>> and he didn't. wendy had been getting unemployment insurance. Work Experience Concepteur McAnique MAADI Group 2019-2019 Concepteur McAnique Lamtrac Global 2018-2018 >> what did you think when you heard that? >> and what idea did you develop about wendy? the royal canadian mounted police disguised the identities of the undercover voice on this video. now there's dawn powerwash dish spray. i'm happy i have it. 615 following. maybe tomorrow we can talk about that. time for denis to come clean. i don't believe in twice. but not today. she might have reached that breaking point where she just thought or she didn't think, just snapped and just left. it was late summer, a hot morning in saskatchewan when wendy and denis ratte drove off to run some errands. pretty scary, i think. >> okay -- >> in this video, she organized a peace project that taught student, including her own son, about conflict resolution and respect. >> she was able to get a fairly big news story happening which made the city react and get them kicked off the property. was it possible, she wondered, that it was guilt? >> judy told me, "we don't understand. a stand mixer for less than $20. >> did she bring up the idea that wendy may have had some sort of mental breakdown? On Aug. 18, 1997, Wendy Ann Twiss Ratte, 44 at the time, was reported missing and the family's van was found parked at a supermarket, now Value Village. a confession is one thing. and shipping is always free. and now her dear brother refusing to share her outrage. >> everything else i did was just mechanical motion. -no. it was hard. it's another woman gone missing in unsubstantiated ways. >> and then a couple of minutes later, a silent nod from denis. -no, no. >> that's a job interview. sliding into a darker understanding of her father. she was driving a very fast, very expensive car. Gabriel was in the kitchen and he was more or less paying attention when his mom and dad told him they were off to run some errands. >> absolutely. when she does that, she's shawna. -you smell like fish. i was up to my neck in investigation trying to find mom. the joneses, appearing in the newspaper accusing the family of mistreating their animals and using their land as a garbage dump. >> that's the part of me that is the dreamy, hopeful, optimistic side. >> the rcmp would not discuss the specifics of the undercover operation that targeted denis ratte. we looked at that angle. >> denis was in a downward spiral. i won these bluetooth headphones for $20. but there were always issues. he's guilty. >> a phone call from dad asking if we'd seen mom because she hasn't shown up where they were supposed to meet. gabriel was reciting a scene from a play that dealt with abandonment, anger, desperation, the very feelings he had been trying to suppress. >> i don't know if they were real or not real. and that's what we deliver. i'd never seen real emotion come from him before. we were talking quietly. >> the case of the disappearance of wendy ratte was at a dead end. YT ONLY - Dateline 1057 Stringout. >> she wanted to have a peaceful part of her. sweet. that's a piece of the tarp. Sign Up for Free. call or click now to enroll or see how your plan compares. he was still my -- my hero, my childhood hero was still there. A crew from the U.S. network television show Dateline NBC is in Prince George gathering footage and interviews for an episode on the 1997 murder of a Prince George woman and the subsequent. we couldn't track her. so much so that fiction is often difficult to differentiate from reality. he liked being the man of the house. The case had languished for years but in 2008, Denis, her husband, became the subject of an elaborate undercover operation, known as a "Mr. Big" sting, in which police officers posing as high-level criminals to gain the suspect's trust. >> correct. cuz i remember turning. >> a couple of days later, anna got a call. she chased down the leads. we can't let that go. dealdash.com offers hundreds of auctions every day. but, when used at the first sign, abreva can get you back to being you in just 2 and a half days. >> translator: it was all true. every one of them read to be deceptive. >> by that point in time, denis ratte's read all his rights that he's provided under the canadian law. boomer naturals, you and your family deserve the best. i'm dara brown. >> but anna watched the tapes, too, and she said she could tell. "My father took everything," Sieppert told the judge. Facebook gives people the power to. okay? and that's your left side, right? there was nothing coming in." She then turned to her father and asked why he chose to murder his wife and her mother instead of getting a divorce. and it makes it difficult. that's universal. FACTS -Wendy Ratte a wife and mother of 2 kids disappeared on August 18th,1997 at the age of 44 -American free-spirit born in a well to do family from New England -Became a teacher like both parents -Had a bipolar personality -One of her odd personalities was Shanna, a wild child who wanted nothing but freedom -Ran away from home twice in many ways it's perfectly valid. yes, three wendys. they promised they want still looking. and i started noticing denis when this would happen, denis would take her away. on tough messes, the spray-activated suds cut through grease on contact, without water. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. >> denis bonded with his crime buddies over meals in fancy restaurants and evenings in strip clubs. >> by then, wendy's disappearance became news all over prince george. they scare me. >> straight out? i'm 15 years old and expecting everything to come and be norm normal. >> i'm going to help you or i'm not going to help you, okay? it's what she yearns for most these days. but she knew how much denis loved his children and how much the children loved denis. >> uh-huh, yep. a place to belong. >> and as they continued searching the area -- >> oh, my gosh. have they told the police?" >> translator: honesty, honesty, okay. there was a swamp there. i'd never seen her yell at him like that before. and money they didn't have. a terrifying specter haunted the lonely highway that passed through prince george on its way into the wilderness. she talked about how much she loved dad but was so angry with him, wasn't sure she could forgive him. >> translator: i have never said that, that i killed her, first of all. the grocery store, i think, was just closing up, and i thought well, maybe she is on her way out of the grocery store. >> that's just the ideal of what. In court she described the devastation of "losing" both her parents. one of the worst things about a cois how it can make you feel. she just vibrated. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. four months into the investigation of wendy ratte's disappearance, no sign of wendy. >> then denis' criminal friends asked him to take them to where he dumped wendy's body. >> prince george detective judy thomas was leading the police inquiry into wendy's disappearance. after wendy fell to the ground, he said, he quickly wrapped her body in a black tarp. >> mean the man they call "mr. big" when "dateline" continues. >> i kind of hold my breath and go through it and hope that whatever i say is going to work for my dad. clear lakes reflecting the blue skies above. >> when "dateline" continues. i never told it in my life. >> what does that do inside when you hear that? the actors are the family, divided across a thin line separating truth and deception. she was everybody's mom, and she just disappeared. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. 43:49. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> just disappeared from her life. so please be honest. the gunshot, the tarp, the carjack. this was one of those people who was not going to let this go. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. June 14, 2013. seeing a husband trying to relive the moment when he said he murdered his wife. in minutes, you can find out if your current plan is the right fit, or if there's another one that can get you more coverage or help save you money. i ain't happy about it, but i did it. he bet the highest he could. and it certainly was in the media. the main person that they alluded to wasn't even in the area. they can find you the right health plan and make sure you get all the subsidies you deserve, without playing games. the police. e networks of news, good night it was like being in a nightmare. you know, i think no loved one really wants to believe that someone they know and care about could be responsible for somebody's murder. >> then one day after a month of rumors and unsubstantiated theories followed one after the other, there was a break. >> so all thomas could do was file the results away and try to find more evidence against denis. >> translator: we're going to talk to each other, and we're going to work out these problems. right after denis was sentenced to 15 years to life, he suddenly turned to anna. >> some of the victims we see are hitchhikers, also involved in drugs and organized crime or some of the folks that are sex trade workers. the highway of tears. last august, did you murder wendy? >> wendy was the good mother, conservative, hard worker, wanted to save the world. >> so said judy thomas, no highway of tears. no wendy. dealdash.com, the fair and honest bidding site. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. >> so he threw everything into the pot. but wendy could still have left prince george of her own accord. >> he got a little desperate and started gambling more and more to try to get money for the family. >> translator: it was fast? >> interesting that getting the truth isolates you from the people you love. gabriel said denis was desperate to be accepted by his new tough guy friends. why would he kill her? with health insurance plans constantly changing, having the wrong fit could mean missing benefits or costing you thousands. so i couldn't make a reported yet. >> not a big surprise really. we'll get through it. a 4k television for under, $2. >> he didn't strike me as overly concerned. but new ways of working demand a new type of network. and i've also had anxiety, headaches, insomnia, and panic attacks. >> this town is used to, disappearances. Gabriel Avila is a convicted felon for the rape and murder of a student named, Katie Sepich. she was bragging about how much money she made. it was his first offense so he only got probation. >> translator: in the head. >> translator: in the face. >> all leading up to a sit-down with a man they called "mr. to save time and stay ahead of the mess but scrubbing still takes time. that's one of the examples of her community activism. which brings us to the greyhound bus station a few blocks from the place wendy's van was found abandoned. >> then three months into the operation, the sting was primed. and as unlikely as it seemed, police had to consider could, would a dedicated wife and mother of two simply skip town, run away from her own family? it's impossible to get around. >> the joneses ruled out as suspects in the disappearance of wendy ratte. anybody could see how close they were. Police investigated: a bitter feud with a neighbor, a possible serial killer. these people almost murdered me. Husband Denis Florian Ratte is now serving a life sentence without eligibility for parole for 15 years after a jury found him guilty in November of second degree murder in her death. and i saw the look in his eye. thomas interviewed wendy's mother about her daughter's troubled youth. >> translator: you have killed your friend? Keith Morrison reports. >> it's hard being on the other side of this with her because i'd love to have a better relationship with her. did it seem to you at the time, hey, this is -- this can't be? and also past the sights of unsolved . is it possible, though, that you're liing in denial? >> your mother just fighting for her child. is that a good idea? >> so she decided to give denis one last chance. >> translator: right or left side? yeah. biden now has 306 electoral votes to trump's 232. and word of biden's victory came as auditors in georgia began the laborious task of counting nearly 5 million ballots by hand. >> he shot wendy, denis told mr. big, that morning at their house in prince george. Denis Ratte arrives at a moment of truth in meeting "Mr. Big", the man he believed to be an all-powerful crime boss but was really all part of an undercover operation. so denis did what he always did when times were rough. so roll up those sleeves. they said they needed to see him right away. >> there was a polygraph question that had to be asked. question him about it, he just said, you know, hey, my kids are gone, my wife's gone. a day went by, then two, then a week. >> it struck me there as going -- >> why didn't he tell me that the first time? Enable push notifications on your device. "In telling the story like this, you really tell it through the characters who are involved, and if we can't secure the character's participation, then we can't tell the story," he said. >> translator: so essentially, your son is asking you to tell the truth. of course, he believed he was talking to fellow gang members. >> there was the van sitting under a street lamp in a grocery store parking lot. He confessed to his crime upon finding his DNA while he was serving a 9-year jail sentence at the New Mexico Corrections Sytem in 2006. i didn't do it." and would often ask, how much did you look into this because i knew there was an american sect. >> they always promised me it wasn't. her abandoned van wasn't far from the highway. he changed so much. he wants very much to think that your father's not guilty. >> what would he know? when we use it to improve things, then that change can last within us. >> she was the breadwinner. -[narrator] we are boomer natur. >> didn't help that from one interview to the next, denis appeared to change vital information about the day his wife went missing. and he needed to pay the bills. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. in fact, police were actively investigating her father. but as the years slowly ticked by one by one, nothing. >> it was quite a shock that somebody who is apparently normal, everyday, almost a stereotype in that sense could disappear without a trace. with less eczema, you can show more skin. i went to the media to say don't forget. >> dark now, anna and her father took the family's old truck and drove to prince george to look for her. but i had to make it clear that someone has to defend mom. some said wendy had a history of emotional troubles. and that's why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. he was lucky. i called every friend of mine, every friend of hers. 13 years after wendy ratte disappeared. >> it was not only damaging for the joneses, it was humiliating. there's no way. >> but there was something anna didn't know. >> that's what i needed. >> with various files, you get a lot of people saying, oh, i saw this person. it i did it, and it paid off. >> but when anna kept pushing, her dad snapped back, said that he was conducting his own investigation. >> when "dateline" continues. >> rumors of suspects nabbed by a mr. big sting had every right to cry foul said criminologist cory keenan. Wendy Ratte, a free-spirited mother of two, was missing. >> we spoke at length. available over the counter. coming up -- and gabriel isn't the only one with doubts. rinse. >> it was just the natural assumption that someone of that style, that democrat graphic demographic wouldn't go missing unless it was to someone she knew closely. time for mr. big. >> i bet. when it came time for him to leave, she said "take me with you." >> translator: where? we try to talk with each other every once in a while. >> what was it like to testify in the trial? so i remember standing in line to go to the cinema, just, feeling awful, feeling the weight of what's happening and having it feel so odd that we're doing that. and you know, he didn't have much of an answer. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. big." we're going to fix them. >> it was hard for me not to tell anna. to. it has triple action support for your joints, cartilage and bones. she was a completely different person. oops. hope you got dental. >> and he admitted it. >> his failings had been put on display. as well as a playstation 4 for under $16. in fact, in the very first week of the investigation, thomas had questioned him three times. Comment must not exceed 1000 characters 57.1K 9,401 Share Copy Link More. could she have abandoned the children who loved her so much? he had to leave right after his testimony. Gabriel Ratt is on Facebook. that the rcmp had let the case go cold. s. a month into the investigation, police thought they were a big step closer to solving the mystery surrounding wendy's disappearance. and brand new cars for less than $900. that obviously wendy loved her children very much, and i kept hearing that over and over. it doesn't matter that my family. i was nervous. ask them to tell you the story." for some, that's all that's needed. >> she showed up suddenly apparently seeking refuge from an abusive relationship she was in at the time and then was gone again. >> i know that the police spend a lot of time thinking about and investigating the jones theory. >> there is that. she said, yes, very certainly. they're going distrust you, but don't take a lie detector test. >> deceptive, meaning according to the police polygrapher, that denis ratte lied when he claimed he had nothing to do with wendy's disappearance. when "dateline" continues. who are these people? this is a really difficult situation for both of us. but when i spoke to the woman, she actually said no, i wouldn't be able to say that at all. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. >> translator: okay, man. >> could this beloved teacher have had multiple personalities? >> he said, "i'm done. >> translator: in the back of the head. but "dateline nbc" reviewed an rcmp summary of the mission. >> there was talk of some issues that wendy may have had. >> this is karen crieder, wendy's sister, who told how wendy vanished the first time when she was 17 years old. you get a sense that you know these people when you're looking for what happened to them? On Friday the judge is expected to rule on when Ratte will be eligible for parole. >> i didn't give it a lot of, thought, to the point where i tried to remember her face and i couldn't. >> what did you think when you heard that? >> uh-huh. According to ZoomInfo records, Gabriel Ratt's professional experience began in 2017. Join Facebook to connect with Gabriel Ratt and others you may know. This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). investigator thomas wanted to be sure. they're afraid of this family." -you don't know him. he went to vancouver, registered for college, tried to go on with life. >> they're still my family. we flagged bank accounts, credit cards, social insurance numbers. for all those years he told her, the police just wouldn't leave him alone. >> for the last 11 years, denis had insisted he had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance. When Wendy Ratte, a free-spirited mother of two, goes missing, police go under cover to crack the case. >> sure, and if your physicality and your ability to provide for your family are taken from you, that's got to be hard on the ego. Skip to main content Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. they found absolutely nothing to corroborate his story. like why aren't we looking for her? >> it felt like my world came unhinged. that was home. denis lied to mr. big. so the obvious question -- did you have the feeling that this is a woman who might have just up and left? no one had seen her. [phone rings] "sore throat pain? >> then there were the clothes denis said wendy wore. >> i saw that glint in his eye where he felt proud of himself again. >> we love each other very much. >> translator: i said it there? so you asked him about it? >> and there was one last moment of melodrama. >> our family thought that he was a very good influence on her and the fact that she chose to take a chance and take her away was nothing short of amazing. sounds like you've been shopping for health insurance. she was so angry. >> but as reporter frank peebles dug into the story, he found another so far unsubstantiated theory making the rounds around town. >> translator: you know, i stirred it around, and it slipped. but even when i was there. >> when she phoned, she said, "i had a talk with denis. >> shattering. support that. they did not make their anger secret. >> they feel they have transcended the conflict intention of their former lives. there was no evidence, said denis' sister. clear lakes reflecting the blue skies above. i really don't. See production, box office & company info. >> what was it like to hear that? -keep it coming. >> she waved a quick good-bye, walked down the stairs and out the door. you do hear it. don't have much left. they're quite adamant. Ratte case draws NBC Dateline's attention The 1997 murder of a Prince George woman and the subsequent conviction of her husband for second-degree murder 13 years later could be featured on a U.S.. she even called herself that in a letter she wrote her parents when she was just 23. so the litmus test to me is corroboration. >> mm-hmm. >> a canadian news magazine show profiled the group and found it had several branches in the u.s. >> i helped police look into that and gave them every information i could. Wendy Ratte, a free-spirited mother of two, was missing. (upbeat music) i got this mountain bike for only $11. >> it was like being in a nightmare because mom was never late. and it hadn't been. not the sort of thing they were inclined to take lying down. we sold an ipad worth $505 for less than $24. >> yes. we're going to fix them, okay? It's not yet certain if Harpaz will be back with a camera crew to film a piece for Dateline NBC, a newsmagazine driven by stories of true crime, investigative reporting, and social justice. the goal -- to lure denis ratte into their midst and gain his trust so as to find out what he really knew about his wife's disappearance. mood swings for one thing. the final states to be called in the 2020 election. >> they have creatively fashioned a backdrop that simulates a real-world criminal environment. investigator thomas decided no. she did that, though. was it wendy? rcmp investigator judy thomas checked the bank's surveillance cameras, and there he was. and i told him, you know, if this happened, i just want to know more. we put wendy on a canada-wide data base. i thought i was lying to him. she tried to do in her everyday life. >> translator: there was mud, right? progressive is always here for you with round-the-clock service. so show me the evidence. finally in 2007, a decade now since wendy vanished, thomas decided that if she wanted to get closer to denis to find out what he knew once and for all, she would need some help.