In the criminal justice system,
sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City,
the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members
of an elite squad known as The Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Billy Michael sees Mayme Heaven's picture? No!
Aw, that's gross.
She has butter cartons in her desk.
That's disgusting, Carly.
- And she eats them too. - Oh, I don't wanna hear about it.
Thanks, Mrs. Fennessy.
Wait for me!
Look, there's a puppy.
We're supposed to go straight home.
It'll only take a minute.
Come here, boy.
Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you.
Want some baloney sandwich?
Help me!
Someone help me!
- Help! Help! - Mrs. Fennessy!
Stop! Put her down!
Help! Help!
I saw the license plate.
The first three numbers were 210.
I know, sweetie, the police officer told me. You did great.
But now I need you to tell me about your friend.
Her name is Carly Hunter. She's eight.
Parents let her walk home alone?
Our mom said it's okay because we live right down the block.
That's our building.
I take the girls across 93rd and then it's a block to their home.
Would you recognize the man?
He was wearing a Halloween mask.
Mrs. Hunter, I'm so sorry.
You were right there. Why didn't you stop him?
No, no. It's nobody's fault.
- Do you have a recent picture of Carly? - Yes.
And witnesses got the van's plate number, and we've put out an Amber alert.
Here. Well, this was taken last month.
I'll get it out on the wire.
This is Elliot Stabler.
He'll be the lead detective on your daughter's case.
Where is Carly's father now?
At work. Manhattan liberty bank.
He manages the branch on broadway. I need to call him.
We'll send somebody to pick him up.
Witness saw the van three blocks away. Said they heard someone inside.
Police! You, in the van,
come out with your hands where I can see them!
- Don't shoot. - Open the door slowly!
Don't kill me, please. Don't kill me.
- She's not here! - Where's the girl?
What girl? The door was open.
- I got in to get warm. - Captain.
Is that blood? What did he do to my baby?
Mrs. Hunter, you gotta stay strong. Keep thinking positive.
- But there was so much blood. - It may not be Carly's.
What if it is? My baby's hurt. She needs help.
Let's go inside now. Come on.
Jake. Oh, thank god you're here.
I'm Jake Hunter, Carly's father.
Honey, why don't you, why don't you wait for me upstairs, okay?
I don't wanna be alone right now.
I'll go with you.
It's okay.
Tell me everything.
The van used to abduct Carly was stolen last night.
We're processing it right now for forensic evidence.
Hopefully we'll find something that leads us to our guy.
You think he's a pedophile.
We don't know that right now.
When I think about what he could be doing to her...
Mr. Hunter, listen to me.
You cannot allow those images to get into your head.
Elliot.
Why don't you go upstairs? Check on your wife. I'll be up in a while.
Yeah.
Craig Lennon from parole just called in.
One of his sex offenders was rousted last month
sitting in a parked car outside Carly's school.
He's on his way to pick up the guy now.
APARTMENT OF JOEL MAYDER 513 WEST 48TH STREET FRIDAY, JANUARY 6
His name's Joel Mayder.
He did nine years at Singsing for molesting two nieces and the girl next door.
I always figured he had more victims.
He ever abduct?
No, but I'd buy him for a stranger kidnap.
He's smart enough now not to abuse kids who can ID him.
Parole, Mayder! Open the door!
Now!
There's somebody in there.
Police!
He's going up!
Police! Stop!
Mayder, we just wanna talk to you.
Come on.
Okay.
Don't!
We're screwed unless something here tells us where he stashed Carly.
He have access to anyplace else, you know, through work, family?
His mother died while he was inside.
He hadn't found a job yet.
His brother's in a hospice dying of cancer.
Got something here.
Laptop.
Check that out.
He was shopping for his next victim.
None of these girls are Carly.
Got a file here named Journal.
Password protected.
My six-year-old could hack this.
I'm in.
"Ah, another day of searching. Still nothing."
"She must be out there, the special girl, the perfect one,"
"but no sign of her yet."
"I try not to lose heart, but some days I get so lonely."
Dated today.
Look, if Mayder snatched Carly, why didn't he write about it?
He's not our guy.
Elliot, he could be covering his tracks.
He knows that we can search his apartment.
That's why he ran.
I'll search through the photos on the laptop
to see if I can find any photos of Carly or the school.
All right, that'll help, but we need the M.E to find Mayder's DNA in that van.
The only DNA I found was Carly's.
The blood in the van was all hers, not Mayder's.
There's no way to know if Mayder was my perp.
I wanted to give the Hunters some good news.
Well, there is some news about the blood.
I found cilia, nosehairs in the sample.
She had a nosebleed.
- So Carly might still be alive. - Yes.
But she's really sick, Elliot.
- Sick with what? - Leukemia.
On the right are normal blood cells.
On the left are Carly's.
She has too many white blood cells.
So what does that mean?
With treatment Carly has a good chance of survival.
But you gotta find her.
Why didn't her parents say anything?
If this is her first blast crisis, the symptoms would mimic the flu.
Minor aches, low energy, slight fever.
They probably don't know.
Well, you gotta explain it to me so I can tell them.
You keep looking for Carly.
I'll go see the Hunters.
APARTMENT OF JAKE AND PAMELA HUNTER 94 RIVERSIDE DRIVE SATURDAY, JANUARY 7
For the past six weeks,
Carly complained about being tired.
But I just thought she wanted to stay home from school.
How soon does she have to start the treatment?
As soon as possible.
But a few days, even a week, probably won't make a difference.
A week?
The police are doing everything they can. / Hello.
Hello, hello.
Who's calling?
We have your daughter.
- Oh, god. - What do you want?
Wait for instructions.
If you call the police, we will kill her.
Why doesn't he call back? It's been hours.
He will.
How can you be so sure?
He wants money.
The only way he can get it is by contacting you.
I still think we should call detective Stabler.
No, you heard what the guy said, no cops.
I'm not taking any chances with my daughter's life.
It's dangerous to handle this by yourself. The police are trained...
If they're so smart, why didn't they have a tap on our phone?
They thought they were dealing with a pedophile, not a ransom kidnap.
All he wants is money, all right?
If we give it to him, we'll get Carly back.
You don't know what he'll do.
Let the police handle this.
My daughter, my choice.
No, use the speaker phone. If I can hear Carly's voice,
I might be able to tell how she is.
Hello. Hello, are you there?
I said no cops.
We didn't call them. I swear.
Then who's that woman?
He can see us.
Hundreds of apartments can see us. More if he's using binoculars.
Keep them open.
You think I'm gonna let you sneak the cops in there?
Now tell me who that woman is.
She's a doctor.
I'm here because Carly's sick. She has leukemia.
- Do you think I'm stupid? - It's the truth.
Prove it.
Talk to me like I'm a doctor.
Carly has acute lymphocytic leukemia,
characterized by a profound increase in the white blood cells
that resemble immature lymphoblasts.
She needs to be hospitalized immediately for induction chemotherapy.
No one else comes in. We will be watching.
Mr. Hunter, leave now and come back with $300,000.
You have it until 8 tonight or Carly dies.
We'll do whatever you want. Just don't hurt her.
Can we talk to Carly, please?
Mommy?
I wanna come home.
Sweetheart.
How do you feel?
No!
We'll get her back. We don't have that kind of money.
I'll cash out the college fund and the CDs. I'm going to the bank.
Jake!
Pamela, where's your bathroom?
Down the hall. First door on your left.
Elliot, it's Melinda.
We have a situation.
Set her down.
- Easy, easy. - I got it.
Got a delivery for Mrs. Grossman.
3C, but you gotta use the service entrance.
Sight lines we need to avoid?
You got the kitchen windows frosted.
The hallway and Carly's room are your safe zones.
Every other room can be seen from outside.
Set up on the counter in there.
Come with me.
Grab your coat.
Why did you do this?
We're sweeping for bugs.
Hold this close to your chest and walk through every room, then come back.
He will kill my daughter if he sees you.
He won't. We're a couple of guys who delivered a fridge.
- Two came in, two will now leave. - We're good to go.
I'll call you if we find anything on the search.
What search?
We're checking all the buildings the guy could be using to watch us.
Look, you can't. He'll know.
He won't. Trust me.
He won't suspect a nanny and a stroller, a gas man, fedex...
We're clear.
Wherever he is, he's only got visuals.
As long as they stay in the kitchen, he'll never know they're here,
- and Carly will be safe. - Okay.
Okay. Now I need you up on the phone lines before he calls back.
Where's your telephone junction box?
In the service hallway to the right.
Get anything off the phone records?
Each call was made from a different pre-paid cell phone.
He used them once, and dumped them.
Can you track the voice-altering device?
You can buy those things in any electronics store.
Jake's back.
Don't tell him anything. Just bring him on in here.
I got the cash.
Let's talk in the kitchen.
How could you do this?
He said no cops. He will kill our child.
Mr. Hunter, I'm only here because we both want the same thing, Carly's return.
I'm gonna give the guy his money.
He's gonna give me my daughter.
- And you're not gonna stop me. - I don't wanna stop you.
I just wanna make sure when you make that exchange, everyone is safe,
that's all.
Recorders and tracing devices are in place on the phone lines.
What now?
We wait for him to call.
It's dark.
Carly must be scared. She's
never spent one night away from home.
Mr. Hunter, this wasn't a random crime. Somebody chose Carly.
Targeted you.
He knows your name, he knows your phone number, where you live.
- That you have money. - We're not rich.
I'm only a bank manager.
Is anyone angry with you? Threatened your family?
No.
You're sure?
If I knew who had my little girl,
I'd tell you.
Hello.
- Where's your fax machine? - It's in my office.
Is it from him? What does it say?
"Go to the garage now. Put the money in the trunk."
He knows we have a car?
He must have seen us drive in and out.
Well, maybe someone saw him. Is there a garage attendant?
- Security cameras? - No.
"Drive to 98th and west end."
"There's a cell phone in a bag under a dumpster."
"Find it, and press redial."
"We'll tell you where to drive."
You better read this.
"The doc brings the money alone."
No way. You're not doing this.
- I can take care of myself. - Look, no offense,
but med school doesn't exactly prepare you for something like this.
The air force did. They paid for medical school.
I did two tours at Ramstein during Desert storm.
I know how to handle myself around men with guns.
Take this.
Take it.
It'll be okay.
What's up, doc?
Where to?
Head for the river. Go south on the west side highway.
I'm at the piers. Now what?
Take the money out of the trunk.
And wait.
Now walk.
Not until I see Carly.
You do what I say, and you will.
That's far enough.
Hey, sit up.
Now put the money down and go back to the car.
What are you, deaf? I said go back to the car!
Not without the girl.
Look, you got your money. It's all right there.
Just let me take her home, and everybody's happy.
You stop. All right? No, no, no, stop!
It's all right, sweetheart. Come on!
Come over to me. I'll take you to your mommy and daddy.
- No, no, no, no, stop, stop. - Hey! This is private property!
- There's no trespassing! - Get in the car!
- No, wait! - Sit down!
Let her out! Let her out, you bastard!
- Let her out! Out! - Stay down!
- Security guard here boned us. - He was doing his job.
Look, the taker knows we're in on it now.
He could cut his losses, kill Carly, and just walk away from it all.
He's not gonna walk away from all this money. / Captain!
- Tell me you got something. - Maybe.
What's that? Pebbles?
Sodium chloride.
Rock salt, like for melting ice.
I found it where the car was parked and in the skid marks.
The tire treads must've been full of it.
Tires didn't pick up all this salt just driving down the street.
You thinking our guy was hanging out at a plant that makes that stuff?
It's possible. Different de-icers use slightly different chemical compounds.
I'll check out manufacturers in the tri-state area.
Keep us posted.
We gotta tell Carly's parents what happened.
You told me to trust you.
You said you'd bring my daughter back.
This is our only chance, and you blew it.
Jake, stop it!
Did Carly look all right?
- Healthy, I mean. - She seemed fine.
- Did she say anything? - There wasn't time.
- So we're right back where we started. - Not exactly.
We're not dealing with a professional here.
How do you know?
A pro wouldn't have been rattled by some rent-a-cop.
He would've made sure he got the money and made a clean getaway.
So what are you saying?
Something you're not telling me?
You having an affair?
Got gambling problems?
No, no. Nothing like that.
I don't know why someone would wanna hurt me.
How about your wife?
We've been married since we were kids. We got no secrets.
So what do we do now, we just sit and wait?
- We're gonna go after him. - Well, how?
He's given us two leads.
Forensics evidence from the warehouse and the ransom note.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE RESPONSE UNIT ONE POLICE PLAZA SATURDAYm JANUARY 7
He masked the location he sent the fax from.
We still may be able to track it down.
Take a look.
What is that?
A microscopic tracking code.
Manufacturers started putting them into top of the line color printers
and copiers at the request of the government.
What do they tell you?
Serial number of the device used to print the documents,
plus date and time.
I can look up the location of the printer on the secret service database.
Secret service?
They claim it's an anti-counterfeiting measure.
The tracking code still comes through on a fax?
Wherever ink was printed on the original paper, it's still there.
Even if it's microscopic.
Got it. The ransom note was printed and faxed
from a copy shop on 86th and broadway.
Here's the copy shop.
Give me that, will you?
Carly's school, the Hunters' apartment.
The van used to snatch Carly was stolen from here,
and the ransom drop is right there.
It's all up and down the west side, along the river within a one-mile stretch.
It's his comfort zone.
Carly has gotta be stashed within that perimeter.
And I think I know where.
One of the companies that used to make rock salt went out of business,
but they had a storage yard on 58th street
on the Hudson river.
This has gotta be the place.
There's no sign of the car.
Maybe he put it in there.
- Door's open, captain! - Elliot!
Elliot, this padlock is new.
Carly?
I'm not getting a pulse. Carly?
Carly? Carly!
Cold syrup. The bastard drugged her.
Carly, you gotta wake up, honey!
Let's get her to the hospital.
She's stable for now.
We treated her for hypothermia and the overdose.
She'll sleep through the night,
and we'll start her chemo in the morning.
Oh, god.
Oh, hi, baby.
Hey, peanut.
Mommy missed you so much.
I'll stay with her.
You heard the doc. She's gonna be out of it till morning.
Why don't you go home, get a little sleep?
Hey, congratulations. I hear you found Carly. / Yeah.
- The guy's still out there, though. - You'll get him.
You going home?
Yeah, I gotta get some stuff out of my locker.
See you in the morning.
Good night.
MERCY GENERAL HOSPITAL 365 WEST 32ND STREET MONDAY, JANUARY 9
Hey, Carly.
It's okay, honey. This is Elliot.
- He's the one who found you. - Thank you.
You're welcome. How you feeling?
Can I sit down here and ask you a few questions? / Yeah.
The man who took you,
did you ever see his face?
No, he always had that mask on.
Did he ever talk to you?
I don't remember.
I was really sleepy.
I couldn't keep my eyes open.
Do you remember anything about him?
He was nice.
He didn't yell at me.
And he made me chocofizzies.
What's a chocofizzie?
When Carly was little, she hated milk.
We used to mix it with chocolate syrup and seltzer.
My big brother called it a chocofizzie.
Thanks.
You have another child?
Daniel. He's 23.
But we haven't seen him in five years.
You never mentioned him.
Daniel did this. He took Carly.
- Why? - Daniel's a cocaine addict.
We tried counseling, boot camp, rehab. Nothing worked.
When Carly was three, she went into his bedroom and found his stash.
I walked in just as she was putting the drugs in her mouth.
He almost killed his sister, and he was so high he didn't care.
I knew as long as he lived with us that Carly was never gonna be safe.
So you kicked him out?
We had to make a choice. Daniel was 18.
We couldn't save him, so we cut him out of our lives.
When was the last time you talked to him?
The day he left.
You may think I'm cold.
I love my son.
I hate the junkie he's become.
But I cannot help him. I cannot make him better.
Where's your husband right now?
He had to go to work. He'll be back soon.
Okay, no. I'll go to the bank.
How's Carly?
She's okay.
What do you know about families and addiction?
I did a rotation at a methadone clinic.
I may need your help. I'll explain it to you on the way.
MANHATTAN LIBERTY BANK 2022 BROADWAY MONDAY, JANUARY 9
Detective Stabe.
Is something wrong? Is Carly okay?
She's fine, Mr. Hunter,
we just need to speak to you about your son Daniel.
Why?
We think he may be involved in Carly's abduction.
- You're wrong. - Your wife told us about his addiction.
My office.
Daniel's a good kid.
The drugs screwed him up.
But he'd never hurt his sister.
Cocaine changes people.
You never stopped talking to Daniel, did you?
He calls me at work.
Pamela doesn't know.
I couldn't cut him off.
He's still my son.
When was the last time you did talk to him?
Two weeks ago.
He said he was in trouble. Sounded scared.
And he asked for money.
I've helped him before.
But he asked for so much,
Pamela would have found out.
And I told Daniel I couldn't give it to him.
This is, this is all my fault.
Get over here! And no alarms.
Where are you going? Come here!
Everybody down on the floor now!
Get over there now! Do it!
You got your PDA?
Yeah.
Get Cragen.
Now everybody heads down on the ground!
Get on the floor now!
I said get down on the floor!
I said get down!
Daniel.
All right, I want everybody to stay down.
Daniel, what are you doing?
I said get on the floor, dad!
Are you really gonna shoot me?
Maybe.
- Maybe I'll shoot her. - Please, no! / Okay, okay.
All right. Okay?
I want you to go to the vault and get the money.
Whatever you want. Just don't shoot.
Put the cash in those bags.
None of those dye packs.
- Could you shut that kid up? - Please don't!
All right.
Stay down. Especially you.
You keep your hands where I can see them. / Okay, okay.
No, don't shoot him!
All right, who's back there?
Detective Stabler and Dr. Warner.
Give me a gun.
Detective, I want you to slide your gun out the door. Now!
Do it, or I'll kill everybody in here!
I swear to god I will.
Now get out here!
Don't shoot. We're coming out!
- Daniel, I'm Elliot. - Shut up.
Just shut the hell up, all right? Get over here.
- He's high. - Hurry up!
Hurry up in there! Turn around.
Why are you doing this?
Oh, like you don't know.
I told you I needed the money or they were gonna kill me.
Who was gonna kill you, Daniel?
I owe some guys a lot of dough. I don't pay them, and I'm a dead man.
But you, you wouldn't help me because you don't give a damn!
Yes, I do.
You threw me out on the street. I had nowhere to go.
We sent you to rehab. You ran away.
You only care about Carly.
Hurry up with the money!
Your mother and I both love you very much, Daniel.
Why wouldn't you help me?
Why? I needed the money.
I asked you for the money to save my life.
I mean, you paid for Carly,
but you wouldn't pay for your son.
Here's the money.
Put it down.
You made me do this.
You gave me no choice.
Come on. Turn around.
Coming out!
- I can take him out. - Hold your fire!
- Hold your fire!
Inside.
Damn it.
Stay with me, Jake. Stay with me.
We got gunfire. We may have casualties.
There's no time to talk this guy down.
I'm in command here. We do it my way.
Daniel Hunter is a scared kid.
Yeah, with a Mac-10, high on coke, and holding a dozen hostages.
Exactly, he's in over his head looking for a way out.
I can give it to him.
Well, we need to make an entry.
There are no windows.
The walls are too thick for sensors. You'd be going in blind.
Shock and awe. We have the building plans.
There's unreinforced wall right here.
We smash through it with an armored vehicle, roll in a few flash bangs,
the guy's down before he knows what's happening.
What if he's not in the main lobby?
What if he's in the vault?
You go inside, you risk the lives of everybody in that bank,
civilians and my people.
Hardline's ready, captain.
Patch me through.
Nobody answers that.
It's a negotiator, Daniel. You can tell him what you want.
I don't know what I want.
So let's figure it out together. Go ahead, pick it up.
I don't know. You answer it.
Answer it!
- This is Elliot Stabler. - It's Don.
Is everybody all right?
Jake Hunter's been shot.
He needs an ambulance.
How many civilians in the bank?
Will he let the hostages leave?
No, no, no, no. Everybody stays.
They're my ticket outta here.
You don't need them. You've got me. I'm a cop.
So is every guy out there.
They're not gonna risk my life.
As long as you're with me, you're safe.
No, you're just messing with my head.
- That's what you're doing. - Daniel, listen to me.
Now, your father needs a doctor.
He's got one.
We need to get him to a hospital.
All right, everybody, up!
The hostages are coming out. Don't shoot.
- We've got civilians exiting. - Team one, right side!
Team two, left!
Come on, let's go, go, go!
No, you, you, you get back where you were.
And stay there.
Everyone get out of here. Go, go.
Team one in position.
Team two in position.
Right this way, ma'am. Follow me.
??? Keep moving.
It's okay. Go!
He's lost too much blood. I can't move him.
Is my dad gonna die?
Dad, I didn't mean to do this. I...
You go, I'll keep the pressure.
I told you not to move!
Back up!
He's my patient, Elliot.
I'm not leaving without him.
Okay, we got them.
Now let's talk about how we can help Daniel.
Nobody can help me. I'm going to jail.
Daniel, we can still make this right.
What are you talking about?
- I shot my dad. - It was an accident.
Yeah, like they're gonna just let me walk on outta here, right?
Hey, Daniel. You let all those people go.
That's gotta count for something.
Hey, what's happening to him?
His lungs are collapsing.
- Well, do something. - Get me a sharp scissor
and a small tube, a pen, a straw, anything like that.
Hang in there, Jake. Hang in there.
Please don't let him die. Please, please.
Come on, come on.
Okay. Will this do?
It'll do.
Hurry up!
Daniel, you have to let me do my job.
Smaller.
Here.
That's it.
- Is he gonna be okay? - For now.
But we have to get him to the hospital.
Daniel, it's time for this to end.
I'm sorry, dad.
I really am.
It's okay.
We're gonna be okay.
Yeah.
Daniel, stop.
Tell mom that I love her.
- Zero-one in position. - Zero-two awaiting further.
Daniel!
Suspect down, suspect down.
No.
Move in, move in!
She just saved his life.
Hands on your head!
Face down, face down!
Will he be all right?
He'll be fine.
Thank you.
Mom?
I don't know what to say to him.
- You okay? - Yeah.
I gotta pick up my daughter from school.