Randolph Dial

Real Name: Randolph Franklin Dial
Aliases: Randolph Franklin
Wanted For: Escape
Missing Since: August 30, 1994

Case

Details: In 1986, artist Randolph Dial confessed to committing the September 16, 1981 contract murder of karate instructor Kelly Hogan. After serving several years in prison, he was transferred to a minimum-security unit at Oklahoma State Reformatory. While there, he became a model prisoner. He was even given access to property outside of prison. He was assigned to be the caretaker for the home of deputy warden Randy Parker, who lived right next to the prison with his wife, Bobbi, and their two daughters. Over the years, Bobbi had worked with several inmates in rehabilitation programs.
Bobbi and Dial began working together when money was donated to the prison to start an art program. They often spent time alone together in the Parkers' garage, which had been converted into a ceramic studio. During this time, Dial apparently developed feelings for Bobbi. After a few weeks, Randy felt that Dial was spending too much time at their home. He also believed that Dial was trying to control the arts program. He told Dial to back off of Bobbi and the arts program.
On August 30, 1994, Randy and Bobby had breakfast with their daughters. Later, Randy left for work next door and the girls left for school. When Randy left, Dial was already there, working in the front yard. At noon, he came home for lunch and found the house empty. There was a note from Bobbi, saying that she had gone shopping and left him a sandwich in the refrigerator. He did not believe that anything was wrong.
Randy later returned to the prison; at 4:45pm, his older daughter called him, saying that Bobbi had not returned home. However, he said that she had gone shopping and told his daughter not to worry. Thirty minutes later, he returned home to find that she was still not back. Soon, he began to fear that something had happened to her. He contacted the area hospitals, but found no trace of her.
Randy remembered that he had not seen Dial that afternoon. He asked an officer to check Dial's cell. The officer discovered that Dial was not there. Randy feared that Dial had escaped and abducted Bobbi in the process. Later that evening, her mother, Clara, received a call from her. She told Clara to call Randy and the girls and tell them that she loved them. She hung up before she could say anything else. Clara knew that something bad had happened to her.
The next day, Bobbi called her best friend and gave her the same message. The friend felt that she was being held against her will. Twenty-four hours later, her van was found abandoned just across the Texas border. Investigators found that it had been cleaned and there was no evidence of a struggle. Basic cigarettes, the brand that Dial smoked, were found at the scene.
Randy learned from an inmate that for several months, Dial had been actively trying to barter for Valium on the prison black market. This led Randy to believe that he had drugged Bobbi when he kidnapped her. However, there was no concrete evidence of a kidnapping. Investigators considered the possibility that she had left willingly with Dial. He had made several comments to inmates that he was infatuated with her. However, investigators have noted that they found no evidence that suggests that she left willingly with him. Randy is certain that she would never leave voluntarily with Dial.
Ten days after Bobbi's disappearances, she made one final phone call, this one to her sister-in-law. Once again, she sounded upset. She asked her sister-in-law to tell the girls that she loved them and that everything would be all right. This was last time anyone heard from her. There have been several sightings of Dial and a woman who may be her. One of the most credible ones occurred in September 1994 at an art sale in Galveston, Texas. The woman had blond hair, so investigators believe that Bobbi either dyed her hair or was wearing a wig. Witnesses said that she seemed nervous and scared.
Investigators and Bobbi's family are still searching for her and Dial.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the March 17, 1995 episode. It was also profiled on America's Most Wanted during the investigation and documented on Dateline after it was resolved.

Results: Captured. In April 2005, a tip from an America's Most Wanted viewer led to Dial's arrest in East Texas on a chicken ranch. Soon after, Bobbi was found alive, working on a farm. Dial was returned to prison and Bobbi was reunited with her family, but also arraigned. The charges indicate that they were romantically involved, and she helped Dial escape even though he claimed to have kidnapped her, meaning that she developed Stockholm Syndrome. Dial also claimed that their relationship was never romantic. He told her that he would harm her or her family if she tried to leave.
Dial received an extra seven years in prison for the escape. He died in 2007 after a lengthy illness in Oklahoma at the age of 62. Bobby's trial began July 5, 2011, and she was convicted of helping him escape. After serving six months of a one year sentence, she was released and has since moved back in with Randy.
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