Real Name: Sarah Powell
Case: Amnesia
Date: November 16, 1993
Location: Clear Lake, Texas
Case
Details: On November 16, 1993, in a middle class home in Clear Lake, Texas, fourteen-year-old Sarah Powell woke up at home in her bedroom that was unfamiliar to her, disoriented and not knowing who she was. Her home had been ransacked and she had been hogtied. She was only able to call for help by calling the last number on the phone and reached the post office where she reached her mother, Deborah, who realized that she, who was sick from school, was the girl on the phone, and by the time she arrived, police were already there. When the police and Deborah went inside, they found the house ransacked and Sarah in her bedroom, who did not want her mother near her because she did not recognize her. The police believed that she may have been involved in what happened that day; no sign of forced entry was found in and around the house, nor were there any fingerprints. Also, despite it being a rainy day, there were no muddy footprints in the house. Police eventually determined that nothing had been stolen from the house, and when they questioned Sarah, she claimed to have no memory of what happened. In addition, she was unable to write her name, tie her shoes, or even brush her teeth and was diagnosed with amnesia. Gradually over time, however, she began getting her memories back of basic skills. Then, while she and Deborah were leaving school, she suddenly suffered a seizure, the only words coming out of her mouth being, "I didn't let them in". Her memories of the home invasion and several masked intruders terrorizing her began to return. She claims that at 8:30am, she was home with her dog when she heard sounds coming from the second floor.
A composite of Sarah's attacker
She ran upstairs and saw intruders breaking in through the window, so she called her mother but the line was busy. She then ran downstairs but she couldn't go out the front door because the lock was deadbolted and she didn't have the key. When the noises stopped, she decided to go up and investigate when she was suddenly grabbed by two men. They threw her on the bed and tried to suffocate her with a pillow. When she stopped moving, they let her go, but as she fell to the ground, she saw their faces, the taller one wore panty hose over his head, while the smaller one wore a Freddy Krueger mask. When he realized she had seen his face, he became angered and hit her in the head with his gun, knocking her out. When she woke up, he was in the room with her and told her to be quiet and that she would be okay. However, when the leader saw them talking, the two men began to argue and the taller one pointed his gun to her head. Then he had the smaller one tie her up and he saw two girls exiting through the window. As the smaller one left, he placed the phone back on the hook and she passed out. She has had nine seizures since the attack and continues to regain her memory, but police remain sketpical and believe the whole incident was a figment of her mind. They put her under hypnosis, and her story held up. However, nobody has ever been able to determine if the Powell home was actually ransacked, or if she had made the situation up.
Suspects: Sarah described one of the intruders as a man that is 5'10, muscular build, and a cobra tattoo. He would be in his late 30s or early 40s today. None of the intruders have ever been found, if they exist.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the May 10, 1996 episode.
Results: Unsolved
Links: None