To Hell and Back

Summary

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48 Hours: To Hell and Back

Podcast: 48 Hours
Host: CBS News
Episode Date: July 29, 2026

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Overview

This gripping episode of "48 Hours" delves into the harrowing ordeal and extraordinary survival of Jackie Maris and Tamara Brooks, two California teenagers kidnapped at gunpoint by fugitive Roy Dean Ratliff. Through frank interviews, reconstructed moments, and law enforcement insights, the episode reconstructs their 12 hours of terror, the girls' fierce will to survive, and the law enforcement response that ultimately led to their rescue. The story serves as both a chilling warning and a testament to courage, resilience, and the power of fighting back in the face of unimaginable danger.

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Key Discussion Points

The Abduction: A Night Turns to Nightmare

• Quartz Hill Incident ([03:40]–[05:44]):
  • Jackie Maris, out with friend Frank Melaro, is ambushed by Roy Dean Ratliff at Quartz Hill, Palmdale, California.
  • Ratliff, armed and intoxicated, binds Frank with duct tape and abducts Jackie, discovering Tamara Brooks already hostage in the Bronco.
  • Eric Brown, who came with Tamara, is also attacked and restrained by Ratliff before the girls are taken away.
  • Memorable quote:
    "He made me put my head to the back of the seat rest and started taping my head and then putting tape all the way around my arms... I was like, you know, he's gonna duct tape me and then shoot me."
    —Frank Melaro ([04:46])

The Ordeal: Survival through Terror

• Assault and Trauma ([06:52]–[08:58]):

  • Ratliff pulls over in a residential neighborhood and sexually assaults Jackie while the girls are still only feet from nearby homes.
  • The girls experience alternating threats and care from Ratliff, creating a tense, unpredictable environment.
  • Detective Fred McNutt comments on Ratliff’s erratic behavior and the evidence retrieved from the Bronco (guns, restraints, Viagra).

• Emergence of Bond and Resolve ([08:58]–[10:37]):

  • Jackie and Tamara, strangers only hours earlier, form a deep connection born out of necessity and shared trauma.
  • Jackie soothes Tamara by quietly singing and, in a silent act of defiance, spells out “I need a plan” on her palm. Tamara replies, “knife”, referring to a weapon left in Eric's Bronco.
  • Jackie’s resolve:
    "There's no way I was going down without a fight because that would just be stupid of me, you know? How can you not fight for your life?"
    —Jackie Maris ([10:49])

The Escape Attempt: Desperation and Action

• Decisive Moment ([12:53]–[17:18]):

  • As Ratliff finally passes out from intoxication, Jackie and Tamara work together to free themselves.
  • Jackie finds the knife, hesitates, but acts decisively when Ratliff begins to stir, stabbing him in the neck while Tamara smashes a whiskey bottle over his head.
  • Memorable exchange:
    "This is the time. This is the time to do whatever we're gonna do to try to get away."
    —Jackie Maris ([12:53])
    "You're gonna hit because your intent at that moment is to do what?"
    —Interviewer ([13:33])
    "To kill him. To let him pay for what he did and what we thought he was going to do."
    —Jackie Maris ([13:39])

• Adrenaline, Regret, and Terror ([17:13]–[21:22]):

  • After a violent struggle, Ratliff is wounded but not incapacitated—he regains the upper hand, threatening to kill the girls if they don't open the door.
  • Jackie recalls:
    "At this point, we were pleading for our lives. Please don't kill me. Please don't shoot. Don't do it. What's God gonna think of you? You promised. And right before he got to three, he collapsed. That was definitely by God."
    —Jackie Maris ([17:26])

The Search: Law Enforcement Response

• Amber Alert and Family Despair ([19:10]–[20:16]):
  • A massive multi-agency manhunt is launched, utilizing the then-new Amber Alert system.
  • Emotional moments from the girls’ families and law enforcement who fear the worst.
  • Sheriff Carl Sparks:
    "If this sucker is in Kern county, he is not getting away from us." ([20:16])
  • Nadine Dyer, Jackie’s mother, recalls the advice she gave her children:
    "If someone takes you against your will, you know the odds are you're not coming home. So you need to do whatever it is you need to do in order to get home. I knew she'd fight." ([15:49])

The Final Confrontation: A Desert Standoff

• Police Interception ([25:19]–[29:11]):

  • Alert highway workers spot the Bronco, triggering a high-speed pursuit into the Mojave Desert.
  • Ratliff, erratic and bleeding profusely, goes off-road seeking a place to kill and bury the girls.
  • Jackie recounts the terror as Ratliff tells them:
    "You guys better hope the cops aren't down there. Like, if they were, that he was gonna kill us." ([26:39])

• Rescue and Gun Battle ([29:11]–[33:14]):

  • Deputies James Stratton and Larry Thatcher corner the Bronco as Ratliff tries desperately to escape.
  • Ratliff initiates a shootout; bullets rip through the vehicle with the girls still inside.
  • Jackie’s memory of those seconds:
    "The bullets are just flying everywhere. We're screaming for our lives. The car is just, like, moving back and forth, back and forth." ([31:04])
  • Deputy Thatcher ultimately shoots Ratliff, ending the standoff.
  • Powerful moment:
    "Once I made sure of my target, I lined up my sight straight on him, and I squeezed the trigger... And he looked at me with the sense of, you got me."
    —Deputy Larry Thatcher ([31:34])

Aftermath: Survival, Reflection, and Healing

• Reunion and Media Frenzy ([33:14]–[36:00]):

  • The girls are reunited with family and become symbols of survival, receiving support and tributes from across the country.
  • Jackie expresses the difficulty of processing the trauma:
    "I try to keep myself, like, real busy, so I don't ever get a chance to think about it." ([35:29])
  • She still has not sought professional counseling, relying mainly on family and friends despite enduring emotional pain.

• Legacy of Fighting Back ([37:41]–[38:22]):

  • Both law enforcement and Jackie emphasize the importance of resistance as a survival tactic in such situations.
  • Jackie:
    "If I wouldn't have done it, I would have regretted it. Forever. Even if things did turn out the way they did, I still would have rather fought back." ([37:54])
  • The episode closes reaffirming the girls' bravery and the hope they inspire for victims everywhere.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jackie Maris' unbreakable spirit ([00:36] / [10:49]):
  "There's no way. I wasn't going down without a fight, because that would just be stupid of me, you know? How can you not fight for your life?"

• Nadine Dyer’s motherly wisdom ([15:49]):
  "If someone takes you against your will, you know the odds are you're not coming home. So you need to do whatever it is you need to do in order to get home."

• Law enforcement’s emotional investment ([20:16]): "If this sucker is in Kern county, he is not getting away from us."
  —Sheriff Carl Sparks

• The miraculous escape ([33:37]): "One of the strongest feelings I've ever had in my life was when those girls came out of that vehicle, and I knew they weren't injured. It was, I mean, happiness, relief, everything."
  —Deputy James Stratton

• Reflecting on survival ([38:15]):
  "Police believe fighting back is a key reason Jackie and Tamara are still alive."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamps | |-------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Abduction at Quartz Hill | 03:40–05:44 | | Assault & Bonding in Captivity | 06:52–10:37 | | Planning Escape & Making a Stand | 10:49–13:39 | | The Attack on Ratliff & Aftermath | 12:53–17:18 | | Family and Police Response | 19:10–20:16 | | Law Enforcement Pursuit & Ratliff Profile | 21:32–23:44 | | Police Intercept in Mojave Desert | 25:19–29:11 | | Shootout & Final Rescue | 29:11–33:14 | | Family Reunion and National Reactions | 33:14–36:00 | | Reflections on Recovery and Resilience | 36:00–38:22 |

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Conclusion

To Hell and Back is a raw, powerful account of evil, fear, and the indomitable will to survive. The episode highlights the bravery of two young women, the dedication of law enforcement, and the ripple of hope that emerges from a brutal ordeal. It serves as a reminder that even in the darkest hours, resistance and resourcefulness can mean the difference between life and death.

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Transcript

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[Jackie Maris]

Yeah, there's no way. There's no way. I wasn't going down without a fight, because that would just be stupid of me, you know? How can you not fight for your life?

[Narrator]

It was a carefree night out when it began. These two teenage girls had never met. When it was over, they shared an unbreakable bond of survival. Kidnapped at gunpoint, terrorized during a summer of fear.

[News Anchor]

The latest highly publicized child kidnapping in California this year.

[Jackie Maris]

We're pleading for our lives. Please don't kill me. Please don't shoot.

[Narrator]

Peter Van Sant has their personal story.

[Interviewer]

Do you realize today just how close to death you were?

[Narrator]

Split second decisions, facing the fear, daring

[Interviewer]

to fight back because your intent at that moment is to do what?

[Jackie Maris]

To kill him.

[Narrator]

Time was running out.

[Sheriff Carl Sparks]

He was hunting for a place to kill them and bury them.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

This is the real deal. We have to take action.

[Narrator]

48 Hours investigates.

[Jackie Maris]

If you don't open the door by three, I'm gonna kill both of you right now. One, two.

[Narrator]

To hell and back.

[Jackie Maris]

I've been kissed by the sun each morning Just soaking up the day.

[News Anchor]

We do have breaking news to tell you about. The two girls who were kidnapped this morning at gunpoint have been found safe.

[Jackie Maris]

This world is a beautiful place.

[News Anchor]

This case, the latest highly publicized child to kidnapping in California this year.

[Jackie Maris]

I have been blessed.

[Frank Melaro]

Thank you.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It's a welcome home party unlike any other. Just days earlier, Tamara Brooks and Jackie Maris spent a night in hell. Kidnapped, abused, terrorized. But they somehow made it back.

[Jackie Maris]

I was alive, had my life back, and the bad guy was dead.

[Sheriff Carl Sparks]

We'll never have to deal with this suspect again.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The girl's triumph, says Sheriff Carl Sparks, gives every mother and father something to hold on to.

[Sheriff Carl Sparks]

It gave them some hope that just because somebody takes one of their children, it doesn't have to be four days later in the grave.

[Interviewer]

Do you realize today just how close to death you were?

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

Yeah.

[Jackie Maris]

Every second, every second of what we went through was a chance for him to Kill us. But he didn't, for some reason. So, yeah, I know how close I was to death.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jackie's incredible story of survival begins here on Quartz Hill, a popular hangout overlooking the city of Palmdale, California. It's after midnight and Jackie is nearing her curfew, enjoying the view with Frank Melaro.

[Frank Melaro]

It's fun, you know, it's something different to do, you know, it keeps you out of trouble, I guess you could say.

[Interviewer]

Or you thought.

[Frank Melaro]

So I thought, yeah.

[Narrator/Reporter]

At Quartz Hill, they talk, listen to music. Then out of nowhere, Frank feels cold metal against his head.

[Frank Melaro]

Okay, this is serious. You know, something in my head. He has a gun. He has a gun. A gun gets your attention pretty fast.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Holding that gun with his finger on the trigger is Roy Dean Ratliff, a fugitive wanted for rape. He demands money and orders Frank and Jackie to put their heads down. They smell alcohol on his breath and hear duct tape unwinding.

[Frank Melaro]

One second he was calm, and then out of nowhere, he just starts getting mad.

[Interviewer]

Freaking out.

[Frank Melaro]

Yeah. He was like, you think I'll kill you? I was like, yeah, man, I think you'll kill me. And he was like, you think I'll kill you? And I was like, yeah, you'll kill me, man. You got the gun. You'll kill me. He made me put my head to the back of the seat rest and started taping my head and then putting tape all the way around my arms. Taping my lip, taping my eyes. I was like, you know, he's gonna duct tape me and then shoot me.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff starts wrapping up Jackie, but the tape runs out. Blindfolded and hobbled, she's led to a Bronco parked nearby.

[Jackie Maris]

So he picked me up and he placed me in the back. And that's when I saw Tamara's legs. And they weren't moving. And I didn't know like if it was some dead body or what, you know?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Lying still in the backseat is Tamara Brooks, a 16 year old honor student. The two girls have never met. When the Bronco disappears, Frank manages to free himself and calls for help on his cell phone.

[Frank Melaro]

And I see this other guy and I'm like, who's this? You know, what happened to him? And he has duct tape on him. And I'm just like, oh man, this happened to him too.

[Eric Brown]

I heard him undoing the duct tape.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The other guy is Eric Brown. He was on Quartz Hill with his friend Tamara.

[Eric Brown]

He told me he was going to kill me, but he didn't want to. He actually just wanted to tie me. He Just wanted the truck.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff carjacked Eric's Bronco with Tamara held hostage.

[Eric Brown]

I just turned 18 today. That's about two hours ago.

[Frank Melaro]

I was brought up that when you take a girl out, you see that she gets home. And how was I going to take her home, you know, oh, what if something does happen to her? I will never be able to live with myself, ever.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What police don't realize is, is Ratliff is just a few miles from Quartz Hill. He pulls over and Jackie can see the lights from nearby homes through a crack in her blindfold.

[Jackie Maris]

The houses had to be like maybe 15ft from us and like some of the lights are on and like you could hear like dogs barking and like people, you know.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Without warning, Ratliff sexually assaults her.

[Jackie Maris]

Imagine your worst nightmare.

[Interviewer]

Did you say anything to him? And no one. In these houses that were nearby, nobody noticed, nobody heard anything.

[Jackie Maris]

That surprised me because they were so close to him,

[Detective Fred McNutt]

but.

[Interviewer]

And this is where he attacked Jackie.

[Detective Fred McNutt]

That's what we think. That's what we think. Now this whole thing took place inside the car.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Detective Fred McNutt retraces the route Ratliff took that night. Why would this man pull over on

[Interviewer]

a pretty busy street right next to a residential neighborhood to do this sexual assault?

[Detective Fred McNutt]

He just played it out that way for his own excitement, maybe some kind of sick excitement. He got on being on the edge this way. Found in the Bronco were restraints that were used to hold the girls. And here's the tape that was used.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff also carries two guns. Ammunition and sexual paraphernalia.

[Detective Fred McNutt]

Viagra. He had quite a few packages of Viagra. This is just a scaled photograph of the rope and that was described to us as being used around one of the girls necks.

[Narrator/Reporter]

After the assault, he promises to take the girls back to Quartz Hill.

[Jackie Maris]

I could see out of the bottom of my duct tape that was on my eyes and so I saw like some of the signs and he wasn't

[Interviewer]

taking you back to the top of the hill.

[Narrator/Reporter]

They drive 30 minutes or more in the dead of night. When they finally stop, they are allowed to remove their blindfold. The scene is surreal. Dozens of windmills reflected in the moonlight.

[Detective Fred McNutt]

He would become very caring and compassionate. And then seconds later, he might be holding a gun, saying, I'll kill you if you don't do this.

[Narrator/Reporter]

After another brutal rape, Ratliff carefully tucks his shirt around the girls to protect them from the chilly night air. At one point, Jackie's door is left open a crack. It's a chance for her to escape. But she refuses to leave Tamara behind.

[Jackie Maris]

I didn't know what he was going to do to Tamara. I didn't know if he would hurt her more than he already had.

[Interviewer]

How do you explain that bond that had formed between you and Tamara and the fact that you felt protective of her, this total stranger in the backseat with you?

[Jackie Maris]

It's like I had known her like. Like for a long time, but I had just met her and I barely even knew her name.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Later, Jackie whispers a song to the stranger who is now a friend, trying to calm her during the long black night.

[Interviewer]

What are the words to that song? Do you remember?

[Jackie Maris]

When we're lying in the quiet and no words have to be said to be said, I think to myself. I think to myself this world is a beautiful place.

[Narrator/Reporter]

They start driving again. Silently. Jackie grabs Tamara's hand. They dare not speak, so Jackie spells out words on Tamara's palm, one letter at a time.

[Interviewer]

What did you write to her? Do you remember?

[Jackie Maris]

Yeah. I need a plan.

[Interviewer]

What did she write back?

[Jackie Maris]

I think she wrote knife.

[Interviewer]

Knife. Where was there a knife?

[Jackie Maris]

Eric had a knife, A bowie knife and a holster.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Eric Brown, Tamara's friend, kept a bowie knife in his Bronco. The girls realize they have no choice. Jackie would use that knife the first chance she got.

[Jackie Maris]

There's no way I was going down without a fight because that would just be stupid of me, you know? How can you not fight for your life?

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[Narrator/Reporter]

Lying across the backseat, her hands tied, Jackie Maris watches one mile bleed into the next. There is rope around her neck, binding her to Tamara Brooks. It is hour five of unrelenting terror.

[Jackie Maris]

I asked him if he was going to kill and he said no.

[Narrator/Reporter]

He is Roy Dean Ratliff, the fugitive who's now in control of their lives. Just after daybreak, they pull onto a remote dirt road in The Mojave Desert, 130 miles from where they were abducted.

[Interviewer]

What's going through your mind?

[Jackie Maris]

Just basically what now?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jackie watches Ratliff load and fire two guns into the empty canyon.

[Jackie Maris]

I just thought that was it.

[Interviewer]

You thought your time had come and

[Jackie Maris]

that we had to do something. But then. Or you know, never.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff then turns his attention to that Bowie knife in the car. He runs his fingers over the 8 inch blade. But before he has a chance to use it, a night of heavy drinking takes its toll. Ratliff drifts off to sleep.

[Jackie Maris]

This is the time. This is the time to do whatever we're gonna do to try to get away.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jackie and Tamara struggle to get free from the rope and duct tape that binds them.

[Interviewer]

You chewed it off?

[Jackie Maris]

No, I licked it off. If you lick duct tape, it's not adhesive anymore and it just comes off.

[Narrator/Reporter]

They know Ratliff has a gun in his lap. If they run, he can easily shoot them. Jackie sees the knife on the console. There's a bottle of whiskey on the front seat. Both are weapons for anyone desperate enough to use them.

[Jackie Maris]

We didn't talk.

[Interviewer]

It was just like, I'm gonna stab.

[Jackie Maris]

You're gonna hit him with the whiskey bottle.

[Interviewer]

You're gonna hit because your intent at that moment is to do what?

[Jackie Maris]

To kill him. To let him pay for what he did and what we thought he was going to do.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Back at Quartz Hill, where the girls were abducted, police don't yet know it's Roy Ratliff they are looking for. Frank Melaro relives every detail of the night.

[Frank Melaro]

I remember the voice and I remember the way he would talk. And the gun. Can't get the gun out of my head.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Police learn the suspect ambushed Eric Brown and Tamara Brooks. First, Eric was gagged and taped to this pole. When another car arrived.

[Eric Brown]

I was blindfolded. I just heard him. I heard the car come up.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Frank Molaro and Jackie Maris were in that car. Eric couldn't warn them. Now two girls are missing and two boys are left to pray.

[Frank Melaro]

I don't know what it's like to be Jackie's mom and dad. Not know where your kid's at, you

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

know,

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

That was really hard.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jackie's mom, Nadine Dyer.

[Interviewer]

Go ahead. No, it's all right.

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

She's only 17. I mean, all the things she graduates and it's just a lot you think about.

[Interviewer]

All the things she'd miss.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Police ask Nadine to describe Jackie. She tells them about her daughter's brown eyes and her trademark smile. Jackie is the oldest of three children, high energy and high spirited. A determined student, cheerleader and surfer. 500 federal, state and local law enforcement officers. Last summer, Nadine watched news reports about other girls who disappeared? Danielle Van Dam, Samantha Runyon. Elizabeth Smart. So she sat her children down and gave them this advice.

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

If someone takes you against your will, you know the odds are you're not coming home. So you need to do whatever it is you need to do in order to get home. I mean, if you gotta fight to the end, that's what you gotta do. I knew with Jackie, I knew she'd fight. She doesn't give up. She's got too much life in her. There's too much she wants to do.

[Narrator/Reporter]

130 miles away in the Mojave Desert, Jackie remembers her mother's advice. She'll do whatever it takes to come home. Even if that means finding the courage to stab a man.

[Jackie Maris]

I'm so scared. And what if he wakes up? What's going to happen to us? Is God ever going to forgive us for this?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Inch by inch, the girls painstakingly get hold of the knife and whiskey bottle. Jackie hesitates, not sure she can stab him. Until Ratliff's eyes flicker.

[Jackie Maris]

I thought he was waking up, and so I just did it real fast. And then he actually woke up. Tamara smashed him in the face. And then since his door was open, that little crack, he, like, fell over. So we kicked him out. I threw the knife at him, and Tamara threw the whiskey bottle at him. He was bleeding so much.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bleeding from a stab wound to the neck. They lock the doors, roll up the windows. And just as Jackie takes the wheel to speed away, she makes a horrifying discovery.

[Jackie Maris]

He's not here. The key is not here. He's.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff still has the key.

[Jackie Maris]

We didn't know what to do.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And both guns.

[Jackie Maris]

I'm gonna count to three, and if you don't open the door by three, I'm gonna kill both of you right now.

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

One.

[Jackie Maris]

Two. And at this point, we were pleading for our lives. Please don't kill me. Please don't shoot. Don't do it. What's God gonna think of you? You promised. And right before he got to three, he collapsed. That was definitely by God.

[Interviewer]

So he's collapsed. Did you get out of the car?

[Jackie Maris]

No. Cause he's outside the car.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff lies motionless. Then, like a scene from a horror movie, he suddenly staggers to his feet.

[Interviewer]

Feet.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And start shooting over the car.

[Interviewer]

What's the look on his face?

[Jackie Maris]

A look of intent to kill. Like that's all that he was going to do. No negotiating. There wasn't anything. We couldn't go back. We couldn't take back what we had just Done. And now we were going to suffer for what we tried to do to him.

[Narrator/Reporter]

On a desolate stretch of the Mojave Desert, Jackie Maris and Tamara Brooks are living on the very edge of death.

[Jackie Maris]

We can't do anything but plead for him not to kill us.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It is hour nine in the grip of a violent, desperate, wounded man. 130 miles away, police are leading a massive effort to find the girls.

[Milton Walters]

Find her.

[Jackie Maris]

That's what you gotta do.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It's 10 o' clock, the morning of August 1, 2002.

[Milton Walters]

A number of family and friends are gathering here at the sheriff's substation.

[Jackie Maris]

I just hope she comes back safe.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Freeway billboards flash a description of the stolen Bronco.

[News Anchor]

The vehicle has raised large tires.

[Narrator/Reporter]

News reports are constant.

[Milton Walters]

They're on the lookout for this Ford Bronco.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The signs are part of a new warning system called Amber Alert, designed to quickly notify the public when children are abducted.

[Milton Walters]

A license plate number of one aiz.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Police know too well that many children are killed within hours of being kidnapped.

[Interviewer]

When you first heard two teenage girls kidnapped, what's going through your mind?

[Sheriff Carl Sparks]

That we're actually probably not going to be looking for the two girls because he's going to dump them.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Carl Sparks was then sheriff of Kern County, a sprawling desert county about 100 miles north of LA. When a crime involves children, Sheriff Sparks gets emotional.

[Sheriff Carl Sparks]

If this sucker is in Kern county, he is not getting away from us.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Sparks doesn't know it yet, but in fact, Ratliff is in Kern county on a remote desert road.

[Jackie Maris]

Open the door.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff's in a frenzy of pain and anger.

[Jackie Maris]

Open the door. I'm going to kill the both of you.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bleeding profusely from the knife wound in his neck.

[Jackie Maris]

The whole time he was like frantic and I'm gonna kill you.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The girls are locked inside the Bronco.

[Jackie Maris]

We were in the worst position you could ever think of. You had just tried to kill someone and he's not dead and he has a gun pointed at you through a car window.

[Interviewer]

Why do you think he didn't pull that trigger?

[Kevin Seymour]

I don't know.

[Jackie Maris]

We started talking to him about God and if he was to kill us, if God would ever forgive him for what he. He was about to do.

[Interviewer]

How important was that conversation at that moment?

[Jackie Maris]

Real important. After we started mentioning God and stuff, he, like, he calmed down a little bit and he was silent for like a couple moments.

[Narrator/Reporter]

With Ratliff still armed, the girls have no choice but to let him back in the Bronco. They have managed against all odds to buy themselves a few more minutes of life.

[Jackie Maris]

Something was watching over someone. Something. I don't know.

[Narrator/Reporter]

As the search intensifies, a distraught woman walks into this sheriff's station, hands over a photo and says, this may be the man you're looking for. His name is Roy Dean Ratliff. The woman with this crucial new lead is Ratliff's wife.

[Kevin Seymour]

She's a mother. She cared. She cared about those girls.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Kevin Seymour is a psychologist and friend of the Ratliff family.

[Kevin Seymour]

He was very kind to my children.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff, a Native American, is the father of two.

[Kevin Seymour]

This is a picture that was taken last year at his birthday party. This is the Roy that we knew, that smiling face.

[Interviewer]

This is the picture here that the public is most familiar with. What goes through your mind today when you look at that photograph?

[Kevin Seymour]

This is the two sides of this man. This is a man who was a good man when he wasn't drinking. But alcohol was real poison for this guy.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff had been in and out of prison since he was a teenager for nonviolent crimes. Seymour says Ratliff was always trying to turn things around. He once worked as a gardener at this child care center and said it was the best job he ever had.

[Kevin Seymour]

The children at the child care center loved him. For him, when he drank, he became violent and he felt unable to control that.

[Sheriff Carl Sparks]

This guy had no ability to control himself. Just absolute bull.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ratliff is on the move again. Back on the highway, he can't stop the bleeding of his neck.

[Jackie Maris]

He kept telling me to watch his neck and tell him when to wipe because the blood, it was bleeding real bad still and the blood would just like, pour down. And I'd tell him to wipe, so he'd wipe.

[Narrator/Reporter]

If he's worried police are looking for him, he doesn't show it. Jackie remembers him listening to a song about suicide.

[Jackie Maris]

He was talking about, you think I care if I die right here? Well, I don't. I don't care.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This is my last resort.

[Milton Walters]

Now, the car that they are looking for Statewide is a 1984 white Ford Bronco. The license plate number 1AIZ.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Milton Walters, a highway worker, hears reports about the abduction all morning. At just about 11am Walters can't believe his eyes. He sees a white Bronco coming his way on Highway 178.

[Bonnie Hernandez]

I looked right at him right through the passenger side window, and he kind of had like a. Like a crappy little smile on his face and kind of nodded at me as he went by. I was panicking. I didn't have a pan.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I'm going like this.

[Bonnie Hernandez]

So I grabbed my key and I scratched one a I.

[News Anchor]

Z.

[Bonnie Hernandez]

And then six, nine, two.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Walters calls police on his cell phone. Helicopters and planes race to the area. But in this vast desert, they can't find the Bronco.

[Police Dispatcher]

I know the area real well, and there's so many roads that this guy could have taken.

[Narrator/Reporter]

11:30am Kern County Animal control officer Bonnie Hernandez is also on Highway 178, listening to her police scanner when she spots something white in the distance.

[Police Dispatcher]

Was right about here on the rise when I saw him, and he was going into the trees. And in my mind, I'm thinking, good Lord, if he gets down in there in those trees, even the airship may not be able to see him.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bonnie knows every second matters, but she's afraid to radio for help.

[Police Dispatcher]

Everybody has a scanner in this type of an area, and they know exactly where you're at and where you're going and who you're after.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Worried that Ratliff may have a scanner, Bonnie tears out to the nearest town to alert authorities 30 miles away.

[Interviewer]

How fast were you driving on the highway?

[Eric Brown]

Would you guess?

[Police Dispatcher]

110? Literally.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Back in the Bronco, he had us

[Jackie Maris]

put towels over our heads, and we're on the floor. Floor.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jackie and Tamara can feel that they've gone off road, and they, like everyone looking for them, have a sickening suspicion

[Sheriff Carl Sparks]

why they were excess baggage that he needed to get rid of. He was hunting for a place to kill them and bury them. And he had stopped that Bronco because he had found the place where he wanted to do it.

[Jackie Maris]

He just said, you guys better hope the cops aren't down there. Like, if they were, that he was gonna kill us. And then all of a sudden, Tamara was like, do you hear that? And I was like, what? And she's like, listen. And she's like, it's a helicopter.

[Narrator/Reporter]

12 hours of terror are about to end. The next few minutes will determine life and death for everyone in that Bronco. We're in the right direction.

[Jackie Maris]

All of a sudden, we hear this helicopter overhead, and it keeps circling around. And Tamara's like, do you hear that?

[Narrator/Reporter]

But for Jackie and Tamara, the sound of the rescue helicopter is actually frightening.

[Jackie Maris]

Oh, no, the cops are here. You know, get out of here. We don't want you here right now.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Roy Ratliff has said he will kill the girls if the police show up.

[Jackie Maris]

So we were hoping that the helicopter would go away, and, like, it did, but then it came back. And when the sound came back, it Was lower. It kept getting lower and lower and lower.

[Narrator/Reporter]

We need to know how to get in there.

[Deputy James Stratton]

By the time we get right into here, it's continuous. Continuous talk from the chopper.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Kern county deputies James Stratton and Larry Thatcher follow the helicopter to an isolated stretch of land in the Mojave Desert called white blanket.

[Deputy James Stratton]

As I got out of the vehicle, he was looking straight at me through the open passenger side window, attempting to

[Milton Walters]

make contact with the suspect.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Here for the first time, they come face to face with Roy Dean Ratliff.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

This is real. This is the real deal. We have to take action.

[Deputy James Stratton]

I drew my weapon. I yelled at him to get his hands where I could see him. He hollered back at me, no way.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

All he had on his face was desperation, terror, and contempt. I'm not getting away.

[Narrator/Reporter]

You're not gonna catch Roy Ratliff presses down on the gas hard.

[Deputy James Stratton]

He actually went airborne across here, hit this road down here. Off through the brush.

[Jackie Maris]

He just turned to the left real fast. When he turned, the Bronco almost slipped. And then he got stuck up on this rock.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The deputies show us just how they close in on the Bronco.

[Deputy James Stratton]

I started running down the hill. James started running down the hill.

[Narrator/Reporter]

How quickly is all of this happening?

[Deputy James Stratton]

Seconds. He was watching our distance as we're closing, thinking he's going to get the vehicle off and can escape.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So where are the girls at this point?

[Deputy James Stratton]

Don't know. Have no idea.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What the deputies don't realize is that Jackie and Tamara are still in the Bronco lying in the backseat.

[Deputy James Stratton]

We've had no report from the chopper that they've seen him. I don't know if the girls have already been dump someplace. If the girls are dead. I just don't know.

[Interviewer]

You saw the police outside the windows?

[Jackie Maris]

Yeah. Their guns, you could see them.

[Interviewer]

Did they see you?

[Jackie Maris]

Not at that point.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Vehicle's stuck in the dirt.

[Deputy James Stratton]

As we got closer, I think he realized that he wasn't leaving. That's when he leaned over out of his seat, went behind the passenger seat and started digging for the gun.

[Jackie Maris]

He jumps in the back of the seat and he has his gun in his hand. I thought he was going to kill me right then because his gun was loaded and he had it right by my head.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Roy Ratliff is trapped. He has nowhere to go and nothing to lose.

[Jackie Maris]

He was shouting out the cops, I have the girls. You better not shoot or else they're going to die.

[Narrator/Reporter]

With just about six feet separating the cops from Ratliff, the two deputies are putting their lives on the line.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

I come around here just like this to the back end of the Bronco. He has no idea that I'm behind him.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Within seconds, Ratliff pulls the trigger.

[Jackie Maris]

He shot the first shot out the window, and then the cops retaliated back. They shot back.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Suddenly, Jackie and Tamara are in the midst of a deadly gun battle.

[Jackie Maris]

The bullets are just flying everywhere. We're screaming for our lives. The car is just, like, moving back and forth, back and forth.

[Narrator/Reporter]

As you're firing these shots, are you thinking to yourself, what about the girls?

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

The only thing I see is him and that revolver he's holding.

[Deputy James Stratton]

When I heard the shot, Ratliff went back. At that time, I began shooting, approaching the vehicle and approaching Ratliff.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

Once I made sure of my target, I lined up my sight straight on him, and I squeezed the trigger. The glass looked like it fell like raindrops. And he looked at me with the sense of, you got me.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Suspect is down. A bullet fired by Larry Thatcher brings Roy Dean Ratliff's trail of terror to a dead end.

[Jackie Maris]

He was on top of me, and like, he. His body, just like it had no life in it anymore. It was just dead weight.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

When I was finished firing, then I can see Bronco rocking. Definitely can hear some screaming. I said, somebody's alive. Like a newborn baby. Mom and dad, you want to hear your child screaming? Because when you hear that, you know they're alive.

[Interviewer]

You know, that's life.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

That's life.

[Jackie Maris]

I, like, looked at him, and, like, his eyes were open, and the blood was just on his face and everywhere. And then I just. I pushed him off of me, and I ran out. Tamara was right behind me. We gave each other a big hug, and we just were crying our eyes out and just thanking God that we were still alive.

[Narrator/Reporter]

17 bullets hit that white Bronco during several seconds of intense, smoky gunplay. It is nothing short of a miracle that Jackie and Tamara got out alive.

[Deputy James Stratton]

One of the strongest feelings I've ever had in my life was when those girls came out of that vehicle, and I knew they weren't injured. It was, I mean, happiness, relief, everything.

[Narrator/Reporter]

We have both victims. They're okay.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

All this time, they're saying, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. And I told those girls, you're going home tonight. This guy is not going to hurt you anymore.

[Sheriff Carl Sparks]

We don't have to rehabilitate this son of a bitch.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In just minutes, news of the amazing rescue hits home. The relief is overwhelming.

[News Reporter]

Okay, okay, girls, I'm going to give you an update.

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

Give Me.

[Detective Fred McNutt]

Two seconds.

[News Reporter]

Okay. According to the Kern County Sheriff, the girls are unhurt. According to the Kern County Sheriff, the girls are unhurt and the suspect is down.

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

I just hugged her, kissed her.

[Interviewer]

That was the moment you'd waited all those hours for, to know she was okay.

[Frank Melaro]

It's over. You know, we were spared.

[Jackie Maris]

We were just so happy. It was like, indescribable feeling of, like, just relief. Just like life actually existed again.

[Deputy Larry Thatcher]

At 12:55, around that hour, freedom was given back to the two girls. Justice was served.

[News Anchor]

We do have breaking news to tell you about the two girls who were kidnapped this morning.

[News Reporter]

Okay. Okay, girls, I'm giving you an update. Okay? According to the Kern County Sheriff, the girls are unhurt.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It's been just over a year since Jackie and Tamara were freed from their nightmares. How's life today?

[Interviewer]

How are things with you?

[Jackie Maris]

They're good, I guess. Yeah, they're pretty good. But everything, I don't know. I try to keep myself, like, real busy, so I don't ever get a chance to think about it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Do you find after all of this that total strangers care about you now

[Interviewer]

and are interested in you?

[Jackie Maris]

That's the weirdest thing, because I got stuff from, like, every state. This one's the one from Iowa. This one's from Castaic. This is, for a year, free of martial arts. Crocheted blanket. Got some bracelets here, neat.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Some are letters from rape survivors. Others are inspired by her courage.

[Jackie Maris]

I prayed for you often over the 10 hours that you were held. I'm so happy that you're safe. I will keep you in my prayers. And now, fans throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jackie Maris and Tamara Brooks Publicly, Jackie and Tamara are new symbols of survival.

[Jackie Maris]

Tamara and Jackie join us today in the call to stop violence against women.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Gutsy, smart, and strong. Privately, what happened in the Brunt can never be erased.

[Interviewer]

Does this get to you a little bit when you think about.

[News Reporter]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

You try not to think about it. Are you happy today?

[Milton Walters]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Have you talked to anybody yet? Have you had any counseling over this?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Have you talked it over with anybody?

[Jackie Maris]

No. Like professional?

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

No.

[Interviewer]

You've given that any thought? That's a healthy thing to do.

[Jackie Maris]

Yeah, I know. I know. I just don't have a lot of time right now. Like, when I do have time, I'll go.

[Narrator/Reporter]

She also has family and friends to lean on. But sometimes, out of the blue, the tears come.

[Interviewer]

You fought back? Big time.

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Does that help?

[Nadine Dyer (Jackie's Mom)]

Huh?

[Jackie Maris]

If I wouldn't have done it, I would have regretted it. Forever. Even if things did turn out the way they did, I still would have rather fought back.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Police believe fighting back is a key reason Jackie and Tamara are still alive.

[Jackie Maris]

With so much more than I deserve.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The girls bought precious time. They are the ones who got away.

[Frank Melaro]

Thank you.

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[Jackie Maris]

Welcome to Dino Island Run to get tickets. I'm a bonus. This is as fast as I can go.

[Mountain Cement Announcer]

Paw Patrol the Dino movie Only in theaters August 14th.

[News Reporter]

Rated PG.

[Mountain Cement Announcer]

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