(CBS) Why did Vicki Robinson, a single mother and real estate agent with no enemies, disappear?

That's the question police initially asked in July 1998. When her daughter vanished, too, and two of her friends were tracked using her mother's credit card, police suspected foul play.

As this mystery unfolded, 48 Hours' Peter Van Sant tracked not only what happened in a cold-blooded crime but why. He explored the volatile dynamics of family relationships after a divorce: How could two people so close, grow so far apart - to the point of no return?

The elusive truth may lie somewhere between a mother's struggle to raise a daughter alone, and a daughter's need to be loved.

Missing: Vicki Robinson was gone. So were her van and her daughter Valessa. Follow the clues analyzed by police.

The Confessions: After Valessa Robinson and her two friends were captured, they all confessed - but they didn't tell the same story. Who was telling the truth?

Trial and Verdict: In 1999, Valessa's murder trial began. Was she an innocent bystander or a cold-hearted participant? It was up to the jury. What did it decide?

The Road Not Taken: Valessa hadn't known her mother had planned for her to attend a school for troubled youth. See what one girl says about the difference the school can make.

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