Unseen - The Girl Who Forgot Her Name | The Case of Jessyca Mullenberg | UNSEEN

Episode Date: January 30, 2024

“No one’s looking for you” -- September 16th, 1995: 13-year-old Jessyca Mullenberg wakes up in the back of a car. Her hands and feet are tied and she doesn’t recognize the scenery around her. For the next 104 days, Jessyca’s mother will do everything she can to find her missing daughter, but time is running out, as Jessyca’s captor tries to make her forget who she is. However, one episode of America’s Most Wanted will change everything in the case. External Footage from: "They Took Our Child, We Got Her Back (S1 E6 - Jessyca)", "LMN", "A&E", "I Survived (SE E4 - Jessyca, Derek, Latoya), "NHZ", "Your Worst Nightmare (S5 E9 - A Way Out), "Investigation Discovery", "Kidnap Victim Lives To Tell", "ABC NEWS", "WSAW NewsChannel 7", "Facebook", "America's Most Wanted", "Fox", "Curt Christianson", "Leader", "Telegram", "The Post", "Crescent", "Stevens Point Journal", "Getty Images", "Motion Array", "Audio Network". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is not a normal Christmas morning. Don't pay attention to the decorations on the tree or the presents all over the floor. Instead, look at the woman's face. She isn't smiling at all. Now, look closer at her shirt. It says, Find Jessica. This is Monica Lucasavich, and her 13-year-old daughter Jessica has been missing for over three months.

September 15, 1995, Jessica's dad picks her up for a scheduled weekend visit, But two days later, she disappears. Her family gets a letter from her, saying she ran away and she's in a safe place. But her mom knows right away that something is very wrong. I know how my child speaks. I know how my child writes. It was her writing, but it sounded like it was dictated to her. Monica's ex-husband tells her,

Jessica was supposed to be going on a trip that weekend with a teacher's aide to meet with the publisher about her writing. There's no sign of him or Jessica. But her family won't give up their desperate search across the country. That will last for over a hundred days. It was horrifying to know that she could be anywhere. We found a bunch of receipts. He had a knife, rope, things that could be used to restrain somebody.

The worst nightmare you'd ever want to imagine. I don't care if it's 10 years. I would still be looking for her. I will not let any negative thoughts come in at all. She will be back home. It's 1995. 13-year-old Jessica lives with her family in O'Clair, Wisconsin. Her parents are divorced, and she spends most of her time with her mom.

Especially while dealing with her parents' divorce, Jessica finds comfort in expressing her feelings through art and writing. She even joins a writing club led by a teacher's aide at school. September 15, 1995, Jessica goes to her dad's house for a scheduled weekend visit. But two days later, Jessica's mom gets a call from her ex-husband. He says Jessica's missing, and he thinks she was missing. and he thinks she ran away. Her mom knows immediately that something isn't right, and she demands answers. He goes, I think Jessica might have ran away from home.

I knew that was nonsense, and I said, who is she with? He didn't want to say right at first, and I yelled at him, who is she with? He said, Stephen Oliver. 1991, four years earlier, new neighbors moved in next door to Jessica, a man named Stephen Oliver and his son, Ryan. Ryan and Jessica played together, and Ryan's dad, got a job at the elementary school as a teacher's aide. He quickly recognized Jessica's talent and passion for writing, and she joined a writing club that he led. But as he spent more time

with her, often separating her from her classmates, her mom quickly started to worry about the man's true intentions. I called Stephen Oliver and I said, you're a nice person, but we just don't feel comfortable with this relationship. And so we're just going to stop seeing you. He was very apologetic and wished us well. Shortly after Monica told him she didn't want him spending time with her daughter, the Oliver suddenly moved out of the house next door. Jessica and her mom both felt a sense of relief, but it was immediately replaced with fear when they found out where his new home was,

right across from Jessica's dad's place. Chills went up and down my spine and I thought, oh my God, there's something wrong with this guy. He had my daughter in his sights. I felt very afraid that he was going to do something. Monica brought her concerns to her ex-husband Dale, but he dismissed them, saying Oliver seemed nice and there's no need to worry. Monica even called an attorney to see if she could stop her ex-husband

from letting the man visit their daughter, but it wasn't in her rights. In September of 1995, her worst nightmare comes true. Dale says Stephen Oliver was taking Jessica to get her writing published, and they needed to meet with the publisher in Man. Madison, Wisconsin, but they didn't come back. He hadn't told Monica anything about letting Oliver take her on a trip alone, and she never would have let her daughter go with him if she knew. They go to the police to report Jessica missing,

and just days later, they get a letter from her. And it said, don't come look for me. I'm in a safe place. I know how my child speaks. I know how my child writes. It sounded like it was dictated to her. The letter makes it sound like Jessica did, ran away but her mom has already been worried about Stephen Oliver and she has a feeling

there's more to the story however even she didn't know how much pain was really behind her daughter's writing Jessica met Stephen Oliver when she was only in the third grade and no one else knew that what he did to her was much worse than just spending more time with her than the other kids nobody knew Oliver would pull me aside and follow me into his house and he would lock me up in one of the rooms and then he would set me on his lap i always went home feeling dirty and that i did something wrong oliver would criticize jessica and take her to a different room to punish her he manipulated her saying she wasn't pretty or smart and that no one would ever love her he sexually abused her and he hit her if she didn't do what he told her to

he repeatedly told me that if i told anybody that he would kill my family members and then kill me. I was terrified for that because I didn't want my parents to suffer. Jessica was lost. At such a young age, she was already dealing with what no child should ever have to go through, and she didn't know what to do. Because of Oliver's threats, Jessica didn't tell anyone that he was abusing her. All she could do to get through it was think of her family. She desperately wanted to keep them safe. The abuse went on for years, until Oliver decided to take her away from her family too. September 16th, 1995,

Jessica's dad sends her off on a trip with Oliver, alone. Her family didn't know what was really going on, and her dad thought he was helping her with her schoolwork and writing. My dad set me aside Oliver was there, and they said that, you know, you're going to go with him to get your book laid out and published. And I had asked, you know, did my mom say it was okay? And they said yes, and I'm like,

well, I don't think my mom would be okay with this, but I was a kid. I trusted what they said, so I did what they told me to do. Jessica obeys her dad, and she leaves with Oliver early in the morning. She doses off in the car, holding on to the hope that he's telling the truth about taking her to meet with the publisher. But when Jessica wakes up, her worst fears are confirmed. He had my feet tied to the bottom of the car, and my arms were tied behind my back. He told me, you piece of shit.

Nobody wants you, nobody loves you. you're never going home and no one's going to be looking for you. So I'm really scary feeling to know that you'll be seeing your family again. Jessica has no idea where they are or what he's planning to do. He tells her she has to call him dad now and that her name is Cindy Johnson and he's Dave Johnson. My mind's racing thousands of my husband and, you know, why is this happening to me? What is he going to do to me? Is he going to kill me? While Jessica is desperately trying to figure out what to do, they pull up to the parking lot of an airport.

Suddenly, Oliver takes out a knife. At the time, airport security was nothing like it is today, and he's able to bring a weapon in easily, threatening Jessica at every moment. You know, there was no security, there's no surveillance cameras, there's no metal detectors. So he had a knife to the back, I mean, the whole entire time. No one even knows about Jessica's disappearance yet. yet, but at such a public place, she's still hoping someone might notice her and question what's going on. Even if just one person steps in, it could make all the difference, but her hope quickly fades as they walk through the airport. And we got through the airplane. I had to take my seat. You know, nobody questioned, no, where are you guys going, where you're from? Is this your daughter? Nothing.

None of the strangers around have any clue how much danger she's in. And as the flight takes off, the only thing Jessica can do. do is think of her family, wondering if they'll be able to find her. Back in O'Clair, police rushed to Stephen Oliver's house. There, they find his ex-wife and his son. Stephen Oliver had his ex-wife reunite with their son, who Stephen Oliver had custody up at the time. He even had his ex-wife move into the home with the son. This wasn't a spur-of-the-mom thing. Stephen Oliver did a lot of preparation for this trip. They searched the house, finding a series of disturbing receipts that make Oliver's plan more clear. He had made several purchases that we were able to find, some duct tape, I believe it was, rope,

he had a knife, things that could be used to restrain somebody. He was clearly setting this whole thing up to abduct her. Investigators interview Stephen Oliver's neighbors, coworkers, anyone connected to him to get as much inside as possible. The search for Jessica grows quickly. Her family works to spread her name and face everywhere, putting up posters, doing TV interviews, and more. As days go by with no more letters or communication from Jessica, they refuse to give up.

I will not let any negative thoughts come in at all. She will be back home. As new spreads, new leads come in. Police get tips about possible sightings, but nothing pans out. Months go by without any news about Jessica. With winter approaching, her family is terrified he might be hiding her somewhere without any heat. But in November 1995, there's a breakthrough.

Police find Oliver's car at the Kansas City airport. After the discovery of the car, there's renewed hope that they could trace Oliver and Jessica, but it's short-lived. You could get on an airplane by just saying you're Joe Smith. So checking the rosters of those flights didn't come up with anything of any consequence. It was horrifying to know that she could be anywhere

because it's a big world out there. While her family is searching all over, Jessica is far from home. After their flight, Stephen Oliver gets supplies to disguise the two of them. He even cuts Jessica's hair and dyes at a dark color, so people won't recognize her. Then, he takes her to a nearby hotel, and when they go up to the front desk, he makes up a story using their fake identities of father and daughter, Dave and Cindy Johnson. Oliver was great at telling stories. He gave him the sob story, well, we're moving on self to start a new life, and Cindy's really sad,

and he's been having a hard time dealing with the death of her mom and her twin brother in the car accident. They believe his story, and they give them a room, but Oliver quickly grows paranoid of being found, and he often looks outside, scanning the parking lot for any Midwestern license plates. He gets nervous, and they move to another hotel. He tells them the same story, and he says he's going to be homeschooling his daughter, so she won't be leaving the hotel room much. To Jessica's horror, part of the hotel needs renovations, and they give them a room in the back

in a section that's not open to the public. Now, instead of being close to other guests who might be able to help, there's no one around, and nobody can hear her from the room. The first time I went into the hotel room. It was really dark. Scary is dusty. There's cockroaches everywhere.

It's just really gross. In the middle of the night, after I knew that Oliver was asleep, I would cry. I knew it was serious and that I wasn't going to be returning home to my family. Jessica is terrified. As soon as Oliver leaves the room, she tries to escape, but she quickly discovers she can't get out

because the room is locked from the outside. I couldn't get out. I couldn't run away. He always had that with him. He's like, I will kill you and I will stab you. And there was an doubt in my mind that he wouldn't do that because he had stabbed me before. Oliver has already hurt Jessica in the past, but even with his threats, she won't give up.

She notices the rotary phone in their room, and when he steps out again, she runs over to it. He might walk back in the room at any minute and punish her if he sees what she's doing, but she's willing to risk it for the chance to call for help. I'm trying to dial my phone number. It just didn't work. I'm like, I know what my phone number is. I found out that Oliver was able to rewire it, so then if you were to dial five, it could be a six, dial of seven, it could be a four. So there's no way that I was going to be making a phone call

to anybody. Jessica can't call anyone, and she can't get out of the room either. She's running out of options, and there's no escape. All she can do is try to picture herself back with her family. She desperately hopes they'll be able to find her, but the longer she spends in the hotel room, the harder it is. All I would think about was that he was right that I was stupid because I couldn't even figure out how to call my mom from a phone. I didn't think that I would ever see my family again. As days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, Jessica's hope starts to crumble. Oliver is constantly abusing her, sexually, physically, and emotionally. I was never allowed to leave the room. I spent most of the days tied up to the bed into the hotel room. I wasn't allowed to eat whenever I

wanted to because I was fat and ugly, so the only time I was allowed to eat was if he gave me food and if I deserved food, then I could eat. I was beaten really hard in the stomach by his fist that I could barely even walk. And it heard the worst when he said that my parents and my family and friends didn't love me or didn't want me anymore, and it was really hard. He continues to call her Cindy Johnson, and after all the pain she's been through, Cindy is still. starting to become her identity. Every time she tries to remember her past, Oliver hurts her more, and the loving, happy young Jessica, is fading away.

She's not only losing hope that she'll escape alive, but she's also losing her true self. Every day you're listening to, you're worthless, you're damaged good, you begin to believe it. I didn't know that my name was Jessica. I knew that my parents and my friends are looking for me, but the images of them is I'm going to faded. While Jessica is being brainwashed by her captor, her family refuses to give up. The thought that they might see Jessica again someday keeps them going, and every day they try to think of more ways they can help in the search.

They're able to get Jessica's picture on billboards and posters on the back of semi-trucks, spreading her story across the country. Various TV shows and publications pick up on the story, too, including the massively popular America's Most Wanted series, hosted by John Walsh, who lost his own son after an abduction. The show seeks help from the public to find criminals, and the manhunt for Stephen Oliver grows. Monica leans on her brother for support,

and he gives his all to find Jessica, too. My brother, Steve, was phenomenal isn't even the word for it. He worked tirelessly on trying to find Jessica. We did a lot of praying and hoping everybody poured in their hearts, into it. I wouldn't have given up. I don't care if it's 10 years. I would still be looking for her. I always felt she was alive and I was trying to send my strength prayerfully to her. I prayed all the time, had the courage and stringed in and hope that my family would find me and bring me home. Even though Jessica's identity is fading, when she prays, she can feel the connection to her family.

Jessica also remembers something her mom used to tell her that gives her strength to keep going. I knew that I found me back in Wisconsin would be looking for me because my mom had mentioned that if anything better to help it into myself and my brother's that she would find us. Thinking about home and being back with my family was enough to keep me alive. Christmas Day, 1995. Monica is trying to hold it together and celebrate Christmas with her other kids.

But after more than three months of searching for her daughter, the emotional toll is weighing heavily on her family. It was heartbreaking, waking up on Christmas morning, and she wasn't there. There was no joy, there's no smiles, there is no happiness to think of your innocent baby in that kind of predicament where she's helpless and she, it's really hard for a mother to live with that. Jessica's mom is heartbroken. She knows that the more time passes, the less likely it is that they'll find her alive.

But even over the holidays, she's still thinking of anything else she could do to find her. December 28, 1995, 104 days after Jessica went missing, FBI investigator Jerry Southworth gets a call that changes everything. I got a call about 11 o'clock at night from America's Most Wanted, and they said, you know, we think we got something here. There's a lady who says that she thinks she knows where they're at. She said, they're staying at that hotel. I know them under different names. The father and daughter, Dave Johnson and Cindy Johnson, I called the Houston. the Houston office of the FBI, I told him, I said, I'm sure this woman's got it right.

You're going to find her there. Back at the hotel, it's in the middle of the night. Jessica wakes up, confused and scared when she hears someone banging on the door. Albert just said, don't you dare do anything. When they knocked again, they said this is the FBI. I did not know that I was being rescued by the FBI. I used to know that some strangers are coming to the room. They flash their badges.

I was freaking out because I was like, okay, is this fake? Is this real? I'm actually going home? I was talking to my sister on the telephone, and we were planning on what to do next in our search. And my call waiting came in, and it was the FBI agent. We got Jessica and we got Steve. She's in one squad car, and he's in the other.

Those few words changed our lives completely. Jessica, it's finally safe, but after being manipulated by Oliver for so long, it's hard for her to understand that she's truly being rescued. She's still terrified, and when they ask her for her name, she says it's Cindy Johnson. She doesn't even respond to Jessica anymore. They take her to the FBI field office, and they show her pictures of herself. She's still lost in the nightmare of Cindy Johnson, but everything changes when they let her call her mom. When she hears her voice on the other end of the phone. After three and a half long months without knowing if she would ever hear her again, it finally clicks. This is why she had the strength to keep going, the hope of seeing her family

again. They didn't give up their search, and because of that, Cindy Johnson is no more. Then after she started talking to me and I started to remember that my name was Jessica and that she was my mom and I was really excited and I know it's going to be going home and seeing my family again. Jessica's mom gets the first flight she can to Houston. At the airport, she's finally reunited with her daughter, after 104 days of not knowing if she was even alive. We were led down a hall and opened the door, and there she was. I saw my mom coming out of the airport, and I started running towards her, and I give her a big hug, and she's crying, I'm crying. I can still feel it to this day.

The elation, everything that we had lived for was standing right in front of me. It was the late Christmas miracle. Best day of my life. At last, Jessica is free from Stephen Oliver. She goes home, sleeping in her own bed for the first time in over three months without anyone hurting her. However, there's still a long healing process ahead. Things are hard for Jessica, and while enduring all the emotional trauma, she also has to deal with the physical damage from Oliver beating her.

She has to get multiple surgeries, and even at school, Jessica gets bullied for what she went through. People criticize her for not being able to escape on her own, and they even say she's lucky for getting kidnapped because of all the attention it brought. I got really killed from junior high to high school to college. Why didn't you run? Why didn't you get away? I felt guilt. It's awful.

They don't always like to be in our shoes and to be kidnapped and traumatized. Jessica has a lot of bad memories associated with some of the same. school. Not only is she bullied after her return home, but it's also where Stephen Oliver abused his position as a teacher's aide, using that as an excuse to get her alone, but with the support of her family and her other teachers at school, she's able to be stronger than her bullies. She learns that there are other trustworthy adults who truly want the best for her, and they help her to move on, refusing to let Oliver take over her future like he did with her childhood. In June of 1996, Stephen Oliver goes on trial.

Jessica's testimony is crucial for getting him convicted. Oliver's lawyers try to argue that she went with him willingly and lured him to Texas. She has to relive what she went through, testifying for hours, but she bravely tells her story to make sure he can't hurt anyone else. He's sentenced to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Before her kidnapping, Jessica loved doing art and writing. Afterwards, she finds herself again through working on art projects. She gets good grades at school and graduates college with honors, with a major in psychology,

and minors in sociology, and criminal justice law enforcement. Because of all the abuse and trauma, doctors thought it was unlikely she would be able to have children, but she got married, and miraculously, she was able to have kids of her own. She still has times where she's reminded of the horrors she went through as a child, but she's surrounded by loved ones, who helped her get back to being her true self. And today, she's an advocate for other survivors, doing all she can to prevent others from going through the same thing. It's very hard to relive the memories of what happened to my daughter, but it's better to talk about it, to release some of that, and mainly to help other people learn to prevent these things from happening again.

I survive so that I could continue living a life and being a part of the community and with my family. I'm a symbol of hope to a lot of the parents out there that are still, still have missing kids out there. And for the kids that have returned home, there's not a lot. So talking to them gives them hope, makes them stronger. Today, I'll go and do speeches to the grade schools and middle schools and high schools about physical abuse, sexual abuse. And if I can have one person or 50 people come forward,

all the pain and all the nightmares and stuff that I had to deal with just to do it, I think it's worth it.