I SURVIVED: I Didn't Even Have Enough Time To Think About What Was Happening

Summary

Cold Case Files: I SURVIVED - "I Didn't Even Have Enough Time To Think About What Was Happening"

Hosted by Paula Barros

---

Introduction

In the episode titled "I Didn't Even Have Enough Time To Think About What Was Happening," Paula Barros delves into harrowing survival stories that highlight the resilience and strength of individuals faced with life-threatening situations. This detailed summary captures the key narratives of Danielle, Deborah, and Gordy as they recount their terrifying experiences and triumphant survival against all odds.

---

Danielle's Story: Surviving an Agonizing Assault

Incident Overview

In December 2005, 17-year-old Danielle returned home from school in Albany, New York, unaware of the nightmare awaiting her. Her mother's partner, Dante, whom she had long distrusted due to suspicious incidents, launched a violent attack, leading to Danielle's near-fatal assault.

The Assault

At [02:03], Danielle describes the sudden and forceful nature of Dante's attack:

"He yanked me with so much force my first reaction is oh my God, he's gonna rape me."

The confrontation escalated quickly as Dante attempted to stab her with a kitchen knife. Danielle managed to remain partially conscious, enduring excruciating pain and fear:

"I feel my fingers go over a knife... He looked possessed, like he was so angry. I couldn't understand why any of this was happening."

Surviving the Assault

Though Danielle lost consciousness for over an hour, she awakened to find herself grievously injured but alive. Determined to survive, she strategized to hide her injuries and evade Dante's murderous intentions:

"I passed out in probably three seconds. I don't even think I had enough time to think about what was happening."

By [10:15], Danielle seized an opportunity to escape when Dante was distracted, leading to her eventual rescue:

"I swung the door open, and I ran... My brother saw me first... called 911."

Aftermath and Reflection

Draped in blood and suffering extensive injuries, Danielle survived thanks to her unyielding will to live. Dante was apprehended and sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated assault. Reflecting on her ordeal, Danielle emphasizes her identity as a survivor rather than a victim:

"I survived because I wanted to live. I looked at myself as a survivor."

---

Deborah's Story: Battling a Deadly Storm and Predatory Sharks

Setting Sail

In October 1982, Deborah, an experienced sailor, was part of a five-person crew navigating a yacht from Annapolis, Maryland, to Florida. Initially, conditions seemed favorable, but a worsening storm soon turned their voyage into a fight for survival.

The Storm Brews

By [17:49], the crew struggled to manage the increasingly violent storm. Exhausted and dealing with incapacitated teammates due to alcohol, Deborah and Brad took control amidst chaos:

"Brad and I were so exhausted... we were so exhausted we went down to wake up Mark and John couldn't even wake him up."

Sinking and Shark Attacks

The situation spiraled as the yacht began to sink, leading the crew to abandon ship. On the back porch, they faced freezing temperatures and the imminent threat of sharks attracted by their plight:

"There were, like, hundreds of them. Big little fins you could see through the top of the wave, and there were these bodies just floating around you."

Tragedy struck when delirious John plunged into the water, only to be brutally attacked by sharks within minutes:

"As soon as he jumped, he got about 200 yards out... This just death-curdling scream. And we all knew what had happened."

Enduring Extreme Conditions

With members succumbing to hypothermia and dehydration, Deborah and the remaining survivors fought to maintain hope. The appearance of a nearby freighter provided a glimmer of salvation:

"He goes, look, there's a ship... We heard a life ring and managed to reach the gangplank."

Survival Against All Odds

Only Deborah and Brad ultimately survived, despite witnessing the loss of their comrades. Deborah attributes her survival to necessity and adaptability:

"I survived because I was put into an environment where I had no choices. I had to deal with the immediate and what was given to me. And I did it."

---

Gordy's Story: Overcoming a Terrifying Home Invasion

The Home Invasion

In December 1997, Gordy returned home to New Jersey after work, only to be confronted by Homer Land, an escaped convict. Mistaking Gordy for someone else, Homer forcibly entered their home, wielding a knife and a wrench, and took Gordy and his wife Betty hostage.

Living in Terror

Throughout the night, Homer maintained control by threatening Gordy and Betty, instilling fear and uncertainty about their fate:

"He had the knife... I was thinking that we're going to die. It's just a question of when and how much it's going to hurt."

Desperate Measures and Escape

As Homer attempted to escape with Betty, Gordy seized a critical opportunity to alert authorities. Despite intense fear, Gordy managed to flag down a passing motorist, leading to their rescue:

"I jumped off and went overboard... Brad was holding onto me. We finally made it to a gangplank, and they carried us up and put us on the deck."

Aftermath and Reflection

Homer Land was captured and sentenced, with Gordy reflecting on the importance of following instructions and the role his husband played in ensuring their survival:

"I survived because I did what I was told and took the opportunity to escape."

---

Conclusion

This episode of Cold Case Files masterfully weaves together the intense and emotional narratives of Danielle, Deborah, and Gordy. Each story underscores the remarkable human capacity to endure and overcome unimaginable hardships. Paula Barros' compassionate hosting ensures that these survivors' voices are heard, honoring their courage and resilience.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Danielle Pinson [02:03]:

  "He yanked me with so much force my first reaction is oh my God, he's gonna rape me."

• Danielle Pinson [13:24]:

  "I don't think he was smart enough to know what he should have done... I survived because I wanted to live."

• Deborah [20:45]:

  "I survived because I was put into an environment where I had no choices... And I did it."

• Gordy [35:24]:

  "It's just a question of when and how much it's going to hurt."

• Gordy [41:26]:

  "I survived because I did what I was told and took the opportunity to escape."

---

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essence of the episode, providing a vivid recount of each survivor's ordeal and triumph. Whether it's Danielle's escape from imminent danger, Deborah's battle against nature and predators, or Gordy's courage in the face of home invasion, each story serves as a testament to human resilience.

Transcript

[Shopify Representative]

It's 2025 and a new year means brand new opportunities. And for a lot of you out there, I know you've been thinking about one thing over the holidays and that is starting your own business. But you have so many questions like how do I get started? How do I come up with a brand? How do I even sell stuff to people? And what am I even going to sell now? Take a deep breath. Shopify has got you. Shopify makes it simple to create your brand open for business and get your first sale attend. And you can get your store up and running easily with thousands of customizable templates. You don't have to be a coding nerd or a design geek to get this done. All you need to do is drag and drop. Shopify also helps with the details like shipping taxes and payments from one single dashboard so you can focus on the important stuff like growing your business established in 2025. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com truecrime or all lowercase go to shopify.com truecrime to start selling with Shopify today. Shopify.com truecrime hi, I survived listeners, I'm.

[Marissa Pinson]

Marissa Pinson and before we get into this week's episode, I just want to remind you that episodes of I Survived, as well as the A and E classic podcast, Cold Case Files, City Confidential and American justice are all available ad free on the new A and E Crime and Investigation channel on Apple Podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show.

[Narrator]

This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Danielle]

He yanked me with so much force my first reaction is oh my God, he's gonna rape me.

[Deborah]

Real people it's the most difficult fight to stay sane when you have sharks eating someone else underneath you literally inches.

[Narrator]

Away who faced death.

[Gordy]

The only thing I can think of is how much is it going to hurt to have your throat cut and.

[Narrator]

Live to tell how he knows that.

[Danielle]

I'm alive so he's trying to get rid of my mom so he can finish what he started.

[Narrator]

This is I survived. It's December 2005 in Albany, New York. At 5pm, 17 year old Danielle arrives home from school thinking she is alone. While chatting with her friends on her computer, Danielle suddenly hears her mother's partner Dante in the kitchen.

[Danielle]

Dante was my mom's boyfriend for about two and a half years he lived with us for a decent amount of that time. I just had this weird feeling that I didn't trust him. Like, there had been a few incidents. One time, like a couple of our games where our PlayStation went missing, and it was kind of weird. Dante came out of the kitchen and just quickly asked me if he could borrow my brush so he could shape up his hair. So I told him, yeah, no problem. And I think I went within a minute or two after yass, I went to go look.

[Narrator]

The bedroom lights were not working, so Danielle used a lamp.

[Danielle]

I went to go look for the brush, could not find it, and I had the lamp in my hand, and I went to go give it back to him, and he grabbed me. Lamp dropped, bulb broke, and he yanked me with so much force. It happened so quickly. I didn't even. I don't even know how I made it from the hallway to my mom's bed. That's how quick it was and how forceful it was that I didn't even know. Deontay was a big guy. Six, two, six, three. I'm five, four, one. Fifteen at the most. So me compared to him, I honestly had no chance. He got on top of me and straddled me. And my first reaction was, what are you doing? What are you doing? And I'm yelling at him, get off of me. Get off of me. What are you doing? And he's just pinning me down by my arms, holding me down really, really hard, and just kept telling me to shut up, Shut up, shut up. Yelling at me. And my first reaction is, oh, my God, he's gonna rape me. So as I'm laying there and I'm trying to push him off, and I'm telling, get off of me. What are you doing? What are you doing? Get off of me. And he's yelling, shut up, Shut up. And I'm pushing and I'm pushing. And the last time I tried to push, I felt a knife with my hand. I'm pulling back, and I feel my fingers go over a knife and. And it was a kitchen knife. I panicked and immediately thought, he's trying to stab me. My first reaction is to throw my hands up and protect my face and my neck, because that's what he's trying to get. So I'm throwing my hands. Just keep trying, keep trying and keep trying. I looked at him, and he looked possessed, like he was so angry. And I couldn't understand why any of this was happening. I did nothing wrong. I think I wanted to ask him why he was doing this. To me, but I couldn't get it out. And he was just staring at me like he wanted to kill me. He looked at me like he wanted me dead. He proceeded to try to stab me, and I felt him jab me once or twice when he stabbed me, he. It's kind of a straight across on this side, and then on this side. He was definitely trying to do some damage and trying to find something that would cause me to die. So he reached over and grabbed the pillow and pushed his whole entire body weight on my face. And I passed out in probably three seconds. I don't even think I had enough time to think about what was happening. That's how fast it was. I thought in those three seconds that I was dying.

[Narrator]

Danielle was unconscious for over an hour.

[Danielle]

It was a really weird feeling when I woke up. Like, I can't even describe how it felt. He had covered me with a blanket, and I just laid there. I had to sit up because it was really hard for me to breathe, laying down. And so I sat up and I had on a gray shirt that day, so I knew something bad had happened because my whole shirt was covered in blood. I was like, oh, my God, what happened? I thought I was dying. So when I woke up, it was like a second chance to live. So that's how I took it. So the first thing I look for is a phone because I did not have a cell phone at the time, but there was no phone. So I looked at the clock, and it was around 8. So I'm like, okay, my mom's going to be home soon. I hear him start coming down the hallway, and I'm sitting up, so I'm like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'm thinking, why is he still in my house? I was completely confused. Why is he still here? And I start thinking, okay, how do I get out?

[Narrator]

Danielle held her breath as Dante approached the bedroom.

[Danielle]

Now it's time to play dead. That's all I could do. So I proceeded to lay back down, cover myself with a blanket, stop breathing. He uncovered me and grabbed my arm and tried to check for a pulse. So I'm freaking out, scared, like, oh, my God, he's gonna know. He's gonna know. And he took the blanket off of me, got on top of me. Oh, my God. This time he's gonna rape me. He's gonna rape me. I'm just sitting there, not breathing, hoping to God that he does not realize that I'm alive. So he just kind of stood over me and said, I'm Sorry, Danielle. And walked out of the room.

[Narrator]

Every 10 minutes, Dante checked on Danielle to see if she was dead.

[Danielle]

Every time he came in, I was nervous because I thought he. He was gonna see my eyelashes flutter. It hurt not to breathe, and it hurt to breathe. It was a horrible situation. And I just remember trying really hard to be quiet and hold my breath for as long as possible, because I knew the minute I exhaled, it was gonna be noticeable and he was gonna know. He comes running down the hallway again. I lay down, cover myself up, and stop breathing. This time, he just comes, and he kind of, like, wraps me up in the blanket and pushes me right off my mom's bed. I was laying on the side of the bed, really on my side. Kind of was very uncomfortable. And I heard the door, and I'm okay. My mom's home.

[Narrator]

Danielle was out of sight on the floor between the bed and the wall.

[Danielle]

My mom actually sat on the bed, and I just wanted to jump out from that blanket and just hold her. I just wanted to. I just wanted to get to my mom so bad. And all I could think of was that if I let her know that I'm here, he's gonna take the same knife and hurt my mom. So I just laid there, and I was quiet. And my mom left the room again, and Dante came back, still bleeding heavily.

[Narrator]

From the knife wound to her neck. Danielle continued to act dead.

[Danielle]

There was a window that led to an enclosed back porch. He opened the window, moved my mom's bed so he could get to me, picked me up, put me out on the back porch. And I just remember laying there, like, oh, my God. There was no door there to outside. I couldn't run out and find help. I had to go back through the house in order to get anything. So I was just back there, like, what do I do now? Now, this back porch was used for storage. There was clothes. There were broken windows. So it was freezing. It was just like being outside. I wanted to lay where I was at first, because I assumed that he was gonna come back and look through the window to make sure that I was still there. If he was checking on me while I was in my mom's bed, he's gonna check on me again.

[Narrator]

Danielle decided that to survive, she had to get her mother's attention.

[Danielle]

I opened the door, and the first thing I remember hearing is them talking about going to a hospital. And I'm wondering, do they know what happened? Who else could be hurt? I was scared, and my mom just kept saying, we need to go to a Hospital. We need to go to a hospital. And Dante kept telling her, no, no, everything will be fine. And I'm like, what are they talking about?

[Narrator]

To explain the blood in the bedroom, Dante had slit his wrists.

[Danielle]

My mom assumed that the blood that she saw was his blood. So therefore, no one is thinking that I'm somewhere hurt or somebody else could have been hurt in the house. They think it's Dante. As he's pacing, he's looking at the back door. And at some point, he realizes that the back door has been opened. So he just stood there, staring at the door. I had gotten really, really, really strong somehow, because I remember hoping that he could see me staring at him, hoping that he saw me and he knew that I was not dead. I heard him ask my mom to go to the store or somewhere, and I'm like, oh, my God. He knows. He knows that I'm alive, so he's trying to get rid of my mom so he can finish what he started. I was not gonna let that happen. I mustered up every ounce of strength I had. I just swung the door open, and I ran. I ran through boxes, whatever it was. I just ran. And my brother saw me first, because my mom's back was to me. And my brother heard me, and he saw me. And as soon as he saw me, the look on his face, he immediately ran to his room and grabbed the phone and called 911. And my mom turned around in the process, and I just ran to her and grabbed her. I couldn't say anything, and I'm just holding onto my mom. And she kept. What happened? Who did this to you? Who did this to you? And Dante's running past me and my mom and telling my brother that he sees the people outside to go get them, to go get them. And so he's running out of my house. And my mom just kept asking me, what happened? Who did this to you? I said, dante. And I fainted.

[Narrator]

Responding to the 911 call. The police caught Dante running down the street.

[Danielle]

I was laying on the floor, and the paramedics came, and immediately they start cutting off my clothes because I couldn't tell them where I was stabbed, because I didn't know. I remember asking him, am I going to be okay? Am I going to live? Am I going to live? And he said, yes. And it was just a huge sigh, like, I made it. I made it. I ended up having around 160 stitches internally and externally. And I also had nerve damage to my tongue, and I could not chew for three to four days. My tongue is actually still crooked and I still have a little bit of nerve damage left over from what he did.

[Narrator]

Dante pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated assault.

[Danielle]

I don't think he was smart enough to know what he should have done, because if you have someone unconscious and you're trying to kill them, and if you know what you're doing, I should have been dead. I survived because I wanted to live. I felt like 17 years is not enough. I felt like there was so much I still needed to accomplish, so much that I could do that it wasn't my time. I could not let myself die. I did not look at myself as a victim, not once. I looked at myself as a survivor.

[Marissa Pinson]

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Let's talk honestly for a second about men's mental health. There's still so much stigma out there. So many men feel like they have to keep it all bottled up, that showing emotion is a sign of weakness. But the truth is real strength comes.

[Narrator]

From taking care of your mind and.

[Marissa Pinson]

Being open about what you're going through. Men today face huge pressure to perform, to provide, and to keep it all together. It's no wonder that 6 million men.

[Narrator]

In the US suffer from depression every.

[Marissa Pinson]

Year, and so much of it goes undiagnosed. It's okay to struggle. In fact, opening up and doing something about it is one of the most courageous things you can do for yourself and for everyone who depends on you. If you're a man feeling the weight of the world, please talk to someone. A friend, a loved one, or a therapist. Therapy isn't just for people who've experienced major trauma. It's a powerful tool for learning positive coping skills, setting boundaries and and becoming the best version of yourself. That's why I love what BetterHelp is doing. With over 35,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. It works, too. The app has a 4.9 out of 5 rating from over 1.7 million client reviews. It's convenient, easy to fit into your busy life, and you can switch therapists anytime. Take that first step. Reach out to BetterHelp and see what taking care of your mental health can do for you. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp, our listeners get 10% off their first [e-mail] survived. That's betterhelp.com survived. I survived is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Shifting a little money here, a little there and hoping it all works out? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help you find options within your budget. Try [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

[Narrator]

It's October 1982 in Annapolis, Maryland. Experienced sailor Deborah is crewing on a yacht delivery from Maryland to Florida. This 60 foot yacht has a crew of five, including Deborah.

[Deborah]

Boat provisioned. We left around probably around 10 o' clock and sails up. We had a beautiful sort of following wind and we had the spinnaker up. Everything looked peachy keen.

[Narrator]

On their first night, the sailors worked rotating shifts. Four hours on watch and four hours sleeping.

[Deborah]

So we sailed into the night, everybody on their watch. And the next morning we woke up and Meg made a little breakfast and it was beautiful. But something was happening with the weather. The wind began to build a little bit. We didn't think much about it. We were all pretty good sailors. But the weather continued to build over and just more, more, just a little bit in just increments. And by that night we were coming into a little bit of a storm. And then through the night I would hear John and Mark on deck and you know, I could tell that they really weren't working at it, that maybe they were drinking too much. It was a nightmare. It was just a nightmare. And Mark is just raging drunk. You big wusses. It's not that bad out here. I've been in more storms and I'm just like, shut up and go downstairs.

[Narrator]

As Deborah and Brad took charge, the boat was struggling in a violent storm.

[Deborah]

It only got worse throughout the night. It got to the point where I almost couldn't steer the boat. I'm like, oh my God, how much worse does it get? Brad and I were just so exhausted. We were so exhausted we went down to wake up Mark and John couldn't even wake him up. They we're out, out cold. And I looked at Brad and I said, I don't know what to do.

[Homer Land]

What are we gonna do?

[Deborah]

And he goes, we're gonna have to sail this boat. So here we are with this unforecast crazy storm. And Brad and I, by now we've been on watch for eight hours. So finally we get them woken up. Mark's hungover, John's hungover. Brad and I are exhausted to the very core of our being. So Brad and I went down into our bunks and left Mark and John on a secured deck. All they had to do was steer.

[Narrator]

While sleeping off her exhaustion, Deborah was abruptly woken by Brad.

[Deborah]

And I wake up, and I'm in my shorts and my little sweatshirt, and he goes, come on, come on, we gotta go, we gotta go, we gotta go. And I jump out of my bunk and I land like, knee deep in water, and I'm like, what's going on? And I look over to my right, and the whole window on the leeward side of the boat had been mashed in, and water was cascading in. And John's on the radio going, mayday, mayday, mayday. Mark's up on the deck, just howling in the wind. I crawl up on deck as fast as I can, and Brad's behind me, pushing me. This boat is going down. It's listing to the. To the port side, and it's slowly, slowly, slowly. It's just filling with water. And all there is is this shredded, ripped to hell boat. With the helm lashed down, it's been tied down.

[Narrator]

The boat was now steering itself as Mark had tied the wheel to the deck and gone to sleep.

[Deborah]

It was just like a surreal nightmare. It was like, this can't be happening. But it is. All of a sudden, I look at Brett, and he's trying to uncleat the rubber Zodiac dinghy from the deck, and he says, come on, come on, we're gonna go. We push the rubber Zodiac dinghy over the side and we swim out with it.

[Narrator]

As the crew scrambled to get off the sinking boat, Meg got caught in the rigging.

[Deborah]

The rigging was slicing through her legs and leaving these huge gashes. So I swam back in and I grabbed her and I just said, hold on. And she held onto me, and I was able to swim back out to the Zodiac dinghy. Here we are in the middle of this ocean. This boat just does this. And all of a sudden, it rights itself. And little by little, in less than two minutes, it sinks completely.

[Narrator]

The yacht had sunk before anyone could activate the emergency locator beacon.

[Deborah]

It was so cold. And then all of a sudden, this huge, huge wave rolls up and breaks on top of us, and it flips the rubber Zodiac dinghy and throws us all out everywhere. We couldn't fight with the storm, which also meant that we had to tread water. It was just exhausting and hopeless.

[Narrator]

As dawn broke. The storm finally subsided, and the crew climbed back into the dinghy.

[Deborah]

And it was so incredibly cold because the wind chill was 40 degrees. The water temperature was 76 in the Gulf Stream. I jumped back in the water, and Mark was in the water, and he was being very difficult. And he started screaming at me, quit kicking me. Just leave me alone. And I'm like, dude, I'm not near you. So I put my head in the water and I started looking, and all I could see were these long, tubular bodies. And then it dawned on me, and I just was like, sharks. There were, like, hundreds of them. Big little fins you could see through the top of the wave, and there were these bodies just floating around you. So now we were not only freezing to death, we were surrounded by sharks. The colder you get, the thirstier you get, the more your mind begins to become a bit delirious. And it starts setting in. And it started really with Meg. Meg began to moan a lot and moan about her legs. And so we uncovered them and noticed that they began to get really red around the sides. And there was no way to turn around the infection. So here we were sloshing around in this mush of excrement. Dead seaweed, blood, pus, urine. And Meg's wounds were just getting worse. She was hypothermic, and she was also very dehydrated. And Mark and Meg and John were bickering. We're all going to die. All of us are going to die. And I'm just like, stop. Everybody just stop. We've got to focus. And I just hear this, and I'm like, oh, my God, what are they doing? They're drinking salt water. And I'm like, are they nuts? Every sailor in the world knows you absolutely never ingest salt water. It's a kiss of death. Everybody's kind of looking at each other really oddly, because I know when you drink salt water, it causes your brain to malfunction and your kidneys to malfunction. And then the conversations begin, John saying, it's right there. Don't you see it? I just saw land. And we're going to go get a pickup. And once I'm going to swim to land, I'm going to get a pickup. And the land's right there. And you're saying in your mind, there's no land there.

[Narrator]

Delirious from drinking seawater, John thought he could reach land and jumped overboard.

[Deborah]

And he swam and he swam, and we're all screaming at him, and Meg's crying, and all of a sudden, he gets about 200 yards out and you just hear this. This just death curdling scream. And we all knew what had happened. The sharks had gotten him. Meg was just bawling, and we're all crying, and it's just like, this is the beginning of the end. There are five of us and we're one down. So we all sat there just in total shock. It was unbelievable. And Meg was beside herself. So I went up and sat with her and tried to console her, and it was just impossible. Mark said, let me. I'm gonna sit here and take care of Meg. And the next thing you know, I hear Brad shaking. And he goes, what is Mark doing to Meg? And I'm like, what are you talking about? And he goes, just listen. And he's going, come on, bitch. Just do what I say, Brad. And I jump up, and Brad just grabs Mark by the neck and he goes, dude, I have so had it with you. You leave her alone. You don't need to molest this woman. She's dying. Mark's just, like, really angry, and he's going like, f you all. I hate this thing. We're all gonna die anyway. I'm gonna go back to 711 for beer and cigarettes. So he lowers himself over the side, and Brad and I are kind of freaking out. Meg's lying back in the back and she's just shivering and crying. And all of a sudden, we feel this bam on the rubber Zodiac dinghy. And then again bam and bam. And all of a sudden, this frenzy breaks out around us. There are sharks everywhere, and they're actually eating Mark underneath the rubber Zodiac dinghy. And it's the most difficult fight to stay sane when you have sharks eating someone else underneath you literally inches away. And they ate him. For hours. Brad and Meg and I huddle up together and just lay there and just pray.

[Narrator]

After Mark was eaten by sharks, Meg broke down.

[Deborah]

She starts doing this weird thing with her hands in the air, kind of like a Spanish dancer. And her eyes get very focused and still, and she starts mumbling. And what it sounded like to me was that she was speaking in tongues. And she just kept doing it and doing it, and it was almost like I understood it. And the next thing you knew, she just kind of sunk back into herself. And I had her in my arms and I fell asleep again. And then we woke up and Meg was dead. So we took her jewelry off for her family, because it was the only way we would be able to prove to them that she died at sea. Because she would never Take her jewelry off. And then we took her clothes off and we said the Lord's Prayer, Psalm 23, and we rolled her body off into the ocean. So I said to Brad, I said, you know what? Meg's just died in the bottom of this. We really need to wash it out. We turned it over, but not before I said, but first I want you to hold me and I'm going to stick my head in the water and I'm going to see if there's sharks. Because we hadn't seen sharks in a while.

[Narrator]

The sharks that had been following them for three days were gone.

[Deborah]

So we turn it over, wash it out, I jump back in, and then I try to get Brad in. Well, Brad is, you know, six three and weighs 250 pounds. And I mean, we're just like, or 204, I don't know. And I'm just trying to pull him back in and I couldn't get him back in and I didn't feel like he was trying. And I started crying and we got in this fight and he was so angry at me for turning that boat over. And I was crying. And all of a sudden he goes, look. And I'm like, what? He goes, look, there's a ship. So we stand up and we start yelling and flagging our hands. And it's really actually much closer. It's a huge freighter than anything I've seen. But you know, those things kind of drive themselves, so everybody might be sleeping, who knows? We're both really down and this thing goes tick, tick, tick, tick, tick right by us. And we both just sit back down and just. Just started crying. And all of a sudden this huge freighter starts making this arcing turn and we're like, oh my God, they see us. And I just jumped off and went overboard and started swimming. And then they threw over a life ring. And then I start thinking, oh my God, I'm just like bait for a shark. But I didn't care. And then all of a sudden, my ibot was able to body surf. I over grabbed the line and when I got to the end of the line because I couldn't look behind me, there was Brad. He had the life ring and he was holding onto me. We finally make it to a gangplank and these two burly guys reach down and they carry us up and put us on the deck. And in my brain I still have this vision of Brad and I lying on the deck of this Russian freighter, like the catch of the day. It was without a doubt one of the most sad days I've ever spent. Because for only two of us to have survived when everybody could if they just waited one day. I survived because I was put into an environment where I had no choices. I had to deal with the immediate and what was given to me. And I did it. Foreign.

[Marissa Pinson]

The one can feel impossible. And in today's world, it's even harder. False profiles, inaccurate pictures, incompatibilities, Ghosting on dates. Is this sounding familiar? But if you're ready to make your move to a new place, it doesn't have to feel like dating. All it takes is a simple search on apartments.com to find your perfect match. Whether you're looking for a three bedroom condo downtown, a two bedroom duplex in a quiet neighborhood, a cozy studio in a walkable city, or even a single family home in a cul de sac, you can find a place that checks all the right boxes. So whichever stage of life you're in, settle down in your perfect home by using apartments.com no more swiping and awkward first dates. Make it easier to get a place that gets you visit apartments.com, the place to find a place.

[Deborah]

For weeks now, New Jersey residents have.

[Gordy]

Been plagued by unexplained drones flying overhead.

[Shopify Representative]

Is there intelligent alien life? And if so, has the government been covering it up?

[Gordy]

All right. UFO sightings the military can't explain, Congressional hearings, Pentagon whistleblower.

[Deborah]

What does it all mean?

[Podcast Host]

What does it all mean? We are here to try and figure it all out with our new Ancient Aliens podcast. There is a doorway in the universe. Beyond it is the promise of truth. It demands we question everything we have ever been taught. The evidence is all around us. The future is right before our eyes. We are not alone. We have never been alone. Listen to the Ancient Aliens podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.

[Deborah]

Foreign.

[Narrator]

It's December 1997 in Owata, Minnesota. The driver of a prison transport van is attacked by three inmates who hijack his vehicle. After dumping the van in a residential area, two of the convicts are recaptured by the police. Arriving home from work, 60 year old Gordy is met by the police.

[Homer Land]

The cops were sitting in the driveway with their cars lights on and so I went up to him and asked them what was going on. They told me that there was an escaped convict in the neighborhood. I felt secure and safe that he wasn't in the house and I figured if he was outside the cops would have found him. So I just stepped through the kitchen door and out from behind came a knife and a big wrench. I just froze at the time because I didn't know what to do. From there he made me go overset by the table where I had to tie myself up with electrical cord.

[Narrator]

The police search of Gordy's street did not include looking inside any of the houses.

[Homer Land]

He was about 6:2, with beard and shaggy hair and he had my clothes on. He told me that he did escape from this van. He said, I haven't killed anybody yet. He says, but this ain't gonna stop me. So I knew I was in trouble. I did not want Betty to come home into this mess.

[Narrator]

Gordy knew that his wife Betty was due home any minute.

[Gordy]

I got out of the car, went into the house. Gordy was sitting in my chair, which is not typical. And he had a strange look on his face, didn't think too much about it. I kind of bent over to greet the dog and when I stood up, I came face to face with a very large man who had a filet knife very, very close to my throat and a very large wrench in the other hand.

[Homer Land]

Well, Betty turned pale white. He just looked evil.

[Gordy]

It was like I was numb, I was in shock. I couldn't put it together. What was he doing in our house? What was going to happen to us?

[Homer Land]

We just tried to be as nice to him as possible just to keep him busy.

[Gordy]

I can still smell this man. It was a smell I will never forget. It was a putrid, overwhelming sweat, perspiration smell.

[Homer Land]

He never touched Betty, but he did hold the knife to her to make her go where he wanted her to go. I mean, he was in control.

[Gordy]

He had told us that he was a three time loser. He had nothing else to lose and he wasn't going back to prison.

[Narrator]

Too scared to challenge their tormentor, Betty made coffee.

[Gordy]

He drank a lot of coffee. The only direct question I remember him asking me was if there was any guns or if we had any drugs. And I said no, no guns. And I thought the strongest drug we probably had was extra. He said he had already eaten all of them.

[Homer Land]

I tried to give him money, I tried to give him my pickup to get out of there, but he was looking for guns and drugs.

[Gordy]

He talked about luring girls into empty buildings. He talked about beating a young man in Florida, putting him in the hospital. So actually killing somebody to him was the next step in his career.

[Homer Land]

I tried to tell him how to get out of town and he just wouldn't go for it. He said, I'm staying here till 5 o' clock. The police changed shifts at 5 o' clock. And they're stupid.

[Narrator]

Refusing to leave until 5am the following morning. The convict demanded food.

[Gordy]

I fixed him a frozen pizza, which is really about all I had, and more coffee.

[Homer Land]

And I was hoping that she'd have thrown it at him when it was hot, but she did not.

[Gordy]

I was terrified. I was definitely working by remote control. What I was told to do is what I did.

[Homer Land]

There was no doubt in my mind if I didn't do what he wanted, he would use force. I did not want to be killed in front of Betty.

[Gordy]

He's got this knife, this filet knife that he's holding. And I'm thinking that we're going to die. It's just a question of when and how much it's going to hurt.

[Homer Land]

When he saw his picture on the news, he says I look good. He said, I'm proud of myself. And to myself, I said, how can you be proud of yourself for what you did?

[Gordy]

Well, we found out during the news conference, of course, that his name was Homer Land and that he had been picked up in Kansas for a violation of parole in Florida.

[Narrator]

After the news had finished, the convict decided they would watch his favorite show.

[Gordy]

He wanted to watch Murder She Wrote. I thought to myself, this is. It's almost other world kind. I mean, we're watching a show that we enjoyed watching too, but we're watching it with a man who I think is eventually going to kill us.

[Narrator]

At 10pm the prisoner ordered Gordy and Betty upstairs to their bedroom.

[Homer Land]

When he made his lay down on the bed, it was an uneasy feeling. I didn't know what he was going to do next.

[Gordy]

It was scary, it was eerie. He'd stand in the door and he'd watch us. And each time he did this, I thought, now's the time when he's going to. This is when he's going to kill us.

[Homer Land]

He was in control the whole night with the knife in his hand. He never laid that knife down.

[Gordy]

Gordy would say, how are you doing? And I'm, you know, I mean, what am I supposed to say? I'm doing fine, honey. You know, this is just a. This is just a walk in the park. The only thing I can think of is how much is it going to hurt to have your throat cut? How many times will he have to stab us before he's sure we're dead? But don't let my kids find me. Make sure that it's a stranger that finds the bodies. I don't want the last thing that my kids remember about Me to be laying in a pool of blood. Gordy is, I think, feeling worse by the minute because the typical man should protect his wife.

[Homer Land]

I was trying to figure out ways to save Betty, how to escape. And there was things going through my mind. Is he gonna kill us?

[Gordy]

Gordy wanted to slide a dresser in front of the door and go out the bedroom window. But first of all, I was. I knew he'd hear us. I knew he'd hear us. I knew he'd get in. I knew that's when we'd die. I couldn't do it. I just froze. I couldn't do it.

[Narrator]

To make sure that Gordy didn't challenge him, Homer humiliated Betty.

[Gordy]

He would make me go into the bathroom with him. He would make sure that the knife was always in a position where if I moved, I would run into it.

[Homer Land]

He'd make me go on one side of the door and he'd leave the bathroom door open, make Betty stand in the doorway and watch him.

[Gordy]

It was the most degrading, humiliating experience. This is not something that happens in my world. But he knew that if I was in there with him, Gordy was not going to do anything.

[Narrator]

Homer decided he would disguise himself as Gordy in order to escape.

[Gordy]

First he tried using Gordy's electric shaver. His beard was quite long. He burnt the shaver out.

[Homer Land]

In my mind, the identity wouldn't work because he's six, two, I'm five eight. But he did take my clothes and wear them. Took my glasses and wore those, my cap.

[Gordy]

About 5 o' clock in the morning, 5:30, he came and he said, well, I've got good news and I've got bad news. And he said, the good news is I'm leaving and the bad news is you're coming with me. His intention was is that because the cops were so stupid and he was a Southern boy, they would think that he would want to go south. So he was going to fool them by going north.

[Homer Land]

He managed to get Betty into the car and taped her to the seat belts so she couldn't get out.

[Gordy]

There wasn't another level of terror that I could go to. I'd been operating on just sheer terror, nerves, whatever it is, just doing as I was told.

[Homer Land]

By the time we got four blocks from the house, I had already broke the duct tape. So I knew I was going to escape someplace, but I wasn't going to do it without Betty.

[Narrator]

Homer stopped at a store for cigarettes.

[Gordy]

He went in and then Gordy said to me, I have busted the tape. He opened his door. He jerked my door open and started ripping at the tape. He said, we have to go now. It's our only chance. And I. I'm frozen.

[Homer Land]

There are some things that you can do when you are scared. The adrenaline starts flowing. But she was hesitant because she could still see him in the store.

[Gordy]

He literally pretty much pulled me out of the car. We ran across the parking lot, up a ditch, across a service road and onto the highway. It was probably a run of maybe two, two, two and a half minutes. That to me felt like it took days to make. It was at that point, I think was the first time I looked back at that convenience store and Homer Land was just coming out of the door.

[Homer Land]

I did stand in the middle of the highway to flag the car down because if you stand on the side, they're not going to stop for you. So I had to stop somebody.

[Narrator]

Gordy flagged down a passing motorist who drove them to a police station.

[Gordy]

I finally let that part of me that had wanted to go into a puddle of female bawling. I needed to let it all out. I had been holding onto it now for 14 hours and it wasn't pretty, but it was what I needed to do at that time.

[Narrator]

Homer Land was captured later that day in Chicago and sentenced to five more years imprisonment.

[Homer Land]

I don't think he wanted us. He just wanted to get away. And if he had killed us to do it, he would have done it.

[Narrator]

Six months after his release, Homer Land died during a high speed police chase.

[Homer Land]

I survived because there was something in the back of my mind says, your life ain't over yet. Do what you have to do and go on with your life.

[Gordy]

My husband was there to protect me, even though he thought he wasn't. I survived because I did what I was told and took the opportunity to escape. Escape when I could.

[Pluto TV Advertiser]

This summer, Pluto TV is exploding with thousands of free movies. Summer of cinema is here. Feel the explosive action all summer long with movies like Gladiator, Mission Impossible, Beverly Hills Cop, Good Burger and Transformers. Dark of the Moon. Bring the action with you and stream for free from all your favorite devices. Pluto TV Stream now pay never.