Keith Morrison Correspondent • Profile

MINDEN, NEV. - He was a man who loved airplanes. Loved the howl of perfect tune on take-off, the spotless order of a well-kept hangar.

How curious it was that such a man was afraid to fly in the very machines he repaired.

And when the sky swallowed him up that day in August, where did he go?

"People don't just get plucked off the face of the earth for no reason."

There is a wide flat valley nestled between the Pinenut Mountains off in the distance over there and the majestic rise of the Sierra Nevada. If you drove up through that pass, you'd be gazing on Lake Tahoe.

But down here in the valley is a small desert town called Minden, Nev.

Just off the highway north of town is the Minden-Tahoe Airport and the spotless hanger where Rob Bodden had built a business and made a reputation as one of the finest aircraft mechanics in the whole valley.

Tim Bodden: And he was just totally meticulous about everything he did.

It was endearing, said Tim Bodden, how brother Rob fretted about his clients .

Keith Morrison, Dateline NBC: In fact, he'd check up on 'em, wouldn't he?

Tim Bodden: Absolutely. He'd find out where they went, and he'd call or radio and make sure they made it OK.

Ironic then that Rob himself was afraid to fly.

Tim Bodden: He'd call me up, "I have to go on a test flight tomorrow, and I really don't wanna go." But he just didn't like to fly. Especially small planes.

Rob's business thrived.

He bought his dream house with a white picket fence and a sweeping view of the mountains.

Keith Morrison: He was proud of that house, right?

Barbara Bodden: Oh yeah. That was like his pride and joy.

His sister Barbara, just like brother Tim, had about given up on the idea that Rob would ever have a family.

Tim Bodden: And then when he found Karen -- you know, I knew he'd fallen in love.

Karen?

He met her at the airport. She'd gotten a job fueling airplanes; he was a mechanic. Rob couldn't help but run into Karen a lot.

Barbara Bodden: I think that he admired her for being the single mom and taking care of her kids the best that she could. He liked that nurturing thing about mothers and women.

And as Karen's daughter, Katie, remembers it, she had never seen her mom so happy.

Katie Rasor: He was the most amazing guy that my mom had ever met. He treated us like he was, you know, like our dad. It was amazing to see them together.

Barbara Bodden: She could do no wrong. She was, you know, his baby doll. That's what he'd call her, baby doll.

They mooned over each other for a year or so, and then in the summer of 2000, Rob and Karen got married.

And moved into that house with the white picket fence and the view.

Tim Bodden: They all lived at the house for the first three years. The whole family kind of moved in after they got married.

Yes, family. Karen came as a package -- Rob married her and, in a way, also married her four kids, who by then were now teenagers.

That part of the match did not seem to be made in heaven, at least, not as Barbara could see.

Barbara Bodden: I kinda looked at 'em as like a little band of gypsies moving in. It was like, they were just using him.

Keith Morrison: Using him?

Barbara Bodden: That's what I thought.

And so, as often happens, love that was blind developed the eyes to see, and failed to enjoy the view.

Katie Rasor: I think a lot of the fights were about us kids

Keith Morrison: It was hard for him.

Katie Rasor: Right. Yeah. And so, he was used to having his house the way he had it. And then, we all know how kids are.

Katie was one of those four kids. She was inclined to see the conflict and the tension as Rob's problem.

Katie Rasor: He broke microwaves. And broke the kitchen table. And you know, when they would get in fights, he would get really violent and punch holes in the walls. He would overwhelm her with flowers and gifts and "I love you"'s and cards and then it would be like walking in on eggshells.

Keith Morrison: Typical abusive relationship?

Katie Rasor: Right.

Perhaps it's not surprising that Rob's brother, Tim, didn't see it quite that way.

Tim Bodden: He had a hot temper. But as far as harming anybody, never. Never-

Keith Morrison: He's not an abusive person-

Tim Bodden: Never raised a hand to anybody.

Keith Morrison: Controlling man?

Katie Rasor: Yeah. You couldn't even leave a toothbrush on the counter, or he'd freak out.

But through it all, Karen and Rob stuck it out. Under the circumstances, they knew going in there were bound to be issues.

Keith Morrison: She forgave him each time?

Katie Rasor: Yeah.

And besides, they had made a promise.

Tim Bodden: It wasn't about them getting along anymore. It was about his vows. He had taken those vows and he wanted to keep those vows.

Rob started spending most of his time at work, his refuge.

Barbara Bodden: It was like he wasn't getting any kind of pleasure out of life in any way whatsoever.

No question, the winter of 2005 was very tense.

But as winter gave way to spring, their marriage seemed to bud anew as well.

They planned an anniversary trip.

Ah, but the flush of renewed affection was apparently a mirage. On the morning of the Aug. 16, all best intentions dissolved in bitterness. They fought at the hangar. A bad one this time. By the time it was done, all expectations of fresh beginnings, of a second honeymoon down the coast, had vanished. And so did Rob.

There would be stories about a rushed departure on a sleek Golden Eagle, about the hush-hush work he had left to do with a man named Ramos. But for now, he was simply and mysteriously gone.

Keith Morrison: So he'd left his life just like that? Suddenly disappeared from his own life?

Ron Elges: And that's what it appeared, that someone had just plucked him out and he was gone.

His wife, Karen, told friends she assumed he'd be back. Of course he would. A few days. A month, maybe.

But no one told his sister, Barbara. And 10 days later, when she found out he was gone, her's was a different reaction altogether.

Barbara Bodden: The alarms did go off. It was like, "Something's wrong. This isnt right."

MORE FROM CRIME STORIES

Crime stories Section Front

Deadly intentions Murder on the mind Death and the millionaire drifter The stripper and the steelworker Man's obsession with college student turned deadly Mystery of the murdered millionaire Killings in 'the biggest little city' The secret life of a soccer mom Mysterious death at Pictured Rocks Park Inside the murder trial of Neil Entwistle Crime stories Section Front   Add Crime stories headlines to your news reader: