haircuts, and she was far along in the planning for an upcoming party for one of her daughter's birthdays. Now, Reed Gray tried to shield the eight- and six-year-olds from the news that their mom's life was in danger. He picked up his girls from school and took them to a friend's house.

While he waited at the sheriff's office. Reed was still in his shirt and tie from work, and he was an emotional wreck. He shared more details about Quinn's brief, frantic call to him hours earlier. On that call, she said there were three kidnappers, and they were Albanian. The $50,000 ransom was to pay back money Reed had borrowed from a loan shark. But Reed Gray insisted he didn't owe money to anyone. Let me put it in perspective. I'll probably make a little over $1.3 million this year. 50 grand doesn't mean much. Why ask for only $50,000 from a man who was making more than

a million dollars a year? Reed didn didn't know, and neither did investigators. At this point, there was only one goal, Quinn's safe return. It was very disconcerting to realize that we had a housewife and a mother of two small children in whatever she was going through. It wasn't good. And there was something else that wasn't good. This investigation was starting with no witnesses, no clues to the kidnappers' identities, and more important, no answers

to the question, where was Quinn Gray? Quinn appears on the phone, calling her husband with frantic instructions. Get him in the car with the money. Just do it now. Please, please. Would he be able to get the cash and find his wife in time? Reed Gray, husband, father, and successful businessman, was at the sheriff's office near his expensive home in Ponte Vedra, Florida, a wealthy community about 20 miles south of Jacksonville. His wife Quinn was kidnapped just a few hours earlier. The ransom? $50,000.

I'm not going to be able to work, sleep, eat, breathe until this is resolved. One thing you have to understand is that in the modern day marketplace of crime, kidnapping for ransom is practically an antique. Here's why. It's not difficult to abduct a family member of a rich person, but things like improved technical surveillance, cooperation between law enforcement agencies, even caller ID, now make it just about impossible to pick up ransom money and escape undetected. As a result, the kind of kidnapping you see in the movies pretty much exists only in Hollywood. But for Reed Gray, this was frightening, nerve-wracking reality.

He had no prior trouble with any kind of phone calls in the middle of the night, strange noises around the house, anything like that, right? I mean, no. Married for almost nine years, Reed told investigators his relationship with Quinn was better than ever and that the couple was even thinking about having another child. She's been just an amazing friend. She's actively taking the girls to dance,

taking the girls to all the after-school programs. She was a wonderful daughter, yes. Quinn's mom, Gail Sykes. Now, that's very difficult for a mother to say who has four daughters, but she was absolutely the sweetest of all the children. That night, Reed called his mother-in-law with the devastating news. I was just completely in shock. As a mother, it's your worst nightmare, imagining what's happening to your child.

What do you think Quinn's going through at that point? Being tortured, tied up, fearing for her life, fearing that she would never see her children again. While Quinn's mom waited for news at her Georgia home, Reed stayed at the sheriff's office until about 2 a.m. He then returned to his house while his kids stayed with friends. Early the next morning, Saturday, about 16 hours after Quinn's kidnapping, Reed sent a text to his wife's phone. Haven't slept all night. Please tell me you're all right. But there was no reply. About two hours later, Reed, who was now

with investigators, finally got a call. It was Quinn, and Reed became emotional. What do I need to do? They'll call you back. I don't know. They'll call you back, okay? All right. I love you. She said, don't call me back if you miss. Investigators wired up the phone so they could record all the calls. Sheriff Shore was surprised to hear Quinn's voice. Historically, the kidnappers don't let the victims communicate.

And in this case, it was Quinn's voice on the phone. Yes. The advantage of that for the kidnappers is you don't ever hear their voice. That's true. The sheriff rolled out his mobile command unit to a secluded area near Quinn and Reed's home. From inside, he started directing the more than 100 law enforcement personnel who were working this case. They waited for the next contact from the kidnappers. And then, about 45 minutes after that last call, Reed's phone rang again.

The cell reception was poor, but Quinn gave Reed a location for a money drop. Get in the car with the money and go down Rutland Boulevard and take a left on South Side. I gotta write this down. No, that's good. No! This is Reed. Butler Boulevard, take a left. You've got to go.

They're going to get me. Butler Boulevard. Hello? The conversation abruptly ended, and Quinn sounded angry. It was easy to imagine the tremendous stress she must be under. Reed was growing increasingly worried for his wife's safety. She goes, you got the cops, they know they're going to kill me. Still stay remain calm. She's probably going to call back again.

The first time screaming, crying, help. She's making this urgent. They're making this urgent. Reed stayed at the sheriff's office as surveillance teams scrambled to get in place at Butler Boulevard. Investigators also needed more time to get $50,000 cash together for the ransom. But only 30 minutes later another call came in. It was Quinn again instructing Reed to head to a different location. He was now to go to a Chick-fil-A restaurant. Take the convertible top down and just wait in the Chick-fil-A parking lot. I want to see you. I want to exchange you for the money. I am not giving that money without you. Hello?

Now investigators rushed to get teams in undercover cars in place at the Chick-fil-A. But before Reed left for the Chick-fil-A, he got yet another call. There was a problem at the money drop point. They spotted three fed cars near Chick-fil-A, so I don't know where I'm going now. We need to wait for more instructions. Were the sheriff's undercover teams spotted at the Chick-fil-A? Is that what Quinn meant by fed cars? A few minutes later, on Reed's cell phone, came an ominous text from Quinn.

I know you want me dead. Reed texted back. I don't know if that's Quinn. I have your $50,000. Stop with me. Just give me my wife. There was no reply. Investigators brought Reed back to his house and parked in the driveway. They set up a mini command center in the house, using a recorder to tape all incoming calls. And that's when something happened that no one expected. We sent the detectives to that home, and we didn't do it surreptitiously because we hadn't thought about it. And they walk in the front door. They walked in the front. They pulled in in an unmarked vehicle. And the minute they pulled in, we received a text from the victim.

Reed got another text on his cell phone. Wait for instructions. You've up twice already. You involved other people. Whose Ford is in the driveway? The Ford was an unmarked sheriff's vehicle. They're watching the house. They're watching the house.

Fearing they were being watched by the kidnappers, the sheriff ordered all his personnel to go covert and get out of sight. We were watching ourselves to see if they were watching us. The kidnappers, they've got you looking over your own shoulder. Yes, that's exactly right. What does that say to you, that these guys are playing by a different set of rules?

Yes, that was probably one of the earliest indications to me that this case was not going to turn out like a lot of people assume. Finally, investigators get their first lead, only to realize something's gone terribly wrong. My hair was on fire. I thought, how can something like this happen? It was Saturday afternoon. Quinn Gray, wife and mother of two, had been missing for almost 24 hours. After two attempted money drops failed, the local sheriff called in the FBI. Almost 150 people were now working to find Quinn Gray. The agent in charge of the FBI's Jacksonville office was James Casey. He says the kidnappers appeared to be deactivating

Quinn's cell phone after each of the calls they made to Reed. Somebody in the scheme was smart enough to take the battery out of the cell phone because we were able to, through some technical capabilities, determine that that phone was not only off but had no power to it at certain times. Meaning you can't trace it. Meaning you can't trace it. While there was no pinpointing an exact address where Quinn's calls were originating, technicians were tracing pings when the phone was in use. Those are the electronic connections made when a phone hits a particular cell tower. And that gave investigators a general idea where Quinn might have been held.

FBI agent Tony Krabat was selected as the lead crisis negotiator for the Bureau. We're tracking the phone and we're thinking that, you know, we've got some leads. Agents felt they were making progress, but then suddenly the phone was also pinging farther away. The kidnappers and Quinn might have been on the move. Sheriff's Detective Howard Cole was sent in pursuit. It was believed that Quinn Gray's cell phone was being tracked to an area west of Orlando. But something had gone wrong. Before tracing the calls,

investigators had to get a judge's approval. And in the rush to fill out the proper paperwork, someone made a small but critical error. When they actually went to get the order signed by a judge, what was typed into the actual affidavit and order, the numbers were transposed. So somebody put the wrong phone number in? Human error.

So the phone you were following wasn't Quinn's phone? Correct. How long did you follow that other phone? All day Saturday. And suddenly, what investigators thought were solid leads from Quinn's phone. Correct. How long did you follow that other phone? All day Saturday. And suddenly, what investigators thought were solid leads from Quinn's cell phone simply vanished. When you realized you guys were following the wrong cell phone, what? My hair was on fire. Your hair was? My hair was on fire. I thought, how can something like this happen? So we were really back to square

one. Who are we looking for? We had no idea. The rest of Saturday went by with no word from Quinn or the kidnappers. Meanwhile, Quinn's mom, Gail Sykes, left her Georgia home and headed to her daughter's house in Ponte Vedra, Florida. I jumped in my car and I headed south. How long's the drive? Seven and a half hours. Long drive with that kind of information in your brain. At around 2 a.m., when Gail arrived, she found an unbelievable scene. I walked into like a war zone.

The SWAT teams hiding inside the house? They were everywhere. I was told that they were outside in the bushes, that they were on the roof. It was unreal. Early Sunday morning, almost 36 hours since Quinn Gray's abduction and 12 hours since the last contact from the kidnappers, FBI hostage negotiator Tony Krabat

decided to have Quinn's mom send text messages to her daughter's phone send text messages to her daughter's phone, hoping the kidnappers would read them. Now, every 20 minutes, every hour, we send a message. Please call me. I love you. Let me know that you're safe. I'm very worried about you.

You want the kidnappers to start thinking of her as a mom who needs to go home to her family and not just a cash register. I want the kidnappers to think of Quinn Gray as a wife, as a daughter, as a mother. Finally, a text came back about 9.30 a.m., this time to Quinn's mom's phone. Have the money in a bag. No traceable devices, no Reed whatsoever. If he is anywhere close, she's dead, no cops. Be ready to leave at 11 o'clock.

The kidnappers had apparently decided they no longer wanted to deal with Reed. Why? Because the kidnappers don't trust Reed? Maybe. We didn't know. One of the techs said he had messed it up already. After the failed Chick-fil-A drop, another thought was that mom was more controllable. So Reed Gray was no longer at the center of a huge law enforcement effort that was working around the clock to save his wife. Quinn's mother would make the next money drop. It was an unlikely role for this 62-year-old grandmother, a manager at a Walmart and a dog breeder on the side. I was very concerned that

if I didn't drop the money properly, that that would be the end for Quinn. What in your background prepared you for what you were going through? I guess just being a mother and trying to protect your children. Despite her nerves, Gail Sykes was pressed into service. At around 10.30 a.m., the kidnappers instructed Quinn's mom to go to Meichler's Landing, an area along the beach, and there she would find further instructions in a bathroom. Gail left her daughter's house. The money was in a blue bag, along with a tracking device, courtesy of the FBI.

At the location, Quinn's mother found the designated bathroom. Hidden inside the toilet paper holder was a note. It looked again to be in Quinn's handwriting, and Gail read it aloud to investigators. She said, Mom, so far I'm fine. No harm has been done to me. After you pick up this letter, you are going to drive north toward Joe's Crab Shack.

Drop the money out of the car and do not look back. Anything goes wrong, and I'm dead. Up to this point, they didn't want to hurt her. They had no intention of hurting her. But now it says, anything goes wrong, I'm dead. They're escalating it. Yes. Undercover agents converged on Joe's Crab Shack, says, anything goes wrong, I'm dead. They're escalating it. Yes.

Undercover agents converged on Joe's Crab Shack, a local restaurant popular with tourists. We've got surveillance units out. We've got an airplane out. You're watching? We're watching. Quinn's mom drove to the Crab Shack. And I drove through, came around the corner, and there were bushes sitting on like a

sidewalk area. I stopped the car, rolled the window down, threw the money toward the bushes. Did you tell investigators to watch the money carefully? Absolutely. You guys all on to this? Yeah. All right, because, you know, I don't want some stranger to come along and pick up that bag. The plan is to see who picks up the bag and then what, follow them back to where, presumably where Quinn is. Right. We knew at their level they were going to be aware of a tracking device. They knew they were going to be surveilled, so really the plan was if someone grabbed that bag, we're taking them down. Sheriff Shore and FBI agent in charge Casey monitored the situation from the mobile command center

as undercover surveillance teams reported back on what was happening in the parking lot. It wasn't too long after she threw the money out that a group of males walks by. One of them wanders over, kicks the bag a little bit. You pick up the bag, throw the bag in the back of an SUV, jump into the car, and start doing kind of a circuitous route around the area. They start doing suspicious things. They drive through a little neighborhood, almost trying to clean themselves from surveillance. It was the first major break in the case.

Now we've got a lead. We've got a license plate. We've got three males. And we're watching where they're going. But what happened next was not written in any book. And that's where everything went wrong. That's where everything went wrong. On the trail of the men with the money,

and no one could believe where it would lead. And then a new demand shakes up investigators. We're all thrown for a loop when we hear this. The ransom drop had been made. Sheriff's investigators and FBI agents believed they might be on the verge of breaking the kidnapping case of Quinn Gray. Undercover teams and an FBI plane were following several men in an SUV who had just picked up the ransom money from a restaurant parking lot. Investigators were hoping the men didn't notice the tracking device in the bag

or that the bag only contained $10,000. FBI agent in charge, James Casey. The kidnappers asked for $50,000. Right. You didn't give them $50,000. You gave them $10,000. We gave them less than $50,000. And they said, don't put a GPS tracking device in. Right.

And you did. Right. Is that standard procedure to sort of ignore kidnappers when they say that kind of thing? Well, look, we're in charge of how this goes, not them. The idea was to get the bag to them and find out where they are. But then came something no one expected. Quinn's mom, Gail Sykes. Quinn called and said, where's the money?

They're going to kill me. Where's the money? And you said, I dropped it. I dropped it. Absolutely. Jesus, Quinn. What kind of people are these? I told you! You go to the crab shack and there's a huge parking lot on your right. Listen to me. Hello? And for the first time, everyone heard the voice of one of the kidnappers. Is anybody following you?

No, I don't. Certainly not. Okay. If anybody follows you, you know what happens. What? I'm sorry? Hello? When you hear that guy's voice on the phone, that changes everything. Absolutely. She said early on it was three Albanians that grabbed her, and it was over a loan shark, and we got a mail there. 7-8-25, code 6.

At last, a solid lead. But everyone, including the FBI's James Casey, was perplexed over why the kidnappers were still asking for the money. Didn't they have it? They pulled into a gas station not far from Joe's Crab Shack after they'd done a little bit of driving around. So as we're sitting there watching them, a Jacksonville Beach police cruiser pulls

into the gas station, starts talking to these young men. And you're thinking what? We had no idea what's going on. Trying to keep the kidnapping quiet so as not to tip off the local media, the FBI and Sheriff's Department had not told the local police about the ransom drop. So a frantic call was made to the Jacksonville Beach Police, instructing officers to bring the suspects in. Detective Howard Cole of the Sheriff's Office rushed to the scene. Immediately, everybody, rightfully so, says, these guys are involved, we need to interview these guys,

and we need to find out what the connection is one man told the detective he was German what's your address in Germany the Hamburg Germany even though they were from Germany could they have had some connection with the Albanian man Quinn mentioned in her first call to read we walked back like crossing a parking lot we We saw that blue bag. One of the guys was joking and said, yeah, for sure there's money inside. Damn, that's a lot of money. What are we going to do with it? But in an unbelievable stroke of bad luck, it turned out these men were not the kidnappers. And it becomes pretty clear pretty quick that

these guys were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The men were actually college exchange students. Two of them played on the same tennis team. They looked at a bag and said, hey, wouldn't it be cool if there was some money in that bag? I mean, it was really that simple, that coincidental, and couldn't make it up. The college students stumbled onto the bag, picked it up, and then got scared when they saw cars following them. They then called 911.

We found a blue bag of toothpaste on a parking lot and there was a huge amount of money in there and we just wanted to give it to you guys. They came down to Jacksonville Beach to have some fun. And they wound up with more than they expected. A lot more. It was a chance encounter that had everyone on edge. All of the money drop attempts, Butler Boulevard, Chick-fil-A, and now Joe's Crab Shack, had ended in failure.

Three attempts at a ransom drop. The money never actually changed hands. The kidnappers never actually got the money. No. I turned to the FBI and I said, what's happening with the money? They said, well, we don't exactly know where the money is right now. I said, great. So you've gotten my kid, my daughter killed. The real kidnappers were still looking for their money. And of course, it wasn't at the drop location. It's tense. And Mom's a wreck. Mom is getting upset because Mom knows she dropped off the money. Everything went south at that ransom drop.

And we still didn't know who we were looking for. We're back to square one. Back to square one again. Again. You were kind of at one. Back to square one again. Again. You were kind of at the end of your rope. Absolutely. It's not like a TV show, is it? No.

It had been about 43 hours since Quinn disappeared. As the FBI prepared yet another bag of money, the kidnappers called back. It was the same male voice from before, and he was angry about the lack of money. The kidnappers called back. It was the same male voice from before, and he was angry about the lack of progress. Listen. Yes. I'm sick and tired of this bulls**t. Okay. I'm sick and tired of it. Reed has been giving me bulls**t left and right. Reed's been giving you bulls**t. Tuesday morning, he's going to go to the bank, he's going to pick up $50,000, and he'll arrange something else for me.

More bad news for everyone. It was Sunday of that Labor Day weekend. Monday was a holiday. The banks would be closed, guaranteeing that this drama would last for at least another day and night. We're all thrown for a loop when we hear this. We didn't want to string this out two more days. Not wanting to drag this out any longer, investigators decided to try a risky new strategy and told Quinn's mom to now take an aggressive approach whenever she talked with the kidnappers. That's a big gamble. We tried to take

a little more control. We were still being cooperative. We were very clear that we were willing to pay the ransom. I did not get the money. My partner did not get the money. Nobody from us has the money. You know, I tell you seriously, I think you're lying to me. I'm what? I think you're lying to me. I think you got it. But then something frightening happened. That aggressive approach might have backfired. Did you hear that? What? Did you hear that round? The what? Did you hear the round I just fired?

No, my God, I didn't hear the round you just fired, no. Okay, well listen, your daughter is fine, she just talked to you. I know, well, if I heard a round, you let me talk to her again. It was completely unexpected. I was in a situation of hopelessness, and I figured that I would never see her again. And that was so sad, because she would never be able to be a mother again,

and she would never see her children again. Was that a gunshot? Investigators couldn't hear it. What did it mean? And was Quinn still alive? Just when things looked darkest, a huge break. An emailed photo with a hidden clue. They didn't know that a photograph taken on an iPhone has GPS coordinates on it?

And then we knew exactly where that photograph had been taken. It was Sunday afternoon. Almost two full days since Quinn was abducted. And after a terrible morning when the money drop at the Crab Shack restaurant turned so disastrous, a text message, apparently from Quinn, was sent to her mom's cell phone around 2 p.m. Mom, please, no cops. I am so sorry about all of this, but they are pissed and I want to see my girls. The FBI's hostage negotiator was Tony Kravitz. Do you think about the kids in a situation like this? Absolutely. You can't not.

We made arrangements for them to stay elsewhere so that they would be somewhat shielded by this. We're in the business of preserving life. That's what we do. Do you think, Quinn, maybe she's not even alive anymore? We don't know. We don't know for sure. Investigators were becoming increasingly worried because they hadn't actually heard Quinn's voice since the day before.

Then, at about 5.25 that evening, another text message came in to Quinn's mom's phone. I do not get access to my phone. Have Reed check his email. Pick of me taken. Did he get all of the money? And in Reed's email, there was this photo of Quinn. What can you tell from that photo?

Well, it certainly looked to me as though Quinn was very distraught. Maybe had been crying. She didn't look like Quinn at all. Not at all. The photo was taken using a cell phone, and the background could be anywhere. But investigators got lucky, because there's a little-known technology built into that photo,

and it offered investigators a huge break. They didn't know that a photograph taken on an iPhone and emailed to somebody else has GPS coordinates on it? Yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah, we were very quickly able to check the photograph and find the GPS coordinates in there and then we knew exactly where that photograph had been taken.

Investigators rushed to this location in Jacksonville. How long after you looked at that photograph did you have agents headed to the scene where it was taken? Minutes. But there was no one there. Later that night, the kidnappers called back, and Quinn's mother, again at the urging of the FBI, kept up a tough negotiating stance.

I want Quinn in my car. I'm just warning you. I'm not going to give you the money until you have Quinn in the car. I'm telling you what to do. I'm telling you what I'm going to do. Did that aggressive approach seem to work? I think so. I really think so. Another ransom drop was planned. All right. I talked to her first. I see her and she walks across and gets in my car. I'm making that decision. No, no. I'm sorry,

but I am going to see my daughter and I'm going to have her in my car. I've got your money. Let me see my daughter and I want her in my car. Do you understand? Was this at last the end of this ordeal? It was not because the kidnappers never showed and Quinn's mom returned home. That's when investigators realized they had a new problem. The story of Quinn Gray's disappearance somehow broke on the local news. A story investigators had been trying to keep out of the press. This hits the news. You weren't expecting that? I wasn't. We'd been pretty fortunate to have this go a couple days without it being on the news. Quite frankly, we don't want them to see it either. But the kidnappers did see it and they were not happy. Quinn's mom received a text. Why is she on the news?

That was one of those, oh boy, you know, oh boy. Now what are we going to do with this one? Remember, the kidnappers had threatened Quinn's life if police became involved, a fact that was now hard to deny since it was on the news. So investigators came up with a cover story that deputies found Quinn's abandoned Mercedes SUV and came to her multi-million dollar home to make sure she was okay. They had Quinn's mom send a text. Quinn, the police have found your car. They came here and they are now searching for you.

Call me as I am now very worried. I love you, Mom. Did the kidnappers seem to buy that? Yes, they did. But that good news would be short-lived, as the next call from Quinn would send everyone into a panic. Quinn! Quinn! What's wrong? Quinn! Quinn, what's wrong? Quinn, Quinn!

A mother-daughter conversation that turns everything upside down. The blood drains from her face. She starts to shake. Her knees go weak. It was Monday, three days since Quinn Gray's kidnapping, and there had been no communication with the kidnappers since the night before. The FBI's Tony Kravitz switched strategies. We had three drops go bad, but they were still willing to wait till Tuesday. They still wanted the money. They're going to need a way out, and we wanted to give them a way out. What was the way out you offered them? Nobody's been hurt. If they drop you off somewhere, if they'll just let you go, nobody will know the difference. Just let her go. Just let her go.

Monday morning turned into afternoon. Quinn's mom seemed to be getting desperate. She sent a text on her own to the kidnappers, without FBI approval. I am heartbroken, and girls probably no longer have a mother. You have no heart, and I pray that what goes around comes around. She was angry. She was tired. She was worried. Angry at you? Angry at all of us, I think. We weren't able to bring her daughter home yet. Throughout the ordeal, Reed Gray, who was pushed into the background

after the kidnappers said they didn't want to deal with him anymore, had been alternately upset and angry as well. Detective Howard Cole spent some time with Quinn's husband. I think there was times when he actually wanted to go get the money out of his own bank account and make the money drop. I think there's times when he thought we didn't know what we were doing. What was your sense of Reed himself? Seemed like a real decent guy.

Genuinely worried about his wife? Yes. I mean, he was helpless, he was powerless, and he was depending on us to fix it. And I just really was very empathetic. I put myself in his shoes, and I thought he dealt with it pretty well, considering the circumstances. Reed waited at his home. Everyone waited as minutes became hours, hoping for some contact. But there was nothing. Quinn's mom was so stressed that Tony Kravitz suggested a change of scenery

and had her brought to this back courtyard of the FBI's Jacksonville headquarters. It was around 6 p.m. Gail picks up the phone. Her whole physical being changed. And it was Quinn. Quinn! Quinn! What's wrong? And she was completely hysterical on the phone, screaming literally. She was screaming at me. Quinn! Quinn! Talk to me, please!

She was completely incoherent at that point. I mean, I couldn't even understand what she was saying. Quinn! Did they hurt you? Tony Krabat could only hear one side of the conversation. Gail's blood drains from her face. She starts to shake. Her knees go weak. What? What? Nobody can understand what she's saying. And then Quinn, Quinn. She hangs up. You think maybe they were attacking her or killing her then? Yeah, well, we don't know. But but this is the first time that she sounds hysterical.

So we don't know now if she's hurt. It sounds like she's very upset. While Tony Krabat tried to calm Quinn's mom, someone else had already heard from Quinn, a 911 operator. Sheriff, stop at 911. What's your name? My name is Quinn Gray. It was Quinn. Okay, what happened? She was Quinn. She was free. Shaken and in tears, Quinn said she was just dropped out of a white van and was now standing near a mall shopping center in front of a restaurant.

Sheriff's deputies headed to Quinn's location while she stayed on the line with 911. I was not saying anything to you guys. You have no idea what I just said to you. I cannot imagine, and I'm so sorry for you. Deputy Trent Dopp was one of the first to find her. She was acting very erratic, was flailing around a lot, and was yelling on her cell phone. Quinn was brought to the FBI's Jacksonville office, where her mom and brother-in-law met her. And it's not quite the joyful reunion you'd expect. As far as being joyful, no. She was hysterical, and she saw me for the first time. Of course, I was hysterical, and we ran to each other and braced each other and cried together. An audio recorder in one of the FBI's interview rooms picked up Quinn's voice from the hallway.

Quinn was then led alone into that interview room. And one of the first things she told the agents there was that she felt her husband didn't really want to save her life. Right now, I feel like my husband wants me dead. 100%. Why is that? The man makes a lot of money.

Let's just say that maybe my life isn't worth him paying it back. I feel that there is a very dark and sinister side to my husband that I've always sensed in a way. Was there something about Reed Gray that investigators didn't know? And could he have had anything to do with his own wife's kidnapping? The focus for so long on the mysterious kidnappers now falls heavily on Quinn's husband and their relationship.

Their marriage, for lack of a better way of putting it, was rocky. Quinn Gray had finally been released after three days of captivity. But when she was brought to the FBI's Jacksonville headquarters, Quinn started blaming her husband, Reed, for putting her through the whole ordeal. Right now, I feel like my husband wanted me dead. She said that if Reed had only given the money to the kidnappers on that first night she was abducted, she might have been set free much earlier.

But if my husband had just done what he was supposed to do, I would be fine. As it turned out, investigators had been suspicious of Quinn's husband from the very beginning. Sheriff David Shore first spoke with Reed right after Quinn was kidnapped. When you talk to the victim's husband, Reed Gray. Yes. What's the first thing you say to him? Well, you know, his first comment to me was, you know, is the media involved? That's the first thing he said to you? Yeah. I didn't feel comfortable with that answer.

Gosh, your wife's kidnapped and that's the first question? And someone else was suspicious of Reed, Quinn's mom. I thought possibly Reed had something to do with it. Because? It just seemed like a real convenient way for him to not have to deal with his wife anymore. Detective Howard Cole said investigators had to take a close look at Reed. Any time you have a situation of this nature, nine times out of ten, it's inner circle. It's a spouse. It's a business associate, a friend.

Would you mind showing me your hands? Remember when Reed first went to the sheriff's office on the day Quinn was kidnapped? Did you go anywhere in a day where you would have to go outside in any fashion? Yeah. Detectives immediately thought something was suspicious. Do you know how you got mud or dirt on your shoes there? If you're asking if there's anything on my shoes, which there's not, that tells me you don't have any leads.

It tells us we don't rule anything out. And during that interview, investigators learned that Quinn and Reed had endured some major problems in their relationship. What did Reed Gray tell you about his marriage? Their marriage, for lack of a better way of putting it, was rocky. There's the ugly side of our marriage. She went out and she didn't come home until like 3 in the morning. She was pretty intoxicated, went upstairs, and I looked in her purse, found her underwear in her purse.

At this point, I'm just like, Quinn, it's time to be honest. Honest about everything, because I'm beginning to divorce you. He did explain a lot of circumstances surrounding past infidelities, both on his part and on her part. As our relationship started to deteriorate a little bit, I dated a few people. She dated a few people as well.

Reid admitted he'd had an affair and said Quinn had multiple affairs. That kind of admission all but guaranteed more questions. We'd interview him on everything from personal finances to kids or associates, business, everything. And we threw a lot of really hard questions at him. Do you know where she's at right now? No. Do you have anything to do with her disappearance?

No, 100% no. And even though Reed seemed to be upset while his wife was missing, No. Did you have anything to do with her disappearance? No, 100% no. And even though Reed seemed to be upset while his wife was missing, investigators were keeping an eye on it. Was there a time when you were sort of distrustful of him or kind of wondered what was going on? I was questioning his motives and how he was, even though he was acting appropriately. That in and of itself is not enough to eliminate somebody.

Did you specifically ask Reed about the money he had supposedly borrowed from a loan shark? Yes. And he said? He never borrowed any money from a loan shark. I didn't believe him. On that first night of the kidnapping, when Quinn's mom went to her daughter's oceanfront home, investigators sat her down with Reed. Some of these truths probably will hurt Reid. And recorded the conversation. She was concerned, and I heard this many times from her, that Reid threatened her with divorce, and she didn't like that idea, of course.

Quinn's mother openly speculated about whether Reid knew more than he was saying. I also have thought that possibly you could be behind this. They killed Quinn, and you got rid of all kinds of things. You got rid of the wife. You don't have to have an argument about custody. You don't have to give her any money. I mean...

I don't know that they're going good between you. That's what you're saying. I don't know that, Reed. You thought he was lying. Yes. I think he was evasive with me to begin with. Suspicions about Reed lasted throughout the time investigators searched for Quinn. On the same day she was released, they asked Reed to take a lie detector test.

And he agreed. He was being candid. He took a polygraph with a very experienced polygrapher who cleared him for being a suspect. Officials at the sheriff's office and FBI came to the same conclusion. Reed Gray had absolutely nothing to do with Quinn's kidnapping. I apologized to him in the FBI building, and we hugged. And I said, I'm so sorry that I thought that. But that still left the question,

who had kidnapped Quinn? I didn't know what was going on. I was crying and I was like, please just tell me that you're not going to kill me. Back at the FBI office, Quinn was less than completely cooperative with agents after her release. Did they say anything when they dropped you off?

Did they do any threats? What did they say to you? That's the part I'm not getting into. She eventually became angry. I'm sorry, but I'm going over the big stuff. I'm not being confrontational with you. No, but I think you are. No, ma'am. I am trying to get the details.

Watching from another room was FBI agent in charge, James Casey. How'd she seem in that interview? She was very disheveled. Her story did not make sense. And immediately investigators were confused. Why was Quinn so annoyed and why wasn't she cooperating in the search for her kidnappers? They got few answers that night and Quinn returned home. But two days later. Quinn Gray was. Yeah. Hey, I'm George. Hi, George. Nice to meet you. Quinn Gray was a different person when she met with Detective George Harrigan of the

St. Johns County Sheriff's Department. From the beginning, our goal was, let's let her tell her story. It's just been the most incredible ordeal to go through something like this, and then in a 24- hour period to be brainwashed so significantly that you actually believe that your husband is trying to kill you. Quinn said the kidnappers had in essence brainwashed her into believing her husband wanted her dead and that she wasn't cooperative with investigators earlier because the kidnappers told her if she gave away any information about them, they would find her and kill her. But after some restful sleep, Quinn said she now believed her husband was trying to save her life.

Just all of a sudden coming back into reality of what was really going on. Quinn was finally ready to tell her story of what had really happened during her 72-hour nightmare. Just how much of a nightmare was it? Quinn's bizarre description of a sexual encounter with her abductor. And I acted like I enjoyed it, and I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I almost did. All of a sudden coming back into reality of what was really going on that I knew. Quinn Gray was finally prepared to tell all the details of her kidnapping. Do you feel okay? Do you feel like you're able to talk and get this out?

Well, I have to because he's... Detective George Harrigan of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Department was chosen to interview her. I asked her to start from the very beginning and act as if she had not told anyone this story before. So go back to you wake up Friday. Okay. Tell me your day Friday. It was just a normal, absolutely normal day. Quinn said she had a facial at a local spa, went to yoga class, and ran errands

in her Mercedes SUV. When she returned home, she went up to her bedroom. So I went up to my closet to change my clothes. He came in this way and said, don't do anything stupid. I'm not here for you. And he's got a gun? He's got a gun and he's got yellow rubber gloves on. Startled by the gunman, Quinn screamed, but she was the only one home. Her husband was at work, her kids in school. So he has a gun to my head, and I mean, I'm screaming bloody murder. How did she describe this guy? He was a sharpshooter or sniper in the Albanian military, that he goes around doing these kind of jobs.

She said that he had some type of foreign accent. The look on his face and the evil in his eyes, I was like, I'm dead. The gunman said he was not there for Quinn, but for the $50,000 that Reed Gray owed to a loan shark. I thought maybe my husband was in some trouble and I didn't know about it and he was hiding something from me. He's like, how much is this house worth? And I'm like, it's a $4.5 million house. I'm like, we have a $25,000 mortgage payment a month. That's why it doesn't make sense that my husband would borrow $50,000. It just didn't add up.

Then the kidnapper started to restrain Quinn. He sat me down on my bed and he came over and tied me with my hands, just my hands with zip ties. Then, she said, the gunman took her out of the house and eventually threw her into the back of a van. Frightened and crying, she was driven around for what seemed like hours. She had no idea where she was being taken, and she feared she would never see her husband or two daughters again.

The van eventually stopped, and Quinn was brought into some sort of warehouse, possibly a mechanic's garage. She was strapped into a chair with more zip ties, and that's when she became very frightened. He tied my mouth. He put duct tape around my face. At this point, I was like, no, no, no, no. Deputies later took photos of the marks Quinn said were made by the zip ties being pulled too tight.

Quinn was then left alone in the dingy, dirty warehouse. She heard what sounded like a TV on in another room with foreign voices and screaming. I just started looking around the room and praying for my kids, and I was praying that God would get me out of it. I guess I looked over and there was another chair. And so I was thinking, maybe this is like a torture room. Maybe this is where they hold women to torture them before they kill them. Quinn Gray says she believed this could be the last day of her life.

You know, I was praying that whatever this crazy s*** was going on, that I would live and survive. After being left in the chair for hours, the kidnapper returned and eventually cut her free. She said at some point he realized he was going to have to let her sleep or lay down to try to sleep. So he let her lay down, and then a few minutes later he laid down next to her. He begins to kiss on her neck, and I said, What's going through your mind? And she said, I'm thinking we're going to have sex.

We're going to have sex. I knew I wasn't going to to resist him so I tried to make it the best possible. The more he loves it, maybe I have a chance. You know what I mean? I don't know if I was thinking. It makes sense. Take a couple of deep breaths for a minute and hear me out so that you can you can kind of get yourself together take your time so then sex happens and i asked her to as best she could describe that for me because it was important if she remembered anything identifiable about this guy and she described explicit sex i mean we just every position all night long quinn said she didn't try to fight off her kidnapper because she thought it might save her life. It's really embarrassing. I know. And I acted like I enjoyed it and I'm not gonna lie sometimes I almost did. Listen it's not

it's not unusual to have weird feelings and weird thoughts going through your head when you're exposed to a massive amount of trauma. Sheriff David Shore later watched that interview. The bottom line is, people react differently under stress. Must have been stunning to hear somebody describe a sexual assault as something that they enjoy. Yes, it was quite, it was stunning.

When she was held at that warehouse, Quinn said she spent the first hellish night sleeping on a concrete floor. But the next day, the kidnapper moved her to a motel, the Emerson Inn. At that point, he makes the decision that we're going to go to a hotel for the night. We're going to rethink this whole thing, and that's when we ended up at the Emerson Inn. Quinn said the kidnapper also brought his gun to the Emerson Inn and threatened to kill her husband and children if she didn't cooperate. Mentally broken, Quinn obeyed all the kidnapper's demands. The detective asked Quinn to share as much detail of her entire experience as possible,

hoping to glean some clues. She remembered something that seemed incidental, but something that would later turn out to be crucial to the investigation. He bought chicken drumettes, you know, and I think a paper and drinks for us. Okay. So we're eating like spicy chicken drumettes. Quinn also told police that unlike what was written in the original ransom note, she no longer believed three men were involved in her kidnapping.

My very gut instinct now that I'm clearly thinking and getting it all is that there's not anyone else involved but him. The interview lasted almost six hours. Hi. But it wasn't the end of Quinn and Reed's anguish. They were frightened to return home. What would be the difference in that guy being in that house right now? He's probably there right now.

I'm not going to get my stuff. I'm not going back there. Reed later said he was extremely worried for his family's safety. Do you guys have this guy or not? No, sir. We have nobody in custody. I won't lie to you. I need to know that that guy's caught, too. And investigators also desperately wanted to catch that guy. Take a good look at the surveillance video taken from a Palm Valley public...

And they were about to get some unexpected help. This is communications. How can I help you? I need to talk to somebody about my picture appeared for some kind of woman kidnapping or something like that. Is that you? The man in the video, the man Quinn says abducted her at gunpoint, comes forward. But he's not what investigators expect. He comes from a very good family, has a college education. This guy was no gangster.

Absolutely not. A manhunt was underway for Quinn Gray's kidnapper. Two days after her release, Quinn remembered something important. It was a new lead for investigators. The big thing that she says during the conversation is, on Sunday morning, we were at Publix, right there at Michael's Landing in Ponte Vedra. Quinn remembered the kidnapper bought food

from a public supermarket while she was in captivity. And she remembered specifically what he purchased. That's where he bought the chicken. He bought a thing of paper. He bought chicken drumettes, you know. Detectives went to the Publix, where a manager checked the store's computers and found a match for those items. Armed with the exact time the food purchase was made, investigators scanned the supermarket surveillance footage from that moment. And they found this man. Quinn confirmed it. He was the kidnapper. She gave us enough information to go find his picture in Publix and post it on the internet

and post it on the news. Witnesses described the man to being his mid-20s or early 30s and about 5'8 to 6 feet tall. And now they need your help in hopes of solving this case. Two days later, a 911 operator received a call. This is communications. How can I help you? I need to talk to somebody about, uh, I was buying something in public and my picture appeared

for some kind of woman kidnapping or something like that. Is that you? I'm actually on my way over there to you guys. What is your name, sir? Uh, Jasmine Osmanovich. And within an hour, Jasmine Osmanovich ended up here at the sheriff's office. I definitely want to play some ping pong with you today. He didn't seem to have a care in the world that he was considered the prime suspect in a kidnapping.

Sheriff's Detective Howard Cole conducted the investigation. Let's just get this over with, okay? What did you learn about Jasmine Osmanovich? He is a Bosnian immigrant. He comes from a very good family. He was involved in the auto mechanic trade, has a college education, was one or two classes away from a degree in criminal justice. This guy was no gangster. Absolutely not.

He gets me out of the car. But he did match Quinn's description of her abductor. While he was not Albanian, he did have an accent. I just want this nightmare to be over. But Asmanovich said he had no idea why anyone would be looking for him. You have the filing rights on the United States Constitution. He freely signed a document waiving his right to remain silent. He also said he had an alibi for the night Quinn Gray was kidnapped.

He was at a bar and met a girl named Stacy. Okay, tell me about Stacy. Well, me and Stacy met up. We just kind of had a two-night stand, basically. But his story had more than a few holes. Osmanovich wasn't sure of Stacy's last name. He didn't have her phone number or her address. Here's a character, what can I tell you? And he was like, I did none of that, and by the end of the day, you'll see I'm walking out of here.

In addition, Osmanovich said he saw Quinn's picture in the media, and he didn't know her. Did you recognize her? Sir, I mean, she looks like a blonde chick. You didn't look at that picture and say, I don't know this woman? Sir, she doesn't look like anybody that I know. Okay. But the atmosphere quickly changed

when Cole brought in a photo of Quinn Gray. We've already been to the Publix. You know why? Because this woman brought us there. OK. So what did I do? She is saying that you abducted her. I abducted her? Yes, sir. I have more than enough evidence to charge you based on her work. And then the detectives started to apply pressure to Osmanovic.

And for you to say that you don't even know her concerns me greatly, Jasmine, concerns me greatly. Because this woman, I can assure you, bud, knows you. Okay, she says she knows me. Absolutely. And I know she knows you. And I know you know her. Okay, sir, I told you everything that I had to tell you. We're at the hotel with her Saturday and Sunday night. With her? Yes. And I'm not going on her word. I'm going

on the clerk's word. Detective Cole told Usmanovich he had been identified not only by Quinn, but also by an employee of the Emerson Inn, who said that on the same weekend Quinn went missing, he saw Usmanovich with Quinn in room 207. It's hard work saying that I took her. What's the chances that you and her are staying in the same hotel in the same room at the same time and not knowing each other? What's the chances of that, Jasmine?

Listen, listen, listen, listen. Cole referred back to Quinn's photo and tauntingly asked if this was the woman Stacy that Osmanovich claimed he was with the night Quinn was abducted. Sure that's not Stacy, bud? It's her word against mine. No, it's more than that now. And how is it more than that?

Because we have independent people that ID'd y'all together. If there's something more to it and this woman's not telling the truth, you need to be the one that's telling it, buddy. And if she is telling the truth, holy s***, you're in a whole lot of trouble. But Osmanovich maintained he did nothing wrong. And not only that, he said, he could prove it. He had a secret recording that was going to clear his name. The battle to get hold of that recording and then what it revealed. When you heard that tape, what'd you think? I'm a cop, 11 years, been on this plane at 40. I blushed when I listened to the tape. Jasmine Osmanovic was suspect number one in the abduction of Quinn Gray.

You know what? I just have a feeling I'm in a bad mood right now. That's funny you should say that, because I've been feeling that way for the past days. He was denying any involvement whatsoever and said he didn't know her. He even said he didn't fit Quinn's description of the culprit. Did she say I was from Bosnia? No, she said you were from Albania. What?

Albania. You know what Albania looks like? No. Middle Eastern. I mean, come on. I mean, that and Middle Eastern. Come on, give me a break. Not only that, but Osmanovich, a mechanic, said he thought he was being set up to be the fall guy in this highly public case. He was concerned that because she has money and he doesn't, that he's going to get the short end of the stick.

Yeah, he did say that. You know, she's this rich woman from Ponte Vedra, and I know how this goes, and he expressed a great deal of concern about that. It seems like since obviously she's rich, it's going to be my ass. She's what? Since she's rich, it's going to be my ass. I could care less what she is. In an interrogation that would ultimately last nearly eight hours,

Detective Howard Cole tried to keep Osmanovich talking, even when the suspect tested Cole's patience. He thought he was smarter than us. He wanted to control the interview, and truthfully, he drove me crazy. Well, you can search everything that I own. You're not going to find anything. Because just like you said, you got an IQ, and I got one too. Absolutely.

He's walking around the interrogation room talking about his IQ. You hear that a lot from suspects? Not that overtly. It's common for most of them to think it. It's very rare for them to actually say it. I'm smarter than her. I ain't a husband or whatever. No doubt about it. But all I'm telling you is... And you know what? This is BS. This right here is bulls**t. And it's bulls**t because the stone is headed my way. Oh, it is. Eventually, Osmanovich relented. He admitted he may have known Quinn Gray.

Do you or do you not know? I might have seen her. But Osmanovich said that even if he did know Quinn, he could still prove his innocence. He kept talking in, like, code. And, you know, at one point I was like, you you know I don't understand what you're trying to tell me. Just explain to me what you're trying to tell me. And then he's like you know how you cops you do videos and this and that. He's like well I got my own audio.

However for some reason he wasn't willing to share that secret audio tape with investigators. He claims he has this tape that's exculpatory that gets him off the hook. Yes sir. But he won't give it to you. No and it kind of blew my mind because I'm here telling him he's faced, you know, if I don't get this tape and if I don't get it now, you know, he's facing, you know, kidnapping, sexual battery, extortion. Osmanovich insisted that secret recording he made would be his get out of jail free card. And I put a tape recorder with her voice and my voice in front of you, which I can go get.

Tell me about these tapes. What's on these tapes? Sir, the tape, the tape is not going nowhere out of my possession, which I hid way off the location, okay? Why would you do that? Why would what? You take that. You remember the IQ part? Yeah.

I might have been played for a fool, but I'm not an idiot. Even under the threat of arrest, Osmanovich refused to hand over the recording or give its location. It was just a war of attrition, and he knew that he ended up to his eyeballs. The next day, after Osmanovich's interrogation was completed, Detective Cole received some crucial information about that recording. We learned of the existence of the tape from Jasmine. The next morning, we learned of its possible location. The location was Osmanovich's home. His ex-girlfriend had gotten a hold of it and turned the recording over to Osmanovich's sister.

The sister then gave the tape to an attorney. We got a call from a defense attorney in Jacksonville, and he said, Detective Cole, I think we have something you might be interested in. Finally, investigators had the tape. And when they pressed play, they couldn't believe what they heard. That recording led Sheriff David Shore to call a press conference. He had a major announcement. As our investigation has developed, we arrested Quinn Gray.

Just what was on that tape? I'm starting to feel like I'm the sinister one. Had Quinn been the victim everyone thought? Let's see what happens at the hotel. She's been staying at the hotel all night long. At last, investigators had the secret recording that Jasmine Osmanovich had tantalizingly refused to turn over. But far from exonerating him, it offered plenty of evidence against him. It's compelling. It was the icing on the cake.

It was the point of no return for Quinn. It was the point of no return for Osmanovich. He wants you to look back. You understand? On that recording, investigators heard a completely different story from what Quinn Gray had said happened during her ordeal. We've been staying in at the Emerson Inn on Room 207. The recording started on that Monday when Quinn was still missing. Jasmine narrated as he drove alone to the Emerson Inn. She stayed the whole night by herself. She didn't want me to stay with her. So I'm going right now back to there. The recording continued with Jasmine entering room 207.

And investigators were shocked as they listened. Because Quinn Gray didn't sound like a captive at all. In fact, she seemed to be in on the whole thing. I don't know what the new plan is. We'll see. Just tell me you have one. They called the cops and everything. I mean, I've got a different plan. Osmanovic next appeared to mock the massive law enforcement manhunt that was underway to find Quinn. Osmanovich next appeared to mock the massive law enforcement manhunt that was underway to find

Quinn. They just knew you were here by yourself all night long. They would have a fit. That's why I'm starting to feel like I'm the sinister one. I wonder what my girls think right now. I wonder if they have any idea what's going on. We went to the hotel and talked to the people that worked at the hotel and they said she sat in the car while he was checking in. They were hand in hand. They said, in fact, he left the room many, many times during the weekend. And remember those bruises and marks Quinn said she got from being zip tied to a chair, the recording suggested Quinn made them herself. I'm going to have to have a few more marks if I'm telling these stories, don't you think?

Are those from last night? Yeah, but that's from the rope. I was doing the rope. Oh, you were doing that? Yeah. There's one girl? I have to have a couple more. Amazing that they don't have a clue what's going on. And then there were parts of that recording that made even veteran investigators blush. On the tape, the two had what sounds like intimate, consensual sex.

Nothing like the rape Quinn described. You know he doesn't. the rape Quinn described. The sheriff said that from the get-go, he and FBI officials were suspicious about this case, questioning if this was a legitimate abduction. But they had no option, they say, but to proceed as if Quinn really had been taken hostage. In the end, the recording Asmanovich made gave them all the proof they needed that this was not a kidnapping, but rather an elaborate hoax. The pair's real goal, the sheriff said, was to extort $50,000 from Quinn's husband Reed. We all smelled a rat. I mean, it just, it wasn't right. There were many things that just didn't add up. It started with a ransom note. It was in Quinn's handwriting and unusually long. Secondly, investigators never needed to ask for proof of life during the abduction

because the kidnappers regularly allowed Quinn to talk on the phone. And finally, there was Quinn's shocking debriefing, where she said she enjoyed having sex with the man she had described as her captor. And I acted like I enjoyed it, and I'm not going to lie, sometimes I almost did. Osmanovic would later say that he and Quinn met by chance at a gas station just weeks earlier. A conversation started, and an affair soon blossomed, something that was strongly suggested by the recording. Right now I'm all crazy about you.

What? I'm all crazy about you. Quinn and Usmanovich told different stories of how the whole kidnapping plot evolved. But authorities suggest that Quinn's motive was to get the money, leave her husband, and start a new life. When this is all over, I have your word. What? Whatever story we come up with, you stick to it. We're both going to stick to the same story. We're both.

But clearly, Usmanovich wasn't convinced Quinn would stick to their story. You think he made the tape because he thought that at some point he was going to get accused of kidnapping her and he needed to prove that it wasn't his idea? Or that it was her idea and I just went along for the ride. And it was probably a smart thing for him to do. I mean, because it revealed to us in no uncertain terms that Quinn Gray was not a victim. Put your hands in front of you. Jasmine Asmanovich was arrested for extortion. And before the sheriff publicly announced Quinn's arrest, he had a heart-to-heart talk with her husband. Tough conversation for you to have. Yeah.

You know, your spouse made this thing up, and she had relations with a guy that we know that was consensual, because we got a tape recording, and it's crystal clear. You know, I mean, how do you process that information? One day after Osmanovich's arrest, Quinn Gray was placed in custody. We arrested Quinn Gray and charged her with extortion. This was an extortion attempt from the beginning. It was not a kidnapping. Quinn pleaded not guilty.

After her arrest, she was defiant. If I wanted $50,000, all I would do is take it out of the bank account. Did you have a sexual relationship with Zuzmanovich? No, I did not. I did not know him. Why would someone make this stuff up? You wouldn't make it up because it's the truth. I'm talking about him. Why would he make this up? Because he's a criminal and he came in and tried to extort $50,000 from me.

And in another shocking twist, Reed Gray decided to stand by his wife. I want my wife to come out of this feeling wonderful. I want her to feel great about everything after this is all over. And I think that's going to be the outcome. Her husband seemed to be standing by Quinn. But what did her mother think? You believe she's telling

the truth. And then, what kind of legal price would Quinn Gray pay foraded not guilty to charges she tried to extort $50,000 from her husband in an elaborate kidnapping hoax. But even though investigators considered Reed Gray the victim, to the surprise of many, he decided to stand by his wife. Two months after her arrest, Reed even appeared on the Today Show and offered total support for Quinn. It's been a roller coaster of emotion from the onset. There are times when you sit in front of the FBI and they present you evidence that she was the mastermind of this, and you have no choice but to believe that

entirely at that point. But I believe in all of my heart she was kidnapped. Quinn's mom also stood firmly behind her daughter, saying Jasmine Osmanovich was to blame, not Quinn. I believe she was just manipulated and her mind snapped. You believe she's telling the truth? Absolutely. The FBI and the sheriff do not. Well, they don't understand what can happen to a person who has a mental illness. Gail Sykes says her daughter suffers from bipolar disorder, a form of mental illness marked by both manic highs and deep depressions. I think that she was having a severe bipolar manic episode. She thought she was going to die. You have to remember, she's just out of Hanley Hazelden.

She was in a very fragile situation. Quinn had only recently been released from the Hazelden Clinic, where she'd undergone treatment for alcohol abuse. Her mom thinks that once Quinn stopped self-medicating with alcohol, her bipolar disorder suddenly emerged. On the Today Show, Reed said Quinn's family had a history of bipolar disorder. I know there's definitely something not right because that's not the wife that I know. Quinn's mom felt her daughter had a strong defense. She says that on the tape, Osmanovic says he will release Quinn.

It's one of the few places on the tape where he sounds like her captor and not her lover. I can release you tonight. You know you're going home, okay? Which I promised from day one, right? And Quinn's mother, who's never heard the tape, says it was because of Quinn's mental condition that her daughter had sex with Osmanovic. And he started blowing in her ear, and I think she just wanted to feel the comfort and the feeling of feeling secure and loved, maybe. With the guy who had just brutally abducted her?

In her mental state, yes. I believe that is exactly what happened to her. That tape doesn't make her sound like a victim. Well, you have to think it through a little bit more carefully. She thought this man is going to save my life and is going to restore me to my family. Quinn's mom also points out that investigators were never able to document the supposed affair between Quinn and Osmanovich. Investigators admit they couldn't find a shred of evidence that the two had any relationship before that Labor Day weekend. Does it give you any pause at all that there's no proof that those two knew each other before Labor Day weekend?

You know, it does and it doesn't. We knew that their encounter was consensual. You can tell that from the tape? Yes. Regardless of when the relationship started, they knew each other and they were involved with each other. But the prosecutor in the case, Jennifer Dunton, says her office was never shown any proof that Quinn really does suffer from a mental illness. Have you seen anything to indicate that Quinn Gray was already diagnosed as bipolar before that weekend? No. Her doctor had made the assertion that he believed she was bipolar, although backed off that a little bit and said she did not meet all the criteria. In January of 2010, four months after the incident, Jasmine Asmanovich pleaded

guilty to extortion. In court appearances, the formerly cocky, perhaps even arrogant mechanic, now appeared looking like a man who's been had. Because he's a criminal. But Quinn Gray decided to continue her fight, and the state of Florida prepared its case against the wealthy mom. The strengths of our case were all the times that Quinn Gray was left alone. She was left alone several times overnight. She was often left in cars, and Mr. Osmonovich made trips into various businesses. All proving that she could have walked away if she'd wanted to, could have escaped, therefore wasn't a real kidnapping. Correct.

What was the truth? At one point, Reed Gray arranged a private lie detector test for his wife. And according to Assistant State Attorney Dunton, the results were not what he expected. I've been provided records that she did not pass that polygraph. She was deceptive. I believe at some point he also indicated he eventually listened to that tape, which he had not listened to it previously. He's not a dumb man. He's a smart man. He's a successful businessman.

He was connecting the dots, too. Reed Gray eventually changed his mind, and with it, his support for his wife. In August of 2010, he was granted a divorce and now shares custody of the couple's daughters. Reed did not want to be interviewed by Dateline, but told us, I wanted to thank law enforcement and the state for all their hard-working efforts to ensure the safety of my family. And perhaps Quinn was ready to move on with her life. In February of 2011, she pleaded no contest to extortion. It was something her mom encouraged. I didn't want a jury to find her guilty and send her to prison.

Even though a no contest plea is basically admitting your guilt. Believe me, I understand that a no contest, but at least she would not have to go to prison. Quinn sent us a statement saying she was abducted at gunpoint and never knew Osmanovic, but added, I do not deny all forms of responsibility for things that occurred after the abduction. And she says, because of her mental state at the time, her past experiences, and her fresh recovery from alcoholism, Osmanovich manipulated my every thought and completely altered my belief system about my life. I made the decision to accept a no-contest plea to avoid a lengthy salacious trial that could have further emotionally harmed my family,

my mental health, and my road to recovery. Quinn Gray and Yasmin Osmanovich were both sentenced to time served in jail, given probation, and ordered to repay a total of $86,000 in overtime costs that were run up by all the law enforcement personnel who worked that weekend trying to find Quinn. Both declined to be Quinn. Both declined to be interviewed. Both are now free. What's in this for Quinn Gray? I don't know. I mean, if she divorces her husband, she'd get a lot more than $50,000. That's it. Was it a call for help? Was it a psychological call for help on Quinn? I don't know the answer to that.

Was it a desperate act to get attention? I don't know the answer to that. Was it a desperate act to get attention? I don't know the answer to that. But I can tell you, she sure picked a very colorful way to do it. It's hard to pull off a fake kidnapping. It just is.