One evening, Millie went to a friend's house and didn't return at the agreed time. Just as her parents were about to go out and look for her, they received a ransom call.
The kidnappers wanted one hundred thousand US Dollars in cash.
Millie's parents were terrified and had a disagreement; Millie's mother wanted to pay for her safety;
Millie's father worried that the kidnappers would kill her after getting the money, and wanted to involve the police.
In the end, Millie's mother convinced her husband, and the two delivered the ransom as the kidnappers demanded.
Immediately after, the problem arose—the kidnappers did not release Millie as agreed."
At this point, Luke asked, "Mr. Gonzalez, what would you do if you were Millie's father?"
Santu Gonzalez didn't hesitate, "I would call the police."
Luke nodded and continued, "Millie's father saw that his daughter wasn't released and decided to alert the police as well.
After investigation, the police discovered this wasn't a typical kidnapping case but more like a fraud scheme.
Millie had a boyfriend in college, and the two spent lavishly, acquiring significant credit card debt with dire financial status, urgently needing money to repay debts.
The police suspected this was likely a scripted kidnapping concocted by the duo.
However, the case soon developed beyond the police's expectations; Millie's parents received another ransom call, asking them to prepare another 200,000 US Dollars.
To buy time for the police to locate Millie's hiding place, her parents did not immediately agree to the kidnappers' demands, deliberately stalling over the phone.
Early the next morning, Millie's parents received a package containing a bloody ear, which they confirmed was likely Millie's, the kidnap victim's ear.
At this point, not only were Millie's parents panicked—so too had the police's judgment proven wrong."
Luke observed Santu Gonzalez's expression and continued, "Through the investigation, the police eventually located the hostage's hiding place, but only found Millie's boyfriend; Millie had already been killed and buried.
Only after interrogation did they learn that the initial motives aligned with the police's suspicions; it indeed started as a show orchestrated by Millie to scam money from her parents with her boyfriend.
Yet, after receiving the first ransom, the situation changed.
Millie wanted to quit, but her boyfriend found the ransom too easy and wanted to extort Millie's parents further.
Millie disagreed, leading to a conflict, turning the fake kidnapping into a real one.
The boyfriend accidentally killed Millie."
Santu Gonzalez displayed a worried look, seemingly empathizing with the case, aware of how burdensome raising a wayward daughter could be, along with the helplessness felt by parents.
Luke continued, "Mr. Gonzalez, your daughter has no criminal record, but the man she is with has a lengthy one, and the red Honda car he drives is also stolen.
Assuming your daughter is unrelated to the police murder case, she should've proactively contacted the authorities to explain the situation.
Yet, she did not do so.
I hypothesize there are two possibilities. The first is that your daughter is involved with the murder case, hence not daring to reach out to the police.
The second is she intends to contact the police and clarify, but her accomplice, who has a criminal record, disagrees, possibly restricting her freedom and even threatening her safety."
After saying this, Luke asked, "Mr. Gonzalez, based on your understanding of your daughter, which situation do you think it could be?"
If Luke had asked initially, Santu Gonzalez might not have felt much empathy.
However, after hearing Millie's kidnapping story, Santu Gonzalez automatically placed himself into the role of Millie's parents, feeling his daughter wouldn't commit an illegal act, at most doing something foolish like Millie did, and she might now be facing similar dangers.
"My daughter is innocent; I'm sure she wanted to call the police, but was coerced by her criminal accomplice." Santu Gonzalez said with certainty.
Luke followed, "Then Salma Gonzalez's situation is very dangerous now, and we must rescue her quickly. Do you know where she is now?"
Santu Gonzalez shook his head, "I really don't know.
My daughter's phone is also unreachable now."
Luke had said so much to persuade Santu Gonzalez to cooperate willingly, extracting more valuable clues from him, "Your daughter's companion drives a red Honda car, do you know his identity?"
"It should be my daughter's boyfriend, Carlton Platas."
Luke noted the name down and continued, "Mr. Gonzalez, your daughter's situation is dire now; finding her quickly is paramount. Do you have any thoughts on where they might be hiding?"
Santu Gonzalez thought for a while, and said, "I… have a motorhome.
During the holidays, I drive the motorhome for outings. It's a second-hand motorhome, not very large but equipped with basic facilities, allowing survival for some time in the wild.
Before Christmas, my daughter took the motorhome."
Luke asked, "What's the license plate number?"
Outskirts of Los Angeles.
Near Highway One, in a desolate woodland.
It's an old motorhome, with grey and white paint that looks like it was repainted manually.
A canopy is set up on the side of the vehicle, with a small table and kettle placed underneath.
Through the window, shadow figures can be seen moving, and voices of a man and woman can be heard conversing.